GOD & EVIL

The Ministry of Truology and the Aim of Christian Apologetics

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My name is Belushi Prevalon, coming to you from the Boston area. And right now, you are listening to Truology, the study of the truth as it is in Jesus. Thank you so much for tuning in to Truology. And yes, I know this episode has been greatly anticipated.

I am very thankful you can join me. I know it has been quite a while, but here we are, so I don't want to waste any time. In today's topic, we are discussing God and evil. Why does a good and powerful God allow evil and suffering?

It's a question we all wrestle with at some point. The Reformed tradition offers a thoughtful and hope-filled answer, though, not by downplaying the reality of evil, but by pointing us to the absolute sovereignty and goodness of God.

In Reformed theology, nothing happens outside of God's control, not even suffering. While God is never the author of evil in a sinful sense, He permits it for purposes that ultimately serve His wise and perfect plan.

This doesn't remove the pain we feel, though, but it does give us deep assurance. Evil is not random, and our suffering is never wasted. This isn't just a topic for theologians, though. It's for everyone and anyone who has ever asked, why and long for hope?

As we explore this view together, I want you to understand that we can find comfort, clarity, and deeper trust in the God who works all things for our good, even the very hard things for His glory. So, without further ado, let's really just get into this topic, God and evil.

The Reality and Impact of Evil in the Christian Worldview

First, let's consider the fact that evil exists, and it's very real. There are some worldviews that posit that evil is not real, like Hindus believe all things are maya, illusions. Christian science believes that evil is just a mental illness that we can heal from.

There are materialistic worldviews that render evil just human conventions. We designate an instance as evil, but there's no metaphysical evil itself. But in the Christian worldview, evil is actually real, and it affects a lot of things.

And therefore, we must take it seriously. Why? Because, well, you know, loss of life. We have questions about what happens after death. Death is a natural evil. And when we experience a loss of life, we ask questions about the eternal state or whether there is one.

Pain and suffering cause and bring us doubt and difficulties. There's physical and spiritual destruction, such as sin and evil, which corrodes everything, not just in our physical bodies, but our spiritual as well.

Evil is also pretty scary. Why? Because, well, it brings uncertainty. It brings challenges. You know, evil seems like a real problem for the Christian. I mean, all worldviews must give an account for evil, including the Christian worldview, which means that all worldviews have a salvation from evil.

The salvation from evil that the Christian worldview posits is the gospel of Jesus Christ, which gives us hope and peace and the resurrection of the body in Christ, versus other worldviews, such as the humanistic, secular one, which says that the answer to evil is really just human enlightenment and education.

You know, if we just knew more and were able to control our environments, then we'd be able to prevent bad things from happening. That's one salvation of evil, opposed to the Christian one, which is the truth of Christ, who is bringing all things in consummation and resolve.

Evil has great impact in the world. It makes atheists and humanists. I mean, some people see evil as so objectionable that they can't believe in religion, so they become science-dependent and become non-religious professors.

Evil impacts even believers and can cause us to become very unfaithful to God's word. His revelational promises are put in doubt. We have hesitations to advance for his causes. We question his very goodness.

So evil has a lot of impact, both for Christians and nonbelievers alike. Evil can be weaponized. I mean, the devil uses evil. Wicked men use evil, such as dictators, to terrorize the people they subject.

So we are pressed to ask, where did evil come from? And can we really know for sure? And is evil purposeful? Or does it amount to no meaning other than the current distress that it actually brings us in this existence now?

The Origin of Evil and the Decrees of God

So let's jump into it. The origin of evil. As we ask where evil came from, we must be asking another question simultaneously. And that is, what is the purpose of evil? The reason why we can't ask where evil came from by itself is because we risk making evil essentially purposeless.

We don't want to forget the attributes of God when we ask about the origins of evil. We don't want to render God simply reactionary and subject to the acts of evil. We don't want to conveniently escape the existence of evil by just saying, oh, evil pops up, and then God kind of determines what he wants to do with it from then on.

No, as we ask about the origin of evil, we must simultaneously be asking, what is the purpose of evil? They're two questions that must flow together, especially from the Christian perspective. Now, remember, the origin of evil and the fact that evil exists and accounting for it is something that all worldviews must address.

