Why Does God Allow EVIL In The World?

Okay, we're going to take a little break from our Gentile mission series that we are doing to teach a lesson that was inspired by the series as I was going through it and to in part answer a question that often comes up and that is presented to us. It came up at least a couple of times this week and I know that when you discuss the subject, it's going to come up. And the subject is why is evil in the world and what should be done about it? Why is evil in the world and what should be done about it? Rarely is there a conversation about the fulfillment of all things, the fulfillment of all Bible prophecy and the coming of Christ being fulfilled, which is a part of that, on why is there so much evil in the world? Another question to ask is whether God will allow evil to exist in the world forever, world without end. And a couple of days ago, I have a Preterist friend and preacher in Ghana who called me to ask the answer to this question because he had a discussion that he was going to do. And even in the lessons that I've done this past week, the live lesson that I did, the question came up. And I wasn't given the privilege to answer the question because they're always interrupting and changing the subject whenever I'm in the hot seat, as they call it. But nevertheless, in the lesson that I did on the Gentile mission, I think it was either with Lot or Noah, this issue came up and I thought, had some different thoughts than I've had in previous time that helped to satisfy some things in my own mind. I don't know whether they will with yours. If you think it partially answers the question, I would certainly appreciate any feedback from you. But why does evil yet exist in a world where we are supposed to be living in the new heaven and earth after Christ has come, after all things have been fulfilled? The first reason in my judgment that God chose to, is rather, that God chose to never destroy the earth or evil people from it. And I think we don't give that enough attention when we're talking about the subject. But you heard it read in your hearing from Genesis chapter eight. But in Genesis six, God decided that he was going to destroy the earth and all living things because, and get this reason down now, because man's heart, every thought of the imagination of his heart was evil continually. And the Bible says it repented God that he had made man. And as a result, he was going to destroy man, this is Genesis six, five through seven. He was going to destroy man whom he had created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, creeping things and birds of the air, as he said, for I am sorry that I made man. Now, the Lord saw this weakness of man was great. And as we said, every thought and imagination of his heart was only evil continually. And because of the evil and the wickedness of man, God said, that's why I'm going to remove them from the earth. Now, that's what people think God should be doing today. Removing all the wicked people from the earth because they are wicked. But here's what God said after the flood. Genesis eight and verse 20, 21, excuse me, and 22. As was just read in your hearing. And the Lord smelled a soothing aroma. This is after Noah offers a sacrifice in verse 20. Before God, it was accepted before God. The Bible says the Lord smelled a soothing aroma. Then the Lord said in his heart, I will watch. Never again, do what? Curse the ground for man's sake, which is what he did in the flood. What's the reason? Although man's what? Although the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth. Do you see that that is a complete reversal of what happened in Genesis six and verse five? God said, I'm gonna destroy man and all living things from the earth because he is evil. But then after the flood, he says, although he is evil, I'm never going to do that again. So the question is, why are people looking for God to take all the wicked people off the earth? When he says, I will never do it again, even though man is just as evil as he was before. And then notice he says, nor will I again destroy. So first of all, he's never gonna curse the ground again. So why are people looking for the earth to be destroyed? Why? Then he says, nor will I again destroy every living thing as I have done. So there are two things. God says, I'm never going to do it, whether it's destroying the earth. And as I told you before, when I preached that lesson, that destroying the earth was rendering it non-functional. You couldn't grow anything, you couldn't do anything on it, et cetera. That was the destruction of it. It became chaotic, so to speak. But he says, I will never do that again. So it was never a complete destruction and annihilation of the earth, but it was a destruction of its functionality. And that's why he goes into its functionality in the next verse. He says, while the earth remains, what can you count on from God? Seed time and harvest, cold and heat, winter and summer, and what else? And day and night shall not what? Shall not cease. So the earth will never lose its functionality. And if he says day and night shall not cease, what is it that causes day and night to happen? That's right, Robin. It's the rotation of what? The earth. Which means that the sun, moon, and the stars are never going to what? Be destroyed or fall, literally. Yet when people read about the end time and they read about the sun, moon, and stars falling, they think that that's what it's talking about. So this verse tells you that God cannot in such verses be talking about the literal sun, moon, and