“Good job!” It’s nice to hear those words from time to time because we all enjoy being appreciated. But what does it mean to be good? In this context, “good” means adequate. Your work was adequate and gives general satisfaction. But is that actually good? Is good just adequate and mild satisfaction? Or is good something much greater? This confusion about goodness is quite common. For instance, there is a popular Christian song that says this about the Gospel, “It’s not good news; it’s the best news ever.” Clearly, we don’t understand what good is because it literally means the best! This song may sound nice, but it’s semantically and exegetically foolish. The term Gospel means “good news.” Good is better than we think.
What does this have to do with the attributes of God? The Bible says that God is good. Psalm 119:68 says, “You are good and do good.” Is God merely adequate? No, so this means that everything God is and does is perfect and best. His character is morally excellent and pure. His actions are excellent in righteousness and truth without any flaw or falsehood. His ways are righteous (Psa. 145:17). His thoughts are good (Isa. 55:8-9). Only God can truly bear the title of good (Matt. 19:17; Mark 10:18). He lacks no goodness. He has no errors or traces of evil. God is totally and completely good.
“If God is good, then why is there so much evil?” This is probably the most common question when we talk about God’s goodness. The first thing we need to consider with this question is that it assumes two things: 1) Good and evil exist, and 2) One is inherently better than the other. This may seem obvious, but it shouldn’t be overlooked. If this question was asked by an atheist, you could turn it around and say, “Where do good and evil come from? Who decides what is good and evil?” There is no explanation for good and evil besides God. If there is a law, there must be a Lawgiver. And secondly, everyone agrees that good is better than evil. But why? Because it’s good. But who decides if it’s good? God does. You cannot escape the assumption of God in this discussion, and that’s because goodness comes from God. And evil is anything that opposes God.
So then, how can God’s perfect goodness coexist with a wicked world? The simple answer is they can’t coexist forever. God had a plan for evil before it even happened (Eph. 1:3-6). And God has patiently delayed His final defeat of evil for our benefit. 2 Peter 3:1-13 addresses this exact issue. Peter tells us that God is patient for our benefit. One day, He will bring an end to sin and death, but His delay is so that more people can repent and escape His wrath. God’s goodness is seen in the fact that He will eradicate sin and death forever, and at the same time, He is reconciling sinners to Himself.
In the meantime, God’s goodness is not idle toward man’s wickedness. The Bible teaches us that God is the Righteous Judge of all the earth (Gen. 18:25). He will hold the wicked accountable (Eccl. 12:14). Ultimately, His plans for mankind are for His good purpose (Rom. 11:36). That doesn’t mean we always understand what that purpose is. Considering the story of Job, we’re not always given the answer for our pain and suffering. But as Job learned, God is good and will always do what is right even when we don’t see it (Job 42:1-6).
Despite the total depravity of mankind, the amazing truth is God is good to us! God would still be perfectly good if He let us face the consequences of our sins. We’re the ones who choose to do evil. But God graciously chose to redeem us through His Son. That’s why we call it the Good News! God has demonstrated His goodness to us by sacrificing His Son in our place so that we could have eternal life with Him. So praise God for the good news of Jesus Christ. And finally, God promises in Romans 8:28 that He will work all things for good for those who are called according to His purpose. Nothing that we endure is meaningless or random. Everything that we face will be for our good in the end because God is good.