This is a deep question. This question is often asked by Christians, seekers, skeptics, and atheists. Human nature always questions the Goodness of God, because human nature cannot discern God's divine purposes and is always trying to find some way to alibi their sin and rejection of Christ. God gives each of us the free will to choose good or evil. Lucifer (Satan), the anointed cherub, and the angels obviously were given the same free will and ability to choose to obey or rebel. In other words, they were not religious robots. (See Isaiah 14:12-15; Ezekiel 28:13-15; II Peter 2:4). God has created the condition in the world where the ability to rebel against Him is possible. Yet, the LORD is not responsible for our rebellion once it has been committed. Therefore, sin originated with Lucifer who was the first to rebel, then sin entered into the world through Adam and Eve who were tempted by Satan and likewise chose disobedience.
The direct answer to this question is not found in Scripture. God desires that His creatures respond to Him with an obedient love that is free and not forced. Satan abused this freedom and became a slave of evil. Sin is the absence of God, just as darkness is the absence of light. Satan chose to rebel against God and this is where sin began. Satan was filled with self-will ("I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.") His rebellion has repercussions even till today. Likewise, our rebellions have long-lasting repercussions at times. Satan will be bound in the Millennium (Christ's 1,000 year reign on earth after the Great Tribulation) , but man will still continue to rebel against God. But always remember, the real giving and receiving of love requires choice and choice implies the possibility of disobedience and evil. We can't blame all our sin on God, the devil doesn't always tempt us. Every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of HIS OWN lust, and enticed. Sinners entice sinners as well. We can't blame all wrongdoing on the devil.
“What is the origin of evil?” This is the question of the sin-loving man that is normally trying to justify his sin. He should be asking, “How can I get rid of my evil?” Not, “How did evil come into the world?” but “How am I to escape from my evil?” For example, the sane man with terminal Cancer doesn't ask the doctor where did Cancer originally come from, no, he immediately seeks the guidance from the Doctor on how to get rid of his Cancer. Not, “How is it that I have cancer?” but “Are there any possibilities that I can be healed? Is there a physician to be found that can restore my body to health?” We should be seeking out, not the cause, but the remedy; not the reason of the disease, but the way by which the disease can be cured. Human nature trifles with conjectures while it neglects certainties. More questions have been asked concerning the origin of evil than anything else.
Men have puzzled their heads, and twisted their brains into knots, in order to understand what men can never know — how evil came into this world, and how its entrance is consistent with divine goodness? The absolute fact is this, there is evil; and the question should be, “How can I escape "my" evil and from the wrath to come, which is caused on account of my evil?” Man's real want is to know how he can be saved; if you are aware that your sin must be pardoned or punished, your wisest question will be, “How can my sins which I have committed against God all of my life be pardoned freely? How can my iniquities be forgiven immediately and forever?” Human nature loves to speculate about uncertainties, while ignoring the certainty and immediate need of the forgiveness of sins. The carnal mind is fond of curious topics which cannot be answered, but the carnal mind resists the answer to its sin problem - the Blood of Jesus Christ.
Men have puzzled their heads, and twisted their brains into knots, in order to understand what men can never know — how evil came into this world, and how its entrance is consistent with divine goodness? The absolute fact is this, there is evil; and the question should be, “How can I escape "my" evil and from the wrath to come, which is caused on account of my evil?” Man's real want is to know how he can be saved; if you are aware that your sin must be pardoned or punished, your wisest question will be, “How can my sins which I have committed against God all of my life be pardoned freely? How can my iniquities be forgiven immediately and forever?” Human nature loves to speculate about uncertainties, while ignoring the certainty and immediate need of the forgiveness of sins. The carnal mind is fond of curious topics which cannot be answered, but the carnal mind resists the answer to its sin problem - the Blood of Jesus Christ.
Human nature will squander away its time in useless and curious enquiries about the origin of moral evil, and so forth, and generally people who are too idle to attempt the practical getting rid of their sin, and therefore will kill their time, quiet their consciences by abstruse controversies and vain janglings about subjects which do not matter, and wind up their losing their soul. Only a fool would sit around and try to figure out where his disease came from, when he could be getting the cure down at the doctor's office.
