My Answer
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Q: Since the Bible says God created everything, doesn’t this mean He also created the devil? And if He created the devil, doesn’t this mean God is actually responsible for all the evil in the world? A friend of mine who likes to argue about religion asked me this, and I didn’t know what to say.
A: I seriously doubt if your friend really wants an answer to his question; I suspect instead that he is only using this as an excuse to keep from facing his need to repent of his sins and submit his life to Christ.
Unfortunately some people are like this; they enjoy talking about God, but they have no intention of taking Him seriously. They are like the philosophers in Athens who (the Bible says) “spent their time doing nothing but talking about and listening to the latest ideas” (Acts 17:21). They were happy, therefore, to listen to the Apostle Paul—but most laughed at him and refused to take seriously what he told them about Jesus. They said they’d invite him back—but they never did.
Your friend is wrong, of course; God is not responsible for the evil in the world—not at all. God is holy and absolutely pure, and Satan alone was responsible for his rebellion against God. Neither can we blame God for our own evil deeds; we alone are responsible for our sins.
Pray for your friend, and ask God to give you wisdom as you deal with him. If God opens the way, confront him with his failure to face his own need for God’s forgiveness and new life. He needs Christ, and God can use you to point him to Jesus. Only Jesus could say, “I am the way and the truth and the life” (John 14:6).
Q: I admit we’re mainly “Christmas and Easter” Christians, since those are the only days we go to church. But what’s wrong with that? Weekends are the only time we have to ourselves, and God wouldn’t want us to neglect our family time, would He?
A: No, God wouldn’t want you to neglect your times together as a family; after all, He created the family. But God doesn’t want you to neglect something even more important — and that is your time with Him. God not only created you, but He also loves you, and more than anything else He wants you to love Him in return. But you can’t do this by only thinking about Him twice a year.
How do I know God loves you — and how can you know it? Think for a moment about those two days you do attend church — Christmas and Easter. Why are they so important? Christmas is important because it reminds us that God came down from heaven and became a man. Jesus wasn’t just another baby; He was God in human flesh! Easter is important because it reminds us that Jesus died on the cross for our sins, and rose again from the dead to give us eternal life. And this is what God did for you! He became a man so you could know what He is like — and He died and rose again so you could be saved.
The Bible’s words are true: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).Don’t ignore God any longer, but by faith confess your sins to Him and ask Christ to come into your life. Life’s greatest joy — for you, and for everyone — comes from knowing God and walking with Him every day.
