ake Up To Grace

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Wait. There is a world of articles, books, and information out there when it comes to Christianity, but we are mostly stuck with rhetoric and double talk when it comes to our relationship with the Lord, our new identity as believers, and the security and finality of the work of Christ. Are you getting everything you need spiritually from your church? Or do you find yourself feeling hungry for more? Wake up. Join Lenny as he unpacks what Scripture really taught about our Lord Jesus Christ in context and why this matters to you. Wake up, wake up, wake up to grace.

saiah’s Hard Passages In Context

uther On God’s Hidden Will

ree Will Questions And Pastoral Stakes

aul’s Suffering And God’s Deliverance

esus, Stephen, And Forgiving Enemies

ow God Brings Good From Evil

omfort For Suffering And Forgiven Saints

losing And Where To Find More

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In Christian theology, the question, did God create good and evil, has sparked centuries of debate. As we examine this topic, we'll ask, did God create good and evil according to Scripture? Or is there another explanation? Do you believe God is sovereign? Many people say God is absolutely sovereign. If so, how much of your life is God in control of? The common answer is all of it. So in the end, how much are you left in control of? These targeted questions often challenge those who support a free will perspective. Yet do they actually deepen our understanding of the hidden aspects of our Lord, which the reformer Martin Luther described as the inscrutable will of God? Throughout history, theologians have wrestled with the question, did God create good and evil? This discussion is not only academic, but deeply personal for many believers. To the Christians in Rome, Paul the Apostle writes, And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. And shortly after that statement, he's also so bold as to say, What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? Paul's words here are very encouraging, especially from someone who endured great suffering. However, another question arises. How do we stay faithful to this view when Scripture presents challenging passages that seem to show a very different image of our sovereign Lord? When we turn to the Old Testament, some passages can be jarring. When studying Isaiah forty five seven, many readers return to the central question Did God create good and evil or does evil have another origin? These texts often cause readers to pause and reread. For clarity, I'll use the King James Version as we proceed with the next two passages. Isaiah forty five seven reads I form the light and create darkness, I make peace and create evil. I the Lord do all these things. The ESV translation I typically use reads I make well being and create calamity. This is Yahweh declaring these things about himself through the prophet Isaiah. And to further pour salt on the wound, we also read from Isaiah in fifty three ten, yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him, he hath put him to grief. The ESV translation reads, Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him. These words seem to indicate that Yahweh was pleased to crush Jesus. It was his will for his son to endure great suffering. This seems to suggest that evil was created by the Lord, doesn't it? However, Scripture often provides a broader context for difficult passages. They're not always meant to be taken at face value. Did God create good and evil as a deliberate act, or is the presence of evil a consequence of human will? In a recent correspondence, a good friend of mine wrote, We can't know or understand the ways in which Yahweh is doing his sanctifying work in our lives. This idea has stayed with me. Far from causing worry, it brings peace. Over the years I have pondered the sovereignty of our Lord and examined the doctrines of free will and predestination. I've often reflected on Martin Luther's deep engagement with these concepts. Notably, his famous work, The Bondage of the Will, resulted from challenges he faced, not just a desire to write on the topic. This background sets the stage for viewing our main question through Luther's perspective. To shed further light on our question, did God create good and evil, I'd like to now examine Martin Luther's writing, taken from a section of his writing, The Bondage of the Will. Understanding the sovereignty of our Lord is essential if we're to reconcile the difficult words of Isaiah with the encouraging words of Paul, who often quoted Isaiah in his letters. In response to the sixteenth century proponent of free will doctrine, Luther writes, but since the diatribe thus pertly argues, would the righteous Lord deplore that death of his people which he himself works in them? This would seem quite absurd. We see here that those who taught a free will view of Scripture were highlighting that it would be ridiculous for the Lord to despise spiritual death, and then to turn around and cause them to remain in it. To this Luther responds, I answer, as I said before, we would argue in one way, concerning the will of God preached, revealed, and offered unto us, and worshipped by us, and in another concerning God Himself not preached, not revealed, not offered unto us, and worshipped by us. And whatever therefore God hides himself and will be unknown by us, that is nothing unto us. And here that sentiment stands good. What is above us does not concern us. Luther's reply basically states that God reveals some things to us and keeps others hidden. The Lord tells us what we need to know, and what he does not tell us doesn't concern us. On this train of thought, Luther continues God therefore is to be left to remain in his own nature and majesty, for in this respect we will have nothing to do with him, nor does he wish us to have in this