Good and Evil

There are many who say, Who will show us any good? …’  Psalm 4:6

And a ruler asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”  And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone.”  (Luke 18:18-19)  I love the simplicity and clarity that Jesus expressed – he didn’t put anyone or anything equal to God.  Jesus knew what it was to honor and respect his Father.  He didn’t bring him down to the level of man or even himself.  Jesus kept God alone as his standard for good.  If someone had brought up to Jesus about these ‘good’ people here or over there, his answer would have been the same, no one is good except God alone.

How the Bible Guides us on Good and Evil?

It seems that man is often trying to decide or figure out what is good and what is evil – where is the line drawn?  Ever since the time of Eve, when she was tempted by the tree of the ‘knowledge of good and evil,’ the devil telling her that if she ate of it, she would be ‘like God…’ (Genesis 3:1-7) And yet the knowledge of good and evil has never made man like God, but rather it is being born again (new life).  The ‘tree of life’ and the ‘tree of knowledge of good and evil’ were 2 separate trees in the garden of Eden.  So, it is in partaking of the ‘tree of life’ that we receive eternal life.

This is all very much in keeping with what Paul wrote, ‘Not that we dare to classify or compare ourselves with some of those who are commending themselves. But when they measure themselves by one another and compare themselves with one another, they are without understanding.’ (2 Cor 10:12) It is so easy for us to think we understand good and evil by comparing ourselves with others and think that somehow that defines what is good.  Some would even think that the majority of men defines what is good, but Paul wrote, ‘Let God be true though everyone were a liar,…’ (Romans 3:4).  So, no matter how many people see something differently than God, it still doesn’t define good.  God is the definition of good.

In Romans 3:10-12, Paul quoted Psalms 14:1-3 and 53:1-3, ‘“None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.” This may seem like a rather bleak assessment of man, but none the less it is what the record is – no one seeks for God… no one does good!  Paul went on to write that ‘all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.’ (Ro 3:23) If we are honest with ourselves, we come to the conclusion that there have been times and experiences in which we have not sought out God for his direction and help like we should have but have done things according to our own understanding and desires.  So, we have come short of the goodness that we see in God.  Later in Romans Paul writes, ‘For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh.’ (Ro 7:18)

Conclusion

‘Every good gift and every perfect gift are from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.’  (James 1:17) So what good that we have comes from the Father and as we receive it we can have good in us.  Or we can take it a step further, when the Father and Jesus are in us, we will have good and be righteous.  (John 14:23) But any goodness that we have or are will be from and of them, not of ourselves.