Biblical Goodness

Romans 15:14-15 ESV I myself am satisfied about you, my brothers, that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge and able to instruct one another. (15) But on some points I have written to you very boldly by way of reminder, because of the grace given me by God

Paul did not plant the church in Rome and he hasn’t met the believers there yet. But he heard about them because their faith is well known in the Roman world (Rom 1:8). Paul also knew about the conflict between Jews and Gentile believers in that church and we learned this in chapter 14 and Paul dealt with it in love, with gentle rebuke, and biblical instructions. And then in our text, he changed the subject matter and began by commending them for three things:

their goodness,
their knowledge and
their ability to instruct others.

Today, we are going to focus on Paul’s commending the believers in Rome for their goodness.

Word: Biblical Goodness

What did Paul mean by saying the Roman believers were full of goodness?
I believe Paul understands goodness in light of what the Scripture teaches, because that’s how he and the rest of the apostles explain a particular subject–they “let the Bible interpret itself.” So, we will look at the Bible and find out what it really means to be good, and what Paul meant by it, and why goodness is very important in the eyes of God and in the eyes of men.

Pray

A man was late for an important meeting and couldn't find a parking spot anywhere. He circled the block for fifteen minutes, becoming increasingly desperate. Finally, he looked up to the sky and prayed, "Lord, if you're as good as they say, please show me Your goodness right now. If you find me a parking space, I promise I'll start going to church every Sunday and give up my bad habits!"

Suddenly, right in front of him, a car pulled out of the perfect spot directly in front of the building. The man looked back up and said, "Never mind, Lord! I found one myself!"

God is always good to us. But here's the problem–we reciprocate God’s goodness with stubbornness.
How do you respond to God's goodness? What do you do for God in return for His favor? Gratefulness or stubbornness?

Now, we want to know why, all of a sudden, we woke up having this attitude of being stubborn to God.

Genesis 3:22 ESV Then the LORD God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil. Now, lest he reach out his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat, and live forever.”

Adam and Eve were totally good before the fall. They had not known evil until they ate from the forbidden tree–the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

Truth about good and evil:

Goodness is the absence of evil.

Where there is no evil, what you will find is all good. And this is only true in heaven. Now, while heaven is filled with goodness, the earth is filled with evil.

1 John 5:19 says, …the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.
That's why God set apart for Himself a people--the Israelites and then the church of Christ, His children. And God expects us, His people, His children, to fill the earth with His goodness.

Are you a child of God? Are you with us in spreading God's goodness here on earth?

Now, if goodness is the absence of evil, then…

The litmus test of being good is when there are no evil ways in you.

Adam and Eve were not good because they did something evil before our God. Pastor, you mean eating a fruit is already evil before God? Well, it was not the act of eating that made Adam and Eve evil before God. It was the act of disobedience which God considers evil because their disobedience involves listening to Satan in going against God’s command. Listen, if you agree with the devil in going against God’s command, God considers it evil in His sight.
Do you disobey God? Do you let Satan tempt you to disobey God’s command? Do you understand that this is evil before God?
Truth is, all of us fall into temptation from time to time even now that we are already a Christian.

The Bible says…

No one is good, not even one.

Romans 3:10-12 (ESV) as it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one; 11 no one understands; no one seeks for God. 12 All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.”
Abraham was the father of all nations, and yet he lied about his wife.
Moses killed an Egyptian and disobeyed God by striking a rock instead of speaking to it.
David was a man after God’s own heart, but he committed adultery with Bathsheba and arranged the murder of her husband, Uriah.
Solomon was full of wisdom, but he married many pagan wives which is against God’s command. And this led him to build altars not for the One and True God, but for false gods of the pagan nations.
Johah was a prophet of God, but he didn’t want the idea of God giving Nineveh a chance to repent. He wanted God to destroy the people of Nineveh.
Peter denied Jesus three times.
These are God’s chosen men, and though they are good about something, their disobedience to God and their foolish acts disqualify them for being good. Paul said, no one does good, not even one. And he was talking to the believers in Rome, both the Jewish Christians and the Gentile Christians.
Do you think you are a good person? Perhaps you are good about something, but because you disobeyed God and keep on disobeying Him, this disqualifies you for being good. The Word of God says, there is only one who is good–only God is good!

