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Billy Graham's Daily Devotion

All Have Sinned

October 22, 2013

So it is that we are saved by faith in Christ and not by the good things we do.
–Romans 3:28 (TLB)

Many people still cling to the notion that man is naturally good. We did not get this from the Greeks. Aristotle said, "There is no good in mankind." We did not get it from Judaism. Jeremiah said, "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?" (Jeremiah 17:9).

We did not get it from Christian teachings. The Apostle Paul said, "All have sinned, and come short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). We got this illusion, I believe, from the philosophers and psychologists of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries who taught the false doctrine that man is a helpless victim of his environment.

The Bible says that man is not naturally good. All human experience confirms it. Man is rebellious by nature. This first rebellion in history happened in the Garden of Eden, where the environment was perfect and there was no heredity on which to blame it!

Prayer for the day

Each time I become obsessed by the idea that my deeds are so noble, let me remember the magnanimity of Your perfect life.

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3 Comments

Tammy says 10.22.2011, 11:11 p.m.

My family and I are at complete difference since my father passed away back in 2001. My mom hasnt been the same and hasnt been to visit me in a long while and when she did come over it would be very short. Sometimes I feel like I am adopted, I dont feel like I am apart of this family. My oldest sister and younger brother always seemed to get the praise that I desperately wanted but it just didnt come. My mom doesnt seem to be the loving type that I remembered. She doesnt go to church like she used to when Dad was alive. Please pray for me and my family that we can be drawn back together in God's love.

Mark says 10.22.2011, 10:48 a.m.

Yes, I believe Jeremiah 17:9 is true for the unregenerate natural man, the unbeliever. However, I do not believe the believer has a wicked heart---to the contrary. The Bible says we have a new nature, a new heart (II Corinthians 5:17, II Peter 1:4). That's the good news!

Gerry says 10.22.2011, 08:25 a.m.

If man is good, we would not sin, at all, ever. This unfortunately is not the case. In fact some of the finest servants of God would admit that they battle temptation and sin, still. Paul, at the height of his ministry said he didn't know why he did things he did. It was a constant battle for him. So be on guard and ask God to help you overcome temptation every day.

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