We may have wondered why a good God doesn’t take away evil. Why does He let evil continue?
The short answer is God allows us to have a choice. For the time being, we can allow ourselves to be overcome by evil or we can overcome evil with good (Romans 12:21). In the future, God will make all His enemies to be under His feet. But in the present time, we have a choice, and we can choose whether to live our lives God’s way.
Let’s explore some reasons why God allows evil to exist for the time being.
What is evil and how did it get here?
Evil is a twist or corruption of what is good. The reason there is evil or wickedness is because of rebellion against God. Humans were not the first to rebel against God. Before God created mankind, there was already rebellion.
The Bible tells us that some angels (ministering spirits in the heavenly places) rebelled against God. The first rebellion was led by an angel named Lucifer, who due to pride, wanted to be God.
“You were the anointed cherub who covers,
And I placed you there.
You were on the holy mountain of God;
You walked in the midst of the stones of fire.
You were blameless in your ways
From the day you were created
Until unrighteousness was found in you…
Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty;
You corrupted your wisdom by reason of your splendor.” (Ezekiel 28: 14-15, 17)
Lucifer became Satan, and led a host of angels with him in rebellion against God. The Bible says that in the end, one third of the angels ever created would be enemies of God. “Then another sign appeared in heaven: and behold, a great red dragon having seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads were seven diadems. And his tail swept away a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth” (Revelation 12:3-4).
[The stars mentioned here represent angels, because the Bible says elsewhere: “As for the mystery of the seven stars which you saw in My right hand, and the seven golden lampstands: the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.” (Revelation 1:20)].1. Power alone will not quash rebellion of the heart
From Scripture, we can see there have been several angelic rebellions. Some of the fallen angels think they can rule better than God. Some of them abandoned their stations and went after what was forbidden (Genesis 6:1-4, Jude 1:6-7).
The main argument the fallen ones use is that there are other ways than God’s way. They challenge God’s authority.
By God’s power and strength, He can immediately imprison and judge His enemies. But the rebels will not acknowledge defeat. Power alone cannot crush rebellion of the heart.
The fallen angels think they have found a new, better way to live – a way that is the path to freedom. But God says His truth sets us free and His is the only way that leads to life.
Who is right and who is wrong?
To prevent future rebellions, God demonstrates His righteousness by showing us that His way is the best.
2. Win hearts
While all the angels and the entire world watch, God wins hearts by demonstrating that good can triumph over evil in a fallen world. The epitome of this demonstration is in the love of God when the Father sacrificed His beloved Son to give eternal life to mankind.
Jesus is the Son of God who passionately loved us even to death on a cross. While on earth, Jesus was the fullness of Deity dwelling in bodily form (Colossians 2:9), yet He was humble and meek. By His sacrifice, He took away our sins. Those who believe in Him have the right to become children of God and have eternal life.
Jesus also demonstrated to us how we should live on earth. By being humble and obedient to the Father, He became an example for us and taught us to similarly obey God.
By His great love, Jesus teaches us how to love. “We love because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19).
This is God’s way for us – that we should love God and love people (Mark 12:30-31).
“Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails” (1 Corinthians 13:4-8).
3. Set of rules for planet earth
God set up rules for people on planet earth to abide by, so that for a time, He allows mankind to choose between doing good and doing evil.
Those who choose God’s way have access to all of God’s help. We get help from God according to how much we trust Him (James 1:6-8). And He also gives us grace so that even if we are faithless, He remains faithful (2 Timothy 2:13).
Someone might ask: “Why did God set up rules this way? Why does God require faith? Why doesn’t God simply show His face?”.
a. Why doesn’t God show His face?
The angels see God’s face, but many of them disobeyed Him. Seeing God face-to-face does not prevent rebellions of the heart. So God does something different with mankind.
God wants us to trust Him without seeing Him, and learn to be faithful to Him. He provides us with help and forgiveness that He does not provide angels (Hebrews 2:16-18). God gives humans forgiveness of sins by the blood of Jesus, and help for everything we need. All we need to do is follow Him.
