“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.” Galatians 5:22-24
Good is the opposite of being evil; whereas, goodness is a characteristic of being good.
God, only, is good. (Jesus to Nicodemus) “Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone. Mark 10:18
I believe that settles it.
How then, you might ask, is it possible to be a good person?
(Paul said this about Barnabas) “He was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith, and a great number of people were brought to the Lord.” Acts 11:24
We can be counted as a ‘good’ person by our faith and through the Holy Spirit that works within us.
A good person loves God with a wholehearted devotion. “Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.” (Duet. 6:5) and
Loves others “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.” (John 13:34) and is always willing to
walk in obedience. “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you? (Luke 6:46)
What is the greatest way to show that we love others? Luke 6:35 tells us: “But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.”
There is no better way to show our love for others than by committing and devoting ourselves to reach the lost--just as Jesus did. “For the Son of Man came to seek and save the lost.” (Luke 19:10)
This should be our primary purpose as commanded by the Lord. “And he said to them, Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.” (Mark 16:15-16)
We can give of our time and money to help relieve the suffering of others. “And the crowds asked him, “What then shall we do?” And he answered them, “Whoever has two tunics is to share with him who has none, and whoever has food is to do likewise.” (Luke 3:10-11)
We can show love to others by accepting the imperfect believers while encouraging them to continue in the Lord. “To equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ,” (Eph. 4:12)
and desire that they use their Spiritual gifts---even if they outshine our own ministry. “And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works,” (Heb. 10:24)
(ALL Scripture contained in this post are from the NIV translation of the BIBLE)
LIVING THE LIGHT
Fruit of the Spirit: Goodness
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.” Galatians 5:22-24
Good is the opposite of being evil; whereas, goodness is a characteristic of being good.
God, only, is good. (Jesus to Nicodemus) “Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone. Mark 10:18
I believe that settles it.
How then, you might ask, is it possible to be a good person?
(Paul said this about Barnabas) “He was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith, and a great number of people were brought to the Lord.” Acts 11:24
We can be counted as a ‘good’ person by our faith and through the Holy Spirit that works within us.
A good person loves God with a wholehearted devotion. “Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.” (Duet. 6:5) and
Loves others “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.” (John 13:34) and is always willing to
walk in obedience. “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you? (Luke 6:46)
What is the greatest way to show that we love others? Luke 6:35 tells us: “But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.”
There is no better way to show our love for others than by committing and devoting ourselves to reach the lost--just as Jesus did. “For the Son of Man came to seek and save the lost.” (Luke 19:10)
This should be our primary purpose as commanded by the Lord. “And he said to them, Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.” (Mark 16:15-16)
We can give of our time and money to help relieve the suffering of others. “And the crowds asked him, “What then shall we do?” And he answered them, “Whoever has two tunics is to share with him who has none, and whoever has food is to do likewise.” (Luke 3:10-11)
We can show love to others by accepting the imperfect believers while encouraging them to continue in the Lord. “To equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ,” (Eph. 4:12)
and desire that they use their Spiritual gifts---even if they outshine our own ministry. “And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works,” (Heb. 10:24)
(ALL Scripture contained in this post are from the NIV translation of the BIBLE)