Romans 5:19
For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.
–
The Myth of “Good” People
There is a myth going around that claims all humans are at their core “good people”. Well, that myth is just that, a fanciful, unrealistic, and distorted take on human nature.
All one has to do is turn on the nightly news or read a history book to see that most people throughout our history as humans are not “basically good”.
War after war, addition after addiction, sex trafficking, harassment, theft. Even if you say, well Tom, I’ve never done something that evil. The reality is there is someone else who would say the same thing about what petty crimes you have committed.
All of this points to one thing.
Although some might like to deny it, there is no such thing as a “good” human. There are well behaved and well-adjusted men and women to be sure. But we are all birthed and buried deep in sin.
Don’t believe me? Well, let’s try something then.
- Have you ever lied to your mom? Lying sin
- Have you ever stolen a pencil from work? Theft sin
- Have you ever cheated on your spouse? Adultery sin
- Have you ever talked about someone behind their backs? Gossip sin
- Have you ever been jealous because of what someone else has? Envy sin
- Have you ever used God’s name as a mere expression? That’s number 3 on the top 10 list
How are you doing so far?
Still, think you’re a “good” person?
I hope that this has woken you up to the reality that every person has sinned. Whether it’s a “big sin” like murder (which by the way is such a striking sin because you are killing a fellow image-bearer) or a “small sin” like lying to your mom (which still involves you dishonoring an image-bearer). All of us have sinned (Romans 3:20-23)
Why is this such a plague on our individual lives? Because it’s in our nature. It’s the heritage that was passed on to us by the original humans our ancestors Adam and Eve when they chose to play god in their own lives.
Christopher Morgan very well describes sin on his TGC essay regarding The Nature of Sin:
“Sin is the failure to keep God’s law and to uphold his righteousness, thus failing to glorify the Lord fully. While there are many different manifestations that sin can take, they are all rooted in the initial disobedience of Adam and Eve in the Garden.”
On the same article, Morgan continues by tackling the results of sin in our lives:
“As sin enters through Adam, so do its effects, suffering included. And just as God is not the author of sin, so is he not the author of suffering. Suffering is not a part of God’s good creation but is sin’s byproduct.”
However, just because that’s our heritage does not mean that it needs to stay that way.
A Change In Heritage
Remember earlier when I said, “most people throughout our history as humans are not ‘basically good’.” There’s a very specific reason why I said most here.
That’s because in all reality there has been One person who has been fundamentally and completely “good”. That person is Jesus.
Many people whether religious or not would agree that Jesus was a “good guy” He wasn’t always “nice” and he wasn’t always “soft and lovey” (just look at the way he answered the religious people of his day the Pharisees) but he was and is always “good”.
But, why? What makes him so special?
Well as Jesus subtly pointed out in one of his conversations “why do you call me good when no one is good but God alone.” (Mark 10:17-18)
In case you missed it, Jesus is pointing out the reality that only God, the creator of all things is fundamentally and completely good. Even if we try to act good and outwardly follow all the rules as this man did (Mark 10:19-20), there is always something missing in our heart (Mark 10:21-22). But Jesus is good.
The reason why Jesus was so different was in fact because He was so different. As all four of the gospels point out (most poignantly John) Jesus is God. He Possess a dual nature, He was and is God in human flesh.
Because of that He was able to live as a human, but without sin. (Hebrews 4:15, 2 Corinthians 5:21)
Why does that matter? What particle application does that have in my life right here right now?
This.
Because Jesus is the creator of all things He can redeem (buy back/make new) all things. That includes us, our lives, and our nature to sin.
Jesus gives us the choice of a new nature, a new heritage so to speak. (2 Corinthians 5:17-18)
We can choose either to remain living our life the way we always have bound in nature to sin and brokenness (John 8:34) or we can choose to give up that part of our life in exchange for wholeness and peace by trusting Jesus at his word (Matthew 16:24-27).
Why should I take Jesus at His word, how can He give me a “new nature”?
He can give us this choice because He fulfilled God’s requirements of perfection (the law) where we never could and because He paid for all of our mistakes by giving himself up as a sacrifice (the only way to “get right with God” before he came) on our behalf, and because He rose again (yes I said Jesus the creator of life, fully God and fully man was able to bring himself back to life) showing that what He said he came to accomplish, He actually accomplished and that we can trust Him.
Because of this, He has the authority and the power to free us from our inherited sin nature.
After all, “If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” (John 8:35-36)
And as Colin Smith reminds us all, on his article on freedom:
“Christ does not drag you, kicking and screaming, against your will to follow him. What does he do? God shines his light into your mind and pours his love into your heart…so when, by God’s grace, the prevailing desires of the heart change, the will chooses a new direction!”
It’s now up to us whether we will choose to continue remaining in the power of sin or to accept Jesus and the new nature that He offers us. (Matthew 11:28-30)
