Goods News for the Basically Bad
Today ended up being a “rest day.” After my regular Tuesday morning meeting and one of my routine massages, I found myself in a longer “rest mode” than anticipated. But I was able to accomplish quite a bit of work in my office this afternoon. My scheduled appointment with my Neurologist was postpone due to our change in insurance providers.
BIBLE VERSE FOR TODAY… “And the Lord said, “My Spirit will not remain with mankind forever, because they are corrupt...When the Lord saw that man’s wickedness was widespread on the earth and that every scheme his mind thought of was nothing but evil all the time, the Lord regretted that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart.” Genesis 6:3,5,6 HCSB
When God created heaven and earth, He place Adam and Eve in a garden that was unspoiled and perfect. We see sin entering the world and a “curse” placed upon the earth. In a relatively short span of time we see this “perfect” world polluted by the actions of people to the extent that it called for God’s judgment.
When God’s Spirit is grieved and removed, man loses any sense of moral bearing and restraint on evil behavior. “There is a way that appears to be right, but in the end it leads to death.” (Proverbs 14:12 NIV) The prophet Isaiah said, “We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.“ (Isa. 53:6 NIV)
Often we hear people say something like, “people are basically good.” or “Down deep there is good in every person.” Life and history and the Bible proves this to be the opposite. People may appear good “on the surface” but down deep, we are all self-centered and prone to sin. We like the Bible described go “our own way.” We want it “our way” – we want life on “our terms” – we strive for peace and happiness, but we believe we can find it in our own “way.”
If people were basically “good” we would not need to train children to obey and to share and be self-disciplined individuals. The challenge of life is fighting our natural bent toward evil.
Paul the apostle recognized the natural bent of our life. “When I want to do what is good, evil is with me.” (Romans 7:21 HCSB) Paul, like many discovered that human will and a “just say no” approach to evil is not sufficient for a “good” life.
But in his self reflection, the apostle points to the place of hope. “What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this dying body? I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord!” (Rom. 7:24,25 HCSB) The solution to the evil within, is inviting the Spirit of God to come into our life. That happens as we place our faith in Christ and admit that on our own we are helpless and hopeless.
The hope we have is the help that comes from the Lord and the new life He brings. “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.” (Galatians 2:19,20 HCSB)
The Lord, as we obey and trust Him, gives us the strength to live the “good” life. It comes from God’s presence and a life that pleases and trust in Him. “I say then, walk by the Spirit and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.” (Galatians 5:16 HCSB) This is not our “human” spirit, but God’s Holy Spirit, living in our hearts.
God also provides by His grace and mercy a backup plan to our human condition. “My little children, I am writing you these things so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ the Righteous One. He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not only for ours, but also for those of the whole world.” (1 John 2:1,2 HCSB)
The good news for the basically bad condition of the human heart is found in God provision of His Son, the perfect man, who died for us. The key to the “good” life that we all desire is to turn from “our way” to “God’s way.”