(1) Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then He is not omnipotent.
(2) Is He able, but not willing? Then He is malevolent.
(3) Is He both able and willing? Then whence cometh evil?
(4) Is He neither able nor willing? Then why call Him God?
― Epicurus

(1)  God is willing to prevent evil and God does prevent evil when it is based on His perfect will.  God overcomes evil to fulfill His promises such as the birth of the Jesus the Messiah and the endurance/existence of the Jewish people in the world in spite of persecution and execution from the world.  And one day God will create a new Heaven and Earth where people who have been saved by Jesus will live without the presence of evil.

But God allows evil to exist and to triumph over good, at times, in order to demonstrate that evil is not from God but evil is the result of the sinful choices of man, the fallen Angels and Satan.  The presence of evil and the temporary triumph of evil proves that the evil one, Satan, is on the throne of this world, not God.  The fact that we recognize there is evil in the world and hate it’s existence means we recognize something is wrong with the world.  So the dilemma that each person wrestles with in their mind:  

(a) is God a cruel dictator who creates evil and expose man to evil for His own pleasure?

(b) is man the creator of evil and God is the One trying to rescue man from his evil heart?

Jesus explains that man is the cause of evil in the world  “For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, slanders.” – Matthew 15:19

God is the cause of goodness and love in the world and He sent His only begotten Son to rescue man from sin, which causes the evil in the world.  “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” John 3:16

Sin and evil are temporary distractions, that ultimately serve God and give Him glory, in that those who cling to God by faith will reap eternal life (Romans 8:28) and those who cling to evil will reap eternal death (Romans 6:23).  The bottom line is that God is omnipotent, all powerful, and He allows evil to exist to demonstrate to man what happens when he chooses his Self Indulgent Nature (sin).  One day God will cause the destructive effect of evil in the world to cease.  All those who choose to be saved from evil will get want they want … a new heart like Christ and eternal life with God, an existence free from evil.  And those who don’t choose to be saved from evil will get what they want … eternal death without God, an existence trapped inside their own sinful heart and mind, unable to enact evil on anyone or anything but themselves.

(2)  God is able to prevent evil and His desire is to prevent the evil of eternal death that is upon man because of sin.  And God does prevents the evil of eternal death for those who repentant from their sin and put their faith in Jesus Christ.  God is always willing and waiting to save man from evil.  It is not God’s willingness to save some people from evil that we have to question, like the Calvinist supposes, but it is man’s willingness to come down from the throne of his own heart and give God the rightful authority over his life that is in question.  For it is God that created man and therefore God has the right to be in charge and God has the best way and really the only meaningful way to be in charge.

“I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.  – John 15:5

These questions from Epicurus are man’s attempt to bring God down from Heaven and make God accountable to man for the presence of evil in the world but God is saying to man;  “You are the reason for evil in the world.  ‘I am’ trying to restore you into the image of my only begotten Son, Jesus Chris, and lift you up into the Heavens where there is eternal life, peace love and joy … away from this evil that you created on earth.”  God cares for each person and wants none to perish but all to come to repentance and have eternal life free from evil (2 Peter 3:9).  It is not God who is on trial but man is on trail because he is the cause of evil.  God is not malevolent.  God is benevolent.  God is good.  God is love.

I recently read about Charles Templeton who was a powerful evangelist in the 1940’s and he worked along side Billy Graham to win thousands of souls for Christ.  But even though God was blessing the preaching of Charles Templeton, Charles had doubts that the story of creation in the Bible wasn’t true and he really questioned why God allows evil to exist in the world.  He said it was “intellectual suicide” to trust God when God allows so much evil to exist in the world.  Unfortunately, Charles Templeton left the camp of God and became an advocate for Atheists and Agnostics.  Of course, now we have better archaeological information and scientific information like DNA that backs up the Bible creation story over the story of evolution, yet the question of “evil” cannot be answered by science.  Scientists can see the “heat death” effect that has fallen upon the Universe or Physical Realm and they call this effect “the second law of thermodynamic” … stuff goes from shiny new to rusty old but what causes this heat death.  And  we see that death follows life but what causes the death of living things?  Then reason for death is sin.

