The Existence of God and The Problem of Evil
In philosophy classes The Belief In God is often challenged in ways that make it out to be a logical absurdity. For example, we are told, if God is all powerful then can he create a rock so heavy that he cannot lift it?
Then there is the idea that everything has a cause, but God is the cause of all, or the First Cause. Then you are asked, well what caused God? How could He cause himself? What caused him to cause himself? And so on.
Let's take a specific example. 'God has put all things under his feet.'
Now remember that word 'all' means all! [Have you ever heard someone teaching error and supporting it by carping on the word 'all'? That is continually repeating that 'all' means all.]
So if God has put all things under his feet, then he must be under his own feet! Is God standing on his head or what? What kind of God is this anyway? Then comes the laughter and ridicule from 'those who profess themselves wise'.
Well for one thing, He is a God who expects you to use a little common sense. Here in this verse from First Corinthians He spells it out, giving us an example of using common sense. [A little common sense is a wonderful antidote to the errors that straightforward logical thinking, i.e. man's wisdom, lead to.]
For he hath put all things under his feet. But when he saith all things are put under him, it is manifest that he is excepted, which did put all things under him. (1 Corinthians 15:27)
Now after reading this, can you insist that 'all' always means all, or does common sense tell us that there are some 'obvious' exceptions?
Then there is what the philosophers call The Problem of Evil. If God is Good and he is the Creator, they why is there evil. The stock answer is free will. The free will of man allows for evil to be chosen, and man has to deal with the results. This just puts the question off a bit. Next you are asked well why is there free will if it produces evil. And How do you know there is free will, maybe it's all pre determined and if so then God is the ultimate cause of evil! Then the so called problem of evil becomes blaming God for the evil in the world. So you find people abandoning a belief in God when it should be obvious that He exists.
Now we are going to look at these matters and see first that there are limits to what God can and will do. And secondly we'll see that we can't accuse God of evil because we simply cannot judge things in many situations because there is no way for us to know all the facts. So the simplest and best course is to trust God and not depend on our own minds to figure everything out.
The Limits on God.
This article is partly inspired by something I heard in church once. That is:
God is not like some all powerful oriental despot who can just do anything he wants.
This remark immediately brought forth objections from some in the congregation. What heresy is this? Isn't God all powerful? Aren't all things possible with God?
Well there's that word 'all' again. With a little common sense and a search of the scriptures we can see that there are limits to what God can or will do. And most importantly we can find places where this is spelled out in scripture and illustrated in allegory and parable.
What are some of the limitations of God? Consider these:
He is limited by his nature and his word, as well as common sense and logic.
He cannot do something that is contradictory in nature.
He cannot deny himself.
He cannot swear by any higher, [so he swears by himself.]
He cannot contradict himself or go against his word.
He cannot lie. He cannot make a mistake. He never says 'oops'!
He cannot change what is written in his word. His scripture cannot be broken.
He cannot break his covenant.
He cannot fail to keep his promises.
He cannot let sin go unpunished.
He cannot show mercy where there is no intercessor.
He cannot show mercy where there is no repentance. [Intercessors can repent for others.]
He cannot ignore the cries of his people.
He cannot ignore the cries of the blood of the martyrs.
He cannot simply forgive the sins of all mankind and save everyone. No matter how much he may desire that 'none should perish' the requirements of Justice must be met.
Adam and Eve
When Adam ate the forbidden fruit, God simply could not change his mind and commute the sentence of Death. The seed of the fruit entered into Adam’s flesh and passed to his children. It eventually has to be purged.
This fruit was not an apple as often illustrated. It was a fig. Our clue is the skirts of fig leaves that they made for themselves once they saw they were naked. This is just a clue. The so called philosopher or skeptic may well object that this does not prove that it was a fig tree. Meaning that this scripture does not conclusively prove that it was a fig tree. Right. But we have to remember that God puts everything in his word for a purpose. So we have to take the clues he gives us and all the Holy Ghost to let us see the connection. To the skeptic who demands absolute proof, we can reply with the words of Jesus: 'He that has an ear, let him hear!' If you look at how the fig tree is used in scripture, you can see it’s association with the Law and with the nation of Israel, a people under the Law.
After all what is the knowledge of good and evil but knowledge of the Law?
When you eat an apple, the seeds are discarded with the core. But when you eat a fig, the seeds, which are so tiny and mixed in with the pulp of the fig are eaten too. The fig has no core.
