Are you a good person? Take a moment and make this very personal. Ask yourself the question: Am I a good person? If you answer in the affirmative, then follow it up with a second question: What do I base my goodness on? It might help to take pen in hand and write down your answer to that question. Why not stop reading right now long enough to do that.

Now that you have written down your response(s), let’s give some thought to this matter of goodness. The Bible actually makes an alarming assessment of every member of the human family:

They have all turned aside, they have together become corrupt; there is none who does good, no, not one. Psalm 14:3

No one, according to this verse, is good. And yet, we do good things. Even the worst among us can, and does, do good things occasionally. The drunkard, in times of sobriety, does good things for his children. The wife abuser, after a time of severe mental, physical and emotional abuse against his wife, may come back with pleas and cries, begging for forgiveness, promising to never do such an awful thing again. The habitual liar still possesses the ability to speak the truth. Yes, each member of the human family has the potential of doing good things.

And yet, none of us are good. Without assistance from outside of ourselves, we are incapable of doing good. So, what hope do we have of ever being good? What gives us hope to live good lives in light of the fact that the Bible asserts that none are good? It is possible because of what God has accomplished for us through His Son, Jesus Christ.

It is possible because of what God has accomplished for us through His Son, Jesus Christ.

Let’s get back to the question I posed at the outset of this blog: Are you a good person? And let’s suppose for a moment that you answered yes to the question. Your mind may have been instantly flooded with “good” things you have done – and perhaps you could make a rather long list of your good deeds. Now, let’s go a little deeper. Why did you do those “good” things? Was it because you can still hear the voice of your long-departed Mother, who instilled in you teachings about right and wrong, and about how to treat others? Was it because you are striving outwardly to live a “good” life in obedience to the teachings of a precious saint of God who invested his/her life into yours in a child’s Sunday School class? Was it because of a sense of obligation?

Or, was it because you have now inherited true, sincere, genuine goodness through your commitment to the Lordship of Jesus Christ? Do you now do good things because you have had His goodness imputed to you, so now, you do good things because He is doing those things through you?

This is the only sure way for us to be truly good: Jesus Christ living His life through us. It brings us to the point in our lives in which we are no longer doing good things out of duty, or obligation, or to honor the wishes of our parents, or to please our spouse. All of those things may play a part in our “goodness”, but they are not the root cause of that goodness. Jesus Christ is the source, and He deserves all the praise for making it possible that we should bear His likeness as we go about our daily lives. So, let’s let His light shine in us and through us so that others might be able to see our good works and glorify our Father in Heaven!

Until next time:

Blessings!