“For there is not a just man upon the earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not.” Ecclesiastes 7:20
There are actually quite a lot of articles regarding this subject and it did surprise me a little considering how many there were….and yet they all had a very similar content….the ones that I read all seemed to use the same sentences throughout their articles and videos…..
For Example- how you are a better person than you think you are…..traits you are a good person….how to become a good person…..what a good person consist of…. that we all have goodness in us but we must expound upon it and strive to be and do better, but in order to do this we must first realize what we are lacking….
All of them telling and consisting of a trend to get us to believe in ourselves…to make us feel better about who we are…giving credence to what we do…..to love ourselves more. Some of the articles did in fact talk about being humble….but what is humility? What teaches us humility?
These things are becoming/falling under the guise of what other people proclaim is good….and we are living in a time that was foretold that good would become evil and evil would become good.
All because this is what people want to hear….what they want to be told….
“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.” Jeremiah 17-9-10
The ironic thing about all of this; is that humility, goodness, and morals….these come from one place…….all of these, is taught by God ….they did not come from any other being…..or person who became enlightened…or even yourself.
It can only come from one source….because that is the basis of the good in humanity….that is the basis of our laws….our morality….our works…..and our word.
The Lord laid this on my heart because we need to be honest with ourselves and others….because in honesty is truth….in truth is freedom….. in freedom is life…..and in life is Christ Jesus.
If you don’t want to understand the truth, that is your choice; but if you want to understand what a good person truly is, keep reading as I will explain it to you so that you can know the truth and you can face the facts of WHO you really are.
“And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” John 8:32
Do you consider yourself to be a good person?
Most people would make claim that they are a good person….or at least try to be a good person. What do you think is good about yourself? What do you do in order to make claim you are a good person?
Do you do a good job at you work? Do people respect you? Are you trustworthy? Do you help others? Are you giving? Are you compassionate and emphatic? Are you humble? Do you obey the rules and laws? Do you love others? Are you considerate?
If you answered ‘Yes’ to any of these questions….according to society you can be considered a good person…..but look closer at the questions….these are all actions….they are not what makes you a good person…..
You see, we humans can put actions with words; and words with actions. We can make anything we want to be good or bad depending on our emotions….our wants. We can change at a whim what we think should be considered good and what we consider bad because we as a society have taken God out of the picture.
These are all qualities and aspects of us as humans that we have based on goodness….or being good….on. There are people who do not have all of these qualities….does that make them a bad person? I have seen good people do many bad things and vice versa….it is why we cannot know truly good and truly bad because it all comes from within and the only one who knows what is within us is God.
It was God who taught us what we should do to be considered good in others people’s eyes….but even He knows that these deeds will not make us a good person (especially in His eyes). In fact He states there is not one person in the entirety of the world that is good or was good….no, not one….save one….
“And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? none is good, save one, that is, God.” Mark 10:18 & Luke 18:19
Who can be considered a good person?
What constitutes a good person? How do we go about defining what a good person is? I am not talking about good deeds/works….I am talking about what makes a person good? What is considered the path we should take as humans to be good…..good enough in the eyes of others, good enough for this world……or even, good enough for God?
What does society claim is a good person….? What value do we place on people or what people do in order to be considered good….because in all honesty….what some consider good is actually the beginning of evil…..and what some consider bad or evil….is actually good…..
Let’s take a look at what we humans make claim is a good person…..
Definition of a good person
“an honest, helpful, or morally minded person; noble and pure; giver; saint; kind; truthful; compassionate; humble; forgiving; having integrity; having courage; being humane; being polite”
Do you see the answer for how to be a good person in this definition? All of these are actions we can take to proclaim to ourselves and to the world that we are a good person….we do many good things so therefore…..according to what the world sees…we are good….and in our own eyes we can become blinded to the truth……none of these things we do make us a good person…not one of them. They only show we can do good and have good aspects to our character.
The Goodness of God
You can find that all throughout scripture, the Lord teaches aspects and qualities of what a good person looks like to be able to judge a person’s character…..but a person’s character again has nothing to do with being good….it’s about doing good, showing good….
