Good, Goodness, and Getting into Heaven

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control." Galatians 5:22

I'm a big fan of the Fruit of the Spirit. I know that's a weird thing to say. What Christian isn't? But I really enjoy studying it and praying over it. Today I was thinking about it, and goodness popped out at me. Usually I think about the first bit--love, joy, peace, and patience. I often pray for those, seek those, and wish those upon others. Goodness I never give much thought to. But, in my opinion, it might be the most difficult one to understand. It's kind of vague isn't it? I mean, how often do we use the word good? All the time! "How are you?" "I'm good." "How was your trip?" "It was good." "This burger is so good!" "Good game!" "Good morning!" And the examples could go on and on. So what does it mean to have goodness? And while I was wondering this, I started to think about the claim, or complaint, people often have about "getting into heaven." I've heard many people say, "I don't know if he was a Christian, but he was a really good person. I'm sure he's in Heaven now." Other people, who have heard that you can only go to Heaven through Jesus, have gotten angry and argued that claim with, "If God is so good, how can he send good people to Hell just because they don't believe in Jesus?" And I think the answer to both of these questions, regarding fruit of the spirit and getting to Heaven, can be answered by carefully considering and studying what the word "good" or "goodness" actually means. So, that's what I did.

First of all, the English word good actually stems from the word god. There's a reason for this. The Online Etymology Dictionary (www.etymonline.com) gives us some definitions of good. Some of these include right, suitable, fulfilling expectation and purpose, bringing about a benefit or blessing towards another, holy, and Godly. So, if you think about it, when you say something is good, you usually mean that it is satisfying; it fulfilled it's purpose or your expectation of it. If you say a vacation was good, you mean that you expected it to be a certain way (fun, relaxing, etc...) and it met those expectations. If you've found a good doctor, you mean that the doctor fulfills the purpose and expectations held for that job description. Makes sense. Now the benefit or blessing part makes sense, too. A "good person" is usually someone who does nice things, tries not to be hurtful towards others, and helps people. Most of us think of that when we say someone is "good." These people are benefitting or blessing others by their actions. Okay, next up--holy, Godly, or "of God." The actual origin of "Good day" or "Good morning" meant "God be with ye." So, it was as if you were saying "God be with you this day/morning/night/evening, etc..." The phrase "my goodness!" or "Oh, goodness!" was actually started to replace the word "God" so as not to use His name in vain. Does it make it right? That's another discussion! More examples..."the good book" is the Bible, or more specifically The Holy Bible. Bible is latin for "book." So, "the good book" is actually a trasnlation of "The Holy Bible;" it's not just saying it's a decent read! "Gospel" is actually translated as "good news." You may have also heard of "good tidings." This is all refering to the announcement of the salvation through Jesus and the coming kingdom of God. In other words, the news of God.

Okay, so we have a solid idea of what the word "good" means and how it's often used. So, then, what does it mean to have "goodness" as part of the Fruit of the Spirit? In other words, what does it mean to be a "good" person in the eyes of God? Well, it means to be God-like. To have the qualities and characteristics of God. To be Holy. To benefit and bless others. And to be exceptable and pleasing to God, fulfilling His purpose for you in His kingdom. And what are these characteristics of God? Well, it's the rest of the Fruit of the Spirit: "love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control." I've found in my studies and talks with God, that the Fruit of the Spirit is one thing. My pastor once explained this saying, "that's why Paul says 'the fruit of the Spirit is' not 'the fruits of the Spirit are.'" This means you can't have one without having them all. It's a package deal. They're all connected and you can't fully understand one without considering another. We've all heard "love is patient, love is kind..." Paul uses patience and kindness to describe love. And in the same way, I would use all the other fruits to describe goodness. So, to have goodness is to have all these other fruits--the attributes of God himself. It also means to be holy. In order to be holy we must have the Holy Spirit living within us. We only have this because Jesus came and died on the cross. He did this not only to cover our sin and save us from death, but to give us the Holy Spirit so that we have a living God inside of us, growing fruits and working in our lives. So, the Holy Spirit inside of us (meaning, we are Christians) is what grows goodness within us. Good people bless and benefit others. They are kind, loving, and patient towards others. You cannot be good without these actions because it's part of what being good is. This is why faith without works is dead, but I digress... And lastly, if you have goodness you are meeting the standards of God. You are exceptable to Him and are fulfilling His purpose for you. God's standards are nothing short of perfection. His standards are for you to be like Him.

This brings me to my next point. Why do "good" people go to Hell? Well, the short answer is--they don't. But if you know me, you know I'm going to give you the long answer, too! Bearing in mind what we just discussed as the definition of goodness, we have to recognize the impossibility of it. We all know that humans aren't perfect. We're definitely not like God. We sin, we make mistakes, we have impure thoughts and desires. We're not always going to exhibits all those other fruits. We become angry, we're unkind, we lose self-control, we're demanding, greedy, and impatient. The list of our imperfections goes on and on. No one can claim to be completely perfect by their own will. But these are the standards that God has set for going to Heaven. You must be like Him! You thereby must be perfect! But we can't be. That's why we need Jesus. Jesus has interceded for us and taken the wrath of God for us. Now justice for our sins has been met. It's just that we aren't being punished for them, Jesus was. As a saved Christian, we have the Holy Spirit living in us. The Holy Spirit grows the Fruit of the Spirit in us and it becomes evident in our lives. This is where the goodness comes in. God lives within us, growing us towards perfection. We are forgiven for the mistakes and we're being pushed towards the standard of perfection, always growing closer and closer. Growing in goodness is becoming more and more spiritually mature--that is, more and more like God. To have goodness is to have the other fruits of the Spirit, and to be actively fulfilling our purposes by building and benefitting the Kingdom of God. We are gaining His holiness, thereby meeting His expectations of perfection and being truly "good." So, if that's what it means to be good, then if you aren't a Christian, if you don't believe in Jesus as the risen savior, if you don't have the Holy Spirit living in you and working in you, then you are NOT good.

Now, people may be good by the world's standards. The world's standards are far lower than God's. We're okay with lying, cheating, sexual immorality, alcoholism, drug addictions, and so on. We may say someone is good because they always seem nice. Or they may even be involved in charities and help a bunch of people. But without Jesus, they simply are not good enough. Good enough for the world maybe, but not for God. And Galatians 6:7 says, "Do not be deceived. God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows." If people got into Heaven based on our standards of goodness it would be like saying it doesn't matter what God wants or believes. We think it's good enough so we're coming on in! No. We cannot mock God. When it comes down to it, He is more powerful and greater than any of us. His standards are perfection and that's what counts. And since none of us fallen creatures are capable of perfection, we can only get to Heaven through Jesus. And while this may anger some, let me assure you, this is GOOD news! He has saved us from our helpless states and is giving us eternal life through Jesus! Let us rejoice and embrace that love and mercy and grace! Hallelujah! God IS good; and He is growing goodness in me! And through the blood of Christ I am going to heaven! Amen!