Grace in Galatians (Part 186) – What Does It Mean To “Do Good”?

https://youtu.be/cMW3W1dDehE?si=SM6_peq29Swv5xYM

Today, we continue our focus on THE YEAR OF DISCOVERY, as we learn to maintain our posture of faith after God has revealed His plans for our future.

As part of this series, I am teaching a verse-by-verse exposition of the book of Galatians.

Key scriptures for this year:

2 Peter 3:18 GNT“But continue to grow in the grace and in the knowledge of our Savior, Jesus Christ. To Him be glory now and forever.”

Luke 10:20 Mirror“It’s time for you to rediscover who you are from Heaven’s perspective.”

1 John 3:10 Mirror“There is a very visible and vast difference between living one’s life from your God identity or from a fallen man’s mindset.”

Proverbs 25:2 NKJV“It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, but the glory of kings is to search out a matter.”

Jeremiah 29:13 NIV“You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”

Scripture we will study today:

Galatians 6:10 NIV“Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.”

Galatians 6:10 TPT“Take advantage of every opportunity to be a blessing to others, especially to our brothers and sisters in the family of faith!”

Supporting scriptures:

Genesis 1:31 AMPC“And God saw everything that He had made, and behold, it was very good (suitable, pleasant) and He approved it completely. And there was evening and there was morning, a sixth day.”

Mark 10:18 TPT“‘Why would you call me good?’ Jesus answered. ‘Only God is truly good, and no one else.'”

Isaiah 5:20 AMPC“Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!”

Galatians 5:22-23 TPT“But the fruit produced by the Holy Spirit within you is divine love in all its varied expressions: joy that overflows, peace that subdues, patience that endures, kindness in action, a life full of virtue, faith that prevails, gentleness of heart, and strength of spirit. Never set the law above these qualities, for they are meant to be limitless.”

Acts 10:38 NIV“How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him.”

Romans 12:2 TPT“Stop imitating the ideals and opinions of the culture around you, but be inwardly transformed by the Holy Spirit through a total reformation of how you think. This will empower you to discern God’s will as you live a beautiful life, satisfying and perfect in his eyes.”

Setting the Stage:

After spending three weeks on Galatians 6:9, we have spent the entire week on Galatians 6:10. Monday, we took our first look at the verse, seeking to understand what God wants us to do while we wait on Him. Tuesday, we walked with Joseph through every room God put him in, where he was DOING GOOD. On Wednesday, we walked with David through the harp, the cave, and the songbook. We have spent three days, and we have taken three angles on the same verse. Today, before we move on to verse 11, I want to do something different. I want to slow down and define a word because Paul gave us the assignment in one short phrase. “Let us do good.” Most believers nod and move on like everybody knows what that means. Everybody does NOT know what that means. The world has been redefining the word “good” for thousands of years, and most of us have absorbed the world’s definition without ever checking it against the Bible.

Ask the average person on the street what “good” means, and you will hear words like nice, pleasant, polite, agreeable, comfortable, kind, and sweet. Ask a teenager, and you will hear “fine” or “whatever you want.” Ask a politician, and good means whatever helps them get re-elected. Ask Hollywood, and good means whatever sells tickets. This word has come to mean almost nothing. But when Paul wrote it, under the unction of the Holy Spirit, he had God’s Kingdom in mind.

Biblical “good” and cultural “nice” are not the same thing. Sometimes they overlap. Many times they don’t. Jesus turned over tables in the temple, and that was good. Jesus called the Pharisees a brood of vipers, and that was good. Jesus walked away from a needy crowd to go pray, and that was good. None of those things were “nice” by the modern definition. All of them were good by the Kingdom’s definition. Before you can obey Galatians 6:10, you have to know what the word means. 

Genesis 1:31 AMPC says, “And God saw everything that He had made, and behold, it was very good (suitable, pleasant) and He approved it completely.” That is the FIRST place the word “good” shows up in your Bible. And it shows up in the mouth of God, evaluating creation. Good was defined by God before any human ever opened their mouth to use the word. That is the floor we are starting on. Let’s go!

So, what does this mean for you today? A few things.

1. Good Is Defined By God, Not By Culture.

The very first time the word “good” appears in the Bible, God is the one using it. Read Genesis 1. Six times in that chapter, God evaluates what He has made and pronounces it “good.” Verse 4. Verse 10. Verse 12. Verse 18. Verse 21. Verse 25. Then in verse 31, He looks at the whole thing and says it is “very good.” Before any human ever opened their mouth to define the word, God already defined it. Good is what God says is good. Good is what God approves. Good is what aligns with His nature, His Word, and His will. That means you and I do not get a vote on the definition. We get to discover what God already declared, and we get to align with it. Mark 10:18 puts a period on this. Jesus said, “Only God is truly good, and no one else.” If only God is truly good, then God is the only One qualified to say what good is. That is not me being legalistic. That is me being Biblical. 

