Good and Evil Come from the Heart
another man's servant? to his own master he standeth or falleth. Yea, he shall be holden up; for God is able to make him stand." Rom. 14:4. "But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at naught thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. . . . . So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God. Let us not therefore judge one another any more." Rom. 14:10-13. 5. "A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil; for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh." Out of the heart are the issues of life. Prov. 4:23. From this we learn that it is useless to try to do good in order to be good, but that a man does good only because he is already good. From an evil heart only evil can come. Whoever says that he means to do better than he is doing, thereby acknowledges that he is not now good. Now since only evil can come from evil, how is the man going to do the good that he resolves to do? He has nothing but evil out of which to manufacture his proposed good deeds; but good cannot come from evil. For a man therefore to attempt to make himself better, is really to do evil that good may come. He who, acknowledging himself to be evil, claims that he himself can do that which is good, if he only exerts all the power that is in him, virtually takes the position that there is really no such thing as evil, but that what is called evil is only undeveloped good. "Is it impossible, then, for an evil man to become good?"—Yes, by his own efforts; but the things that are impossible with man are possible with God. Let the man submit himself to God, to be made a new man, and then all things will be of God. See 2 Cor. 5:17, 18. He must first be made good by the Lord, and then he will do that which is good. His righteousness will then be fruit that naturally springs from the Spirit of God that dwells in him. Gal. 5:21-23.