Overall Questions: What is goodness? How do we get this essential trait in our lives?

Ephesians 2:10 NRSV “For we are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life.”

Sunday – God Is Good
Exodus 33:19 God’s Word to the Nations “The LORD said, "I will let all my goodness pass in front of you, and there I will call out my name ‘the LORD.’ I will be kind to anyone I want to. I will be merciful to anyone I want to.”
Exodus 33:19 COMMENTARY BY ADAM CLARKE Thou shalt not have a sight of my justice, for thou couldst not bear the infinite splendour of my purity: but I shall show myself to thee as the fountain of inexhaustible compassion, the sovereign Dispenser of my own mercy in my own way, being gracious to whom I will be gracious, and showing mercy on whom I will show mercy.
Psalm 25:8 KJ21 “Good and upright is the LORD; therefore will He teach sinners in the way.”
Psalm 86:5 God’s Word to the Nations “You, O Lord, are good and forgiving, full of mercy toward everyone who calls out to you.”
Psalm 107:21 God’s Word to the Nations “Let them give thanks to the LORD because of his mercy. He performed his miracles for Adam’s descendants.”
Psalm 107:21 SDA BIBLE COMMENTARY Why should not men praise such a Healer, such a Life-giver, such a God! It is difficult to comprehend why men, for whom God has done so much, should be forgetful of His mercy. When the Master walked the plains of Palestine and went about healing all manner of sickness, He was constantly met with ingratitude. “Were there not ten cleansed,” asked He, “but where are the nine?” Only one leper came back to give thanks, and he was a Samaritan (Luke 17:15–18).
Nahum 1:7 God’s Word to the Nations “The LORD is good. He is a fortress in the day of trouble. He knows those who seek shelter in him.”
Nahum 1:7 JOHN CALVIN IN GENEVA NOTES Lest the faithful should be discouraged by hearing the power of God, he shows them that his mercy appertains to them, and that he has care over them.
Romans 8:28 God’s Word to the Nations “We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God––those whom he has called according to his plan.”
John 14:9 Global Contemporary English Version “Jesus replied: Philip, I have been with you for a long time. Don't you know who I am? If you have seen me, you have seen the Father. How can you ask me to show you the Father?”
Hebrews 1:2-3 New American Bible “1 In times past, God spoke in partial and various ways to our ancestors through the prophets; 2 in these last days, he spoke to us through a son, whom he made heir of all things and through whom he created the universe.”
Hebrews 1:2 COMMENTARY BY ALBERT BARNES It is implied here, that the fact, that the Son of God has spoken to us, imposes the highest obligations to attend to what he has said; that he has authority superior to all those who have spoken in past times; and that there will be peculiar guilt in refusing to attend to what he has spoken.
Ellen White, Desire of Ages, p. 69 – “From the earliest times the faithful in Israel had given much care to the education of the youth. The Lord had directed that even from babyhood the children should be taught of His goodness and His greatness, especially as revealed in His law, and shown in the history of Israel. Song and prayer and lessons from the Scriptures were to be adapted to the opening mind. Fathers and mothers were to instruct their children that the law of God is an expression of His character, and that as they received the principles of the law into the heart, the image of God was traced on mind and soul.”

Monday – All Have Sinned
Romans 3:12-20 20th Century NT “12 They have all gone astray; they have one and all become depraved; there is no one who is doing good-no, not one!’ 13 ‘Their throats are like opened graves; they deceive with their tongues.’ ‘The venom of serpents lies behind their lips,’ 14 ‘And their mouths are full of bitter curses.’ 15 ‘Swift are their feet to shed blood. 16 Distress and trouble dog their steps, 17 And the path of peace they do not know.’ 18 ‘The fear of God is not before their eyes.’ 19 ¶ Now we know that everything said in the Law is addressed to those who are under its authority, in order that every mouth may be closed, and the whole world become liable to the judgment of God. 20 For ‘no human being will be pronounced righteous before God’ as the result of obedience to Law; for it is Law that shows what sin is.”
Romans 3:12 SDA BIBLE COMMENTARY It might be objected that the Bible and history record the lives of many noble men and women who have lived righteously, in the fear of the Lord. After this statement the psalmist himself refers to “the generation of the righteous” (Ps. 14:5). Paul’s own disciple and companion, Luke, does not hesitate to say that Zacharias and Elisabeth were “both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless” (Luke 1:6). But “the generation of the righteous” would be quick to agree with Paul that “all have sinned” (Rom. 3:23) and that they constitute no exception to his description of general sinfulness. They would be the first to acknowledge that they once were under the dominion of sin and that the righteousness they now enjoy has come from God through faith.
Ellen White, Faith and Works, p. 85 – “Many have taken the position that they cannot sin because they are sanctified, but this is a delusive snare of the evil one. There is constant danger of falling into sin, for Christ has [BEGIN P.86] warned us to watch and pray lest we enter into temptation. If we are conscious of the weakness of self, we shall not be self-confident and reckless of danger, but we shall feel the necessity of seeking to the Source of our strength, Jesus our Righteousness. We shall come in repentance and contrition, with a despairing sense of our own finite weakness, and learn that we must daily apply to the merits of the blood of Christ, that we may become vessels fit for the Master’s use.”

