Can we truly point the finger at God for the existence of evil, or does its origin lie closer to home? We tackle this eternal conundrum head-on, guided by June Hunt's illuminating Biblical Counseling Keys on Evil and Suffering. This episode isn't just an exploration; it's a revelation of how darkness in our world is akin to shadows cast by our own choices, not by a flaw in Gods tapestry. As we traverse from the poetic musings of Ecclesiastes to the stark choices faced by Adam and Eve, you'll grasp a fresh perspective on the nature of evil—seen not as a creation but as a vacuum where goodness should reside.
Prepare to strip away misconceptions and get to the heart of righteousness, the unblemished nature of God, and the harmony of the universe He designed. We don't just scrutinize the scriptural texts; we seek the essence of moral responsibility and the rays of redemption that pierce through even the darkest deeds. Through conversations enriched by references from James to Isaiah to Matthew, this episode promises to fortify your understanding with scriptural wisdom. Whether you're wrestling with questions about morality or searching for clarity in a world teeming with choices, our discussion offers a compass to navigate the complex terrain of good and evil. Join us on this enlightening journey, and discover the enduring goodness of the Creator amidst humanity's greatest moral quandaries.
Can we truly point the finger at God for the existence of evil, or does its origin lie closer to home? We tackle this eternal conundrum head-on, guided by June Hunt's illuminating Biblical Counseling Keys on Evil and Suffering. This episode isn't just an exploration; it's a revelation of how darkness in our world is akin to shadows cast by our own choices, not by a flaw in Gods tapestry. As we traverse from the poetic musings of Ecclesiastes to the stark choices faced by Adam and Eve, you'll grasp a fresh perspective on the nature of evil—seen not as a creation but as a vacuum where goodness should reside.
Prepare to strip away misconceptions and get to the heart of righteousness, the unblemished nature of God, and the harmony of the universe He designed. We don't just scrutinize the scriptural texts; we seek the essence of moral responsibility and the rays of redemption that pierce through even the darkest deeds. Through conversations enriched by references from James to Isaiah to Matthew, this episode promises to fortify your understanding with scriptural wisdom. Whether you're wrestling with questions about morality or searching for clarity in a world teeming with choices, our discussion offers a compass to navigate the complex terrain of good and evil. Join us on this enlightening journey, and discover the enduring goodness of the Creator amidst humanity's greatest moral quandaries.
My website is https://www.godslovingsacrifice.com
Speaker 1:
Today I'm going to do things a little different. I'm going to be using a Biblical Counseling Keys on Evil and Suffering by June Hunt. I've been asked a question if God created evil and I found scriptures, but I wanted something a little deeper. So I do use Logos Bible software and I have quite a large library and this is one of the counseling keys. The question really is if God made all things, doesn't that mean he created evil? Of course the answer to that is no, and the reason it's no is because there's two major points that you have to remember.
Speaker 1:
Evil is not a thing. It's rather a condition resulting from the improper use or perversion of a good thing. Evil exists in something else, something it corrupts, corrupted goodness. A good knife can be used by an evil man to commit murder. Evil is the absence of good. It is an intruder brought in by human beings. Evil was not created by God.
Speaker 1:
Adam and Eve chose to disobey God and eat of the free of knowledge of good and evil. Evil is not the opposite of good, but the absence of good, just like dark is in the opposite of light, dark is the absence of light. Ecclesiastics 12.14 says For God will bring every work into judgment, including every secret thing, whether good or evil. Evil is also a moral choice. You choose to do evil instead of good and it's from your character that that comes. The word pachia in Greek means badness in character. It also means wicked, deprived and morally reprehensible and it represents a violation of the will of God. So we create evil. God didn't create evil and like it says, evil isn't a thing. That's a moral choice.
Speaker 1:
James 1.21 says Evil is a perversion of God's work. Isaiah 5.20-23 said 5, 20 through 23 said woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter. Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes and prudent in their own sight. Woe to men mightily at drinking wine. Woe to men valued for mixing intoxicating drink, who justify the wicked for a bribe and take away justice from the righteous man. So evil's a human moral nature thing. I guess it's not a thing. It says it's not a thing but it's a result of our immoral natures.
Speaker 1:
You know, if you really want to look at what God created, you need to look at the creation. Look at Genesis. If you look at Genesis, 1, 3 through 31,. It's the creation story. I'm not going to read it all, it's very long, but I'm going to read a few choice verses out of it.
Speaker 1:
It said and God called the dry land earth and the gathering together of the waters he called the seas, and God saw that that was good. Verse 12 says and the earth brought forth grass, the herb that yields seeds, according to its kind, and the tree that yields fruit, whose seed in itself, according to its kind, and God saw that it was good. 17 says God set them in the firmament of the heavens to give light to the earth and to rule over the day and over the night and to divide the light from darkness, and God saw that it was good. Verse 21 says so God created the great sea creatures and every living thing that moves, with which the waters abound, according to their kind, and every winged bird according to its kind, and God saw that it was good. Verse 25 says and God made the beast of the earth according to its kind, cattle according to its kind, and everything that creeps on the earth according to its kind, and God saw that it was good. Verse 31 says then God saw everything that he had made and indeed it was very good. Nowhere in the creation story will you see that God says and that is evil. Everything he created was good. So why people wonder if God created evil, it's kind of hard to understand, because God is a good God.
Speaker 1:
Matthew 12, 31 through 37 says Therefore, I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven man. Blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven man. Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of man, it will be forgiven men. Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of man, it will be forgiven him. And whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age nor the age to come. Either make the tree good, and it's good fruit, or else make the tree bad, and it's bad fruit, for a tree is known by its fruit Root of vipers.
Speaker 1:
How can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. A good man, out of the treasures of his heart, brings forth good things, and an evil man, out of evil treasures, bring forth evil things. But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it on the day of judgment, for by your words you will be justified and by your words you will be condemned. So we're the one that makes things evil. And I brought in the fact of we do evil things, of we do evil things, but those evil things can be forgiven. There's no sin, there's nothing that we can do that God will not forgive.
Speaker 1:
So when you talk about God creating evil, he created good. Men's own free will brought evil into this world, he that knows to do good, but does it not. To him it is sin. And there are people out there that do things that are wrong. They know that it's wrong, they do it anyway. And that's where evil comes. God never created evil, but, as it says in Matthew that every idle word men may speak, they will give an account of it in the day of judgment, for by your words you will be justified and by your words you will be condemned.
Speaker 1:
So when you see evil in this world, don't blame God. We brought the evil into the world. We made good perverse. So when you have evil things going on around you, pray, ask God to protect you, to keep you from the evil, but don't blame him for it, because the evil is not in God. He can't do anything that is evil. He can't do anything that goes against his nature. And the nature of God is good. Why? I guess the other thing that we should talk about here is what is good? Do you see what evil is? It's the righteousness of character. So if you want to know if it's good, look at that definition. If it doesn't match that definition, then it's not of God. Is God evil? No, does God condone evil? No, he will judge it. He will judge each and every one of us, and when it comes time for that judgment, the only question is will you be justified by your words or will you be condemned?
