At Just the Right Time…God

December 7, 2023 / kdmiller55 / Leave a comment

¹ I mean that the heir, as long as he is a child, is no different from a slave, though he is the owner of everything, ²but he is under guardians and managers until the date set by his father. ³In the same way we also, when we were children, were enslaved to the elementary principles of the world. ⁴But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, ⁵to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. ⁶And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” ⁷So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God. – Galatians 4:1-7 ESV

Captive. Imprisoned. Under the authority of another. Incapable of setting yourself free and unable to escape from the wrath of God and His just condemnation. That was the former state of those to whom Paul wrote. At one time they had been unbelievers and enemies of God. Long before Jesus came and died, all mankind had been held captive by sin. God had provided the law through Moses to the people of Israel to make known to them His requirements for living in obedience to His righteous will. But as Paul has already made abundantly clear, the law was not intended to provide a means of justification for the Jews. It simply made clear to them God’s revealed will and exposed their complete inability to live up to it.

In his letter to the Romans, Paul wrote, “For all who have sinned without the law will also perish without the law, and all who have sinned under the law will be judged by the law” (Romans 2:12 ESV). The Gentiles were held captive by sin even though they did not have the law of God. But the Jews, who had been the recipients of God’s law, found themselves in the same sad state. Paul explained why: “For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified” (Romans 2:13 ESV). Simply having knowledge of the law was not enough. It had to be obeyed – perfectly and completely, and the Jews had failed. So, all men were under God’s condemnation for their rebellion against Him. But through the law, He had given the Jews a description of what they would have to do to justify themselves before Him. The reality was, they would never be able to pull it off and God knew it. He had a better, more perfect means of justification prepared.

He would one day send His Son to take on human flesh, live a sinless life, and die a sinner’s death as a sacrifice and substitute for men. His death would satisfy God’s need as a holy, righteous judge to pronounce judgment and allow Him to pour out His wrath as a punishment for mankind’s sin.

Paul uses the statement, “Now before faith came…” (Galatians 3:23 ESV). He is referring to the coming of Christ and, more specifically, to His death, burial, and resurrection. Jesus provided a means by which men could be made right with God, but it was only available through faith in Him. Paul says, “the law was our guardian until Christ came” (Galatians 3:24 ESV). The law functioned as a kind of tutor or teacher, educating the Jews as to God’s expectations for holy and acceptable living. It was intended to show them what God demanded of them and provide them with boundaries for life until “the coming of faith would be revealed” (Galatians 3:23 ESV). But once Jesus came and accomplished His God-given task of dying on behalf of sinful men, the law took a backseat. Justification with God became a reality, not a pipe dream. Through faith in Jesus Christ as their sin substitute, men and women could be made right with God.

Five times in these verses Paul uses the word, “faith.” The entire redemption plan of God, including man’s salvation, justification, and sanctification, is according to faith, not works. It is by faith that we move from enemies to sons and daughters of God. It is by faith that our sins are transferred to Christ and we receive His righteousness. It is by faith that we inherit the riches of eternal life. It is by faith that our sins are forgiven. It is by faith that we receive the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit. It is by faith that we become heirs of the promises of God.

Faith has come. Jesus has accomplished the will of His Father and provided a means by which men can be saved. And now that faith has come, we are to live by faith. There is no going back to religious rule-keeping. Those who have been made righteous by God through faith in Christ are to live by faith. Now that faith has come, faith is to be our sole means of living. As Paul stated earlier in this same letter, “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20 ESV). We are saved by faith. We are to live by faith. We are to do all by faith. We are to be a people of faith.

So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith. – Galatians 3:9 ESV

And yet, as people of faith, we can find ourselves living by sight rather than by faith. We can easily fall back into the trap of thinking that maintaining our right standing before God is somehow up to us. While we can easily accept the concept of salvation by faith, we find it difficult to understand that even our sanctification is a byproduct of faith. This doesn’t mean we play no role. It simply means that even any works of righteousness we do in this life are totally dependent upon our ongoing faith in Christ and His Spirit’s work within us. This is why Paul said the life he lived after coming to faith in Christ, he lived by faith in Christ. Now that faith has come, faith is all we need.

Here in chapter four, Paul continues to contrast law and grace. More specifically, he shows how faith alone is how men must be saved. And to make his point, he uses yet another analogy. He has already compared the law to a jail, imprisoning everything under sin (Galatians 2:22). He also referred to it as a guardian, watching over us and managing our affairs until Christ came. The Greek word he used was παιδαγωγός (paidagōgos), which “was applied to trustworthy slaves who were charged with the duty of supervising the life and morals of boys belonging to the better class” (“G3807 – paidagōgos – Strong’s Greek Lexicon (KJV).” Blue Letter Bible).

Here in chapter four, he uses the term, “guardian” again, but it is a different Greek word. It is ἐπίτροπος (epitropos) and it refers to “one to whose care or honor anything has been instructed” (“G2012 – epitropos – Strong’s Greek Lexicon (KJV).” Blue Letter Bible). It was commonly used to refer to a steward or overseer of one’s estate or children.

Paul also compares the law to a manager. He uses the Greek word, οἰκονόμος (oikonomos), which refers to a steward, manager, or superintendent, who was responsible for overseeing the affairs of another (“G3623 – oikonomos – Strong’s Greek Lexicon (KJV).” Blue Letter Bible).

In Paul’s day, this guardian or overseer was appointed by a father and given the responsibility to oversee the well-being of a child and manage his inheritance. This, as Paul points out, was to be the arrangement “until the date set by his father” (Galatians 4:2 ESV). In a sense, the son was no different than a slave as long as he was under the responsibility of his guardian or steward. He was expected to do exactly what the guardian told him to do. He had no access to his inheritance, except through the guardian, who managed all his affairs. He was under the watchful eye of his guardian at all times, until the day set by his father arrived.

