Goodness
Introduction
Goodness: it's a good thing, right?
Galatians 5:22: goodness is a fruit of the Spirit
3 John 1:11: need to imitate "the good," not "the evil"
Some "good" things
A double cheeseburger with bacon: it tastes good
Favorite sports team winning: victory is good
Many other examples
Yet the double cheeseburger is not good for me (health wise)
When my team wins another loses, and that is not good for their fans!
Goodness get complicated, doesn't it?
What is Good?
The fundamental question comes to us: what is good?
How do we define what is good?
What's it based on?
"Good" things would seem to be automatic, right?
Many things seem good, like Whoppers and winning.
When things go favorably, like in a sports game or in an election, it's a good thing
If something feels pleasurable, it's good, painful = not good
How do we determine what is good?
There is a dichotomy in definitions.
If someone does not like potatoes, they're not good to them
If there is a winner, there is a loser, and losing is not good
Something could feel good yet have bad consequences
Many things that sound right end up being wrong
Most people, in fact, define "good" by themselves
After all, we often speak of "good" people
We do not think of ourselves as "bad" people!
There are certainly many self-professed "good people"
The judge of what is good and bad ends up being ourselves
If you can rationalize your behavior to make it "good", you can still be a "good" person!
"Good", therefore, ends up being what is advantageous and positive for me and my interests
This is not what God intended!
The Bible makes it quite clear that we are not the judges of good and evil
Jeremiah 10:23b It is not in man who walks to direct his steps
Isaiah 5:20 Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter.
In reality, God is the one who establishes what is truly good
2 Timothy 3:16-17; 1 Peter 2:3; 3 John 1:11; Romans 12:2
God is good, and that which He establishes from the Scriptures equips us for every good work
It should also be noted that "good" is more than the final product
If we were to baptize 10 people, that would be a good thing, according to the Scriptures (1 Peter 3:21, Acts 2:38, etc.)
But if the people were baptized in because we paid them $100, or if we baptized them at gunpoint, it is not good at all!
Good is doing what God commands!
"Good" is that which God has determined to be good, both in method and in final product!
Who is Good?
Who, then, can be good?
As previously indicated, we often speak of "good people"
Who does the Bible teach is good?
Matthew 19:16-17, Mark 10:17-18
Jesus is called a "Good Teacher", asked about what is "good"
Jesus indicates that only God is truly good!
In both passages, Jesus then turns to the commandments-- those who do them are the "good" (Matthew 19:18-19, Mark 10:19-20)
Those who do God's commands, therefore, are the "good people"
Yet none of us perfectly keep God's commands (1 John 1:8)!
This is why, in the end, only God is truly good
We are all in stages of goodness, trying our best, but having bad characteristics, attributes, etc., that need improvement (2 Peter 3:18)
It is not "good enough" to be "good"!
No one is truly good-- therefore, being an "overall good person" is not enough to lead one to be saved
After all, it is not by man's definition, but God's!
Cornelius would be described as a "good man", and yet he needed to hear, believe, and obey to be saved (Acts 10:1-4, 22, 34-48)
Being "good" was not "good enough", and still is not!
"Good" people, therefore, are a matter of definition
By God's judgment, no man is truly "good"
A humble servant of Christ, striving to obey Him, could be considered as "good" (Matthew 13:38)
Many think that those who try to live moral lives are "good"
"Being good" does not, mean "saved"
We can speak of people as "good"
“Good" people need to obey to be saved (2 Thessalonians 1:6-9)!
What, Then, is Good?
We are to be a good people with good minds doing good works
3 John 1:11; Philippians 4:8; Titus 3:8, 14; 1 Peter 3:10-11
Good minds come from thinking good thoughts (Philippians 4:8)!
As the mind thinks, so the person acts (Romans 12:2, Matthew 12:34-35)
If we have a mind full of good thoughts, good deeds should follow!
We have been created to do good works (Ephesians 2:10)
Many good works are explicitly spelled out in Scripture
"The commandments": Matthew 19:17
Helping the poor: Mark 14:7
Serve the needs of others: Luke 6:27, 33-35
Listening to God: Luke 10:42
Obeying civil authorities: Romans 13:3-4
Doing nothing to make a brother stumble: Romans 14:21
Speech for building up: Ephesians 4:29
Having good will in what one does: Ephesians 6:7
Praying for authorities: 1 Timothy 2:1-3
1 Timothy 5:10 provides a sampling of good works
Accepting the discipline of God: Hebrews 12:10
Suffering for doing God's will: 1 Peter 2:20, 3:17
The Scriptures equip us for every good work
Proclaiming the Gospel (Matthew 28:18-20)
Avoid works of flesh, manifest fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:17-24)
Anything God commands us to do!
We should make sure that we are doing what God establishes as good in the ways that God desires us to do them
Good things accomplished in "bad" ways are not really "good"!
Converting people to anything but the Gospel is not good (cf. John 6:26-27)
Burdening the church for personal obligations is not good (1 Timothy 5:16)
Defending the truth using works of the flesh is not good (1 Peter 3:15-16)
We must make sure that we do what is good in holy ways!
Conclusion
Romans 12:9 We must cling to what is good
What is good is what God establishes is good (2 Timothy 3:16-17)
We grow in the faith by constantly practicing good (Hebrews 5:14)
We must let God define what is good, and seek after it
We must seek after it in good ways also
We must also recognize that only God is truly good, and we must continue to seek to manifest goodness in our minds and our actions
Let us be filled with goodness!
From outline by Ethan Longhenry