The Christian distinctive in answering this, especially from a reform perspective, is that evil comes from secondary agents such as fallen angels and fallen men. In the Bible, in Romans 5, 12, we read, wherefore, as by one man's sin entered into the world.

So the Christian answer to the origin of evil is that fallen angels and men actually produce the acts of evil and are culpable for it. But remember, we are not simply asking about the origin of evil through these secondary agents such as fallen angels and men, but we must also simultaneously be asking about the purpose of evil, which is why we need to consider the decrees of God, which allows us to be able to contextualize evil and keep God from merely being reactionary or causing evil to be essentially purposeless and amounts to nothing at all.

So as we consider the secondary causes, let's remember the decrees of God, which sets the stage. Many reformed confessions, such as the Second London Baptist Confession of Faith, which I fully subscribe to, tell us about evil and how God actually contextualizes it in his purposes.

In the Second London Baptist Confession of Faith, we read, God hath decreed in himself from all eternity by the most wise and holy counsel of his own will freely and unchangeably all things whatsoever comes to pass, yet so as thereby is God neither the author of sin nor hath fellowship with any therein, nor is violence offered to the will of the creature, nor yet is the liberty or contingencies of second causes taken away, but rather established in which appears his wisdom in disposing all things and power and faithfulness in accomplishing his decrees.

Now, what does all of that mean? Well, in the phrase that says, by his most wise and holy counsel of his will, we are to understand the attributes of God in relation to the acts of evil. We tend to segment his character sometimes.

Sometimes you'll see people refer to God as being love and what they mean by this is that they appreciate the gracious character of God, but unwittingly what they do is they render him only love and they forget about his actual justice and many other attributes of God that make him more holistic and understandable.

In the phrase that says, yet so as thereby is God neither the author of sin nor have fellowship with any therein, we are to understand that this is attesting to the perfection of the complexity in God's holy wisdom in decreeing while not marring his purity or being blamed for sin.

These are simultaneous truths. We cannot simply ask about the origin of evil, but we must also consider what the purpose is and how God is actually working with them both. In the phrase where we read, nor is violence offered to the will of the creature, nor yet is the liberty or contingencies of second causes taken away, but rather established.

We are to understand that all things consist in God and are able to exist because of him. In the phrase we read, in which appears his wisdom in disposing all things, we are to understand the marvelous call to worship God as holy and wise.

This is the basis for trusting him because God is holy in his wisdom in disposing all things. This is the only grounds upon which we can trust him for doing anything at all. So some people might still be wondering, you know, why is God really not guilty for evil if he is the first cause that contextualizes everything secondary means such as angels and fallen men commit?

Well, I pulled up this quote from Robert Raymond, which seems to best explain that consideration. It reads, first, because the Bible teaches that God is light and in him there is no darkness at all and that he tempts no man to sin.

Second reason is this, while he certainly decreed all things, God decreed that all things would come to pass according to the nature of second causes, either necessarily as in the case of planets moving in their orbits freely, that is voluntarily with no violence being done to the will of the creature or contingently, that is with due regard to the contingencies of future events, as in his informing David what saw and the citizens of Kila would do to him if David remained in the city of Kila.

The summary of how the sovereignty of God correlates with man's freedom and responsibility is an important one to consider because it helps us really grasp what is hard to understand, God being ultimately sovereign and man being ultimately responsible.

Necessary categories such as first and secondary causes allow us to comprehend the relationship of God to the creation because he is holy in his doings. It is complex for us, yet not a mystery, but simultaneous truths that must be accepted together.

You know, someone has once said, only God can split the hair of human autonomy and his absolute sovereignty, meaning that sometimes it is just really hard to understand how these things can truly be put together.

And this is why some people will object and point out logical inconsistencies or someone will call out philosophical determinism or moral objections or biblical and theological challenges. But ultimately, God is in control of all things in such a way that he is pure in his character and is not impugned from being blamed for sin while yet being totally in control of all things that come to pass.

Nor is genuine freedom of the creature taken away in all his doings, but it's actually established as a revelation of his holy wisdom in disposing of them. Evil is not random, but under God's plan. Many reformed theologians argue that God ordained evil for a greater purpose, such as displaying his justice, mercy, and grace through them.

Biblical Examples of God Ordaining Evil for Good

There are clear examples of this found in the scriptures. This is not new, and this is not only something that reformed theologians have simply come up with. This is actually in the Bible and has merit, such as in Acts chapter 2, verse 23, where we read him, talking about Christ, being delivered by the determinate counsel and for knowledge of God, ye have taken and by wicked hands have crucified and slain.

