This week I just returned from speaking at a youth retreat. I rarely do those anymore but it was a joy to interact with the junior high and high schoolers. They asked good questions!
My last session was answering the question, “Why are there hypocritical ‘Christians’ and ‘good’ people who are not Christians?” I remember wondering that as a young person. As I was sitting under good preaching and hearing how evil our hearts were (true) it did not always match with my perspective on people’s lives. After all, sweet Mrs. Jones who lived next to me was not an axe-murderer! How was I to think about this?
Here is my partial answer in that last session: Our answer to both these questions has to start with the question of what it means to be human. Evolution provides no answers. If evolution is true then Bill Nye correctly observes, ““We are just a speck, on a speck, orbiting a speck, in the corner of a speck, in the middle of nowhere.” You and I are an evolved monkey that came from a germ.
However, the Bible vehemently disagrees with that view. The Bible alone has a high view of what it means be human. You and I and all people are specially made in God’s image and are deeply sinful. We carry around in our bodies and souls those two qualities.
Let me illustrate. Perhaps you have seen pictures of the Parthenon in Athens, Greece. It was built in the fifth century B.C., and it’s considered the high point of Greek architecture. The building was a symbol of the power and wealth and the cultivated culture of Athens. Although white today, when originally built it was beautifully colored. Even more impressive is that all the columns have some slight curves so that they appear perfectly straight to the observer at a distance. In other words, through human ingenuity and geometry, a deliberate, beautiful optical illusion was created. The Parthenon was designed by geniuses! And yet today, it sits high up on the Acropolis without a roof and in shambles. Throughout history, it has been bombed and abused, even being used to store weapons and gunpowder!
So observing it in modern times, we can hold two thoughts at the same time. This was beautiful at one time. And today it is broken and distorted.
That’s a good metaphor as we think about the nature of men and women. We are beautifully made in God’s image and the height of his creation. Every individual has worth because of this. And yet that image has been terribly distorted. We see that more for some than others.
Jesus summarizes this biblical truth when he said “You, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children” (Matt. 7:11). This verse will serve to anchor our answer to this question.
As Image-Bearers, Non-Christians Can Do “Good”
From God’s perspective, our hearts are evil. We don’t seek after God, and we’re in rebellion against him. That’s why we need the gospel. And yet in this passage, Jesus says we’re able to give good gifts to our children. Non-Christians can be good fathers.
The Bible affirms that non-Christians can be kind and sacrificial. Oskar Schindler comes to mind, the subject of the book and the film Schindler’s List. He sacrificed much to rescue Jewish people from the evils of Hitler but far as we know he was not a believer in Jesus. As Christians we can acknowledge this good and say, even though those works have no merit before God, he did a good thing.
I can also think of a friend who is one of the kindest people I know. I am challenged by his gentleness and thoughtfulness every time I get together with him. Yet I know his heart still does not want anything to do with Jesus. Though he may be good at loving others in certain ways, he is fundamentally disobeying the greatest commandment Jesus gives—love God with all his heart. He will not repent and believe the gospel. He is not right with God. As far I know, he is still disconnected from God and in danger of hell.
As a Christian, I can hold these two truths in tension. I can say that mankind is evil but able to do good because we’re all made in the image of God.
That wasn’t all I said in the talk but it is a start. This might be a good question to ask your junior high or high school student and see how they answer.