stars because he says as long as the earth is here, it will never cease. Now some people say, well, what he meant was he's never gonna use water, but he's gonna use fire. Well, if he uses fire, doesn't that mean that he's gonna destroy it? And that would be a contradiction. So that doesn't work. It wasn't just the methodology or the agent that God used. He made a promise that he was never going to do it again. So that's reason number one. That the reason evil remains in the earth is God says, I'm not gonna destroy it and I'm not gonna destroy them even though they are evil. So what do we do? We get all depressed about that, don't we? I gotta live in this world with all these evil people. But the second reason that evil remains is by man's own choice to be evil. In the garden, Adam was given what? Two choices, a choice of death and life. God told him of every tree which is in the garden, you may what? You may freely eat, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you shall not eat. For in the day that you eat of it, you shall what? You shall surely die. So that's a choice, isn't it? Here's the choice to eat of every tree which is in the midst of the garden and here's another choice to eat of the tree that God says don't eat of which if you do, you will what? You will surely die. Now let's see if God twisted man's arm, if he put his knee on his neck, held him down to the ground, beat him with a club, tased him, handcuffed him or did anything of the sort to make man eat or was it the fact that man decided on his own that he was going to eat of the tree that God forbade him to eat of? The scripture says in Genesis three and the verse is six, after the woman is tempted, it says, so when the woman saw what? That the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes and a tree what? Desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, she also gave to her husband with her and he ate. That sounds like it was a free will choice to me. No outside pressure, no coercion other than her acceptance of the temptation that was presented to her which she could have chosen not to accept, right? The Bible says in first Corinthians chapter 10, I think it's verse 13. There is no temptation which is overtaken you that is not common to man. No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man. But God is faithful who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are what? Beyond what you're able but with the temptation also make the way of escape that you may be able to bear it. She could have just walked away, right? Said not today, but she didn't. In Deuteronomy chapter 30 and verse 15, under Moses, when Moses is giving Israel the law, this is what he said to them. He offered them a choice. Deuteronomy 30, the verse is 15. He says, see, I have set before you today, what? Life and good, death and evil. So looks like life and good is a choice, right? And death and evil is a choice. In that I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in his ways and keep his commandments, his statutes and his judgments, that you may live and multiply. The Lord your God will bless you in the land which you go to possess. But if your heart turns away so that you do not hear and are drawn away and worship other gods and serve them, I announced to you today that you should surely perish. Same thing he told Adam in the garden, right? You shall not prolong your days in the land which you cross over the Jordan to go in and possess. I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing, therefore do what? Choose life, that both you and your descendants may live, that you may love the Lord your God, that you may obey his voice and that you may cling to him for he is your life and the length of your days and that you may dwell in the land which the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob to give them. So God offered them a choice and said, you decide where you wanna be, what you want to be. Then we have Jesus in the book of Revelation, Revelation chapter three and verse 20. He says, behold, I stand at the door and what? And knock, if anyone hears my voice and does what? Opens the door, now when people come to your house and they knock on the door, do you have the choice to peep out the window and look at it and go on about your business or do you have the choice to open the door and say, come on in, that's your choice. And we make that choice, right? Depending on who's at the door, just hoping with the show up at the door would not open, right? No, I'll open it and let him in. But it's your choice. He says, if anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in, he's not going to break in on you. He's not a thief and a robber. He says, all that ever came before me were thieves and robbers. But he says, I'm the good shepherd. I'm not a thief, I'm not a robber. I'm the one who gives his life for the sheep. So the Lord is not going to burglarize your heart is what I'm getting. He's not going to make a forceful entry into your life. If you want him in, you must do what? You must allow him to come in. You must let him in. You must choose to allow God into your life. And he says, I will come into him and dine with him and he with me. And then in the end of the book, Revelation 22 and verse 17, the Bible says, and the spirit and the bride say come and let him who hears say come and let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take of the water of life freely. He's telling you over and over again to do what? Come if you want it, come if you're thirsty, come if you want the water of life. And you