Media mogul Ted Turner recently made the statement that God was to blame for the catastrophic oil spill in the gulf. His opinion illustrates the sad fact that most people blame God for everything. God gets blamed for disasters, sicknesses, diseases, poverty and oppression. God has been blamed for every imaginable form of human suffering.
There is no doubt that unspeakable evil and suffering permeate every level of our society. All you have to do is to pick up a newspaper or watch the daily news on television, and it sounds like scenes from a horror flick. It does not take a rocket scientist to realize there is something dreadfully wrong going on in the world.
But God does not have one drop, one atom, or one sliver of evil in Him. Absolutely no evil dwells in God, and He is not responsible for all the evil and suffering in the world.
How would you feel if you were wrongly accused of committing a heinous act that hurt or killed someone? How do you think the heart of God feels when he is blamed for evil, disease, and disasters when He had nothing to do with them? Religion, philosophy, and human reasoning have distorted the image of God and the essence of His character. God is far above all evil, and evil is absolutely foreign to God's nature. Evil cannot mix, pollute, or exist in God as He is not contaminated with any kind of evil.
Job 34:10,11,13 (Message Bible):
You're veterans in dealing with these matters; certainly we are one mind on this. It's impossible for God to do anything evil; no way can the Mighty One do anything wrong. It's impossible for God to do anything wicked, for the Mighty One to subvert justice.
Unfortunately, there has been little consensus or agreement on the nature of God even among Christians. The Word of God makes it very clear that it is impossible for God to do anything evil or wicked.
I John 1:5 (Amplified):
And this is the message [the message of promise] which we have heard from Him and are now reporting to you: God is light and there is no darkness in Him at all [no, not in any way].
Can it be any clearer? God is not responsible for the evil in this world. God is not the source of all the calamity and darkness of this world. God is light and in Him resides no evil, no darkness, no wickedness, and no iniquity in any way, shape, or form. God is pure. God is holy. God is just. God is righteous. God is good. God is love. Most of the world does not believe this fact, but this is the true message of His Word about the irrefutable goodness of God.
Isaiah 5:20 (NIV):
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.
This verse could be an essay on the history of civilization or even more appropriately, the history of religion. Every day, God, who is good, is blamed for evil. God, who is light, is blamed for darkness. God, who is sweet, is made into something that tastes bitter. God warns us not to engage in such behavior. There is a raging spiritual battle going on behind the scenes between God who is good and the devil who is evil. Adam and Eve transferred to the devil the authority they had originally to rule as kings and queens on the earth in the Garden of Eden. The devil became the god of this age through this act of high treason.
II Corinthians 4:4 (NIV):
The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so they cannot see the light of the gospel of Christ, who is the image of God.
“The god of this age” is not just some figurative term of language or some label or slogan. It describes a real, spiritual being who has the authority and control of this age. It is not an earthly ruler, or some man or woman reigning as a king or queen. It is a wicked spirit being who is the supreme head and ruler of the kingdom of darkness. The god of this age is the devil, and he is responsible for all the evil that permeates our society. The devil is as a real as the hand in front of your face, and he is the sworn enemy of the goodness of God. The devil hates God and everything associated with Him, and sets up the systems of evil in every age of history to oppose God and His good purposes. He distorts the good image and name of God and deceives people into believing that it is the true God who is really evil and causing all the darkness in the world.
I John 5:19 tells us that the whole world is under the control and authority of the evil one, the devil. He is the one who actively seeks to harm, injure, and destroy every man, woman, and child on Earth. He is the arch-enemy of God and desires for people to worship him. His systems of evil are diametrically opposed to God and His goodness. He has authority and dominion on the earth, and has set up an entire kingdom of wicked spirit beings to wreak havoc against God in every nation and every culture. There is an intense spiritual war going on between the forces of God and the forces of the devil. It is the classic battle of the goodness of God against the evil of the devil. It is being waged every second of the day in every city, every country, and on every continent. Without Christ and the deliverance in the new birth, the entire world lies helplessly subject to this system and its arrangement of evil. The devil has the authority, dominion, command, and power of this world system over the entire earth.
The oil spill is simply one more example of the consequence of the sinful nature of people. Unbridled and unchecked laziness, greed, selfishness, love of money and hardness of heart all played a role in this man-caused disaster. Yet to people like Ted Turner, God is to blame. God does not have to kill off the oceans to get people’s attention. God does not have to use evil to accomplish his purposes.
Since God gave His precious Son as a sacrifice for our sins to deliver and rescue us from this present evil age, then how can God be the cause of the evil in society? Did God send Jesus Christ to deliver us from Himself? Of course not. Just the opposite is the case. Galatians 1:3-5 makes it clear that God is the deliverer from evil, not the reason for it. God wants every man, woman, and child to choose Christ and experience the magnificent deliverance and freedom from the bondage of this evil age. Yes, Ted, even you.
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Tim Rowe is an attorney and host of the weekly television show, “Faith and the Law,” where he discusses legal issues from a Christian perspective. He is the author of the book The Magnificent Goodness of God and How it Will Transform your Life. For more information, visit: www.TimRoweAuthor.com.
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