Christians know they are sinners and should never be under the delusion they have absolutely pure motives.
1 Under the influence of the fallen nature the natural heart is always hard and selfish. Even when we follow Christ our motives are always mixed, and when we obey the Holy Spirit we go against our natural inclinations. Certainly, some “acting” is involved. But sincere action motivated by obedience and leading to spiritual change is vastly different from insincere action aimed only at conveying a false impression. Satan’s accusations are hollow if our heart is right, and we demonstrate the inclination of our heart by staying on course.
The key issue is the inclination of our heart and whether it is yielded to the Holy Spirit. If our heart is truly committed to goodness and truth, the “acting” will become reality, like a man who does right by his neighbor even though he doesn’t like him and eventually becomes his friend, or like a husband and wife in a troubled marriage who do the hard work of respecting and reaching out to each other until they discover that their hearts are actually entwined. Acting in harmony with the direction of the Holy Spirit brings growing awareness and rejection of the evil motivations of our heart, along with love, joy, and peace. (Galatians 5:22-23)
“There is no-one righteous, not even one; there is no-one who understands, no-one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no-one who does good, not even one.” (Romans 3:10-12. Also see Jeremiah 17:9.)
A biblical view of the depravity of the human heart doesn’t imply that every part of man’s nature is as evil as it could possibly be. People often do good and generous things, and although they behave wickedly, they could be much worse. The devil, perhaps, can be characterized as totally evil, but people aren’t. It isn’t that every part of our nature is completely evil, but that every part of our nature is tainted with evil. This means that our potential for evil is much greater than the evil we actually commit. But it also means that we do nothing out of entirely pure motives. Evil taints everything we do.
Since all of our good works are contaminated, none of them can suffice to bring us favor with God. This is why, even though no one is completely evil, no one is capable on our own of seeking God, or pleasing Him. Even though we aren’t as evil as we can be, we all depend upon the conviction of the Holy Spirit in our hearts to make us aware of our desperate need for salvation.Back To Article
