Jesus' Radical View of Goodness

Jesus made two radical statement about goodness -- Mt. 19:16-17

"There is only one who is good".

o God is unique in His goodness. The Greek word for "one" carries with it the idea of "one distinctly", which is why some Bibles translate it as "No one" (NKJV) or "only one" (NIV). Jesus taught that God is the only Person in the entire universe who is good. I don't think even we Christians believe this. We have fairly wishy-washy ideas about goodness. We call people "good" if we enjoy their company, or if they do something we like. But Christ said that God alone is good. God is unique in His goodness.

o If Jesus is right, then all real goodness comes from God somehow. The holy angels are good. But their goodness comes from God. We know good Christians. Their goodness comes from God. There are even unbelievers who are devout and God-fearing. This reflects the hidden work of God in their hearts, too.

o The flip side is that human beings are not good! This is the part no one wants to hear. Not even Christians like to hear it. The psalmist said, "There is none who are righteous, no, not one; there is none who does good, no, not one" (Psalm 14, quoted by Paul in Romans 3:10, 12). What we call goodness is really only comparative -- some people outwardly act better than others. It is better to help the needy than to rob them; but if we do it to be admired by others, we have no praise from God. Man looks on the outward appearance but God looks on the heart. What looks like goodness to our eyes might look quite intentions.

The second teaching Jesus gave about goodness was: "Keep the commandments, if you want to live forever" -- 19:17.

o Jesus gives goodness a clear, hard edge. "Goodness" isn't just some fuzzy-wuzzy geniality. Goodness means: Do not murder. Do not commit adultery. Do not steal. Do not lie. Honor your parents. Love your fellow man just as you love yourself. Elsewhere, Christ makes it clear that goodness includes the imagination. It's not enough not to commit adultery. We're required not to even imagine immoral acts. It's not enough not to murder. We're required not to hate. That is goodness.

o Jesus sharpens the edge of goodness as sharp as He can make it, in verse 21. Christ's standard of goodness is perfection. We're required to be perfectly good. If we break one commandment, then we've broken them all. If we break a small section of a single pane of glass, we've broken the whole pane of glass. This is God's Law. Break one of the laws, you've broken all of them. If I can keep all of God's commandments, all the time, then I have the right to consider myself a truly good person. Otherwise, I'm just comparatively better than some people in some ways, sometimes.

o Then Christ attaches high stakes to goodness. He says that eternal life hinges on us being good, that is, keeping the commandments. This means that (a) everyone isn't going to Heaven, and (b) we have to deserve to go there! Jesus Christ was no liberal! He was no Unitarian!

What does this mean for us?

o The teaching that I need to do good works in order gain eternal life some day, or to keep eternal life once God gives it to me, is impossible:

§ It waters down God's standard of holiness. God isn't asking for "our best". He isn't asking for "a good-faith effort." He requires moral and spiritual perfection. Our best isn't good enough. God's goodness doesn't bend. His requirement is perfection.

§ That teaching is an insult to Christ's death on the cross. It's like saying that my cartoon scribbling needs to be added to the Mona Lisa. Jesus Christ was the perfect Man. His death on the cross for sin was the perfect payment. His intercession on His people's behalf in Heaven right now is the perfect priesthood. For us to think that there's anything we could do that would add value to anything He did for us is totally wrong-headed.

o Jesus' teaching about goodness also means that it's possible to measure goodness. Christ defined goodness in the form of commandments. Goodness is definable. Committing adultery is bad. Loyalty to your spouse is good. Dishonoring our parents is bad. Respecting them is good. Goodness does not lie in the eye of the beholder. When the Lord's commandment speaks, there are no gray areas. This is an important principle, if we intend to make disciples. Christian disciples should be good people. The commandments tell us what is good.


o Goodness of heart is the antidote to temptation. Goodness comes from the Holy Spirit kneading God's goodness into the dough of our hearts. Remember, only God is good. We have no more natural power to be good after we trust in Christ than we had before. This is why Galatians calls goodness a fruit of the Spirit. We can't work it up.

The Holy Spirit is a tree-keeper -- an arborist. He is in the business of turning dead trees back into living trees, and then, once they're alive, curing them of the blight. We're like trees infected with blight. The Holy Spirit's ministry is to steadily cure us of our blight, from the inside. As He transmits God's unique goodness into us, the fruit of our lives automatically changes over from sour to sweet. Christian men will stop feeling drawn to pornography, because a good heart loves purity. Christian people will not be easily drawn into idolatry, because a good heart loves the Lord Jesus Christ. This is why we pray for the Spirit to make us good people -- because only the Holy Spirit can re-shape us back into God's image.