We may be hard-pressed to come up with a universally accepted definition of evil, but most of us know evil when we see it – or at least we think we do. For example, most (but not all) would say the gas chambers of Auschwitz were evil, as were the U.S. institution of chattel slavery, the serial murders of Ted Bundy, the packaged explosives of “Unabomber” Ted Kaczynski, and the domestic terror of Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh.
God has placed in every human heart a conscience, which not only helps us discern right from wrong but universally testifies of a divine moral law giver (Rom. 2:14-16). And so, we know intuitively what evil is, and therefore we know who ultimately judges us for it. Or we should. The problem is, sin has knocked every human being’s moral compass off magnetic north.
Evil is not so much the opposite of good as it is the absence of good, or the perversion of good. Just as darkness may only be described in contrast to light, evil is only understood in relation to good. And that’s the rub, because all human beings, though made in the image of God, are evil. We all sin, and our sin separates us from an eternally and unequivocally good creator (Rom. 3:10, 23; 6:23).
As a result, we often call evil good, and good evil (Isa. 5:20). We willingly descend the long spiral of godlessness, rejecting the God who reveals himself to all people in creation and conscience (Rom. 1:18-20; 2:14-16). Incrementally, God delivers us over to the depravities of our hearts until we live in open rebellion against him, celebrating the very deeds for which we stand condemned (Rom. 1:28-32).
Put simply, we are evil. And although we may gloss over our wickedness, or compare ourselves positively with those we deem far worse than we are, it is a fool’s game. God is holy. We are not. And apart from God’s grace, we all share a common destination in the lake of fire.
When it comes to the character the Bible identifies as the evil one, our ability to discern between good and evil is even more precarious. In part, that’s because Satan is the embodiment of evil, so much so that he comes to us as an angel of light and makes wrong seem right, wickedness seem righteous, and evil seem good. He places a veil over our eyes, whispers soothing words into our deepest depravities, and makes a lie sound like the greatest version of our own personal truth.
