Goodness- Freedom to Do What Is Right

Intro 

Why do the good die young? Why do bad things happen to good people? Why will a good person go to hell because they don’t believe in Jesus? Why will a good God let bad things happen?  

Megan Rapinoe, a former U.S Women’s national team soccer player got injured in the first three minutes of the last game of professional career. In an interview after the game, she jokingly said “I’m not a religious person or anything, and if there was a God, this is proof there isn’t.” 

These are questions that a lot of people are asking. We live in a culture that is fascinated by the idea of goodness. “Goodness” may not be a regular part of our vocabulary but “good” is.  

How exactly are we to understand what “good” means? Is it merely a subjective understanding? What’s good for you may not be good for me? Or is it more than that? 

We actually use the word good in different ways. 

We use it to denote something of value. Like when we say, “the food is good.” We are putting value on the food. 

We also use it when talking about moral character and moral judgement. For moral character we might say “My mom is a good person.” We don’t mean she’s perfect, but there is a moral character quality about her that allows us to say she is a good person. For moral judgment, we might say, “that was not a good thing.” We are passing a moral judgment on that specific thing.  

And finally, we use it to describe our state of being. We might respond to a question of “how are you?” with “I’m doing good.” It’s technically a grammatically incorrect response, but that’s how we speak. The correct response if you’re wondering, is “I’m doing well.” 

We use the word good every day and, in each case, we might mean something different, but how are we as Christians to think about goodness as a fruit of the Spirit? 

There are two things I want to share with you for today about goodness: 1) What is goodness? 2) How should we pursue goodness? 

Open your bible to Galatians 5:16-25. We’ll read and ask for God’s blessing on the preaching of his word.  

What is Goodness? 

The word for goodness in the original language is a rare word that is used only 4 times in all scripture. It is the word “good” joined with a word that we translate in this case as “ness.”  

It’s a way of describing something that is defined by being good, something that is filled with good.  

It is when being good is a pattern. 

For us then to pursue and grow in goodness is to have a life that is patterned after being good.  

But what exactly does it mean to be good? What is the good that must be a pattern of our life? 

Throughout scriptures we find “good” to be defined or described as doing what is right, to be of high moral character.   

As an example, look at Luke 6:33. Jesus speaking says, “If you do what is good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that.” 

Here’s another from 1 Peter 2:15, “For it is God’s will that you silence the ignorance of foolish people by doing good. 

God expects us to be people that do good, but he doesn’t expect us to use our goodness as a badge of honor and validation.  

As a matter of fact, what you will find as we talk about how we are to pursue goodness is how much we fall short. Just like the other qualities in the fruit of the Spirit, we fail to embrace goodness on a consistent basis.  

There’s an evangelist who goes on streets of California and asks random people if they are a good person. Almost all say yes. He then runs down the list of ten commandments asking if they’ve ever done any of them. Have you lied? Have you taken what wasn’t yours? Have you lusted? Have you hated someone in your heart? He names a few more and then ends by saying “You’ve self-admitted to be a lying, thieving, fornicating, murderer.” How can you be a good person? 

While his approach might be a turn off for some, me included, it does remind us that we can’t take our goodness as validation of our character before God because we just don’t do it consistently.  

Is Oprah a good person? Yes, in the sense that she does some good things. Is Ramsey Nouah a good person? Yes, because he does some good things. But their goodness is not enough to validate them before God because it is inconsistent.  

The only way to pursue goodness on a consistent basis is through help of God. And pursuit of goodness is not so we can be validated but because we have been validated by Jesus.  

Because of Jesus we are free to be good, free to do what is right.  

How to Pursue Goodness? 

How then can we grow in goodness? How can we grow in doing what is right? There are three areas where we can practice goodness that foster growth with help from the Holy Spirit.  

First, we do what is right when it is hard. As a reference, turn to 1 Peter 3:17. Peter tells his Christian audience “For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God’s will, than for doing evil.” Suffering is no fun. But if we had to choose between doing what is right and escaping what is hard in suffering, choosing to do what is right is the way to go. 

Can you think of a time when you had to do what is right even though it was hard? 

In high school and my first year of college, I cheated on exams without thinking twice. But when I took my faith seriously, I knew I had to choose—keep cheating or do what was right. 

That choice was tested in a final exam for an engineering course I was struggling in. I needed to pass the exam to pass the class and to graduate. Around me, classmates did what they had to do to pass. The temptation was real. I hesitated—what if I fail? But I knew God called me to integrity. So, I put my head down and did my best. 

I walked out unsure of what my grade would be, but I had something better—peace, knowing I had honored God. 

This is an area that we especially must pay attention to because it is easy to use the end to justify the means. If we as Christians, use the end to justify the means, how different are we from those who do not follow Jesus?  

