One of the hardest questions for a Christian to answer a non-believer is “if God is good, why is there evil in the world?” That is definitely a fair question and one that I often asked before I accepted Jesus as my Savior. I’m sure we have all heard the standard answers: we have freedom of choice, we bring it upon ourselves, there is some sin we haven’t confessed, etc. While those are all true to various extents, I believe that there is a more visible answer that explains why there is evil in the world.
“God didn’t set his heart on you or choose you because you numbered more than any other people — on the contrary, you were the fewest of all peoples.” - Deuteronomy 7:7
“Go in through the narrow gate; for the gate that leads to destruction is wide and the road broad, and many travel it; but it is a narrow gate and a hard road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” - Matthew 7:13-14
Before I dive into the reason for so much evil in this world, I want to define the word “remnant”. A remnant as defined by Cambridge Dictionary is “a small piece or amount of something left from a larger, original piece or amount”. God the Father and Jesus Christ both claim that there are only a few that will seek Him.
In Genesis chapter 6, God saw that the world was wicked except for Noah and his family. When Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed only Lot and his family were deemed righteous (Genesis 19). During the time of Elijah the prophet, the northern kingdom of Israel was involved in pagan rituals that involved human sacrifices and public orgies in the name of Baal, and yet, God told Elijah that there were 7,000 that remained faithful to Him and not Baal (1 Kings 19). It is estimated that the population of the northern kingdom of Israel was roughly one million at that time. That means that less than 1% of the ENTIRE population was not involved in wickedness. Think about that and look at our world today. How many people are committing heinous acts that are being applauded by society?
The whole Law of God can be condensed to this: love your neighbor as yourself (Galatians 5:14). When the majority of the world walks in selfishness, greed, drunkenness, and other fruits of their own desires, is it any wonder that hardships and evil abound? If the man loved others as much as he loved himself, he would not have driven intoxicated and killed an innocent family. Life isn’t fair. How we live our own lives impacts others. If the teacher loved others as she loved herself, she would not have slept with her underage students and broken up her family. Men would not be committing acts of genocide. Companies would not have polluted our waters. Medicines that are desperately needed would not be only for those that can afford them. Frat boys would not be drugging women and raping them. Mothers would not molest their sons. People would not be hiking up their prices on needed goods during a time of crisis. Need I go on?
We have the freedom of choice. We can choose to follow our hearts even though we are all selfish in different ways (Jeremiah 17:9). We can follow our own paths without God even though it only produces strife, envy, anger, jealousy, division, and selfish ambition (Galatians 5:19-21). Look at this world with an honest and open mind. Evil abounds because there are only a few that have accepted that we are powerless to change ourselves. There are only a few that truly have accepted Jesus and show love to their neighbor.
How many men do you see that tell their dates that they are waiting until marriage for sex versus men that are just trying to get laid? STDs are rampant. Rapes occur every minute. Children are kidnapped for sex rings. Teen pregnancy is common in nearly every high school. Men abuse their wives. Animals are tortured in cruel acts. Hate groups are deemed as speakers of the truth. This is the world we live in because the majority of the world simply does not live by the Golden Rule: do unto others as you would have them do unto you (Luke 6:31).
Unless the remnant becomes the majority, evil will flourish.
How can you join the remnant? Jesus Himself said that “with man that is impossible, but with God all things are possible” (Matthew 19:26). The Bible is very clear that we ALL have sinned and have fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). We cannot work our way into Heaven. The only way to enter into Heaven and the only way to be cleansed of our natural selfish natures can be found in Romans 10:9-10 which states:
“If you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.". When a person accepts Jesus as his or her Savior, the Holy Spirit enters them and produces new life (Galatians 5:22-24).