We know the fig tree symbolizes the law and the leaves speak of self righteousness. And we know the letter of the law worketh or produces death. So by eating the fig man allowed the workings of death to enter and become part of his flesh. He took on the sentence of death all on his own. So Death comes not as an externally administered punishment for sin, but as a natural consequence.
Lust produces sin and sin produces death.
Romans tells us that Adam was of fore type of Jesus.
Ro 5:14 Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come.
And here in Timothy we read that Adam was not deceived.
1Ti 2:14 And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression.
So perhaps this means that Adam deliberately ate of the forbidden fruit, and took on the sentence of death, for the sake of Eve. For we see that Jesus willingly took on the judgment of death for the sake of His bride! Any time you follow the dictates of religion, which is the law, you are eating of the tree of knowledge. It produces death. When you follow the Lord Jesus in close personal relationship, you are eating from the Tree of Life.
Daniel in the Lions Den
In the Story of Daniel in the Lions Den, we can see the heart attitude of the Father reflected in King Darius. It would have been easy for him to use his power and make an exception for Daniel. But to do that, he would have had to break his word. So he refused to use that power. Daniel went into the den and came out again alive. [This speaks of death and resurrection, is there a clue here?.]
And then Daniel’s accusers were cast into the den, to their deaths. So it all worked out for the better after all since King Darius got rid of a lot of troublemakers. And since those troublemakers were rulers in his domain, they all had to be replaced. Most likely with people of Daniel’s choosing! This is also a picture of the end times when the ruling powers, accusers of the brethren, all of them, shall fall. They are to be replace by the saints who have the honor of judging them. Psalm 149.
David and Absalom
In the case of David and Absalom, the same father’s heart is shown in David. Only in this case, David is persuaded by the ‘Wise Woman of Tekoa" at the prompting of Joab, to use his power. The results are very instructive.
In the Law of Moses, there are very definite instructions on dispensing justice. The aim of these is clearly stated as So shall thou put away evil from among you [Israel]. Here is an instance in Deuteronomy where this principle is mentioned.
De 17:6 At the mouth of two witnesses, or three witnesses, shall he that is worthy of death be put to death; but at the mouth of one witness he shall not be put to death.
7 The hands of the witnesses shall be first upon him to put him to death, and afterward the hands of all the people. So thou shalt put the evil away from among you.
In the case of Absalom, justice was not done. Absalom was guilty of murder, but not punished. He was only banished and after hearing the ‘wise woman’, David decided to bring Absalom home. So for his sin, Absalom was not judged or put away but instead was forgiven without having repented!
Absalom was never confronted with his sin. He was never challenged to confess and repent; and never formally forgiven and healed. He simply had his banishment [a type of sentence of death, or of the second death] cancelled. He was never allowed to see David. That is he could not come into the presence of his father.
David failed to put away evil, with disastrous consequences. Even after the rebellion and civil war, David wished to spare his life. Yet Joab, perhaps regretting his earlier mistake, slew Absalom. David used his power, and perverted justice. What did it get him but more trouble! In the end there was neither justice nor mercy served.
Jesus' Temptation in the wilderness
The temptation of Jesus by Satan is a challenge and attempt to get Him to use His power and reach His goals in the wrong way. That is without satisfying the demands of justice. We are going to look at this in some detail so bear with me.
Matthew 4:
1 Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.
2 And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred.
3 And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.
4 But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.
5 Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple,
6 And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.
7 Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.
8 Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them;
9 And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.
10 Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.
11 Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him.
Let’s look at the first phase of the temptation. Jesus was hungry. Don’t forget that elsewhere in the bible it tells us that Jesus’ food is to do the will of the Father. So Jesus was not hungry for something to eat. He had just begun his ministry by being baptized in Jordan by John. Now after 40 intense days of communing with the Father, he wants to get on with it. He has been wanting to be about his Father's work since he was 12 or even earlier. So he is hungry to get started and do the Father’s will.
Satan wants to offer Jesus a way to accomplish his objectives, but it's a way that goes against the father's will and would not accomplish His work.
"If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread." Now why make stones into bread. How about some peanut butter too? How about some meat! And why change the stones. Just command some food to appear out of thin air. Just order up a Whopper, fries and a coke! The son of God can do this, can’t he?
Joking aside, what we have here is an allegory. There is a lot of meat here if we just look for it. Usually we just skip over such things, but sometimes the Spirit will provide a clue as to the meat is.
Well a clue to understanding this passage can be found in looking at the two elements, Stones and Bread. If you search the bible for verses that contain both words, these will come up.
Lu 11:11 If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent?
