01.05. The Victim of Natural Goodness

Chapter 5 THE VICTIM OF NATURAL GOODNESS.

There is in every age a lot of talk about natural goodness; a spiritual condition, character and life which is said to exist apart from any creative and keeping work of God.

It is evident that such a claim made for humanity is a direct blow given to the Bible, a stab at the truth of Redemption through Christ, and exalts the human race to a plane where they need nothing or little from the hands of God to make them what they should be on earth, and qualify them for a blessed existence in Heaven.

We can see that if there is such a thing as natural goodness, then whoever possesses that most excellent and desirable grace, is not dependent on the Blood of Christ and the work of the Holy Spirit in the change of their hearts and transformation of their lives. Whether they constitute a small or large class, nevertheless it remains that here is a body of people who can reach the skies without traveling the Mt. Calvary and Upper Room Route. This makes things embarrassing for the preacher in the pulpit. For if all in the audience have this natural goodness, then neither the Bible nor his ministry is needed. If a part of the congregation are in this lovely condition then the preaching cannot possibly benefit a goodly portion of the assembly. They might as well get up and return home. In contradiction of this conceit and false teaching of men, the Bible affirms that the whole race has been polluted by the Fall, that none are good or righteous in themselves, that the heart is deceitful and desperately wicked, while Christ declares that out of the heart proceedeth every vile and unholy thing. He gave a dreadful list of some of the dark brood which nest in the soul. He did not make a complete catalogue, but mentioned evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness and blasphemies. He made no exception, but said "the heart." In denial of this, men point to good children, to lovely moral people, who never belonged to a church, to respectable, benevolent, kind individuals who never professed a change of hearts etc., etc., etc. In rebuttal of this assumption of natural goodness that is claimed to exist apart from God, we say that such teaching would establish two sources of goodness, and one of these not in God? Whereas, the Bible declares that in the absolute independent and underivable sense there is none good but one and that is God. In further disproof of what is called natural goodness--we make the following observations: First, that much of so-called natural goodness can be explained in the unrecognized early conversion of children. The child’s heart has not reached the hardness and resistance of the adult, and is quite susceptible to religious lives and influence about it. Often children are converted at three and four years of age, and frequently without having been in a Gospel meeting. A preacher’s smile, word, or kindly act may have been the agency under God, and the little one received converting grace and hardly knew the character of what had happened. Nor are the grown people around disposed to believe that a child can know God, and so a work of salvation was done, which while unheralded and unadmitted by surrounding people, yet transformed a life. This change, that ushered the young being into a real spiritual life, is set down by the family and relatives as an instance of natural goodness, and yet it was God’s work, only He did not get the credit. The honor and glory was given to so-called natural goodness.

Second, much so-called natural goodness can be accounted for through the preventing grace of God.

God cannot convert or sanctify any one against that person’s will, but He can and does prevent much evil from taking place in one’s life through providential dealings and that without interfering with a man’s free moral agency. The opening of a religious book, the meeting with a good man, the singing of a hymn, the sound of a church bell in the distance, can all be used by the Spirit of God in disarming evil, changing the current of feeling, arousing conscience and creating better desires, intentions and living. In some such way God kept Abimelech from sin; and when that worthy was disposed to praise and crown himself for his abstinence, the Lord informed him that he had nothing to congratulate himself for in the sense of personal worth and conquest, that He the Lord had kept him from wronging a good man like Abraham.

Third, a lot of so-called natural goodness can be explained by the fact of an environment of ease, a life of comfortable and delightful circumstances of a material character. A tiger with a full stomach and a lamb on the inside of him, is quite different from the same tiger with an empty body and a fat sheep on the outside of him. In the first situation he acts as if he was himself of the innocent, woolly tribe, in the second he is beheld in the true light--a tiger.

We knew a well-to-do Southern family where everything ran smoothly, love abounded, and family prayers was held morning and night. It seemed to be a religious household without any profession of saving grace. The Civil War came on and impoverished them. Their slaves were set free, the great cotton plantation was overrun with weeds, and finally sold under mortgage. With this material change of temporalities came an awful alteration to this "naturally good" household. The father became a reprobate, the sons drunkards, two daughters were addicted to the opium habit, and a third fell into a life of shame. The entire home circle went down with a crash.

Instead of having religious principle, and redeemed character as a life foundation, they had been resting on cotton bales, rice barrels and sugar hogsheads. And when adversity swept these supporting pillars away, the little fanciful edifice of natural goodness went down with the flimsy undergirding, and nothing was left.

