“Holy, Holy, Holy Lord
God Almighty, The Earth Is Filled With Thy Glory”
“I form the light, and
create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these [things].” (Isaiah 45:7)
“[Thou art] of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on
iniquity:…” (Habakkuk 1:13)
“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:” (James 1:13)
In above set of Scriptures, we find one of the supposedly
contradictory texts of the Scriptures.
On one hand, from the lips of the Lord Himself, He clearly states that “I create evil”. Then later in the Scriptures we find Habakkuk,
as he speaks concerning the Lord, says “[Thou
art] of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity:” then, to
add confusion to our subject, James states clearly that God “cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man:”
In this series of lessons, we will be looking into two basic
questions, first, “What Is God’s Role In The Existence of Evil ?” and,
secondly, “What Is The Purpose Behind The Existence Of Evil ?”
THE
STUDY:
Before
we begin this portion of our study, let’s pick up with the summary from our studies
so far …
1. “Evil” describes something that
causes harm or injury
2. “Evil” can be referring to harm that is so
severe, that it causes total destruction or uselessness
3. “Evil” can, but not necessarily, involves
moral wickedness
4. “Evil” can describe sin or it can describe the
results of sin
5. “Evil” can describe the direct results of sin
6. “Evil” can describe the indirect results of
sin
7. “Evil” can describe an act that is morally
wicked
8. “Evil” can describe, not the act, but the
result of moral wickedness
9. Evil is “the condition/act of sin, OR the
direct or indirect results of sin, that are harmful, and potentially ruinous,
to any part of God’s creation.”
10. Our Lord is in absolute control of all
things, this principle is clearly presented throughout the Bible
11. It is only because the Lord is in control of
all things that we can place our unwavering faith in Him
12. The Sovereignty Of God affects: His ability
to aid us, His answering our prayers, His ability to save, His prophecies to use
13.
The Lord is in control of Satan himself, who can do nothing apart from the
Lord’s allowance
We
will now attempt to come to an understanding about the holiness of God and the origin
of evil in this world….
Our Lord Is
Perfectly Holy (Separated From Sin)
When we speak of the
holiness of God, we are simply saying that God is completely separated from
sin. He is absolutely pure in character,
motives, thoughts and deeds. His
holiness was made manifest to the prophet Isaiah in Isa 6:…
In the year that king
Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and
his train filled the temple. Above it stood the seraphims: each one had
six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet,
and with twain he did fly. And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, [is] the LORD of hosts:
the whole earth [is] full of his glory. And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the
house was filled with smoke. Then said I, Woe [is] me! for I am undone;
because I [am] a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of
unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts.” (Isaiah 6:1-5)
Notice the effects of Isaiah’s recognition of the
holiness of God… “Then said I, Woe [is] me! for I am undone; because I
[am] a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean
lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts.”
The
holiness of God is one of His attributes that clearly sets Him above all of
creation. Sin has affected every area of
creation, however when Isaiah saw this vision of God he was humbled. Why? It wasn’t God’s great power or His great
majesty that brought Isaiah to his knees… it was the recognition of his
absolute sinfulness in the face of the holiness of God.
The
attributes of God that Isaiah recognized in his vision were also recognized by
the Israelites when they were delivered from bondage in the land of Egypt…
“Who [is] like unto thee, O
LORD, among the gods? who [is] like thee, glorious
in holiness, fearful [in] praises, doing wonders?” (Exodus 15:11)
Again, we
find the holiness of God being one of the main attributes that were recognized
by the humbled nation of Israel. Please
note His holiness is so extraordinary, He is described as being “glorious in
holiness.” In other words, His holiness
makes Him deserving of our worship, honor, reverence and submission. It sets Him apart from all of the idolatrous
gods of man and makes Him “shine” in comparison to them.
As a
matter of fact, His holiness is so extraordinary that we find He cannot accept
sin in His presence…
“[Thou art] of purer eyes than to behold
evil, and canst not look on iniquity:” (Habakkuk 1:13)
In the New
Testament we have testimony of the Lord’s holiness as well…
“This then is the message
which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.” (1 John 1:5)
Note how
John emphasized the complete, absolute holiness of God… “in him is no darkness at all”. The illustration that John uses is an
interesting one indeed. He uses the
picture of light to describe the holiness of God, in comparison to darkness
that represents sin (Acts 26:18). Just
as darkness CANNOT dwell in the presence of light, so too, sin CANNOT dwell in
the person of God (2 Cor 6:14).
The
holiness of God is not limited to the Father but is also exhibited in the
person of Christ….
“For such an high priest
became us, [who is] holy, harmless,
undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens;” (Hebrews 7:26)
What a blessing it is to know that the Lord that we
serve is absolutely separated from sin.