Here is the crucifixion of Jesus Christ being said that it was the determinate counsel of God that brought this together, and yet it was free moral agents that were the ones who committed the violent act.

We also see in Acts 4, 28, where this is echoed again, for to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determine before to be done. The apostles understood this. They had some kind of apprehension of how God has been working things together, proving himself to be the true prophet in the inscriptuated word of God, telling us of the events before they came to being.

We also see this in Genesis 50, verse 20, where we read you meant it for evil, but God meant it for good. That was one action, two intentions, the human intentions, which was for evil, and God's intention, which was for good.

How does God actually remain impugned in his character and being blamed for evil? Well, it is in his holy decrees and purposing all things through secondary agents, such as men and fallen angels, that he is able to remain pure in who he is and yet being able to control all events in history and accomplish his purposes through all means, such as those things that are in the human realm.

Evil then serves the greater redemptive purpose of God. Through human beings, we see the sinful actions being committed. It is not enough to say that God used evil as in evil is in itself independent in self-existence, but rather it is God that determined the use of evil, meaning that evil is just a practical means of God's providence, and this should give us great comfort.

The Nature, Finite Limits, and End of Evil

Now, before we dive a little deeper into understanding God and evil, let's just take a brief moment to consider the actual nature of evil. Sometimes evil is moral in nature, which means that it has to do with human behavior, and sometimes it is natural in nature, which means things like tornadoes and earthquakes and tsunamis are actual evils that exist and take place, but also evil is finite.

It had a beginning, and it will indeed have an end. This implies the purpose in its existence, right? Evil started, and one day evil will end, and the fact that it is currently here and we have hope directly from the scriptures about one day it ending means that God is actually working towards that ultimate and glorious end where we will not have to deal with evil.

The alternative non-Calvinist perspective that doesn't seem to acknowledge that God purposes evil has several other problems other than the seemingly illogical one that people raise against the Reformed perspective.

For example, Wayne Grudem says this in this consideration. If evil came into the world in spite of the fact that God did not intend it and did not want it to be there, then what guarantee do we have that there will not be more and more evil that he does not intend and that he does not actually want?

And what guarantee do we have that he will be able to use it for his purposes or even that he can triumph over it? Surely this is an undesirable alternative position. Now that was Wayne Grudem in this consideration to the non-Calvinist alternative to God actually decreeing and purposing evil.

We must not forget that it is because God is holy in his wisdom that we can lean upon him in all things whatsoever comes to pass by his decrees. Hey folks, thank you so much for tuning in to Truology.

My name is Belushi Prevalon and if this has been a help to you in any way please like, share, and subscribe. And if you haven't already done so right now on Spotify you can vote for the next episode. Now I already have a bunch of things lined up.

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Thank you.

God's Attributes as the Proper Starting Point

Okay now, let's try to understand God and evil just a little bit more. And to do this we must begin where it is proper to begin which is with God and his attributes. God's attributes consist of his holiness which is his unparalleled separateness.

He is the height of height. This is the superlative of all his attributes. Holiness, his transcendency is measured by his holiness. He is all wise. This is his ultimate knowledge of all things. He is indeed purely love.

Inherent in his affections is his own glory. The thing that God loves most is don't be surprised, it's not you it's actually himself. You know, God is inherently has the affection for his own glory and he is wholly concentrated in preserving and expressing it.

God is almighty. This is his ultimate and unlimited power. I mean, God is so powerful that he can actually decree all things while simultaneously making your decisions matter.

Right?

I mean, just think about that. God is eternal. He is throughout all time and forever has been forever ago. So then as we begin with understanding evil we must begin in the right place which is understanding the nature and character of God which is honestly, if we think about it without, you know, borderline being idolatrous it is hard for us to actually really summarize all things that God is.

It is only by the mercy of his gracious word in the Bible that we are able to actually come close to making great summaries about who he truly is and how he relates to the creation and things like evil.

So then with that in mind God's attributes and who he is let's now consider, you know God's purposes in creation as it relates to evil. Well, remember we categorize and contextualize evil as something that is a secondary cause and doesn't come directly from the first cause God himself but rather it is contextualized within God's decrees meaning that God is in control and superintending and sovereign over all things that happen.

