GOODNESS

Isaiah 55:3 Come to me with your ears wide open. Listen, and you will find life. I will make an everlasting covenant with you. I will give you all the unfailing love I promised to David.

REVIEW: Cultivate! is about the Fruits of the Spirit written in Galatians.

Week 1: Introduction to the Holy Spirit
Week 2: Love
Week 3: Joy
Week 4: Peace
Week 5: Patience
Week 6: Kindness

This Week: Goodness

THE GOODNESS OF GOD
• If we are to display goodness, then we have to look at the source of goodness.
• God doesn’t ask us to display and live out something that He is not or does not do.
• These fruits come out of His nature and character. God is goodness.

SO WHY IS GOD GOOD?
• Look at all the fruits we have already covered in this series!
• Remember His mercy, which is not giving us something we deserve.
• Remember His grace, which is giving us something we don’t disserve.
• Just look at His love shown on the cross.
• He upholds justice, which is both standing up for what’s right and protecting those who can’t protect themselves.
• He is the Creator of all things that are good.

James 1:17 Whatever is good and perfect is a gift coming down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow.

DEFINITIONS OF GOODNESS:
Goodness is not a mere passive quality, but the deliberate preference of right to wrong, the firm and persistent resistance of all moral evil, and the choosing and following of all moral good.1

The Goodness of God is a perfection of his character which he exercises towards his creatures according to their various circumstances and relations. Viewed generally, it is benevolence; as exercised with respect to the miseries of his creatures it is mercy, pity, compassion, and in the case of impenitent sinners, long-suffering patience; as exercised in communicating favour on the unworthy it is grace. Goodness and justice are the several aspects of one unchangeable, infinitely wise, and sovereign moral perfection. God is not sometimes merciful and sometimes just, but he is eternally infinitely just and merciful. God is infinitely and unchangeably good. and his goodness is incomprehensible by the finite mind. God’s goodness appears in two things, giving and forgiving.2

• So if God is good or goodness, why is there evil?
• Two extremes:

1. I AM GOING TO BE A GOOD PERSON.
• Christians: “I have to be the best person I can be to be accepted and loved.”
• Non-Christians: “I’m a pretty good person.”
• There are no good people. There are people who do good things being in the image of God, but there are no good people.
• We have to remember the definition of Good.
• The Rich Young Ruler (Mark 10:17-22)
o The man was blinded to the impossibility of not being able to fallow the law for salvation.
o So Jesus looked to see something that was impossible for the rich man: giving up his wealth.
o It was a moment designed for the man to go, “I can’t on my own.”
• To turn to a loving savior who would pay the debt that we have…
• The Purpose of the Law (Romans 3:19-24)

2. I AM NOT GOOD, SO…
• “I’m not good, so I can’t be forgiven.”
• Sick people need a doctor. (Mark 2:16-17)
• The Pharisee and the Tax Collector (Luke 18:9-13)

Psalms 51:17 The sacrifice you desire is a broken spirit. You will not reject a broken and repentant heart, O God.

HOW WE DISPLAY GOODNESS

• We can’t display perfect goodness, but we can live out and choose to do goodness to others.
• We don’t try to be good to be saved. We have been saved by His goodness—His righteousness.
• Now, we display goodness because we want to because of our changed heart.
• We be good to others in light of His goodness to us!
• God calls us to be good to all people, to be led by the sprit.

Galatians 6:7-10 7Don’t be misled—you cannot mock the justice of God. You will always harvest what you plant. 8Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful nature will harvest decay and death from that sinful nature. But those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit.9So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up. 10Therefore, whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyone—especially to those in the family of faith.

CLOSE
1. What is standing out to you? What do you need to not miss?
2. Have you been trying to live by your own goodness for salvation or acceptance? Or have you been believing you’re to wretched and sick to be forgiven? Do you need to believe?
3. What did you hear about the goodness of God today? Do you need to stand in faith and God’s word?
4. Do you need Christ?

LIFE GROUP QUESTIONS
1. What stood out to you in the message this week and why?
2. What was going through your mind when the topic of God’s goodness was being talked about?
3. What two extreme that were talked about did you relate to the most and why? (1) “I am going to be a good person.” or (2) “I’m not good, so I can’t be forgiven?”
4. What is a step that you believe you need to take to cultivate and display goodness in your life?
5. What is something that you are learning through this series? So far through this series, what is your number one take away?
6. Read Romans 3:19-24. What do you learn from this verse?
7. Don’t forget to take prayer requests in your group!