Mt 7:9 Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone?
10 Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent?
First note that we are making a double comparison here. Stones and Bread, Serpents and Fish, these elements make up an analogy. As stones are to bread, so serpents are to fish. As Jesus went about seeking to save the souls of men, he used good old figurative language to get his point across. When speaking to farmers, he talked about harvesting wheat. While talking to fishermen, he spoke of catching nets full of fish. Since the wheat makes up our bread, you can see that bread and fish are two major metaphors for saving souls. Stones and serpents stand for the unsaved. So lets expand the analogy like this. As unsaved is to saved so are stones to bread and so are serpents to fish.
The next element to consider is that Jesus speaks of a son asking a father for bread. This refers to Jesus asking His Father for the souls of men. This is found in the Psalms.
Ps 2:7 ¶ I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee.
8 Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession.
Elsewhere in scripture you can find mention of the stony heart contrasted with the soft heart or heart of flesh. That comparison parallels the Stones and Bread comparison.
Eze 11:19 And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them an heart of flesh:
2Co 3:3 Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart.
The bible also speaks of the temple being made up of living stones. Here those who are saved are described as stones. But you have to contrast them in a different way. Dead stones are the unsaved and living stones are the saved. Both are made from clay, the dust of the earth, but only one has Life!
There is another interesting comparison of Stones and Bread in the law of Moses.
In the passage beginning at Leviticus 23:10 The Lord gives instructions for observing the feast of first fruits. 50 days after that comes Pentecost, and on that day he mentions two loaves of bread.
Le 23:16 Even unto the morrow after the seventh sabbath shall ye number fifty days; and ye shall offer a new meat offering unto the LORD.
17 Ye shall bring out of your habitations two wave loaves of two tenth deals: they shall be of fine flour; they shall be baken with leaven; they are the firstfruits unto the LORD.
Now the feast of Pentecost is first celebrated 50 days after the feast of First Fruits. First fruits being the day Moses led the people out of the red sea and on to the far shore. First Fruits commemorates the redemption of the first born which actually took place the night they left Egypt.
That day is traditionally regarded as the day when Moses came down from the mountain bearing two tables of stone. The tables of stone speak of the Law and the Old Covenant. So what do we see happening at later observances of Pentecost? Well the passage above tells us about two loaves of bread. Two tables of stone lead to two loaves of bread. So stones and bread are compared once again. Stone speaks of the old covenant, and the law. The bread speaks of the new covenant and the spirit.
So comparing stones and bread is a symbolic way of discussing the saving of men’s souls by the establishment of a new covenant.
Let’s look back at the temptation again.
In this temptation there are three stages: Stones and Bread; Cast thyself down; and The Kingdoms of the World.
Each of these stages relates to one of Jesus’ purposes in coming here.
Stones and Bread has to do with saving the souls of men.
Cast thyself down is about being willing to give his life.
The kingdoms of the world has to do with regaining the full authority over the earth that Adam lost. He came to give His life for the souls of men, and to destroy the works of Satan.
In each case of the temptation Satan is offering Jesus the easy way out. He is suggesting a simple solution or course of action that will give him what he wants without having to go to a lot of trouble.
A. In the Stones and Bread, Satan is saying: Look here, you want to save the souls of men, right? Well just give the command, you have the power don’t you? Just go ahead and proclaim 'all is forgiven'. It's simple and easy, right? [Sure, look what happened when David did just that.]
B. In Cast thyself Down, Satan is saying: You came here to die didn’t you? Well why go through all the torture and torment that’s in store for you? Just jump off the roof here and have a quick painless death, you won’t feel a thing! It’s so simple anybody could do it!
C. In Kingdom’s of the World, Satan is saying: Alright Jesus, you want to get the kingdoms of the world back? No Problem! Just bow down to me! Just one time! Nobody will ever know! And you can have it all just the way you want!
Would you buy a used car from this character?
If Jesus were to just cast himself down, he would never become the passover lamb for us, never take on the sins of the world, and never fulfill dozens of prophetic scriptures that he must. This was definitely not the way to go. Jesus endured the suffering that the Father required because he had a revelation of the Joy to come as the author and finisher of our faith.
Heb 12:2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.
The Kingdoms of the World are not just the nations but Spiritual Domains as seen from a high mountain which speaks of the High Places! Jesus cannot just get these kingdoms from Satan. He will take them from Satan. There will come a point when He asks the Father. Then they are given to him by the Father
Isaiah 51 speaks of populating the heavens when Satan falls.
