During the Korean Conflict, I read an article by a well-known newspaper columnist. He said, "I don't claim to be a Christian, but I'm not an atheist or an agnostic either. The atheist says there is no God. The agnostic says there may be a God; he doesn't know. I believe there is a God. I don't believe everything just happened into being. What hinders me from being a Christian is what I hear preachers say. They say that God is running everything. Well, if He is, He's sure got things in a mess."
Then the columnist alluded to the wars, children being killed, poverty, disease, and so forth, that plague the world. He said, "I believe there is a Supreme Being somewhere, and that everything He made was beautiful and good. I can't believe these other things are the works of God."
No, these things came with the fall, when Satan became the god of this world (2 Cor. 4:4). And the Bible teaches that when Satan is finally eliminated from the earth, there will be nothing here that will hurt or destroy. It ought to be obvious where all the hurts and destruction come from. If evil came from God, we would still have it after Satan is destroyed from the scene, because God will still be here. But we know that evil does not come from God.
Confession: The Son of God was manifested so that He might destroy the works of the devil. As part of Christ's Body, I take authority over the works of the devil!
Excerpt permission granted by Faith Library Publications