What About Evil?

18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; 19 Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. 20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: 21 Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. 22 Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, 23 And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things. 24 Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves: 25 Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen. 26 For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: 27 And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet. 28 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient; 29 Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, 30 Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, 31 Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful: 32 Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.

Introduction:

This week we have witnessed such evil on our doorstep, with the bombing in Manchester. An act of terrorism that took the lives of so many so young. We all woke up to the devastating news on Tuesday morning, we were appalled, and sickened to our stomachs as the carnage and tale of horror was relayed.

Such evil, it becomes so apparent, so real when it gets close to home, but lets be clear about it, this world if full of evil. Its a wicked world out there, and day and daily there are unspeakable acts being carried out, all over the world.

For many unbelievers they have a hard time understanding why evil exists.

Many people have a hard time in their mind understanding how a good and a loving God could allow such evil things to take place in the world?

I wanted this morning to address the subject of Evil in the World

So why does evil exist in the World?

I. Evil Exists Because of Society

A. A Society Full of Pride

Sometimes people do evil things because of their pride.

Pride is a big problem in the society in which we live in and many times it is that pride that leads to people doing evil things.

Proverbs 16:18 KJV 1900

18 Pride goeth before destruction, And an haughty spirit before a fall.

Furthermore,

1 John 2:15–16 KJV 1900

15 Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.

teaches us that sin often times results from people’s pride.

Pride says that we are in charge, it thinks more highly of ourselves than we ought. People who deal with pride do not like to be told what they can and cannot do; therefore being subject to commands and rules is not easy. People who deal with pride often think they have the right to act out. Many of the most wicked people in the world have done the things they have because of their pride.

B. A Society Without Fear of God

I can guarantee that if more people feared God then there would be less times we would have to talk about evil things that take place. There would be less shootings, there would be less violence and there would be more good done.

A lot of sin and evil comes because people really do not fear God in their lives.

Romans 3:11–18 KJV 1900

11 There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. 12 They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one. 13 Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips: 14 Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness: 15 Their feet are swift to shed blood: 16 Destruction and misery are in their ways: 17 And the way of peace have they not known: 18 There is no fear of God before their eyes.

People today cannot fear a God they do not believe in. Years ago many people did what was right because they had a fear of God, and that motivated them to keep out of trouble. Now since many people do not believe in God, they have no one to fear, and since there are no consequences in their minds beyond this life for their actions, then in their minds it does not matter what they do. They have nothing concrete to deter them from doing evil.

C. A Society Without Love

Some people do evil things because they do not have a true love for other people. You cannot act violently to people that you really love.

Many people act out in evil because they do not love.

You remember the greatest command is to love the Lord your God and the second greatest is to love your neighbour as yourself.

Matthew 22:37–40 KJV 1900

37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

I would assume that if people would obey those two commands there would be a whole lot less evil done to other people.

A lot of evil stems from a lack of love. When you think about a lot of the terrorist activity and how some so willingly take lives, you can see plainly that hatred fills their hearts and not love. A lot of evil comes from a heart that is full of hate and empty of love. We as Christians need to ensure that we are being an example to others as to what it means to love one another. If you love others you will not only cease from doing wrong to others, but you will also do good to others.

D. A Society Without Respect of Authority

One of the main problems of our society, is that people today do not respect authority.

In fact, children are brought up today taught to question or challenge authority in any way that they can. We cannot forget that we are called to be submissive to different type of authority that God has established.

Judges 21:25 KJV 1900

25 In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes.

The reason children disobey their parents, people break the law so readily, and sin against God is because they have no respect for any authority. Perhaps this stems back to pride, but people often times do not like to think about any person in a position of authority over them and they certainly do not like the idea of someone setting rules for them as to how they are to live. A lot of evil comes from a lack of respect for authority, whether that authority be in the home, in the government, or whether that authority is God himself. We need to be willing to submit ourselves to authority.

E. A Society Without Accountability

A lot of evil takes place because people are not accountable to anyone for their actions. We are taught today that it really does not matter what you do, and that if we talk about your evil actions than we become judgmental. We are taught that what we do is our own business and that it is no one else’s. It used to be that kids were always accountable to their parents and that accountability deterred them from doing a lot of things, but now with the breaking apart of the home often times there is no one for kids to be accountable to.

We need to realise that there are consequences to our actions and there are people we are accountable to for what we do. If we break the law there are consequences and we will have to give an account for what we have done. If people who consider the consequences and remember that they are accountable to someone else for the things that they do than there would be less evil done.

Many people see themselves as their own person, and they think they do not have to answer to anyone at anytime.

More than being accountable to people on earth for our actions, we are also accountable to God in the end for our actions. Many people act the way they do because they do not think that there is a God to whom they must give an account.

One of the greatest tragedies that exists in the world today is teaching children that God is not their creator and certainly is not their judge. If kids growing up today believe they evolved from animal, why not act like animals Moreover, if they believe they were not created they certainly do not think they will be judged. When I know that I am accountable not only to man for my actions, but also to God it keeps me in line.

1 Peter 4:3–5 KJV 1900

3 For the time past of our life may suffice us to have wrought the will of the Gentiles, when we walked in lasciviousness, lusts, excess of wine, revellings, banquetings, and abominable idolatries: 4 Wherein they think it strange that ye run not with them to the same excess of riot, speaking evil of you: 5 Who shall give account to him that is ready to judge the quick and the dead.

Whether people like it or not, or whether people realise it or not, each person will give an account to God for their lives.

Romans 14:12 KJV 1900

12 So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.

Knowing this fact causes us to live in obedience to his commands, but having no sense of accountability for our actions leads us to act out in evil.

