Shayla: Aren’t most people basically good?

Meforshim:

Every one is a sinner. Not only are we born with the yetzer hara (the innate sin nature; the proclivity for moral darkness; a personification of this state), but we consciously give in to it at a disturbing rate.

• Isaiah 59:4-15 HCSB No one makes claims justly; no one pleads honestly. They trust in empty and worthless words; they conceive trouble and give birth to iniquity. (5) They hatch viper's eggs and weave spider's webs. Whoever eats their eggs will die; crack one open, and a viper is hatched. (6) Their webs cannot become clothing, and they cannot cover themselves with their works. Their works are sinful works, and violent acts are in their hands. (7) Their feet run after evil, and they rush to shed innocent blood. Their thoughts are sinful thoughts; ruin and wretchedness are in their paths. (8) They have not known the path of peace, and there is no justice in their ways. They have made their roads crooked; no one who walks on them will know peace. (9) Therefore justice is far from us, and righteousness does not reach us. We hope for light, but there is darkness; for brightness, but we live in the night. (10) We grope along a wall like the blind; we grope like those without eyes. We stumble at noon as though it were twilight; we are like the dead among those who are healthy. (11) We all growl like bears and moan like doves. We hope for justice, but there is none; for salvation, but it is far from us. (12) For our transgressions have multiplied before You, and our sins testify against us. For our transgressions are with us, and we know our iniquities: (13) transgression and deception against the LORD, turning away from following our God, speaking oppression and revolt, conceiving and uttering lying words from the heart. (14) Justice is turned back, and righteousness stands far off. For truth has stumbled in the public square, and honesty cannot enter. (15) Truth is missing, and whoever turns from evil is plundered. The LORD saw that there was no justice, and He was offended.
• Romans 3:23 HCSB For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
• 1 John 1:8 HCSB If we say, "We have no sin," we are deceiving ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
• 1 John 1:10 HCSB If we say, "We have not sinned," we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.

The Holy Spirit is busy holding back evil and restraining humanity from doing its worst. Some people resist the Lord so stubbornly that they are “given over” to their cravings. However, they were patiently and mercifully held back from this wretched state by the promptings of the Holy Spirit for a long time. The Apostle Paul was one who was resisting the goading of the Spirit but praise God he finally converted.

• 2 Thessalonians 2:7 HCSB For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; but the one now restraining will do so until he is out of the way,
• Romans 1:24 HCSB Therefore God delivered them over in the cravings of their hearts to sexual impurity, so that their bodies were degraded among themselves.
• Acts 26:14 HCSB When we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice speaking to me in the Hebrew language, 'Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.'

Without the Holy Spirit’s restraint, humanities true traits, described below all surface.

• Mark 7:20-23 HCSB Then He said, "What comes out of a person--that defiles him. (21) For from within, out of people's hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immoralities, thefts, murders, (22) adulteries, greed, evil actions, deceit, lewdness, stinginess, blasphemy, pride, and foolishness. (23) All these evil things come from within and defile a person."
• Romans 1:28-31 HCSB And because they did not think it worthwhile to have God in their knowledge, God delivered them over to a worthless mind to do what is morally wrong. (29) They are filled with all unrighteousness, evil, greed, and wickedness. They are full of envy, murder, disputes, deceit, and malice. They are gossips, (30) slanderers, God-haters, arrogant, proud, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, (31) undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, and unmerciful.
• Galatians 5:19-21 HCSB Now the works of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, moral impurity, promiscuity, (20) idolatry, sorcery, hatreds, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambitions, dissensions, factions, (21) envy, drunkenness, carousing, and anything similar, about which I tell you in advance--as I told you before--that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
• 2 Timothy 3:1-5 HCSB But know this: difficult times will come in the last days. (2) For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, (3) unloving, irreconcilable, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, without love for what is good, (4) traitors, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, (5) holding to the form of religion but denying its power. Avoid these people!

From these four passages alone (we could have examined hundreds of others!) we derive the following unflattering characteristics ascribed to humanity by the Holy Spirit.

1. Proud

2. Insolent

3. Boastful

4. Selfishly ambitious

5. Self-centered

6. Ungrateful

7. Obstinate

8. Unteachable

9. Hypocritical

10. Vile

11. Considering nothing sacred

12. Disinterested in good

13. Wicked

14. Covetous

15. Greedy

16. Envious

17. Thieves

18. Murderous

19. Hateful

20. Cruel

21. Unloving

22. Unforgiving

23. Heartless

24. Deceitful

25. Slanderous

26. Malicious

27. Gossiping

28. Backstabbing

29. Traitorous

30. Foolish

31. Sinful

32. Fighting

33. Hostile

34. Quarrelsome

35. Bad-tempered

36. Jealous

37. Divisive,

38. God-hating,

39. Disobedient

40. Dishonorable

41. Spiritually and morally polluted

42. Lustful

43. Lewd

44. Sexually immoral

45. Adulterous

46. Impure of minds

47. Orgiastic

48. Lacking self-control

49. Drunk

50. Idolatrous

51. Demonic

52. Scoffing

53. Reckless

Even our greatest religious works are no more than pollution in God’s eyes.