Definition of Character
“the mental and moral qualities distinctive to an individual; a person in a novel, play, or movie; ethical traits in a person; a personality or part which an actor recreates.”
Scripture explains and teaches us how to be a good person…. it is for the showing of the goodness of God in such things….for nothing is good without God…. He made us in His image…..so we all have aspects or qualities of His goodness in us….but that still does not make us good….
We must first understand the goodness of God…..
God is – Forbearing; Longsuffering; Joyful; Peaceful; Gentle; Kind; Faithful; Merciful; Just; Righteous; Holy; Compassionate; Patient; Truthful; Gracious; Forgiving; Empathic; Loving
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.” Galatians 5:22-23
How many people are compassionate but for the wrong things? Is it compassionate to watch people being persecuted for their belief in Christ? Is it compassionate to allow people to believe they will go to heaven when they don’t even believe in God? Is it compassionate to let sin run rampant in our children? Is it compassion that makes people persecute and kill Christians just for their belief and faith in Christ Jesus? Will it be labeled compassion and just when Christians are murdered during the Tribulation?
Is it loving to tell people what they want to hear instead of what they need to hear? Is it loving to not correct people who do bad or wrong things? Is it loving to love oneself more than God?
The point is….this world is not fair…it is not just….it is not compassionate….most of all it is not loving and truthful……Yet look at how many of the people of this world have changed this world under the guise of these aspects?
“For the heart of this people is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes have they closed; lest they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.” Acts 28:27
Let’s take a look at what society claims is good…..
- Compassion means taking from you and giving to others
- Loving is allowing anyone to be what and who they want instead of being how God made them
- Fairness is dividing people by ethnicity
- Truthfulness is what they want it to mean instead of following God
- Faithfulness is being true to yourself and not God
- Kindness is only when you give in and comply to others wants
- Forgiveness only comes when you bow down to the world instead of God
“The pride of thine heart hath deceived thee, thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rock, whose habitation is high; that saith in his heart, Who shall bring me down to the ground?” Obadiah 1:3
Where is the compassion, empathy, love, justice, and the honest truth of Jesus Christ who died for all sins and hung on a cross in the world today?
“I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.” John 10:11
You see, everything is like a two sided coin….where is the line drawn? For too much compassion and empathy can lead many people to Hell. There needs to be a balance…but again this is valued as a human and not as God…
“Most men will proclaim every one of his own goodness: but a faithful man who can find?” Proverbs 20:6
Knowing The Truth
WE must at this time take a hard look at ourselves, at others, at our society, and be very honest…..because only when you are honest and humble about what is good and what is bad can you grow in understanding what the Lord has been teaching and is teaching us all this time.
“For thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I, even I, will both search my sheep, and seek them out.” Ezekial 34:11
True goodness can only come from the heart…..and if God is the only good in this world….our hearts must belong to Him in order to be considered good….in order to belong to Him we must accept Jesus Christ as our Savior….. only thru His righteousness and goodness….can we ever claim to be a good person….because we take on His goodness in our hearts.
“And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take the stony heart our of their flesh, and will give them an heart of flesh.:” Ezekiel 11:19
Only with a renewed heart can we begin to see the truth about ourselves and the perceptions we have about how good and bad we as humans are.
For God searches all our hearts…..it doesn’t matter how many good deeds or works you do….He looks at the inside to see your heart and knows your heart from the beginning….so He knows who is willing to be His…..
“Shall not God search this out? For he knoweth the secrets of the heart.” Psalms 44:21
It is important today and for the time to come to realize that what people make claim is good and of the heart….No matter how much you label something good….if it is evil or bad….God’s goodness and light will always shine on it to show the truth, but in order to see the truth you must have Him as your Savior….
How to show the world the goodness of God in you
As I have grown in knowledge and understanding of the good and the evil of this world, I have begun to see things so much clearer than ever before, (Of course I give all the credit to God for opening my eyes), and I have realized that all those people who make claim they are good have a choice to make…..you either become Christ’s or Satan’s…..
In your choice of who you decide to give your heart to…..that is what makes you ultimately good or bad….let me explain….