respect anything to do with him, but we will have to do with him as far as he is clothed in and delivered to us by his word. God does not wish for us to involve ourselves in his hidden will, according to Luther. His purpose is for us to know him by his word. Does Luther proclaim that God created good and evil, and that we simply don't concern ourselves with it? Let's see what else he has to say about his view. It is enough to know only that there is in God a certain will inscrutable. But what, why, and how far that will wills, it is not lawful to inquire, to wish to know, to be concerned about, or to reach unto. It is only to be feared and adored. Luther echoes my friend's exact thoughts here. We can't know or understand the ways in which Yahweh is doing his sanctifying work in our lives. In this case, the fullness of what he is or isn't doing in the lives of others also remains unknown to us. Only awe at his sovereign grace remains. Though much more exists in this writing, the last section helps sum up what we're examining here. Luther says, Therefore it is rightly said, if God does not desire our death, it is to be laid to the charge of our own will if we perish. This I say is right, if you speak of God preached, for he desires that all men should be saved, seeing that he comes unto all by the word of salvation, and is the fault of the will which does not receive him, as he saith, Matthew thirteen, thirty seven. How often would I have gathered thy children together, and thou wouldest not? Luther continues, but why that majesty does not take away or change this fault of the will in all, seeing that it is not in the power of man to do it, or why he lays that to the charge of the will, which the man cannot avoid, it becomes us not to inquire, and though you should inquire much, you will never find out. As Paul saith in Romans 9 20, who art thou that repliest against God? When we examine Scripture and weigh it against the doctrines of free will and predestination, we face a choice. We must decide whether God has free will or whether we ourselves have free will. Some argue that God is evil if he does not allow all men to come to salvation on their own free will. But what solution makes God good here? When we look at mankind through the lens of Scripture, do we see people with a chance to make the right choice? I don't know about you, but I see faithless people all throughout Scripture and unless Yahweh is involved. If salvation depended only on the will of man, no one would be saved. Even if it were possible that man saved himself by human decision, the Lord would still allow many to perish. But with free will doctrine, the Lord becomes powerless to act, since he cannot interfere with man's will. If his grace can be resisted, then who is truly sovereign? What does that mean for babies and young children? Scripture never explains how a baby is saved. The age of accountability is not found in Scripture and requires major assumptions. No passage records infant baptism for any reason. Furthermore, what about someone with a mental disability? Is it fair to expect them to make an intellectual choice that determines their eternal fate? Scripture does not answer everything. But when we rely on ourselves, apart from the Lord, there's no hope. This truth appears in Scripture. On this note, Martin Luther stated, I wouldn't want free will even if I could have it. Do you want to know that God is in control? Or do you want to believe you are in control? Are you given comfort by your own human decisions? Or do you seek the wisdom of the Lord? Which is greater? Do you give thanks to God for his mercy and grace, or do you praise him for giving you a higher intellect than that of those who reject the Savior? One key idea we can relate to is this. If no one is in control, then everything is out of control. There could be no definite purpose in a world where men dictate the future. If God is not sovereign, he cannot be God. All of this brings us back to our central question. Did God create good and evil? For many, what we really seek to know is whether God created evil. Most Christians agree that God is good, but how could God be good if he actually created evil? As Luther's opponents argued, that would seem quite absurd. When considering such a question, we must take into account the views of those who recorded our scripture. Let's start with the New Testament writings. Do you think Paul had the attitude that God created evil? If Paul carried this view around with him, how successful do you think he would have been in joyfully preaching the gospel? Would Paul have delighted in taking punishment directly from Yahweh for preaching the message that Yahweh told him to preach? Did Paul say, Lord, please stop whipping and scourging me so I can do what you told me to do? That's completely absurd, isn't it? It defies all reason and paints a wrong view of God. What view did Paul have of our Heavenly Father while on his apostolic journey? In a place of total despair, Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 1 7, our hope for you is unshaken, for we know that as you share in our sufferings, you will also share in our comfort. For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia, for we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death, but that was to make us not rely on ourselves, but on God who raises the dead. He delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will deliver us again. You also must help us by prayer so that many will give thanks on our behalf for the blessing granted us through the prayers of many. There's much to learn from this passage about how Paul viewed the Lord. Paul calls God the deliverer. He acknowledges the purpose of what happened, but that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead. Notice he does not say God caused these events. He simply says these things happened. As if man's will