LIBERTY UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF DIVINITY
Did God create sin?
Submitted to Dr. James Sulfridge
in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the completion of
DSMN 500
Discipleship Ministries
By
Anthony Bean
Did God create sin?
God created the universe in six days, but, originally, the universe had no sin—everything He
made was “very good” (Genesis 1:31). Sin entered the cosmos due to an act of rebellion against
God, not because God created sin.
We need to define “sin.” First John 3:4 says, “Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin
is lawlessness.” Sin, therefore, is any violation of God’s holy law. Romans 3:23 says, “For all
have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” According to this verse, sin is anything
(words, thoughts, actions, and motivations) that falls short of God’s glory and perfection. All of
us sin. Romans 3:23 also teaches that we must know the character of God before we can
accurately define sin, because His glory is the standard by which we measure it (Psalm 119:160;
John 17:17). Without a perfect standard, there is no way to determine whether something is
imperfect. Without the absolute standard of God’s glory, every word or action would be judged
by the faulty, shifting standard of imperfect people. Every rule, law, and moral tenet would
become a matter of opinion. And man’s opinion is as varied and changeable as the weather.
If a builder builds upon a foundation that is not square, he risks the integrity of the entire
project. The building does not get better as it goes up; it gets weaker and more out of line.
However, when the starting point is perfect, the rest of the structure will be sound. Moral
foundations work the same way. Without God’s moral law, we have no way of knowing right
from wrong. Sin is moving away from what is right. The further we get from God’s moral
standard, the worse the sin becomes.
God created men and angels with a free will, and, if a being has a free will, there is at least
the potential that he will choose badly. The potential for sin was a risk God took. He created
human beings in His image, and, since He is free, humans were created free, too (Genesis 1:27).
Free will involves the ability to choose, and, after God communicated the moral standard, He
gave the man a true choice (Genesis 2:16-17). Adam chose disobedience. God did not tempt,
coerce, or lure Adam into disobedience. James 1:13 says, “When tempted, no one should say,
‘God is tempting me.’ For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone.” God
allowed Adam the dignity of free choice and honored that choice with appropriate
consequences (Romans 5:12).
God provided the opportunity to sin, but He did not create or instigate sin. Having the
opportunity was good; without it, human beings would be little more than robots. God
commands, pleads, and encourages us to follow Him (Exodus 19:5; Deuteronomy 12:28; 1
Samuel 15:22). He promises blessings, fellowship, and protection when we obey (Jeremiah
7:23; Psalm 115:11; Luke 11:28). But He does not chain us. God did not put a fence around the
forbidden tree in the Garden of Eden. Adam and Eve had freedom to choose obedience or
disobedience. When they chose sin, they also chose the consequences that went with it
(Genesis 3:16–24).
The same has been true for every human being since. The opportunity to sin is inherent in
our freedom of choice. We can choose to seek God, which leads to righteous living (Jeremiah
29:13; 2 Timothy 2:19). Or we can choose to follow our own inclinations, which lead away from
God (Proverbs 16:5). The Bible is clear that, whatever path we choose, consequences follow.
We reap what we sow (Galatians 6:7). Some consequences are eternal. Matthew 25:46 says
that those who do not follow Jesus “will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous
to eternal life.”
God judges people (Ecclesiastes 12:14) and nations (Micah 5:15) who use their free will to
rebel against Him. God did not and does not create sin, nor does He delight in punishing those
who choose to sin (Ezekiel 33:11). His desire is that all come to repentance and experience the
blessing and joy of eternal life with Him (2 Peter 3:9).
There’s a story about how God created the world in six days. Imagine with me, the universe
was dark, and God was hovering over its form. Then He called forth light, water, and the
heavens and brought 1.6 million galaxies into existence.
He created the moral law that’s written into our minds and showed us his divine moral
standard. He painted the first sunset in broad strokes of pink, blues, and orange. He continued
working like this day after day for six days.
He also created mankind out of dust and breathed his breath of life into us. And each time
something came into existence, it was exquisite, perfect, and He called it “Good.”
So, if the world was so perfect, beautiful, and good, where did sin come from? It even says
in the Bible, everything He made was “very good,” (Genesis 1:31). How did sin enter the world
and why didn’t he do anything about it? Or did he?
Where Did Sin Come From?
Sin entered the cosmos due to an act of rebellion against God, not because God created
sin. 1 John 3:4 states that “sin is lawlessness.” Sin is any violation of God’s laws or
standards. Romans 1:28-32 and Galatians 5:19-21 give us lists of sins. However, the lists are not
all-inclusive.
The Bible opens not with the beginning of sin or evil, but with the presence of unexplained
evil. Adam is created innocent, and Satan is already there as the serpent. The serpent already
hates man and wants to take him down with him because he opposes the God of creation. That
is where the Bible begins.
The very first sin in the world is found in Ezekiel. Here, we find the story about Lucifer. He
was a perfect, wise, and beautiful angel (Ezekiel 28:14). But then he rebelled: “You were
blameless in your ways from the day you were created till wickedness was found in you”
(Ezekiel 28:15).
He wanted to be better than God. Scripture hints at the reason Satan chose to sin: “Your
heart became proud on account of your beauty, and you corrupted your wisdom because of
your splendor” (Ezekiel 28:17; 1 Timothy 3:6). Satan’s fall took place at some point before he
became a serpent in the Garden of Eden in Genesis 3.
After being thrown to the earth, Satan tempted Eve and Adam to not follow the command
Adam was given in Genesis 2:16-17, and he has continued that practice ever since (Matthew
4:1–11).
In other words, Satan was created good, but he fell from his proper place. So, God created
all things, including Satan. That would lead one to think that, if He created everything, He must
have created evil as well. However, even though sin and evil exist, God is certainly not the
author.
Adam brought sin into the world when he chose to disobey God and eat from the Tree of
the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Romans 5:12 says, “Therefore, just as through one man sin
entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all
sinned.”
The Greek word for “came” in Romans 5:12 is eiserchomi. The word means “go into” or “to
come into” with the focus on the initial act. That is, when Adam disobeyed, sin entered or came
into the world. It did not exist in the world until he disobeyed.
Why Did God Allow Sin?
Today, we live in a world filled with, tears, tragedy, and terror. Sometimes, it’s hard to walk
outside our front door with so many dying from the pandemic or watch the news with videos
and images of protestors destroying cities, looting stores, and harming each other. We think,
“What is this world coming to? Where is God in the midst of this?”
Why didn’t God create us without the ability to sin? Because God wanted us to have the
ability to choose him. God could either make sin impossible, or He could make beings free to
choose, but He could not logically do both. He didn’t want us to be forced to love Him.
There would never be a meaningful experience of His mercy and love, His justice and
righteousness. He wanted us to come to Him and choose Him with our own free will. Because
free will exists, sin exists. Each day, we make choices that draw us closer to God or choices that
perpetuate the sin in our hearts.