It sure would help if people were accountable at work for their actions, at church to the leadership for what they do and how they live, at home by their parents, and ultimately in Heaven by God himself. Knowing that we are accountable to people will hinder sin from running rampant.

F. A Society Without Standards

One of the most obvious reasons for evil in the world is because there are many varying views on what is evil and what is right and wrong. It is one thing to do something wrong, but it is different when you do something wrong and feel no guilt or remorse from it. The reason people can do that is because they don’t think what they did was wrong. In other words, they have no standards or wrong standards.

Some people see nothing wrong with homosexuality; therefore they have no guilt for their actions. How can they have guilt for something they do not see as wrong? Fundamental Muslims sincerely believe they will be eternally rewarded for killing people who do not believe what they believe.

We look at things like what happened in Manchester and consider them evil, most people consider it evil, but to the people involved they thought sincerely what they were doing what right because they have a different standard. That is a big problem.

If there are millions of different standards in the world which people live according to and only one standard by which we will be judged by then we have a problem.

Our problem is we sometimes try to set our standards based on what we think and what we feel rather than on something objective like the Word of God, which is our standard of judgment.

Hebrews 5:14 KJV 1900

14 But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.

A constant use of the Word of God helps us to distinguish good from evil. It teaches us right from wrong in the eyes of God. A lot of people in the world have no moral standards by which they live at all, and they show it through how they act. What makes people unashamedly do the things that they do? Their standards or lack of standards! We need to make sure that we teach ourselves the correct standards through God’s Word and if we would do that and if everyone had the same standards of what is right and wrong, less evil would take place.

So evil exits because of society, then secondly...

II. Evil Exists Because of Sin

Many people, even non-Christians realise the problem of evil in the world today. Many of those people look for answers.

It is not uncommon to hear people in the media asking the question, “What causes people to act in this way?” and they will come up with many varying different problems all of which may have had some relevance or truth.

They talked about upbringing, they talked about depression or other mental disorders, and they talked about how other people may have caused the offender to act out.

Do you know what one word I never heard mentioned? Sin! No one ever said that people act this way because they loved sin, because they harboured sin in their heart and allowed it to fester and grow without dealing with it.

They wanted a quick and easy answer to why these things in the world take place, and the main reason they take place is because of sin, or a violation of what God has commanded.

We live in a world full of people who have chosen to sin and do opposite of what God has said to do

James 1:13–15 KJV 1900

13 Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: 14 But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. 15 Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.

Incidentally, when someone wonders how a good and loving God can allow evil in the world, they forget that God has commands, laws, and helps in place to combat that evil.

They also forget that there are consequences for that evil and more than that a future punishment for the evil that is done.

Romans 12:19 KJV 1900

19 Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.

One day all sin will be dealt with.

John 12:48 KJV 1900

48 He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day.

When you are outside of Christ, you are a slave to sin, and sin dominates your life. It controls what you do and how you think. It drives you and it influences every aspect of your being. That is why there is evil in the world.

III. Evil Exists Because of Satan

We can talk about a lot of different reasons for the evil that takes place in the world today, but one you will not hear many people talk about is Satan.

Satan does not cause evil, but he can influence people to do evil things. In the Bible Satan is even called “the evil one”, and His temptations can strongly influence a person to do that, which is evil.

We live in a society where we do not like to take responsibility for our actions. If a person commits a crime it is not uncommon for the person to blame everyone but themselves for their actions. They will talk about how their bad upbringing caused them to do it, or how someone else made them do it.

People will use the insanity defence if they can to escape any responsibility for their actions.

There is a real Devil in the world, which seeks to lead us into temptation, and He has real powers, but in the ends it is our choice to give into those temptations. We must take some of the responsibility ourselves for the evil that we do.

Conclusion

The good news is that God does have an answer to the problem of evil in this world.

We as Christians cannot escape from this world now. The evil that we see around is simply a reality that we cannot avoid and its going to get worse. There is good news though.

The good news is that there is a future place for those in Christ where there is an absolute absence of evil.

Revelation 21:27 KJV 1900

27 And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb’s book of life.

Many people who doubt God want to know why there is evil and why evil exists.

They want to know why God does not defeat that evil, well the answer is that He has and He will, and there is coming a day when we will be together in a place where there is no sin, no temptations, and no fear of somebody doing something evil to you.

That future place we call Heaven and it will be wonderful. Nothing impure will enter there, but only they whose names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.

Is your name written there? If you are like most people a place where there is no evil and no sin sounds like a great plan, and that is where God wants you to be, and that is His permanent solution to the problem of evil in the world.

b. A promise of hope and peace in spite of evil

Well…what is in it for us now? How do we make it a world where there is constant evil all around us? I will first of all tell you that it has been and can be done.

Noah did it in world where everyone’s thoughts were only on evil all the time, he was found blameless and found favour with God.

Lot did it in the midst of a pagan city with unspeakable immorality.

Joseph remained faithful in pagan, idol-worshipping Egypt.

Elijah remained faithful in the midst of a world that was also given to idolatry.

Daniel and his three friends remained faithful in Babylon despite laws directly attempted to cause them to be unfaithful.

Many of the Apostles encountered great wickedness in the areas they entered as they attempted to spread the gospel and they remained faithful.

They didn’t give in, they didn’t compromise their moral and convictions and they remained faithful to God until the end.

In this world God does not promise life will be easy.

He does not promise we will never encounter pain or heartache.

He doesn’t promise we won’t see evil or even be the victims of evil,

however he does promise us hope and peace in spite of the evil.

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