God is good because there is no evil in Him. Amen?

1 John 1:5 ESV This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.
Darkness represents evil and Satan and light represents God who is good. There is no darkness in God because He is perfect in His goodness!

Psalm 107:1 "Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for he is good!"
Psalm 34:8 "Taste and see that the Lord is good"
Nahum 1:7 "The Lord is good, a stronghold in times of trouble"

Now,

Ever since, there has been a struggle between light and darkness–the good versus the evil.

When God cursed Satan for tempting Eve to sin, God showed him the conflict that is going to happen between him and the seed of the woman. Satan is going to be the enemy of the One who is born of a woman, and we know God was talking about His Son, Jesus Christ. Satan will strike Jesus on the heel and Jesus will strike a deadly blow on Satan’s head.
God declared from the beginning this struggle between good and evil. Since then, hatred, and strife, and fights, and murders, and wars were all over the place because Satan was eager to destroy the seed of the woman who was yet unknown to Him. And when Jesus Christ came to earth, born of a woman, Satan tried to destroy Him through king Herod who ordered the killing of all male children, 3 years old under. Satan failed in his attempt and waited for some time.
When Jesus finally declared that He is the Light, Satan, the god of darkness, was desperate to destroy Jesus. And he was able to accomplish his plan of murdering Him through the Jewish religious leaders in connivance with the pagan nation, Rome. Jesus died on the cross, but to Satan’s surprise, Jesus came out alive from the tomb, and ascended into heaven, and is now seated at the right hand of the Father. Satan did not stop fighting against the Light. He pursues the church of Jesus and keeps persecuting her. And then the Battle of Armageddon shall soon come where Satan will deceive the nations to fight against Jesus Christ and His heavenly host and His saints–the church In that end-time battle, Satan shall make his final attempt to fight against the Light, with all his might, and with this, Satan will meet his ultimate defeat and his final doom. His head will be crushed! And together with his cohorts, those who listened to him to rebel against God, God will throw them into hell to be consumed by fire in all eternity. And then, darkness shall be no more and the Light of Jesus Christ shall stand victorious! Amen! Praise the Lord!
Are you one with Jesus and His church in going against the works of the devil?

If you said yes, then I suggest you stop from doing the things the devil keeps telling you to do.

Proof that you are on the G.O.O.D. side–Jesus the True Light:
You G - ive a “NO” answer to the devil when he is tempting you to sin

Don’t let Satan fool you just as what he did with Eve. All the devil wanted was for you to sin and be separated from God and be cursed with death. He makes you believe that getting drunk is okay because everybody does it, that sexual immorality is fine because many people are doing it, that there is nothing wrong about homosexuality because it is now being accepted as a norm. Satan will try his best to deceive you and make you believe that right is wrong and wrong is right. Why? Because all he ever wanted was for you to disobey God and be separated from Him and be judged by Him to death. Not just physically, but eternally in hell. Satan knows that his ultimate end is hell, and he deceives people and He tempts everyone to keep sinning so they would receive the same judgment of death in hell where he and the rest of his followers will be tormented forever, without end!
But if you are already a believer in Christ, the good news is, God secures your salvation, Amen? But the proof that you are in Christ is this: you say NO to the devil whenever he tempts you to sin against God! Remember, Satan is no longer your master. In the past, when you have not yet surrendered your life to Jesus, yes, you listen to Satan’s voice rather than God’s will. But now that you are in Christ by the grace of God through faith in Jesus, God changed your heart and He is renewing your mind. Therefore, you no longer listen to Satan because you already transferred your allegiance to God and accepted Jesus as your Master. That’s why now, you say No to Satan and you say YES to Jesus Christ. Amen?

Another proof that you are on the G.O.O.D. side with Jesus the True Light:
You O - perate on the love of God over your enemies

Satan is God’s enemy and our only enemy, but we were not told to love him.
God commanded us to love those who were deceived by Satan–those who joined him to be in rebellion against God. Since these people are deceived and blinded by Satan, they don’t really understand why they hate us, insult us, and hurt us, and even try to put us to death. They treat us as enemies because they are being manipulated by the devil. And they follow Satan because of the pleasures of sin which they enjoy in the realm of darkness. Satan made them prisoners in sin and if they remain in that condition, they will soon be thrown into hell. And if we are not to love them, even if they treat us as enemies, and if we don’t share the gospel to them, they will not have the same privilege we received from God–the free gift of eternal life in Jesus Christ.
Are you on the GOOD side with Jesus Christ? Then love those who treat you as enemies–those who were deceived by the devil. Think about their need for forgiveness and salvation in Christ. Love them and show them the love of God.

