The Problem With Evil
From Podcast - Edge Youth - Grace Church
02-14-07
Rob Yandian

Apologetics - defending your faith.
What reason do we have to believe that God is out there? Look at the prophecies in the Old Testament and compare them to real events. Start with Daniel 11. There is evidence.

There is order to the universe so there is evidence of an intelligent creator.

There is evil, bad stuff happens to people who do not deserve it.

(Psa 14:1 KJV) To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David. The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none thatdoeth good.

Atheism comes from foolishness. An atheist believes that there is moral being watching over you so you can do what ever you want. We believe in a God who does see us and that we want to please.

God is all good and all powerful according to the Christians. Bad stuff happens. If God is all good would he want the bad stuff happen, could he make it stop. He is either not all good or all powerful, right? Either that or God is sadistic.

Good and evil some believe are opposites. There is some good in evil and some evil and good, like the ying-yang pictures that you see. Where did evil come from. Evil had to come into existence at some time as it is not equal to God. It did not came from Lucifer like we would like to believe.

First define evil. Does evil have substance? Light versus dark. Light has substance, but darkness does not. Dark is the removal of the light. What is cold, the absence of heat. Cold is a measurement of heat. Absolute zero is a total absence of heat. Evil is the absence of good. Anything evil is a lack of something good.

Joh 1:1-4 KJV
(1) In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
(2) The same was in the beginning with God.
(3) All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.
(4) In him was life; and the life was the light of men.

Col 1:16 KJV
(16) For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:

God created evil. This does not mean that God is evil or wants bad things to happen to us. Evil is the absence of good, the absence of God Himself. God gave us a choice. We have to have at least things to choose from. It is either good (God) or evil (the absence of God). Satan chose the absence of God.

We are here to worship God. Is God an egomaniac? No. We can not out-give God at all. We are to worship Him and He is to bless us. If we did not have the choice to worship him, we would be nothing but robots. And that could mean nothing to God. It can only mean something to God, as it does to any parent, if it comes from the heart voluntarily.

Deu 30:19 KJV
(19) I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live:

God's final exam. Choose one of the following: A)Life, B)Death. Hint, the answer is A.

Why is their evil in the first place? Adam made the choice to choose death. Every one since then has gotten that death in their life. Jesus came and undid all that Adam did.

Evil is here because we have the choice to go to the good or the evil. The worst that could happen is you could die an undeserved death. In that case you spend an eternity in heaven with God.

Unless otherwise noted, all scriptures are King James version. The notes are based on what I heard. They may or may not reflect what the speaker said.
As of this writing the message is available as part of a podcast. The sermon is available here