Not Perfect, but Righteous - Job 25-27 and Acts 12
Bildad, Job's friend, did not think it was possible for a person to be righteous before God. He believed that God was so great, and we are so small, that no one could ever be considered righteous compared to God. However, God has made a way for us to be righteous. It is not by sinless perfection, because no one can be perfect in that way. Righteousness comes from God by His grace and through our faith. When a person trusts God, then, God declares that person forgiven and righteous before Him. He does it as a free gift. Of course, today, we must trust Jesus Christ, because He is the full revelation of God to us. If a person does not trust Christ, he or she is not trusting the one true God.
Job realized this truth. He did not claim to be without sin. He did claim to be right with God, because of his faith. He did claim to be living a blameless life, because he was confessing any sins he committed to God and walking closely with Him. Therefore, Job could say with integrity that he was right with God. He was not a hypocrite. I pray that we all have that confidence in the Lord today. I pray that we all know that God has accepted us by grace because we have put our faith in Jesus once and for all, and He has pronounced us to be righteous in His eyes. Please, don't continue thinking that you can work your way to God or that you can be good enough to go to heaven. That is not God's way to righteousness.
Acts 12 gives us a great example of this. Peter and the other believers were not perfect. When Peter was put in prison, the Christians were praying for him, but they could not believe it when he was let out of prison by an angel of God. Their faith was not perfect. Their actions were not perfect. Their understanding was not perfect. However, they were righteous before God, and He did answer their prayers. Herod was just the opposite. He was very unrighteous in his actions, and he never put his faith in Jesus. Then, he declared himself to be a god. God killed him for his arrogance. The truth is that many people try to declare themselves righteous before God. That is impossible. They haven't trusted Jesus Christ, but they think they are good enough to be considered righteous. One day, they will be very surprised to find out that God is the only one who can declare someone to be righteous, and He only does it by grace through faith in Jesus.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Job 28-29 and Acts 13:1-25.
Job realized this truth. He did not claim to be without sin. He did claim to be right with God, because of his faith. He did claim to be living a blameless life, because he was confessing any sins he committed to God and walking closely with Him. Therefore, Job could say with integrity that he was right with God. He was not a hypocrite. I pray that we all have that confidence in the Lord today. I pray that we all know that God has accepted us by grace because we have put our faith in Jesus once and for all, and He has pronounced us to be righteous in His eyes. Please, don't continue thinking that you can work your way to God or that you can be good enough to go to heaven. That is not God's way to righteousness.
Acts 12 gives us a great example of this. Peter and the other believers were not perfect. When Peter was put in prison, the Christians were praying for him, but they could not believe it when he was let out of prison by an angel of God. Their faith was not perfect. Their actions were not perfect. Their understanding was not perfect. However, they were righteous before God, and He did answer their prayers. Herod was just the opposite. He was very unrighteous in his actions, and he never put his faith in Jesus. Then, he declared himself to be a god. God killed him for his arrogance. The truth is that many people try to declare themselves righteous before God. That is impossible. They haven't trusted Jesus Christ, but they think they are good enough to be considered righteous. One day, they will be very surprised to find out that God is the only one who can declare someone to be righteous, and He only does it by grace through faith in Jesus.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Job 28-29 and Acts 13:1-25.