Truly it is easy to play at goodness, and ape piety, when the store room is full, the house is beautifully furnished, the automobile is at the door, the bank account large, and the income more than abundant. But only let a cyclone of financial ruin sweep that same family into beggary, and now where are the sweet smiles and cheerful manners of the famous so-called natural goodness? Truly, there is a difference between a full and an empty tiger. A fourth explanation of natural goodness can be found in simulated excellence.

There is no question but that we have a class of people in the land who for certain reasons practice some of the spirit and aspects of Christianity. They hang on their own sapless boughs one or more of the fruits of the regenerated life. For some purpose or policy of their own they abound in benevolences that are of a public nature. Their names are seen frequently if not constantly in every list of charity where the donors are given to the world in the columns of a newspaper. Of course all such philanthropy is not genuine Christian fruit, but it appears so to many, and the simulator obtains what he is after, public recognition and reward. Moreover, they get the credit of being good, kind, charitable, and yet never belonged to a church, bowed at an altar, or prayed and wept through to anything that is given from the skies. Behold they are good without the help of God, they have natural goodness, and the Bible is discredited, and the Saviour’s redemption is slapped in the face and denied again. But Christ taught that if we gave to be seen of men, what claim could we make to the life, spirit and character He came to bring? According to the Saviour’s teaching as to secrecy of giving, the loudly proclaimed benevolence is an offence to God and actually a sin.

There was a New England nurse named Jane Tappan who for years was considered the soul of generosity. She was always making presents to people. And as she belonged to no church, and made no claim to any experience of grace, then of course, her kindness and benevolence was held up as a proof of the natural goodness of the heart. But after awhile the awful discovery was made that she murdered a number of patients. She generally selected those who had full pocketbooks, and so Natural Goodness Jane was liberal on money stolen from the pockets and purses of patients whom she had killed. A fifth explanation of natural goodness can be found in the restraints of law and the fear of consequence.

Truly these two facts make a large lot of people act as if they had been converted and sanctified. It is a charming spectacle to behold thousands of persons thronging our streets and behaving themselves so beautifully. They are so polite and considerate of each other, they smile, bow, give right of way, stand aside at the crossings, pick up dropped handkerchiefs, etc., that it looks like they all had perfect love.

Then see them passing great stores where diamonds, watches, gold chains and silverware are flashing in the show case, and only a thin pane of glass between them and the treasure. And yet they are so good they will not break that fragile barrier and protection and make off with thousands of dollars. They even pass by open, uncovered fruit stands, and will not take a single peach or plum. Oh, how good these people are. Truly, the Millennium is in sight. And yet most of these persons never attend a church and have never experienced the saving grace of God. They all seem naturally good, and under their coats and dresses feathers doubtless are sprouting on their shoulder blades. This is a goodness that cannot keep from evolving wings. And yet every sensible reader knows that of that crowd behaving itself so well, there are thousands who fairly long to rifle the show window, snatch a roll of bank notes from the cashier’s desk, and would do so but for the fear of law, and the after consequences in jail and penitentiary. The same principle is seen at work in the penitentiary, where a thousand men behave themselves perfectly. They arise from their beds, fall into line, come promptly to their tables at meal hours, stick to their work all day, and go to bed promptly without breaking a single law throughout the whole day.

It looks well, has the appearance of goodness, but as we all must know is simply a rectitude and regularity of conduct born of dread of the dark cell and cruel punishment of other forms and kinds. It is not a natural, but an unnatural goodness born of a great fear.

We once saw a cobra in a large box that had a glass lid or cover through which we could observe the dreadful and deadly creature. He looked quite gentle and was very quiet. It seemed as if he had never stung or hurt anybody in all its life, nor would ever consent to do so. But we caught a glance out of his eye as we bent over the coiled up reptile which was decidedly startling. It seemed to say, "If I was only out of this box I would show you who I was, and what I could do." And we said, I believe you, and thank God for the strong box that restrains you! In like manner we are called upon to behold the Natural Goodness of the human race, and we mark certain glances, movements, and hear certain hissings and utterances that make us grateful to Heaven for the strong box of the law which confines and restrains this much boasted tribe of the naturally good.

After all it is a cobra held in check by public opinion, legislation, policemen, jails, penitentiaries and scaffolds. If it could have its way on our streets and in our homes, pandemonium would break loose, and hell itself would appear to have come to abide on earth.

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