It would be impossible to reach a consensus on what qualifies “inherent good in people.”  We are all flawed and we do not have the qualifications to determine what is good because we are selfishly motivated to be prejudice.  The Word of God says “there is none good.”  People  do not use the same criteria to define what is “good.” Needless to say, we are not inherently good. Different cultures and people have their own perception of what is good.  The Creator of the human family developed the guidelines defining “good.”  

If people were inherently good,  there would not have been a need for Jesus Christ to die on the Cross of Calvary for our sins. There is not an individual on earth able to ascribe” good” to their person hood. The Word of God declares, “There is only one good -Jesus Christ..  No human being can satisfy the righteousness of God, outside of Jesus Christ.   There may be those who disagree with this premise. As a Christian, first, we know  that God created mankind for his own purpose.   Man was created to serve God.  Man does not know anything about love or what is good -without God. Why? God is Love. God is good.  No human being is even able to define or declare what is good.  We would not know of good except-God define it to us.

In the Word of God, the Christian guidebook, we find the following: Matt. 19:17 reads, “And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? There is none good but one, that is, God; but if thou enter into life, keep the commandments.”

 It is not our assignment to ascribe good and evil; we do not have the authority to do so, not even for ourselves. There was never a consensus of man that gave definition as to what is good.   We have been warring against each other since the beginning and we certainly cannot call that good. We have coveted what the other humans possessed, that is not good.  Where is good?  Good is not intrinsic in mankind.  In the book of Jeremiah, chapter 17, verse 9, it says this. 

“The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure.  Who can understand it?”

 Sin keeps us from being inherently good. The Bible tells us in Romans 3:23 following.

“All have sinned and come short of the glory of God.”

 You really cannot discuss sin unless you accept what The Word of God has to say about sin and what is considered bad, as opposed to good.  To know good, you would necessarily have to know the opposite of good.  No man would know about sin unless God first made him aware of His expectations. God gave mankind a set of guidelines to follow.

Adam knew what God expected of him in the Garden but he- with the help of Eve chose to disobey. Satan still poses the question to man “Hath God said” and man still defies God by opposing God’s authority.  Sin is no myth. There is an inner compass in man that allows him to know when he is trespassing. Man will try to hide his sin, his trespass, just as Cain did. Sin likes darkness and avoiding detection, it is secretive and devious and motives are not pure.   Deeds done with honorable intent can bear the light; this is not true of sin. Sin wants to hide acts of disobedience and transgressions?

We can “choose” to follow God’s guidelines; this is good.  We can “choose” to disobey God’s guidelines; this is bad.  There are some people who say that people are inherently evil, just as some say we are inherently good. Both camps can offer arguments to support their premise as to why we are good or why we are evil. The basis of my premise is that we are not inherently good because we were created by God to fulfill (God’s) purpose, which is to serve Him. We then have to take into consideration the sin that occurred in the Garden of Eden. Adam and Eve disobeyed God and sin entered into the first human beings and has been there henceforth. We are sinful by nature and that does not make us inherently good. There is good news. 

John 3:16 says this.

 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His Only Begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him, should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

 Almost every Christian you may meet is able to quote this scripture; but it does not mean that they are relying upon any goodness or righteousness of their own. These people do not trust in any goodness or righteousness of their own but they trust in the goodness and righteousness of God. When anyone accepts Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, Jesus becomes their righteousness; it is imputed to them.