Question: If God so loved the world why did he create us imperfect
sinners? If you believe the story in the Garden of Eden, then you have
to admit that God set us up for failure. What kind of loving God would
do such a thing? What kind of God would stand by and allow something
like the holocaust to occur? The fact is that whether or not there is or
is not a God, it doesn't really matter.
Answer: The Bible does not teach that God created man
imperfect or sinful. As a matter of fact, the Bible clearly teaches than
man was originally created good and upright. "Truly, this only I
have found: that God made man upright, but they have sought out many
schemes" (Ecclesiastes 7:29). “God created man in His own
image...then God saw everything that He
had made, and indeed it was very good” (Genesis 1:27, 31).
Something happened after creation that ruined the image of God
in us. Like God, we were created holy and righteous; but that image was
defaced by sin. Man voluntarily chose to disobey God, even though he had
been warned about the terrible consequences that would follow. The first
man, Adam, sinned. He could choose to obey and disobey. He freely chose
to disobey the Creator. It is his fault, not God’s.
Moreover, since Adam is our head and father, he is the representative
of all the human family. “Therefore, just as through one man sin
entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all
men, because all sinned” (Romans 5:12). We repeated and ratified his sinful
choice a million times. We have no-one to blame but ourselves.
The diseases, trouble, decay, the holocaust and death are the
consequence of our sin. It is our responsibility, and we deserve worse
than that. Indeed, unless God is merciful to his rebellious creatures,
we will all perish in Hell forever.
What kind of God would stand by and allow something like the
holocaust to occur? The same God who stood by His beloved Son while he
cried out, "My God, My God, why have thou forsaken me!" God
did that for the love of sinners who would believe in Him; God gave His
Son to liberate His enemies from the debt and penalty of their sins,
which were transferred to Jesus on the cross. God loved the world that
much!
Is God irrelevant in the face of the cruelties and injustices in our
world? This thought is as foolish as it is arrogant. On the contrary,
the existence of an all-powerful and just God is the sure guarantee that
one day justice will prevail, just as He promised. Moreover, God is the
hope of redemption from personal guilt and the miseries of this world
and the world to come, to them who, instead of accusing God, admit their
sinfulness, repent and trust His beloved Son.