People Are Basically Good

Introduction

The next series begins in mid-October and focuses on prayer and fasting. Watch a three-year-old: tell them to do something and they will watch your reaction as they do the opposite. We can laugh at their cherub faces and find it difficult to correct them, but the truth is their actions not only need to be corrected but their desire as well.

Are people basically good? There is a part of us that wants to believe that. If we think people are basically good, then we live a bit freer as we trust people. If we believe the opposite—that people are basically evil—then we live in distrust of others. Our culture has endorsed the idea that people are basically good. We, too, surrounded by such thoughts find ourselves believing the same thing. What does God say about such a view? Our time this morning will center around the truth that God says about each person and God’s remedy for sin.

The Lie

Several years ago, when Maria was at Lipscomb, the student government met with the president and asked for a reduction in the rules. Their argument was that the rules were not necessary. They believed that most people on campus would behave themselves without the rules. This argument is based on the belief that people are basically good. It is the same argument that has been the basis of humanism. Most people are good and most people will do the right thing. We need fewer laws. What do you think?

The president of Lipscomb made a wise and astute response. He would eliminate all but one rule if the students would agree. The one rule—I will act like Jesus at all times. This is the dilemma. Even humanists acknowledge that perfection is not possible. If people are basically good, then how do you explain the eruption of evil? If people are basically good, then how do you explain so much violence and desire to hurt others?

We all have anecdotes about the goodness of people. Do not hear me say that there is no goodness in people, but at the core, are people basically good? Even evil people do good things. We cannot deny that good exists in the world. When Adam and Eve were in the garden, God had pronounced that everything was very good (Genesis 1:31). That pronouncement was about the quality of his work. Some will say it was also about the quality of the product. Let’s assume both for now. What happened in Genesis 3? Adam and Eve chose evil over good. Why? This illustrates that God created humans with the capacity to choose. And when a choice is available that is perceived as being beneficial for self or to increase one’s position in the world, then they chose evil instead of good. Perhaps this reflects the character of human beings?

The ability to choose results in choosing evil when such a choice will benefit self even if it hurts another. We are told about Eve’s motives. We know less about Adam’s, but God pronounces that he, too, chose to follow his wife’s lead rather than following God (Genesis 3:17). Turn to Genesis 6:5–7. What does the Bible say about human beings? “Every inclination of the thoughts of human’s hearts was only evil all the time.” We are told that Noah is the exception. God didn’t wipe out human beings because of their goodness but because of their evil. The only law was man’s internal goodness. Left to his own goodness, human became evil. This doesn’t sound like basic goodness.

Human beings are created in God’s image. They have intrinsic worth and value, but every human being has chosen evil not good. This is human nature. While we can do good and many times choose it, we are just as apt to choose that which will benefit us even if it hurts others. Our choice to do wrong affects self—reduces our ability to choose wisely in the future—affects others by bringing hurt and separation, and affects our future as we live with guilt and shame.

In our text, Paul illustrates that all human beings are the same when it comes to sin. No one is righteous. No one seeks God. No one does good. Their tongues practice deceit. They curse others with their mouths. They do not know the way of peace. There is no fear of God in them.

These hurt and sting. It is hard to admit the truth as God sees it. It can’t be this cut and dry. Every part of a human being knows good, better, and best. There is a natural tendency to compare and rate and rank. Paul isn’t allowing any of that. Appeal to the law and you will be silenced (verse 19). Here’s what the law does—the law makes us deeply aware of our sin. And with that awareness comes condemnation.

Inherent within this lie is the knowledge that we want more from others than ourselves. We don’t want to be held to a standard that we cannot meet. We want to set our own standard and meet it and then we can call ourselves good. But then we have no reason to admit that evil exists at all. If we believe that humans can set the standard then God’s law matters little and every person’s standard becomes the means to determine goodness. There is a little goodness in most people.

God’s Truth

If people are not basically good, then how do we live in this world? The extremes are to believe that people are basically good or that people are basically evil. The middle ground is the safe place. Living life starts with seeing people and yourself as God does. Every person is imperfect. Every person has chosen sin over righteousness. Every person has the ability to choose good but every person has chosen evil. Because every person is flawed, then live life in the middle. As Frank pointed out last week, we can only control ourselves. Allow the Holy Spirit to lead you to holiness and treat others as Jesus would—patiently, compassionately, kindly, lovingly—while recognizing that all people have to change.

Look at Romans 4:7–8: “Blessed are they whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the person who sin the Lord will never count against him.” Admitting this truth gives us what we really want—God’s goodness. This is why the lie is so powerful. We don’t want to admit our lack of control nor our failures. We find it easy to compare ourselves to others and determine that they are lacking; we are not. Other people are worse than us. But the reality is that we are all the same—having chosen evil over good and in need of relief.

Take the weight of your sin and embrace it. Don’t ignore it. Don’t push it away. Don’t divert your attention. Don’t deflect. Don’t compare. It’s all yours. Now come to the cross and give it to Jesus. That’s what we did when we were baptized. Awareness of our sin means that we need a Savior.

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