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Our Commitment To Do Good - Bible Study at God's Message on the Web
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Welcome to the Bible Study section of God's Message on the Web. I will be presenting a Bible Study lesson
each week. These lessons are from my personal notes or used by permission from licensing agreements to
redeliver orally and not for profit and I encourage you to look up the Bible passages. Make sure that you
read everything and make your own opinion about the Bible Study lesson that is being presented to you.
Please keep it in the context of The Holy Bible. The only way to understand what God's Message is saying
is for you to know the Bible. Open your mind to God's Message. Back to Bible Study Home
each week. These lessons are from my personal notes or used by permission from licensing agreements to
redeliver orally and not for profit and I encourage you to look up the Bible passages. Make sure that you
read everything and make your own opinion about the Bible Study lesson that is being presented to you.
Please keep it in the context of The Holy Bible. The only way to understand what God's Message is saying
is for you to know the Bible. Open your mind to God's Message. Back to Bible Study Home
Download this Bible Study "Our Commitment To Do Good" in MP3 or PodCast format
OurCommitmentToDoGood.mp3 from God's Message on the Web
An ancient worship theme is the goodness of God. That theme has been prominent in worship in Judaism
and in Christianity for at least 3000 years. For at least 3000 years, people have been praising God because
He is good.
We do. For years we frequently declared the goodness of God. Do you remembering singing,
"Let Every Heart Rejoice and Sing"? In the chorus we sing,
"For He is good, the Lord is good, And kind are all His ways;
With songs and honors sounding loud, The Lord Jehovah praise;
While the rocks and the rills, While the vales and the hills
A glorious anthem raise; Let each prolong the grateful song,
And the God of our fathers praise, And the God of our fathers praise."
In recent years many of us have found the praise song, "God is Good," meaningful.
God is so good, God is so good, God is so good, He's so good to me!
He cares for me, He's so good to me!
I love Him so, He's so good to me!
He answers prayers, He's so good to me!
Goodness and God are inseparable. Genesis 1 affirms that God brought this world into existence. By His
order, light came into existence, and God saw that the light was good (1:4). He separated the land from the
seas, and it was good (1:10). He brought the vegetation into existence, and He saw it was good (1:12). He
established the sun and moon in their roles, and He saw it was good (1:18). He brought marine life and birds
into existence, and He saw that it was good (1:21). He made all forms of land creatures, and He saw that it
was good (1:25). And when the entire creation was completed, God saw all that He had made, and behold, it
was very good (1:31).
James says of our God that He is the source of every good and perfect gift (James 1:17, NIV)
I. The psalmist used the goodness of God as a worship theme frequently.
A. Many, many of the psalms declare God's goodness.
1. Psalm 25:8--Good and upright is the Lord; therefore He instructs sinners in the way.
2. Psalm 34:8--O taste and see that the Lord is good; how blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!
3. Psalm 86:5--For you, O Lord, are good and ready to forgive and abundant in loving kindness to all
who call upon you.
4. Psalm 100:5--For the Lord is good, His loving kindness is everlasting, and His faithfulness is to all
generations.
5. Psalm 135:3--Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good.
B. And how did the psalmist say that we should respond to God's goodness?
1. Psalm 34:8 said taste and see that the Lord is good, and then in verse 14 he declared, "Depart from
evil, and do good."
2. Psalm 37:3 urges us to "Trust the Lord and do good."
II. This theme that stresses God's goodness continued in the teachings of Jesus.
A. In Matthew 5:44,45 Jesus declared:
1. God is good--He causes His sun to shine on the evil as well as the good; and sends rain on the
unrighteous as well as the righteous.
2. It is because we are the children of the good God that we love our enemies and pray for those who
mistreat us.
B. In Luke 6:45 Jesus again declared:
1. The good person has a treasury of good things in his heart.
2. So he reaches into that treasury of good things within and shares those good things through his
actions and conduct.
3. The evil person does the opposite.
4. Belonging to the good God produces good people who have good treasures in their hearts, who
produce good actions, and who speak good things.
III. This theme increased after the resurrection of Jesus; it is repeatedly found in the letters to the
churches.
A. Again and again, those who belong to the good God because they have accepted Jesus Christ are told
this: belonging to Christ means we are devoted to doing good.
B. Consider Paul's statement to the Christians in Rome in Romans 12:1,2:
1. Give your bodies to God as a living, holy sacrifice.
2. Climb up on His altar everyday--with all He has done to save you, nothing less is reasonable,
acceptable worship.
3. Because of what God did for you in Jesus Christ, you belong to God, not to this ungodly world.
a. Do not allow the ungodly world to shape your life.
b. Allow God to totally remake you, and let Him begin by creating a new way for you to think and
understand.
