Is there a difference between good and bad? If not, then there is no such thing as sanctification, morality and ethics. If there is a good and a bad, what are they?
Not much ground can be made in the area of sanctification unless we speak more about good and bad. Are they important? Where do they come from? Who's to say what is good and what is bad?
Would you be offended if I said that I was going to tell you what was good and what was bad? Some would be offended, for sure. It seems to me that some feel good and bad are so personal that you cannot talk about what is good or bad. They might say that it is relative and that two people can have two simultaneous but distinct moral truths.
If you feel like it is wrong for me to tell you what is right and wrong, please consider that I feel like it is right for me to tell you what is right and wrong. Now what can be done? We are at an impasse. We would need someone to judge between us. That judge is God, the creator of all things. There can be no other judge. The potter makes the bowl and decides to keep it or remake it. The bowl doesn't decide, it hasn't the capacity nor the authority.
So, I tell of right and wrong, but not of myself. The right and wrong that I share is from the Creator as he shared with us in the Bible. The Bible is perfect and inerrant, but the interpretations we make from it can be flawed by our imperfect humanness. Therefore, I don't suggest that I can perfectly interpret, apply or relay all of God's laws of good and bad. However, I submit to you that there exists a full and real moral compass that stands above time and space, established by the only one who could stand over it with authority, The Creator.
Why would you look to move forward in sanctification by establishing for yourself what you think is good and bad and then attempting to hold yourself to those? Would it not be better to rethink this and come to the realization that you are by definition what is right and good? This would be an effective way to remove guilt, and besides, what does it matter if it's only your own rule? If this is you, and you've done this, I just have one question: what judge has ever presided over his own case? The only judge who should do this is one who was proven to perfectly set aside personal desires to fulfill the law, no matter the cost.
Now, if you can see that there is some sense of good and bad in each heart and that this comes from some external source, then let's move forward with this. If you can take it for now that this might come from God and be perfect and lasting, then I will speak to what is good and bad.
A disciple of Jesus named Paul wrote a letter to the Romans to describe to them things of the law and righteousness. The letter is called simply "Romans". In Romans chapter 8 verses 7-8 it says (using the English Standard Version):
7For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot. 8Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
The question then is, what is it to be in the flesh? Or more importantly, how do we not be "in the flesh"? Thankfully, Paul continues with helpful things in the next verse:
9You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you.
So, then, we would need the Spirit of God to dwell within us if we are to not be in the flesh. You see, it's not simply a matter of what we do, but the spirit in which it is done. If we are doing good deeds in the power of the flesh rather than the Spirit of God, then we cannot please God.
So, this might seem harsh that even things we do that would seem good cannot please God unless they are done in the Spirit of God. I just listened to a presentation on this section, and in it Reverend Dan Hong made the following point helping me to deal with how this feels harsh. I'll change it to make it personal to me. When I look at what is in my heart, I see how the selfish motives lurk and influence and how the desire for repayment fuels my kindness. In addition to this, I take pleasure in feeling good about myself for doing secret, kind deeds. So, either I do the good deed to be seen and recognized, or I do it to boost my ego and satisfy my desires to be great in my own eyes. Is this something that should be rewarded by God? The very fact that I'm not doing it to please God is exactly why it doesn't.
This is the real heart of what is good and what is bad. It's not a long list of laws and rules and can be summed up with this statement given by Jesus:
“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”
Matthew 22:38-40 (ESV)
As I mentioned before, I cannot interpret perfectly all of God's law, but the essentials are clearly understood. The nuance here is how to perfectly apply this law. The sad truth is that we cannot do this. We cannot perfectly love God and neighbor. Thankfully, one who could love perfectly has come and substituted his good deeds for our bad ones. Jesus lived the perfect life, completely setting aside his desires, even to the point of death, to satisfy the law and has become the judge. But, having paid the penalty of death for us, he does not condemn us. Instead, for those who receive his gift of forgiveness, he calls a brother and a son of the Father in heaven.
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