can take that freely, just as he said in the garden of every tree, you may eat freely. So the Bible tells us this in 2 Peter chapter two and chapter three, excuse me, and verse nine. The scripture says this, the Lord is not slack concerning his promise as some count slackness, but is what? Long suffering toward us. We know that was primarily to the Jews in the first century after they had crucified Christ, God didn't destroy them right away, not willing that any should what? Should perish, but that all should come to repentance. So we've just talked about man's desire, didn't we? Well, now let's look at God's desire. God's desire is that no one perishes. But he said, you've got a choice to decide whether you want to or not. And he cares that much about you that he's gonna treat you like a rational, intelligent human being that you are. You can make your own choice. How would you feel if somebody made every choice for you? But you can make any, that's not the way it works. And since the choice to remain evil is that of man, and since he does not, since God does not desire, or rather since man does not desire to come to Christ or to invite him in, then who is responsible for the wicked people on earth? Let me ask you one more time. Since the choice to remain evil is solely that of man, and since he does not desire to come to Christ or to invite him in, then who is responsible for man's evil heart and the reason that evil remains in the world? You have answered well. It ain't God's fault, is it? Why do we blame it on him? That sounds like that's our problem. Now, something else to think about. Man's life is very short when compared to eternity. Would you agree with that statement? It's very short. So think about this. All the evil people that you know, and even the ones you don't know, will be dead and gone in less than 100 years. You ever thought about that? Hmm? Yeah. The days of our lives, the Bible says, are 70 years. Some of y'all already passed that, right? And the rest of us are knocking on the door. I don't even have another year and some months. But the scripture says, and if by reason of strength they are 80 years, yet their boast is only labor and sorrow, for it is soon cut off and we fly away. Now, think about that. The Bible says that we have been given about 70 years of life. And if we take care of ourselves and are strong, we might squeeze another 10 out of that, right? And some people get, you know, a few more than that. And when we look at the situation, most of us are at the end of our days or nearing it, or we're living on grace by reason of that strength. So man's life on earth is very short compared to eternity. I want you to be thinking about this. Job said in Job 14 in verse one, man who is born of woman is of what? Few days and what else? Full of trouble. He comes forth like a flower and fades away. He flies like a shadow and does not continue. James said in James 4, 13, come now, you who say today or tomorrow we will go to such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit. Whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a what? A vapor that appears for a little time and then it does what? Vanishes away. Now, keeping that in mind, if we were to name any evil person or persons in the world, either they will be gone in 70 or 80 years, or we will. Is that true? So either way, we won't have to tolerate them anymore. So we only have about 70 or 80 years to deal with them. I never thought about it that way. Either we go or they go. We're all going. Well, but when you compare that to eternity, it's just the vapor. See, some things we don't reason about because we don't put them in perspective. And I'm gonna try to get you to put this in perspective before we're done. God only allows them to continue for a short time in this world. So either way we look at it, no one has to tolerate evil people any longer than their little 70 or 80 years that they're going to live on either side of that, depending on where you are on the timeline. So look at it now. How many more years do we have to tolerate evil people on the earth, personally? Not very long, right? So we can all be saying, well, hey, it don't matter to me. I'm gonna be out of here in about five, 10, 15 more years. You're gonna ruin your life over the next few you got because the other thing about it is most evil people can be avoided. Do you know hanging out with evil folks is a choice also? Peter said in 1 Peter chapter three and verse 10, for he who would love life and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from what? From evil. Okay, you wanna love life and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil. Is there anybody here who can say that they've been confronted directly with evil every day that you've been on the earth? You've never had a good day. We can't say it, can we? So even when we look at our 70 years, we gotta even reduce that by reality. If we would take the time to do it, it'd be too hard to figure out, wouldn't it? Because most of the time, the really bad things that happen as a result of evil, we can pretty much recall. So there's nothing compared to the time that we're here. So he says, let him refrain his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit. Let him do what? Turn away from what? From evil and what? Do good and let him seek peace and pursue it. So God says, if you want to have a lot of peace and satisfaction in your life, then that's what you need to be running after and not running after the evil. See, here's what God promises you. He promises that when a person dies, if he's