How this applies to you:

— The world will tell you that good is whatever feels right in the moment, whatever makes the most people happy, or whatever aligns with the latest cultural trend. That is not Biblical good. 

— Isaiah 5:20 AMPC says, “Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil.” That verse is not just about ancient Israel. It is a warning to every generation that wants to redefine the dictionary God already wrote. The labels matter. Stop letting culture switch the labels on your heart.

— I want you to imagine showing up to a math test and being told you can pick whatever answers feel right to you. The teacher hands you the test, smiles, and says, “However you feel today is correct.” You would walk out shaking your head. And yet that is exactly how the modern world treats the word “good.” The right answer is the right answer regardless of how you feel about it.

— We live in a society today that doesn’t like the words right or wrong because they want people to define right as however they feel. No matter how much the culture drifts away from God’s standard, God’s standard remains the same. 

— Some of you have been calling something good that God never called good. And some of you have been calling something hard that God already called good. Both are dangerous. Get back to the Bible and let the Author redefine the words for you.

— Romans 12:2 TPT tells us to stop imitating the ideals of the culture around us and to be inwardly transformed so that we can “discern God’s will as you live a beautiful life, satisfying and perfect in his eyes.” Discernment of good starts with renewing your mind. The mind that follows culture cannot recognize what God is calling good.

— I have learned in three decades of preaching the gospel that one of the greatest disciplines a believer can develop is the discipline of asking, “Father, is this pleasing in your sight?” In other words, “Is this good to YOU?” Just asking that simple question and hearing from the Holy Spirit will keep us in alignment with God’s best.

— In THE YEAR OF DISCOVERY, discover that good is not a word you get to define. It is a word you get to discover from the One who is good.

— If you learn to make God’s standard your standard and if you align your soul (your mind, the way you think, the way you feel, and the way you make decisions) with God and his word, then you will be in alignment with heaven, and you will experience heaven on earth. 

— Chasing the culture’s moving definition is exhausting for believers, and it causes you to be wishy-washy in God’s eyes. God’s definition is fixed. Stop running the wrong race.

2. Good Is Sometimes Nice, Sometimes Hard, But It Is Always Right.

Don’t confuse “nice” with “good.” The two words are not interchangeable. Nice is about how something feels in the moment. Good is about whether it is right in the long run. A parent who never says no to a child is nice. That same parent is not always good. A doctor who tells you to stop eating the food that is killing you is not nice. That doctor is good. A pastor who avoids preaching the parts of the Bible that make people uncomfortable is nice. That pastor is not faithful. Good is sometimes warm, gentle, and easy. And good is sometimes hard, costly, and uncomfortable. Look at the life of Jesus. He healed the sick, fed the hungry, blessed the children, and raised the dead. That was good. He also turned over tables, called out hypocrites, walked away from manipulative crowds, and rebuked Peter to his face. THAT was also good. The same Jesus did both. Because Biblical good is not always nice. Biblical good is always RIGHT.

How this applies to you:

— Some of you have been confusing avoidance with kindness. You have been calling silence “love” because confrontation feels uncomfortable. That is not love. That is fear. Love speaks the truth. Good speaks up.

— The most loving thing you can do for somebody you love is sometimes the hardest thing you can do for them. A boundary is good. A “no” is good. A correction in love is good. Anybody can be sweet. It takes a Kingdom man or Kingdom woman to be good when good costs something.

— Hebrews 12:6 says the Lord disciplines those He loves. Discipline is not the absence of love. Discipline IS love. Your Father is good even when His goodness comes wrapped in something that makes you uncomfortable.

— I want you to imagine a friend who only ever tells you what you want to hear. He never pushes back. He never disagrees. He nods and smiles at every idea you have. That friend is not good. A truly good friend will love you enough to tell you the truth, even when the truth costs the friendship.

— Sometimes the good thing is the courageous thing. Sometimes the good thing is the unpopular thing. Sometimes the good thing will cost you. But pay the price. Heaven is keeping receipts!

— I have had to make hard decisions in my professional career, in marriage, in raising children, and in leading ministry. The decisions that looked the hardest in the moment were almost always the most good in the long run. Good plays the long game. Nice plays the short one.

— In THE YEAR OF DISCOVERY, discover that the most loving thing you can do for the people God put in your life is to be Biblically good with them, even when Biblical good is not culturally nice.

3. Good Is Fruit Of The Spirit, Not Performance Of The Flesh.

Now we have to talk about WHERE the good actually comes from. Galatians 5:22-23 lists the fruit of the Spirit, and right in the middle of that list is the word “goodness.” Goodness is FRUIT. That word is everything. Fruit grows from the inside out. Fruit is the natural expression of a healthy tree. You do not strain to produce fruit. You stay connected to the source, and fruit happens. Jesus said it like this in John 15. Abide in the vine, and the vine produces the fruit through you. Apart from Me, you can do nothing. That is huge for understanding Galatians 6:10. Paul is not telling you to suffer your way into doing good. He is telling you to live so connected to the Spirit that goodness becomes the natural overflow of your life. 