Genesis 2: 15Then the LORD God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to cultivate it and keep it. 16The LORDGod commanded the man, saying, “From any tree of the garden you may eat freely; 17but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die.”

Evil can not be weighed or seen because evil operates in the Spiritual Realm and it causes the destruction and death in the Physical Realm.  Faith and science are not at odds with one another but are like two sides to the same coin.  God provides the power to give life and sustain life but sin caused the world to become separated from God’s life giving purpose and power.  God welcomes our questions and it is not wrong to question God but it is wrong to think you can out-think God or you can reason out the purpose of your existence without God.  God says “come let us reason together” (Isaiah 1:18).  And God’s word says “Trust in the LORD with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding” (Proverbs 3:5)  This is the key to all the questions in the world, bring them to God for His “revelation”.  God has given believers the Holy Spirit, “who leads believers to all truth” (John 16:13).  

God has not left us in the dark concerning His purpose and plan.   He even sent His only begotten Son to tell us that God is building a Kingdom in Heaven where “born-again” children will live, free from evil (John 3:16).  Quite simply stated:  Evil and sin are not from God.  They are a result of the free will of man choosing to do what is contrary  to God’s will or simply not doing the will of God.  Sin is the act of following your own Self Indulgent Nature (sin) and evil is the result of your sinful action.  Yes, God can stop sin and evil but to do so He would have to remove man’s “free will” which chooses to sin and causes the evil, and removing man’s free will would also remove man’s ability to choose whom he loves and trusts the most … God or self?

The point is that God predestined a wonderful world, with wonderful people and with wonderful things to do.  It was man who peed in God’s house on the beautify carpet of Eden and ruined the wonderful plan of God.  God has not abandoned His wonderful plan but His put his wonderful plan “on hold” while He sorts out the dogs that want to pee in His house (unbelievers) from those who want to live in His house (believers).  Unfortunately, the dogs on earth who believe in Christ, still have to live in a kennel, full of pee (including their own), until Jesus comes and takes them to their new home.  I know is is kind of crude to think of people as dogs, but this is what Jesus called the woman who asked Him for help (Matthew 15:26).  Jesus was not calling her a derogatory name but testing her faith to see if comparing her to a dog insulted her, which it didn’t and she humbled herself to receive God’s blessing.

This is the point I am trying to make, God is our Creator, we are His created beings.  Do you trust that God can make the evil from this world work toward good as He has promised (Roman 8:28).  Are you willing to suffer for Christ’s sake on earth in order to have a greater reward in Heaven?  That is why Abraham left his homeland to go to the land of Canaan and that is why Moses sided with his people, the Jews, instead of with the royalty of the Pharaoh’s court.  Abraham and Moses were looking for the beautiful city of God, the New Jerusalem, that Christ is preparing for those who love him (John 14:2-3).  Do you think God is not able to reward you for the love and time and effort and treasure you entrust to Him even though sin and evil destroy your labor of love?   The answer to this question reveals your relationship with God.

(3)  Evil comes from the free will of man, the heart of man that is Spiritually disconnected from God.  And evil comes from a world that is fallen and dying under the influence of sin.  And evil comes from the power of Satan who is the prince of this world and the fallen Angels and demons who follow Satan.  Evil comes as a result of sin, from the world, the flesh and the devil.  Sin is rebellion to the authority of God over a person’s life.  Sin is a decision by man to ignore God’s way and say “I did it my way”.  Sin is not something that God created but it is a decision of the free will of a created being that is in opposition to God’s will.  Sin originated with Satan and spread to all mankind through the sin of Adam and Eve.  Sin is the response of a created being in rebellion to God and sin destroys the good things that God created, the greatest of these good things being the person himself.  God loves the sinner and wants to grant him eternal life but God hates sin and He hates the evil that is a result of sin.