a sinner, you will never see him again. It's just like he told, Moses told Pharaoh, when they wouldn't let the people go. And Pharaoh said, you shall never see my face again. I think Moses said, well, you haven't answered right. You'll never be seen again. And he got drowned in the Red Sea. Jesus said to the Jews, I'm going away and you will seek me and will die of your sin. And where you go or where I go, you cannot what? You cannot come. Now, I asked you earlier to compare the here and now that you have, because you don't have all the time that the earth has been here, do you? You just have your little carved out space of time. Now you compare that with eternity. And Jesus says, where I am, you cannot come. So the wicked can't come to be with you for all eternity. And so he said to them, if you do not believe that I am he, you will die in your sins. Now think about it. If you really want evil people or to never see evil people, let's see how bad we want evil people to be out of our life. If we really want to never see evil people again, guess what? All we have to do is die. So how many of us want them out of this world that bad? Am I making any sense? How many of us want evil people removed from this world so bad that we are personally willing to die so we don't have to deal with them anymore? They must not be too bad after all, right? That's what Paul said. Paul said in 1 Corinthians chapter five and verse nine, I wrote to you in my epistle not to keep company with sexually immoral people. Yet I certainly did not mean with the sexually immoral people. Notice now of this world or with the covetous or extortioners or idolaters. Since then you would need to do what? Go out of the world. He says, if you want to get rid of all of them, leave. But now I have written to you not to keep company with anyone named a brother who is sexually immoral or covetous or an idolater or a reviler or a drunken or an extortioner, not even to eat with such a person. But what am I to do with judging those who are what? Outside. Do you not judge those who are inside? But those who are outside, God judges. Therefore put away from yourselves the evil person. Now God tells us that if we got the evil person among us, put that person away. Don't tolerate that evil person. The Corinthians were doing just that. They were tolerating the evil person. They could have gotten rid of that one, but they wouldn't. But he said, if you want to get rid of all of them, then you leave the world. Now, let me just ask you this question. If God removed all the evil people from the world, how long would you enjoy such a world? I'm not saying it wouldn't be enjoyable. I'm just asking you to think about it. How long? Here's the better question. How long would you have in this life to enjoy a world where no people existed in? No evil people. Guess what? The same time you got while they're here. You wouldn't have any more time on the earth unless of course you were the subject of some type of accident or premature death, disease, storms, tornadoes, fires, hurricanes, blizzards, drownings, animal attacks, et cetera, which things would continue, wouldn't they? So you might could live here and not get shot or stabbed or beaten to death, but you would live a day longer in a world where no evil exists. So you could not experience time-wise any more of the world than you are now. Here's the other question. See, I said I was gonna ask you to put this in perspective. So far, it doesn't seem like you're willing to die to get all the evil people out. Would you give up your salvation for God to make the world free of evil people? Let me ask it again. Would you give up your salvation for God to make this world free of evil people? See, that's perspective, isn't it? Because here's what Jesus said. If anyone desires to come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. Watch this. For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world? So if you could gain all of the wicked people and make them good and lose your own soul, would it be worth it? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? So now you're telling me you're okay with God's decision to leave them here. God must have some wisdom about what he's doing. You agree. Leave them here, God. I'm not ready to go. I'm not about to give up my salvation for you to take them out. So let me ask you this. Is it fair for God to leave wicked people here for maybe a second? Would you say it would be okay to leave them here for a second, for a minute, for a day, an hour, a week, a month, a year? So if it's good for him to leave them here for just a moment, why wouldn't it be good for him to leave them here for a minute? Compared to eternity, not a long time. So here's another question for you. How many of you know some evil people who have become converted and are now living a righteous life? Should we all raise our hand? That's something to think about, isn't it? If God killed or removed all the evil people so you could have a stress-free life, how could any of us have hung around long enough to be saved? Suppose he would snuff out your life before, or he had snuffed out your life before you had obeyed the gospel. Then you wouldn't have been able to come to Christ, right? Wouldn't that be fair? You remember Jonah? Jonah wanted a whole nation of pagan Gentiles to perish because he did not want to share God with them. He was greatly disturbed that God extended grace and mercy and abundant loving kindness and was very slow to anger in bringing judgment against him. So Jonah was like a lot of people in here. He was