This question, ‘Where does evil come from?’, and others like
it, are known as the ‘problem of evil’ among theologians. It is quite a large question,
and I am not intending on answering it here. However, my high schoolers
recently were in a philosophical mood, and so I posed this question from the
passage our junior high had covered, Genesis 1-4. My hope is that this post can
give something encouraging to ponder and a short,
helpful thought in terms of the battle with sin.
In the beginning there was God, in all His perfection and
majesty. He is the Creator. Everything that I know in my finite knowledge of the universe was
brought forth by His word, and everything that He brought forth was good. Set
apart from the rest of creation, God made man in His image, after His likeness,
and gave him dominion and authority over all else that was made. Man and woman
were created and yet so much more than the rest of the beasts that walked the
earth. They were made with the special, personal intent of God, and given a
likeness from Him that, simply said, nothing on earth can match. In the midst
of their freedom and communion with God they had only one commandment: “Do not
eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.”
…And then things fall apart, for man. But God does not seem
to be shaken at all… He is no less Sovereign Creator, and He is no less in
control. The serpent received his punishment; the woman, hers; and the man,
his. Snugged within this list of consequences, however, is the hope (and dread)
of the gospel given by God to the devil, saying, “He shall bruise your head,
and you shall bruise his heel.” Every moment since that day, our adversary has
been locked within defeat at the hand of the gracious
purposes of God. His plans are brought to futility, and his power is crushed. In
fulfillment of this, Jesus cries at the end of His ministry recorded in John, “Now
is the judgement of this world; now will the ruler of this world be cast out.
And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to Myself.”[1]
In Genesis 4 Cain's sacrifice is rejected, and his countenance
falls to brood in the miseries of contempt. The Lord speaks to Cain, warning
him: “Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen? If you do well, will you
not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its
desire is for you, but you must rule over it.”[2] It seems as though the avoidance of sin was attainable for Cain, were he to recognize its threatening presence and pursue his relationship with the Creator.
My group jaunted through a discussion of man,
evil, and free will. Man has
been given the ability to make his own choices (including the choice to do
evil), and he alone bears responsibility for the consequences of his choices. God
has purposely created man this way as a gift, and this does not belittle Him
because His sovereignty is cognitively unsearchable. Yet, when man chooses to
do evil, it bears consequences that wreak destruction upon all the earth; and
every consequence of pain, death, and disaster are the direct results of man’s
choice. God is not to blame, but man’s choices have created the current of sin
and death that have ever after ‘ruled over’ mankind. So, we stand in need of a
Savior to deliver us out of the cycle of death that we have brought upon
ourselves.
This is where hope, the gospel, and Christmas comes in. Jesus has delivered us from this cycle. The Creator humbled himself, took on flesh, and died for us, “That
through death He might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the
devil, and deliver those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong
slavery.”[3] For those who have placed their belief in Jesus, there is FREEDOM from the
slavery of sin.
Christian, you have the power to say no to sin, and to choose
to do what is right. In terms of your daily walk, evil stems from your heart.
To put evil to death in your heart as you seek a relationship with the Savior
is to do well, to rule over sin, and to partake in the victory that is yours in
Christ Jesus… but you cannot experience any of these things unless you call
upon His name.
Emmanuel is victory.
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