Another proof that you are on the G.O.O.D. side–Jesus the True Light:
You O - vercome evil with good

Jesus said in Matthew 5:39, But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.

Jesus wants us to overcome evil with good! So when someone has done you evil by slapping you on the face or by punching you, don’t fight back. In another text, Jesus said (Matt 5:44), love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. Listen, Jesus wants us to love our enemies and pray for them that God would forgive them and deliver them out from the hands of Satan.

Paul understood this and said, (Romans 12:21) “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” Furthermore he said,

Romans 12:19-21 GNB Never take revenge, my friends, but instead let God's anger do it. For the scripture says, "I will take revenge, I will pay back, says the Lord." (20) Instead, as the scripture says: "If your enemies are hungry, feed them; if they are thirsty, give them a drink; for by doing this you will make them burn with shame." (21) Do not let evil defeat you; instead, conquer evil with good.
Listen, the way to defeat our enemies is to love them back and pray for them.

Do you take revenge when unbelievers do you wrong? Or do you love them black and pray that God would forgive them and save them?

Proof that you are on the G.O.O.D. side–Jesus the True Light:
You D - raw yourself closer to God

The Bible says in the book of James 4:7-8, “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. (8) Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
James tells us three things which will happen when you draw yourself closer to God (James 4:7-8):
1. You move away from the devil. You cannot draw closer to God and closer with the devil at the same time. You must resist the devil, move away from him, and command him to leave whenever he is tempting you to sin.
Do you resist the devil? Do you go further away from him just to be closer to God?
And then, when you draw closer to God,
2. You learn to submit yourself to God’s will. When you draw closer to God in prayers, in Bible meditation, and in worship, you see God’s throne, His kingship, His rulership and His authority over your life. Before, when you were still in darkness, you didn't recognize God’s rule over your life. You didn’t want to submit to God’s authority. Instead, you submit yourself to the will of the devil. When the devil tempts you to sin, you go ahead and listen to his deceiving words. But when God took you out from the hand of the devil, and placed you in the body of Christ in His marvelous light, now you put your loyalty and allegiance to God and you do whatever God tells you to do. You submit yourself to His will, not your will, but His good and perfect will. Amen?
And lastly, when you draw closer to God,
3. You see your sinfulness, and ask for forgiveness, and allow Him to cleanse you. God is a holy God. And as we come to His presence, we see His holiness and our sinfulness. Immediately, God reminds us of His grace that if we confess to Him our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us and cleanse us from all our unrighteousness. And so, it is almost automatic, that if we come closer to God, as we draw nearer to Him in our prayers, in our bible meditation, and in worship, we come to Him in the spirit of humility and ask Him for forgiveness of our sins. That’s why in our corporate worship, we make it sure that, as a church, we come to God with a humble spirit confessing to Him our sins, with full confidence that, by His grace, He will forgive us from all our sins and cleanse us from all our unrighteousness. Amen?
So, when you get closer to God,

you overcome the temptations of the devil one after the other,
and then, you become more and more obedient to God’s will,
and you become holier day after day. Though only God is good, part of God's plan for your life was to make you holy and to create in you a character of goodness just as God is good.

So, when Paul commended the believers in Rome, “you are full of goodness”,

He didn’t mean it in the sense of being perfect, because only God is good. In fact, Paul rebuked them for judging one another, for their prejudice, and for their lack of concern for each other. These believers in Rome were not really good in the sense of being perfect. Well, we are not talking here about the doctrine of justification whereby God declares sinners righteous through the blood of Christ, by grace through faith. We are talking about the judgemental spirit, the lack of love, and so on which are not supposed to be seen in the lives of God’s holy people. And because they still have these flaws, and all of us have flaws, then no one is good in the sense of being perfect. And that makes God above all of else because He is the only one who is good. Amen?
So, what did Paul mean when he commended the believers in Rome and said, you are full of goodness…
What he meant was the godly character of “goodness” as the fruit of the Spirit.

