Does God Do Evil?

James 1:13  Let no man say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God,” for God can’t be tempted by evil, and he himself tempts no one. ¹⁴ But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own lust and enticed. ¹⁵ Then the lust, when it has conceived, bears sin. The sin, when it is full grown, produces death. ¹⁶ Don’t be deceived, my beloved brothers. ¹⁷ Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom can be no variation, nor turning shadow.

Because of various Bible translations, as something is translated it may come across in a way that makes it sound like God is the source of evil.  This is impossible.  God is only good.  God is love.

It is satan who brings bad things.

John 10:10  The thief only comes to steal, kill, and destroy. I came that they may have life, and may have it abundantly.

There are principles in the following passage spoken by Jesus.

44 Jesus cried out and said, “Whoever believes in me, believes not in me, but in him who sent me. 45 He who sees me sees him who sent me. 46 I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in me may not remain in the darkness. 47 If anyone listens to my sayings, and doesn’t believe, I don’t judge him. For I came not to judge the world, but to save the world. 48 He who rejects me, and doesn’t receive my sayings, has one who judges him. The word that I spoke will judge him in the last day. 49 For I spoke not from myself, but the Father who sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak. 50 I know that his commandment is eternal life. The things therefore which I speak, even as the Father has said to me, so I speak.”

It is the Word that judges.

What does that mean?

Let’s talk about that in everyday terms.

Think about if there is a storm going on outside, and depending on where you live it could be an ice storm, a snow storm, a rain storm or a wind and sand storm.  In any case,  think about a storm going on outside and the radio comes on and says, “Weather warning:  there is a storm outside, stay sheltered in place.”

If you listen to that warning, you should be fine until the storm is over.  If you do not listen to the warning, and you open the door, and go outside, you will experience the storm.

In simplest terms, God’s Word explains to us how his universe works.  His world is a moral universe.  It is a spiritual universe.  It is a natural, scientific universe.

To a certain extent, man now understands some of the science in the world, with more to learn.   And if we follow certain scientific principles,  we are safe.  The same thing that can be used for good, such as electricity, can be dangerous if not used according to laws.   We can turn on a light switch and enjoy light.  But you don’t want to use electricity unwisely or unsafely.   So we learn the laws to use it safely.

The same applies to gravity or any number of things and forces.  Things and forces can be used for good or evil.  We learn how to use them for good.

There are other laws to understand about the kingdom of heaven and how God’s world works.  So we need to understand them and obey them.

If we don’t follow these laws, it can become the equivalent of opening a door and walking out into a storm.

God isn’t “doing” it to us.  We simply gave up the protection we had by not following wisdom of staying inside.  We disobeyed and experienced the consequences of disobedience, in this case, the storm.

So we need to obey.

If there is one theme in the Bible it is obedience.

Deuteronomy 5:33  You shall walk in all the way which Yahweh your God has commanded you, that you may live and that it may be well with you, and that you may prolong your days in the land which you shall possess.

Jeremiah 7:23    but this thing I commanded them, saying, ‘Listen to my voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be my people. Walk in all the way that I command you, that it may be well with you.’

Why will it be well with us?   Is God out there waiting to “swat” us down if we mess up?  No.

But God knows all the forces out there and what we need to do to be protected from them.  God knows how we can walk through this world safely and successfully.  We need to heed the Word of God and the voice of the Holy Spirit, in obedience, and that is a process to learn.  The sooner we learn, the better.

And every time we understand how that works, and experience the blessing on the other side, it gives us more incentive to learn more and obey more.