2. What is evil, where did it come from, and who is to blame?

Watch this lesson on YouTube, or listen to it here.   

Access the slide deck here. 

1) God created everything good.

A)   “Good” in the creation narrative is found seven times (Gen. 1:3, 10, 12, 18, 21, 25; 2:31).

1) There was no evil or suffering in what God made.

2) There was plenty of food (Gen. 2:8-9).

3) It seems that there was no need even for the death of animals (Gen. 9:1-7).

4) There was shame (i.e. no need to feel the need to cover up) (Gen. 2:25).

5) There was no death (Gen. 2:9; 2:17; 3:22).

B) cf. Rev. 21:1-5 – The description of God’s new creation points to what his original creation was intended to be.

C) Others (Deut. 32:4)

D)   Even Satan was created good and perfect (Ezek. 28:13-15 – Note about the king of Tyre; Job 38:4-7).

E) This class is about the problem of evil, which means that God obviously built in the possibility of evil, and we will need to talk about that. But, for now, simply note that what God made was good.

2) Then, the fall happened.

A)   Gen. 2:16-17 – “…for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”

B) Gen. 3:1-8 – This is the introduction of moral evil (i.e. A freewill agent chose to act against God).

1) Satan fell (Ezek. 28:16-19; Is. 14:12-15 – Note the king of Babylon). Angels sinned and were cast into chains of darkness (2 Pet. 2:4; Jude 1:6).

2) The order that God created among humanity and animals broke down. Instead of man having dominion over all created things, they listened to the serpent.

3) The order of marriage broke down. Instead of woman being a helper to the man, she instead helped him defy God.

4) v. 6 – There was open rebellion against God’s will.

5) v. 7 – Shame entered into the world, and humanity felt the need to cover up and hide.

6) v. 8 – Adam and Eve hid from God’s presence.

7) Other passages about sin and its consequences (James 1:14-15; 1 Jn. 3:4).

C) The serpent’s curse (vv. 14-15)

1) Now, there will be enmity between Satan’s offspring and the rest of humanity (Eph. 6:12).

D)   The woman’s curse (v. 16)

1) God’s command was to multiply and fill the earth, but now there is going to be pain in the process.

2) God created the woman to be man’s helper, but now she is not content with that.

3) Instead of a loving working relationship between the man and woman, the man will rule over the woman.

E) The man’s curse (vv. 17-19)

1) “Cursed is the ground because of you”

(a)   This is the introduction of natural evil (i.e. earthquakes, tsunamis, famine, drought, floods, tornados, hurricanes, etc.).

(b)   Adam was made from the ground to care for the ground, and instead he brought a curse upon the ground.

(c)   Rom. 8:19-22; Jer. 12:4, 10-11

2) Food will no longer be freely provided as it originally was.

3) Life is going to be hard.

4) Death entered the world (Rom. 6:23).

(a)   This is where physical suffering comes from (i.e. disease, birth defects, illness, etc.).

(b)   It is important to remember that God made us good, and these were not a part of his original design.

F) Spiritual death away from the presence of God (vv. 22-24)

1) This is ultimately hell (2 Thess. 1:9)

3) Who is at fault?

A)   Again, we can ask the question about why God would create a world where HE KNEW this would happen.

B) But who created the situation that we are in today?

1) Every single bad thing that exists today is ultimately a result of sin.

2) It may not be that I am being directly punished for some specific sin I have committed, but sin is the problem…

3) …and I am a sinner. I have played a part in the way the world is.

(a)   Everyone is guilty (Rom. 5:12; 3:23; Ps. 14:1-3).

(b)   Prov. 19:3 – “When a man’s folly brings his way to ruin, his heart rages against the Lord.”

C) Not taking responsibility for the problem is a part of the problem.

1) Gen. 3:9-13 – Nobody was willing to take responsibility for the problem.

2) This is the first practical lesson in this class about dealing with suffering and evil in the world. Before we come to God with our criticisms and complaints about what he made and why he made it that way, we need to first own our part in the problems of the world.

(a)   Part of this is the hurt and suffering that I have directly caused by my sinful behavior.

(b)   But part of this is just by contributing the sin that causes all creation to groan.

D)   Knowing this should cause me to HATE sin with every fiber of my being. Every ounce of pain that I have ever experienced, or watched someone else experience, was ultimately caused by sin, of which I have contributed. This hatred of sin and its consequences is one of our main drivers for being different tomorrow. Sin is not just a bad choice that one flippantly makes. It is one more contributing factors to the curse that this present world lies under.