washiku wrote:tycho wrote:AlphDoti wrote:digitek1 wrote:the evil one starts out stronger..you have to deliberately nurture the good one to overpower it
And the way to nurture the good is to do good actions, not by just believing the way some people tell others. But doing, otherwise just faith without action is a dead thing.
It was narrated by Abi Dhari that Prophet (pbuh) said: "surely one has succeeded who strengthens his mind with faith, makes his heart clean from evils, makes his tongue to speak the truth and makes himself to be at peace and make his way if life straight"
The only way one can be good is by willing to know what is good, and constantly transforming his/her mind through action.
Not repetition.
So what is that that is good?
Good Question.
This is the Biblical perspective.
In Genesis 1:31 the bible reads thus
Quote:31 And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.
At the End of creation EVERYTHING that God had made including Adam and Eve and everything about Adam and Eve was Very Good.
Fast forward to Luke 18:19 also Mark 10:18 When Jesus was responding to the rich young rulers question saying
"Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?"
Jesus responded thus,
"Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone"
So things went from EVERYTHING being very Good to God Alone, being good.
What happened? Genesis 3 happened
Eve was deceived by the serpent and led Adam to disobey Gods command.
Everything went from being very Good to this...
Quote:7 Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.
8 And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool[c] of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?”[d] 10 And he said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.” 11 He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” 12 The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.” 13 Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate
Shame, Guilt, blaming God for their predicament etc became the new modus operandi, and this is before God pronounced curses upon them and upon creation as well.
Man had fallen short of the Glory of God and all of creation with him.
So.. when Jesus says to the Rich Young Ruler that Only God is Good.. what does that say about us.
Consider this scripture.
Psalm 53
Quote:God looks down from heaven
on the children of man
to see if there are any who understand,[b]
who seek after God.
3 They have all fallen away;
together they have become corrupt;
there is none who does good,
not even one.
And this @Alphadoti take note of this.
Quote:19 Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God. 20 Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God’s sight by the works of the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin.
21 But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. 22 This righteousness is given through faith in[h] Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. 25 God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement,[i] through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished— 26 he did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.
27 Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. Because of what law? The law that requires works? No, because of the law that requires faith. 28 For we maintain that a person is justified by faith apart from the works of the law. 29 Or is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles too? Yes, of Gentiles too, 30 since there is only one God, who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through that same faith. 31 Do we, then, nullify the law by this faith? Not at all! Rather, we uphold the law.