How this applies to you:

— The good you do is not supposed to feel like a workout. It is supposed to feel like a fruit tree dropping apples in season. When the inside is right, the outside takes care of itself.

— Some of you have been wearing yourself out trying to BE good. Stop. Goodness is not a behavior you generate. It is the fruit you bear. Stay connected to Jesus, and the goodness will show up on its own.

— Mark 10:18 says only God is truly good. So if goodness is a fruit of the Spirit, then the goodness flowing through you is literally God’s goodness wearing your skin. You did not manufacture it. He did. You are just the branch the apple is hanging on.

— I want you to picture a fruit tree trying to “perform” being a fruit tree. Imagine the tree straining, sweating, and grunting to push out an apple. Ridiculous, right? The healthy tree does not strain. It just stays planted, gets watered, soaks up the sun, and bears fruit in its season. Same principle for you and me.

— Religion says, “Try harder.” Grace says, “Stay connected.” These are two different operating systems.

— John 15:5 TPT says, “As you live in union with me as your source, fruitfulness will stream from within you.” Read that one again. Fruitfulness STREAMS. That is the language of overflow, not effort. 

— I learned a long time ago that when I preach, I should preach out of my overflow. I don’t preach things that I just studied, because then I would be preaching from my head. I just preach out of my overflow so that the ministry flows from my heart.  

4. Good Looks Like Jesus.

If you ever want to know what Biblical good looks like in practice, stop guessing and just look at Jesus. Acts 10:38 TPT gives you Jesus’ resume in two sentences. “How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him.” Jesus went about doing good! That was the rhythm of His life. He got up in the morning. He went off to pray. He got His orders from headquarters. Then He came back to His guys and said, “Let’s go.” Sometimes He healed. Sometimes He taught. Sometimes He blessed. And sometimes He confronted what needed to be confronted. Sometimes He walked into a room full of sick people and only healed one, then walked away. Was that good? YES, because He was being led by the Holy Ghost. Doing good is not a formula. Doing good is doing whatever pleases the Father, however He leads you, whenever He leads you.

How this applies to you:

— You do not have to wonder what good looks like. Open the Gospels and read the red letters. Jesus is the playbook. Watch how He treated people. Then go and do the same.

— The rhythm of Jesus’ life was simple. He got up in the morning. He went off to pray. He got His orders from headquarters. He came back and told His guys, “Let’s go.” That same rhythm is available to you and me every single day.

— Jesus was led by the Holy Ghost in everything He did. Sometimes that meant going against the culture of the time. Sometimes it meant addressing things that were not convenient to address. Sometimes it meant saying things that infuriated the religious crowd. But He did it anyway, because He was led by the Spirit, not by what people wanted to hear.

— I want you to ask yourself a question today. “In this situation, what would Jesus actually do?” Not what would the culture do. Not what would feel safest. Not what would be most convenient. What would JESUS do. Then go and do that.

— Let me give you a real example from my life. I am in my office, doing business for Inspired Solutions, and I am on a video call with somebody I am trying to get a contract from. The Holy Ghost says, “Pray for her.” Now, I just met this lady a few minutes ago. It would be more convenient to just say “okay, bye” and hang up the call. But that is not good. At the risk of looking foolish, I say, “Excuse me, I know we just met, but I just feel led to pray for you. Can I pray for you?” That is doing good. Doing good is doing anything that is pleasing in God’s sight, however He leads you, whenever He leads you.

— Acts 10:38 also says God had made His home in Jesus. The same God now makes His home in you. Same Spirit. Same power. Same Father. Same anointing to do good. The Christ in you is fully equipped to do the same kind of good Jesus did.

— In THE YEAR OF DISCOVERY, discover that the standard for good has a face, a name, and a Gospel. It is Jesus. Live like Him, and you will obey Galatians 6:10 by default.

That’s enough for today.

Declaration of Faith:

Father, I thank You that You are good, Your mercies endure forever, Your Word is good, and Your Spirit is good!

I refuse to call evil good and good evil, and I refuse to let the world rewrite the dictionary You already wrote!

I do not confuse “nice” with “good,” and I do not call silence love when love is supposed to speak the truth!

I am willing to do the hard good when nice is not enough, because Biblical good is always right, even when it is not always easy!

The good I do is fruit of Your Spirit, not performance of my flesh, and I refuse to white-knuckle what You designed to overflow!

I am so in sync with You that goodness streams from me naturally. I am not trying to make it happen. I just minister out of my overflow!

I receive my orders from headquarters today, and I will do whatever You tell me to do, however You tell me to do it, whenever You tell me to do it!

I will love people enough to tell them the truth, even when it is inconvenient and even when it is uncomfortable!

I look to Jesus as the standard for good, and I walk as He walked, talk as He talked, serve as He served, and love as He loved!

I am living in THE YEAR OF DISCOVERY, I am Living THE GRACE LIFE, and GREATER IS COMING FOR ME!

I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name. Amen!

This is Today’s Word. Apply it and prosper!