Paul tells his readers that this was their former situation. They were under the guardianship of the law until faith came (Galatians 3:23). Up until the time that Jesus came, they had been “enslaved to the elementary principles of the world” (Galatians 4:3 ESV). Paul does not explain what he means by this phrase, but it most certainly conveys the idea of the limited understanding available to men without the help of God. In his letter to the Corinthians, Paul wrote, “Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God” (1 Corinthians 2:12 ESV).

Without the assistance of the indwelling Spirit of God, men cannot understand the truths of God. They are incapable. Paul went on to say, “The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned” (1 Corinthians 2:14 ESV). Those without Christ are limited in their understanding, incapable of grasping the truth about God or the mysteries of spirituality. In speaking of the coming Holy Spirit, Jesus told His disciples, “He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world cannot receive him, because it isn’t looking for him and doesn’t recognize him” (John 14:17 NLT). Paul also said that “God in his wisdom saw to it that the world would never know him through human wisdom” (1 Corinthians 1:21 NLT).

Man, no matter how smart he may be, cannot understand or comprehend the truth regarding God. He is “enslaved to the elementary principles of the world.” But Paul reminds his readers that, “when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son” (Galatians 4:4 ESV). At just the right time, according to His eternal plan, God sent Jesus “to redeem those were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons” (Galatians 4:5 ESV). The amazing thing is that God, in His mercy and kindness, chose to adopt those who were not even His own. The audience to whom Paul was writing was made up primarily of Gentiles who had not been part of the chosen people of God. They were outsiders, aliens, and strangers to the family of God.

Paul told the Gentile believers in Ephesus, “…remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world” (Ephesians 2:12 ESV). But he went on to tell them the good news that “you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God” (Ephesians 2:19 ESV).

Paul wants the Galatian believers to be blown away by the fact that they were now sons and daughters of God. Because He had sent His Son into the world, “born of woman, born under the law” (Galatians 4:4 ESV), and His Son had kept the law to perfection, He had qualified Himself to be the sinless substitute to die in the place of sinful men. He took our place on the cross and died the death we deserved so that we might be redeemed and restored to a right relationship with God. And those who place their faith in Christ become sons of God and receive the Spirit of God, which gives them the right to call on God as their Father.

They are miraculously transformed from slaves to sons. They become princes, instead of paupers, and heirs of all the riches of God’s grace. But Paul’s point was that none of this was possible through the keeping of the law. Sonship was not achievable through hard work. The inheritance was not accessible through diligent rule-keeping. It was the gift of God made possible through faith in the Son of God and His sacrificial death on the cross. Man cannot earn a right standing with God. He cannot merit God’s favor through hard work. In fact, Paul will go on to say that, before placing their faith in Christ, his audience didn’t even know God (Galatians 4:8). They had been incapable of comprehending or coming to a true knowledge of God. In fact, they were his enemies.

You cannot pursue that which you do not know. The natural man cannot know the things of God. Sinful men cannot seek the things of God. But God, in His great mercy and kindness, sent His Son to make Himself known.

No one has ever seen God. But the unique One, who is himself God, is near to the Father’s heart. He has revealed God to us. – John 1:18 NLT

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

So Great A Salvation

December 6, 2023 / kdmiller55 / Leave a comment

¹⁵To give a human example, brothers: even with a man-made covenant, no one annuls it or adds to it once it has been ratified. ¹⁶Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say, “And to offsprings,” referring to many, but referring to one, “And to your offspring,” who is Christ. ¹⁷This is what I mean: the law, which came 430 years afterward, does not annul a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to make the promise void. ¹⁸For if the inheritance comes by the law, it no longer comes by promise; but God gave it to Abraham by a promise.

¹⁹Why then the law? It was added because of transgressions, until the offspring should come to whom the promise had been made, and it was put in place through angels by an intermediary. ²⁰Now an intermediary implies more than one, but God is one.

²¹Is the law then contrary to the promises of God? Certainly not! For if a law had been given that could give life, then righteousness would indeed be by the law. ²²But the Scripture imprisoned everything under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.

²³Now before faith came, we were held captive under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith would be revealed. ²⁴So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith. ²⁵But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, ²⁶for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. ²⁷For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. ²⁸There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. ²⁹And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise. – Galatians 3:15-29 ESV

As a former Pharisee, Paul had a scholarly understanding of the Old Testament. But it was after his conversion, when he had received the indwelling Holy Spirit, that Paul truly began to understand that the Old Testament was a foreshadowing of the coming Messiah, Jesus Christ. Post-conversion, his comprehension of the Scriptures was both magnified and clarified. Familiar passages took on a whole new meaning when he was able to view them through the lens of the gospel. In the case of Genesis 13:15 and 17:8, where Moses records God’s covenant with Abraham, Paul exegetes these all-too-familiar passages by revealing that through them, God had been promising the coming of Christ.

He was the “seed” or “offspring” through whom all the nations would be blessed. God’s promise to Abraham would ultimately be fulfilled through Jesus. But what is Paul’s point in bringing to light this new interpretation or understanding of God’s promise? He was attempting to answer the argument that the Mosaic law, which came after the giving of the promise by God to Abraham, somehow superseded or supplanted it.

But Paul argues that God had made a binding covenant with Abraham and his “offspring.” This God-ordained agreement could not be nullified or broken. It was a unilateral covenant, made by God and could only be annulled by God. But Paul argues that at no point did God revoke or replace the covenant, even when He had given Moses the law some 430 years afterward. In fact, Paul points out that the inheritance tied to the promise of God could be received only through the promise of God. It was not accessible any other way, especially not through the keeping of the law. And the inheritance of which Paul speaks is tied directly to the idea of justification by faith. This was the crux of the problem taking place among the Galatian believers.

They had been told that their justification was tied to the keeping of the law, most specifically to God’s command regarding circumcision. In other words, they were being sold a bill of goods that promised them a right standing before God through law-keeping and self-effort, not faith in Christ alone.

