The Ultimate Good (10/12/2025)

“Now behold, one came and said to Him, “Good Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?” So He said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one Is good but One, that is, God. But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments” (Matthew 19:16-17).

“Good” is a word that is overused in our society and in religion, and it always comes from the lips of one who has the idea that whatever he or she is thinking at the moment is the best idea that could be suggested.

Jesus teaches in these verses that God is the only ultimate good; thus, His teaching certainly supersedes that of humans—only ideas that come from God can be classified as “good.”

Consequently, when people begin to introduce ideas and practices in religion that sound “good” but are not found in Scripture, we cannot accept them. In His word, God has given us His plan for our obeying the gospel, worshiping correctly, being morally upright, and living the Christian life acceptably.

Our responsibility, then, is to be serious students of God’s word so that we can recognize the difference between what is scriptural and what is the result of human reasoning or imagination. God does not need, nor has He ever needed, our ideas about how to please Him so that we can “enter into life.”