Did God Create Sin?

Sin is something that is rooted in the human condition and not a word that we like to think about. Here, Stephen March discusses the possibility that God created sin.

Was Sin Created by God?

Was sin created by God? And if so why? These are fair questions, especially if we consider what the Bible teaches about God and His perfection and goodness, it seems strange that he would create this thing which would separate us from Him.  The easy and short answer to this question is “No, God did not create sin.” But let’s look at that in a bit more detail and try to understand why we can say that.

Sin Wasn’t Created

To start, sin wasn’t created.  Sin is anything that is in opposition to God’s nature or character, whether it is an action, word, thought, motive, attitude, or even just our predisposition to sin. 

Since God’s glory is the standard, anything that falls short of that standard is by definition, sin.  It did not need to be created.  Sin exists simply because God exists.  So perhaps the better question would be why does God allow sin?  Why would He create people who are able to sin?  This also is a great question.

Here is what Genesis 1 says about the creation of mankind, in verse 27 we read

So God created man in his own image, in the image of God He created him, male and female He created them.

Genesis 1:27

A little later in verse 31 it says

And God saw everything that He had made, and behold, it was very good. 

Genesis 1:31

So when mankind was first created, we were not a sinful race.  That would happen later by our own choice. 

Why Did God Create Us?

Next, let’s try to understand why God created us.  This one is a little more difficult because there is no single verse that says “God created mankind because…”  Instead we look at verses like Revelation 4:11 which reads

..for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created

Revelation 4:11

and also Colossians 1:16 which includes the statement

..all things were created through Him and for Him.

Colossians 1:16

Right off the bat we can state from the Bible God created man because He wanted to, it was His will to do so.  Now let’s consider 1 John 4:8 that tells us that “God is love”.  The best thing for love is to have a subject to demonstrate that love towards. 

God Created Us Out of Love

When we consider all the passages in the Bible that speak of God’s love for mankind, and his desire to have a relationship with us, which are too numerous for the space we have in this post, we can safely say without stretching the scriptures that God created us out of love for His pleasure, and wants us to have a relationship with Him. 

Unfortunately for us, for God to truly do that out of love, He had to give us the freedom to choose, and that’s a freedom we don’t always do to well with. 

Without the freedom to choose a relationship with God, we would really be mindless robots, merely responding the way we were programmed to.  Any love, worship or adoration for God wouldn’t be true, or genuine, rather it would be empty and meaningless. 

So I guess in a very real way, when God created us with the ability to choose sin, to choose that which is against God’s nature, He was also creating us with the ability to choose to love honor and worship Him.  In fact, His great love for us is revealed even more when we think that even though God knew we would choose sin, a choice which the Bible tells us grieves God, causes Him sorrow, and burdens Him, even with all that He sent Jesus to die for our sins, so that we could be reconciled to God, and in choosing to believe in Christ, we choose to have that loving relationship with God that He desires for us so much.

God Allows Free Will

To summarize, God loves his creation so much that He won’t force anything on us, and that’s why He allows us to disobey Him.  He wants us to love Him in return, but only out of our own free will, He wants it to be our conscious decision to love Him, and in doing so to reject everything that is against His nature, to reject sin.  He also knows that because we can’t meet His holy standard, he needed to provide a way that we could be forgiven, which He did through Jesus Christ.  Why, because he loves us, and delights in us, and wants nothing more than for us to love Him, and to be with Him for all eternity.

If you would like to know more about how much God loves you and wants to have a relationship with you, please contact us.  You can do so by email to [email protected], or by phone at 1-800-567-1218. 

Do you have faith in Christ? Tell us how you decided to put your faith in Christ. We would love to hear from you. Comment below or contact us at HopeStreamRadio.