"What is Good, Acceptable and Perfect?"

The apostle Paul, in writing to the Christians in Rome said, "And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God." (Romans 12:2)

Albert Barnes, in his commentary, makes the following comment: "That ye may prove - The word used here is commonly applied to metals, the operation of testing, or trying them by the severity of fire, etc. Hence, it also means to explore, investigate, ascertain. This is its meaning here. The sense is that such a renewed mind is essential to a successful inquiry after the will of God."

To truly understand life as God would have us to live it we must live it His way. The wise man said, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths" (Prov. 3:5-6). When we follow Solomon's advice we prove that God's way is good, acceptable and perfect.

The character of God's will is "agathos" (Gr.), or good. It is always good and beneficial in its effect. "For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome." (I John 5:3).

Not only is God's word "good" it is also "acceptable." Of course God's will is acceptable to God because it's God's will. I believe the idea here is that if we decide to live according to God's Word we will not get to the end of our lives and regret that we lived the Christian way. We will know that we lived as God would have us to live and that it has been the best way to live.

The word for perfect in our text is from the Greek word "teleios," which means complete, or mature, as a mature adult. Here the idea is that the Christian will discover that the will of God is not lacking in any respect. As we live our lives we will realize that the will of God affords us everything we need in order to live well and be well-pleasing to God.

Are we working to prove that the will of God is good, acceptable and perfect, or, are we following our own idea of what is good, acceptable and perfect?