A Sermon Study
Why Is There Evil
& Suffering?
Three answers from six scholars — exploring the origin, the answer, and the end of evil through the lens of Scripture.
If you live long enough, you will eventually hit a wall that forces you to ask the hardest question in the world: If God is good, and God is all-powerful, why is there so much evil and suffering?
The Christian worldview does not run from this question. In fact, as Gregory Koukl writes, evil is not a problem that undermines the Christian story — it is the very crisis the story is meant to resolve.
When you distill the lifetimes of study from six prominent Christian thinkers, three profound, interconnected answers emerge. The Bible tells us where evil came from, what God has done about it, and how it will finally end.
The Oldest Objection
The Epicurean Paradox
For over 2,000 years, this challenge has confronted believers. Click each line to see how the six scholars respond.
Attributed to Epicurus (c. 341–270 BC)
Point One
The Origin of Evil
The Price of Freedom
The unanimous answer of Scripture and all six scholars is this: evil exists because of the Fall — human free will and rebellion introduced sin and suffering into God's good creation.
In the book of Genesis, God creates a world that He calls "very good." But He also creates human beings in His image. And part of being made in God's image is having the capacity for genuine love. But here is the catch: love requires a choice. You cannot force someone to love you.
"Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned."
— Romans 5:12
We value our free will. As Clay Jones points out, we hate being controlled. But the price of a world with genuine free will is the possibility that we will use it wrongly. We did. And the world broke.
Even natural disasters — what philosophers call "natural evil" — are tied to this. Romans 8 tells us that creation itself was subjected to frustration and is groaning. The world is broken because we broke it.
What the Scholars Say
Free Will Defense
"Why is there evil? Because of human choices."
Norman Geisler & Frank Turek
I Don't Have Enough Faith To Be An Atheist
Redemptive Narrative
"Man disobeys God, triggering the crisis of the Story and bringing pain and suffering into the world. So now mankind is both beautiful and broken."
Gregory Koukl
The Story of Reality
Human Depravity
"Every genocide researcher I've ever read concludes that it is the average member of a population that commits genocide. That tells us there is something terribly wrong with humankind."
Clay Jones
Why Does God Allow Evil?
Progressive Revelation
"We see a generally coherent picture of a God who has made a path for reconciling a broken humanity to himself."
Paul Copan
Is God a Vindictive Bully?
Point Two
The Answer to Evil
The Cross of Christ
If the story ended at the Fall, it would be a tragedy. But it doesn't. God's definitive answer to evil is the cross of Jesus Christ. God did not remain distant — He entered into human suffering Himself.
When people suffer, they often want a philosophical explanation. But as Timothy Keller notes, what we need even more than an explanation is a person. The cross doesn't give us a neat, tidy answer to why a specific tragedy happened on a specific Tuesday. But it gives us something better: it gives us proof that God loves us.
"My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"
— Matthew 27:46
John Stott explains the concept of "divine self-substitution." God didn't just punish a third party; God in Christ took the penalty of our rebellion upon Himself. Divine love triumphed over divine wrath by divine self-sacrifice.
If He was willing to endure the cross for us, we can trust that He is not indifferent to our tears.
What the Scholars Say
Divine Self-Substitution
"I could never myself believe in God, if it were not for the cross... In the real world of pain, how could one worship a God who was immune to it?"
John Stott
The Cross of Christ
Christological Hope
"If you are sure that this world is unjust, you presuppose an extra-natural standard by which to make this judgement. The existence of this standard is an argument for God."
Timothy Keller
The Reason for God
Penal Substitution
"Divine love triumphed over divine wrath by divine self-sacrifice."
John Stott
The Cross of Christ (p. 158)
Biblical Theology
"In the Scriptures and in Jesus himself, we find a better explanation than any other. That is why we look in that direction rather than elsewhere."
Paul Copan
Is God a Vindictive Bully?
Point Three
The End of Evil
The Eternal Perspective
If God defeated evil at the cross, why is it still here? Why doesn't He just end it right now? Suffering is not the final word. An eternal perspective reveals that present pain will be eclipsed by future restoration and glory.
Gregory Koukl uses a brilliant analogy from C.S. Lewis: "When the Author walks on the stage, the play is over." If God were to step in right now and eradicate all evil, He would have to eradicate all of us, because we all harbor evil in our hearts. His delay is not apathy; it is mercy.
"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."
— 2 Peter 3:9
The Apostle Paul, who suffered beatings, shipwrecks, and imprisonment, wrote with absolute conviction about the weight of glory that awaits.
"I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us."
— Romans 8:18
"He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."
— Revelation 21:4
What the Scholars Say
Eternal Perspective
"Eternity will dwarf our suffering to insignificance."
Clay Jones
Why Does God Allow Evil?
Eschatological Hope
"In Tolkien's words, everything sad is going to become untrue."
Timothy Keller
The Reason for God
Redemptive Narrative
"Evil is not the problem for Christianity that people think it is because it is not foreign to the Story. It is central to it. It fits right in."
Gregory Koukl
The Story of Reality
Soul-Making Theodicy
"Why does God permit suffering? Because we learn more from suffering than from pleasure."
Norman Geisler & Frank Turek
I Don't Have Enough Faith To Be An Atheist
The Story Ends
in Glory
Why is there evil and suffering? Because we were given the profound gift of freedom, and we used it to break the world.
What is God doing about it? He stepped into the brokenness, took the pain upon Himself on the cross, and proved His unfailing love.
How does it end? With a resurrection. With a restoration. With a day when every tear is wiped away.
If you are suffering today, you do not have a God who is immune to your pain. You have a God who wears scars. And you have a God who promises that the story ends in glory.
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All three points, every scholar quote, the Epicurean Paradox responses, deeper dive content, and scripture references — organized in a single 12-page PDF.
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