Paul wrote to the Colossian believers:

May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy, giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. – Colossians 1:11-14 ESV

He prayed for the Ephesian believers…

…that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints… – Ephesians 1:17-18 ESV

For Paul, the promise of God made to Abraham and fulfilled in Christ, was all about the wonderful reality of a restored relationship with God, for both Jews and Gentiles. And this incredible gift was only available through faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ. It could not be attained through self-effort. Paul went on to tell the Ephesian believers that he wanted them to understand “what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 1:19-20 ESV).

Our salvation, justification, sanctification, and glorification are all tied to the work of Christ on our behalf. Our righteousness comes from Christ. Our right standing before God is a result of His shed blood. Our future inheritance is tied to His sacrificial death on the cross. All that we are and all that we hope to be is based on the finished work of Christ, and for that, we have much to be grateful.

So, what is the role of the law? If it is not necessary for salvation, why did God command the Israelites to keep His lengthy list of commands and regulations? Paul knew these questions were on the minds of his audience, so he chose to provide the answers.

It was given alongside the promise to show people their sins. – Galatians 3:19 NLT

Once again, Paul stresses the presence of the promise as being separate from the law. They were not inextricably linked as the Judaizers claimed. Keeping of God’s law was not a mandatory or non-negotiable requirement for receiving the promises made to Abraham’s “offspring.” Paul brings up this word again to stress the role that Jesus played in fulfilling the promise made by God.

Why then the law? It was added because of transgressions, until the offspring should come to whom the promise had been made. – Galatians 3:19 ESV

Until Jesus came and provided a better way to achieve a right standing with God, the law would serve as a temporary guardian or guide, assisting the Israelites in living up to God’s holy standard of righteousness. Paul makes that point in verse 24.

…the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith. – Galatians 3:24 ESV

Paul continues to unpack the true meaning behind the promise that God made to Abraham. According to Paul, the offspring to whom God referred was Jesus, and the law was given by God after He had made the promise to Abraham to expose the full extent of mankind’s sinfulness. God gave His chosen people the law “because of transgressions.”

The law was given by God to reveal or expose man’s sin. It clearly articulated God’s holy and righteous expectations, and there could be no debate. In his letter to the Romans, Paul wrote, “Yet if it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin. For I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, ‘You shall not covet’” (Romans 7:7 ESV). Before the giving of the law, man could have rationalized away his sin or simply claimed ignorance. But the law removed that option for God’s chosen people.

Paul goes on to say that the presence of the law acted as an impetus to sin, not causing man to sin, but provoking man’s sinful nature to rebel against it. When the law said, “Do not…”, man’s sin nature automatically and reflexively responded, “I will…”. Paul went on to say, “sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, produced in me all kinds of covetousness” (Romans 7:8 ESV). Indwelling sin, which opposes God, stands opposed to His holy law. It rejects it and entices man’s fleshly, sinful nature to disobey it. Like a parent telling their child not to touch a hot stove, the prohibition creates in the child an even deeper desire to do that which has been denied.

In verse 19, Paul says the law “was put in place through angels by an intermediary.” Moses provides us with some insight into the meaning behind Paul’s statement. Just before his death, Moses gave a blessing to the people of Israel, saying, “The Lord came from Sinai and dawned from Seir upon us; he shone forth from Mount Paran; he came from the ten thousands of holy ones, with flaming fire at his right hand” (Deuteronomy 33:2 ESV). Angels played a mediatory role, while Moses played an intermediatory role. The law was given and it placed responsibilities on God and upon man. God was obligated and committed to bless when men obeyed His law.

And if you faithfully obey the voice of the Lord your God, being careful to do all his commandments that I command you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, if you obey the voice of the Lord your God. – Deuteronomy 28:1-2 ESV

But He was also required to curse or punish when man disobeyed.

But if you will not obey the voice of the Lord your God or be careful to do all his commandments and his statutes that I command you today, then all these curses shall come upon you and overtake you. – Deuteronomy 28:15 ESV

In contrast, when it came to the Abrahamic covenant, the promise God made regarding his “offspring” was solely the responsibility of God. There was no intermediary. The promise was made by God and would be fulfilled by Him alone. No angels played a part, and Abraham was not required to do anything to earn the fulfillment of the promise. He was simply required to trust God, and Paul describes Abraham as having an unwavering faith in God.

No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. That is why his faith was “counted to him as righteousness.” – Romans 4:20-22 ESV

The law did not stand opposed to or somehow replace the promise of God. It was not intended to be a replacement for the promise. And it was never designed to produce in man a righteousness that would restore him to a right relationship with God. What it did was reveal the depth of humanity’s sinfulness and helplessness. Whether motivated by a genuine love for or fear of God, men were incapable of keeping His righteous decrees. The law simply confirmed that they were lawbreakers.

The law was designed to be temporary in nature. It was to be in effect until the promise was fulfilled and “the offspring” came. With the coming of Jesus and His death on the cross, the law’s binding hold on man was released. Jesus became the fulfillment of the law, having obediently kept every single requirement. He did what no other man had ever done, and His sinless perfection made Him the perfect, blameless sacrifice that God required to atone for the sins of mankind. Jesus paid it all. His sinless, unselfish sacrifice of His own life satisfied the just demands of a holy God.

In Romans, Paul writes of the unbelievable impact of Jesus’ death on our behalf:

For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die — but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. – Romans 5:6-9 ESV

Law-keeping is not the answer to man’s sin problem. The law was never intended to provide salvation. It was designed to show man his sin and place him under God’s holy and just condemnation. The law was not even capable of driving men to God. As Paul indicated, it actually inflamed man’s sinful nature and drove him further from God. Law-breakers hate the law; they look for ways to disobey it and get around it. They see the law as oppressive and unnecessary. But Jesus came to free men from the law. He came to provide a means by which they could be made right with God apart from the law. And Paul makes it very clear that Jesus died for us while we were still sinners. We didn’t see our need for a Savior and then run to Him. We were dead in our trespasses and sins. We were blinded by our own sin natures and by Satan himself. And yet God, in His grace, opened our eyes to see the glory of the offer of the gift of His Son’s death. The scales fell off our eyes and His Spirit gave us the supernatural ability to say yes to that which we had previously rejected.

