I want to be very careful when I write about goodness. We are all aware of what Jesus said in Matthew 19:17: “And (Jesus) said unto him, why call thou me good? There is none good but one, that is, God…” If Jesus would not claim goodness while here, we need to be careful about it ourselves. Yet, one aspect of the fruit of the Spirit is goodness. Jesus was referring to the fact that people are sinners: “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23)While Jesus never sinned, He would still not allow people to call Him good while in the flesh. What Galatians 5:22 is referring to is that people, though sinners all, are capable of doing good, and the Holy Spirit leads us to do good. A quick study of the Greek word (agathos) used for “goodness” here revealed some key words that I will refer to in this post to illustrate what this fruit means.
The first word is generous. I think that everyone would agree that a Christian person should be generous instead of stingy. Our stewardship responsibilities demand us to be generous. One of the basic disciplines of the Christian faith is the tithe. Besides that we are expected as Christians to be generous in giving to causes that help people who cannot help themselves. I agree that we need to be careful that our generosity not be misused, but if in doubt, we should still be generous. We should not just be generous with our finances, but we should also be generous with our time - our lives. We should take the time to do good things for people. We should be generous with our love. We should also be generous with our forgiveness. Remember, the Holy Spirit has given us this fruit; we just need to claim it. The second word is (50 cent word warning) beneficence. A beneficent person is one who does not hesitate to do good, even if it is difficult to do so. The dictionary definition of the word is “the habitual practice of doing good.” Jesus was certainly a beneficent person by this definition. Look at all that Jesus did while on ministry here. At one point, Jesus actually touched a leper in order to heal him. John did not use the word beneficence in 1 John 3:17-18, but he certainly defined it: “But whoso hath this world’s goods, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him. 18. My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and truth.” The third word is virtuous. The dictionary definition of this word is “moral excellence, merit, power or efficacy.” According to this definition there is power in goodness. Efficacy means to “produce the desired effect.” I have always heard that you can draw more flies with sugar than with vinegar. If we want to impress people about life in Christ, it would be efficacious for us to do good. In other words, we are better witnesses for Jesus when we do good than when we do badly, or when we are indifferent about human suffering, or lostness, around us. The Holy Spirit has implanted virtue within us by His presence in our lives. When the woman who had the issue of blood touched the hem of Jesus’ garment, He said that the felt virtue go out of Him. That virtue was the power of His great capacity to do good. We have the power to do good or to do evil. Under the leadership of the Holy Spirit, we should choose to do good. The fourth word is uprightness. An upright person is an honest person who would not think of doing anything dishonest. An upright person is a generous, beneficent, virtuous person that you can trust. One of the greatest compliments that I give to people is that I would buy a used car from them. A person who has the fruit of goodness provided by the Holy Spirit is a trustworthy person that you can depend on in all circumstances. May their tribe increase!!!! Bro. Joe
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AuthorDr. Joe Beauchamp is the author of this blog and website. Categories
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