Is God the Author of Sin and Evil?

This blog article is a response to a comment left on my Facebook Story titled: "God Uses Evil for Good."

This blog article is a response to a comment left on my Facebook Reel titled: "God Uses Evil for Good." The comment is, "Lamentations 3. Does not the evil and the good come from the most high?"

Great question, allow me to briefly dig into this very deep theological question. Please understand that what I'm sharing is just the tip of the iceberg on this topic. Let's dig in...

Lamentations 3:37–38 (KJV) Who is he that saith, and it cometh to pass, when the Lord commandeth it not? Out of the mouth of the most High proceedeth not evil and good?

This passage of Scripture is often the passage people point to when asking, “Doesn’t God Himself say that evil comes from Him?”

The Hebrew word translated “evil” here is רָע (raʿ) — a word with a broad range of meaning. What does “evil” mean in Lamentations 3? The Bible uses different words for moral evil (sin, wickedness) and calamity, disaster, judgment, distress. In Lamentations 3:38, (raʿ) does not mean moral evil or sin. It means calamity, affliction, judgment or disaster. This is clear from context.

Remember, in hermeneutics "a text, without a context, is a pretext." This just simply means the interpretation of a verse must be within the context of the Scripture. You cannot pull a verse out of context and make it say whatever you need or want it to say. Scripture only has one interpretation, but many applications.

The immediate context of Lamentations 3 is written after the destruction of Jerusalem. God’s is releasing His judicial judgment on Judah for persistent sin.

Lamentations 1:5 “Her adversaries are the chief, her enemies prosper; for the Lord hath afflicted her for the multitude of her transgressions: her children are gone into captivity before the enemy."

The “evil” mentioned in Lamentations 3:38, is covenant judgment, not sinful action. God often brings judgment — but not sin.

Scripture is consistent on this distinction:

Isaiah 45:7 (KJV) “I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil.” Evil is the same Hebrew word: raʿ. Modern translations correctly render it “calamity” (ESV, NIV), “disaster” (CSB). 

God creates judicial consequences, not moral corruption.

Lamentations 3 does not teach that God is the author of sin. Rather, He is the Sovereign, Holy God who rightly sends judgment and calamity in response to sin, while remaining compassionate, just, and faithful.

TAKE AWAY:
Scripture consistently teaches that God is perfectly holy and never the author of moral evil (James 1:13; 1 John 1:5; Habakkuk 1:13), yet He is absolutely sovereign over all that occurs (Psalm 103:19; Daniel 4:35).

In passages like Lamentations 3:37–38, where it says that “woe and well-being” (or “evil and good”) come from the Most High, the Hebrew word for “evil” refers not to sin or moral corruption but to calamity, judgment, or affliction.

In context, Jeremiah is acknowledging that the destruction of Jerusalem was a just act of Divine discipline in response to sin (Lam. 3:39), not that God Himself commits wrongdoing. Throughout Scripture, God sovereignly governs events involving evil — such as Joseph’s betrayal (Gen. 50:20) and the crucifixion of Christ (Acts 2:23) — without being morally responsible for the sinful intentions of human agents.

Therefore, the Bible holds both truths together: God ordains and rules over all things, including judgment and suffering, yet He remains perfectly righteous, and sin originates in the will of rebellious creatures, not in the holy character of God.

“Lord Jesus, I admit that I am a sinner and I need Your forgiveness. I believe You died on the cross for my sins and rose again to give me new life. Today, I turn from my old ways and invite You into my heart. Be my Lord, be my Savior, and help me follow You all the days of my life. Right now, I trust you as my Savior and will follow you as my Lord. Thank You for loving me. Amen.”

If you prayed that prayer and meant it in your heart, you can be sure that you are saved.

Romans 10:13 (NLT) “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

John 10:28 (NLT) “I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them away from me.”