Good and
Evil
Bible Study
& Discussion
The Big picture of the
Bible: Creation – Fall – Cross – Resurrection – Ascension – Return of Christ –
New Creation
What exactly do we mean by
good? Desirability, perfection
(1) GOD IS GOOD
Luke 18:19; Psalm 100:5;
106:1; 107:1; Psalm 34:8
God perfect, complete,
without defect – Matthew 5:48 - God’s ways perfect – Deuteronomy 32:4; 2 Samuel
22:31; Psalm 18:30
God supremely excellent,
perfect
Moral perfection,
sinlessness, holiness, absence of all evil
Goodness as righteousness
– Genesis 3:5; Leviticus 5:4; Numbers 24:13; 1 Samuel 12:23; 2 Samuel 14:17;
Psalm 25:8; Romans 2:10; 3:12; 7:18; 2 Corinthians 5:10
Goodness as benevolence –
acting for the good of others – Psalm 73:28; Numbers 10:29; Deuteronomy 30:5;
Joshua 24:20; Judges 17:13; 2 Samuel 16:12; Mark 3:4; John 10:11; Acts 14:17
Plato’s Euthyphro Problem:
is piety whatever the gods say it is, or do the gods command things because
they are intrinsically pious?
By what standard? Is there
a rule of goodness to which God conforms or does God decide what is good?
Cf. Does the King make the
law or is the law above the King?
God always “feels” and
thinks and wills and speaks and acts and in conformity to his own perfectly
good nature
(2) CREATION IS GOOD
Genesis 1:10, 12, 18, 21,
25, 31
1 Timothy 4:4
Original goodness as well
as original sin
The image of God in human
beings (Genesis 2:26-27) marred but not totally irradiated
Total depravity – every
aspect of us affected by sin, none of our thoughts totally pure – Genesis 6:5;
8:21; Romans 3:9-18; 8:8
Sinful people still do
things that are relatively good – 2 Kings 10:29-31; 12:2; Luke 6:33
(3) EVIL HAPPENS
Some e.g. Christian
Scientist sect, some forms of Hinduism claim evil is an illusion
? evil not a created thing
– a falling away from the good – a privation / deprivation / lack
The devil and demons –
fallen angels created good by God who rebelled against him – 2 Peter 2:4; Jude
6
The devil only perverts
and corrupts – parasitical - he cannot create
The Fall of Man – Genesis
3
Creation under the
judgement of God – Genesis 3:17-19
The Bible can speak of God
creating / causing evil – Isaiah 45:7; Lamentation 3:38 – certainly the Bible
sees evil as under God’s control
God is not the morally responsible
author of evil – he permits it / governs it but is not to blame for it
God must have good enough
reasons for allowing evil
God allows and uses evil
for his own good purposes - Genesis 50:20; Romans 8:28
The cross – good out of
evil – Acts 4:27-28
God uses suffering and
hardship in our lives – James 1:2-3
(4) GOOD WINS
Good and evil are not
equal and opposite forces locked in battle – Good has priority over evil – God
created the devil – cf. Job, the devil has to seek God’s permission to test Job
Jesus has decisively
defeated the devil
The good news of God’s
judgement – evil will be punished
The New Creation –
Revelation 21:1-5
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