Evil cannot go beyond the line that God has measured for it. I mean, we see that expression made by God himself in places like Isaiah 45 where he says, I am the Lord and there is none else. This is pointing to his holiness.

He says, I form the light and create darkness. I make peace and create evil. Other translations say calamity. I the Lord do all these things. So we see God not excusing himself from actually bringing about natural disasters and political collapse to the nation of Israel but rather he is directly saying I'm the one who makes these things happen.

Therefore things such as Christ's death are things that are determined and purposed in God's plans. We read in the book of Acts where the apostles are pretty much praying in regards to the persecution that has come upon them where they are caught praying and saying the kings of the earth stood and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord and against his Christ for the truth against thy holy child Jesus whom thou has anointed both Herod and Pontius Pilate with the Gentiles and the people of Israel were gathered together for to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be done.

So we see that the context of evil is within the purposes and decrees of God. They are not outside of it and they are not separate and independent of it but within all his intended purposes. And we see this view actually reflected in all the biblical writers.

I mean for example the biblical writers seem to see God as not really being surprised about anything. For example in Acts 15 verse 18 during the first Jerusalem council we read known unto God are all his works from the beginning of the world.

Others have said that God doesn't need counsel such as Isaiah who says that who have directed the spirit of the Lord or being his counselor have taught him with wisdom with whom took he counsel and who instructed him and taught him in the path of judgment and taught him knowledge and showed to him the way of understanding.

Now the answer to that is no one because God does not need to take counsel from anyone because he is all wise and all knowing. The biblical writers seem to also emphasize the fact that wisdom is woven in all the things in creation of God.

For example we find in Proverbs 3 19 verse 3 19 through 20 saying this the Lord by wisdom have founded the earth and by understanding have established the heavens by his knowledge the depths are broken up and the clouds drop down their due.

This is the basis for being able to find wisdom in life because God has woven all his wisdom and his intent behind creation. Yes everything happens for a reason only the Christian can actually stand upon that assurance.

The biblical writers also seem to emphasize the fact that God seems to be unthreatened in his rule. For example we read in Isaiah you know it is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth and the inhabitants thereof or as grasshoppers that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain and spreadeth them as a tent to dwell in.

This makes it seem like God is standing over all creation and he is not threatened or in any distress at all from the actions of men on the earth. The biblical writers also seem to indicate that he cannot be thwarted.

For example in Daniel 4 35 and all the inhabitants of the earth are repudiated as nothing and he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth and none can stay his hand or say unto him what doest thou.

Whatever we think of God cannot escape these biblical understandings understandings of who he is. Whether we are considering passages of scripture where God is pleading with people or seems to be making if then statements we must take into account who God is for all for a full context of formulating theology about him.

If we do not then we actually risk creating a God in our own image a God that is more pleasing in our sight a God that is love one that is nicer and easier to understand one that is palatable to our experience instead of the biblical God who is beyond understanding in his wonderful attributes expressed in creation and even in human life.

You see evil is to be defeated this is the postmillennial hope then cometh the end when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God even the father when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power for he must reign till all are put under his feet.

The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. You see evil is not eternal God has purposed it for a reason and he is bringing it to its proper end. There is no chance in this life all is directed and purposed it must be or else the scriptures are false and there is no assurance.

The Bible does not refer to the affairs of the world as being mere probability but orchestrated by the direct knowledge and hand of God including yes evil which is to be understood as being directly under his sovereignty this is our only hope and assurance.

God is not reactionary though we might see him interacting with man in the record of scripture he is a perfect being who communicates to our finite minds in a particular way as to give us a gracious understanding of his infinite nature and to that we should be thankful.

You see many things are the instrument of God.

Such as plagues.

Natural disasters human wickedness and human choices events such as Joseph being sold into slavery and yet accomplishing the plan and purposes of God even Satan and Job's story yes all these things are the instruments of God.

Because of God and who he is we always have a firm foundation from where we can derive an understanding for evil. Other worldviews struggle to make sense of evil. Some Christians might even unwittingly compromise the attributes of God when referring to evil.

But the Bible explicitly teaches that evil is not something that catches God off guard. Nor is it out of his direct control even in light of free moral agents such as human beings. One of our greatest comforts is that God had decreed evil to bring about the gospel of Jesus Christ in history so that he might be glorified in the redemption of his people.

