Our Sinful Nature

We all would like to believe that man is basically good. That belief is reinforced by many psychologists, counselors, and even religious leaders. Yet, we still find ourselves doing things that we know are wrong to do, thinking thoughts that we shouldn’t think, and saying things that we shouldn’t say. As in the story of the scorpion and the turtle, it defies all logic, but we cannot help ourselves. It is part of our sinful nature.

This flies in the face of some of today’s current thinking. We hear that we need to have a healthy self-esteem and learn to love ourselves. A recent Gallup poll revealed that this message seems to have had some impact on the way people view themselves: 90% of those surveyed said that their own sense of self-esteem is robust and healthy. Yet, while self-esteem appears to be thriving, the moral fabric of society continues to unravel at a rapid pace. Not surprisingly, Scripture tells us that one of the signs of the last days will be that “people will be lovers of themselves” (2 Timothy 3:2).

Many say, “But I’m not responsible for my actions. I’m a victim. I have a disease, a disorder.” As a result, we live in a society where no one is guilty anymore. We can now blame our actions on something or someone else.

Still, while we claim we are not to blame for our misdeeds, we still can’t seem to shake this pesky thing called “guilt.” Columnist Ann Landers wrote, “One of the most painful, self-mutilating, time and energy consuming exercises in the human experience is guilt. It can ruin your day, or your week, or your life if you let it. . .Remember, guilt is a pollutant, and we don’t need any more of it in the world.”

But is guilt really a bad thing? Scripture takes a decidedly different view on this subject. Read Romans 3:10–26.

We are guilty

The Bible tells us that we feel guilty for one simple reason: we are! The guilt feeling is only the symptom of the real problem, which is sin. When it comes to guilt, you can pretend that it’s not there, or find someone else to blame for your problems, but the only real and effective way to remove guilt is to get to the root of the problem—sin.

In Romans chapter three, it is as though we are in God’s courtroom, and the apostle Paul is allowing us to give our defense. He patiently waits as every possible excuse for our behavior falls from our lips. Then, with absolute precision, he systematically destroys every potential argument. At the end, no one is left standing sinless.

Everyone has sinned—from the ignorant pagan, to the religious person, to the moralist. “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).

God’s charges against us

Beginning with Romans 3:9, and continuing through verse 18, Paul introduces the testimony of God’s Word as revealed in the Old Testament. Here he shows just how low man is in his sinfulness (Note that the word none is repeated four times in the text.). The 13 charges listed are presented in three categories: The character of the accused (verses 10–12), the conversation of the accused (verses 13–14), and the conduct of the accused (verses 15–17).

Man’s sinful nature

It is essential to know that we are all born with a built-in sinful nature. We inherited this nature through Adam. Our sins don’t make us sinners; they’re just the evidence. We are not sinners because we sin; we sin because we are sinners.

Oswald Chambers once wrote, “Sin is not weakness; it is not a disease; it is red-handed rebellion against God, and the magnitude of that rebellion is expressed by Calvary.” Scripture affirms this sinful tendency:

“Against You, You only, have I sinned, and done this evil in Your sight—that You may be found just when You speak, and blameless when You judge. Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived me” (Psalm 51:4–5).

“The wicked are estranged from the womb; they go astray as soon as they are born, speaking lies” (Psalm 58:3).

“[We] were by nature children of wrath, just as the others” (Ephesians 2:3).

Of course, we do not all commit the same sins, and in many ways, some sins are worse than others. We might also agree that there is a certain innocence in a child. But make no mistake about it—the sin nature is alive and well in every one of us. You don’t have to teach a child how to sin, do you?