"O my soul, you have said to the LORD, "You are my Lord,
My goodness is nothing apart from You."
Psalms 16:2
Goodness is not defined in terms of what man is, but what God is. It is an essential attribute of God's nature. God is good. It is what He is, what He creates, gives and commands. God, and God alone, is good without qualification. He is the judge, the norm, and the only standard of righteousness.
And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments. Matthew 19:17
That is pretty much the opposite of what society uses as a determination or standard for goodness.
God is good because He is morally perfect, gloriously generous and the standard of excellence and righteousness. Every attribute and every action of God is good and produces only good fruit.
We can understand this in a physical sense by noting that it is the essential natural characteristic of water to be wet, and the essential natural characteristic of fire to be hot. It is the essential spiritual characteristic of God to be good. This characteristic is not changeable or diminishing, nor does it have a beginning or an end.
But, as in all things, His grace is balanced because He still must punish the guilty. Equally, our merciful and loving God is justice and righteousness. His correction is felt to the third and fourth generation of those who hate Him and those who disobey Him.
Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children's children, unto the third and to the fourth generation. Exodus 34:7
The account of King Hezekiah of Judah is an interesting illustration in light of this aspect of whether a person is good or not and how it is dealt with in the Bible. God enabled King Hezekiah to be a good king of Judah by performing many acts of goodness to him. King Hezekiah re-instituted the Passover and had idols removed from the land. He also improved the overall safety and prosperity of the nation. Here, we see an account of goodness:
For there were many in the congregation that were not sanctified: therefore the Levites had the charge of the killing of the passovers for every one that was not clean, to sanctify them unto the Lord. For a multitude of the people, even many of Ephraim, and Manasseh, Issachar, and Zebulun, had not cleansed themselves, yet did they eat the passover otherwise than it was written. But Hezekiah prayed for them, saying, The good Lord pardon everyone 2 Chronicles 30:17-18
Keep in mind they had a long way to travel and apparently did not have the time, or were unable to prepare themselves with all that was going on in the short notice that they received from King Hezekiah.
. . . But Hezekiah prayed for them, saying, "May the good LORD provide atonement for everyone who prepares his heart to seek God, the LORD God of his fathers, though he is not cleansed according to the purification of the sanctuary." 2 Chronicles 30:18-19
So we see there that the emphasis that King Hezekiah had in his prayer was dealing more with the attitude of the people rather than the physical preparation that they had done.
And the LORD listened to Hezekiah and healed the people. So the children of Israel who were present at Jerusalem kept the Feast of Unleavened Bread seven days with great gladness; and the Levites and the priests praised the LORD day by day, singing to the LORD, accompanied by loud instruments. And Hezekiah gave encouragement to all the Levites who taught the good knowledge of the LORD; and they ate throughout the feast seven days, offering peace offerings and making confession to the LORD God of their fathers. 2 Chronicles 30:20-22
God received King Hezekiah's prayer for the forgiveness of this irregularity regarding Passover positively because Hezekiah's attitude was right with God with regard to the re-institution of God's Feast days and the genuine concern he had for Judah, as well as the people's attitudes being right.
It was due to his zeal that he had called the people together in such haste, and he did not want anyone to be punished for being unprepared because they did not have enough time to prepare.
King Hezekiah stepped up as intercessor for the people because of his fear that they ate the Passover other than according to the instructions that had been given for it. His prayer was short but sincere. His prayer was intended to ask the good God to pardon everyone in the congregation who prepared his heart in sincerity and humility for the Passover service, even though the ceremonial preparation was lacking.
This sheds some light on what is important to God. God smiles upon good attitudes and good actions that reflect His standard of righteousness.
Now the rest of the acts of Hezekiah, and his goodness, indeed they are written in the vision of Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, and in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel. 2 Chronicles 32:32
King Hezekiah's epitaph, so to speak, stated that his goodness was noticed.
How do we reflect God's goodness in us?
Apostle Paul instructed those who have the Spirit to "do good to all men," just as Jesus commanded his followers to "do good to your enemies." Jesus also taught "a good tree bears good fruit." A person cannot be a good person only on the surface but he has to be good from within. Not just from within himself but from the spirit of God within.
We know that there are times when good people have to suffer so that other people can receive God's goodness. A prime responsibility for those of us living in such a world is to discern good from evil. Another is to do good rather than evil—to actively choose good over evil. This is one of the places in which this society that we live in falls desperately short. They do not choose good, they, far more often than not, choose evil.
"He who justifies the wicked, and he who condemns the just, Both of them alike are an abomination to the LORD." Proverbs 17:15
For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ. And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. 2 Corinthians 11:13-14
We must always evaluate our comprehension and works by God Himself, for whom love, goodness, and righteousness are absolute attributes. In Christ, these same attributes are available to those who love and obey God. To live God's way of life at all times shows that we are from God.
All goodness originates from God. Goodness is something that must be actively sought.
"He who earnestly seeks good finds favor, But trouble will come to him who seeks evil."
