Are We Good, Bad or Ugly?

Are people born good or born bad? Or should we choose, “All of the above”? We are all born sinners (see Psalm 51 and Ephesians 2). Yet we also bear the image and likeness of God (see Genesis 1). How do we hold these truths in tension with each other?

My understanding of Scripture, the news, and what I hear in my office every day leads me to believe we are all a complex mixture of good and evil. While it is warped and twisted by sin, the image of God is in every single human being. We have intelligence, talent, some measure of compassion and love. Even unbelieving people can do wonderfully kind and generous things. But as the old theologians correctly say, we are totally depraved. This does not mean we are as bad as we possibly can be. It means that every part of our being is touched in some measure by the taint of sin. It further means we can do absolutely nothing that contributes to our salvation outside of the working of God’s grace. Some have chosen to avoid the term "Total Depravity" and have replaced it with options such as "Total Inability", meaning we have no ability to save ourselves or contribute to our salvation.

I am not surprised when a person who does great good is found to have also done great evil. When a successful pastor comes to counseling because he is struggling with addiction to vile pornography I am saddened but not shocked. We are all a tragic mixture of God’s image and abject human weakness.

Salvation and the work of the Holy Spirit in sanctification cause a work of healing and transformation to begin. Until death or the rapture, however, we are a work in progress. While our salvation is secure, we need to daily crucify the flesh or we may fall to a level of sin that may shock us. It was one said to be a man after God’s own heart (King David) who committed adultery and murder by proxy.

These truths should lead us toward grace towards others and humility regarding ourselves. Each one of us needs to strive to stay close to Christ and to be accountable to a mature Christian friend.