walking the real Christianity my name is Dale Partridge this is a 100% listener supported audio Ministry of relearn. Org our mission a tree learn.org is to bring the church back to the Bible we do that by offering it videos podcast articles and content that strengthen biblical and Theological Literacy for those in the church if you feel the Lord is leading you to support our ministry in any way you can do that at relearn. Org forward slash donate
 today's conversation is an important conversation about the origin and the existence of evil in the world many people have asked this question why is there so much evil why does God permit so much pain and suffering and we're going to be answering the specific question from someone who asks Pastor I never know what to say when I hear someone state that they don't know if God exists because of all the suffering and evil in the world does the problem of evil defeat Christianity what should I say to those who think it does now this is obviously a complex question and I'm going to offer the most simplified answer I can but even then it is still a difficult conversation to have but before I begin I just wanted to announce a few things
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 for deleting you towards this direction especially in these times where the church is continuing to increase our experience increased hostility toward the culture please check out Reformation Seminary, especially of for you brothers and sisters that are in Canada and Australia in places where we're starting to see more extreme forms of political persecution again that's Reformation Seminary, okay so let's get back to this question and I'll read it again he says Pastor I never know what to say when I hear someone state but they don't know if God exists because of all the suffering and pain and evil in the world does the problem of evil defeat Christianity
 so this is most often phrased in my experience how can a loving God
 allow such evil to exist and that is the god of the Bible this all-powerful Sovereign righteous loving and good God exist if his creation is overwhelmed with war and divorce and murder and tragedy and death and other words how can these two realities coexist with one another because if God is so good then why is there so much evil and if God is in control then why is there so much chaos but more importantly if God is omniscient and omnipotent and omnipresent and why does he not intervene and eliminate Evil all together
 are these questions plague the minds of not only atheist but agnostics are gnostics religious Skeptics but also Christians the complexity of these questions revolving you know it's a really revolves around the origin and the presence of evil. Actually been called it the Achilles heel of Christianity namely that these issues are somehow the central location of vulnerability right for the judeo Christian theological system now I agree that these questions are not easy to answer St Augustine Thomas Aquinas Luther Calvin Edwards Sproule MacArthur they've all put in normous
 intellectual and spiritual effort toward these questions and you know what they still have not come to a conclusive and final answer now. Said this does not mean that we don't have sophisticated and biblically supported explanations we do it simply means that there are still mystery behind elements of this discussion
 for example I'm in speaking to the origin of evil theologians often call it the mystery of iniquity and the attempts that we've made throughout church history to understand the origin and the existence of evil without compromising the righteousness of God is called The Odyssey and this is an English word that's made up of two Greek words say us which means god in Greek and de chaos which means righteousness in Greek or righteous
 and basically what I'm saying is that us the Odyssey is a defense of God's righteousness this podcast is really a a micro The Odyssey and a brief Christian explanation for the righteous presence of evil pain suffering with in the biblical worldview and I want you to catch that I said is a righteous presence of evil pain and suffering within our Biblical worldview so when God first created the world there was no Resident Evil there was no pain or suffering because there was no sin and sin which is the cause of evil queso here that sin which is the cause of evil it is also the cause of death now death by definition is separation okay in the Garden of Eden in Genesis chapter 3
 moral sin caused Humanity to be separated from God that is we died spiritually don't do the grass that concept of Separation death is separation so in the garden we send our Adam sinned and caused Humanity to be separated from God and we died spiritually Miz's wife Fusion to one tells Christians that we were dead in our trespasses and sins it's also why the the Bible repeatedly states that Christians have to be born again or been made alive in Christ I mean we have to be born again in the spirit right and we have to be made alive in the spirit because we have been separated from God we have died and been separated from God now we need to be born again or made alive in Christ