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. – Ephesians 2:8-10 ESV

Even our faith is a gift from God, otherwise, it would be of our own doing. Paul wants us to understand that our salvation is the sovereign work of God, from beginning to end. As when Jesus called Lazarus from the tomb, shouting, “Lazarus, come forth!,” God calls us out of the death and darkness of sin, providing us with not only life but the capacity to obey. That is why Paul refers to the gospel as “so great a salvation.” It needs no add-ons or addendums. God’s plan is perfect because it is all based on Him alone.

The Greatest Gift of All

November 25, 2023 / kdmiller55 / Leave a comment

¹Then Job answered the Lord and said:

²“I know that you can do all things,
    and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted.
³‘Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge?’
Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand,
    things too wonderful for me, which I did not know.
⁴‘Hear, and I will speak;
    I will question you, and you make it known to me.’
⁵I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear,
    but now my eye sees you;
⁶therefore I despise myself,
    and repent in dust and ashes.”

⁷After the Lord had spoken these words to Job, the Lord said to Eliphaz the Temanite: “My anger burns against you and against your two friends, for you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has. ⁸Now therefore take seven bulls and seven rams and go to my servant Job and offer up a burnt offering for yourselves. And my servant Job shall pray for you, for I will accept his prayer not to deal with you according to your folly. For you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has.” ⁹So Eliphaz the Temanite and Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite went and did what the Lord had told them, and the Lord accepted Job’s prayer. – Job 42:1-9 ESV

Job had been in search of answers from God but, instead, he had ended up discovering God himself. His quest for justice, vindication, and explanations for his suffering had forced him the seek God and, in the end, what he found eclipsed his any of his expectations. Job’s unexpected and unwanted sufferings actually brought him closer to God. Ever since his trials had begun, Job had been in a constant search for relief and redemption, and while he received those things in full, they where nothing when compared to his restored relationship with God.

Job has suffered much at the hands of Satan, but also as a result of the critical words of his friends. But as the book comes to an end, God has stepped into the scene and administered a profound theological lesson that has left Job virtually speechless. The only words that come out of his mouth are statements of praise and contrition.

“I know that you can do anything,
and no one can stop you.” – Job 42:2 NLT

“I was talking about things I knew nothing about,
things far too wonderful for me.” – Job 42:3 NLT

“I take back everything I said,
and I sit in dust and ashes to show my repentance.” – Job 42:6 NLT

Job’s encounter with God left him a changed man, and while the restoration of his health and wealth would have an impact on his life, it was the change within his heart that produced the greatest transformation. Job confessed that his relationship with God had been dramatically altered because his understanding of the Almighty had been greatly expanded. His suffering and subsequent face-off with God had opened his eyes to things he had never considered before. His knowledge of God had moved from the head to the heart. Rather than having to rely on purely theoretical concepts, Job had moved to an experiential understanding of God.

“I had only heard about you before,
but now I have seen you with my own eyes.” – Job 42:5 NLT

God had become real and relatable. He was no longer distant and disconnected from Job’s daily life, but was an up-close and personal God who had chosen to meet with Job face to face.

has spoken and condemned Eliphaz and his friends as having spoken our of turn. In fact, God tells them, ” you have not been right in what you said about me” (Job 42:7 NLT). He commands them to offer burnt offerings for their sin and to have Job pray for them. If they don’t, God would be forced to deal with them according to their folly.

After 42 chapters of dialogue, the most important part of the story of Job seems to be the lessons he learns about his God. Up until this point, Job’s understanding of God was based on what he had heard about God. His was an academic, intellectual understanding of God, and it showed up in his diatribes against God. But now he realized that he was wrong. He had spoken out of turn and out of ignorance. But now, Job’s view of God had changed because he had experienced and heard from Him.

And isn’t that what God is always trying to do – reveal Himself to men? He wants us to know Him, not just know about Him. He wants us to experience Him – in all His power, mercy, grace, and love. That is why He sent His Son – as a living revelation of God on earth in the form of a man. In Jesus, we see the character of God come alive. He gave us an up-close and personal glimpse of God.

For in Christ the fullness of God lives in a human body. – Colossians 2:9 NLT

For God in all his fullness was pleased to live in Christ. – Colossians 1:19 NLT

It was the apostle Peter who encouraged followers of Christ to “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 3:18 NLT). Yet, for too many of us, our knowledge of God is what we have heard, read, or assumed. Our understanding of God is limited to what we have been taught or told. It lacks the personal, experiential touch.

Our God ends up being distant and, at times, a little difficult to know. But God wants us to know Him. He wants us to see and experience Him in our everyday lives. He challenges us get to know Him better.

“Stop your striving and recognize that I am God!” – Psalm 46:10 NET

In Hebrew, that word “recognize” means “to know, realize, see, find out, discern, or to know by experience.” God wants us to know beyond a shadow of a doubt that He truly is who He says He is. He wants us to know by experience that He is God.

It is in the daily experiences of life that God wants to reveal Himself, including our trials and difficulties. He wants to display His glory and goodness in those impossible situations that come our way; in our relationships, finances, health, homes, workplaces, and those moments of doubt and fear.

Job didn’t come to know God because God blessed him. The restoration of Job’s health and wealth were not the impetus for his improved understanding of God; it was he because actually heard from God. God spoke to Job and the truth about Himself. He gave Job a glimpse of His power and majesty by comparing Himself to His own creation.

