Doing Good

To love our neighbor as ourselves is an act of worship. For some demonic reason, there exists this misconception that doing good equals being weak. The only thing that is worse is philosophizing what "doing good" is, like the lawyer who asked Jesus: "And who is my neighbor" (Luke 10:29)

We are created for good works (Ephesians 2:10). To embrace this godly purpose for man is true freedom. Again, for some demonic reason we would like to spend more time to think about why we are justified not to do good, instead of doing it. Breaking free from this bondage is to realize how good God is and how his goodness is the source of His power and creativity, as well as ours, given to us as an inheritance or grace.

After each stage of creation in Genesis, we read how God found all that He had made to be good, except after creating man alone, before creating the woman out of man. Man alone is not good. Man with another is good!

"Then the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.”" (Genesis 2:18)

God is good, because God IS. God is good because He is the I AM. He is life. He is the triune God, who loves and is eternally good. He is so good that He undertook this great task of creating the universe for man.

To entertain the thought that we are good apart from God is the greatest illusion of man and deception of the devil.

"And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone." (Mark 10:18)

The very essence of the law, the prophets, the mighty works of Christ, the apostles, the Church throughout the ages is the goodness of God. The Apostle John summarizes the gospel as follows:

"This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all." (1 John 1:5)

He continues to describe what this light looks like in practice, and he says:

"If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin." (1 John 1:6-7)

God is good and it is inherent that we live out His goodness among ourselves, thus glorifying Him, as sons made in his image and likeness, fallen in sin, and redeemed by the blood of His Son. There is no goodness apart from Him and His good and perfect gift: His Son!

"Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows." (James 1:17)

So doing good is more than a task, a calling or a purpose, but our nature and rightful privilege.

The Apostle Paul says that it is no longer he who lives but Christ in him, and that the life he lives, he lives by the faith of the Son of God, who loved him and gave His life for him (Galatians 2:20). He continues to say that he does not set aside this grace, because Christ did not die in vain (2:21). James says faith without works is dead faith (James 2:17). Jesus said that we can do NOTHING apart from Him (John 15:5).

It is because He believes in us, it is because He honors us, it is because He loves us, it is because He is good, that we can and must do good. This, my friends, is the very power of the gospel, the very power of creation and salvation. God is good!