There are nine fruits of the Spirit and they can be divided into three categories.
1. INWARD FRUITS - love, joy, peace
2. OUTWARD FRUITS – longsuffering (patience) gentleness (kindness), goodness
3. GOD-WARD FRUITS - faith, meekness, temperance (self control).
In this message, we want to look at the fruit of the spirit called GOODNESS, which is one of the OUTWARD FRUITS.
WHY IS IT IMPORTANT WE HAVE THIS FRUIT IN OUR LIFE?
Because we would have a hard time revealing Christ in our life if the lost world can’t see GOODNESS in our life.
God wants us to bear this fruit to reveal the Lord Jesus in our lives, who the Bible says, “Went about doing GOOD!”
As we look at bearing the fruit of GOODNESS in our life, we want to look at:
I. GOD’S GOODNESS
Let me say up front that God is a GOOD GOD and we do not deserve HIS GOODNESS.
THERE IS PROOF WE ARE NOT GOOD. WHAT IS THAT PROOF?
The fact that we are all saved by GRACE means we do not deserve His goodness. Everything we get from God is because of HIS GOODNESS!
Illus: There is a fellow on a national radio show by the name of Dave Ramsey. I like to listen to him because he gives out some good financial advice to his listening audience.
He is often asked, “How are you doing?” and he gives them his stock answer, “I’m doing better than I deserve.”
This is true for each of us. If each and every one of us got what we deserved, we all would be in Hell tonight, but we are here tonight because of the GOODNESS OF GOD! God is a GOOD GOD and we all had better be thankful each day that He is a GOOD GOD!
Illus: The songwriters John W. Peterson and Alfred B. Smith, said it best when they wrote the song, “Surely Goodness”. The words go like this:
A pilgrim was I and a-wandering
In the cold night of sin I did roam.
When Jesus the kind Shepherd found me
And now I am on my way home.
He restoreth my soul when I'm weary.
He giveth me strength day by day.
He leads me beside the still waters,
He guards me each step of the way.
When I walk through the dark lonesome valley
My Savior will walk with me there.
And safely His great hand will lead me
To the mansions He's gone to prepare.
Chorus:
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
All the days - all the days of my life.
And I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever,
And I shall feast at the table spread before me.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
All the days, all the days of my life.
The reason that GOODNESS AND MERCY follow us each day of our life is because God is a GOOD GOD to each and every one of us. But when it comes to goodness, we have two problems.
(1) PEOPLE HAVE DIFFERENT IDEAS ABOUT WHAT GOODNESS IS
We live in a world that does not know the meaning of GOODNESS. For example, what used to be called BAD is now called GOOD.
Illus: We have heard a great deal about Scott Peterson, in California, who was convicted for murdering his wife and unborn child. Before he was given the death sentence, his lawyer brought over thirty witnesses before the jury, saying he was a good man and did not deserve the death sentence. A man who kills his wife and baby IS NOT A GOOD MAN!!!
Something is wrong with this society. People do not seem to know the difference between GOOD and EVIL. But here is another problem with the word GOODNESS.
(2) THE WORD GOODNESS IS OFTEN USED WHEN IT SHOULD NOT BE
Some use the word to describe something bad. For example, someone might fall on the ground and they will say, “O my goodness.” THERE IS NOT ANYTHING GOOD ABOUT FALLING DOWN!!!
In the same way, some use the word to describe a bad act.
Illus: A man might rob a bank successfully, and people will speak of him as a GOOD THIEF because he knows how to rob a bank.
The word “GOOD” is used many ways, and often it is used in the wrong way.
But when it comes to talking about goodness, the fact is, only God is TRULY GOOD.
Remember the man who came to the Lord wanting to know what good thing he could do to inherit eternal life?
Look at Matt. 19:16-17 “And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life? And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God…”
There is only one person who is truly good. There is only one who is good to the core, and that is God. Only God is GOOD, yet there are those who try to accuse the Lord of being evil.
Illus: Some people say, “How can God be a good God and allow all the hungry people to starve to death.”
They seem to conveniently forget that for centuries these people have been serving their dead gods. They have called out to their dead gods and their dead gods can’t answer their prayers. THAT’S WHY THEY ARE STARVING.
GOD IS GOOD! Over and over, the Bible declares that God is a good God.