There was a farmer once whose son said to him, “Father, the cows are in the corn. How did they get in there?” “Son,” replied the father, “never mind how they got there, let us hurry up and get them out as quick as we can.” There's some good common sense. This is our main business as well, to get the cows out of the corn. How they got there is a matter that can be thought of later on, when we have nothing else to do. The origin of evil is a point that puzzles a great many people; and there is no reason to worry your brain too long over that question; if we do, it is very foolish. But if we are wise, we will not trouble ourselves so much about the origin of evil, as about how to conquer it, in ourselves, and in others. Let's get the cows out of the corn first, and then we can find out how they got in. And if we can, let us prevent ourselves and them from getting into the corn again.
We shouldn't be troubled so much about how evil came into the world as about helping to get evil out of men's lives. Practical common-sense seems to say, “If there is a thief in the house, let us catch him, or else get him out, and after that, we will try to find out how he got in.” Our Lord Jesus Christ did not come into the world to tell us how sin was brought here, but He came here on purpose to show us the only way in which sin can be gotten out of our souls, and that is, by the door which he opened in His own side on Calvary. It is by Jesus' bloody death that sin can be expelled from the soul. A wise man deals with his evil and seeks to get rid of it at the Cross, rather that raise useless questions about it.
People always want to know, what is the origin of sin; they ask ten thousand questions which, if they could be answered, would not make them a bit better. But when it comes to the Gospel of Christ, sin-loving men are content to procrastinate and neglect it without making any earnest enquiry, or setting themselves to ascertain Gospel truth which can save them from the love and damnation of sin. The Gospel teaches about your sinful condition before your Maker; The Gospel declares how God can be just and yet be Gracious to sinners through the bloody death of the Son of God. The Gospel shows us how we can safely approach our Maker through the Mediator, become His child, be conformed to His image, and live with Him forever in glory.
People always want to know, what is the origin of sin; they ask ten thousand questions which, if they could be answered, would not make them a bit better. But when it comes to the Gospel of Christ, sin-loving men are content to procrastinate and neglect it without making any earnest enquiry, or setting themselves to ascertain Gospel truth which can save them from the love and damnation of sin. The Gospel teaches about your sinful condition before your Maker; The Gospel declares how God can be just and yet be Gracious to sinners through the bloody death of the Son of God. The Gospel shows us how we can safely approach our Maker through the Mediator, become His child, be conformed to His image, and live with Him forever in glory.
People today are sunken down in vice, and steeped in their sins. We must forget about the conjectures - How did evil come into the world? How did they get into this condition? or, What is the origin of moral evil? or, How is evil transmitted from parent to child? We will have those questions answered after the day of Judgment, when we will have more light; but now the main thing is to see how you and I can get evil off of our soul, and how we can help restore other poor sinners who are lost and gone astray. If we see a child drowning, we don't lecture him about swimming in too deep a water. We don't question him on how he got into the deep water. No, no, we first save the boy on the bank, dry him off and dress him, and then tell him not to go there again, lest a worse thing come unto him.
Many folks puzzle themselves about the origin of evil. But Christ did not come to explain the mystery of the origin of sin; He came to put an end to SIN. Getting rid of your sins is an infinitely more practical subject than that of speculating about how evil first entered into the world, or how it entered any individual soul. Christ came to tell you how to get rid of your sins.
Bottom line - God is never anything but Good; we must always trust His heart and wisdom and will. True love must have a choice in order to be true love. God took a great risk in creating Lucifer and us with a free will -- but only then could our love for Him be real. But God also sent His Son into the world with a free will, and He lived an absolutely sinless life. Jesus took our sins upon Him and paid sin's awful price with His own Precious Blood. This was planned before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:4).
God had mercy on Sinners, but not on Satan and the fallen angels (II Peter 2:4). We can thank God today that we can escape the condemnation of God through His dear Son. God let sin enter into the world through Adam, but He also let True and Everlasting Righteousness enter into the world through His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Moral evil was defeated by the bleeding love of God at the Cross. Jesus overcame evil with Good and gave us the Victory over our sins at Calvary. All Glory be to Him who died for me! Let the Lord Jesus Christ be magnified, which hath pleasure in the prosperity of His servants.
God had mercy on Sinners, but not on Satan and the fallen angels (II Peter 2:4). We can thank God today that we can escape the condemnation of God through His dear Son. God let sin enter into the world through Adam, but He also let True and Everlasting Righteousness enter into the world through His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Moral evil was defeated by the bleeding love of God at the Cross. Jesus overcame evil with Good and gave us the Victory over our sins at Calvary. All Glory be to Him who died for me! Let the Lord Jesus Christ be magnified, which hath pleasure in the prosperity of His servants.