The interesting thing is, He never gave Job an explanation for what had happened. He never defended Himself to Job because He didn’t have to. He was God. He simply reminded Job who it was he was complaining to. He reminded Job of His power and sovereign will. God didn’t owe Job an explanation. He also didn’t owe Job reparations or compensation of any kind. But Job learned that he owed God reverence and respect.

With Job on his knees in repentance, God turns attention to Eliphaz and his friends, and He shows them no mercy.

“I am angry with you and your two friends, for you have not spoken accurately about me, as my servant Job has.” – Job 42:7 NLT

What happens next appears to be a test of the validity of Job’s heart transformation. God commands Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar to offer an atoning sacrifice for having misrepresented themselves as His spokesmen and for having misspoken about His character. They had neither heard from God or fully understood the nature of God but they had not let that stop them from speaking on behalf of God. So, God required them to make atonement for their sins, and then he commanded Job to pray for them.

“My servant Job will pray for you, and I will accept his prayer on your behalf. I will not treat you as you deserve, for you have not spoken accurately about me, as my servant Job has.” – Job 42:8 NLT

One can only imagine how difficult this assignment would have been for Job. These three men had caused him untold amounts of grief and suffering. They had berated and belittled him. They had falsely accused him. And now, God was asking Job to act as their intercessor. If Job would pray for them, God would withhold His judgment of them. That means that Job held their lives in his hands. He could have refused to petition the Lord on their behalf. In his anger and resentment, He could have chosen to get even and give them over the God’s judgment. But he didn’t. His heart had been changed and his desire to please God was greater than his need for vengeance or vindictiveness.

We know Job prayed because the text tells us “the Lord accepted Job’s prayer” (Job 42:9 NLT). The sacrifices were made, Job’s supplication was offered up to God, and Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar were forgiven.

Four separate times in these verses, God refers to Job as his servant. He wants Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar to understand that their estimation and subsequent condemnation of Job had been totally wrong. They had declared Job to be wicked and immoral. They had accused him of committing acts of injustice and unrighteousness. And yet, God repeatedly refers to him as “my servant Job” (Job 42:7, 8). Job’s sufferings had not been a sign of sin. His losses had not been evidence of wrongdoing. Throughout it all, Job had remained a servant of God. He was a suffering saint who endured tremendous pain and loss in this life but whose relationship with God had remained unchanged.

In the 11th chapter of Hebrews, the author chronicles the lives of Old Testament saints who, like Job, exhibited faith in the midst of sorrow and loss. These men and women were willing to endure great pain while still holding onto to their belief in the goodness and greatness of God.

…others were tortured, refusing to turn from God in order to be set free. They placed their hope in a better life after the resurrection. Some were jeered at, and their backs were cut open with whips. Others were chained in prisons. Some died by stoning, some were sawed in half, and others were killed with the sword. Some went about wearing skins of sheep and goats, destitute and oppressed and mistreated. They were too good for this world, wandering over deserts and mountains, hiding in caves and holes in the ground.

All these people earned a good reputation because of their faith, yet none of them received all that God had promised. For God had something better in mind for us, so that they would not reach perfection without us. – Hebrews 11:35-40 NLT

Job’s reputation was restored. His integrity and good name were vindicated. But God was not done. In a demonstration of divine mercy and grace, God will prove Job’s innocence by putting everything back to the way it was before Satan entered the scene. God will graciously and abundantly bless His servant Job and allow him to once again experience the joys of his former life. But the greatest gift Job received was his restored relationship with God.

Show up, Shut Up, and Lift Up

November 14, 2023 / kdmiller55 / Leave a comment

¹Then Elihu answered and said:

²“Hear my words, you wise men,
    and give ear to me, you who know;
³for the ear tests words
    as the palate tastes food.
⁴Let us choose what is right;
    let us know among ourselves what is good.
⁵For Job has said, ‘I am in the right,
    and God has taken away my right;
⁶in spite of my right I am counted a liar;
    my wound is incurable, though I am without transgression.’
⁷What man is like Job,
    who drinks up scoffing like water,
⁸who travels in company with evildoers
    and walks with wicked men?
⁹For he has said, ‘It profits a man nothing
    that he should take delight in God.’

¹⁰“Therefore, hear me, you men of understanding:
    far be it from God that he should do wickedness,
    and from the Almighty that he should do wrong.
¹¹For according to the work of a man he will repay him,
    and according to his ways he will make it befall him.
¹²Of a truth, God will not do wickedly,
    and the Almighty will not pervert justice.
¹³Who gave him charge over the earth,
    and who laid on him the whole world?
¹⁴If he should set his heart to it
    and gather to himself his spirit and his breath,
¹⁵all flesh would perish together,
    and man would return to dust.”– Job 34:1-15 ESV

You reap what you sow. That’s the basic idea behind Elihu’s entire argument, and from his “learned” perspective, Job was living proof of that proverbial adage. But Elihu could not claim credit for having coined that phrase; it was Eliphaz who first broached the topic.

“As I have seen, those who plow iniquity
and sow trouble reap the same.” – Job 4:8 ESV

The prophet Hosea records Yahweh using the same idea to condemn the rebellious people of Israel.

“I said, ‘Plant the good seeds of righteousness,
    and you will harvest a crop of love.
Plow up the hard ground of your hearts,
    for now is the time to seek the Lord,
that he may come
    and shower righteousness upon you.’

“But you have cultivated wickedness
and harvested a thriving crop of sins.” – Hosea 10:12-13 NLT

And the apostle Paul picked up on this theme when writing to the believers living in Galatia.

Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. – Galatians 6:7-8 ESV

Of course, Elihu attempts to give his personal touch to the topic by paraphrasing it in a slightly different way.

