HUMAN WICKEDNESS

PROVERBS 16:5–9

In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps

(Proverbs 16:9).

Last Thursday we considered God’s sovereignty over disastrous situations. Today we want to return to this subject in a bit more depth. The relationship between God’s providence and evil in the world is often misunderstood. We can see, as we look back, that evil men have been God’s instruments in history. Hitler believed that Providence had a divine mission for him. Was he right? Yes, but not in the sense he understood his belief. Though Hitler was a diabolical person, God did have a mission for him. God raised him up to show the nature of sin, and as an instrument of judgment.

The atheistic philosopher John Stuart Mill argued that if God is all-powerful and also good, then God could not allow a world of evil and suffering. If God is all-powerful but does not stop evil, said Mill, then God is not good. If God is good but does not stop evil, said Mill, then God must not be omnipotent.

There is, however, a third alternative: God is all-powerful and good, but allows man to be sinful. In Christian terms, evil is defined as a lack of conformity to God’s standard of righteousness and perfection. Evil is, thus, by its very definition a negation of God’s goodness. It is simply the rejection of God, and the consequences of that rejection.

The existence of evil in the world should not affect our view of God as omnipotent and perfectly good. God is eternally and unchangeably good, but man is changeably good. God is incapable of doing evil, because that would involve self-rejection on His part. Man, however, being created outside of God, can be either rightly or wrongly related to God. That wrong relationship is evil, and the cause of all evil events.

By creating man outside of Himself, God ordained the possibility of this wrong relationship; in other words, God ordained the possibility of evil. Man chose that wrong relationship, in the providence of God, and in this sense God ordained evil. But when God ordains anything, His ultimate purpose is always good. The Bible tells us that all things, even evil things, work together for the good of those who love Him (Rom. 8:28). All things are not good, but all things work together for good in God’s plan.

CORAM DEO

John 12–14

God restrains evil from going beyond the boundaries He has established. Think of a situation where you were the victim of someone else’s evil actions. How did you or how could you have related God’s sovereignty to that situation? As you begin this week, thank God for His mercy in keeping you from worse evil.

For further study: Jer. 17:5–10 • Ezek. 6:8–10 • Rom. 3:9–18

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