"Clothed In The Goodness of the Lord"

Sermon  •  Submitted
0 ratings
· 11 views
Notes
Transcript
Sermon Tone Analysis
A
D
F
J
S
Emotion
A
C
T
Language
O
C
E
A
E
Social
View more →

What is goodness? How is the goodness of God portrayed biblically? Are we good? What does goodness mean?

Although these are only a few questions about goodness, one cannot help but wonder what is essential about goodness?

Goodness: otherwise known as “(generous and openhearted). What is goodness? Goodness is the selfless desire to be openhearted and generous to others above what they deserve”(RBBCM&TL,p.160). For God has shown us what His goodness looks like in Titus 3:5-6; 5) he saved us, not by deeds of righteousness that we have done, but because of his mercy, through the washing of regeneration and renewal by the Holy Spirit, 6) whom he poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior;

If you have your Bibles with you, please turn with me to Galatians 5:22-23. While you are turning to Galatians 5:22-23.

agethosyne, the Greek for goodness meaning: a physical or moral quality, and sometimes kalos (lit. ‘beautiful’; hence, in classical and biblical Greek, ‘noble,’ ‘honorable,’ ‘admirable,’ ‘worth’). Paul uses the noun agethosyne for the Christian goodness, here in v.22.

If you are there with me at Galatians 5:22-23, say, amen.

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control; against such things, there is no law.”

Introduction: What does goodness mean? Goodness means working for the benefit of others, not oneself; Paul mention it again in Galatians 6:10. “So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.”

Returning to the questions, let us look at these few questions and try to make sense to them by hopefully answering the questions with clarity and leaving no doubt to what the fruit of goodness is, how it is to be portrayed in us, and are we good? If not, who is good?

We have already answered questions 1 and 4; what is goodness? What does goodness mean? At the start of today’s message. Let us continue by answering questions 2 and 3.

How is the goodness of God portrayed biblically?

A. “God is good: for He is morally perfect, and gloriously generous.”

“The acknowledgment of Good as good is the foundation of all biblical thinking about moral goodness. ‘Good’ in Scripture is not an abstract quality, nor is it a secular human ideal; ‘good’ means first and foremost what God is (‘he is good’),” Psalm 31:19 explains the goodness of God, “Oh, how abundant is your goodness, which you have stored up for those who fear you and worked for those who take refuge in you, in the sight of the children of mankind.”

“Then what He does, creates, commands, and gives, and finally what He approves in the lives of His creatures. God in terms of goodness” is found in “contemplating the supreme glory of God’s perfections, they apply to Him the common word of acknowledging worth. By so doing, however, they give that word a new depth of meaning. They define good in terms of God, not vice versa. Accordingly, the biblical position is that God, and God alone, is good without qualification.”

B. “The works of God are good: for they reveal His attributes of wisdom and power,” as Psalm 24:1-2 tells us, “The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein, for he has founded it upon the seas and established it upon the rivers.”

“When the creation was done, ‘God saw everything that he made, and, behold, it was very good.”

C. “The gifts of God are good: for they express His generosity, and make for the welfare of their recipients. It is characteristic of God to good to the needy, as it was for Jesus, God’s anointed. God does good to all men in His ordinary providence, showering on them the blessings of nature; and, as a perfect Father, He knows how to give good gifts to those who are His children through, God promises to ‘do good’ to His people.”

Beloved, even when God withdraws the ‘good’ of outward prosperity from His people and brings upon them evil, that is, to say, hardship in its place, there is still a sense in which He is doing them good.”

Listen, church, it does not mean you have to like the hardships when they come our way. Trust me, we do not like hardship, but it is not up to us; we are not the ones in charge of things; God is, He is the Sovereign Lord, God Almighty. Better to surrender to His plan than try to go at it alone with your plan because it does not work that way.

D. “The commands of God are good: for they express the moral perfection of His character and, by showing us how to please Him, mark for us the path of blessings.”

Brothers and Sisters, “In a lawless and unloving world, Christians must resist the temptation” to pay back the evil done to us. For 1 Thessalonians 5:15 declares, “See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another, and to everyone.”

Moving on to answering our final question in today’s message before we reach the application part of the sermon.

Are we good?

We are not born good, nor can we become good in our strength. Why? Because of our sinful nature, we are born into this world as sinners. Isaiah 64:6 shows the wickedness and truth of humanity, “But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousness are like filthy rags; we all fade as a leaf and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.”

“The evil tree (man as he is in Adam) must be made good before its fruit can be good.” As Romans 12:9 presents to us, “Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good.” And again in Romans 12:21“Do not be overcome with evil, but overcome evil with good.”

Listen church, the fruit of goodness takes:

time

work

change

and yes, the Holy Spirit’s power in us, to grow and develop His goodness in us, God’s holy people.

Application: "Clothed In The Goodness of the Lord"

Relinquish control and living as sinners do; surrender to the Holy Spirit’s calling, and take that first step of faith by accepting Christ, as your Lord and Savior, repenting of your sins, and dying to self today.

Receive the goodness of the Lord God into your hearts and minds. Allow the Holy Spirit to work His goodness in and out of you.

Respond by using the goodness that is given to you by sharing it with all people. Show people that the only way a person can become good is by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit inside of themselves.

Related Media
See more
Related Sermons
See more