The fact that God is good means that He has no evil in Him, His intentions and motivations are always good, He always does what is right, and the outcome of His plan is always good (see Genesis 50:20). In fact, suffering is often the cause for joy (Romans 5:3-5; Colossians 1:24; James 1:2-3).” Evil is a corruption of God’s creation brought about by man’s decision to follow their own desires rather than obey God. The silence that surrounds him is the silence that condemns him. When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it (John 1:1-5). As no good is done, or spoken, or thought by any man without the assistance of God, working in and with those that believe in him, so there is no evil done, or spoken, or thought without the assistance of the devil, who worketh with strong though secret power in the children of unbelief. As a consequence of this, many people choose to rebel against God, and violate his law, and thus there is evil, and God permits it, because he wants creatures to come into himself freely. God, the Great I Am, gives good gifts to His Children. Through the fall of mankind and the influence of spiritual entities (i.e. Anything contrary to the will of God is evil. God alone is good; there is no goodness apart from Him. He does not change (Psalm 55:19). Despite all opposing arguments, God is all-good and all-powerful. As we noted earlier, there’s a difference between moral and natural evil. While my latest book isn’t all about good and evil, it is about things like cynicism, compromise, pride, emptiness, burnout and more: the issues almost everyone struggles with and no one expects. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him (1 John 4:9). Well there's a question! The Bible opens with these four powerful words: “In the beginning God…” (Genesis 1:1). God is light, and there is absolutely no darkness in him (1 John 1:5). “God is love” (1 John 4:8, 16). Palm Sunday Scriptures: Bible Verses on Jesus' Triumphal Entry. For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16). We will … Evil is one half of a balancing scale. (1 John 3:1). Sometimes we are loving, sometimes we are not. When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate. This departure from God's design would lead Cain and others into despair and ruin. The best way to attain goodness is to abandon worldly things and seek communion with God like a saint in a monastery devoting himself entirely to the service of God. This objection does not disprove God. All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made. No vice whatsoever is present, not even in any nook or cranny. He is my rock! There is no evil in him!” English Standard Version to declare that the LORD is upright; he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him. Why didn’t God create a world in which, although we make use of the concept of evil, there are no instantiations of evil; a world in which we only have instantiations of ‘the good’? God is the only one who can redeem our lives, heal our broken hearts, and take what the Enemy meant for evil and use it for our good and for His glory. All rights reserved. Literally. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Zechariah 1:15 tells us that God tolerates some evil from nations; but when they are excessively evil, God punishes them. Without a standard of higher authority than the men and women affected by it, all there can be is likes and dislikes. This makes sense when we consider that He made everything and everything He made was good. I am the Lord, and there is no other, the One forming light and creating darkness, causing well-being and creating calamity; I am the Lord who does all these." Despite all opposing arguments, God is all-good and all-powerful. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away” (Revelation 21:1, 4, KJV). C. Therefore, a perfectly good God does not exist. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. “I form the light, and create darkness. He permits it, however, because he respects the freedom of his creatures and, mysteriously, knows how to derive good from it” (311). And they will reign for ever and ever (Revelation 22:3-5). The problem of evil in the world can be traced back to the time in Genesis 3. God Is Good, But He Is Also Merciful. In God’s order of things, evil was never part of His purpose and design. Psalm 145:17 The LORD is righteous in all his ways, and holy in all his works. 1. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. Skeptics use evil to disprove God. Just as God is light, He is also love. God is good, but in His goodness He also offers mercy to all, … “Can God exist?” We often ask this question as we look at the suffering and pain around us, and the question that is really on the heart is, “How can I come to understand how God is love when there is … God is in no way, directly or indirectly, the cause of moral evil. God, in monotheistic thought, is conceived of as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. The King James Version translates Genesis 22:1 as ‘God did tempt Abraham.’ 2 Chronicles 32:31 says about Hezekiah, ‘God left him to test him and to know everything that was in his heart.’ In 1 Timothy 1:20 Paul hands Hymenaeus and Alexander ‘over to Satan to be taught not to blaspheme.’ (i.e for their good). Light (God) existed and has always existed and always will exist, but light had not yet entered the scene, so to speak. It encourages us: “Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.” P2. Yet many doubt that God is real, despite the reality of both good and evil. There is no contradiction between Romans 13:1 and Hosea 8:4. Thus there can be no evil where there is no good. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. This Hebrew word for good (טוב, pronounced tobh) means pleasing and/or desirable. Psalm 23 is perhaps one of the most famous psalms of King David. For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 4:6, ESV). ). Romans 9:14 What shall we say then? They seem to have a good point, but the existence of evil, as you say Jason, only accentuates that there is a difference between good and evil – and that means there is a God. So there really is no logical problem. It can reference quality as well as moral goodness. Christianity doesn’t teach that there shouldn’t be evil. 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