“The Almighty can do no wrong.
He repays people according to their deeds.
He treats people as they deserve.” – Job 34:10-11 ESV

His places the emphasis on God because he is trying to show that Job is guilty of falsely accusing Yahweh of injustice. Not only has Job committed sins worthy of God’s wrath and judgment, but he has also blasphemed the name and character of God – at least according to Elihu’s estimation.

But Elihu is guilty of twisting Job’s words. Yes, Job is frustrated and has spoken rashly and, sometimes, unwisely, but at no point has Job disparaged God. He has actually championed Yahweh’s sovereignty, declaring his belief that, ultimately, God is in control of all things. That’s the reason he longs to have God provide him with an explanation for his suffering. Job isn’t discrediting the character of God; he is simply having a difficult time justifying his own pain and suffering. He refuses to accept the idea that his losses are the result of personal sin and that is what is driving Elihu crazy.

Elihu resorts to quoting Job but takes liberties in doing so.

“For Job also said, ‘I am innocent,
but God has taken away my rights.
I am innocent, but they call me a liar.
My suffering is incurable, though I have not sinned.’” – Job 34:5-6 NLT

A look back at chapter 27 reveals that Elihu conveniently disregarded a few pertinent points from Job’s comments.

“I vow by the living God, who has taken away my rights,
    by the Almighty who has embittered my soul—
As long as I live,
    while I have breath from God,
my lips will speak no evil,
    and my tongue will speak no lies.
I will never concede that you are right;
    I will defend my integrity until I die.
I will maintain my innocence without wavering.
    My conscience is clear for as long as I live.” – Job 27:2-6 NLT

Job did not disparage God but simply acknowledged that his fate was in God’s hands. His whole point was that there was nothing Elihu, Bildad, Eliphaz, or Zophar could say that would make him deny his innocence. Job’s belief in the sovereignty of God was so great that he was forced to conclude his trials were the handiwork of God.

Elihu was disingenuous and deceptive in using Job’s words against him. But he was desperate to portray Job as a wicked and ungodly man who was getting exactly what he deserved. In fact, he goes out of his way to paint Job in the least favorable light.

“Tell me, has there ever been a man like Job,
    with his thirst for irreverent talk?
He chooses evil people as companions.
    He spends his time with wicked men.
He has even said, ‘Why waste time
    trying to please God?’” – Job 34;7-9 NLT

For all his self-proclaimed wisdom, Elihu displays rather unsophisticated reasoning skills. For him, it boiled down to one simple equation: God is right and men are wrong.

“Everyone knows that God doesn’t sin!
The Almighty can do no wrong.” – Job 34:10 NLT

No one in his right mind would argue with that conclusion, including Job. But Elihu wants to make it appear as if Job was accusing God of sin. At best, all Job was guilty of was questioning the fairness of his situation. He couldn’t understand why he had been forced to endure such devastating losses. But at no time had Job accused God of wickedness. He knew there was a reason behind his suffering and all he was asking for was an explanation.

But Elihu is engaging a bit of slight of hand. He is attempting to make this a battle between Job and the Almighty, with Job playing the part of the evil antagonist. In Elihu’s heavily fabricated version of events, God is wearing the white hat while Job is relegated to the role of the dastardly desperado.

“Truly, God will not do wrong.
The Almighty will not twist justice.” – Job 34:12 NLT

This overly simplistic view of Job’s situation was designed to make it a black and white matter. God was good and Job was bad. As far as Elihu could see it, Job was lucky to be alive.

“If God were to take back his spirit
and withdraw his breath,
all life would cease,
and humanity would turn again to dust.” – Job 34:14-15 NLT

But Elihu is a windbag who lives to hear himself talk. He is in love with the sound of his own voice. He goes on and on, spouting his words of wisdom, but never really saying anything of substance. Amazingly, he accuses Job of talking utter nonsense. He claims that Job speaks without knowledge or insight, and he opens his mouth in empty talk. But in reality, Elihu is the one who is saying a lot without saying anything at all. He is so convinced he is right that he even gets vindictive and hateful toward Job, wishing him harm and not good.

We all could learn a lot from Elihu; not so much from what he says, but how he says it. In his pride and arrogance, this young man cares more about being right than being showing love to someone who is hurting. He takes it upon himself to defend God, when God needs no defense. He speaks for God when he has no clue what God is doing or thinking.

But we can do the same thing. It is too easy to jump to conclusions regarding situations and circumstances, and make determinations that are neither correct nor corrective. We judge too quickly and condemn too easily. Sometimes our declarations of guilt have less to do with the facts than wishful thinking. There is little doubt that there were those who took a perverse sort of pleasure in Job’s demise. They had watched him prosper and succeed, all the while harboring jealous feelings toward him. Now that he had taken a tumble, it was easy to dog-pile and relish in his apparent sinfulness.

They say if it looks too good to be true, it probably is. That’s probably what Job’s friends were thinking about him. And sometimes we can harbor the same feelings towards those in our sphere of influence whom we have watched suffer a sudden fall from grace. Sure, we tell them we’re praying for them, but we actually find their demise somewhat enjoyable. We find pleasure in trying to ascertain the sin that led to their fall. If we’re kind, we try to remind them that they’re far from perfect. And we do all this because if we can find fault in others, it usually makes us feel better about ourselves.

But what Job needed was encouragement, reassurance, and comfort. He needed to know that God loved him and had not abandoned him. This suffering saint was in need of the calming presence of compassionate companions, not the harsh criticism of fair-weather friends. So when we encounter friends who are going through difficult times, will we offer them a tale … full of sound and fury, signifying nothing? Or will we offer them our unconditional love and unwavering support?

While it is easy to condemn Elihu, we must be careful to keep from becoming just like him. That requires God to open our eyes so that we can see any similarities we may share with Elihu. It means that we must ask the Holy Spirit to control our tongues and create in us hearts of compassion. They say that silence is golden. There are times when saying nothing can speak volumes. So, may we ask God for the wisdom and discernment to know when to speak up and when to shut up, so that whenever we encounter anyone going through difficulty, we can be the ones who lift them up.

