Man is basically good?

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 The writer of Ecclesiastes makes it very well known that this is simply not true when he states, "...the hearts of the children of man are full of evil, and madness is in their hearts while they live, and after that they go to the dead" (Ecc. 9:3). This is certainly not the same thing as saying that humans are not able to do "good" things; they most certainly are capable since every person is made in the image of God and are able to judge between right and wrong. Nonetheless, people naturally put themselves on the throne and view God as only an accessory to be used when things aren't going well in their lives (that is, if they acknowledge God at all). If every person was only "wounded" by sin instead of being totally depraved with sin, then that would suggest that there is an "island of righteousness" inside the heart of every human being which is the part that every person can use to reach out to God and be saved. Where does this idea come from other than the person who decides that his need for God is not as drastic as what the Bible describes it to be?

Nobody wants to hear that they are spiritually depraved. Nobody wants to hear that they cannot help themselves. Nobody wants to hear that Jesus Christ is the way, the truth, and the life, and that no one comes to the Father except through Him (John 14:6). O, how man is blatantly at odds with God without His love! The more we elevate ourselves, the less we see how great our sins to be in the sight of God. Likewise, the less we see how great our sins to be in the sight of God, the more we reduce our perceived need of Jesus Christ to have lived a perfect life and to have died an atoning death for our sins!

God desires for His children to follow in the pattern of His Son, Jesus Christ. Because of our sin, however, continual confession and repentance of our sins is necessary in order for us to live our lives that strive toward purity and holiness, with Christ being our righteousness for us! Christ experienced a kind of death that we deserved in order that His Father could treat us like His Son who never sinned. That is how much God loves us!

To say that man is basically good is to say that God is basically good; the truth is that man is totally depraved and God is totally perfect.

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