Some actions are obviously very evil; others are praise-worthy and clearly very good. But anyone who is serious about their behaviour wonders at times how good their conduct really is. Normally everyone thinks what they do is good. We go easy on our moral self-assessment because we don’t like feeling guilty. On some occasions, however, we have difficulty escaping the feeling that what we did was really wrong. But how can we know for sure? If there is no ultimate moral authority, can we just make up our own rules?

When writing about our conscience, I mentioned that it is fallible; we need further guidance. This is especially the case for those who decide to follow Jesus and who heed his call to repent. What exactly must we repent of? Who can tell us? Only God can see the deep motivation in one’s heart.

This is where the biblical revelation of God’s holiness becomes important. “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord”, the Bible tells us. Logically, it was God who implanted the notion of good in us, his creatures made in his image. But since we are neither perfectly instructed nor models of perfect behaviour, we have trouble assessing even our own motives, let alone other people’s.

We are driven, ultimately, to see our need of outside guidance, since human ideas are inevitably imperfect. We need a holy God to stipulate what is good and to declare what is reprehensible. A holy God alone could render such a service to humanity, and that is what God has done.

Those who hear and heed Jesus’ call to repent of sin may look to his teaching to get some clarification about good and evil. Firstly, he quoted with approval the Ten Commandments given by God in the Old Testament, which stand forever as wise guidelines for a good society. They condemn murder, theft, bearing false witness, blasphemy, adultery, idolatry, dishonouring parents, lust and coveting, but they also insist on giving God his rightful place as Lord to be obeyed. Jesus also listed sins to be rejected: “evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly” (Mark 7.21-22). You get the idea…

The apostle Paul wrote several lists in the New Testament as well. Here’s one decrying “the acts of sinful human nature”: “sexual immorality, impurity, debauchery, idolatry and witchcraft, hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissention, factions and envy, drunkenness, orgies, and the like.” He adds a warning that “those who live like that will not inherit the kingdom of God” (Galatians 5.19-21). 

What is best for us human beings is to live a good life, which Paul characterised in the same passage as “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control” (Galatians 5.22-23). We know that the bad things we do disturb our peace of mind, lead to breakdown in relationships, and stir within our hearts unpleasant emotions that do us more harm than good. On the other hand, when we habitually do what God describes as good, we experience positive self-esteem and inner peace. This is the right way to human flourishing.

The Bible emphasises virtues like love for people, being caring and forgiving; Jesus’ disciples are to become like him, good, upright, helpful, holy, pure, decent, reliable, true and faithful. When someone is considering following Jesus, that is the kind of life he is to aim for. And Jesus’ Holy Spirit miraculously can come into believers’ hearts to enable them to progressively become more like him.

Clive Every-Clayton