However, God permits evil and sin (the free will of man, Satan and fallen Angels that is in opposition to God’s will) to exist in order to prove to man, Satan and the fallen Angels that free will is not a mistake and that man is not a mistake but man’s “stinking thinking” apart from God is a mistake.  God is proving that although free will resulted in the fall of Satan and the fall of man and the fall of 1/3 of the angles in heaven and the destruction of earth and the cosmos, the same free of man can result in the salvation of man, by grace through faith in Jesus Christ and the redemption of earth and the redemption of the cosmos.  One day the “free will” that chooses the love of Christ will triumph and reign over the “free will” that choose the love of sin.  And those who faithfully suffer and endure the effects of sin and evil by grace through faith in Jesus Christ will be rewarded for their perseverance.  Evil actually provides a reward to those who trust in Christ to triumph over evil.  And it will be a reward that is much better than anything this world has to offer when the “saints come marching in”.

Here is an article about free will:  http://die2live.worthyofpraise.org/free-will-isnt-free/

Sin and evil are a terrible disease infecting and effecting all of creation, yet God is allowing sin and evil to exist for a short while to demonstrate a greater glory in the future.  God is going to redeem the cosmos and create a new heaven and God is going to redeem earth and create a new earth without sin, a creation even more beautiful and wonderful than the original earth that is currently subject to sin.  God has given each person the free will to remain Spiritually disconnected from God so they die in their sin and are eternally tormented by their sin or man can choose to be become Spiritually connection to God, free from sin and a new creation in Jesus Christ.  By grace through faith in Jesus Christ, you can be born again and become the person God created you to be, a person free to choose God’s will instead of sin, a person that will one day be free from the effects of evil and eternally loved by God.  God is going to redeem those who put their trust in Him and create a new resurrected man with a new resurrected body.

If you want to judge something, judge these questions;

–  Do you think that giving man “free will” is a mistake because it has the potential to cause evil?  In a world without free will, man would cease to be man.  He would be an animal that was not morally responsible for his behavior or he would be a robot that was not responsible for any of his behavior.  Worst of all man could not express “love”, a choice my man to put the “best” for someone else above his own personal benefit.

–  Do you think man (without the help of God) can solve and remove the problem of evil in the world and live in peace and harmony?  That is the lie of Satan.  This is what Satan whispered to Adam and Eve and he is still whispering this lie to man today.  The point is that man is not designed to live separated from God.  Man is restless until his rest is found in trusting God.  Peace on earth by man’s way is the lie of Satan and the Antichrist, the leader of the New World Order that is at hand.

–  Do you think that man can overcome his own death (the penalty for sin and the sting of evil)?  Only Jesus Christ ever displayed the power to rise from the dead and those who put their trust in Jesus Christ instantly acquire a new Spiritual life from God that gives their “soul” eternal life with God and they will one day have a new physical body like Jesus that never dies.  But man without God cannot conquer physical death and worse yet man is born Spiritually dead with his soul headed to eternal death in the Lake of Fire.

–  Do you think that God is not powerful enough to redeem man from his sinful condition and create a new heaven/earth free from sin and reward man for the evil that he faithfully resisted and endured in this world?  A god that is made in man’s image is not able to do this but the God of the Bible, the God who created you is able to redeem you and this world from sin … if you are willing.

(4) Why call Him God … because He is!  Praise God!

Revelation 1:8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”

Joel 2:25 “I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten, the hopper, the destroyer, and the cutter, my great army, which I sent among you.“

Revelation 21:1 “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea.“

Romans 8:28 “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.“

Love’s a decision that’s founded on faith,
in God fearing promises time can’t erase
but sin’s a decision of self made in haste
apart from the goodness that’s comes from God’s grace.

– Rogersings

Watch the video below to see how Frank Turek answers the question:

Is God Immoral for Killing the Canaanites?

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