July 7, 2006 - Job 34-35 and Acts 15:1-21
God is the only Perfect Judge, because He is the only one who knows everything, and He always has the right perspective on all of the facts, which is perfect wisdom. However, God does want us to judge right and wrong, too. He does not want us to judge in the sense of being critical in order to tear down another person or ourselves. These passages speak to us about judgment, so I pray that we all will listen to what the Lord is saying to us in this important area of life.
As Elihu continues to speak in chapters 34 and 35, he is very certain that God does not sin, which is correct. (34:10) However, since he does not know that God is testing Job, he thinks that Job is being rebellious toward God. (34:37) This causes him to see Job in the wrong light. He is critical of Job, when he should not have been. This is a good example of imperfect human judgment. People can't know for sure what God is doing behind the scenes, and people can't judge motives. Whenever, we try to speak in those areas, we must be very careful. I believe that Elihu should have held open the possibility that he did not know all of the facts. He should have told Job that God would be his ultimate judge when it comes to being righteous. He should have focused on comforting Job, instead of being critical. We can all learn about imperfect judgment from Elihu.
Acts 15 is a good example of human judgment. There was a doctrinal disagreement in the church. The Pharisees who had been saved, were saying that only people who pledged to keep the Law of the Old Testament could be saved. Paul and Barnabas were teaching that salvation is by grace through faith, so that there was no works of the Law involved in being saved. They all came to Jerusalem to decide the matter. Peter spoke up concerning his experience with Cornelius. James stood up and quoted the Old Testament. Then, he rendered the decision, since he was the leader of the church at Jerusalem. He ruled in favor of salvation by grace through faith, while asking the Gentiles to abstain certain pagan practices after they were saved. There was no name calling. No one was judging the motives of either group. It was a sincere effort to find the truth. That is the kind of human judgment that God wants us to carry out in the church. By His Word and by the Holy Spirit we are to discern truth and live it out. As we sincerely pray and seek out these things as a group, the Lord will reveal His will to the group, so there can be a unity in judgment.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Job 36-37 and Acts 15:22-41.
As Elihu continues to speak in chapters 34 and 35, he is very certain that God does not sin, which is correct. (34:10) However, since he does not know that God is testing Job, he thinks that Job is being rebellious toward God. (34:37) This causes him to see Job in the wrong light. He is critical of Job, when he should not have been. This is a good example of imperfect human judgment. People can't know for sure what God is doing behind the scenes, and people can't judge motives. Whenever, we try to speak in those areas, we must be very careful. I believe that Elihu should have held open the possibility that he did not know all of the facts. He should have told Job that God would be his ultimate judge when it comes to being righteous. He should have focused on comforting Job, instead of being critical. We can all learn about imperfect judgment from Elihu.
Acts 15 is a good example of human judgment. There was a doctrinal disagreement in the church. The Pharisees who had been saved, were saying that only people who pledged to keep the Law of the Old Testament could be saved. Paul and Barnabas were teaching that salvation is by grace through faith, so that there was no works of the Law involved in being saved. They all came to Jerusalem to decide the matter. Peter spoke up concerning his experience with Cornelius. James stood up and quoted the Old Testament. Then, he rendered the decision, since he was the leader of the church at Jerusalem. He ruled in favor of salvation by grace through faith, while asking the Gentiles to abstain certain pagan practices after they were saved. There was no name calling. No one was judging the motives of either group. It was a sincere effort to find the truth. That is the kind of human judgment that God wants us to carry out in the church. By His Word and by the Holy Spirit we are to discern truth and live it out. As we sincerely pray and seek out these things as a group, the Lord will reveal His will to the group, so there can be a unity in judgment.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Job 36-37 and Acts 15:22-41.