When we grapple with the question of evil, our source to answer that question is the Bible. While the Bible does not provide us with all the answers we seek, God graciously gave us the account of how everything began.
We know about a Creator and His creation. We know that what God created was good and very good.
But then something happened!!!
“You won’t die!” the serpent replied to the woman. “God knows that your eyes will be opened as soon as you eat it, and you will be like God, knowing both good and evil.”
The woman was convinced. She saw that the tree was beautiful and its fruit looked delicious, and she wanted the wisdom it would give her. So she took some of the fruit and ate it. Then she gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it, too. At that moment their eyes were opened, and they suddenly felt shame at their nakedness. So they sewed fig leaves together to cover themselves.” Genesis 3:4-7 NLT
The further we read, the more we learn about how the serpent deceived Adam and Eve, and they chose to disobey God’s command.
Because of their disobedience, sin and death entered the world.
From there humanity has been plagued by the condition of sin.
“When Adam sinned, sin entered the world. Adam’s sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned. Yes, people sinned even before the law was given. But it was not counted as sin because there was not yet any law to break. Still, everyone died—from the time of Adam to the time of Moses—even those who did not disobey an explicit commandment of God, as Adam did.” Romans 5:12-14a NLT
“For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.” Romans 3:23 NLT
Because humanity is sinful, they will do bad things like steal, lie, cheat, or kill. The actions of people drive evil. They chose to behave in a way that is not good.
Thankfully, God has offered a way to redeem the sin that originated in Eden so long ago.
Jesus became the second Adam to pay the penalty of sin.
“Now Adam is a symbol, a representation of Christ, who was yet to come. But there is a great difference between Adam’s sin and God’s gracious gift. For the sin of this one man, Adam, brought death to many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and his gift of forgiveness to many through this other man, Jesus Christ. And the result of God’s gracious gift is very different from the result of that one man’s sin. For Adam’s sin led to condemnation, but God’s gift leads to our being made right with God, even though we are guilty of many sins.” Romans 5:14b – 16 NLT
When we look at the world, we recognize that people contribute to some of the evil we see or might experience. Sinners behave in such a way that it hurts people. When we are wronged, it hurts. Sometimes people are in situations of hurt for extended periods. It could be voluntary or involuntary, but a wrong is being done to them.
Just like Adam and Eve, humanity has a choice about whether to act in good or evil. Therefore, the fall and sin are reasons why evil exists in the world. So why did God allow Adam and Eve to sin? Why did he not stop them? Well, that leads us to our next reason: free will. Which we will discuss next time!! Stay tuned!
References
A Visual Guide to Biblical Apologetics by Joseph M. Holden and Sarah R. Enterline
Why Does God Allow Evil? By Clay Jones
Without a Doubt Answering the 20 Toughest Faith Questions by Kenneth Samples
Christian Apologetics by Douglas Groothuis
