God, Evil and the Christian Response

We are called to make a difference:

The Christian knows (or should know) various basic biblical truths, such as: Satan is alive and well on planet earth right now; great evil and darkness is upon us; Christians are called to represent Christ in a fallen world; and one day Christ returns and puts an end to all sin, evil, rebellion and ungodliness.

That is the broadbrush picture. There is much more to say about all this in terms of fine detail. And plenty of questions can still be raised here. One general thing I have said about such matters in the past is that Christians are not fatalists. Nor are we robots. God is fighting evil – and doing so much more – but in very good measure in this life he has called upon us to join with him in the fight. We are not just to be spectators or bystanders in all this.

This piece is the result of a good question asked of me in a comment to a recent article I wrote on the threat of Islam in the West. I told the person that it would be well worth discussing this more broadly in a full article, so that is the background of this piece. That Christian had sent in this comment:

While there is an undoubted threat to our culture from Islam, how do we put it in the perspective of the Bible?

My understanding is that the true and living God – Jesus wins.

I don’t even see a direct reference to Islam in the Bible. It is just another sinful action of man in following false gods. I see Islam as a self-destructive ideology, crafted by the evil one himself as a way of taking as many people to hell with him as possible.

How do you see it, Bill? I’m no eschatological expert or theologian of note.

This then is my fuller response to him and others who ask similar sorts of questions:

First, as to Islam not being in the Bible, that is of course correct. It did not come on the scene until some 600 years later. Although that is the case with so many other things, be it internet porn, AI, godless communism, illicit drugs, transgenderism, human cloning, DEI, etc.

But all these issues – and so many more – are things that the Christian must be aware of, think about, and seek to understand and address from a biblical point of view. And we have at least general biblical principles to go on with all these matters. For example, when it comes to the porn plague, we have scriptural warnings against lust, immorality, and so on.

As to the point that in the end, Jesus wins: Yes, this is a wonderful truth indeed, and one that we all relish and take to heart. Indeed, the Lord’s return is called our “blessed hope” (Titus 2;13) and knowing that one day all evil and sin will be defeated, and God’s kingdom will see its full realisation on earth as it is in heaven is such great news.

And you have started to answer your own question here when you speak about Satan and evil and what is happening in the world. It is exactly because the Christian is not called to be fatalistic and just sit on the sidelines, that we have a real role to play here. For example:

-We are called to share truth and refute falsehood.
-We are called to promote righteousness and godliness and resist evil.
-We are called to be salt and light.
-We are called to share our faith far and wide.
-We are called to see the Lordship of Christ extend to every area of life.

So while we all look forward to the coming of Christ (and I pray for it every single day), there are some obvious wrong ways to proceed here. Some pretty clear examples can be mentioned:

-If a Christian’s young daughter is being abused and attacked by a gang of young ruffians, he does not just say, ‘in the end, Jesus wins’. He steps in and seeks to save and protect his daughter.

-If a Christian notes a bunch of drug dealers and sex traffickers are setting up shop in the house next door, he does not just say, ‘in the end, Jesus wins’. He seeks to have it stopped, and at least he will notify the authorities to do something about it.

-If a Christian is aware that some cultists are operating in his church, and are holding Bible studies and leading many in the congregation astray, he does not just say, ‘in the end, Jesus wins’. He steps in and seeks to have this nipped in the bud. He certainly will alert the pastor and church leaders about it.

-If a Christian discovers that the local school his kids are attending is promoting radical sexual, homosexual and trans agendas, he does not just say, ‘in the end, Jesus wins’. He will confront the school about this, or perhaps pull his children out of there real fast!

-If a Christian like Wilberforce is greatly concerned about the dark evils of the slave trade, he does not just say, ‘in the end, Jesus wins’. He does all he can to see it abolished, even working in Parliament to do so.

-If some Christians learn that a massive mosque is going to be built in their area, they do not just say, ‘in the end, Jesus wins’. They will band together to pray and work against this, make submissions to the local council, letterbox neighbours, hold public meetings, and so on.

I think the point is pretty clear. Yes, there will always be evil and sin and wickedness in this world. But the Christian is not called to just sit back and show zero concern. At the very least, he will pray a lot. And as God gives opportunity, he will seek to take practical steps to make a real difference in these areas.

Christians are never called to be fatalists in other words. We ARE called to be co-labourers together with God. That means praying, sharing the gospel, and seeking to do our bit to restrain evil and promote righteousness. It is called being salt and light.

I have written before on these matters, so if folks are wanting a bit more, they might be interested in pieces like these:

https://billmuehlenberg.com/2016/05/06/against-christian-fatalism/

https://billmuehlenberg.com/2015/04/16/eschatology-and-fatalism-doing-right-fighting-evil-and-the-end-times/

I finish with four quite relevant quotes. The first two are by brave Christians who lost their lives standing up against Hitler and the Nazis, while the last two are from more recent believers:

“If I sit next to a madman as he drives a car into a group of innocent bystanders, I can’t, as a Christian, simply wait for the catastrophe, then comfort the wounded and bury the dead. I must try to wrestle the steering wheel out of the hands of the driver.” Dietrich Bonhoeffer

“It’s high time that Christians made up their minds to do something . . . What are we going to show in the way of resistance… when all this terror is over? We will be standing empty-handed. We will have no answer when we are asked: What did you do about it?” Hans Scholl

“The refusal to take sides on great moral issues is itself a decision. It is a silent acquiescence to evil. The tragedy of our time is that those who still believe in honesty lack fire and conviction, while those who believe in dishonesty are full of passionate conviction.” Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen

“I believe it is time for us to stand up and be counted. We can no longer be passive because the Judeo-Christian way of life in America is at stake. We need not be ashamed of our faith, and we certainly should not allow those who believe differently to change who we are in order to be politically correct. Yes, we should accept them with brotherly love as we have been taught, but we should never compromise our belief system. We do believe in God, and we do believe in the right of everyone to have life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. We do believe in an orderly government that facilitates these goals rather than impedes them. It is time to set aside political correctness and replace it with the bold values and principles that founded our nation and caused it to race to the pinnacle of the world faster than any other nation in history. It is time to stop apologizing and to start leading, because the world is desperately in need of fair and ethical leadership.”  Dr. Ben Carson

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