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A question of which I have been asked, and which has likewise often perplexed me, is just this: Why would an all-good, all-wise, all-loving, and all-powerful God allow not just evil, but particularly, evil incarnate in the person of Satan? The Bible describes Satan as an angel who fell from his high position in service to God (Isaiah 14:12-14). He is a powerful being described as a “roaring lion” (1 Peter 5:8), a deceptive “serpent” (Genesis 3:1), a “strong man” (Matthew 12:29), and a devouring “red dragon” (Revelation 12). He intends to destroy the work of God in this world by marring those made in His image. He accuses God’s people (Zechariah 3:1) and intends to destroy the faith of the righteous (Job 1). Any who would ignore his wiles is foolish indeed. Yet, since Satan is a created being, every power he wields and every act he accomplishes is under the sovereign control of God. In fact, as we read in the experience of Job (Job 2:6) and Peter (Luke 22:31), Satan must ask permission from God if he is to bring assault against one of His own. Since the Bible portrays the works of the devil as destructive to the glory of God, and since we know that God will one day cast Satan into an eternity of condemnation, why would God allow him to wreak such havoc in our world today? Why would he even create him in the first place?
I have recently begun reading the Christian classic, The Christian in Complete Armour. Written nearly four hundred years ago by the Puritan pastor, William Gurnall, the book exquisitely details the spiritual battle daily waged between God and His enemies. In that book, Gurnall gives attention to the seemingly confusing reasons as to why God would allow Satan and his demonic minions to maintain their place, though it be for a short time. The biblical insight he provides on the matter should give us reason to trust God all the more and adore Him for inscrutable methods of His wisdom and grace. As you go to war each day against an enemy who seeks to destroy your faith, remember God’s purpose in the battle.
Toward this point, Gurnall states the predicament in the following manner.
From our limited perspective, we must wonder why God allows His apostate creature [Satan] to hold such a principality in the world. Why does He let this rebel parade with such pomp and arrogance before men and angels?
Note at least three reasons for which Satan is allowed to wage war against the saints.
1. Satan is allowed that sin might be rightfully punished.
In the Old Testament, God warned His people that their refusal to obey Him in every matter would result in severe discipline. “Because you did not serve the LORD your God with joyfulness and gladness of heart, because of the abundance of all things, therefore you shall serve your enemies whom the LORD will send against you, in hunger and thirst, in nakedness, and lacking everything. And he will put a yoke of iron on your neck until he has destroyed you” (Deuteronomy 28:47-47). Likewise, in the New Testament, Paul explains that he had handed two men, Hymenaeus and Alexander, “over to Satan, that they might learn not to blaspheme” (1 Timothy 1:20). Apparently, these men were professing believers who had wandered from the faith. Perhaps the attacks of Satan to which they would now be completely exposed would lead them back to the faith. Regardless, Satan is the tool of God for accomplishing His just wrath. Gurnall states it more eloquently:
Satan is an overseer in God’s wrath. The devil is God’s slave and man the devil’s. Sin has chained the creature to Satan, and now he drives him mercilessly.
2. Satan is allowed so that his power is proven to be a sham as to that of God.
Gurnall’s words wonderfully express this truth:
No one will doubt God’s almighty power when they see Him flick this mighty dragon off the earth and into hell as though he were a gnat. Just as man alone is no match for the devil, Satan with all his troops is no match for God. What a glorious name God will have for Himself when he has finished this war! The workmanship of heaven and earth gave God the name of Creator. Providence gave Him the name of Preserver. But His triumph over Satan gives Him a name above every other—that of Savior. As Savior He both preserves rescued man from destruction and creates a new creature in him—a child of grace. Then the Savior nestles this babe in His bosom and carries him safely past all the commotions of Satan, until at last he reaches heaven. There is no greater evidence of God’s mercy than His plan of redemption. All His other majestic works will flow as rivers into this one mighty sea, on whose shores the saints will stand with great rejoicing. Know this for certain: If we had not been Satan’s prisoner first, we would not fully understand or appreciate our deliverance last.
3. Satan is allowed so that his temporary reign might increase our eternal joy.
Paul writes, “For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal” (2 Corinthians 4:17-18).
Again, Gurnall paints a wonderful picture of this truth by his words:
Scripture gives three illustrations of great joy: the joy of a new mother, the joy of a prosperous farmer, and the joy of a successful soldier. The exultation of all three is harvested from hard soil. It costs the travailing woman great pain, the farmer many months of backbreaking labor, and the soldier grave peril, before they come to their reward. But at last they are paid in full. And it is a peculiar attribute of sorrow that its past remembrance so often adds a sweetness to our present joy.
Our minds may struggle to conceive why God would allow evil to abound in our world. Surely, we must stand against it and trust in the victory that the Lord will eventually bring. Yet, in our sorrow and striving, take hope in knowing that all-knowing, all-powerful, and all-loving God has a plan, even for evil. It is working for His glory and our good.
Jason