Salvation by moralism has infiltrated the church by teaching that man is essentially good at heart, needing only guidance, education, or religious inspiration. This belief appeals to pride, affirming people in their natural state and flattering them with the thought that they can improve themselves. Sermons built upon this idea often avoid confronting sin, offering instead uplifting messages of self-esteem and positive living. But such a philosophy leaves men blind to their desperate need for salvation. If man is good, then the death of Jesus becomes unnecessary, and the gospel is reduced to mere moral improvement rather than deliverance from sin.

The Bible declares without ambiguity that man is not good, but corrupt from birth. "There is no one righteous, not even one" (Romans 3:10). "All have turned away, they have together become worthless" (Romans 3:12). Far from needing mere guidance, the natural man is "dead in transgressions and sins" (Ephesians 2:1). Jeremiah testifies that "the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked" (Jeremiah 17:9). If man were good, he could reach God by his own efforts. But because he is evil, he must be born again by the Spirit (John 3:3). Only the power of God can make the dead live, and transform a child of the devil (John 8:44) into a child of God.
(The above article was AI generated and carefully edited.)