There are times when we may feel like God is not treating us fairly. Job points out that as God's creation and the recipient of His generosity and benevolence we have no right to complain when God allows us to be afflicted or brings hardship upon us.
In this way God can mildly, or even severely correct us and it is still goodness in action.
We correct our children and this experience is unpleasant for the child but its results are good because it helps to produce a mature and responsible adult. It is our personal responsibility to produce good works and to help our children to produce good works as well.
Good works take the form of works of love towards God and each other, since 'love is the fulfilling of the law'.
Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law. Romans 13:10
This in no way suggests that no more is required of us than a right motive. The point is, rather, that the specific acts that the commandments stipulate should be understood as expressions of love, so that without a loving heart the commandments cannot be fulfilled.
The truly good person is no less than the truly righteous person. Why?——because the truly righteous person observes the spirit as well as the letter of the law, and the truly good person observes its letter as well as its spirit.
"Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. "For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled. "Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. "For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 5:17-20
The act of goodness toward others has the same principle as love, in that it is directed not only at other good people or righteous people but at everyone. The world often thinks of righteousness as a merely negative correctness, and of the kindness and generosity that mark the good person as something more than righteousness. The question becomes which is more revered in our society the "good" person or the "righteous person"? More often than not, it is the person who is perceived to be "good". But,
We should always rejoice in God's goodness and remember it in times of blessings and times of affliction. If we are transformed by the renewing of our mind, we prove the good will of God and we become satisfied with His will because we know that it always ultimately produces good results.
The 23rd Psalm is a very well-known psalm that lists God's acts of goodness toward us. It rises to a sure promise that God's goodness and mercy will be part of our life as long as we exist.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever." Psalms 23:6
We have this wonderful assurance that if we obey God, and in obeying God and working toward allowing the Holy Spirit to produce good fruit including the fruit of goodness reflecting God's goodness in ourselves, then we have that promise that His goodness and mercy will follow us all of our days!
(Biblical Studies)
09/26/13
And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments. Matthew 19:17
That is pretty much the opposite of what society uses as a determination or standard for goodness.
God is good because He is morally perfect, gloriously generous and the standard of excellence and righteousness. Every attribute and every action of God is good and produces only good fruit.
We can understand this in a physical sense by noting that it is the essential natural characteristic of water to be wet, and the essential natural characteristic of fire to be hot. It is the essential spiritual characteristic of God to be good. This characteristic is not changeable or diminishing, nor does it have a beginning or an end.
But, as in all things, His grace is balanced because He still must punish the guilty. Equally, our merciful and loving God is justice and righteousness. His correction is felt to the third and fourth generation of those who hate Him and those who disobey Him.
Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children's children, unto the third and to the fourth generation. Exodus 34:7
The account of King Hezekiah of Judah is an interesting illustration in light of this aspect of whether a person is good or not and how it is dealt with in the Bible. God enabled King Hezekiah to be a good king of Judah by performing many acts of goodness to him. King Hezekiah re-instituted the Passover and had idols removed from the land. He also improved the overall safety and prosperity of the nation. Here, we see an account of goodness:
For there were many in the congregation that were not sanctified: therefore the Levites had the charge of the killing of the passovers for every one that was not clean, to sanctify them unto the Lord. For a multitude of the people, even many of Ephraim, and Manasseh, Issachar, and Zebulun, had not cleansed themselves, yet did they eat the passover otherwise than it was written. But Hezekiah prayed for them, saying, The good Lord pardon everyone 2 Chronicles 30:17-18
Keep in mind they had a long way to travel and apparently did not have the time, or were unable to prepare themselves with all that was going on in the short notice that they received from King Hezekiah.
. . . But Hezekiah prayed for them, saying, "May the good LORD provide atonement for everyone who prepares his heart to seek God, the LORD God of his fathers, though he is not cleansed according to the purification of the sanctuary." 2 Chronicles 30:18-19
So we see there that the emphasis that King Hezekiah had in his prayer was dealing more with the attitude of the people rather than the physical preparation that they had done.
And the LORD listened to Hezekiah and healed the people. So the children of Israel who were present at Jerusalem kept the Feast of Unleavened Bread seven days with great gladness; and the Levites and the priests praised the LORD day by day, singing to the LORD, accompanied by loud instruments. And Hezekiah gave encouragement to all the Levites who taught the good knowledge of the LORD; and they ate throughout the feast seven days, offering peace offerings and making confession to the LORD God of their fathers. 2 Chronicles 30:20-22
God received King Hezekiah's prayer for the forgiveness of this irregularity regarding Passover positively because Hezekiah's attitude was right with God with regard to the re-institution of God's Feast days and the genuine concern he had for Judah, as well as the people's attitudes being right.
It was due to his zeal that he had called the people together in such haste, and he did not want anyone to be punished for being unprepared because they did not have enough time to prepare.
King Hezekiah stepped up as intercessor for the people because of his fear that they ate the Passover other than according to the instructions that had been given for it. His prayer was short but sincere. His prayer was intended to ask the good God to pardon everyone in the congregation who prepared his heart in sincerity and humility for the Passover service, even though the ceremonial preparation was lacking.