If you claim to be a good person and do many good things…then it stands to reason that you can only choose the good side or the goodness of God…you can’t do and be good and choose evil….if you can….then you were never good to begin with…..
Let me be clear…..this is not about sin and sinning….this is about who you are on the inside……I am talking about choosing God or choosing Satan and the world…..
This is why during the critical tribulation time you will have many claiming to be good and doing good for humanity by killing God’s people….’good‘ people will stand by…they will watch torture….they will condone it…..they will participate in it…..and they will have blood on their hands……they will laugh and scorn others….watch people they don’t agree with suffer……all under the guise of being good, and claiming they are good.
We have seen this all thru history and even right now….today….Where is their compassion? Where is their empathy? Where is their fairness?
It’s not there because they are really not good no matter how many good things they show others and do….they want to quite those that hurt their feelings or that make them aware they are lying to themselves and to others……..all because, it’s not in their heart to be good….and to choose good.
People don’t like to be told they aren’t a good person….it makes them feel bad….makes them angry, but that is the whole point…..being a good person doesn’t come by how you feel…..what you see…..or what good deeds you do…..
They do not like to hear they aren’t a good person, because they have placed value on the things they do, and who they think they are….instead of who they should give their heart to…..
The Truest Good we can do
When we as saved people do good it is to show the goodness of God thru us….When the unsaved do good it is to show how good they think they are….and, without Jesus Christ there is no goodness to be found in anything including your heart…..
For only with Christ can we even begin to claim to be the good person He meant for us to be….and that is only because we have chosen Him and His goodness indwells in us.
The greatest gift and the greatest good you can give someone is your witness and testimony of how you have a Savior in Jesus Christ…..When you tell someone about Him and His love….mercy…..grace….and holiness…….when you love them enough to care if they go to Hell or not……That is when we can say we have done a good thing……that we have some goodness in us…..because without Him….being good doesn’t mean anything to anyone….
“Thou therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also. Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.” 2 Timothy 2:1-3
If you are saved be comforted in the fact that we are saved through the blood of Christ Jesus and in doing so we have taken on His goodness and have become good to Him because of our acceptance of His sacrifice…..and in that goodness is when we want to share Him with everyone…..
“For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;” Ephesians 5:9
This is what makes us a good person…..and all those who make claim they are good…..are not good at all…..for they can only become good when they accept Jesus as God and God as their King Forever…..
(The saved will still not claim to be good….because we know that only God is good. I will be the first to tell you that I do not consider myself good at all….except for Jesus….He is all the good that is in me)
If you claim to be a good person at this moment….then you must accept Jesus as Savior….else you cannot claim you are a good person….you will only become good when you accept WHO you really are…..All goodness has to belong to the origin of goodness….it will always be drawn to itself….that is why if you are truly a good person….your heart belongs, or will eventually, belong to the Lord.
“My defence is of God, which saveth the upright in heart.” Psalms 7:10
True goodness cannot stand idly by while evil prevails….it will eventually make you start to see the world as it really is….evil and wicked.
“Having a good conscience; that, whereas they speak evil of you, as of evildoers, they may be ashamed that falsely accuse your good conversation in Christ.” 1 Peter 3:16
I say this to bring awareness to all of us that we need to humble ourselves and realize how not so good we really are…..
“Pray for us: for we trust we have a good conscience, in all things willing to live honestly.” Hebrews 13:18
The truth is when you open your eyes and see yourself for who and what you truly are…you must come to the realization that you can only be a good person…when you have Christ as your Savior…and nothing else can make you good…..No works…..no affirmations….no compassion….no love…..no amount of giving…..ONLY JESUS CHRIST can make you good….because He is good….He is righteous….He is Love…and only with the Love of Christ can you ever understand what goodness really is…..for without Him is no goodness at all.
What is Good according to God?
“For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.” Psalms 100:5
Goodness to God is when we proclaim His righteousness….when we proclaim His sacrifice……when we proclaim His grace…….when we proclaim His goodness……when we proclaim His Truth…..and when we proclaim Him as Lord and King forever
“Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses.” 1 Timothy 6:12
“But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof the ministry. For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought the good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith:” 2 Timothy 4:5-7
Understanding The Word 