The True Goodness

by Christopher Hendrix

One of the most overused words in the English language is ‘good.’ Our days are good. Our kids are doing good. Our jobs and homes are good. That Roman Carbonara was good. Her dress looks good. Good, good, good. We even use the word to remove the harshness of a description. For example, “That restaurant was good, but…” Good is not great, and it’s certainly not the best. It’s just, well, good. It’s no wonder that most people classify themselves as good. They know they aren’t perfect. They know they make mistakes. But they aren’t bad. So, they are good. However, the Bible removes this cultural lie and reveals that good is an excellent word. In fact, its superiority is seen in that only God is described as good. No one else lays claim to this description (Luke 18:19). 

Not one person can claim this descriptor because every person has transgressed the law of God. This is the definition of sin. James 2:8­­­–13 teaches that a failure in one point of the law breaks the entire law. As the whole window shatters when a baseball hits one spot, so does one sin break the law. That ‘little’ lie told the other day shows that you’ve transgressed the law. That look of lust broke the entire law. That theft at two years old made me a transgressor of the law. As James says, we are guilty of the whole law by breaking one point of it. No one is good except the Giver of the Law.

Watch Pastor Chris Hendrix’s sermon on James 2:8­­­–13.

But, the Giver of the law also gave Himself to His children. Though every person is not good, the God-man gave salvation to some. This salvation came through His perfect life—the only truly good human—and gave His church an ideal righteousness. This perfect righteousness enabled God’s people to truly call themselves good. In fact, the Scriptures call us holy ones (Eph. 4:12). We weren’t good, but the Good God saved us.

He was able to do this because He is the source of goodness. He is not only the source but the very definition of good. His law represents this very fact. When we read the law of God, we are reading about Him. We are understanding and learning His nature and how He works. Everything bound up in the Scriptures screams of His goodness. Only God lays claim to being good.

We may not be able to escape our culture’s use of good. However, let us remember that only One is truly good. No person or part of creation can compare to God. One look at His law reminds us of His goodness and shows us that we are far from good. Even more, the glance at the law points us to the need for goodness not sourced in ourselves but only in the Triune God. He is the true goodness.