Are People Mostly Good by Nature?

By Bill Naron

Doctrine and theology are terms that in our time carry a lot of negative connotations. Some people in the church find it boring or do not really understand it. For some, it is offensive because of the objective nature of the truth that it conveys. For others, they have heard so many false teachings on doctrine or theology that they are not even sure what to think.

One thing is certain: we live in a culture where ambiguity is king! Truth must be relative, and culture encourages us to go out and find OUR truth. “My truth is good for me, but it may not be true for you” could be the mantra of our culture today. In many ways, the Church has struggled with how to engage culture with truth in this time. We want to share Jesus with the world, but we do not want to come across as judgmental.

In this struggle, it becomes hard for us to see how to stand on objective truth. We then see the pillars of objective truth start to corrode. We can see this portrayed in the following survey from Ligonier Ministries.

In 2018, they gave people the statement, “Everyone sins a little, but most people are good by nature.” Among evangelicals, 55% either strongly agreed or moderately agreed with this statement. Only 42% of evangelicals disagreed, and another 3% of evangelicals were not sure. When you look at the data from the overall survey group, which is inclusive of the general American public regardless of religion, they show that an overwhelming 67% of those surveyed agree, while 26% of those surveyed disagree and 7% were unsure. These numbers are astonishing!

The Church in majority believes that people are mostly good by nature. This is a huge contradiction to the truth of Scripture. In Mark 10:18 Jesus says, “Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God.” Jesus plainly states the truth for us that no one except God is good. In Romans chapter 3, Paul expounds upon this point and lays out for us the state of humanity.

“As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one. Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips” (Romans 3:10-13).

Paul lays out for us the state of humanity. We are trapped in sin; we are not seeking after God. We are by our nature opposed to God. In this it is seen that no person is without sin, that every person has fallen short of God’s glory. Because of this we were subject to God’s wrath, we deserve the penalty of sin, which is death.

There was seemingly no hope for us. Like a corpse, we were lifeless; the members of our body could not seek out for our Creator, nor were we able to commune with Him, because we were so diseased. Jesus was the only one who could do what He did; He was and is the only one who could and can save us.

We now have hope! We are now aware of our sin, and while we strive to live a life wholly dedicated to God, our flesh is still inclined to sin (Romans 7:18). Our justification was instant, but our sanctification takes time.

If it were true that people are mostly good by nature, then why did Jesus come, and whom then did He come to save? We diminish the sacrifice of our Savior with this type of belief. Since our beliefs will influence our actions, this false belief may also cause us to take a more apathetic approach to outreach, when the reality of what we see in the Scriptures and the examples of the apostles show us that this should move us to compassion for those who are lost.

Feel the weight of what we were saved from, knowing that those who are lost are subject to the same fate. Jesus endured the cross for His bride that we may be reconciled to the Father. He also endured the cross for those around us. Let us boast in the cross of Christ and rejoice in His resurrection, that we may go forth and share this hope with the world.

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