so disturbed, so distraught, so disappointed that he wanted to die. He said, yeah, rather than God be merciful to them, let me die. Some people are willing to, and that wasn't for the whole world. It wasn't even for the people in his nation. It was just for the Pentecostals. One nation. He says, I'm willing to die, God, than to let you extend your grace and mercy and loving kindness to these people. But then God prepared a plant that came up and provided shade for Jonah. And then in a day, he prepared a worm to destroy the plant and therefore Jonah lost the shade. And he became angry and said he wanted to die. Why? Because Jonah had mercy on the plant that came up and died. Something that didn't even have life. But he acknowledged that it was right for him to have mercy on the plant. And so God asked him. He said, well, then is it right for me to have mercy on 120,000 people who don't know their right from their left and on the livestock that feeds them and clothing? So is it right for God to have such abundant mercy, such loving kindness that he can let wicked people live on this earth an entire lifetime if they want to? Because he's not willing that any of them should perish. And he's hoping that one day, one of us or several of us over however long it takes will drop by their house, meet them on the bus, meet them at work, invite them to a worship service or whatever, take them some food, help them out of a difficulty, whatever it takes that we will do that will cause them to change their hearts and minds and be saved. You see, another reason I believe God leaves the wicked people here. So you could be saved, I could be saved, and everybody else could be saved from their sins because the scripture says there is none righteous but no, not one. All fell short of the glory of God. All have sinned. That makes us all wicked from the standpoint of God. And we may not do all the same things, but if you are not with him, you are what? Against him. So maybe we should look at preaching the mercy of God through the gospel, showing them true worship, showing them kindness, serving them. If this life is worth showing mercy to one evil person, is worth showing mercy to all of them. Remember what the Apostle Paul said in 1 Timothy chapter one and verse 12 and following. He says, and I thank Christ Jesus our Lord who has enabled me because he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry. Now watch, although I was formerly a what? A blasphemer, a persecutor, and an insolent or arrogant man, but I obtained what? Mercy, because I did it how? Ignorantly in unbelief. How many of the people out there in the world who are wicked are doing what they do out of ignorance? They don't know any better. And that's what God said about the people in Nimba. He said they can't determine their right from their left. So it appears that this life is worth showing mercy to the wicked. And if some fall through the cracks, and they will, lots of them will, but it's like one of the Bush presidents, I don't remember which one, I think it was the daddy. If I had it right, if I don't have the right person, the point of the message is the same. He told a story about the man walking with his son along the seashore. And literally there were just hundreds, perhaps thousands of starfish that were laying on the seashore out of the water. And as the little boy walked along, he would pick up one, and he'd throw it back into the sea. Come to another one, he'd pick it up, and he'd throw it back into the sea. Come to another one, pick it up, and he'd throw it back into the sea. And finally his father said to him, why are you picking these starfish up and throwing them into the sea? He says, there are so many of them out there, it's not going to make any difference. And the little boy looked up at his daddy and said, he picked up another one, he said, it'll make a difference with this one, threw it back into the sea. Did it make a difference for you? That somewhere, somebody picked you up off the seashore and threw you back into the water. So that you could be saved. Jesus said, what man of you having a hundred sheep, he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety at nine in the wilderness, go after the one which is lost until he finds it. And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors say to them, rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep, which was lost. I say to you that likewise, there will be more joy in heaven over what? One sinner who repents that over 99 just persons who need no repentance. So rather than complain and question about why the wicked are here, our job is to go find the starfish on the seashore, to go find the lost sheep and bring them back. And if we have that idea, the wicked are never going to really bother us. After all, we got about a few more years to even tolerate you, right? With that, that's the lesson brothers and sisters. I hope that it's been helpful to you, giving you a few more insights on why God will allow this world to continue world without end, without taking the wicked off and trying to make the utopia out of it. He doesn't need to, he's already made a utopia out of the place that you go when you leave this world. You only have a short time to be here. Let us use that time wisely. Let us be thankful to God and let us be more concerned about how we can help those who have not found their way to the tree of life, to the salvation that God has held out for us. At this time, we're going to invite everyone to stand, turn to selection number 642 as our song of invitation and let us sing.