A Demand for Justice or Judgment

November 9, 2023November 9, 2023 / kdmiller55 / Leave a comment

¹“I have made a covenant with my eyes;
    how then could I gaze at a virgin?
²What would be my portion from God above
    and my heritage from the Almighty on high?
³Is not calamity for the unrighteous,
    and disaster for the workers of iniquity?
⁴Does not he see my ways
    and number all my steps?

⁵“If I have walked with falsehood
    and my foot has hastened to deceit;
⁶(Let me be weighed in a just balance,
    and let God know my integrity!)
⁷if my step has turned aside from the way
    and my heart has gone after my eyes,
    and if any spot has stuck to my hands,
⁸then let me sow, and another eat,
    and let what grows for me be rooted out.

⁹“If my heart has been enticed toward a woman,
    and I have lain in wait at my neighbor’s door,
¹⁰then let my wife grind for another,
    and let others bow down on her.
¹¹For that would be a heinous crime;
    that would be an iniquity to be punished by the judges;
¹²for that would be a fire that consumes as far as Abaddon,
    and it would burn to the root all my increase.

¹³“If I have rejected the cause of my manservant or my maidservant,
    when they brought a complaint against me,
¹⁴what then shall I do when God rises up?
    When he makes inquiry, what shall I answer him?
¹⁵Did not he who made me in the womb make him?
    And did not one fashion us in the womb?

¹⁶“If I have withheld anything that the poor desired,
    or have caused the eyes of the widow to fail,
¹⁷or have eaten my morsel alone,
    and the fatherless has not eaten of it
¹⁸(for from my youth the fatherless grew up with me as with a father,
    and from my mother’s womb I guided the widow),
¹⁹if I have seen anyone perish for lack of clothing,
    or the needy without covering,
²⁰if his body has not blessed me,
    and if he was not warmed with the fleece of my sheep,
²¹if I have raised my hand against the fatherless,
    because I saw my help in the gate,
²²then let my shoulder blade fall from my shoulder,
    and let my arm be broken from its socket.
²³For I was in terror of calamity from God,
    and I could not have faced his majesty.” – Job 31:1-23 ESV

In what appears to be Job’s closing argument, he provides a long list of accusations that have been leveled against him. Since the first moment his three friends arrived in Uz, Job has endured a steady barrage of finger-pointing and fault-finding as they attempted to determine the cause of his suffering. In their minds, Job’s circumstances could only be explained by one thing: Sin.

To have suffered such inexplicable loss and pain, Job must have done something to offend God. That was the only reasonable explanation Job’s self-appointed prosecutors could come up with. So, in this rather lengthy speech, Job addresses each and every one of their accusations head-on but he does it in the form of a call for divine justice or judgment.

Repeatedly, Job uses the conditional statement formula, “If…then. In this rather strange declaration of innocence, Job uses their very accusations to say, “If I have done these things, then let me suffer the consequences.” But inferred by his statement is the counter-argument: “If have not committed these crimes, then may God vindicate me.”

Job is not confessing guilt; he is demanding justice. He remains resolutely committed to his innocence and firmly confident that justice will be done. For Job, the one point of consistency in his topsy-turvy life was the sovereignty of God. While everything else crumbled around him, Job clung to his belief in God’s providential care and commitment to justice.

“Let God weigh me on the scales of justice,
for he knows my integrity.” – Job 31:6 NLT

Job’s theological underpinnings were quite simple and straightforward. His view of God was fairly one-dimensional and based on a righteousness-reward model. If you do what is right and good, you will be rewarded by God. If you don’t, you will suffer the consequences. Job provides the following synopsis of his thoughts about God.

“Isn’t it calamity for the wicked
and misfortune for those who do evil?
Doesn’t he see everything I do
and every step I take?” – Job 31:3-4 NLT

It would appear that Job’s view of God was somewhat unsophisticated. His entire theology was based on a belief that God’s omniscience allows Him to reward the righteous and punish the wicked. In Job’s simplistic worldview, good deeds guarantee a good life.

“As a consequence of his suffering, Job viewed man’s relationship to God as being based on God’s sovereign caprice; therefore man could hope for happiness only by adhering to an ethical rightness superior to God’s whereby he could demand vindication.” – Gregory W. Parsons, “The Structure and Purpose of the Book of Job.” Bibliotheca Sacra

It’s easy to see how this view of God required Job to defend his innocence so rigorously. There had to be another reason for his suffering, otherwise, his friends would be proven right and he would be forced to acknowledge his own wickedness.

What if I were in Job’s shoes? What if I found myself in a similar situation? Could I respond the way Job did? Would I be able to claim my innocence with unwavering confidence? No, I would probably be able to come up with more than a handful of reasons for why I was going through what I was going through. I could find plenty of things for which I was guilty and deserving of some kind of punishment. But not Job. Just take a look at his speech in chapter 31. Job continues to claim his innocence, and he does it by giving a list of possible options for sins that might result in the kind of suffering he is enduring.

If I have stolen…

If I have coveted…

If I have lusted…

If I have taken advantage of…

If I have been selfish and unmerciful…

If I have not been generous…

If I have shown no compassion…

If I have abused the defenseless…

If I have been greedy…

If I have made prosperity my god…

If I have enjoyed watching others fail…

If I have not shared with those in need…

If I have tried to hide my sins…

If Job had done any of these things, he would have understood why he was suffering. But, in his mind, he stood before God and men as innocent.

Could I say the same thing? No, I’m afraid not. I would be guilty. In fact, I would never have played the “What if game” that Job played. Too dangerous. Too risky. Too condemning. I have done all of those things and more. I know it and so does God. Because, just as Job stated in his rhetorical question at the beginning of his little speech, “Isn’t God looking, observing how I live? Doesn’t he mark every step I take?” (Job 31:4 MSG).

