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Greetings!Rev. Scott Jones has been an American Baptist minister since 1997. He was born in Des Moines, Iowa, growing up in Iowa and South Dakota. He received his Bachelor of Arts in vocal music at Iowa State University in 1994 and earned a Masters in Divinity from Northern Seminary in 1997. He was ordained in 1997 in the Mid-America Baptist Churches (Iowa and Minnesota). Scott is the 21st minister of the First Baptist Church of Greensburg.
Scott first responded to Jesus in faith as a young child and was baptized at age 13. He has been blessed throughout his life with wonderful role models in his parents, ABY youth group, and ABC summer camp, where he was invited to say “yes” to the Lord’s call on his life. His ministry is about worship, preaching, teaching, evangelism, and relationships. He uses his musical background to lead people into the presence of God. He is involved in our Region as instructor of New Testament with the Academy of Christian Training and Service (ACTS), our lay-pastor training institute. He also sings with the Irwin Male Chorus. |
Pastor's Newsletter
In our previous discussions, we have already established that God didn't produce evil. We established that God is all-good. We established that He is all-powerful. But if those things are so, why does He allow evil to continue?
In his excellent resource, Baker Encyclopedia of Christian Apologetics (p. 221), Norman Geisler documents that this problem has prompted many people to deny the existence of any such God as the Christians believe it. To quote Geisler, the atheists would set up their argument against God in this way:
1. If God were all-good, He would destroy evil.
2. If God were all-powerful, He could destroy evil.
3. But evil is not destroyed.
4. Therefore, there is no such God.
That seems like a powerful problem, but the way it's constructed seeks to close the case without examining the premises. Christians agree that God is all-good and all-powerful, that He can destroy evil and that He intends to destroy evil. Points one and two are granted. Point three, however, calls for some examination. The atheist argument looks completely different if we insert a single word: "yet." Thus, "But evil is not destroyed...yet." With that one word added, point four isn't nearly so conclusive. Instead, the possibility of such an all-good, all-powerful God remains. As Scripture proclaims, we have a God who is omnipotent and perfectly good. He has promised that He will remove all evil; His holiness, goodness and justice make Him determined to do so. The only element needed is a bit of time.
If we are waiting for the final destruction of evil, it's reasonable to ask why we are waiting. What is the purpose for God's delay? Part of the wait has to do with the kind of universe God set out to make, and the conditions under which He created us. He wanted a moral universe, with human beings who would choose God's good, moral ways out of our own free choice. He made us in His own image, with the aim that we would voluntarily choose to love, worship and emulate Him--to live as His children eternally. As we said previously, though, a loving relationship must be freely chosen to be real. There can be no choice without options; we can't choose God unless there is also the option to reject Him. This lends some perspective to why evil may be allowed to persist, for the present time. If God were to annihilate all evil immediately, the opportunity for free choice would also be eliminated. And free choice is an essential ingredient for a moral universe.
For the present time, the choice between God and death must be real. There is no ability to freely choose the good if only the good exists. That is forced freedom, which is self-contradicting. There can be no freedom to choose love if people aren't also free to choose hate, no freedom to choose worship without the option to choose blasphemy, no freedom to choose God's Truth unless one may also freely choose to believe the devil's deception.
Choice has been an essential part of God's design since the beginning. There would have been no tree of forbidden fruit unless God wanted Adam and Eve to have a real choice. In his farewell address before passing on the mantle to Joshua, Moses clearly laid out the choices Israel would necessarily make in years to come. In Deuteronomy 30, he commanded Israel to love God and walk in obedience to His commandments so that He could prosper them. If they chose idolatry, Moses warned them that they would be driven out, just as the Canaanites were. He sums up their choice in verses 19 and 20:
This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the Lord your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the Lord is your life...
