[Confident Series] Confident: Things We KnowSample

We Know that Evil Has a Source

After telling us that we should not sin, the Bible also promises us that the evil one will not touch the children of God. Who is the evil one? Is it the devil? Is he real? Many Christians think that the devil is just a fairytale that people came up with. When we hear the name “Satan,” we see a red suit and pitchfork shoulder devil that appears in children’s cartoons. It is important to know that the devil is real.

Nowadays, we see so much tragedy happening around us that every person in contemporary society believes that there is evil in the world. When something horrible happens, a terror attack or a mass shooting, people who do not even believe in God declare that such acts are evil. However, is evil a formless ambiguity that floats somewhere in the universe? Or is there a source of evil? The truth is that our society is afraid to connect evil to its source in the spiritual realm. 

In other words, people only want to connect evil to a solution. Every person, regardless of their religious beliefs, acknowledges that evil exists. However, our society wants to solve the problem of evil in a humanistic way. Some people say, “Yes, there are atrocities in this world. Evil exists. But we can take care of it with more education.” Others argue, “People need more money, then they will stop committing evil acts.” Some individuals even suggest that if all people came together in unity, that would take care of evil. While we do need earthly solutions to heinous events, we first need to connect evil to its spiritual source. 

People do not like to acknowledge that there is a singular source of evil because that means that the spiritual world is real. Then, human beings are not in control. If there truly is an evil one, then there is a God. That also means that people need God in their lives in order to have victory over the evil one. Some people do not want to accept this truth because it involves surrender. The Bible, however, tells us that we do not wrestle with flesh and blood. We have a spiritual adversary. We war against forces and rulers of darkness. We are not in control and we cannot overcome the devil in a humanistic way. We need the full spiritual armor of God in order to win this battle. The good news is that Christ defeated Satan on the cross. We can receive the power of God daily to overcome sin and evil in our lives.