CHRISTIAN CHARACTER IN THE AGE OF COVID-19: Goodness - October 18, 2020
INTRODUCTION
Goodness is a seemingly outdated characteristic.
“Goodness is about character - integrity, honesty, kindness, generosity, moral courage, and the like. More than anything else, it is about how we treat other people.
Dennis Prager
“Man has two great spiritual needs. One is for forgiveness. The other is for goodness.”
Billy Graham
"You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love. For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.
So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other."
Galatians 5:13-26 NIV
Fruit and its counterfeits
Love - pleasure
Joy - happiness
Peace - satisfaction
Patience - passivity
Kindness - nice
PUSHING THE OUTHOUSE
A young boy lived in the country. His family had to use an outhouse, which the young boy hated. It was hot in the summer, cold in the winter, and always smelly. The outhouse was located near the creek so the boy decided that he would push it into the water. After a spring rain, the creek swelled so the boy pushed it in.
Later that night his dad told him that he and the boy needed to make a trip to the woodshed. The boy knew this meant punishment. He asked his father why to which his dad replied, "Because someone pushed the outhouse into the creek and I think that someone was you. Was it?"
The boy responded that it was. Then he added, "Remember when George Washington's father asked him if he had chopped down the cherry tree? He didn't get into trouble because he told the truth."
"That is correct," the dad said, "but his father was not in the cherry tree when he cut it down."
Most of us have never toppled an outhouse, however we can identify with the boy in at least three ways. First, there is an urge within us that wants to do wrong. We call it the sinful nature. Second, our lack of goodness affects others. Third, there are consequences to our choices.
I. GOODNESS AND ITS COUNTERFEIT
A. Goodness
1. Properly, intrinsic goodness
a. Especially as a unique quality and condition, note the -synē suffix
b. Stress on the kindly rather than the righteous side of goodness
2. As relating to believers, the goodness that comes from God and showing itself in spiritual, moral excellence (virtue).
3. Not found outside of the Bible and church writings
Strong's Concordance
agathosune: goodness
Original Word: ἀγαθωσύνη, ης, ἡ
Part of Speech: Noun, Feminine
Transliteration: agathosune
Phonetic Spelling: (ag-ath-o-soo'-nay)
Short Definition: goodness
Definition: intrinsic goodness, especially as a personal quality, with stress on the kindly (rather than the righteous) side of goodness.
HELPS Word-studies
Cognate: 19 agathōsýnē (from 18 /agathós, "inherently good," see there) – properly, intrinsic goodness (especially as a unique quality and condition, note the -synē suffix); as relating to believers, the goodness that comes from God (Souter) and showing itself in spiritual, moral excellence (virtue).
19 (agathōsynē) occurs four times in the NT, and is apparently strictly a biblical term, i.e. it does not seem to appear at all in secular Greek/the papyri (see N. Turner, Christian Words, 89). See 18(agathos).
ἀγαθωσύνη, (ης, ἡ (on its formation see Winers Grammar, 95 (90); WHs Appendix, p. 152), found only in Biblical and ecclesiastical writings, uprightness of heart and life (A. V. goodness): 2 Thessalonians 1:11; Galatians 5:22 (unless here it denote kindness, beneficence); Romans 15:14; Ephesians 5:9. (Cf. Trench, § lxiii.; Ellicott and Lightfoot on Galatians, the passage cited.)
B. Counterfeit
1. Phariseical self-righteousness
2. Trendy "we've all sinned and fallen short"
II. GOODNESS GONE BAD
A. Virtue as passe
B. Moral excellence as impossible
C. Goodness as personal performance
III. GOODNESS AS GODLINESS
A. His goodness
“His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.”
2 Peter 1:3 NIV
“By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence.”
2 Peter 1:3 NLT
“These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the culmination of the ages has come. So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall! No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.”
1 Corinthians 10:11-13 NIV
“But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people.”
2 Timothy 3:1-5 NIV
“You, however, know all about my teaching, my way of life, my purpose, faith, patience, love, endurance, persecutions, sufferings—what kinds of things happened to me in Antioch, Iconium and Lystra, the persecutions I endured. Yet the Lord rescued me from all of them. In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evildoers and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”
2 Timothy 3:10-17 NIV
B. Our need for repentance
A Native American and a white man were deeply moved by the same sermon. That very night the Native American received Jesus as his Savior, but for days the white man refused to accept Christ. At last he, too, repented and enjoyed the sweet peace of having his sins forgiven. Later he asked his Native American friend, “Why did it take me so long, while you responded right away?”
“My brother,” he replied, “I can best explain it by this little story: At one time a rich prince wished to give each of us a new coat. You shook your head and replied, ‘I don’t think so; mine looks good enough.’ When he made the same offer to me, I looked at my old blanket and said, ‘This is good for nothing,’ and gratefully accepted the beautiful garment. You wouldn’t give up your own righteousness. But knowing I had no goodness of my own, I immediately received the Lord Jesus Christ and His righteousness.”
We must recapture goodness. We are, above all things, unbelievable if God cannot change our inner being. This is not about my virtue; it is about His power.
CHALLENGE
This week repent for any action you have taken that has not come from the goodness that God has placed in you through His Holy Spirit. Write down two actions you could have taken in that situation that would have demonstrated the fruit of the Spirit. If possible, confess your shortcoming to the person who should have been blessed by the fruit of goodness. Live a good life this week.
INVITATION
It is our custom to offer an "invitation" following the preaching of the Word. You may want to follow Jesus. You may want to proclaim your faith. You may want to repent (stop doing ungodly things and start doing Godly things). Perhaps you want to be baptized for the forgiveness of your sins and receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Possibly, if you have already responded to God’s call in these ways, you would like to become a member of Kenwood Church. If you have been moved by the Holy Spirit to make a decision in your life, I would be honored to speak with you in the upper parking lot following the service about what God is doing in your life.
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