Book of Job- Scene Four
You may remember the TV series Friends where BFF’s, male and female, traveled the rocky road of relationships; that’s where we find ourselves in the Book of Job when two more friends counsel him. It’s still true today; we walk through frustrations, disappointments, successes, and failures with our friends even adding our own opinions to the mix … so the story continues with Bildad and Zophar.
When you consider the words of Job’s three friends as a whole you’ll find a common perspective: Job is guilty. They come to this conclusion from different angles but they all agree on that aspect; Job deserved what he got.
This fascinating book asks numerous times and in various ways the age-old question:
How can a man be right before God?
What’s your answer? Are you like these friends who believe in the conditional approach? If you do things right then you’ll be blessed, consequently, when you do things wrong God punishes you. Job’s friends believed he was getting what he deserved because he was a dirty, rotten sinner. Is that true?
Well, let’s first consider Abraham’s righteousness from God’s perspective.
For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.” Romans 4:3
It seems that Abraham’s righteousness wasn’t based on what he did right but on his faith; would that hold true for Job? I think it does. Job had good character and strong values, God declared that twice, however, did that make him righteous?
The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it? “I the Lord search the heart and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds.
Jeremiah 17:9-10
Every person is born into sin and needs forgiveness but the requirement is humility and recognition that you need God but Job wasn’t there yet, as we’ll soon see, and his friends didn’t understand righteousness based on faith.
God graciously gave us this Book of Job to show that He sovereignly searches our hearts and tests our minds to see if our ways and deeds spring out of our faith.
… and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, Romans 3:24 ESV
It seems like a logical conclusion, you live with integrity, good works, and strong morals, therefore, God is happy with you. True? No, the Bible proclaims that we are justified or declared righteous before God because of our faith in Jesus.
… and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith—” Philippians 3:9
Job’s friends were wrong but many Christians today view their righteousness the same way. Can you, dear believer, agree that you are righteous before God because of your faith alone? That’s the truth.
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