Tuesday – God’s Law and Goodness
Romans 7:7-12 NIV “7 ¶ What shall we say, then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! Indeed I would not have known what sin was except through the law. For I would not have known what coveting really was if the law had not said, "Do not covet." 8 But sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, produced in me every kind of covetous desire. For apart from law, sin is dead. 9 Once I was alive apart from law; but when the commandment came, sin sprang to life and I died. 10 I found that the very commandment that was intended to bring life actually brought death. 11 For sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, deceived me, and through the commandment put me to death. 12 So then, the law is holy, and the commandment is holy, righteous and good.”
Romans 7:7 SDA BIBLE COMMENTARY Since sin is “lawlessness,” or “disobedience to law”, it is only logical that the effect of law in a man’s experience should be to reveal his sin to him in its true nature. The illogical attitude toward law is to regard it as an enemy for having made this truthful exposure. A mirror is not an enemy to a homely person because it reveals to him his homeliness. Nor is a physician an enemy to someone who is sick because he discloses to him his sickness. The doctor is not the cause of the sickness, nor is the mirror the cause of the homeliness. Likewise God is not the cause of the sickness and ugliness of our sin because He shows it to us in the mirror of His holy law and by the divine Physician, who came to reveal and to heal our sinfulness.
Psalm 40:8 New International Reader’s Version “My God, I have come to do what you want. Your law is in my heart.”
Psalm 40:8 COMMENARY BY CHARLES SPURGEON No outward, formal devotion was rendered by Christ; his heart was in his work, holiness was his element, the Father's will his meat and drink. We must each of us be like our Lord in this, or we shall lack the evidence of being his disciples. Where there is no heart work, no pleasure, no delight in God's law, there can be no acceptance.

Wednesday – Walking in Goodness
Jeremiah 13:23 KJ21 “Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots? Then may ye also do good, that are accustomed to do evil.”
Psalm 51:10 New American Standard Bible “Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me.”
Psalm 119:9 Holman “How can a young man keep his way pure? By keeping Your word.”
Romans 7:18 William Tyndale NT “For I know that in me (that is to say in my flesh) dwelleth no good thing. To will is present with me: but I find no means to perform that which is good.”
Romans 7:18 SDA BIBLE COMMENTARY It is impossible for man of himself to resist the power of evil. A higher power must take possession of the soul before the evil passions can be subdued. Paul experienced the painful frustration that comes to all who seek to attain to righteousness in their own strength.
Romans 7:18 PERSONAL COMMENTARY Benjamin Franklin, the great American printer, thinker, and statesman, once tried to make himself good. Setting up a schedule he determined to overcome one sin per day. By the time his schedule was over, he noticed that he was committing the first sin again, the one he had supposedly overcome.

Thursday – Goodness Expressed
Ephesians 2:10 NIV “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”
Ephesians 2:10 COMMENTARY BY ADAM CLARKE For being saved from sin we are made partakers of the Spirit of holiness; and it is natural to that Spirit to lead to the practice of holiness; and he who is not holy in his life is not saved by the grace of Christ. The before ordaining, or rather preparing, must refer to the time when God began the new creation in their hearts; for from the first inspiration of God upon the soul it begins to love holiness; and obedience to the will of God is the very element in which a holy or regenerated soul lives.
Titus 2:14 New Century Version “He gave himself for us so he might pay the price to free us from all evil and to make us pure people who belong only to him -- people who are always wanting to do good deeds.”
Titus 2:14 COMMENTARY BY ADAM CLARKE Jesus gave his life for the world, and thus has purchased men unto himself; and, having purchased the slaves from their thraldom, he is represented as stripping them of their sordid vestments, cleansing and purifying them unto himself that they may become his own servants, and bringing them out of their dishonourable and oppressive servitude, in which they had no proper motive to diligence and could have no affection for the despot under whose authority they were employed. Thus redeemed, they now become his willing servants, and are zealous of good works-affectionately attached to that noble employment which is assigned to them by that Master whom it is an inexpressible honour to serve. This seems to be the allusion in the above verse.

Note: the second possibility in the poll should read "doing the things that others need for us to do".

Sorry for the problem (new keyboard?).

OK whatever you say James. :)
Its usually operator error. LOL

pk

Your photo doesn't do you justice, IMO.

I didn't vote this time. First of all, you placed

"None of the above answers are correct" over "All of the above answers are correct." lol

While

* Doing the things God wants us to do
* Doing the things that other need for us to do
* Explaining the truths God has given us to share

is part of it, we can not be Good in nor out of self. Only as we stand in the truth as we know it in Jesus Christ can we be 'good'. But learning to do His will is a good thing and keeping our eyes only on Him. By beholding, we are changed.

Very good points COC

pk