July 1, 2006 - Job 20-21 and Acts 10:24-48
God is just toward the righteous and the wicked. We do not always understand how He treats people, but in the end He will be found to have done the right thing. I think these passages are a good example of this truth.
Job 20 is a message from Zophar to Job about how God will not bless the wicked, and He will not allow them to prosper. In general that is correct, but in chapter 21 Job points out a fallacy in that statement. Sometimes, the wicked live very well, and there are no apparent signs of God's displeasure with them. Job points out that in that case God's punishment is reserved for the day of doom. (21:30) In other words, God will judge the wicked sooner or later. He is convicting them of sin now, but He may wait to punish them overtly, if He knows that is best. Therefore, if Zophar was trying to say that Job's trouble was because he was a wicked person, Job had refuted his argument. It is the same with us today. We should not draw a conclusion about whether a person is righteous or not based on their life circumstances. That can be very misleading. We must try to see the fruit of their hearts. That is the way to view their relationship with God.
Look at Acts 10. The Gentiles reach out to God in prayer. He responds. Peter preaches, and they are saved. They receive the Holy Spirit, and they are baptized. Is that how you would have spread the Gospel to the Gentiles? That is how God did it, and His way is the correct way. He knew it needed to be a clear sign that God is not partial. (v.34) All people are saved the same way. Peter got it, and eventually so did the rest of the disciples in Jerusalem. The question is, "Have we got it yet?" Do we know that God loves everyone, and He wants all to be saved. When a person turns to Him, He saves them by His grace.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Job 22-24 and Acts 11.
Job 20 is a message from Zophar to Job about how God will not bless the wicked, and He will not allow them to prosper. In general that is correct, but in chapter 21 Job points out a fallacy in that statement. Sometimes, the wicked live very well, and there are no apparent signs of God's displeasure with them. Job points out that in that case God's punishment is reserved for the day of doom. (21:30) In other words, God will judge the wicked sooner or later. He is convicting them of sin now, but He may wait to punish them overtly, if He knows that is best. Therefore, if Zophar was trying to say that Job's trouble was because he was a wicked person, Job had refuted his argument. It is the same with us today. We should not draw a conclusion about whether a person is righteous or not based on their life circumstances. That can be very misleading. We must try to see the fruit of their hearts. That is the way to view their relationship with God.
Look at Acts 10. The Gentiles reach out to God in prayer. He responds. Peter preaches, and they are saved. They receive the Holy Spirit, and they are baptized. Is that how you would have spread the Gospel to the Gentiles? That is how God did it, and His way is the correct way. He knew it needed to be a clear sign that God is not partial. (v.34) All people are saved the same way. Peter got it, and eventually so did the rest of the disciples in Jerusalem. The question is, "Have we got it yet?" Do we know that God loves everyone, and He wants all to be saved. When a person turns to Him, He saves them by His grace.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Job 22-24 and Acts 11.