“Thou art good, and doest good” (Psalm 119: 68 KJV).
God did not, sometime in the distant past, become good and start doing good things. God has always been good and done good. God’s goodness “means that God is the final standard of good, and that all that God is and does is worthy of approval.” “God’s being and actions are perfectly worthy of His own approval. He is therefore the final standard of good.” “Good” is what God approves.
God’s actions in creation were good. “And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good” (Gen. 1: 31). God is also the source of everything good in the world. “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights” (Jms. 1: 17; cf. Ps. 145: 9; Acts 14: 17). God withholds no good thing from His obedient children. “No good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly” (Ps. 84: 11). God is good to the unjust in that He lets the rain fall and the sun shine on them as it does on the just (Mat. 5: 45).
“Good and upright is the Lord” (Ps. 25: 8). “The earth is full of the goodness of the Lord” (Ps. 33: 5). Men should “taste and see (find out for themselves) that the Lord is good” (Ps. 34: 8). And yet there are some who despise “the riches of his goodness . . . not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth (them) to repentance” (Rom. 11: 22).
Since the Fall of Man, God has worked to take bad sinners and, by saving them and abiding in them and sanctifying them through His Truth, make them good. Anyone that is good in the sense that their goodness is worthy of God’s approval was made good by the marvelous grace of God. No one can become good with a goodness that meets God’s approval on their own. And whatever God does is good and His will is good (Rom. 12: 2).
By “goodness” we mean “an internal zeal for righteousness and truth.” When God saves us, we do not remain bad, but rather, because we’ve been made good and righteous through faith in Jesus Christ, we begin doing good. And our goodness is a reflection of God’s goodness, for it is His goodness to start with. “As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men” (Gal. 6: 10; cf. Lk. 6: 27, 33-35; 2 Tim. 3: 17).
“Goodness” is listed as a fruit of the Spirit. “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith” (Gal. 5: 22). Jesus compared men with trees and said, “Every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them (men)” (Mt 7: 17-20).
People know if we’re really good or not. And if we are, we have no one to thank but the Lord.
