Why Does God Allow That Which
Is Evil?
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He That Has Ears To Hear, Let Him Hear
(Matthew 11:15-30)
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Wednesday November 26, 2008 11:13 PM -0500
Why Does God Allow That Which
Is Evil?
Evil is the absence of Good. - Matthew 19:17 - And he said unto him, Why do you call me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if you will enter into life, keep the commandments.
And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day. Genesis 1:31
Darkness is the absence of Light. - John 8:12 - Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that follows me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.
This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. 1 John 1:5-10
He that turns away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer shall be abomination. Proverbs 28:9
If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me: Psalms 66:18
The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD: but the prayer of the upright is his delight. Proverbs 15:8
O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you
that kill the prophets, and stone them which are sent unto thee, how often would
I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathers her chickens under
her wings, and ye would not!
Matthew 23:37
Tony Perkins
- Family Research Council
Washington Update Good Friday, March 25, 2005 - I am reminded of a recent trip to the dentist. While the dentist was cleaning
my teeth he said to me, "I do not believe in God." Now this dentist knows what I
do for a living and how important my faith is to me, yet for numerous reasons
(one main one being his hands were in my mouth) I uncharacteristically remained
silent, allowing him to explain; "How can God exist and still allow all the
suffering and pain in the world?" I remained quiet until he was finished (and of
course put his drill away) and told him that "I do not believe in dentists."
This confused him greatly so I clarified for him that if there are dentists in
the world, how can so many people have broken, infected and missing teeth? He
answered me "I cannot help anyone who does not come to me to have their teeth
fixed." That reply is the same for faith. He cannot help people until they come
to Him in repentance and faith, accept Him in their lives and ask Him for help.
Some are placing the blame of the world's ills on the One Who created the world. "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters." Genesis 1:1-2
Some are placing the blame of destruction and death on He Who created life. In their despair they are turning their face from He Who is Life, while the "thief" - the one who who has stolen their inheritance - rejoices in their demise and his accomplishments of deception. "The thief comes not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly." John 10:10
Before the fall of man there was no
death
Man did not know evil before he chose
to disobey his Creator.
It is only between the fall of man
and the coming of the new earth that evil exists.
Genesis 2:16-17 - And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you shall not eat of it: for in the day that you eat thereof you shall surely die.
Genesis 3:22 - And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:
Revelation 21:1-4 - And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.
Deuteronomy 31:16-18 - And the LORD said unto Moses, Behold, you shall sleep with thy fathers; and this people will rise up, and go a whoring after the gods of the strangers of the land, whither they go to be among them, and will forsake me, and break my covenant which I have made with them. Then my anger shall be kindled against them in that day, and I will forsake them, and I will hide my face from them, and they shall be devoured, and many evils and troubles shall befall them; so that they will say in that day, Are not these evils come upon us, because our God is not among us? And I will surely hide my face in that day for all the evils which they shall have wrought, in that they are turned unto other gods.
Psalms 34:16 - The face of the LORD is against them that do evil, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth.
Jeremiah 32:23 - And they came in, and possessed it; but they obeyed not Your voice, neither walked in Your law; they have done nothing of all that You commanded them to do: therefore You hast caused all this evil to come upon them:
Jeremiah 18 - The word which came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying, Arise, and go down to the potter's house, and there I will cause you to hear my words. Then I went down to the potter's house, and, behold, he wrought a work on the wheels. And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it. Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying, O house of Israel, cannot I do with you as this potter? says the LORD. Behold, as the clay is in the potter's hand, so are you in mine hand, O house of Israel. At what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up, and to pull down, and to destroy it; If that nation, against whom I have pronounced, turn from their evil, I will repent of the evil that I thought to do unto them. And at what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to build and to plant it; If it do evil in my sight, that it obey not my voice, then I will repent of the good, wherewith I said I would benefit them. Now therefore go to, speak to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying, Thus says the LORD; Behold, I frame evil against you, and devise a device against you: return ye now every one from his evil way, and make your ways and your doings good. And they said, There is no hope: but we will walk after our own devices, and we will every one do the imagination of his evil heart. Therefore thus says the LORD; Ask you now among the heathen, who has heard such things: the virgin of Israel has done a very horrible thing. Will a man leave the snow of Lebanon which comes from the rock of the field? or shall the cold flowing waters that come from another place be forsaken? Because my people have forgotten me, they have burned incense to vanity, and they have caused them to stumble in their ways from the ancient paths, to walk in paths, in a way not cast up; To make their land desolate, and a perpetual hissing; every one that passes thereby shall be astonished, and wag his head. I will scatter them as with an east wind before the enemy; I will show them the back, and not the face, in the day of their calamity. Then said they, Come, and let us devise devices against Jeremiah; for the law shall not perish from the priest, nor counsel from the wise, nor the word from the prophet. Come, and let us smite him with the tongue, and let us not give heed to any of his words. Give heed to me, O LORD, and hearken to the voice of them that contend with me. Shall evil be recompensed for good? for they have dug a pit for my soul. Remember that I stood before You to speak good for them, and to turn away Your wrath from them. Therefore deliver up their children to the famine, and pour out their blood by the force of the sword; and let their wives be bereaved of their children, and be widows; and let their men be put to death; let their young men be slain by the sword in battle. Let a cry be heard from their houses, when You shall bring a troop suddenly upon them: for they have dug a pit to take me, and hid snares for my feet. Yet, LORD, You know all their counsel against me to slay me: forgive not their iniquity, neither blot out their sin from thy sight, but let them be overthrown before You; deal thus with them in the time of Your anger.