Some may say that for God to give choice and time for people to embrace sin, He is being somehow unjust. In fact, the opposite is true. It is because of God's love for us that He wants us to have a real choice, while warning us of the stakes involved in that choice. He has something in store for us, in eternity, that is far more glorious than the angels themselves can experience. He made us in His image, to share in His inheritance forever. With that higher calling, however, comes a higher responsibility of choice. God's current patience also reflects His great mercy toward those who have not yet chosen to follow God's calling. He does not wait to give people sufficient rope to justly hang themselves with; He waits for them to turn away from death and curses, to choose life and blessings instead. As is written in 2 Peter 3:9, "The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance." God grants time precisely so that those we love have the chance to repent and be redeemed. He loves them too, infinitely more than we can.
It's time to circle back, however, to the unavoidable truth: a truly omnipotent and all-loving God must finally act to defeat evil--both because of His own Holy character, and because of His love for those who have been the victims of evil people. He will defeat evil one day, and I believe, one day soon. Let's respond to the argument above from those who have denied God. They say that an all-powerful God can destroy evil, and that an all-loving God would destroy evil. But He hasn't done so, which means that no such God could exist. I responded that their third premise was inaccurate. God has not destroyed evil, yet. Christians firmly believe that God will indeed act to defeat evil in the fullness of time. Quoting Geiser (p. 221), we would set it up like this:
1. God is all good and desires to defeat evil.
2. God is all powerful and is able to defeat evil.
3. Evil is not yet defeated
4. Therefore, He will one day defeat it.
The reality that evil still persists doesn't in any way lessen the certainty that God will defeat it. Count on this as well: when God does come in wrath and judgment to defeat evil, the all-encompassing scope of His justice will more than satisfy us that the score is settled and the board is clear. Remember last time, when we defined evil as a corruption, or warping, of God’s good design? And secondly, that evil is a condition in which there is a deprivation of the good things God intends--a vacuum of sorts? When God sets these things right, all that is bent out of shape will be made whole. His creation will be transformed, renewed and glorified. Those places where an emptiness has replaced God’s good design will be powerfully filled and healed.
Christians are able to embrace the omnipotence, love and justice of God, while still acknowledging the real evil still in the world. We do that because of our faith in the goodness of God. We believe that He is higher and infinitely more good than us, and that He knows best the right time, means and measure to judge and eliminate evil. I pray that you trust Him to do so as well. In the interim, my friends, persevere. Hold tight to your trust in the Father's goodness. Pray and wait for God to move in His perfect way and time. Know that your pain and perseverance will never be for naught, because even that patient anguish is working great good in your soul:
Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us. -- Romans 5:3-5
Your Brother and Servant,
Pastor Scott.
In his excellent resource, Baker Encyclopedia of Christian Apologetics (p. 221), Norman Geisler documents that this problem has prompted many people to deny the existence of any such God as the Christians believe it. To quote Geisler, the atheists would set up their argument against God in this way:
1. If God were all-good, He would destroy evil.
2. If God were all-powerful, He could destroy evil.
3. But evil is not destroyed.
4. Therefore, there is no such God.
That seems like a powerful problem, but the way it's constructed seeks to close the case without examining the premises. Christians agree that God is all-good and all-powerful, that He can destroy evil and that He intends to destroy evil. Points one and two are granted. Point three, however, calls for some examination. The atheist argument looks completely different if we insert a single word: "yet." Thus, "But evil is not destroyed...yet." With that one word added, point four isn't nearly so conclusive. Instead, the possibility of such an all-good, all-powerful God remains. As Scripture proclaims, we have a God who is omnipotent and perfectly good. He has promised that He will remove all evil; His holiness, goodness and justice make Him determined to do so. The only element needed is a bit of time.
