Sermon
delivered on June 28th, 2015
By: Pastor Greg Hocson
Text: Mark 10:17-22
Introduction
Our Lord, with His disciples were on
their way to Jerusalem, and as they were on the road, a rich young ruler, who
was acquainted with the ministry of Christ, came running to Jesus, knelt before
Him, and asked, Good Master, what shall
I do that I may inherit eternal life? (v17) .
To which our Lord responded, Why callest thou me good? there is none good
but one, that is, God (v18).
Our Lord is not saying, "Why do you call me good, only God is
good, and I am not God, so don't call
Me good." But what He was saying was, "Do you call me good because you recognized
that's who I am?"
The young man had no idea that he was
speaking to the Christ, the Son of the living God, and our Lord wants this man
to carefully consider who He really is.
So, the Lord was not denying His
divine nature but rather, He was affirming it! But this morning, I want us to
explore the relevance of the affirmation that God is good. What exactly is the "goodness of God?"
I - Working definition
of the goodness of God
We often say things like, "Oh, he's a good man." When we say a person is a good man we mean one of two
things: what kind of person he is and what he does for others. We either mean:
that man is a holy man, or that man is kind to others.
But when the goodness of God is set
before us in the Scriptures, most frequently it is speaking of the second
aspect.
A. W. Tozer:
"The
goodness of God is that which disposes Him to be kind, cordial, benevolent, and
full of good will toward men. He is tenderhearted and of quick sympathy ... By
His nature He is inclined to bestow blessedness and He takes holy pleasure in the happiness of
His people."
The goodness of God is His
inclination, His tendency, His fondness to deal well and bountifully with all
His creation. He delights in His works and delights in benefiting them. He
takes great pleasure in bestowing gifts to all His creation. God's nature is to bless and provide for all creation.
The English word God, comes from the
German word for gud which is for good. The name God refers to the divine goodness. The very name
of God reminds us that He is good.
II - The importance on
knowing the goodness of God
What is God like? It's a question that must be answered if we are going to live
the kind of Christian life that glorifies God and live a life that is full of
confidence and faith. Our Christianity will be strong or weak depending on our
concept of God and His goodness.
What is the first thing that usually
happens whenever a dark trial comes into our life? What is the first Satanic
accusation that comes into our mind?
Satan will whisper into our spiritual
ears and say ...
If God were good, why is thing
happening to you? Why did you lose your job? Why did you get sick? Why is your
family going through this? Why did you have this financial problem? Why are you
having this marital problem? Why do you have family problem? If God is good,
why does He allow these things to come into your life? .
Satan tries to tempt us to doubt
God's goodness and we need to understand and believe in the goodness of God. So
that, when dark hours come into our life, you and I have already settled in the
deepest part of our being, that God is good. That even though we do not understand
what is going on, God is good and our circumstances do not affect that reality.
When Satan tempted our first parents,
he attacked on the goodness of God.
Genesis 3:1 Now the
serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had
made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every
tree of the garden? 2: And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the
fruit of the trees of the garden: 3: But of the fruit of the tree which is in
the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall
ye touch it, lest ye die. 4: And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not
surely die: 5: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes
shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.
Do you see what the enemy did? First,
he attacked the Word of God by casting doubt upon the validity of God's
statement, Yeah hath God said...
The next attack was on the character of God.
5: For God doth know
...
It was an attack upon the goodness of
God. What
Satan was saying is, the reason why God forbids you to eat the fruit of the
tree, is because He is withholding something good from you.
Satan will come and say to us, True,
God has given you eyes to appreciate the full spectrum of color, he has given
taste buds to appreciate the full spectrum of all the things He has given for
food, He has given you each other, everything seems to say God is good. But He
is not really good because He has made that tree in the midst of the garden a
no no because He wants to keep you under His thumb.
He knows that there is something for
your good that you can't have unless you eat the fruit of that tree. And it
would be good for you to be like God knowing good and evil. It was an attack
upon the goodness of God, immersed in a sea of God's goodness they believed the
Devil's lie.
