The Problem of Evil?

I was listening today to a re-run broadcast of John MacArthur's Grace to You where Mac was addressing the famous alleged problem for christian philosophy, "the problem of evil". Basically the question goes like this:

"If God is all-powerful and all-knowing and absolutely Good, why does evil exist?"

This is an easy one for the Calvinist who upholds the biblical portrait of the Almighty God. God allows evil and even ordains that evil occur in order to show his attributes that could not otherwise be revealed. In other words, it is to glorify himself by revealing his character and attributes of grace, mercy, justice, judgement, wrath, holiness, benevolence and more, that could not be revealed without opposition to himself. Dr. MacArthur covered this fairly well, although more tentatively than perhaps I would have, because it is the clear revelation of scripture and thus truth we can rely on and be sure of. Romans 9 comes to mind as an explicit example of why God allows evil:

Romans 9:21-23 Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use? What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory--

We see several things very clearly from this passage concerning the so-called "problem of evil". It tells us explicitly that God desires to make known his power and wrath and so patiently endures the vessels of wrath, which are evil men, in order to make known how rich is his glorious mercy for those he prepares for glory. So we see that God endures evil in order to put his glorious attributes of his omniscient power and righteous wrath and long suffering patience and glorious mercy.

God could not make known his wrath and power to carry out his righteous judgement without an object deserving of that wrath and judgement. We see also from this passage that God has sovereignly ordained that vessels of wrath would exist and that vessels of mercy would exist. So these things don't surprise God, he has decreed according to his own will in eternity that such things occur. Now, this might raise further questions, and I will try to address some of the objections that might occur to someone.

One might object that "if God could allow evil which produces suffering and in turn forces him to pour out his wrath in judgement on sinners than God must be a megalomaniac, a pathological egotist". This is in fact a logical impossibility as concerns God, as megalomania is defined as "a psychological state characterized by delusions of grandeur" (wordnet.princeton.edu). There are no delusions of grandeur with God; God is grand! He is all powerful and all knowing and eternal and transcendent and is present everywhere at once. God is the ultimate expression of, the source of, and the standard of, power and importance in the universe. God cannot overstate his infinite attributes.

A second objection might be, "if God decreed that evil occur, than God is the author of evil". To this objection I provide three answers. The first answer to this objection is the somewhat obvious one, that scripture will not allow it. From our passage in Romans 9, we see that God endures patiently with evil men. The evil acts of evil men are free volitional choices that God endures and does not cause. There is no passage of scripture anywhere that makes God the cause, author, or a party to evil.

The second answer is that God, being all powerful, uses secondary means in order to allow that evil exist. This requires a bit of explaining; I believe that the fact that God decrees or ordains everything that occurs can be logically deduced from the fact of his omnipotence. What I mean is, that God must decree all things that come to pass, else nothing would come to pass. In other words, since God is all powerful, nothing can or will happen unless God either allows it or causes it. That's what it means to be all-powerful and sovereign. From mondane occurances like the animation of electrons in the alpha centauri galaxy to the very thoughts in your head, God is sovereign over them all- that's what it means to be omnipotent. God cannot be omnipotent unless he is sovereign, and God cannot be sovereign unless he is omnipotent, and nothing can occur unless he either allows it or causes it.

So then God does not mearly decree a particular act, but everything that leads to that particular act, what we call secondary causes. Part one of the third chapter of the 1689 London Baptist Confession God's Decree provides clarity:

FROM all eternity God decreed all that should happen in time, and this He did freely and unalterably, consulting only His own wise and holy will. Yet in so doing He does not become in any sense the author of sin, nor does He share responsibility for sin with sinners. Neither, by reason of His decree, is the will of any creature whom He has made violated; nor is the free working of second causes put aside; rather is it established. In all these matters the divine wisdom appears, as also does God's power and faithfulness in effecting that which He has purposed. (emphasis added)

The third answer that I give for why God cannot be the author of evil is "because he is God". To explain; evil is in essence anything that deviates from God's character, which is revealed to us in scripture in his law as and covenants and especially his Son Jesus Christ. God is the ultimate and perfect expression of all that may be attributed to his own character, and this is in turn the standard by which evil is determined. So anything that is contained within God's character is good by default; evil being the deviation from God's character, evil within God is an impossibility. Everything God does or wills or creates is always good, because God is the standard of moral perfection.

The problem for those who see a "problem of evil" is a lack of understanding the truth about God and his attributes and character. Their god is too small and their heads are too big. They delve into things of which they are ignorant, and presume to be such a one that can pass judgement on God. It is hard for a sinful man to realize that he is not himself sovereign nor wise but very finite and foolish. Indeed I say that it is impossible, except by a miracle. The miracle of new birth and faith and renewal of mind that God works in the vessels of mercy that God has prepared beforehand to display his glory. Let us therefore glorify our incomprehensible God, with the words of his beloved servant Paul:

Romans 11:33-36 Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! "For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor?" "Or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid?" For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.