September 23
THE PURPOSE OF EVIL / PART 15
CONCLUSION
According to A. P. Adams:
-"We have seen that one of the purposes of evil is to develop in our characters attributes akin to God: pity,
mercy, compassion, charity, gentleness, etc. Now suppose we lived in a world of absolute justice where no one suffered
except what they strictly deserved to suffer, where the innocent never suffered, but only the guilty, and they suffered just
so much - no more and no less - as was due to their transgression and as would be beneficial to the transgressor. Suppose
we lived in such a world as that. At first thought it would seem as though it would be a very nice kind of world; but how
could we in such a world develop the godlike attributes above referred to? There would be no room for heavenly compassion
and sweet charity and pity in a world of absolute justice. We would not be likely to pity very much a person who we knew was
receiving only the punishment due his fault and that in the end would be for his benefit and blessing. Is it not plain that
just this kind of evil, i.e., the evil of injustice, is needed in order that those crowning attributes of God, the
tender and loving qualities of our Father in heaven, may be developed and perfected in His human children?" ( The Purpose
Of Evil, A. P. Adams )
-Evil, for the time being, is a thorn in our side. With that being said, though, evil is to be seen as part
of the purpose and plan of God. Evil did not take God by surprise, but rather, GOD CREATED EVIL FOR A PURPOSE! It is used
by God to TEACH His creation, bringing mankind to a desired end. Romans 12:21 tells us to NOT BE OVERCOME WITH EVIL, BUT OVERCOME
EVIL WITH GOOD …
-God, in this present age, is dealing with, selecting out, and QUALIFYING a remnant of overcomers. These
overcomers, by the Spirit of God, are learning to OVERCOME EVIL WITH GOOD. This is necessary for God to produce overcomers.
God has created and placed OPPOSITION ( evil ) in the path of those who are destined to be overcomers in this present
age. THIS OPPOSITION WILL PROVE TO BE THE SALVATION OF THE ENTIRE CREATION! Romans 8:18 states, … the sufferings
of this present time are NOT WORTHY to be compared with THE GLORY which shall be revealed in us … This same remnant
is to be used to set the entire creation free in the ages to come! We must look at the BIG PICTURE, for God is teaching the
creation to OVERCOME EVIL WITH GOOD! Now we can see …
-THE PURPOSE OF EVIL!-
