Good

In the field of Apologetics, there is an argument that suggests that because there is a moral law evident within man, that there must be a lawgiver, and that lawgiver is God.  That is, man is inherently good in that we naturally know not to steal, kill, or destroy.  These are things that we necessarily do not need to be taught because we are born knowing that these things are wrong to do.

Paul has written,

"...in that they show the work of the Law written in their hearts, their conscience bearing witness..."  (Romans 2:15)

Now, in evangelism, one of the most important  concepts that a Christian is supposed to convey to an unbeliever is that man is inherently bad.  That is, man is incapable of doing any good.  We are all born into sin and apart from the forgiveness of Jesus Christ, we are eternally lost.

Paul has written,

"There is none righteous, not even one; there is none who understands, there is none who seeks for God; all have turned aside, together they have become useless; There is none who does good, there is not even one" (Romans 3:10-12).

It seems that we are presented with an interesting dichotomy.  On one hand, man is good and on the other, bad.  So which one is it?  Is man good or is man bad?  Well, it is both, with an asterisk on the "good."

You see, it is one thing to follow the law, and another to follow the law completely.  While it may be the case that man inherently knows not to steal, kill, and destroy, and while it may even be the case that man generally follows this, it is surely not the case that man follows it completely.  This is what we call sin, and while we are capable of following the law sometimes, we are incapable of following it all of the time, and just like a criminal standing before a judge, it only takes one act of disobedience to be considered guilty. 

It is of the utmost importance that we understand that it is impossible for us to be completely good.  When talking to the rich young ruler, Jesus taught that the way into eternal life was to "follow the commandments."  He patiently showed the man that this was impossible to do.  When He came to the end of His lesson, the disciples asked, "Then how is it possible for anyone to be saved?"  Jesus told them that God had the power to do it, and that He was offering it through His Son.  (Matthew 19:16-26).

Everyone has fallen short of God's standards.  Paul has written, "for all fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23).  Moreover, this "falling short" requires punishment.  Paul has further written, "For the wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23).  The good news is, God loved the world so much that He sent someone to take the punishment upon His shoulders--the only one that has ever been able to follow the law completely--and this was His "gift" which is "eternal life in Jesus Christ" (Romans 6:23).  It's God's gift of faith in Jesus that reconciles the good-for-nothing man with the good-for-all Father.