4. As you climb up on God's altar every day, you have a new purpose, a new goal.
a. You want to discover God's will.
b. God's will shall reveal to you what is good, what is well pleasing to God, and what is perfect.
C. To these same Christians in the same chapter, Paul said, "Do not allow evil to triumph over you;
defeat evil by doing good" (Romans 12:21).
1. I find it fascinating that Paul did not say to defeat evil with knowledge, or defeat evil with logic, or
defeat evil with irrefutable arguments, or defeat evil by exposing evil for what it is.
a. Unquestionably, knowledge is important, but evil can confuse knowledge.
b. Certainly, there is a place and need for logic, but evil can pervert logic.
c. Sound arguments have their role and place, but evil loves to exploit irrefutable arguments.
d. Surely evil needs to be exposed for what it is, but evil is very skilled at making itself look so good and
making what is right look so vile.
2. But evil cannot handle good; when evil attacks good, it discredits itself.
D. The instruction to Christians in the epistles to do good continues on and on.
1. The Corinthian Christians were told that God's grace could provide what they needed that "you may
have abundance for every good deed" (2 Corinthians 9:8).
2. The Galatian Christians were told, "Let us do good to all people, and especially to those who are our
brothers and sisters in Christ" (Galatians 6:10).
3. The Ephesians Christians are told, "Christians are handmade by God, the master Craftsman. He
created us in Christ Jesus, and He designed us to do good works. He predetermined those good works before
He sent Jesus, and He predetermined that Christians would live their lives doing these good works"
(Ephesians 2:10).
4. The Colossian Christians were told that they should bear fruit in every good work and increase in the
knowledge of God (Colossians 1:10).
E. For many years one of the key memory verses in churches of Christ has been 2 Timothy 3:16,17.
All Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in
righteousness, that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.
1. We do an excellent job of properly emphasizing that Scripture exists as "the breath of God;" it exists
a God's own personal expression of Himself.
2. We do an excellent job of stressing what Scripture does:
a. It destroys my ignorance.
b. It reveals what is wrong in me and my life.
c. It instructs me in what is right.
d. It trains me in righteousness.
3. We could do a better job of stressing why scripture does these things for me: to make me spiritually
adequate, to equip me to do all forms of good.
IV. I would like for you to create a commitment sheet. Think of it as spiritual goals.
A. The sheet is very simple.
1. It contains two simple commitments.
2. Commitment # 1: I commit myself to doing something good every day, something that I would not
ordinarily do. Every day I will look for opportunities to be kind, thoughtful, compassionate, and merciful.
3. Commitment # 2: Beyond my usual involvement and study, every week I will do something good
that will bless and encourage this World that is in desperate need of something good to hold onto.
V. You and I have been a part of this Bible Study for 94 days.
A. I wonder if there are any of you out there that think, "Your being here is the answer to my prayer."
1. Has God answered our prayers by placing us together?
2. You listeners have certainly been the answers to my prayers to help promote God’s Message in a
powerful way.
3. If you agree - God has definitely answered our prayers.
B. Because we are agreed, I ask all of us two questions.
1. Question # 1: To what end did God answer all these prayers?
a. Why has God placed us together?
i. So we can be religiously comfortable?
ii. So religiously things can be like we want and enjoy?
iii. So religiously we can stop being anxious about matters that concerned us?
b. Or does God have something more in mind? Does the God who had something in mind when He sent
Jesus, who had something in mind when He called Paul, who always has something in mind when He acts,
does this God have something in mind for us?
2. Question # 2: Will we now stop praying?
a. Or will we continue to pray as fervently that God will accomplish in us what He has in mind?
b. Because of fervent prayer, we are together.
c. Will we pray as fervently that God will accomplish His purposes in this world?
d. Will we pray that God will use us to do good?
C. "But David, is doing good really that important?"
1. Let Jesus answer.
a. John 5:28,29--. . . For an hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs shall hear his voice, and
shall come forth; those who did good deeds, to a resurrection of life, those who committed evil deeds to a
resurrection of judgment.
b. Do you remember the judgment scene in Matthew 25:31-46?
i. Do you remember that people were separated to the right and left hand of Jesus as he sat on the
throne?
ii. Do you remember that those on the right were blessed and those on the left condemned?
iii. Do you remember the basis for the separation, for the blessing, for the condemnation?
iv. "I was hungry, and you fed me; thirsty and you gave me a drink; a traveler, and you gave me lodging;
naked, and you clothed me; sick, and you visited me; in prison, and you came to me. . . .To the extent that
you did it for the least of my brothers, you did it to me."
The people in our Lives will have little interest in what we believe until they are impressed with the ways
that our faith in Christ and our love for God produce good through our lives.