Paul taught this truth in Galatians 5:22-23, But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, and so on.
The goodness which Paul noticed from believers in Rome was the fruit of the Spirit. Paul knew that the Holy Spirit is with them because they believed in Jesus Christ. And it is the Holy Spirit who caused them to bear the fruit of goodness of heart. Paul commended them for the goodness that is in their heart because Paul believed and was positive about the generosity they will extend to his missionary work in Spain. Since they are already mature in faith, they would naturally bear the spiritual fruit of goodness in their heart.
Are you growing in the Spirit? Do you bear the fruit of the Spirit of goodness in your heart? Do you help the poor? Do you contribute to the needs of the church and its missions?

Only God can make us good!

Naalala ko si bro. Toti. Sabi nya, kung meron lang sanang machine na kayang bumago ng tao, pasok ka lang sa machine, then after some time, the machine will be opened, lo and behold, you are now a good person. But no one can invent that kind of machine.
There is only one person who can make you good–God has the power to make you a good person! Amen?
In Ezekiel 36:25-27, God promised that one day, in the future, God will give His people a new heart. God will make their heart of stone into a heart of flesh. And He will put His Spirit in them so that they would learn to obey His commands. That day had already come on the day of Pentecost in Acts chapter 2. As the disciples were gathered, the Holy Spirit came and filled them and they spoke in tongues and people from other nations understood them because they were speaking their language, and they repented and believed in Jesus Christ because of the message they heard. And since then, we see people's lives being changed. Peter, who was then a coward, afraid of being persecuted, suddenly came to the open and preached Christ without fear. Paul who was then a persecutor of the church was changed by God and became God’s servant among the Gentiles. Dorcas sews clothes and gives them to the poor and widows. And so on.
Would you like God to change your heart and be a good person just the way God wanted you to be? Then pray to God. Ask Him to change your heart and make you a good person.
My wife knows that I am not tjat showy in terms of how I express my love to her. And then, just recently, after some series of couples fellowship we just had at our church, I found myself having this feeling of deep love for my wife. I knew that God changed my heart that moment because suddenly, I wanted to hug my wife, and kiss her, and make her feel happy and loved. And then she was like checking my temperature to see if I was sick because she was not used to it. Believe me, brothers and sisters, it was genuine. It was not something I made up myself. I'm sure it was God who changed my heart. He is making me a better husband and I believe He is also going to make me a better father, a better pastor, a better child, a better friend and a better neighbor.
Do you notice the changes which God is doing in your heart? Do you see yourself becoming a better person with a good heart?

How to practice goodness of heart?

G - ive. God is good because He sent His Son to give us the most important gift which you cannot find in this world –the gift of eternal life in Christ. So if you want to develop goodness in your heart and life, then give. Give to the poor, share your blessings to your family, contribute to the needs of the church and for the needs of God's workers. Give your tithes and offerings to the Lord. Listen, w:hen you learn to give, God is going to be pleased in your life because you start to become the person He wants you to be–a good person with a generous heart. And you know what? As you keep giving, God will bless you with more because God wants you to remain a blessing to others.

O - ffer help to the helpless. Jesus saw a man who was lame for 38 yrs. This man was hopeless because no one bothers to help him get into the pool in order to be healed. May angel kasi na kumakalawkaw sa pool at kung sino ang unang makalusong sa tubig ang syang gagaling. Siguro mayron dun na ilang araw pa lang may sakit at nakakalakad naman, out of selfishness, inuuhahan nila yung pilay na makalusong sa tubig para gumaling. You see, the fact that this man has been lame for 38 yrs, it is possible that he had been waiting for many years and perhaps he was begging for help asking people around him to carry him into the pool just to be healed. Or siguro kapag kinalawkaw na yung tubig, sumisigaw siya, ako naman please, ako naman! But nobody cares, no one among them was a good person from the heart. Jesus is good because He cares. He approached the lame man and right there and then, He healed him and he stood up, carried his bed, and walked, and was grateful to the Lord Jesus, his healer.

Do you care about other people who are helpless? When you start to care for someone who is helpless, then you’ll be a good person just the way God wants you to be.