“Now behold, one came and said to Him, “Good Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?” So He said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.” He said to Him, “Which ones?” Jesus said, “‘You shall not murder,’ ‘You shall not commit adultery,’ ‘You shall not steal,’ ‘You shall not bear false witness,’ ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ ” The young man said to Him, “All these things I have kept from my youth. What do I still lack?” Jesus said to him, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.”
Matthew 19:16–22 NKJV
Today we define good as doing acts of kindness, showing compassion, helping others. But is that really how we define good? What standard are we using to judge goodness. For example, In the US we think it is good to take care of dogs and make them our companion. Any kind of mistreatment of dogs is considered animal cruelty. However, in some countries dogs are seen as good for food and they eat them. How good or how evil? Which is it?
GOD IS OUR STANDARD OF GOOD
In Matthew 19:16-22, Jesus tells us that God is the only one that is good. Jesus was not saying the young man was not good, but the standard of goodness is God. God determines what is good and evil.
MAN’S STANDARD OF WHAT IS GOOD IS CONTRARY TO GOD
“There is a way that seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death.” Proverbs 14:12 NKJV
Adam and Eve were told they could eat of any tree in the garden except from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. God told them that the day they ate from that tree they would die. Satan comes along and speaks to Eve and tempts her to eat from the tree of knowledge.
“Now the serpent was the most cunning of all the wild animals that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You can’t eat from any tree in the garden’? ” The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit from the trees in the garden. But about the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden, God said, ‘You must not eat it or touch it, or you will die.’ ” “No! You will not die,” the serpent said to the woman. “In fact, God knows that when you eat it your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” Then the woman saw that the tree was good for food and delightful to look at, and that it was desirable for obtaining wisdom. So she took some of its fruit and ate it; she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made loincloths for themselves.” Genesis 3:1-7 HCSB
Here we see that when Eve looked at the fruit and saw that it was good for food and delightful to look at. There are so many things in the world that look good to us but are not, instead they lead to death. This was the case in the garden.
After the fall of man, people began to do evil things in the sight of God. Mankind became so evil that God even regretted creating man. So, God sent a flood and the only person that found favor in God’s eyes was Noah. God did a reset with mankind through Noah but still generation after generation man continued to do evil.
Actually, when God created Adam and Eve, He did not want them to know about evil. He just wanted them to experience his goodness. His creation was good, and they were good because they had been made in the image of God.
“For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”” Genesis 3:5 NKJV
God knew that once man’s eyes were open knowing good and evil, they would choose evil.
NO ONE IS GOOD
We have this misconception that humans are inherently good, we are not. Part of the curse of the fall is that we have in our nature to rebel against God. Remember good is God’s standard not man’s. Since mankind seeks to follow our own way, we reject God.
“The fool says in his heart, “God does not exist.” They are corrupt; they do vile deeds. There is no one who does good. The Lord looks down from heaven on the human race to see if there is one who is wise, one who seeks God. All have turned away; all alike have become corrupt. There is no one who does good, not even one.” Psalms 14:1-3 HCSB
Paul repeats this in Romans chapter 3. In Romans Chapter one he talks about how God gave mankind over to their lusts, their sin. They refused to acknowledge God.
“There is certainly no righteous man on the earth who does good and never sins.” Ecclesiastes 7:20 HCSB
WE CAN ONLY OBTAIN GOODNESS THROUGH GOD
We cannot become good on our own. Only God is good so we must first be reconciled to God, repent of our sins, call upon Jesus and be saved. Jesus enables us to do what is right. God sent His Holy Spirit so that we will do what is good and right. As Christians we are called to do what is good and right. We are expected to do good works. We will be judged not for our sin (Jesus paid for our sins) but our works will be judged. God is our measure of good. We must discern what is good.
In 2 Timothy 3:16 Paul tells Timothy that all scripture is given by inspiration of God, it tells us what is good and right, it brings reproof and correction, it instructs us so that we may be complete and equipped for every good work.
The Bible is our standard of goodness. If we want to live a good and obedient life then we must read, learn and memorize scriptures. When the law was given, it could not save man, but it did give an insight on what was right, what was good and that which is evil. It is God’s standard, and we cannot ignore God’s word. That is what Adam and Eve did and it led to death.
We know that we are children of God by our good works.
“Beloved, do not imitate what is evil, but what is good. He who does good is of God, but he who does evil has not seen God.” III John 1:11 NKJV
“Seek good and not evil, That you may live; So the Lord God of hosts will be with you, As you have spoken.” Amos 5:14 NKJV
“For your obedience has become known to all. Therefore I am glad on your behalf; but I want you to be wise in what is good, and simple concerning evil.” Romans 16:19 NKJV
Reflections 