He cannot do wrong, He cannot make “mistakes”, He cannot lie, nor can He
treat anyone justly.
But also, getting back to our study, sin can in no
way come from our God. He cannot create
it, nor can He be held responsible for its existence among man…
“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: But every man is tempted,
when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath
conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth
death. Do not err, my beloved brethren. Every good gift and every
perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with
whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.”
(James 1:13-17)
James makes it crystal clear to us that, although
the Lord is absolutely sovereign, He cannot be held accountable for the sinful
actions of man. This is expressed in the first part of our above text…
“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: But every man is tempted,
when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath
conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth
death.”
But James goes farther and teaches us that the Lord
cannot be held accountable for the origination of sin when he says …
“Do not err, my beloved
brethren. Every good gift and every perfect gift is
from above, and cometh down from the
Father of lights, with whom is no
variableness, neither shadow of turning.”
James helps us to understand that the ONLY type of
gifts that proceed from God are “good” and “perfect” gifts. These descriptions totally eliminate for us
the possibility of sin proceeding from God.
To cover all the bases, James then reminds us that this holy God will
continue to be absolutely holy throughout eternity…. Therefore, sin will never
proceed from Him, nor will He ever be the author of it.
Folks, it is our great responsibility to recognize
that, although the Lord included sin in His sovereign plan, and allows the
occurrence of sin on a daily basis, He cannot be held accountable for that sin.
The responsibility for the existence of
sin must be placed at the doorstep of Satan…
“He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the
beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might
destroy the works of the devil.” (1 John 3:8)
“Ye are of [your] father
the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth,
because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of
his own: for he is a liar, and the
father of it.” (John 8:44)
Not only do we know that Satan is the originator of
sin and a causative force for it in this world, we also find that the Bible
teaches us that the responsibility for sin’s entrance into this world must be shared
with Adam….
“Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world,
and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have
sinned: (For until the law sin was
in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law. 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. But not as the offence, so
also [is] the free gift. For if through the offence of one many be dead, much
more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, [which is] by one man, Jesus
Christ, hath abounded unto many. And not as [it was] by one that sinned, [so is] the gift: for the judgment [was] by one to condemnation, but the
free gift [is] of many offences unto justification. For if by one man's
offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace
and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.) Therefore as by the offence
of one [judgment came] upon all men to condemnation; even so by the
righteousness of one [the free gift came] upon all men unto justification of
life. For as by one man's disobedience many were
made sinners, so by the obedience of
one shall many be made righteous.” (Romans 5:12-19)
In our study so far, we have now seen that the Lord
is in control of all things. Because we
know He is sovereign we must come to an understanding that the sins He has included
in His sovereign plan He allows to take place, all other sins He restrains.
We have also come to understand that, due to His
absolute holiness, sin cannot proceed from God in any way. Therefore, He cannot be the author, nor the
originator of sin. Although He has
included sin in His plan for mankind, Satan and Adam are the ones responsible
for the entrance of sin into God’s creation.
In
our next lesson we will be answering the question… “If God, due to His
holiness, cannot be the author of sin then what did He mean when He said “I
create evil”?”
THE PRACTICAL
APPLICATION:
What we have seen in our study so far….
We have attempted to come to a very basic understanding of the
term “evil” as used in the Bible. We
have come to see that:
1. “Evil” describes something that
causes harm or injury
2. “Evil” can be referring to harm that is so
severe, that it causes total destruction or uselessness
3. “Evil” can, but not necessarily, involves
moral wickedness
4. “Evil” can describe sin or it can describe
the results of sin
5. “Evil” can describe the direct results of sin
6. “Evil” can describe the indirect results of
sin
7. “Evil” can describe an act that is morally
wicked
8. “Evil” can describe, not the act, but the
result of moral wickedness
9. Evil is “the condition/act of sin, OR the
direct or indirect results of sin, that are harmful, and potentially ruinous,
to any part of God’s creation.”
10. Our Lord is in absolute control of all
things, this principle is clearly presented throughout the Bible
11. It is only because the Lord is in control of
all things that we can place our unwavering faith in Him
12. The Sovereignty Of God affects: His ability
to aid us, His answering our prayers, His ability to save, His prophecies to
use
13.
The Lord is in control of Satan himself, who can do nothing apart from the
Lord’s allowance
14.
The Lord is perfectly holy and separate from sin.
15.
Satan and Adam are the ones who are responsible for sin’s existence and
entrance into this world
May the Lord bless you as you continue to seek His truth.
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Settled In Heaven
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your study of His Word. Like God’s Word…
may your soul’s salvation and your life’s faithfulness be “Settled in
Heaven.”
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