What is my prayer and goal this
morning?
My prayer is ... .
Psalm 34:8 O taste and
see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him.
Try and experience it.
This is amazing! God's goodness is something that can be tasted and seen. One of the most amazing things you
can ever experience is a true awakening to the goodness of God. Once you are
awakened to the goodness of God, it changes you. It changes everything. May we
discover how good God really is and His goodness is all around us.
Psalm 33:3 Sing unto
him a new song; play skilfully with a loud noise. 4: For the word of the LORD
is right; and all his works are done in truth. 5: He loveth righteousness and
judgment: the earth is full of the goodness of the LORD.
Psalm 23:6 Surely
goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in
the house of the LORD for ever.
Wherever you go, no matter which
direction you go, you
cannot get away from it, run from it, or hide from it. The goodness of God
shall surely follow you.
How do you taste and see that the
Lord is good?
By putting the matter to the test of
experience. By trusting Him, there is no other way of really knowing how good
God is.
Psalm 34:8 O taste and
see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him.
God also showers blessings on such as
trust in him.
III - Scripture
declares the goodness of God
18: And Jesus said unto
him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God.
Our Lord is asserting two fundamental
truths about God in His response to the rich young ruler.
1.
God is good
There is none good but God. This is a
clear assertion that God is good.
Here are some scriptures declaring
the goodness of God
Psalm 100:4 Enter into
his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto
him, and bless his name. 5: For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and
his truth endureth to all generations.
Psalm 106:1 Praise ye
the LORD. O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: for his mercy endureth
for ever.
Psalm 107:1 O give
thanks unto the LORD, for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.
Psalm 86:5 For thou,
Lord, art good, and ready to forgive; and plenteous in mercy unto all them that
call upon thee.
Nahum 1:6 Who can stand
before his indignation? and who can abide in the fierceness of his anger? his
fury is poured out like fire, and the rocks are thrown down by him. 7: The LORD
is good, a strong hold in the day of trouble; and he knoweth them that trust in
him.
2. Only God is good
18: And Jesus said unto
him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God.
Not only is God good but also He
alone is good. No one shares this attribute. No one but God possesses this
quality or attribute.
We use the word good loosely. We
often say things like, Oh that's a good restaurant; or Good job! Good dog! Good
boy! But when the word "good" is applied to the character of God, it elevates this virtue
to a whole new level! In
the absolute sense, only God is good!
a. Only God is essentially good
He is not only good, but goodness
itself. The
goodness of God and the goodness of man differ, like a pure gold cup differs from a gold-plated cup.
All the goodness there is in any
creature has been imparted from the Creator, but God's
goodness is underived, for it is the essence of His eternal nature. If there is
ever a goodness in you and me, it is because God gave it to us. But with God,
it is His essence. He
is the foundation of goodness and of everything goodHe did not obtain it from another
source.
Psalms 16:1 Preserve
me, O God: for in thee do I put my trust. 2: O my soul, thou hast said unto the
LORD, Thou art my Lord: my goodness extendeth not to thee;
In God there is nothing but goodness;
and our goodness extends not to Him.
A Christian is a good person, but his
goodness is the work of God in him and through him.
He is the source of good.
James 1:17 Every good
gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of
lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.
b. Only God is infinitely good
While a creature's
goodness is limited according to what has been given to it, there is no limit
to the goodness of God.
Psalm 145:7 They shall
abundantly utter the memory of thy great goodness, and shall sing of thy
righteousness.
The creature's
good is but a drop, but in God there is an infinite ocean or gathering together
of good.
Zechariah 9:17 For how
great is his goodness, and how great is his beauty! corn shall make the young
men cheerful, and new wine the maids.
Isaiah 63:7 I will
mention the lovingkindnesses of the LORD, and the praises of the LORD,
according to all that the LORD hath bestowed on us, and the great goodness
toward the house of Israel, which he hath bestowed on them according to his
mercies, and according to the multitude of his lovingkindnesses.
