“Therefore the LORD tarries so that He may be gracious to you; therefore He will be exalted in showing you compassion, for the LORD is a God of justice; Blessed are all who tarry for Him.”
Isaiah 30:18
One of the most common arguments for rejecting God's existence is rooted in the prevalence of evil and suffering in the world. The argument typically goes something like this:
If God is all-good, all-knowing, and all-powerful, then why does He allow evil and suffering in the world? This line of argumentation concludes that the very existence of evil and suffering precludes the existence of a being that is all-good, all-knowing, or all-powerful. Therefore, even if a supernatural being does exist, the idea of worshiping an inherently flawed and imperfect being is absurd. Mic drop. Exit stage left.
The underlying assumption here is that if it could somehow be demonstrated that an uncreated, eternal, supernatural, all-good, all-knowing, and all-powerful entity truly did exist, then those questioning God's existence would 1) readily accept the truth, 2) immediately repent of their unbelief and sin, and 3) willingly give all glory, honor, adoration, and praise to God Almighty in unhindered worship. This assumption is false on two counts:
People just need more information: The Apostel Paul wrote in Romans 1:18-26 that belief in God isn't due to a lack of overwhelming evidence or information but rather a willful choice on humanity's behalf to exchange the glory of God's revelation for lies in order to further relish and revel in our rebellion: “The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people who suppress the truth by their wickedness. For what may be known about God is plain to them... For this reason, God gave them over to dishonorable passions.”
Belief is of human origin: Paul also wrote in Ephesians 2:3-9 that while supernatural regeneration is necessary, it is initiated by the Holy Spirit and graciously accomplished through Christ's atoning and completed work at the Cross: “Like the rest, we were by nature children of wrath, but because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in our trespasses... it is by grace you have been saved through faith, and this not from yourselves; it is the gift of God, not by works, so that no one can boast.”
There's another dimension ignored in the existence of evil and suffering argument—the dimension of time. As the Holy Spirit reveals throughout Scripture, God is patiently enduring humanity's sin, rebellion, and wickedness because of His unfolding plan of gracious redemption. The reason God allows evil and suffering is that if He were to eradicate evil and suffering it would require eradicating humanity, for as King Jesus said in Mark 7:20-23:
“What comes out of a man, that is what defiles him. For from within the hearts of men come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, wickedness, deceit, debauchery, envy, slander, arrogance, and foolishness. All these evils come from within, and these are what defile a man.”
According to Scripture (Rev 13:8), in God's omniscience, He not only foreknew that humanity would choose sin and rebellion before creation but He also resolved to pay the ultimate price for our redemption—personally.
The question, therefore, isn't why God allows evil and suffering but rather why God was willing to humble and debase Himself for our benefit. Why would God The Father give up His Son? Why would God The perfect, spotless, and eternal Son willingly become sin on our behalf and die in our place? Scripture provides the answer to these questions too, and it always boils down to God's relentless, extravagant, patient, selfless, sacrificial, and atoning love:
John 3:16-18 “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that everyone who believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him. Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe has already been condemned, because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.”
Romans 5:8-10 “But God proves His love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Therefore, since we have now been justified by His blood, how much more shall we be saved from wrath through Him? For if, when we were enemies of God, we were reconciled to Him through the death of His Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through His life!”
Hebrews 12:2,28-29 “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God... Therefore, since we are receiving an unshakable kingdom, let us be filled with gratitude, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe for our God is an all-consuming fire.”
1 John 4:9-10 “This is how God’s love was revealed among us: God sent His one and only Son into the world so that we might live through Him. And love consists in this: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as the atoning sacrifice for our sins.”
In Romans 9:22-23 The Apostle Paul presents a question that's actually the answer to the issue of evil and suffering in the world: “What if God, intending to show His wrath and make His power known, bore with great patience the vessels of His wrath, prepared for destruction? What if He did this to make the riches of His glory known to the vessels of His mercy, whom He prepared in advance for glory—”
There's another dimension missing from the argument for rejecting God based on the existence of evil and suffering in the world. What's lacking is the dimension of time, which God created in order to demonstrate His unfathomable patience and love for us in Christ Jesus.
For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight. As it is written: “He catches the wise in their craftiness.” 1 Cor 3:19
We can choose to double down on sin and rebellion and justify it all through seemingly witty arguments like the existence of evil and suffering in the world. There is another dimension to the argument that is always left out: God isn't complicit, incompetent, or incapable. He's presently tolerating evil and suffering because He's tarrying, waiting patiently, for the vessels of His mercy to repent of their sins and embrace the gracious gift of everlasting life in Christ Jesus.
Meanwhile, because of the hard and unrepentant hearts of the vessels of His wrath, the rest are storing up wrath against themselves for the day when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed. At that time, as Paul wrote, “God will repay each one according to his deeds.”
Blessings and love,
Kevin M. Kelley
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