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THE PERMISSION OF EVIL
AND ITS RELATION TO GOD’S PLAN
Part 2
Adapted from chapter seven of The Divine Plan of the
Ages
International Bible Students Association, 1914
edition
All Scripture references
in this article are to the New International Version, UK
edition
(Part 1 of this article appeared in the end-September 2009 issue of
the Newsletter)
ADAM ALREADY had a knowledge of evil by information, but that was insufficient to restrain him from trying the
experiment. Adam and Eve knew God as their Creator, and hence as the one who had
the right to control and direct them. God had said of the forbidden tree, ‘You
must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat
of it you will surely die’ (Genesis 2: 17). They had, therefore, a theoretical
awareness of evil, though they had never observed or experienced its effects. Consequently, they did not appreciate
their Creator’s loving authority and His beneficent law, nor the dangers from
which He thereby proposed to protect them. They yielded to the temptation which
God permitted, the ultimate value of which His wisdom had already
anticipated.
In the Garden
The Scriptures tell the simple story of how the woman
was deceived, and thus became a transgressor. Her experience and acquaintance
with God were even more limited than Adam’s. He was created first and God had
directly communicated to him before her creation the knowledge of the penalty of
sin. Eve probably received her information from
Adam.
In 1 Timothy 2: 14 it is
written:
Adam was not the one deceived; it was the woman who was
deceived and became a sinner.
When Eve took the fruit she evidently did not realize
the extent of the transgression, though possibly she had misgivings and slight
apprehensions that all was not well. Nonetheless, the Apostle Paul says she was
a transgressor — but not so culpable because she had been deceived. Adam
transgressed with a fuller realization of his sin, and with the penalty
in view, knowing certainly that he must die.
Why?
Adam’s
Dilemma
Perhaps we can understand the temptation which impelled
Adam to be reckless and incur the death sentence. Bearing in mind that he was
perfect and made in the mental and moral likeness of God, we may reasonably
conclude that Adam possessed a high degree of love for his wife, the perfect
woman. Realizing her sin would bring death upon her and, consequently, that he
would lose this beloved companion, Adam decided to share her penalty and ate the
fruit too. So, both Adam and Eve were guilty.
No doubt God knew that when faced with the choice, Adam
and Eve, lacking a full appreciation of sin and its results, would be prepared
to accept the consequences. In so doing, they passed on the penalty and effects
of sin to their offspring – the entire human family. And habitual familiarity
with sin so impaired man’s moral nature that evil became more agreeable and
desirable than good.
Nevertheless, God permitted evil because, knowing in
advance the remedy He would provide for man’s release from the curse of
death, He saw that the final result would be to lead the human race to a
better understanding of the catastrophic effects of sin. So man would come to
see the matchless brilliancy of virtue in contrast with sin and would learn to
love and honour his Creator, the Source and Fountain of all goodness. The final
result will be greater love for God and hatred of all that is opposed to His
will and righteousness.
Allowing versus Causing
Evil
We ought to make a wide distinction between God’s
permitting the evils of sin and the frequent assertion by agnostics and
atheists who accuse God of being the author and instigator of it. Such a view is
blasphemous and contradicts the Scriptures. True, God has the power to force
humanity into either sin or righteousness, but His Word declares that He has no
such purpose. He seeks the worship and love of only such as approach Him in
spirit and in truth. To this end He has given man liberty of will and desires him to choose righteousness.
Allowing man to choose for himself led to Adam’s fall from Divine fellowship
and favour into death. To the end that man might have a free will
and yet be enabled to profit by his first failure in its
misuse, God provided Jesus Christ, a ransom from death. This means of
reconciliation is open to all and will be understood by everyone at the
appropriate time (1 Timothy 2: 3-6):
This is good, and pleases God our Saviour, who wants all men to be saved
and to come to a knowledge of the truth. For there is one God and one mediator
between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all
men — the testimony given in its proper time.
No injustice has been done to Adam’s posterity in not
affording them each an individual trial. Jehovah was in no sense bound to bring
man into existence. Having done so, no external law of equity or justice binds
Him to perpetuate that life everlastingly. The present life, which from the
cradle to the tomb is but a process of dying, is still a favour, even if there
were no hereafter. Most people see it this way.
Some think that God’s punishment for Adam’s sin is
eternal torture. But the text says nothing like this. Adam was told
‘you will surely die’ (Genesis 2: 17; compare with Romans 6: 23). The ultimate blessing of God to His obedient children,
in Christ’s Kingdom on earth, will be eternal life, free from pain, sickness and
every other element of decay and death.
(To
be continued in the end-October Newsletter)
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This adaptation only: copyrighted October 2009
ukbiblestudents.co.uk
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