• Isaiah 64:6-7 HCSB All of us have become like something unclean, and all our righteous acts are like a polluted garment; all of us wither like a leaf, and our iniquities carry us away like the wind. (7) No one calls on Your name, striving to take hold of You. For You have hidden Your face from us and made us melt because of our iniquity.
• Ezekiel 36:17 HCSB "Son of man, while the house of Israel lived in their land, they defiled it with their conduct and actions. Their behavior before Me was like menstrual impurity.

The Holy Spirit convinces of sin but we are woefully prone to ignore the Spirit’s voice.

• Genesis 6:3 HCSB And the LORD said, "My Spirit will not remain with mankind forever, because they are corrupt. Their days will be 120 years."
• Deuteronomy 29:3-4 HCSB (3) You saw with your own eyes the great trials and those great signs and wonders. (4) Yet to this day the LORD has not given you a mind to understand, eyes to see, or ears to hear.
• John 16:7-11 HCSB Nevertheless, I am telling you the truth. It is for your benefit that I go away, because if I don't go away the Counselor will not come to you. If I go, I will send Him to you. (8) When He comes, He will convict the world about sin, righteousness, and judgment: (9) about sin, because they do not believe in Me; (10) about righteousness, because I am going to the Father and you will no longer see Me; (11) and about judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged.

However, the Holy Spirit’s main role is to direct us to Christ. To lead us to the knowledge that could result in our salvation.

• John 14:26 HCSB But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit--the Father will send Him in My name--will teach you all things and remind you of everything I have told you.
• John 15:26 HCSB "When the Counselor comes, the One I will send to you from the Father--the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father--He will testify about Me.

Anyone who rejects the message of the Holy Spirit thus renders themselves incapable of receiving the knowledge that could result in salvation. They make themselves incapable of being saved, of being forgiven.

• Matthew 12:31-32 HCSB Because of this, I tell you, people will be forgiven every sin and blasphemy, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. (32) Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him. But whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the one to come.
• Mark 3:28-30 HCSB I assure you: People will be forgiven for all sins and whatever blasphemies they may blaspheme. (29) But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin"-- (30) because they were saying, "He has an unclean spirit."
• Luke 12:10 HCSB Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but the one who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.
• Hebrews 6:4-6 HCSB For it is impossible to renew to repentance those who were once enlightened, who tasted the heavenly gift, became companions with the Holy Spirit, (5) tasted God's good word and the powers of the coming age, (6) and who have fallen away, because, to their own harm, they are recrucifying the Son of God and holding Him up to contempt.

In the future, when the Holy Spirit’s convicting influence is removed, humanity will be left free to express its true self. They will be deceived into believing that anything goes. It’s that same old lie – “You too can be a god and do as you wish!”

• 2 Thessalonians 2:7-12 HCSB (7) For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; but the one now restraining will do so until he is out of the way, (8) and then the lawless one will be revealed. The Lord Jesus will destroy him with the breath of His mouth and will bring him to nothing with the brightness of His coming. (9) The coming of the lawless one is based on Satan's working, with all kinds of false miracles, signs, and wonders, (10) and with every unrighteous deception among those who are perishing. They perish because they did not accept the love of the truth in order to be saved. (11) For this reason God sends them a strong delusion so that they will believe what is false, (12) so that all will be condemned--those who did not believe the truth but enjoyed unrighteousness.

So to answer your question – “no”. Humanity is most definitely NOT good. We are wicked, execrable moral worms and the only thing keeping us from tearing each other apart in an orgy of selfish, self-seeking, narcissistic, covetous violence is the gracious Holy Spirit. Short of that tempering influence we would be without any degree of hope.

That may sound harsh to modern ears. That may seem overly judgmental and condemning to post-modern ears. However, recognizing this fundamental truth – “There is a holy God and we have transgressed against Him” is the only potential source of hope we have. It is not until we correctly diagnose the problem that a solution may arise. Fortunately, the solution has already been provided by the Messiah’s atoning work on the cross.

• Romans 5:6-8 HCSB For while we were still helpless, at the appointed moment, Christ died for the ungodly. (7) For rarely will someone die for a just person--though for a good person perhaps someone might even dare to die. (8) But God proves His own love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us!

Not only is owning our own yetzer hara necessary in order to be saved, it is necessary to fully appreciate how great a gift Hashem has provided. When we minimize our need, we minimize His provision. When we minimize our sin, we minimize His salvation. This humble acceptance of God’s judgment of our spiritual condition is precisely what allows Him to pull us up out of our spiritual quagmire.

• James 4:8-10 HCSB Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, sinners, and purify your hearts, double-minded people! (9) Be miserable and mourn and weep. Your laughter must change to mourning and your joy to sorrow. (10) Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will exalt you.
• 1 Peter 5:5-7 HCSB Likewise, you younger men, be subject to the elders. And all of you clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble. (6) Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, so that He may exalt you in due time, (7) casting all your care upon Him, because He cares about you.