And that is wonderful! Because every Christian can do good. Because God Himself is our power source for
doing good. Because we only need eyes that will see and bodies that will act. Do good, and let our God work
through the good that you do.
Download this Bible Study "Our Commitment To Do Good" in MP3 or PodCast format
OurCommitmentToDoGood.mp3 from God's Message on the Web
Used with permission from David Chadwell, West-Ark Church of Christ
Visit God's Message Blog to comment on this Bible Study Lesson
http://godsmessageontheweb.blogspot.com/2007/11/our-commitment-to-do-good.html
Last updated on November 7th 2007 God's Message on the Web
OurCommitmentToDoGood.mp3 from God's Message on the Web
An ancient worship theme is the goodness of God. That theme has been prominent in worship in Judaism
and in Christianity for at least 3000 years. For at least 3000 years, people have been praising God because
He is good.
We do. For years we frequently declared the goodness of God. Do you remembering singing,
"Let Every Heart Rejoice and Sing"? In the chorus we sing,
"For He is good, the Lord is good, And kind are all His ways;
With songs and honors sounding loud, The Lord Jehovah praise;
While the rocks and the rills, While the vales and the hills
A glorious anthem raise; Let each prolong the grateful song,
And the God of our fathers praise, And the God of our fathers praise."
In recent years many of us have found the praise song, "God is Good," meaningful.
God is so good, God is so good, God is so good, He's so good to me!
He cares for me, He's so good to me!
I love Him so, He's so good to me!
He answers prayers, He's so good to me!
Goodness and God are inseparable. Genesis 1 affirms that God brought this world into existence. By His
order, light came into existence, and God saw that the light was good (1:4). He separated the land from the
seas, and it was good (1:10). He brought the vegetation into existence, and He saw it was good (1:12). He
established the sun and moon in their roles, and He saw it was good (1:18). He brought marine life and birds
into existence, and He saw that it was good (1:21). He made all forms of land creatures, and He saw that it
was good (1:25). And when the entire creation was completed, God saw all that He had made, and behold, it
was very good (1:31).
James says of our God that He is the source of every good and perfect gift (James 1:17, NIV)
I. The psalmist used the goodness of God as a worship theme frequently.
A. Many, many of the psalms declare God's goodness.
1. Psalm 25:8--Good and upright is the Lord; therefore He instructs sinners in the way.
2. Psalm 34:8--O taste and see that the Lord is good; how blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!
3. Psalm 86:5--For you, O Lord, are good and ready to forgive and abundant in loving kindness to all
who call upon you.
4. Psalm 100:5--For the Lord is good, His loving kindness is everlasting, and His faithfulness is to all
generations.
5. Psalm 135:3--Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good.
B. And how did the psalmist say that we should respond to God's goodness?
1. Psalm 34:8 said taste and see that the Lord is good, and then in verse 14 he declared, "Depart from
evil, and do good."
2. Psalm 37:3 urges us to "Trust the Lord and do good."
II. This theme that stresses God's goodness continued in the teachings of Jesus.
A. In Matthew 5:44,45 Jesus declared:
1. God is good--He causes His sun to shine on the evil as well as the good; and sends rain on the
unrighteous as well as the righteous.
2. It is because we are the children of the good God that we love our enemies and pray for those who
mistreat us.
B. In Luke 6:45 Jesus again declared:
1. The good person has a treasury of good things in his heart.
2. So he reaches into that treasury of good things within and shares those good things through his
actions and conduct.
3. The evil person does the opposite.
4. Belonging to the good God produces good people who have good treasures in their hearts, who
produce good actions, and who speak good things.
III. This theme increased after the resurrection of Jesus; it is repeatedly found in the letters to the
churches.
A. Again and again, those who belong to the good God because they have accepted Jesus Christ are told
this: belonging to Christ means we are devoted to doing good.
B. Consider Paul's statement to the Christians in Rome in Romans 12:1,2:
1. Give your bodies to God as a living, holy sacrifice.
2. Climb up on His altar everyday--with all He has done to save you, nothing less is reasonable,
acceptable worship.
3. Because of what God did for you in Jesus Christ, you belong to God, not to this ungodly world.
a. Do not allow the ungodly world to shape your life.
b. Allow God to totally remake you, and let Him begin by creating a new way for you to think and
understand.
4. As you climb up on God's altar every day, you have a new purpose, a new goal.
a. You want to discover God's will.
b. God's will shall reveal to you what is good, what is well pleasing to God, and what is perfect.
C. To these same Christians in the same chapter, Paul said, "Do not allow evil to triumph over you;
defeat evil by doing good" (Romans 12:21).
