Why does God allow Satan to inflict evil on our world?

Scripture:
Why did God allow Satan to inflict evil on our world? If, as soon as Lucifier and his followers sinned, God destroyed them all, it would leave doubt and fear in the minds of the rest of the universe. Because God desires us to worship Him in freedom, He has allowed evil to show itself. The cross dramatized perfectly Satan's desire for power.
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Caller:  My question is kind of two questions:  The first one is—I, myself, I’m a believer, and sometimes you get attacked mentally by the enemy and also fellow believers have asked me—I’m a truck driver so I haven’t had much opportunity lately to talk with a pastor or minister but—and also, when witnessing I’ve been asked this question: 

You know, when Lucifer fell with his angels, I’ve been wondering and have been asked why didn’t God immediately bind him and his angels and not allow him or his angels to attack us? 

Pastor Doug:  That’s a good question and, Dave, if you have a pencil, before we go off the air with this question, we have a lesson that addresses that in great detail.  It’s called, What You Don’t Know Can Hurt You.  In a minute we’ll give you that phone number, and it’s free.  It talks about the devil and why God allows sin. 

But quickly, your answer is—suppose for a minute that as soon as Lucifer and his angels rebelled that God, who obviously has the power, that He blinked His eyes and snapped His fingers and Lucifer and all of his followers were vaporized.  The other angels in the universe that had been hearing the subtle suggestions about God not being loving or not being fair, they would begin to add-or God’s destroying Lucifer would give credibility to it.  The Lord is loving and patient.  He allows us to bear the fruit of our philosophy so that others will see. 

God does not want us to obey Him because of fear.  Now, when babies are little we need to teach them to obey because you’re bigger than them, but as they begin to reason and their minds develop, you give them principles, you teach them, because you don’t want them forever listening to you because you’re bigger than them, otherwise they rebel first thing when they get out of your control.  You need to reason, and they need to want to do the right thing because they love you.  God does not want His creatures to obey Him and to shudder and cower in fear when He gives them a command but because what He is asking is just. 

And so, if the Lord had destroyed Lucifer as soon as Lucifer rebelled, all the other intelligent agencies in the universe would have said, Hey, maybe Lucifer was right God is mean.  But God allowed him to display and act out his policies and you can see the fruit of it today.  The cross is the best demonstration of Satan’s love for power and God’s power of love.  It was all dramatized perfectly there.  When the crowd, inspired by the devil, cried Crucify Him, Crucify Him, Jesus said, Father, forgive them.  And so the Lord wants us to follow Him because we love Him.  Okay?

Caller:  Okay that’s excellent.  I never thought about it like that before.

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