Ezekiel 18:23 - Have I any pleasure at all that the wicked should die? says the Lord GOD:
Ezekiel 18:32 - For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dies, says the Lord GOD:
John 3:19-21 (BBE) - And this is the test by which men are judged: the light has come into the world and men have more love for the dark than for the light, because their acts are evil. The light is hated by everyone whose acts are evil and he does not come to the light for fear that his acts will be seen. But he whose life is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his acts have been done by the help of God.
1 Peter 3:12-22 - Finally, be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous: Not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing: but contrariwise blessing; knowing that ye are thereunto called, that ye should inherit a blessing. For he that will love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile: Let him eschew evil, and do good; let him seek peace, and ensue it. For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil. And who is he that will harm you, if ye be followers of that which is good? But and if ye suffer for righteousness' sake, happy are ye: and be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled; But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asks you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear: Having a good conscience; that, whereas they speak evil of you, as of evildoers, they may be ashamed that falsely accuse your good conversation in Christ. For it is better, if the will of God be so, that ye suffer for well doing, than for evil doing. For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison; Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water. The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ: Who is gone into heaven, and is on the right hand of God; angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto him.
2 Peter 3:9 - The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
1 Peter 1:23-25 - Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which lives and abides for ever. For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower thereof falls away: But the word of the Lord endures for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.
Another evil to consider
"Why, what evil has he done?"
He the has ears to hear. let him hear
Matthew 27:20-23 (BBE) - Now the chief priests and those in authority got the people to make request for Barabbas, and for Jesus to be put to death. But the ruler made answer and said to them, Which of the two is it your pleasure that I let go free? And they said, Barabbas. Pilate says to them, What, then, am I to do with Jesus, who is named Christ? They all say, Let him be put to death on the cross. And he said, Why, what evil has he done? But they gave loud cries, saying, To the cross with him!
John 19:1-19 (BBE) - Then Pilate took Jesus and had him whipped with cords. And the men of the army made a crown of thorns and put it on his head, and they put a purple robe on him. And they kept coming and saying, Long life to the King of the Jews! And they gave him blows with their hands. And Pilate went out again and said to them, See, I let him come out to you to make it clear to you that I see no wrong in him. Then Jesus came out with the crown of thorns and the purple robe. And Pilate said to them, Here is the man! So when the chief priests and the police saw him they gave a loud cry, To the cross! to the cross! Pilate said to them, Take him yourselves and put him on the cross: I see no crime in him. And the Jews made answer, We have a law, and by that law it is right for him to be put to death because he said he was the Son of God. When this saying came to Pilate's ears his fear became greater; And he went again into the Praetorium and said to Jesus, Where do you come from? But Jesus gave him no answer. Then Pilate said to him, You say nothing to me? is it not clear to you that I have power to let you go free and power to put you to death on the cross? Jesus gave this answer: You would have no power at all over me if it was not given to you by God; so that he who gave me up to you has the greater sin. Hearing this, Pilate had a desire to let him go free, but the Jews said in a loud voice, If you let this man go, you are not Caesar's friend: everyone who makes himself a king goes against Caesar. So when these words came to Pilate's ear, he took Jesus out, seating himself in the judge's seat in a place named in Hebrew, Gabbatha, or the Stone Floor. (It was the day when they made ready for the Passover; and it was about the sixth hour.) And he said to the Jews, There is your King! Then they gave a loud cry, Away with him! away with him! to the cross! Pilate said to them, Am I to put your King to death on the cross? The chief priests said in answer, We have no king but Caesar. So then he gave him up to them to be put to death on the cross. And they took Jesus away; And he went out with his cross on him to the place which is named Dead Man's Head (in Hebrew, Golgotha): Where they put him on the cross with two others, one on this side and one on that, and Jesus in the middle.
John 3:16 (BBE) - For God had such love for the world that he gave his only Son, so that whoever has faith in him may not come to destruction but have eternal life.
Hebrews 5:8-14 - Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered; And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him; Called of God an high priest after the order of Melchisedec. Of whom we have many things to say, and hard to be uttered, seeing ye are dull of hearing. For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat. For every one that uses milk is unskillful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe. But strong meat belongs to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.
The "thief" smiles when we blame the Lord when the "thief" steals, kills, and destroys.
As Jesus Himself declared, Hell is as real as Heaven, and both are for eternity.
John 14:1-3 (Jesus said) - Let not your heart be troubled: you believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there you may be also.
Luke 16:19-31 (Jesus said) - There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day: And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores, And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried; And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and sees Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame. But Abraham said, Son, remember that you in your lifetime received good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and you are tormented. And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from here to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from there. Then he said, I pray you therefore, father, that you would send him to my father's house: For I have five brothers; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment. Abraham said unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them. And he said, No, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent. And Abraham said unto him, If they didn't hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.
Hebrews 2:14-15 - Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise took part of the same; that through death He might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.
John 10:10 - The thief comes not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.
1 John 3:8b - For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.
John 9:1-5 And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth. And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind? Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him. I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.
Who now represents Christ and who is commissioned to be the "Light" of the world?
The Sermons of John Wesley - 1872 Edition - (Thomas Jackson, editor) - Charles Wesley
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