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IntroductionThere are various approaches to the cause and origin of sin and evil. Those who tend towards an acceptance of evolution ascribe the existence of evil and sin to man's gradual, but at present incomplete, emergence from the animal world and look forward to its ultimate disappearance in "the sweep of evolutionary progress". Those who follow the more traditional church attitude ascribe it to a diabolic spirit-personality acting in opposition to the Divine Creator. In following this second line of argument, relating the facts of sin and evil to a diabolic supernatural power, one must ask the question, "Is it possible for these good and evil powers to be omni-present at the same time?". Would God as Creator of all things, both spiritual and material, be responsible for the creation of this evil spirit being? This clearly cannot be reconciled with the character of a righteous Creator who pronounced His finished creation as being "very good" (Gen. 1:31). Those who attempt to get around this scriptural difficulty either regard this evil power as not being created and continually at war with God or by portraying the evil power as a fallen angel cast out of heaven.
What do the Scriptures say?Both logic and scriptures place the responsibility fairly and squarely on man. "The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked "(Jer. 17:9). The Lord Jesus Himself said: "For from within, out of men's hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All these evils come from inside and make a man unclean "(Mark 7:21-23 NIV). The apostle James is also very specific: "What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don't they come from your desires that battle within you "(James 4:1) and even more pointedly "When tempted, no one should say, `God is tempting me'. For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death "(James 1:13-15). Paul the apostle concurs when he distinguishes between the natural carnal mind which "is only evil continually" and is "enmity against God", and the spiritual mind which is derived from God and is the source of all good and righteousness (see Romans. 5-6 and Gal. 5). Not only does he distinguish between them but he stresses (Romans. 7) the very real conflict that goes on within a man as soon as he is regenerated. "For what I do is not the good I want to do; no the evil I do not want to do - this I keep on doing" (Rom. 7:19). It is not the knowledge of good but the will to perform it that is lacking in humans. How does the fact that man is responsible for the majority of sin and evil in the world, - in the face of results which God must have foreknown - tally with the fact that God said that creation was "very good"? The answer to this dilemma is in what God Himself said about the origin of sin.
The origin of sinBriefly, after having been created "in the image of God", man was left with the freedom of a perfect world, but was instructed, under penalty of death, not to eat of the fruit of a certain tree - the tree of the knowledge of good and evil; a knowledge of which they were presumably innocent. They were however aware that disobedience was a possible course of action and that the result of such disobedience would be death. The woman first gave way to a temptation to eat of the forbidden fruit, encouraged by a "serpent" (Hebrews. 'nachash' - a whisperer or enchanter). The man followed suit, fully aware of what he was doing. Together they found that they had at last knowledge of good and evil, and in their own eyes they stood convicted of sin. This introduced sin and consequently evil coming from mankind's own disobedience. Why then did God create a man capable of sin? The answer is that man, the crown of God's creation, could not properly reflect the glory of God without being given this moral freedom. A robot who cannot sin cannot be morally perfect in any real sense. The possibility of sin was inherent in the creation of moral beings, for, if they were to be really moral, they must be also really free.
God’s purpose of redemptionIt is not God's purpose to leave the world eternally in sin. The whole purpose of God is the destruction of sin and evil and thus bring about the reconciliation of man with God whose absolute righteousness cannot condone or endure the presence of sin. God's certain purpose is to abolish evil. He both can and will destroy it. "As truly as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord" (Num. 14:21). The reason why this process is not accomplished instantly is related to the very real responsibility given to man and the operation in the universe of orderly laws, which God does not arbitrarily and continually suspend.
The devil and satan"Satan" is a Hebrew word meaning "to oppose", "to be an adversary". The word is translated "adversary", "resist", "withstand" and transliterated as "Satan". This term has been used to describe God when revealed as an opponent to Israel (1 Chron. 21:1), an "angel of the Lord" (Num 22:22, 32), good and evil men (1 Sam 29:4; 2 Sam 19:22; Ps 38:20), an apostle (Matt 16:23; Mk 8:33), adverse religious communities (Rev 2:9); sickness (Lk 13:16); evil thoughts (Lk 22:3; Jn 13:27; Acts 5:3), the flesh (Acts 26:18), the world as adverse to God's ways (1 Cor 5:5; 1 Tim 1:20), governments (Rev 12:9; Lk 10:18). The Greek "diabolos" translated "devil" in many places signifies "false accuser", or "slanderer". It has been rendered "slanderers" in 1 Tim 3:11, and "false accusers" in 2 Tim 3:3, Titus 2:3. The same word is used to describe a person (Jn 6:70); slanderous women (1 Tim 3:11); false accusers (2 Tim 3:3); sin (Heb 2:14); the flesh (Acts 13:10); the antagonistic world (Eph 4:27); and persecuting civil authorities (Eph 6:11; Rev 2:10, 12). Again, however, it is used as a personification of an aspect of human nature. We read (1 Jn 3:8) that "the Son of God was manifested that he might destroy the works of the devil" and "He (Jesus) also himself likewise took part of the same (flesh and blood) that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is the devil "(Heb 2:14). What is it that has the power of death? Not a supernatural evil being, for death is the punishment imposed by God for sin. "By one man sin entered into the world and death by sin". "The wages of sin is death". It is sin that has the power of death. And since man himself alone is responsible for sin, the devil becomes a personification of this very real power of sin, or man's sinful nature.
SummaryFinally, we would not say that there is no Devil or Satan. That is an error into which the modern world has fallen, by saying first there is no righteous Creator. Rather we would say that the Devil is not a supernatural evil personality, but the personification of those powerful sinful tendencies within man, which, unless they are overcome by the power of God, bring him to destruction and his world to ruin. Also, while man is responsible for actual sin, we must not shrink from the conclusion that God created the conditions in which sin became possible. Has He not boldly proclaimed: "I make peace and create evil" (Isa 45:7)? Further, he often gives warning through His prophets that disobedience and sin would bring retributive evil from His hand. Apart from God's use of evil in this way, it is a general principle in creation that mankind is often protected from harm by the evil that accompanies harmful actions, e.g. the pain that results from a burn is in a sense evil, but unless there were this painful sensation, a whole limb might be mutilated and lost before a man realised his danger. Again, sin often results in evil that afflicts not only the sinner but others. Out of this evil, however, there can arise good, for, strange as it may seem, qualities such as sympathy, pity, patience, forbearance, fortitude, self-sacrifice and so on can hardly arise except in the face of evil. In conclusion, the existence of sin and evil is not inconsistent with the creation of this universe by a wise, loving and all-powerful God, and it is His purpose that ultimately they shall be destroyed completely from the face of the earth. As the word of God clearly states: "Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good" (Rom 12:21).
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