Many Christians believe that there are good non-Christians. After all, if you actually know some good non-Christians, then there must be good non-Christians, right?  Now, it is true there are many apparently good non-Christians, but we must not confuse outward goodness with inward goodness. For Jesus, evil is always, first and foremost, a matter of the heart. Still, Christians wonder: Is it possible for a person to be a good person outside of a relationship with Christ? This is not to say that Christians don’t sin. They do, often, and sometimes grievously. Of course, Christians sin! I do. But true Christians — those who have been born again, those who have been filled with the Holy Spirit — are changed from within. They become “obedient from the heart” and “slaves of righteousness” (Rom. 6:17–18). In other words, the Christian’s inner person wants to do God’s will even if sometimes they choose not to.

This episode is a discussion about human “goodness” apart from Christ with contributing Christian Research Journal writer Clay Jones and his Viewpoint article, “Is It True That There Are Good Non-Christians?” in the print edition Volume 44 No. 2. Available as your first issue (July 2021) when you subscribe, click here to find out more. 

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