Isa 51:16 And I have put my words in thy mouth, and I have covered thee in the shadow of mine hand, that I may plant the heavens, and lay the foundations of the earth, and say unto Zion, Thou art my people.
In Revelation 11 we read that the Kingdoms of the world become the Kingdoms of our God and his anointed, Christ and the saints who are in Christ. Some of the saints will be given these kingdoms as their reward.
Re 11:15 And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.
16 And the four and twenty elders, which sat before God on their seats, fell upon their faces, and worshipped God,
17 Saying, We give thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty, which art, and wast, and art to come; because thou hast taken to thee thy great power, and hast reigned.
We also read there that he takes his power and reigns! This gives the phrase ‘our God reigns’ a whole new meaning.
Isa 52:7 ¶ How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth!
Now on to other topics. We are going to look briefly at these as each one could be a major study in itself.
He cannot ignore the cries of his people, and He cannot let sin go unpunished. Here are a couple quotes from Genesis.
Ge 18:20 And the LORD said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous;
21 I will go down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it, which is come unto me; and if not, I will know.
Ge 19:12 ¶ And the men said unto Lot, Hast thou here any besides? son in law, and thy sons, and thy daughters, and whatsoever thou hast in the city, bring them out of this place:
13 For we will destroy this place, because the cry of them is waxen great before the face of the LORD; and the LORD hath sent us to destroy it.
And here's on from Exodus
Ex 3:7 ¶ And the LORD said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows;
And this one is from first Samuel.
1Sa 9:16 To morrow about this time I will send thee a man out of the land of Benjamin, and thou shalt anoint him to be captain over my people Israel, that he may save my people out of the hand of the Philistines: for I have looked upon my people, because their cry is come unto me.
He cannot show mercy where there is no intercessor. This quote from Ezekiel is often cited as a proof text.
Eze 22:29 The people of the land have used oppression, and exercised robbery, and have vexed the poor and needy: yea, they have oppressed the stranger wrongfully.
30 And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none.
31 Therefore have I poured out mine indignation upon them; I have consumed them with the fire of my wrath: their own way have I recompensed upon their heads, saith the Lord GOD.
Unknown Factors present in God's dealings.
These next topics are given to show that our knowledge of God's dealings is always limited. And therefore we simply cannot understand [or judge] what he is up to in many cases.
Interference in the heavenlies.
This next quote from Daniel shows us that there are times we can't understand what God is doing in a situation, because there are things going on in the heavenly realm. And unlike Daniel, we don't have an angel to clue us in on what's really happening.
Da 10:12 Then said he unto me, Fear not, Daniel: for from the first day that thou didst set thine heart to understand, and to chasten thyself before thy God, thy words were heard, and I am come for thy words.
13 But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days: but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia.
Challenges in the heavenlies.
This quote from Job should make us realize that things can happen to us for reasons we can't understand. And that many things can occur that God did not cause.
Job 1:8 And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil?
9 Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, Doth Job fear God for nought?
10 Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land.
11 But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face.
12 And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of the LORD.
God conceals his plans.
And this quote from Judges should tell us that sometimes it's God's wisdom to conceal his plans from us until the proper time.
Jg 20:25 And Benjamin went forth against them out of Gibeah the second day, and destroyed down to the ground of the children of Israel again eighteen thousand men; all these drew the sword.
26 Then all the children of Israel, and all the people, went up, and came unto the house of God, and wept, and sat there before the LORD, and fasted that day until even, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the LORD.
27 And the children of Israel enquired of the LORD, (for the ark of the covenant of God was there in those days,
28 And Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, stood before it in those days,) saying, Shall I yet again go out to battle against the children of Benjamin my brother, or shall I cease? And the LORD said, Go up; for to morrow I will deliver them into thine hand.
In this case, God's plan was for His People to suffer a series of defeats so as to trick the enemy. Do you think it would have worked if they had known all the details ahead of time? No way Jose!
God has sealed his Word.
Once again this shows that sometimes it's God's wisdom to conceal his plans from us until the proper time.
Da 12:4 But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.
Da 12:10 Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand.
Conclusion.
There is a popular praise song that goes: 'God is Good, all the time!' Once I heard a pastor begin his remarks to the church by saying: "God Is Good!" And the crowd responded: "All the time!" Then someone in the audience yelled out: "He can't help it!" So there is one more thing God can't do. He can't help but be Good!
All this talk of blaming God for our problems comes down to unbelief. When all we have to do is this:
Pr 3:5 Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.