Human Response 773: Avoid Evil and Do Good

Psalm 37:27 Depart from evil and do good, and dwell for evermore.

Our response to the Gospel is to depart from evil and do good. This conditional promise leads us to dwell (live) forever. We avoid evil and do good when we are brought to faith in Jesus Christ. Faith receives the life and goodness of God, who dwells within the heart. This gift is granted by God freely for Christ’s sake, and it is received and activated by the Spirit through the Gospel. This “good” lifestyle is the default condition of God’s life. Through faith the Spirit creates a new man who avoids sin and does good works. Ephesians 2:8-10: “By grace you have been saved through…For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works…that we should walk in them.”

This kind of life that dwells forever is worked by God, not by us, in Baptism, and it is nurtured, fed, and grown through Gospel and Sacrament. The Spirit within struggles against the sinful flesh to overcome and do good.