• Psa. 106:1 “Praise ye the LORD. O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.”
• Psa. 107:1 “O give thanks unto the LORD, for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.”
• Psa. 118:1 “O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: because his mercy endureth for ever.”
• Psa. 136:1 “O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.”
God is good! He is intrinsically good.
• He did not learn to be good
• He was not forced to be good
He has always been and always will be GOOD. That’s his nature. God’s character prevents Him from being bad.
We have looked at GOD’S GOODNESS. We also need to look at-
II. MAN’S GOODNESS
What about mankind’s goodness?
No one can deny that we are good at times. But our goodness is selective goodness!
Our goodness can be compared to those who have SELECTIVE HEARING. They hear what they want to hear.
Some folks have SELECTIVE GOODNESS, that is, they are good when they choose to be good.
HOW SHOULD YOU MEASURE GOODNESS?
Goodness can only be measured by God’s standard of goodness. If we compare ourselves to others, we’re using the wrong standard.
Illus: It’s like the little boy who came to his mother and said,
“Mommy, I’m eight feet tall.”
She said, “You are?”
“Yes,” he insisted, “I am eight feet tall.”
His mother asked what he measured himself with, and he pulled out a six-inch ruler.
Our goodness is SUBJECTIVE GOODNESS!
For example, we all seem to have CHRISTMAS GOODNESS!
There are two kinds of GOODNESS.
(1) THERE IS FORCED GOODNESS
Many of us have what is known by some as, “CHRISTMAS GOODNESS.” It is goodness forced on us so we can get what we want.
Remember the child’s song we used to sing? “You better watch out, you better not cry, you better be good, I’m telling you why, Santa Claus is coming to town.”
Illus: There are children that have been mean as a snake all year long, but they become little angels a few weeks before Christmas. They do this so they can get gifts.
Illus: Clara Null, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, tells of a grandmother that was taking her grandchildren shopping.
As they were going to the car, Jason said to his grandmother,
"Grandma, Susie has something in her pocket." He reached in and pulled out the item she had taken.
Though the grandmother was tired, she knew it was important that little Susie put the item back where she had found it. They did just that.
They then went off to visit “Santa Claus”. He asked little Jason, "Have you kids been good so Santa will bring you something?"
Little Jason said, "I've been very good, but my sister just robbed a store." (Christian Reader, "Kids of the Kingdom.)
Many times we have been FORCED TO BE GOOD in order to get something we wanted.
When you ask a child if they have been good, they generally do not tell the truth. They generally say they have been good.
WHY DO THEY SAY THEY HAVE BEEN GOOD?
They say they have been good so they will not get in trouble, and they want the rewards of being good.
God has promised to reward all His children that have been good. But here is the problem; we can deceive people but we cannot deceive the Lord Jesus.
ARE YOU A GOOD CHRISTIAN?
That is, are you bearing the fruit of GOODNESS? ABefore you answer that, we need to ask:
• Do your parents think you have been good?
• Does your spouse think you have been good?
• Do your children think you have been good?
• Do your neighbors think you have been good?
• Do your customers think you have been good?
We will probably get a more honest answer out of them than we will get from ourselves.
God is going to judge us on GOODNESS according to His standard, not our standard.
There is FORCED GOODNESS, but also -
(2) THERE IS RELATIVE GOODNESS
For example, a child might tell Santa they have been good when they have not been good, because the standard they are using is the BAD KID ACROSS THE STREET!
People usually conclude that they are good on the basis of comparison.
• Children think because they are more obedient to their parents than the kid across the street, they ARE GOOD!
• Husbands or wives think they are better than the person down the street because they do not cheat on their spouse, so they think they are good.
In other words, to be good by human standards doesn’t mean that we have to be perfectly good, just better than the other person. Since it only means that we need to be as good or better than others, most of us feel that we pass the test and are good.
There is a BIG difference between BEING GOOD and DOING GOOD.
Goodness, is like all the other “Fruits of the Spirit,” it is rooted in God alone.
Any good that I do is because that goodness came from God. The Bible says, “There is none righteous, no not one.”
As we look to the Lord for help, the Holy Spirit will enable us to BEAR THE FRUIT OF GOODNESS!
Conclusion:
We have looked at:
I. GOD’S GOODNESS
II. MAN’S GOODNESS
