Why Does God Allow Evil to Continue?

In several places, the Bible talks about the effects of man's sins, not just on man himself, but on all of creation. That's because Adam was created to be the viceroy of God, the head of the creation. And, just as the bad decisions of a president affect our entire society, Adam's catastrophic choice brought ruin on the entire physical universe.

The primary reference is Genesis 3:17-19: "Cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread." Moses touches again on this just a little later, in Genesis 5:29, referring to Noah: "Out of the ground that the LORD has cursed, this one shall bring us relief from our work and from the painful toil of our hands."

The Prophet Isaiah is even more graphic: "The earth lies defiled under its inhabitants; for they have transgressed the laws, violated the statutes, broken the everlasting covenant" (Isaiah 24:5).

In the New Testament, Paul tells us (Romans 8:20-21), "The creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God."

It is only natural to wonder why this curse continues. Why does God continue to allow hurricanes, earthquakes, AIDS, hunger, and war? And I think these verses allow us only one answer: God has ordained that the creation shall resist its human ruler until that ruler stops resisting God. That is, just as the creation was placed under a curse because of man's sin, it remains a curse until his sin ends. That is part of what is brought about as men turn to Christ in repentance and faith. "Through Him, [God shall] reconcile to Himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of His cross" (Colossians 1:20).

"The creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies" (Romans 8:19-23).

So the answer to the question I ask in the title is another question: How long will God allow evil to continue? How long will mankind prefer suffering evil to submitting to his proper Lord and God? They are the opposite sides of the same coin.