If we are waiting for the final destruction of evil, it's reasonable to ask why we are waiting. What is the purpose for God's delay? Part of the wait has to do with the kind of universe God set out to make, and the conditions under which He created us. He wanted a moral universe, with human beings who would choose God's good, moral ways out of our own free choice. He made us in His own image, with the aim that we would voluntarily choose to love, worship and emulate Him--to live as His children eternally. As we said previously, though, a loving relationship must be freely chosen to be real. There can be no choice without options; we can't choose God unless there is also the option to reject Him. This lends some perspective to why evil may be allowed to persist, for the present time. If God were to annihilate all evil immediately, the opportunity for free choice would also be eliminated. And free choice is an essential ingredient for a moral universe.
For the present time, the choice between God and death must be real. There is no ability to freely choose the good if only the good exists. That is forced freedom, which is self-contradicting. There can be no freedom to choose love if people aren't also free to choose hate, no freedom to choose worship without the option to choose blasphemy, no freedom to choose God's Truth unless one may also freely choose to believe the devil's deception.
Choice has been an essential part of God's design since the beginning. There would have been no tree of forbidden fruit unless God wanted Adam and Eve to have a real choice. In his farewell address before passing on the mantle to Joshua, Moses clearly laid out the choices Israel would necessarily make in years to come. In Deuteronomy 30, he commanded Israel to love God and walk in obedience to His commandments so that He could prosper them. If they chose idolatry, Moses warned them that they would be driven out, just as the Canaanites were. He sums up their choice in verses 19 and 20:
This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the Lord your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the Lord is your life...
Some may say that for God to give choice and time for people to embrace sin, He is being somehow unjust. In fact, the opposite is true. It is because of God's love for us that He wants us to have a real choice, while warning us of the stakes involved in that choice. He has something in store for us, in eternity, that is far more glorious than the angels themselves can experience. He made us in His image, to share in His inheritance forever. With that higher calling, however, comes a higher responsibility of choice. God's current patience also reflects His great mercy toward those who have not yet chosen to follow God's calling. He does not wait to give people sufficient rope to justly hang themselves with; He waits for them to turn away from death and curses, to choose life and blessings instead. As is written in 2 Peter 3:9, "The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance." God grants time precisely so that those we love have the chance to repent and be redeemed. He loves them too, infinitely more than we can.
It's time to circle back, however, to the unavoidable truth: a truly omnipotent and all-loving God must finally act to defeat evil--both because of His own Holy character, and because of His love for those who have been the victims of evil people. He will defeat evil one day, and I believe, one day soon. Let's respond to the argument above from those who have denied God. They say that an all-powerful God can destroy evil, and that an all-loving God would destroy evil. But He hasn't done so, which means that no such God could exist. I responded that their third premise was inaccurate. God has not destroyed evil, yet. Christians firmly believe that God will indeed act to defeat evil in the fullness of time. Quoting Geiser (p. 221), we would set it up like this:
1. God is all good and desires to defeat evil.
2. God is all powerful and is able to defeat evil.
3. Evil is not yet defeated
4. Therefore, He will one day defeat it.
The reality that evil still persists doesn't in any way lessen the certainty that God will defeat it. Count on this as well: when God does come in wrath and judgment to defeat evil, the all-encompassing scope of His justice will more than satisfy us that the score is settled and the board is clear. Remember last time, when we defined evil as a corruption, or warping, of God’s good design? And secondly, that evil is a condition in which there is a deprivation of the good things God intends--a vacuum of sorts? When God sets these things right, all that is bent out of shape will be made whole. His creation will be transformed, renewed and glorified. Those places where an emptiness has replaced God’s good design will be powerfully filled and healed.
Christians are able to embrace the omnipotence, love and justice of God, while still acknowledging the real evil still in the world. We do that because of our faith in the goodness of God. We believe that He is higher and infinitely more good than us, and that He knows best the right time, means and measure to judge and eliminate evil. I pray that you trust Him to do so as well. In the interim, my friends, persevere. Hold tight to your trust in the Father's goodness. Pray and wait for God to move in His perfect way and time. Know that your pain and perseverance will never be for naught, because even that patient anguish is working great good in your soul:
Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us. -- Romans 5:3-5
Your Brother and Servant,
Pastor Scott.