 that is that God spiritually resurrect his children and he does that through regeneration and repentance and faith in Jesus Christ moral sin is also the cause of physical death which separates our soul from her body and without repentance and faith in Christ the Bible actually tells us that we will experience a second. You can see that a revelation to 18 where our souls will be eternally separated from God but the effects of of sin and evil actually go much further than the death and separation
 they also include metaphysical evil which is like natural disasters storms tornadoes hurricanes physical evil such as disease and Decay and sickness demonic evil such as possession and Temptation the reality is and we all know this is that we live in a sin written evil world
 now the next question is what is evil and this is an important question what is evil we need to realize that evil is not an independent being or Force the evil is more like a parasite it it it only finds expression when it's connected to a host r.c. Sproul once said evil does not exist as an autonomous entity entity but it is an action of something that does exist
 you know basically what he said is it evil
 on its own doesn't exist it needs to attach itself to an entity in which sin can occur which evil will find it expression now even though evil does not exist in and of itself the effects of evil do exist in and of themselves and there's even an additional factor that needs to be stated that not only does evil require a host but it also requires its asked to be taken upon the backdrop of good and what I mean by that is without good you cannot categorize an action as evil evil which is the result of sin
 is first depended upon an entity Like A Parasite and second it's dependent upon the existence of good for example murder cannot exist without an entity willing to impart death upon an innocent party and a Morlock claiming the innocent life should not be taken okay now we have to somewhat Clarity on the question what is evil and the forms of evil
 and the presence of evil in these things are helpful for us as we're having this discussion and getting to the point of you know why is evil here and what's its purpose of the next question that needs to be answered is regarding the origin of evil and you know since evil is the result of sin where did cinnamon come from
 Romans 5:12 states that sin entered in by one man Adam that is that sin was not invented by Adam didn't start with Adam but it entered into the World by his Disobedience this means that prior to Adams false in was already present in some capacity and we know this because Adam and the Fallen Angels before him had the inclination to say and you cannot be inclined toward something that does not exist c.s. Lewis understood this concept when he wrote his book Mere Christianity
 and I quote creatures are not born with desires unless satisfaction for those desires exists a baby feels hunger well there is such a thing as food a duckling wants to swim while there is such a thing as water men feel sexual desire while there is such a thing as sex if I find myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world
 the obviously mr. Lewis is using this example of saying if we have a desire for heaven then it must exist it's a beautiful argument but in our case talking about Adam
 Adam felt the desire to sin because the possibility of sin already existed in this destroys the week Armenian arguments of man that the man initiated Adam initiated sin by his free will to disobey this doesn't answer the question about the origin of evil the answers the question of who was the first person to send
 now I do believe however the Adam did choose to Old Orchard to disobey but I believe that his choice to disobey though it was made without compulsion by God was for ordained by God to occur and we know this because the scriptures of Acts to 23428 1st Peter 1:22 explicitly teach that the Cross of Christ the crucifixion of Christ was foreordained before the foundation of the world therefore the fall of Adam that took place after the foundation of the world was a necessity for not only God's Plan of Redemption but also if we're to find our theology in alignment with the rest of the scriptures
 you know it edition of this the Bible is saturated with scriptures like Lamentations 3 37 Psalm 34 some 33 9 through 11 Isaiah 46:10 Proverbs 16:9 that demonstrate God's orchestration and design of all things
 they come to pass including sin and evil what Christians must really stop doing it when we get asked this question about the existence of evil in and why so much evil if we have such a good God we must stop attempting to free God of a usage and ordaining of evil to the lord of the scriptures is fully content to State his use of sin and evil to accomplish his purpose of John MacArthur once said and I quote we cannot divest god of the existence of evil he has taken responsibility for permitting its existence and quote
 and this isn't simply his opinion or my opinion either the Bible is filled with scriptures in support of this claim here just a few Isaiah 45:7 God says I form light and create Darkness I make well-being and create Calamity I am the Lord who does all these things that word Calamity in the Hebrew connect to be translated to disaster as well I Amos 36
