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'Christ in You...'
by Dale Krebbs
The Two Evils
Some refuse to allow themselves to believe in God, and especially Jesus Christ, complaining that “God is not fair”! Of course, God is completely fair. The problem is in the understanding of the meaning of fair, as it relates to the evils they see in the world.
Understanding that there are two kinds of evil will help us to view evil more clearly.
There are two kinds of evil relating to God and mankind. There is a moral evil that proceeds from the heart of humans that originated with the disobedience of Adam and Eve, and passed to subsequent generations to this day. There is another evil that God utilizes in His dealings and interactions with mankind. This is physical evil, unrelated to any moral base. This “evil” is often manifested in calamities relating to mankind’s environment and activities.
This “evil” is utilized by God to turn mankind from the moral evil committed against others, and leading to self destruction. These evils proceed from the evil hearts of humans which were corrupted in the garden, and passed on to subsequent generations to this day. This provides for the results of the principle that we will “reap what we sow”.
“[He inevitably deludes himself who attempts to delude God.] For whatever a man sows, that and that only is what he will reap” (Galatians 6:7)
God utilizes the physical evil to turn mankind and individuals from their moral evil. In order to turn mankind from its evil, God may use the saying, often used by humans, that He must “get their attention first….”. Then what God does is redemptive, whether it consists of blessings or catastrophes, as mankind experiences each.
God’s motive is always to draw us to Himself. This is accomplished through the physical “evil” that mankind understands - that is “cause and effect“. The all-wise God knows how much physical evil should cause mankind to turn. If he does not turn from the evil for which God applies the physical evil, He may withdraw the pressure of His application of physical evils, and allow humanity to suffer the result of its moral condition. God will not nullify mankind’s original gift of “free moral agency”.
Mankind continues to possess the freedom of choice, and to live according to the God-given principle of reaping what it sows. Mankind’s choices may bring it the threat of self-destruction. But God will not allow mankind to completely destroy itself.
He will intervene on mankind’s behalf. God will send His Son, the Son that mankind would not accept, and save remaining mankind. He will use His physical “evil” to save those from destruction who have come to the point of “moral” self-destruction. Moral evil proceeds from the will of men, but physical evil proceeds from the will of God, and is meant to prevent the moral evil of mankind from utter destruction.
David warned Solomon his son concerning God's ways of dealing with him, but his warning to Solomon went unheeded.
“And you, Solomon my son, know the God of your father [have personal knowledge of Him, be acquainted with, and understand Him; appreciate, heed, and cherish Him] and serve Him with a blameless heart and a willing mind. For the Lord searches all hearts and minds and understands all the wanderings of the thoughts. If you seek Him [inquiring for and of Him and requiring Him as your first and vital necessity] you will find Him; but if you forsake Him, He will cast you off forever!” - 1 Chronicles 28:9 (AMP)
May you turn to the only wise choice - turning to Jesus Christ in humble confession and surrender, and turning from every form of evil, so you may receive the gift of eternal life, and the joy and assurance of a future God desires to give. God’s “evil” is designed to turn humanity from its evil that results to destruction and eternal death. (Revelation 22:11-12)
God is not mocked. He is a God of justice while saving us from ourselves - if we will let Him.
“That men may know from the east and the rising of the sun and from the west and the setting of the sun that there is no God besides Me. I am the Lord, and no one else. I form the light and create darkness, I make peace [national well-being] and I create [physical] evil (calamity); I am
the Lord, Who does all these things.” - Isaiah 45:6-7
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