The Definition of Evil, God vs Man

One of the criticisms that is often heard about Christians, and especially those who hold to total depravity is that people often claim to be "good people." They feel they don't do any major criminal things, they may have the occasional impropriety, but over all they are good. Most people feel they are decently behaved, and follow most of the laws, they are generally nice to strangers and animals. People feel that they operate well in the society in which they live, and are generally good people.

I would not necessarily disagree, based on the view of humanity by humanity, most people are pretty good. People generally are not out looking for trouble, and most obey the laws (mostly) aside from traffic laws like speeding and fully stopping at stop signs when there is no cop in sight. Generally, most people are good, give to charity, help out their neighbors, and act in a way that is respectable and courteous. On the standard set by man, mankind is generally pretty decent, with notable exceptions.

The issue is, we assume that God operates on the standard set by us. God does not, the standard for God is to operate on the level on which He created us to operate on, one of sinlessness. Man was created without sin or death. By sinning, man rebelled against God. That sin would not be something that would be condemned by the standard of the world today, they just ate a piece of fruit they were told not to eat. They just snuck a little bite, and it’s not like the fruit belongs to anyone else, they were the only people in the garden. According to the world’s standards, what harm could it do to eat one piece of fruit? That fruit, however, constituted treason against God, and cost man everything.

The sinful nature of man is not that man does the most evil possible at every opportunity, but that man has two deep-rooted sins that cause most of the other sins. The first is the sin of pride. We think ourselves far more important than we are, which is why we think we can sin and it’s not a big deal. It is why we can drive as fast as we want, why we should be first and why we often rage against others. Our pride drives us to think about ourselves first and others later. It is why we lash out, why we lose our temper, why we are inpatient and seldom satisfied. When faced with any choice, the one that satisfies our pride usually wins.

The second issue is our selfishness, which goes along with our pride. It is the aspect of human behavior that expresses itself first. A toddler may learn to say momma and daddy, but the most often used word is usually “mine”. We do very little without being motivated by self. Even the good we do, we often do for the reason that it makes us feel good. We get a feeling of satisfaction from doing good, and we receive some sort of reward, which motivates us to do good. There is an intrinsic selfishness that drives most of human behavior.

The issue is not that people are the most evil they can be, but that our nature is that of selfish pride. It is evident in our earliest behavior and exists all the way through life. The only hope for us is that God gives us a new nature. That He replaces the hardened heart of stone with a heart of flesh. What we need is Jesus.

How Salvation Happens

 I think many of the disagreements we have over theology comes down to a failure to understand the basics. Today, I want to take another opportunity to cover the basics, and I want to use Act chapter 2. Peter is preaching on the Day of Pentecost. Peter was speaking to a Jewish audience who understood sin. They understood the law because they were required to keep the Old Testament Covenant, so they understood they needed redeemed. Peter tells them that Jesus is the new sacrifie and takes away sins, and they understood that, but we will talk more about that in a little bit.

The gospel, being preached and heard was the mechanism the Holy Spirit used to convict the people, and Acts says they were cut to the heart. This is the moment of conviction, where they were illuminated for their need for salvation through Christ. They reply to the calling of the Holy Spirit and are saved. They recieve faith from hearing, as Paul writes in Romans 9, and they respond in the faith to the grace that is being given them.

When we are saved, this process is what happens. Sitting in a church service, a revival service, a Bible Study, we hear the message of faith and it cuts us to the heart. It isn't a situation where we think about it, or weigh the pros and cons. It's not rational, it is a supernatural work of God that happens in our hearts. As a result, we respond in faith. We are like a starving man who is given food, that man eats without thought or consequence, thankful for the opportunity to meet the deepest need.

Now, as modern individuals, we are not part of the Jewis law, so often we need to be told about sin. We need to be told that we have broken God's law and as a result, we are headed for eternal seperation from God. As a general rule, people don't believe they are bad. Everyone knows they mess up from time to time, but generally people think they are good and will go to heaven on their merit. Most people need to be told that the standard to enter heaven on personal merit is perfection, because sin and disobeying God's commands in treason againt God. We need to be told that bad news, that we deserve Hell, but the good news, the Gospel is that Jesus died and paid the price for our sin. We are go to Heaven, not on our merit, but on His. He paid the price is we give our lives to Him and make Him Lord and Savior of our lives. We then are adopted into the family of God, and recieve part of the inheritane of Christ.

Salvation happens when the Holy Spirit awakens a person to the message of unlimited grace. When we understand, when our eyes are open. Apart from the work and power of the Holy Spirit, no one is saved. Salvation is a work of God, the part that we contribute is insignificant. It is the same as the starving man, we did not choose the food, we did not gain the food, we didn't even ask for the food, we were given the food and began to eat out of desperation. Salvation is the begger getting bread.

Now, man has some responsibilities in salvation. First, those of us who are saved are to tell others. The Holy Spirit works through hearing the message, and so as beggers who found bread, we tell others where the bread is. We are to preach, teach, and tell. Those who are lost need to be in the place to hear. They need to be available to be told. Unfortunatly, some people will never truely hear. They may hear the message, but it never cut to the heart, the Holy Spirit never illuminates them, they are never able to accept the food. They cannot see or smell or taste what is offered. That is not a failure of the messanger, or a failure of the meal, just the inability to take and eat.

Remember, we dont' argue people to Jesus. We dont' beg or guilt people. We present the truth, and the Holy Spirit does the work. We pray for all people, we tell people, we know God does the work, and we hope that everyone will be saved. That is how salvation happens.