 God says is a trumpet blown in a city and the people are not afraid does disaster come to a city unless the Lord has done it acts 22 or acts to 2223 men of Israel hear these words Jesus of Nazareth Nazareth a man attached it to you by God with Mighty works and wonders and signs that God did threw him in your midst as you yourselves know
 verse 23 this Jesus delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God you crucified and killed by the hands of Lawless men ask for 24in 28 Sovereign Lord says a prayer Sovereign Lord who made the Heaven and the earth and the Sea and everything in them for truly in the city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus whom you anointed both Herod and Pontius Pilate along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place
 which we know is the crucifixion and murder of his son Genesis 520 and speaking to the story of Joseph says quote as for you you meant evil against me but God meant it for good to bring it about that many should be kept alive as they are today so I'm 119:71 it is good for me that I was afflicted that I might learn your statutes Romans 8:28 talking to the sovereignty of God and the usage of sin as we know that for those who love God all things work together for good for those who are called according to his purpose
 all things work together for good all things everything that means it's God cannot make a claim on all things if God does not have sovereignty over the use of evil and suffering in this world
 he is orchestrating a designing these things Ephesians 1:1 says in him we have obtained an inheritance having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will all things if you didn't have sovereignty over evil he wouldn't be suffering we must remember that the god that were talking about is the god of Noah's flood the god of the plagues of Egypt the god of the initiator of Wars throughout scripture the inauguration of evil Kings the Striking down of Sinners the sender of serpents that the the power behind all natural disasters the architect of Jesus's crucifixion
 again if you would tempt to strip God of his use of sin and evil in his design for Redemption for those who love him you stripped out of his sovereignty
 and so then we arrived back at our original question
 does the presence of evil
 defeat Christianity
 is this truly the Achilles heel of our Christian faith
 No in fact I would argue that the presence of sin and evil does not defeat Christianity it conceived it that is it that the issue of sin is a fundamental basis for God's Plan of Redemption without sin we would have no need for the cross without the cross we would never understand the righteousness and mercy and love of God differently God for the sake of demonstrating his righteousness and Holiness to us has permitted sin in this world Romans 3:5 Paul sees this and he asked the question but if our unrighteousness serves to show the righteousness of God what shall we say he continues later
 in Romans 9 20 22 23 recessed what if God does Diary to show his wrath and to make his power known has endured with much patience the vessels of Wrath prepared for destruction in order that the purpose clause in order that he might make known The Riches of his glory for the vessels of Mercy those were saved which he has prepared beforehand for Glory and quote another word of God permitted sin so that we might know the fullness of his glory
 because without sin and suffering we would never know God's forgiveness and grace and mercy and Holiness and compassion and righteousness and love it is by the presence of sin and evil that we can see the glory of God shine most brightly
 not down does this mean that God has no desire or will to reduce sin and evil in the world
 does the presence of sin and evil mean that he approves of sin and evil certainly not
 it simply means that God has a Redemptive purpose for the entrance of sin into the world and according to his perfect wisdom he is determined that a world with sin would not only bring about his greatest Glory but also bring about our highest worship
 another word like everything else in the universe to even sin and evil will bring glory to God when I explain this to my children I often say to them
 how can we bring the most glory to the art of a white cran and my kids will respond by coloring with a Black Crown around it
 Mitzi ultimately guys
 his wrath and his judgment
 and even our sin will serve to magnify his glory that black cran will magnify the whiteness of the glory of God
 in 2010
 at the national league in your conference r.c. Sproul said evil is not good but it's good that there's evil
 a few years earlier John MacArthur made a similar statement in the same the same National Conference just a few years earlier he said is God made more glorious because evil exist or is he made less glorious because evil exists the answer is unequivocally more glorious that is our highest Praises of him are because of what he has done to overcome evil
 when does purpose
