God Alone is Good. Let No Man Lay Claim to that Which is not His

"Why do you call me good?" Jesus answered. "No one is good — except God alone."

Mark 10:18 (NIV)


Why does men use the word "good" without regard for the consequence of their claims? For among words that define human nature, "good" is definitely not one of them.

If we believe in the teachings of our faith, we must always be reminded that God's plan started with the "fall of man" into sin; not in the sense that we today commonly consider and quickly recognize as a sin, but merely a failure to comply with the very first command that was given to man.

"You must not eat the fruit of the Tree of knowledge of good and evil."

Satan encouraged Eve to eat the forbidden fruit by claiming that by eating the fruit, she will be equal with God, possessing the ability to distinguish good and evil.


"You will not surely die," the serpent said to the woman.
"For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened,
and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."

Genesis 3:4-5 (NIV)


Although we Christians aspire to imitate our Risen Lord, I neither believe we have the right claim that we are good nor even say we aspire that which is good (but act for His glory), and most of all, consider ourselves "like God."


5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:
6 Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
7 but made himself nothing,
taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
8 And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
and became obedient to death—
even death on a cross!

Philippians 2: 5-8


The danger of false humility lurks in the corner as we profess we do not claim righteousness or being good but implicitly shout, in any arena of life, be it in our private or public lives, that goodness is only found and can be exercised by one person besides God Himself and Himself alone.

So now, I reiterate Apostle Paul's words:


9 What shall we conclude then? Are we any better? Not at all! We have already made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under sin. 10 As it is written:
"There is no one righteous, not even one;
11 there is no one who understands,
no one who seeks God.
12 All have turned away,
they have together become worthless;
there is no one who does good,
not even one."
13 "Their throats are open graves;
their tongues practice deceit."
"The poison of vipers is on their lips."
14 "Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness."
15 "Their feet are swift to shed blood;
16 ruin and misery mark their ways,
17 and the way of peace they do not know."
18 "There is no fear of God before their eyes."

Romans 3:9-18


For if we are good, we can stand on the Throne of Judgment with our head highs, not needing the intercession Christ have died for in the cross. It is better that good abounds in us, so that others may see and God is praised without our individual selves benefitting from from it.

Church and Transparency

There is nothing hidden that will not be found. There is no secret that will not be well known.

Luke 8:17


Many churhes here in the United States, even beyond the United Methodist Church, proudly publicize the dates of coming events, and give proper notice to activities and meetings crucial to the growth of the faith and upbringing of its members.

Apostle Paul showed that transparency is crucial to the mission of the gospel, as he poured his personal life as a testament to his Christian belief: his sufferings and joys contained in the letters addressed to the churches he had visited (and had not...to the dismay of its members), all for the sake of furthering the Gospel of Christ.

Our Lord and Savior did not turn away those who came to him, who sought his help and grace, and even allowed himself to be scrutinized by the very same Pharisees that saw to his eventual triumph in the cross. He revealed to us Himself: the message that would, for all time, be the everlasting salvation of our souls from the very destruction that awaits those who do not acknowledge Him.

Indeed, transparency is in the nature of Christian living.

If that is the case, why do I not see the by-laws and the articles of incorporation of the Angono United Methodist Church? You have a website with pictures, names, titles, positions, events and activities.

But where and why are these information critical to the function of the church so elusive and hard to access?

I am sure we are not following the path of the Roman Catholic Church, which, as an institution, did not encourage its members, for a thousand and five hundred years, from accessing the holy scriptures.

Transparency, you say?