That is one of our comforts. And yet it came through tragedy. Why. Because God is sovereign and directs evil. Yes evil is real but it never supersedes the purposes to which God ascribes to it. We can be thankful that life is not reduced to a matter of chance and probability but rather under the sovereign rule of God.

Modern Errors That Distort the Doctrine of God's Sovereignty Over Evil

Okay now before we wrap up let's just take a moment to consider some modern errors that really have played into making it hard to understand this very basic concept that God simply has a purpose and uses evil in his direct plans.

The first modern error we'll consider is dualism. The idea that God versus the devil. Right. Yeah as we read earlier from Isaiah God is not contending with anyone including the devil. The devil is on the earth a limited creature in being that is trying to do all he can before he is ultimately punished.

God is not competing with him. So dualism makes it seem in some perspectives that God is actually you know fighting against the devil so actively that devil the devil actually has you know in some way the sovereignty of God equally.

But this is not true. God is not threatened and cannot be thwarted. Not by the devil and certainly not by me or you. The second modern error is this hypersensitive segmented view of God. And I think I hinted to this earlier it you know this is this makes God you know only allow good things to happen.

You know it's also part of the view that says that God is pretty much only love. You know forget his justice his righteousness and everything else. You know he is only love and he can only do good things.

So you know when the roof collapses on your house God didn't do that. He's not responsible for that you know he's just trying to do his best within this world. This is a hypersensitive segmented view that doesn't take into account the full attributes of God.

The third modern error is this feminization of God. This makes the sovereignty of God seem like it's overpowering and ultimately uncomfortable for people to really take in. They don't want a God that's so powerful that he actually controls all evil in the world but rather they want to be a little more comforted by you know their own actions and their own sentiments rather than allowing God to really be the one that is sitting above all the earth and all creation in directing his purposes to come to fruition.

The next modern error that I can think of is this lack of scripture. I mean most people you know you know when they begin their Bible reading plans don't make it too far and therefore they become Old Testament illiterate.

A lot of people also seem to have all their theology primarily focused on the New Testament. But you see the Old and New Testament are not two books. They're one book. They're one whole revelation and we need to use all of it to be able to give us proper descriptions and ideas about God.

And if you are Old Testament illiterate it kind of hinders what you can fully understand about God. Because the New Testament does not stand by itself just like the Statue of Liberty is not floating in mid-air.

It is on a pedestal it is on a foundation and the Old Testament is the foundation for the New Testament. We must put them together in order to be able to draw right conclusions of God. The next modern error I can think of.

Is this.

Individuality and materialism. This is the idea that life revolves around me. You know you can think of the Joel Osteens and the word of faith preachers or any other modern preacher and contemporary that seems to make everything in the Bible and being a disciple of Jesus really just about you being the best you you can be the name it and claim it crowd.

No. This is a modern error that renders God like just being attached to our ambitions and it really just makes us the true sovereigns of the universe where we can just speak things into reality. But that is not how it works.

Another view that I can think of here is the traumatic pain view. This is the view that typically takes place from the effects of seeing someone pass away. You know I once heard it said you know bad theology usually forms the quickest in the hospital room when someone is passing away.

You know we typically don't want to attest the fact that you know our child died from brain cancer as part of the decrees of God because we don't want to tell ourselves that God is actually going to use this disaster for some kind of good and it feels uncomfortable to be able to think about that in our heads.

So therefore we try to say no God didn't do that. And we try to erect different theologies that will make us more comfortable about God. And this also correlates with the feminization and the hypersensitive view because it creates a God that is not truly from the scriptures.

So we must be careful when traumatic things cause us to approve bad theology. The next modern error is a common one which we see through false teachers such as cults like Jehovah's Witnesses.

And Mormons.

And other prosperity teachers. And you know they just have the wrong God they have a completely different nature of God and person of God and some of these groups have a completely different scripture of God and therefore they do not have the one true God as seen through his proper revelation in the Bible.

The last modern error and this one I guess.

Could be considered.

A personal one if you're reformed you probably ran into many people who oppose your reform views so the last modern error I can think of is this overgrown anti-Calvinism. This is not just disagreeing with Calvinism this is proactively anti-Calvinism which usually doesn't like to understand the reform view in any measure and therefore draws wrong conclusions.

About it.