The following is a speech answering the question: If man is inherently sinful, why do most men lead relatively good lives?

Little kids can be amusing. Their innocence, naivety, and lack of self-consciousness is fun to watch. They’ll run to us with a drawing–very happy with it and believing it’s well done. Of course, we encourage them and say, "Good job!". They do not have a concept of what good art is so they truly believe they are good artists. Once they’re older, as teens or adults, they look back and realize their earlier attempts at art actually weren’t very good. They now have a higher standard. Stick figures and wiggly lines just don’t cut it anymore. Even those who are artistically talented and continued to be praised for their work will point out things they need to work on. They see their flaws and weaknesses so much more clearly and work hard to improve.

In a way, this serves as an analogy between non-Christians and Christians. Christians hold themselves to a higher standard. They will readily admit that they are sinners saved only by God’s grace. They are honest about their shortcomings and strive to meet God’s standards. Most non-Christians, on the other hand, have a very low standard. Many say, "I’ve never killed anyone or robbed a bank so I think I’m a pretty good person." Like a little kids, they do not grasp what good truly is and how far they fall short.

Today, I’ll be answering the question: If man is inherently sinful, why do most men lead relatively good lives? I’m actually going to be answering this question with 2 other questions. 1. Is this questions legitimate? and 2. What should our response be?

First, is this question legitimate? To answer this we must define "good" and see if it is even possible for inherently sinful people to do good. I think the 4^th definition of the adjective form of "good" from Noah Webster’s 1828 Dictionary is fitting. It’s defined as "having moral qualitites best adapted to its design and use, or the qualities which God’s law requires." Now, let’s look at some Bible verses.

Psalm 106:1,3, "Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His love endures forever...Blessed are they who maintain justice, who constantly do what is right." Here we see that the Lord is good and blessed are the people who constantly do what is right. Again, is it even possible for inherently sinful people to do what is right, much less constantly do it? Jeremiah 4:22 says, "My people are fools; they do not know Me. They are senseless children; they have no understanding. They are skilled in doing evil; they know not how to do good." This verse shows us that people know very well how to do evil but they do not know how to do good. Psalm 14:2-3, "The Lord looks down from heaven on the sons of men to see if there are any who understand, any who seek God. All have turned aside, they have together become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one."

I believe we can safely conclude that the question: If man is inherently sinful, why do most men lead relatively good lives? is significantly flawed. Since we are inherently sinful, none of us can lead even close to a good life. As Chuck Colson said, "Mere knowledge is not enough to undercut the evil in the human heart. Simply knowing what is right doesn’t enable us to do right." I think a more appropriate question is: If man is inherently sinful, what can he do? Is there any hope for him? Is there any way for him to be able to lead a good life?

This brings me to my second main question: What should our response be? Some people believe we should try to do all the good works we can and hope God will somehow be impressed and let us in to heaven. But the Bible says, "all our righteous acts are like filthy rags." Isaiah 64:6. I believe this is because we are incapable of true righteousness and goodness on our own. Our very best deeds do not measure up to God’s standard. God’s standard is perfection–something we can never attain on our own. Romans 3:23, "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." How then can we ever lead a good life? The answer is found in Jesus Christ and in Him alone. When we surrender our lives to Jesus and make Him our Lord and Savior, we are washed clean. 1 John 1:9, "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." What we need to do is repent and make Jesus the Lord of our life.

In conclusion, we have discovered that the question: If man is inherently sinful, why do most men lead relatively good lives? is not legitimate but is in fact, flawed. We have found that our response must be putting our trust in Jesus as our Lord and Savior. I would like to end with a verse that has been show true once again. Mark 10:27, "Jesus looked at them and said, ‘With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God.’"