1. I find it fascinating that Paul did not say to defeat evil with knowledge, or defeat evil with logic, or
defeat evil with irrefutable arguments, or defeat evil by exposing evil for what it is.
a. Unquestionably, knowledge is important, but evil can confuse knowledge.
b. Certainly, there is a place and need for logic, but evil can pervert logic.
c. Sound arguments have their role and place, but evil loves to exploit irrefutable arguments.
d. Surely evil needs to be exposed for what it is, but evil is very skilled at making itself look so good and
making what is right look so vile.
2. But evil cannot handle good; when evil attacks good, it discredits itself.
D. The instruction to Christians in the epistles to do good continues on and on.
1. The Corinthian Christians were told that God's grace could provide what they needed that "you may
have abundance for every good deed" (2 Corinthians 9:8).
2. The Galatian Christians were told, "Let us do good to all people, and especially to those who are our
brothers and sisters in Christ" (Galatians 6:10).
3. The Ephesians Christians are told, "Christians are handmade by God, the master Craftsman. He
created us in Christ Jesus, and He designed us to do good works. He predetermined those good works before
He sent Jesus, and He predetermined that Christians would live their lives doing these good works"
(Ephesians 2:10).
4. The Colossian Christians were told that they should bear fruit in every good work and increase in the
knowledge of God (Colossians 1:10).
E. For many years one of the key memory verses in churches of Christ has been 2 Timothy 3:16,17.
All Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in
righteousness, that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.
1. We do an excellent job of properly emphasizing that Scripture exists as "the breath of God;" it exists
a God's own personal expression of Himself.
2. We do an excellent job of stressing what Scripture does:
a. It destroys my ignorance.
b. It reveals what is wrong in me and my life.
c. It instructs me in what is right.
d. It trains me in righteousness.
3. We could do a better job of stressing why scripture does these things for me: to make me spiritually
adequate, to equip me to do all forms of good.
IV. I would like for you to create a commitment sheet. Think of it as spiritual goals.
A. The sheet is very simple.
1. It contains two simple commitments.
2. Commitment # 1: I commit myself to doing something good every day, something that I would not
ordinarily do. Every day I will look for opportunities to be kind, thoughtful, compassionate, and merciful.
3. Commitment # 2: Beyond my usual involvement and study, every week I will do something good
that will bless and encourage this World that is in desperate need of something good to hold onto.
V. You and I have been a part of this Bible Study for 94 days.
A. I wonder if there are any of you out there that think, "Your being here is the answer to my prayer."
1. Has God answered our prayers by placing us together?
2. You listeners have certainly been the answers to my prayers to help promote God’s Message in a
powerful way.
3. If you agree - God has definitely answered our prayers.
B. Because we are agreed, I ask all of us two questions.
1. Question # 1: To what end did God answer all these prayers?
a. Why has God placed us together?
i. So we can be religiously comfortable?
ii. So religiously things can be like we want and enjoy?
iii. So religiously we can stop being anxious about matters that concerned us?
b. Or does God have something more in mind? Does the God who had something in mind when He sent
Jesus, who had something in mind when He called Paul, who always has something in mind when He acts,
does this God have something in mind for us?
2. Question # 2: Will we now stop praying?
a. Or will we continue to pray as fervently that God will accomplish in us what He has in mind?
b. Because of fervent prayer, we are together.
c. Will we pray as fervently that God will accomplish His purposes in this world?
d. Will we pray that God will use us to do good?
C. "But David, is doing good really that important?"
1. Let Jesus answer.
a. John 5:28,29--. . . For an hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs shall hear his voice, and
shall come forth; those who did good deeds, to a resurrection of life, those who committed evil deeds to a
resurrection of judgment.
b. Do you remember the judgment scene in Matthew 25:31-46?
i. Do you remember that people were separated to the right and left hand of Jesus as he sat on the
throne?
ii. Do you remember that those on the right were blessed and those on the left condemned?
iii. Do you remember the basis for the separation, for the blessing, for the condemnation?
iv. "I was hungry, and you fed me; thirsty and you gave me a drink; a traveler, and you gave me lodging;
naked, and you clothed me; sick, and you visited me; in prison, and you came to me. . . .To the extent that
you did it for the least of my brothers, you did it to me."
The people in our Lives will have little interest in what we believe until they are impressed with the ways
that our faith in Christ and our love for God produce good through our lives.
And that is wonderful! Because every Christian can do good. Because God Himself is our power source for
doing good. Because we only need eyes that will see and bodies that will act. Do good, and let our God work
through the good that you do.
Download this Bible Study "Our Commitment To Do Good" in MP3 or PodCast format
OurCommitmentToDoGood.mp3 from God's Message on the Web
Used with permission from David Chadwell, West-Ark Church of Christ
Visit God's Message Blog to comment on this Bible Study Lesson
http://godsmessageontheweb.blogspot.com/2007/11/our-commitment-to-do-good.html
Last updated on November 7th 2007 God's Message on the Web