The second man mentioned as being good is Barnabas.

Acts 11:22-24   News of this reached the ears of the church at Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. When he arrived and saw the evidence of the grace of God, he was glad and encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with all their hearts. He was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith, and a great number of people were brought to the Lord.

The marks of goodness in the life of Barnabas were that he was (1) joyful (2) an encourager (3) full of the Holy Spirit (4) full of faith (5) a witness of the gospel of Jesus Christ.  As we have already studied, on of the fruit of the Spirit is joy.  Barnabas was glad at what he found among the believers, the Gentiles of Antioch.  Barnabas was an encourager, urging them to remain true to the Lord.  This is called discipleship.  No man can be called good without the Holy Spirit, and Barnabas was called good because he was full of the Spirit.  He was also full of faith.  His faith overflowed in the sight of men, so much so that many placed their faith in Jesus Christ because of his witness.

Let's look at some other evidences of a good man are to be found in Proverbs and Matthew.

Pr 12:2   A good man obtains favor from the LORD, but the LORD condemns a crafty man.

A good man is blessed by the Lord.  A crafty or devious man, one who schemes and makes plans to help only himself, is not a good man.  Men's schemes will ultimately lead to judgment from the Lord.  But goodness leads to God's favor.

Pr 13:22   A good man leaves an inheritance for his children's children, but a sinner's wealth is stored up for the righteous.

When a man takes care of his family he will be seen among men as being good.  Ultimately the wealth of the crafty sinner will belong to the righteous, if not in this life then certainly in the new heaven and earth, because a good man lays up his treasure in heaven.

Pr 14:14   The faithless will be fully repaid for their ways, and the good man rewarded for his.

Those who have faith will be rewarded.  Those who are faithless will be repaid, often right here and now.  The Bible says that hypocrites have their reward in full here on earth.  Those of faith often give up their reward now for a heavenly reward that will last for eternity.

Mt 12:35   The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him.

A good way to recognize a good man is to see what comes out of his mouth.  The mouth is a rudder that is impossible to steer without the help of the Holy Spirit.  If a man does not have control of his tongue then the chances are pretty good that he is not in submission to the Spirit.

Examples Of Goodness

Sometimes when you decide to do something good for someone else, it spreads out to many more people and will effect your own life as well.

Tombstone Generosity