 I've sinned and God's triumph over it is most clearly seen in the predestined death of his son on the cross because he God by the permission of sin and evil in our world allowed pain and suffering but he didn't allow it just for us alone to God came down to earth in the flash of a man named Jesus Christ
 and while Jesus never sinned
 he did experience the effects of sin he like us he felt the pain and suffering of evil he experienced Temptations and betrayal and lying and demons disease and chaotic weather and ultimately The Experience murder
 and while we who have sinned deserve suffering the one man in history without sin experience more suffering than we ever will
 and while we deserve the Wrath and Judgment of God for our Disobedience against him the one man with perfect obedience that's Jesus Christ took on God's Wrath on our behalf
 It On The Darkest Day in human history the crucifixion and murder of Jesus Christ be the innocent and blameless Son of God the king of this world sacrifice for us what was most costly to him and he did this for one reason that we who believe might overcome sin and evil through the blood of his son to the praise of his glory
 in that day
 that day where Jesus was crucified the most evil day in human history
 is now called Good Friday
 and so while we may not have all the answers for why and how sin are present in our world we do know that we have a God who is determined to permit sin so that he may demonstrate his righteousness and love toward us who believe in his son
 and we also know that you know he has come in the flesh of Jesus Christ to triumph over sin and evil and its promise to return to restore the Earth and remove all forms of sin and all of its effects for all time so that we who believe
 will be restored to Glory with Christ so we must believe really that the words of Paul and Romans 8:18 he says for I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to compare with the glory that is to be revealed in US
 people this world it's broken sin and evil are painful but the Lord is using all of it for good for those who love him and are called according to his purpose he is using it to demonstrate the fullness of himself to us he is using it to show us how glorious and righteous and magnificent and loving he truly is salami to close with a quote
 the great. And writer Richard Baxter is it a small thing in your eyes to be loved by God
 to be the Sun the daughter the spouse the love the Delight of the king of glory
 Christian believe this and think about it because of Christ you will be eternally embraced in the arms of the love which was from Everlasting and will extend to Everlast
 Abdul of which brought the son of God's love from Heaven to Earth from Earth to the cross from the cross to the Grave for the grave to Glory. Love that conquered sin that love which was weary hungry tempted scorned discouraged buffeted spat upon crucified pierced which was fast and prayed Todd healed wept sweated blood and died that love will eternally embrace you
 I hope is that this episode was helpful and edifying for your walk in the comprehension in the understanding of the origin of the presence of evil in our world if a complex issue there are so many Fantastic resources on this topic you can check out things by dr. John MacArthur and Doctor r.c. Sproul both of their conference lectures on this topic are available on Ligonier website you can just search on the presents in origin of evil and you'll find both of those episodes again. That ligonier.org
 other individuals like Saint Augustine Thomas Aquinas Luther the bondage of the will which was written by Luther and the other works of Jonathan Edwards on the same topic are all fantastic resources for those that are looking to dig in more on this issue
 I'm not. Thank you guys for listening to this episode of real Christianity if your regular listener would you consider leaving a review on the show you don't even have to type and write anything you just need to tap the Stars if you do write something I will read it and I have been so encouraged by everyone of you who have left really kind messages or even critiques if you don't already follow us at relearn on Instagram or at Dale Partridge on Twitter please do so we're constantly producing more content that is bringing is stronger the illogical and physical Literacy for those of you in the church
 thank you for listening to this episode of real Christianity my name is Dale Partridge and I'll see you next week
 thank you for listening to this episode of real Christianity if your regular listener to the show would you personally consider making a donation to support our ministry efforts simply visit relearn. Org forward slash donate again that's relearn. Org forward slash donate and for those looking to explore the idea of joining or planting a church in your home you can download our free pdf ebook title the basics of biblical House Church by visiting relearn. Org for house last week do you have a theological question you would like answered on the show submit your question at relearn. Org forward slash question thanks for joining us on this episode of real Christianity we will see you next Wednesday