God alone is infinitely good, for His
goodness is boundless and knows no limits.
Romans 2:3 And thinkest
thou this, O man, that judgest them which do such things, and doest the same,
that thou shalt escape the judgment of God? 4: Or despisest thou the riches (wealth) of his goodness and forbearance and
longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?
5: But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath
against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God;
Exodus 34:5 And the
LORD descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name
of the LORD. 6: And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD,
The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant (abounding) in goodness and truth, 7: Keeping
mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that
will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon
the children, and upon the children's children, unto the third and to the
fourth generation.
Psalm 33:4 For the word
of the LORD is right; and all his works are done in truth. 5: He loveth righteousness and judgment: the earth is full of
the goodness of the LORD.
c. Only God is eternally good
Psalm 52:1 Why boastest
thou thyself in mischief, O mighty man? the goodness of God endureth
continually.
God is good, from eternity to
eternity.
James 1:17 Every good
gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of
lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.
d. Only God is immutably good
His goodness is perfect. He is so
infinitely good that He cannot do better. "There is no one holy
like the Lord." (I Sam. 2:2).
His goodness cannot be diminished or
augmented. God is pure, but we are purified. We were once defiled, but God's goodness ever is and ever was in the same fullness.
God is immutably good, from eternity
to eternity, for there can be no change in God. Our Lord affirms the truth that
God alone is infinitely good.
e. Only God is universally good
Psalm 145:9 The LORD is
good to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works (all he has made).
God is good to all, even to those who
do not believe in Him and those who hate Him.
Matthew 5:43 Ye have
heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine
enemy. 44: But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do
good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and
persecute you; 45: That ye may be the children of your Father which is in
heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth
rain on the just and on the unjust.
The LORD is good to all. He has
compassion on all He has made. He is no respecter of persons but makes His sun
to shine on the evil as well as on the good, and sends His rain on the just and
on the unjust. The
sun shines as brightly to the unjust as if they were saints, and the rain
waters their fields as plentifully as if they were perfect men. Then He allows His enemies to live,
He even supplies them with food. Is not this goodness to all?
f. Only God is perpetually good
God is good all the time. God is
always merciful and kind. He always does what is best for us. The Bible says in
...
Psalm 136:1 O give
thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.
Psalm 52:1 Why boastest
thou thyself in mischief, O mighty man? the goodness of God endureth
continually.
I hope you see now why our Lord said
there is none good but God. What He meant was, in the absolute sense, there is
none but God who is absolutely good. Only God is essentially, originally,
infinitely, eternally, immutably, universally, perpetually good. Only God is
good to all, in every way, in every the time.
IV - Closing Thoughts
What does all these say to us? Why
does it matter to know all these things? What should the goodness of God do to
us?
1. It should lead us to
repentance
Why does God continually shows His
goodness even to those who despise Him? .
Romans 2:3 And thinkest
thou this, O man, that judgest them which do such things, and doest the same,
that thou shalt escape the judgment of God? 4: Or despisest thou the riches of
his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness
of God leadeth thee to repentance?
That realizing that He continually
showers us with His goodness, we would be led to repentance.
2. It should increase
and strengthen our faith
Just like our parents who want nothing but good for their children, our Heavenly
Father wants only good for us.
Romans 8:28 And we know
that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are
the called according to his purpose.
However, we should understand that
God's
goodness does not mean we are not going to experience trials and hardship in
life. Many times good can come disguised as adversity or hardship, but God can
use difficulties for our good.
3. It should stir us to
praise God
Psalm 107
1: O give thanks unto
the LORD, for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.
8: Oh that men would
praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children
of men!
As the goodness of God is set before
us in the Scriptures, may our hearts run out with intelligent praise to God for His infinite goodness and may we
trust Him more and more in our lives, individually and corporately.
Amen!