First kindness; now goodness. Kindness refers to doing good for others. Goodness refers to being (or perhaps better, becoming) good to the glory of God. Jesus once said to a man, "Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone." (Mark 10:18). This answer wasn't meant to suggest that Jesus wasn't good. He was God after all, so He would be included in His own answer about who is good. What Jesus was referring to was the man's question in verse 17, in which he asked, "Good Teacher, what shall I DO (emphasis added) to inherit eternal life?" The man wanted to know what good deeds he should do to live forever. The answer, we know, is none. That is not how we inherit eternal life. We inherit that life because we are adopted by the Father into His family, and that happens by grace through faith, not by our own good deeds. Once that happens, the process of becoming good (or we might say "righteous") so that we might be good ("righteous") begins. But we must remember that righteousness is not our own. It is given to us by Jesus, "not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ — the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith." (Philippians 3:9)
Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations. (Psalm 100:4-5)
For the Lord is good. It is part of His character; something that just is. The same cannot be said for His people. Goodness is not part of our character. It is not something that just is. We can't even do good, for our righteousness (goodness, acts of kindness) are tainted by sin and therefore like filthy rags. We can't do good until we are made good, and that requires the help of a Savior, our Savior, Jesus so that we can be told "Well done, good and faithful servant." But first you must be made good. Our character must be transformed, who we are must be transformed, to the everlasting glory of God.
"As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.
So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? (Romans 7:17-24)
"As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.
So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? (Romans 7:17-24)
In this powerful passage Paul reflects on the war within himself. He delights in God's law and wants to do good, but there is no good in him. He even makes plans and sets out to do good, only to have his plans fall apart and his intentions come to nothing. Instead of serving the God he loves, Paul finds himself doing the very things he hates. This would be a recipe for despair in the life of anyone who struggles with sin, but there is a way out through Jesus Christ, who empowers us not only to do the good we want to do but to become good as God intends for us.
"Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good." (Romans 12:9)
Cling to what is good. Hold onto what is good. Dwell in what is good. Where have we heard this before? The key to clinging to what is good is clinging to the vine; when we abide in Christ we are made good and can cling to what is good.
"Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good." (Romans 12:21)
How often I find myself forgetting this simple command! When someone does something to me or someone I love that is hurtful or harmful, my tendency is to pay them back with a little extra besides. But we are cautioned here, as we are throughout the Bible, to never seek to overcome evil with evil. That will not work. The only thing that overcomes evil is good; the only thing that overcomes dark is light. If we truly wish to overcome evil, we do so by being made good; by allowing the Lord to work within us so that His goodness abides in us, empowering us to overcome the world as He has; to be more than conquerors through Him who loved us, knowing that nothing can separate us from His love (see Romans 8).
"The king stood by his pillar and renewed the covenant in the presence of the Lord—to follow the Lord and keep his commands, statutes and decrees with all his heart and all his soul, and to obey the words of the covenant written in this book." (2 Chronicles 34:31)
Josiah was a bit of a rarity in the Old Testament because he was a good king. What made Josiah good was his decision to walk in obedience to God; to keep the covenant the Lord had made with his forefathers. Josiah's desire to obey God led him to make many reforms and, even though those reforms did not outlast Josiah, they made it possible for Judah to stand a bit longer than the nation otherwise would have.
Good Sabbath! I look forward to worshiping with you today as we "Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; giving thanks to him and praising his name. For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations."
First kindness; now goodness. Kindness refers to doing good for others. Goodness refers to being (or perhaps better, becoming) good to the glory of God. Jesus once said to a man, "Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone." (Mark 10:18). This answer wasn't meant to suggest that Jesus wasn't good. He was God after all, so He would be included in His own answer about who is good. What Jesus was referring to was the man's question in verse 17, in which he asked, "Good Teacher, what shall I DO (emphasis added) to inherit eternal life?" The man wanted to know what good deeds he should do to live forever. The answer, we know, is none. That is not how we inherit eternal life. We inherit that life because we are adopted by the Father into His family, and that happens by grace through faith, not by our own good deeds. Once that happens, the process of becoming good (or we might say "righteous") so that we might be good ("righteous") begins. But we must remember that righteousness is not our own. It is given to us by Jesus, "not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ — the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith." (Philippians 3:9)
ReplyDeleteEnter his gates with thanksgiving
ReplyDeleteand his courts with praise;
give thanks to him and praise his name.
For the Lord is good and his love endures forever;
his faithfulness continues through all generations.
(Psalm 100:4-5)
For the Lord is good. It is part of His character; something that just is. The same cannot be said for His people. Goodness is not part of our character. It is not something that just is. We can't even do good, for our righteousness (goodness, acts of kindness) are tainted by sin and therefore like filthy rags. We can't do good until we are made good, and that requires the help of a Savior, our Savior, Jesus so that we can be told "Well done, good and faithful servant." But first you must be made good. Our character must be transformed, who we are must be transformed, to the everlasting glory of God.
"As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.
ReplyDeleteSo I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? (Romans 7:17-24)
"As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.
So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? (Romans 7:17-24)
In this powerful passage Paul reflects on the war within himself. He delights in God's law and wants to do good, but there is no good in him. He even makes plans and sets out to do good, only to have his plans fall apart and his intentions come to nothing. Instead of serving the God he loves, Paul finds himself doing the very things he hates. This would be a recipe for despair in the life of anyone who struggles with sin, but there is a way out through Jesus Christ, who empowers us not only to do the good we want to do but to become good as God intends for us.
"Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good." (Romans 12:9)
ReplyDeleteCling to what is good. Hold onto what is good. Dwell in what is good. Where have we heard this before? The key to clinging to what is good is clinging to the vine; when we abide in Christ we are made good and can cling to what is good.
"Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good." (Romans 12:21)
ReplyDeleteHow often I find myself forgetting this simple command! When someone does something to me or someone I love that is hurtful or harmful, my tendency is to pay them back with a little extra besides. But we are cautioned here, as we are throughout the Bible, to never seek to overcome evil with evil. That will not work. The only thing that overcomes evil is good; the only thing that overcomes dark is light. If we truly wish to overcome evil, we do so by being made good; by allowing the Lord to work within us so that His goodness abides in us, empowering us to overcome the world as He has; to be more than conquerors through Him who loved us, knowing that nothing can separate us from His love (see Romans 8).
"The king stood by his pillar and renewed the covenant in the presence of the Lord—to follow the Lord and keep his commands, statutes and decrees with all his heart and all his soul, and to obey the words of the covenant written in this book." (2 Chronicles 34:31)
ReplyDeleteJosiah was a bit of a rarity in the Old Testament because he was a good king. What made Josiah good was his decision to walk in obedience to God; to keep the covenant the Lord had made with his forefathers. Josiah's desire to obey God led him to make many reforms and, even though those reforms did not outlast Josiah, they made it possible for Judah to stand a bit longer than the nation otherwise would have.
Good Sabbath! I look forward to worshiping with you today as we "Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; giving thanks to him and praising his name. For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations."
ReplyDelete