“He has told you, O man, what is good;
And what does the Lord require of you
But to do justice, to love kindness,
And to walk humbly with your God?” (Micah 6:8)
We don’t need to see God’s face to relate to God. God created us so that if we seek Him sincerely, we can find Him: “He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation, that they would seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us” (Acts 17:26-27).
To learn more, see Why Faith is Important to God and How to Increase Faith in God.
b. Why is God’s way the best if we need to follow His rules?
Someone might ask, “What is true freedom? Isn’t it being able to do whatever I want?”.
True freedom is not being able to do whatever we want. Look at it this way. There are natural laws that govern the earth and if we disobey them, we suffer the consequences. For example, if a person purposefully puts his hand into a fire, he would get burned. If he jumps from a high place, he could die.
Since there are natural laws, there are spiritual laws. Normally, people don’t try to challenge a fire or defy the laws of gravity by behaving recklessly. Similarly, we can do whatever we want (it is our choice), but not everything is profitable.
“All things are lawful for me, but not all things are profitable. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be mastered by anything. Food is for the stomach and the stomach is for food, but God will do away with both of them. Yet the body is not for immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord is for the body.” (1 Corinthians 6:12-13)
And again the Bible says: “For speaking out arrogant words of vanity they entice by fleshly desires, by sensuality, those who barely escape from the ones who live in error, promising them freedom while they themselves are slaves of corruption; for by what a man is overcome, by this he is enslaved” (2 Peter 2:18-19).
c. Jesus gives us true freedom
Jesus said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin. The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son does remain forever. So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed” (John 8:34-36).
True freedom is not doing whatever we want. True freedom is being free from sin and corruption. Doing whatever we want enslaves us to greed, wanton indulgence, selfishness, and all kinds of evil when we don’t obtain what we desire.
On the other hand, Jesus teaches us the best way to live. That is to believe in Jesus, whose blood washes away our sins, and to live in obedience to God. This is the best and most noble and honorable way to live.
And we are not alone. God helps us and empowers us to do His will by the Holy Spirit. We pray and trust God, putting on His armor.
“Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.
Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. Stand firm therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints…” (Ephsians 6:11-18)
When we pray, God helps us and the holy angels fight for us. When we stand firm, we demonstrate how good triumphs over evil in this fallen world.
“Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good” (Romans 12:21).
d. God works in a way deserving our reverence
God works in a way deserving of our reverence and fear: “I know that everything God does will remain forever; there is nothing to add to it and there is nothing to take from it, for God has so worked that men should fear Him” (Ecclesiastes 3:14).
At this time on earth, God is showing everyone that “God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28).
Yes, there is suffering. Yes, there is pain.
However, “He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?” (Romans 8:32).
“For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.” (Romans 8:18)
“Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? Just as it is written,
‘For Your sake we are being put to death all day long;
We were considered as sheep to be slaughtered.’
But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:35-39)
Jesus will rule the earth
In the future, Jesus will rule on earth and abolish all wickedness. He will judge the wicked. He will establish righteousness and peace on earth forever. There will be no more death or suffering or pain or crying (Revelation 21:3-4).
In the end, God will stop the rebellions of the wicked. And the peace we all look for, and the doing away of evil will be accomplished by God in the future. The Father said to Jesus: “Sit at My right hand, until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet” (Acts 2:34-35).
In the meantime, God is testing humanity to see which of us love God and will follow Him. To the ones who love God, He promises:
“Things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard,
And which have not entered the heart of man,
All that God has prepared for those who love Him.” (1 Corinthians 2:9).
The Choice is Ours
Finally, the choice is ours whether we want to overcome evil with good or be overcome by evil. What is your choice?
God says, “I will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life without cost. He who overcomes will inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be My son.
But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death” (Revelation 21:6-8).
“Let the one who does wrong, still do wrong; and the one who is filthy, still be filthy; and let the one who is righteous, still practice righteousness; and the one who is holy, still keep himself holy.
Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life…” (Revelation 22:11,14)
Read Revelation 22 in the Bible.
See what the Bible says on God’s character.