Is man basically good? Well,
it is the Word of god and the testimony of the Lord that we should turn to find
the answer. It is interesting that all the greatest of saints through the
centuries have all acknowledged themselves to be the greatest of sinners. The
closer that you come to the light, the clearer you see the uncleanness and
filth upon you. Isaiah, Job, Peter and Paul said, “God, I see you face to face and abhor myself. I am an unclean man and
the chief of sinners.” Augustine wrote “Confessions”, the confessions of
the sins of a saint. The unregenerate lives our in darkness, so they do not see
their sin and uncleanness. Sin is the only thing I know that the more you
practice it, the less you are able to even discern that it even exists. The
people most amassed in sin are the people most vociferous in denial that they
have any such thing at all. But, what does the Word of god say?
Ecclesiastes 9:3 “Truly
the hearts of the sons of men are full of evil”.
Isaiah 1:5-6 “The
whole head is sick, and the whole heart faints. From the sole of the foot even
to the head, there is no soundness in it.”
Isaiah 64:6 “We
are all like an unclean thing, and all our righteousness’ are like filthy
rags; We all fade as a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken
us away.”
Jeremiah 17:9 “The heart is deceitful
above all things, and desperately wicked;
Who can know it?”
Who can know it?”
Romans 7:18-21 “For I
know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is
present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not
find. For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil
I will not to do, that I practice. Now if I do what I will
not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. I
find then a law, that evil is present with me, the one who wills to do good.”
1 John 1:8 “If we
say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.”
1 John 5:19 “We
know that we are of God, and the whole world lies in wickedness.”
Yes, you hear people say:
“But those verses are so negative and pessimistic. We need something lighter
and cheerier than that to think about.” Well, let’s see about Christ. We are
told by these good folks that Jesus did not believe that people were sinful;
that He had a more positive view of human nature and would never have said
anything as negative as that. Okay, let’s turn to the Bible text and see what
exactly Jesus Christ did believe about man. Because John 2:24-25 says, “Jesus
did not commit Himself to them, because He knew all men, and had
no need that anyone should testify of man, for He knew what was in man.” What did He think, what did He say, and what
did He declare about man? Listen to His words:
Matthew 23:33 “Serpents, brood of
vipers! How can you escape the condemnation of hell?”
Matthew 25:41 “Then
He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed,
into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels.”
Matthew 15:3 “Why
do you also transgress the commandment of God?”
Matthew 15:19 “For
out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications,
thefts, false witness, blasphemies.” (These
are the things that come out of the human heart.)
John 8:34 “Most
assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin.”
John 8:44 “You
are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you
want to do.”
Many other verses attest
that man is not basically good. Jesus knew that man’s heart was indeed wicked
from their youth. But, remember that this is the same Jesus who said in Matthew
26:28, “For this is My
blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for (their
basic goodness?)” No, “for the remission
of sins.” Jesus Christ came into the world that our sins may be forgiven.
No, the Scriptures teach that man is not basically good. Christ taught that man
is not basically good and history confirms that man, definitely, is not
basically good.
Let's continue pastor Kennedy's message on good and evil in the next post.
In Christ, Brian
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