Goodness

Goodness in biblical ethics is not a passive quality but the active, deliberate preference of right over wrong — a firm and persistent resistance to moral evil and a resolute pursuit of virtue. In man, goodness is the outworking of a character formed by right desires and disciplined habits. The Hebrew tôb and Greek agathōsynē encompass both moral excellence and beneficial effect: what is genuinely good is also genuinely beneficial. The New Testament lists goodness among the fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22) and describes it as one of the qualities believers are to produce through faith (2 Pet. 1:5). Paul prays that the Thessalonians may be counted worthy of their calling, and that God would fulfill every desire for goodness (2 Thess. 1:11). Ultimately, only God is good in the absolute sense (Mark 10:18), and human goodness is derivative of and dependent upon divine grace.