brought about the events, yet God remained in control and worked them out for good. This matches what Paul taught about the Lord's sovereignty. Further he says they must help them by prayer. Why would that matter if God is pulling the strings on good and evil? What does the will of man have to do with anything if they have no ability to act on their own? In Romans eight twenty eight we read, and we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. Does God create good and evil or not? It seems Paul might be confused. Then what about Jesus? What would he say regarding his suffering? Jesus knew that the Lord's will was for him to face crucifixion. This would have been very certain while he was being nailed to the cross. Would he not also have known the prophecy about him that said, Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him, he hath put him to grief. Yet in his response to those nailing him to the cross, he says, in Luke twenty three thirty four, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. We see the same statement made by Stephen, who is said to be a man of great faith. As they were stoning Stephen, he called out, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit, and falling to his knees he cried out with a loud voice, Lord, do not hold this sin against them. And we said this he fell asleep. Why would Jesus not proclaim his father as the one who orchestrated the event? Why would Stephen not pray that the Lord not do what he was about to do? Is this not what we are to understand from the prophet Isaiah? And what are we to make of Jesus' words in Gethsemane? Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless not my will, but yours be done. And there appeared to him an angel from heaven strengthening him, and being in agony he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat became like drops of blood falling to the ground. Jesus proclaimed that Yahweh is in control, but man's ignorance came from his own fallible will. Father Yahweh sent Jesus comfort through an angel. The Lord again played the role of deliverer. We see this pattern from Genesis to Revelation. Is there any scripture that makes Yahweh the author of evil and Eden? Ancient Jews seem to have viewed Satan as more responsible than Adam and Eve, yet we don't see Yahweh blamed for bringing evil into the world. Instead, our Lord had a plan of redemption in place even before man fell. The question that we'll never answer, as Luther eloquently stated, is what, why, and how far that will wills when it comes to the hidden will of God. The clear answer we do have is that we have no reason to make Yahweh the author of sin and evil. It must be an indirect result of his creation. God is always just, and God is always the redeemer. Apart from God, neither the angels of heaven nor mankind can do anything truly good. The Father created us to depend on Him. Our Lord does not hide this central teaching of Scripture in the least. So why did it please the Lord to crush his Son Jesus? It was an act of love for him and for mankind. Jesus received his crown of glory and returned to his Father's presence. Through his sacrifice the Lord reconciled the faithful to himself once and for all. Man crucified Christ, but only because Christ handed himself over to them. Christ willingly offered himself to the Lord for the establishment of salvation. Sin was crushed. Yahweh brought good out of the most evil situations. In this way Yahweh creates evil and calamity. He creates situations that reveal the evil in mankind and display his glory. Evil has no control over God. Isaiah forty five seven reads I form the light and create darkness, I make peace and create evil. I the Lord do all these things. The statement declares the sovereign grace of our Lord. Despite the evil will of man who does not depend on the Lord, and despite the will of man apart from God, Yahweh remains sovereign over all creation, even over the evil that results from their own will. Yahweh accomplishes his good purpose and the evil that comes from the will of man. We see this understanding directly through the views of Christ Himself, as well as those who He sent with the gospel of grace. We can trust God to bring us peace, comfort, wisdom, guidance, strength, and all things that we may need in times of suffering. Don't give up depending on the Lord for the deliverance of your personal suffering. God is not chastising you for your sin. You're a forgiven person. Your sin has been forgiven as far as East is from the west. Your sin has been put away Hebrews. Your sins are no longer counted against you by God. Chastising comes from the world and by the hand of man, but Yahweh is working his good will in all of it for those who love him. If you haven't listened to my message on Hebrews twelve, I recommend it. It applies directly to this topic. Though we can't know or understand the ways in which Yahweh is doing his sanctifying work in our lives, we can trust that our Lord loves us and will give us strength to endure all things if we depend on him. So does God create good and evil? God is the creator of all things. Nothing exists that he didn't bring into existence. Romans 4.17. But he is himself the author of redemption and deliverance in a world that stands in opposition to him. We can trust Jesus with every aspect of our lives, confidently knowing that he is always on our side and that there is no evil in him, just as we read in Psalm 92.15. That's what I got for this week, guys. Look forward to talking to you next time. Grace and peace. The content of this message can be found on my blog post at wakinguptograce.com. My writings include linked references and visual aids, which will give even more valuable insight, and it's always free of charge. The comment section below each message is a place where we can share mutual encouragement and insight with one another outside of the social media net.