How can people do good?

[kenblogton]

In Matthew 19:17, Mark 10:18 and Luke 18:19, Jesus tells us no one is good but God. Isaiah 64:6 explains that “All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away.” How can that be – what about all the good stuff we do – how can that be like filthy rags?
If all the good stuff we do is like filthy rags, how can people do good?
kenblogton

[dseusy]

Great Question!

I think it depends on your perspective... from the world's perspective, people do good things all the time: serving someone, giving to someone, helping someone in need, etc.

To God, "good" is truly good. There is no one good but God. Anything less than perfect would cease to be good because at some moment there would be less than good, or more accurately, evil. Love NEVER fails. If your love ever fails, it doesn't match the description of true love. As I have applied God's commands to my life I have found myself falling short and my love very weak.

God doesn't look at the outward appearance- He looks at the heart and the motives. Why are you doing these "good" things? You may think you are doing it for a good reason, but ask "Why?" five times and see if you can discover what is at the root.

God's standard is true righteousness as described by His law. Why did He give us the law?

[Paidion]

In this very passage, Isaiah writes that God meets him who joyfully works righteousness and who remembers His ways (vs5). So obviously Isaiah believed that a person could work righteousness. If we read the whole passage, we might understand the verse you quoted from it:

4 From of old no one has heard or perceived by the ear, no eye has seen a God besides you, who acts for those who wait for him.

5 You meet him who joyfully works righteousness, those who remember you in your ways. Behold, you were angry, and we sinned; in our sins we have been a long time, and shall we be saved?

6 We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment. We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.

7 There is no one who calls upon your name, who rouses himself to take hold of you; for you have hidden your face from us, and have made us melt in the hand of our iniquities. (Isaiah 65:4-7 ESV)

He said also in verse 5. "Behold, you were angry, and we sinned; in our sins we have been a long time and shall be saved?" So they were NOT working righteousness. Like so many sinners today, they did something good to try to make up, at least to some extent, for their sin, but Isaiah saw all these righteous deeds as "filthy rags" or as "a polluted garment" in God's sight because they had not yet truly repented. Isaiah knew that God wanted consistent and persistent righteousness.

It's a bit like the sacrifices which the Israelites offered to God to try to appease Him. But God didn't accept their sacrifices. God wanted them to "learn to do good" as becomes obvious from the following verses from Isaiah 1. So it was clearly possible for peope to do good—even prior to Christ's death which made available the enabling grace of God (Titus 2:11-14).

4 Ah, sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, offspring of evildoers, children who deal corruptly! They have forsaken the LORD, they have despised the Holy One of Israel, they are utterly estranged.

11 “What to me is the multitude of your sacrifices? says the LORD; I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams and the fat of well-fed beasts; I do not delight in the blood of bulls, or of lambs, or of goats.

13 Bring no more vain offerings; incense is an abomination to me. New moon and Sabbath and the calling of convocations—I cannot endure iniquity and solemn assembly.
14 Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hates; they have become a burden to me; I am weary of bearing them.When you spread out your hands, I will hide my eyes from you; even though you make many prayers, I will not listen; your hands are full of blood.
16 Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your deeds from before my eyes; cease to do evil,
17 learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow’s cause.

So God not only asks them to cease from evil and to learn to do good, but he specifies that good. There is nothing—nothing at all in the passage to indicate that they CANNOT do good.

[dseusy]

I suppose we should define "good".

[Paidion]

I don't know why Jesus told the rich, young ruler that God alone is good. There must be some sense in which this is true. But this does not absolve us from doing good as we are commanded to do. Nor should it lead us to think that it is impossible to do good, and thus might as well not try.

The apostle Paul certainly believed it was possible to do good—not only posssible but NECESSARY:

[God] "will render to each one according to his deeds": eternal life to those who by patient continuance in doing good seek for glory, honor, and immortality; but to those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness—indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish, on every soul of man who does evil, of the Jew first and also of the Greek; but glory, honor, and peace to everyone who works what is good, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For there is no partiality with God. (Romans 2:6-11 NKJV)

[dseusy]

We must become righteous... trying to obey all of God's commands will lead us to Christ.

[jaydam]

We can do good, but that does not make us good like God. Our good is as good as filthy rags to us in an attempt to be righteous like God. The verse from Isaiah inherently supposes that we can do good, so I'm not sure of your question how people can do good.

It seems to me that it is more a debate of what the good we do is worth to us. In our attempt to be self-righteous, any good we do is as good a filthy rags. In other respects though, perhaps our good is really good. We save a life, we help the poor, etc.


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[Paidion]

Jesus believed people could do good:

But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil. (Luke 6:35 ESV)

Paul believed people could do good:

So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith. (Gal 6:10 ESV)

Peter believed people could do good:

...as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord. And you are her children, if you do good and do not fear anything that is frightening. (1Pet 3:6 ESV)
... let him turn away from evil and do good 1Pe 3:11 ESV)

The writer to the Hebrews believed people could do good:

Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God. (Heb 13:16 ESV)

[Paidion]

We can do good, but that does not make us good like God. Our good is as good as filthy rags to us in an attempt to be righteous like God.

Yet Paul believed God has actually appointed people to be conformed to the image of Christ:

For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. (Rom 8:29 ESV)

[kenblogton]

Reply to dseusy
Anything less than perfect would cease to be good because at some moment there would be less than good, or more accurately, evil.
So are you saying that to truly be good, I must become perfect?
kenblogton