Brother Michel Lankford
Yes, Scripture CLEARLY teaches that human beings are fundamentally wicked and evil at our core. That is WHY we NEED a Savior to transform us from evil to Good. This has been the case ever since humanity chose to obey the devil instead of obeying God in (Genesis chapter 3). You see before then, humanity WAS good, (Genesis 1:31). YHWH Almighty God gave humanity the authority to rule the Earth, to exercise dominion over it. and subdue or control it, (Genesis 1:28). When humanity obeyed the devil instead of obeying God, (Genesis 2:4–17; Genesis 3:1–7), WE humanity transferred some of our God-given authority to the devil, and it became easier and easier for the devil to tempt us obey him and do evil instead of obeying God to to do good. So, humanity turned from being good to being evil. God has been trying to redeem us and ransom humanity back from the devil’s authority ever since. But humanity is NO longer naturally good as we once were:
Yes, Scripture CLEARLY teaches that human beings are fundamentally wicked and evil at our core. That is WHY we NEED a Savior to transform us from evil to Good. This has been the case ever since humanity chose to obey the devil instead of obeying God in (Genesis chapter 3). You see before then, humanity WAS good, (Genesis 1:31). YHWH Almighty God gave humanity the authority to rule the Earth, to exercise dominion over it, and subdue or control it, (Genesis 1:28). When humanity obeyed the devil instead of obeying God, (Genesis 2:4–17; Genesis 3:1–7), WE humanity transferred some of our God-given authority to the devil, and it became easier and easier for the devil to tempt us to obey him and do evil instead of obeying God to do good. So, humanity turned from being good to being evil. God has been trying to redeem us and ransom humanity back from the devil’s authority ever since. But humanity is NO longer naturally good as we once were:
As It Is Written:
“Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. (Genesis 6:5 NASB95)
In fact, human wickedness became so pervasive on the earth, that God actually became grieved that He ever made us, (kind of like a loving parent feels when they see a child they love making very life destroying decisions; See Genesis 6:6).
As It Is Written:
“The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, they have committed abominable deeds; There is no one who does good. The Lord has looked down from heaven upon the sons of men To see if there are any who understand, Who seek after God. They have all turned aside, together they have become corrupt; There is no one who does good, not even one. (Psalm 14:1–3 NASB95)
As It Is Written:
““The heart is more deceitful than all else And is desperately sick; Who can understand it? (Jeremiah 17:9 NASB95)
As It Is Written:
““For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, slanders. “These are the things which defile the man; but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile the man.”(Matthew 15:19–20 NASB95)
This is WHY we NEED a Savior. This is WHY Jesus died, to ransom us from the devil’s power and authority. If humanity was still basically good, the death of Christ, our transformation and our New Birth through Christ would not be necessary.
That is the whole point for which Jesus died and rose again:
As It Is Written:
“‘But get up and stand on your feet; for this purpose I have appeared to you, to appoint you a minister and a witness not only to the things which you have seen, but also to the things in which I will appear to you; rescuing you from the Jewish people and from the Gentiles, to whom I am sending you, to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the dominion of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who have been sanctified by faith in Me.’(Acts 26:16–18 NASB95)
As It Is Written:
“Little children, make sure no one deceives you; the one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous; the one who practices sin is of the devil; for the devil has sinned from the beginning. The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil. No one who is born of God practices sin, because His seed abides in him; and he cannot sin, because he is born of God. By this the children of God and the children of the devil are obvious: anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor the one who does not love his brother.(1 John 3:7–10 NASB95)
In our human ego and pride, human beings desperately want to believe that we are still fundamentally good, but the truth is that we are fundamentally flawed, wicked and sinful. We NEED a Savior and the Holy Spirit to transform us on the inside, so that we can overcome our sinful inclinations, and truly become the good people that God intended us to be. That is the whole point of God’s plan in the Gospel.
Yes, Scripture CLEARLY teaches that human beings are fundamentally wicked and evil at our core. That is WHY we NEED a Savior to transform us from evil to Good. This has been the case ever since humanity chose to obey the devil instead of obeying God in (Genesis chapter 3). You see before then, humanity WAS good, (Genesis 1:31). YHWH Almighty God gave humanity the authority to rule the Earth, to exercise dominion over it. and subdue or control it, (Genesis 1:28). When humanity obeyed the devil instead of obeying God, (Genesis 2:4–17; Genesis 3:1–7), WE humanity transferred some of our God-given authority to the devil, and it became easier and easier for the devil to tempt us obey him and do evil instead of obeying God to to do good. So, humanity turned from being good to being evil. God has been trying to redeem us and ransom humanity back from the devil’s authority ever since. But humanity is NO longer naturally good as we once were:
As It Is Written:
“Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. (Genesis 6:5 NASB95)
In fact, human wickedness became so pervasive on the earth, that God actually became grieved that He ever made us, (kind of like a loving parent feels when they see a child they love making very life destroying decisions; See Genesis 6:6).
As It Is Written:
“The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, they have committed abominable deeds; There is no one who does good. The Lord has looked down from heaven upon the sons of men To see if there are any who understand, Who seek after God. They have all turned aside, together they have become corrupt; There is no one who does good, not even one. (Psalm 14:1–3 NASB95)
As It Is Written:
““The heart is more deceitful than all else And is desperately sick; Who can understand it? (Jeremiah 17:9 NASB95)
As It Is Written:
““For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, slanders. “These are the things which defile the man; but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile the man.”(Matthew 15:19–20 NASB95)
This is WHY we NEED a Savior. This is WHY Jesus died, to ransom us from the devil’s power and authority. If humanity was basically good, the death of Christ, our transformation and our New Birth through Christ would not be necessary.
That is the whole point for which Jesus died and rose again:
As It Is Written:
“‘But get up and stand on your feet; for this purpose I have appeared to you, to appoint you a minister and a witness not only to the things which you have seen, but also to the things in which I will appear to you; rescuing you from the Jewish people and from the Gentiles, to whom I am sending you, to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the dominion of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who have been sanctified by faith in Me.’(Acts 26:16–18 NASB95)
As It Is Written:
“Little children, make sure no one deceives you; the one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous; the one who practices sin is of the devil; for the devil has sinned from the beginning. The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil. No one who is born of God practices sin, because His seed abides in him; and he cannot sin, because he is born of God. By this the children of God and the children of the devil are obvious: anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor the one who does not love his brother. (1 John 3:7–10 NASB95)
In our human ego and pride, human beings desperately want to believe that we are still fundamentally good, but the truth is that we are fundamentally flawed, wicked and sinful. We NEED a Savior and the Holy Spirit to transform us on the inside, so that we can overcome our sinful inclinations, and truly become the good people that God intended us to be. That is the whole point of God’s plan in the Gospel.