This sheds some light on what is important to God. God smiles upon good attitudes and good actions that reflect His standard of righteousness.
Now the rest of the acts of Hezekiah, and his goodness, indeed they are written in the vision of Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, and in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel. 2 Chronicles 32:32
King Hezekiah's epitaph, so to speak, stated that his goodness was noticed.
How do we reflect God's goodness in us?
Apostle Paul instructed those who have the Spirit to "do good to all men," just as Jesus commanded his followers to "do good to your enemies." Jesus also taught "a good tree bears good fruit." A person cannot be a good person only on the surface but he has to be good from within. Not just from within himself but from the spirit of God within.
We know that there are times when good people have to suffer so that other people can receive God's goodness. A prime responsibility for those of us living in such a world is to discern good from evil. Another is to do good rather than evil—to actively choose good over evil. This is one of the places in which this society that we live in falls desperately short. They do not choose good, they, far more often than not, choose evil.
"He who justifies the wicked, and he who condemns the just, Both of them alike are an abomination to the LORD." Proverbs 17:15
For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ. And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. 2 Corinthians 11:13-14
We must always evaluate our comprehension and works by God Himself, for whom love, goodness, and righteousness are absolute attributes. In Christ, these same attributes are available to those who love and obey God. To live God's way of life at all times shows that we are from God.
All goodness originates from God. Goodness is something that must be actively sought.
"He who earnestly seeks good finds favor, But trouble will come to him who seeks evil."
Proverbs 11:27
In the biblical accounts, actions are assumed to be either good or evil. That eliminates grey areas.
Everything God does is good, but His goodness can be overwhelming, especially when it is obviously undeserved. It may appear astounding at times because it may force a change of thought and action, even a total reversal in lifestyle.
Everything that God does is for our benefit and is good. Everything that He allows is for our benefit and for our good. God's correction is a blessing and should not be complained about. The Israelites carried the unthankful character trait of complaining. But, should we allow ourselves to bemoan God's goodness even during a severe trial?
When Job's wife wanted him to curse God for bringing trials upon him, Job expressed the right principle of God's universal goodness and fairness to his wife when he rebuked her for grumbling. Job's words are recorded as:
In the biblical accounts, actions are assumed to be either good or evil. That eliminates grey areas.
Everything God does is good, but His goodness can be overwhelming, especially when it is obviously undeserved. It may appear astounding at times because it may force a change of thought and action, even a total reversal in lifestyle.
Everything that God does is for our benefit and is good. Everything that He allows is for our benefit and for our good. God's correction is a blessing and should not be complained about. The Israelites carried the unthankful character trait of complaining. But, should we allow ourselves to bemoan God's goodness even during a severe trial?
When Job's wife wanted him to curse God for bringing trials upon him, Job expressed the right principle of God's universal goodness and fairness to his wife when he rebuked her for grumbling. Job's words are recorded as:
"But he said unto her, Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh. What? Shall we indeed accept good from God, and shall we not accept adversity? . . ." Job 2:10
There are times when we may feel like God is not treating us fairly. Job points out that as God's creation and the recipient of His generosity and benevolence we have no right to complain when God allows us to be afflicted or brings hardship upon us.
In this way God can mildly, or even severely correct us and it is still goodness in action.
We correct our children and this experience is unpleasant for the child but its results are good because it helps to produce a mature and responsible adult. It is our personal responsibility to produce good works and to help our children to produce good works as well.
Good works take the form of works of love towards God and each other, since 'love is the fulfilling of the law'.
Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law. Romans 13:10
This in no way suggests that no more is required of us than a right motive. The point is, rather, that the specific acts that the commandments stipulate should be understood as expressions of love, so that without a loving heart the commandments cannot be fulfilled.
The truly good person is no less than the truly righteous person. Why?——because the truly righteous person observes the spirit as well as the letter of the law, and the truly good person observes its letter as well as its spirit.
"Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. "For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled. "Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. "For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 5:17-20
The act of goodness toward others has the same principle as love, in that it is directed not only at other good people or righteous people but at everyone. The world often thinks of righteousness as a merely negative correctness, and of the kindness and generosity that mark the good person as something more than righteousness. The question becomes which is more revered in our society the "good" person or the "righteous person"? More often than not, it is the person who is perceived to be "good". But,
God's written word identifies righteousness with goodness and goodness with righteousness, by insisting that what the law requires is, in reality, love.
We should always rejoice in God's goodness and remember it in times of blessings and times of affliction. If we are transformed by the renewing of our mind, we prove the good will of God and we become satisfied with His will because we know that it always ultimately produces good results.
The 23rd Psalm is a very well-known psalm that lists God's acts of goodness toward us. It rises to a sure promise that God's goodness and mercy will be part of our life as long as we exist.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever." Psalms 23:6
We have this wonderful assurance that if we obey God, and in obeying God and working toward allowing the Holy Spirit to produce good fruit including the fruit of goodness reflecting God's goodness in ourselves, then we have that promise that His goodness and mercy will follow us all of our days!
(Biblical Studies)
09/26/13
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10/31/18
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10/31/18
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