The problem of evil revolves around a question that has traditionally been asked in a few different ways. One popular version is, “If God is good and all-powerful, then why does He allow evil in the world?” Not surprisingly, both Christians and non-Christians alike often go to Scripture in search of an answer. The prevailing assumption is that the biblical writers asked the same exact question about evil that we do. Therefore, they must also provide a clear solution to the problem. Yet, while the Bible certainly addresses evil, it actually phrases the question in a different way. It is a question not so much generated by philosophical arguments about evil but one elicited by God’s prior promises to His people. Although the problem of evil in its classical expression is worthy of Christian consideration, it must not muffle the more fundamental query about evil that echoes throughout the pages of Scripture. In both testaments, the Bible essentially asks, “Given the tension between God’s prior promises and evil in the world, is God righteous?”

We can detect this kind of question in certain Old Testament figures, who certainly knew a thing or two about evil. A prime example is the psalmist whose entire existence seems to be defined by the back-and-forth movement between hope in God’s prior promise and the evil that threatens its fulfillment. Evil afflicts the psalmist both “inside and out.” Internally, he is afflicted by his own sin and the impending judgment that awaits him (see Psalm 143:1-2). Simply put, sin and evil reside within him. Externally, he suffers from various enemies who inflict both verbal and physical pain (see Psalm 22). In short, evil is all around him. Consequently, the psalmist constantly asks God to deal with this evil just as He promised. These requests imply an underlying concern about whether or not God will act righteously on his behalf:

In You, O Lord I have taken refuge, let me not be ashamed forever, in your righteousness deliver me (Psalm 31:1).

On account of your name, O Lord, preserve my life! In your righteousness bring my soul out of trouble (Psalm 143:11).

The psalmist asks God to deliver him from evil by His “righteousness.” Of course, defining divine righteousness in both the Old and New Testaments is a “problem” in and of itself. But we can be certain that the meaning of divine righteousness is somehow tied to God’s promise to judge and to save, the very things that the psalmist incessantly requests. If God deals with evil as He promised, then He is righteous. If He does not, then He is not righteous. That is the problem of evil as its stands in the Psalms and the wider context of Scripture.

Similarly, Job’s overarching question about evil centers on a question about God’s righteousness. Job is often evoked in discussions about the problem of evil. Yet, his question is not so much “Why does God allow evil?” Rather, given the tension between what God promised righteous Job (see Job 1:1) and the evil he experiences (see Job 1-2), he wants to know if God is righteous. This is best seen in Job’s persistent desire to have his day in court with God, the righteous judge: “But I would speak to the Almighty, and I desire to argue my case with God” (Job 13:3). He wants to “find” God, plead his case, receive a just acquittal, and finally be delivered from evil (Job 23:1-6). Of course, we know how things end for Job. He gets his day in court, only to find himself speechless before the righteous judge (Job 40:3-5). God responds to Job’s “problem of evil” by pointing to His divine power and wisdom as the creator and orchestrator of the cosmos. He never unravels the problem entirely for Job, but the revelation of His presence is enough to chase away the darkness that afflicts him and reveal His righteousness.

At the heart of their troubles, both the psalmist and Job ultimately suffer because God seems to hide Himself as evil runs rampant around them. That is the problem of evil for us as well. In one hand we cling to the promise that God is righteous to judge and to save, while our other hand trembles at the evil we see in ourselves and in our world. That tension between hope in the promise and despair in the face of evil leads to the question that Scripture asks, and thankfully answers: “Is God righteous?” “Will He judge evil and deliver from evil as He promised?” This is the problem of evil according to the Scriptures.

Scripture’s answer to such a problem is always and again the gospel. As Paul reminds us, it is in the good news of Jesus that God’s righteousness is revealed (Romans 3:21-26). The evils of sin, death and Satan evoke the cry, “Is God righteous?” The response from heaven is the work of the Righteous One, whose death, resurrection and imminent return reveal that God judges and delivers from evil just as He promised. He is indeed righteous.

Admittedly, this probably does not answer the more traditional problem of evil to our satisfaction. Why does a good and powerful God allow evil in the world? Scripture does not answer such a question point for point in a way that would satisfy the most inquisitive philosophical mind. Nevertheless, at the end of the day, the answer to the problem of evil in all its forms is the gospel. Any and all questions about evil have been, and always will be, answered in the death and resurrection of Jesus. The evil that may currently cast a shadow over that truth will be pierced upon his arrival. Therefore, the church’s most ardent prayer in the face of evil should always be Maranatha — Come, Lord. Come.

— Channing L. Crisler is assistant professor of Christian Studies at Anderson University.