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Is God responsible for what Satan does?
Job 19:8-12
8 He has blocked my way so I cannot pass;
he has shrouded my paths in darkness.
9 He has stripped me of my honor
and removed the crown from my head.
10 He tears me down on every side till I am gone;
he uproots my hope like a tree.
11 His anger burns against me;
he counts me among his enemies.
12 His troops advance in force;
they build a siege ramp against me
and encamp around my tent.
God permitted Satan to attack Job, so in that sense God was responsible (1:12; 1:26). But God is not morally responsible for Satan's wickedness. Since the Bible teaches that God is holy (Lev. 11:45) and righteous in all his ways (Psalm 145:17), we know he does not devise evil (James 1:13-15). He cannot be made a scapegoat for Satan's destructive activities.
Satan is the great liar who chose to defy God and was banished from God's presence with the other fallen angels (Luke 10:18). Satan is called the prince of this world (John 12:31). Christ's entrance onto the stage of human history was the long-promised part of God's plan to redeem the world from his tyranny. Satan is cast into the abyss (Rev 20:10).
Tracing evil back to God has been much debated throughout the centuries. Theologically, we know that God is holy and reigns supreme, yet Satan has limited power within the parameters of God's sovereignty. Evil in way can be traced back to God in terms of culpability for it. Although God knows good and evil (Gen. 3:22), he is good (Psalm 100:5) and is good to all; he takes no pleasure in evil (Psalm 5:4).
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