I. What is the standard of “good” and “evil”?

A. Is any man’s standard infallible? Could all agree on the same standard, if such were devised by man? (Proverbs 12:15; 14:12)
B. Devastation is caused by man’s imperfect standards (Judges 17:6; 21:25)
C. Without God’s standard, we cannot know good or evil (Romans 7:7)

II. The reality of free will

A. God created all things—including man—“very good” (Genesis 1:26-27, 31), and gave man the freedom to stay that way (Genesis 2:16-17)
B. Man chose to disobey (Genesis 3:6)
C. The choice remains today (Revelation 22:17)

III. Evil, pain, and suffering are caused by poor choices

A. Sometimes our own bad decisions (Prov. 11:19; 1 Pet. 4:15)
B. Sometimes the sinful choices of others (Romans 5:15; Jeremiah 25:10-11)
C. Natural disasters (Genesis 6:5; 3:17-19)

IV. Suffering can be beneficial

A. God can use even painful situations for our good (Romans 8:28)
B. Suffering may be a form of discipline (Hebrews 12:6, 11)
C. Suffering leads to greater reliance upon God (Ps. 119:71)
D. Suffering helps us to focus on eternity (2 Cor. 4:17)