Doing what is right is not only for the easy stuff in life. 

I’m not at all condemning you if you’ve used the end to justify the means in the past, or you are currently doing that. But what I would say is for you to evaluate your life and observe if it is a pattern. Do you find yourself over and over doing what is not right because of what you will get from it? And if that’s the case, I think you’ll need to think about what it means to follow Jesus. 

Goodness should be a pattern of our life not a rarity.  

For you doing right when it is hard could be doing right to those who have not done right by you. It’s being kind to those who have been unkind to you.  

It might also be delaying gratification. That can be a hard time to do that is right because you are withholding from enjoying what is good. That might mean refraining from sexual intimacy with your partner who is not yet your spouse. I know you guys are planning to get married and you might think it’s okay, but it’s not. Until you are officially spouses, doing the right thing is to delay the gratification of sexual enjoyment of each other.  

Doing what is right when it is hard might not just be delayed gratification but also dissolved gratification.  That’s what happens when we resist sin. We dissolve the gratification we otherwise would have received. It’s saying no to pornography or other forms of sexual immorality, it is saying no to vengeance and leaving it to God, it is saying no to unhealthy relationships even though we cherish the good times and long for what they could be.  

We grow in goodness by doing what is right even when it is hard.  

Second, we grow in goodness by doing what is right when it is deserved. As a reference turn to Micah 6:8. It reads, “Mankind, he has told each of you what is good and what it is the Lord requires of you: to act justly, to love faithfulness, and to walk humbly with your God.” 

To do what is right when it is deserved is to act in a just manner and that involves standing up for injustice and repaying good with good.  

We serve a God that will one day punish all injustices and because we are made in his image, we too must hate injustices and use the rights and abilities that we have, to speak up against it where we see it.  

When was the last time you prayed about an injustice? When was the last time you were moved over seeing people be treated unfairly? 

Doing what is right when it is deserved means we don’t turn our eye from the injustice around us because it doesn’t affect us.  

We pray about it for starters. We make praying for the injustices we see a regular pattern of our prayer life. We can engage in peaceful protests, we can use our resources and skills to correct injustice including supporting organizations that do just that, and we can offer a comforting presence to those who might be experiencing injustice.  

Doing what is right when it is deserved also means repaying good with good. Last week, we mentioned how we are to be kind not expecting something in return, but we also have a responsibility to respond to the kindness of others by being kind in return. We act in a just manner by doing good to others who have done good to us. We must be people who repay good with evil.  

We grow in goodness by doing what is right when it is deserved.  

Lastly, we grow in goodness by doing what is right when it is needed. It’s needed because it is neither deserved nor relatively hard. We do what is right when it is needed in act of generosity and confession.

The word “good” is used in scripture to refer to acts of generosity. Let’s look at 1 Timothy 6:18, Paul wrote “Instruct them to do what is good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and willing to share.”

What is the good that Timothy is to instruct? The good of being rich in good works. That’s generosity.   

We want to be generous because it frees us from materialism, and it allows us to meet someone’s need. 

It is very easy for us to be materialistic in this country.  

There are times, I’ve thought of buying some expensive car, or household item, but because of generosity, I say either no, or not yet because that’s resources that I won’t be able to use to help someone.   

Another area we do what is right when it is needed is in confession and repentance. 1 John 1 says those who think they have no sins are liars. But those who do, are to confess knowing that God is faithful to forgive. Because we struggle with sin, we will struggle to do what is right at all times when it is hard, deserved, or needed. So, we must be quick to confess our failings to God. 

The amazing thing about the Christian notion of goodness is that it doesn’t define your standing with God. So, when we fall short, rather try to do more good things to cancel the bad, we simply confess.  

It is a right thing to confess our sins to God and to those we trust. If there’s no one in your life that you trust to confess your sins to, pray to God for one. It’s that important.  

Conclusion 

As we wrap up, I want to add not a caveat, but a clarification. Some people argue that morality is subjective—what’s right for you may not be right for me. But if that’s true, then how do we define injustice? Why do we all agree that things like corruption, abuse, or discrimination are wrong?  

The fact that we all have a sense of right and wrong shows that morality isn’t just personal preference. 

That’s why goodness isn’t just about being 'nice' or doing good things sometimes. It’s about aligning our lives with the ultimate standard of goodness—God Himself. Without Him, goodness is just a shifting opinion. With Him, goodness is a way of life.  

And so, we pursue goodness by doing what is right when it is hard, when it is deserved, and when it is needed.  

The choice to do what is right is rarely easy, but it always leads to something greater—peace with God and a life that reflects Him. You don’t have to strive for goodness on your own. God’s Spirit is in you, shaping you into the person He’s called you to be.  

So today, in the moments when you’re tested, when doing the right thing feels costly, what will you choose?