04/27/2026
The Goodness of God and the Problem of Evil
Min. Jim Blossomgame
The Harvest Sword Ministries
April 14, 2026
Romans 2:4 (ESV) — 4 Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?
Note: The King James and the New King James versions use “goodness” instead of “kindness.”
• What do we mean when we say, God is good? Is goodness something above God that He has to submit to? Can good exist apart from Him? Actually, good finds its point of reference in the Biblical God. In the account of creation (Genesis 1 & 2), we are given the initial understanding of “good.” We see that the things created were declared good by Him, meaning they agreed with His purpose for creating them, so also God, in His goodness or kindness, is working to bring us into agreement with Him through Jesus Christ.
WHEN WE SAY, GOD IS GOOD, WE ARE STATING THAT GOD IS WHO HE IS, THAT HE IS TRUE TO HIS NATURE.
• In Romans 2:4, God’s kindness or goodness is exercised through His patience in allowing the sinner time to repent.
2 Peter 3:15A (NIV) — 15 Bear in mind that our Lord’s patience means salvation…
• Some believe that God is not all – powerful because of the evil that appears to run amok throughout the world. But He refuses to slam the door shut on evil, as there are still those who will cry to Him for mercy. To condemn evil today would be to condemn the many who are yet to call on the name of Jesus. Also, Hebrews 2:9 says that Jesus tasted death for everyone; everyone being all who would cry to Him in repentance. For God to destroy the current evil, as some suggest He is powerless to do, would indicate a high disregard for His suffering on the cross for those who are still lost in sin but will one day turn to Him for mercy. This would be a contradiction of His just nature and love, and to be sure, He cannot deny Himself (2 Timothy 2:13b). He is not powerless to stop evil, but patient, and His love for every human being can be realized through this. So, the problem of evil can be understood through the kindness of God.
The true measure of God’s sovereign power to deal with evil will ultimately be revealed on “the Day of Judgment, or “the Day of the Lord.” From there, the wicked will not escape. Surely, God hates evil, but He tolerates it in the hope that men will repent:
DAY OF THE LORD
The time of the decisive visitation of Yahweh, when he intervenes to punish the wicked, deliver and exalt the faithful remnant who worship him, and establish his own rule. Both judgment and salvation are especially prominent aspects…
Greg A. King, “Day of the Lord,” in Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible, ed. David Noel Freedman, Allen C. Myers, and Astrid B. Beck (Grand Rapids, MI: W.B. Eerdmans, 2000), 324.
9 The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. 2 Peter 3:9 (ESV)
His love for us and His just nature compels Him to exercise patience so that He can have mercy on all who repent through faith in Jesus Christ.
Isaiah 30:18 (ESV) — 18 Therefore the LORD waits to be gracious to you, and therefore he exalts himself to show mercy to you. For the LORD is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for him.
• The Lord is patient, as He waits to be gracious to the sinner. Here, He exalts Himself in such a wonderful way— not in power, but in showing mercy through amazing love. In doing so, He demonstrates His justice. He reveals that He is righteous by giving us time to seek mercy through Jesus Christ. He blesses all who turn and look to Him.
Revelation 2:20–22 (ESV) — 20 But I have this against you, that you tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess and is teaching and seducing my servants to practice sexual immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols. 21 I gave her time to repent, but she refuses to repent of her sexual immorality. 22 Behold, I will throw her onto a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her I will throw into great tribulation, unless they repent of her works,
• This is a great example of God’s patience/kindness in allowing this woman with the spirit of Jezebel time to repent; not willing that she should perish. He does not end her life and her evil right away, but is patient by allowing her time to repent of her sins. And notice the inescapable judgmental punishment that awaits her if she fails to repent, with no one to appeal to.
MERCY TRIUMPHS OVER JUDGMENT (James 2:13b)
