Is God Good?
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Humanity is constantly looking for ways to argue that God is not good, despite His assertion of His own character. There are thousands of pieces of media, content, literature, and stories where God is framed as the bad guy, as the oppressor, as the one who must be humbled or defeated. In these narratives, the deity is not good, humanity is.
Many atheists or agnostics argue that even if God exists, an all-powerful being that allows bad things to happen cannot be good. Still more argue they believe in a god or gods, but that goodness is subjective.
When God gave us His Word and told His story to humanity through the Bible, He asserted His goodness, as well as His right to judge the world for its lack of goodness. In fact, God lays claim to righteousness, one step above moral goodness, and demonstrates His moral perfection by pouring out a part of His power and living a human life alongside His creation. God handed down His law to define good and evil, but then lived out true goodness, and will ultimately use that perfect life to rightly judge the world for its evil.
What Is Truth?
When Jesus was being tried, the difference between God’s way and the world’s way became incredibly evident. Jesus, speaking as the King of the Jews and the one who gave Pilate his authority said, “For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world — to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice” (John 18:37b).
The Lord asserted there is such a thing as objective truth, that He defines it, and that people seeking truth recognize that He has it. Pilate gave a quintessential Roman response, but one that would resonate with many people in the 20th and 21st centuries, “What is truth?” (John 18:38b).
For there to be goodness, there must be truth. Following the logic of Pontius Pilate, and many contemporary philosophers like Friedrich Nietzsche, Michel Foucault, or Hilary Putnam, if truth is relative to the individual and their context, then what one defines as “good” is also relative. In this worldview, language becomes the tool through which a thought, attitude, or action can be justified as good or evil, and the person with the better argument, or the bully with the biggest ability to subdue those who disagree, becomes the arbiter of truth, and therefore goodness.
In order to establish what goodness is, it is then essential to determine if one can define goodness based on an unfluctuating, objective definition rooted in truth. Jesus said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). When He spoke to Pilate, the Lord affirmed there is objective truth, and that people can know it. Jesus defined Himself as the source of truth, as well as one with the Father and the Spirit. If Jesus, and therefore God, can lay claim to absolute truth, then it is His definition of goodness that ultimately matters, since it is His right to define it as the arbiter of truth.
What Is Good According to the Bible?
Goodness in the Bible can be summarized in the teachings of Christ which expanded on the shema;
“And he said to him, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets’” (Matthew 22:37-40).
Goodness is directly related to one’s relationship with God, and with others.
Below are some verses that give insight into what “good” is according to the Bible
“He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” (Micah 6:8).
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law” (Galatians 5:22-23).
“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things” (Philippians 4:8).
Is God Good?
So, if goodness is the opposite of evil, presenting in selflessness and a right walk with God, is God Himself good? He must be in order to have the right to define goodness, which He does throughout the Bible. Beyond the ability to define goodness, God also has the right to define and judge evil. When God condemned a people group, particularly in the Old Testament, it is always because they set themselves against Him, His people, His law, and His will. If He is the source of goodness and righteousness, those opposed to Him are His enemies and have given themselves over to the dominion of evil.
Bible verses affirming the goodness of God include, but are not limited to:
“The Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. The Lord is good to all, and his mercy is over all that he has made” (Psalm 145:8-9).
“The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; he knows those who take refuge in him” (Nahum 1:7).
“And as he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him and asked him, ‘Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?’ And Jesus said to him, ‘Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother’” (Mark 10:17-19).
“Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures” (James 1:16-18).
God’s goodness is proved through multiple actions including:
- He created mankind out of love.
- God created a way for people to repent after they sinned.
- Jesus - one person of the Triune God - died on the cross as a substitution, taking on the death of sinners even though He was sinless.
- He has kept His promises to the nation of Israel for millennia.
- He has promised to forgive all the sins of anyone who asks for it.
- He has promised eternity with Him for everyone who accepts the free offer of salvation and forgiveness of sins.
If God Is Good, What Is Evil?
Because God is the source of goodness, and His very nature is good, evil is that which sets itself in opposition to God. It is not just things that are sad or bad. For example, a predatory animal is not held liable for murder because it kills a prey animal to consume. That action is a by-product of a fallen world, but it is not sinful. A child accidentally pushing into another child is not sinful, but a child willfully pushing another one is. Evil, sin, and wickedness all come from the desire to set oneself against God, either by ignoring Him, replacing Him, or defying Him. All people have done these things in some way.
The Bible defines evil in some of the following verses:
“There are six things that the Lord hates, seven that are an abomination to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that make haste to run to evil, a false witness who breathes out lies, and one who sows discord among brothers” (Proverbs 6:16-19).
“The fear of the Lord is hatred of evil. Pride and arrogance and the way of evil and perverted speech I hate” (Proverbs 8:13).
“For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed” (John 3:20).
“Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls” (James 1:21).
The Bible makes it clear that all have sinned and fallen short of the goodness - and glory - of the Lord (Romans 3:23), so everyone participates in sin and evil on some level. No one is good enough to be better than God. Only Jesus, who is God, lived a sinless life, and that is why “...the Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son,” (John 5:22). It is possible for people to become more like God, and to become better.
How Can I Be Good?
As long as someone is living in their earthly body, that person will experience temptation, will stumble and sin, and will enjoy things they should not. If that person goes their whole life without turning to God and asking for forgiveness, they will have to answer for the bad they have done on the Day of Judgment. The Judge will be Jesus Christ, who did live a sinless life.
If, however, a person repents of their sins, confesses with their mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believes in their heart that God raised him from the dead, they will be redeemed. God forgives them forever, and that person is sealed by the Holy Spirit so that when the Day of Judgment comes, they are not judged for the evil they did.
Over the course of that Christian’s life, the Holy Spirit will guide, convict, and lead that person through a process of sanctification, where they become more Christ-like, more good, until they die or until Jesus returns for His church to rule and reign. The people who accept Jesus will not only become good, but they will live forever with God.
To accept Jesus as Lord and Savior, the Bible says the following:
1. Romans 3:23, "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God."
2. Romans 6:23, "For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."
3. Romans 5:8, "but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."
4. Romans 10:9, "because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved."
5. Romans 5:1, "Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ."
God is so good that He made it possible for the very people who rejected Him, who crucified His Son, and who still mock Him to be changed and spend eternity with Him. God’s love for all people is the ultimate proof of His goodness.
Sources
Alcorn, Randy. If God Is Good Faith in the Midst of Suffering and Evil. Colorado Springs: Multnomah Books, 2014.
Eldredge, John. The Utter Relief of Holiness How God’s Goodness Frees Us from Everything that Plagues Us. New York: eBook, 2013.
Tingblad, Matthew and Joshua McDowell. Why Did God Do That? Discovering God’s Goodness in the Hard Passages of Scripture. Eugene: Harvest House Publishers, 2023.
Photo credit: ©Getty Images/Thomas Jackson
Bethany Verrett is a freelance writer who uses her passion for God, reading, and writing to glorify God. She and her husband have lived all over the country serving their Lord and Savior in ministry. She has a blog on graceandgrowing.com.