God knew every detail of Job’s life and the same thing is true of me. But what is amazing for us as believers is that we get to stand before God as righteous – justified and pure – all because of what Jesus Christ did for us on the cross. God looks at me through the blood of His Son and sees me as righteousness. I have had Christ’s righteousness imputed to my account. He sees me as guiltless and, therefore, He does not condemn me. I am positionally righteous.

But I still sin. That is why I am called to become progressively more righteous. Paul commands us to “lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God” (Ephesians 4:1 NLT). In Colossians he tells us, “So if you’re serious about living this new resurrection life with Christ, [act] like it. Pursue the things over which Christ presides. Don’t shuffle along, eyes to the ground, absorbed with the things right in front of you. Look up, and be alert to what is going on around Christ–that’s where the action is. See things from his perspective. Your old life is dead. Your new life, which is your [real] life–even though invisible to spectators–is with Christ in God. [He] is your life” (Colossians 3:1-3 MSG).

Yes, God is watching us. But He is also indwelling us and empowering us. He is providing us with all we need to live the life of righteousness to which He has called us. Peter reminds us, “Everything that goes into a life of pleasing God has been miraculously given to us by getting to know, personally and intimately, the One who invited us to God. The best invitation we ever received!” (2 Peter 31:3 MSG).

We have all we need to live a life of righteousness. And even when we fail and fall, we have the right to bring our sins before the throne of God and confess them. And “if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from every wrong” (1 John 1:9 NLT).

So, in actuality, we can stand before God just as Job did and say, “If I…” The key is confession and repentance. Our sins have been paid for in full on the cross. There is no more punishment for sin. We confess our sins not so we can incur God’s wrath and judgment, but so that He can cleanse us and make us more into the likeness of His Son. He progressively makes us more righteous. In 1 Peter 1:16, we are told by God to “Be holy, because I am holy.” God is not telling us to become something new. He is not telling us to change who we are. He is telling us to become what we already are – holy, set apart, and uniquely His. Peter tells us, “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light” (1 Peter 2:10 NIV).

We have the power within us to change everything about us. So that we can actually stand before God and say, “If I…”

The Truth About False Words

November 5, 2023November 6, 2023 / kdmiller55 / Leave a comment

¹And Job again took up his discourse, and said:

²“As God lives, who has taken away my right,

    and the Almighty, who has made my soul bitter,
³as long as my breath is in me,
    and the spirit of God is in my nostrils,
⁴my lips will not speak falsehood,
    and my tongue will not utter deceit.
⁵Far be it from me to say that you are right;
    till I die I will not put away my integrity from me.
⁶I hold fast my righteousness and will not let it go;
    my heart does not reproach me for any of my days.

⁷“Let my enemy be as the wicked,
    and let him who rises up against me be as the unrighteous.
⁸For what is the hope of the godless when God cuts him off,
    when God takes away his life?
⁹Will God hear his cry
    when distress comes upon him?
¹⁰Will he take delight in the Almighty?
    Will he call upon God at all times?
¹¹I will teach you concerning the hand of God;
    what is with the Almighty I will not conceal.
¹²Behold, all of you have seen it yourselves;
    why then have you become altogether vain?

¹³“This is the portion of a wicked man with God,
    and the heritage that oppressors receive from the Almighty:
¹⁴If his children are multiplied, it is for the sword,
    and his descendants have not enough bread.
¹⁵Those who survive him the pestilence buries,
    and his widows do not weep.
¹⁶Though he heap up silver like dust,
    and pile up clothing like clay,
¹⁷he may pile it up, but the righteous will wear it,
    and the innocent will divide the silver.
¹⁸He builds his house like a moth’s,
    like a booth that a watchman makes.
¹⁹He goes to bed rich, but will do so no more;
    he opens his eyes, and his wealth is gone.
²⁰Terrors overtake him like a flood;
    in the night a whirlwind carries him off.
²¹The east wind lifts him up and he is gone;
    it sweeps him out of his place.
²²It hurls at him without pity;
    he flees from its power in headlong flight.
²³It claps its hands at him
    and hisses at him from its place.” – Job 27:1-23 ESV

In this follow-up to his previous response to Bildad, Job takes all three of his friends to task. In Hebrew, his use of the word “you” is in the plural form and he repeats it several times.

“I will never concede that you are right;
I will defend my integrity until I die.” – Job 27:5 NLT

“I will teach you about God’s power.
I will not conceal anything concerning the Almighty.
But you have seen all this,
yet you say all these useless things to me.” – Job 27:11-12 NLT

Job has reached the end of his patience and wants Bildad, Eliphaz, and Zophar to know that he will never give in to their demands that he confess his sin. In fact, the first six verses of this speech are his unequivocal claim of innocence, and he backs it up by a vow or oath that is based on the very existence of God.

“As surely as God lives,” Job begins. The existence of God is undeniable and irrefutable, and on that basis, Job declares that his innocence is just as sure and steadfast. His steadfast belief in his innocence was as firm as his belief in the existence of God. Even the life-altering nature of his fall had not shaken his belief in God. Yes, he had plenty of questions he wanted to direct to God, but he had never questioned God’s existence. And he was willing to take unwavering belief in his own righteousness to the grave. No amount of pressure from his three friends was going to change his mind or shatter his faith in his own integrity.

“I will never say that you are right; I will maintain my integrity until I die. I will cling to my righteousness and never let go. As long as I live, my conscience will not accuse me.” – Job 27:5-6 BSB

Job was so insistent because he refused to place himself within the company of the wicked. For him, that was unthinkable because it would be a virtual death sentence. His view of the fate of the wicked was dark and hopeless. He flatly states, “what hope do the godless have when God cuts them off and takes away their life?” (Job 27:8 NLT). Their fate is sealed because they will fall into the hands of the righteous Judge of the universe. No amount of regret or remorse will change their future because God will not listen to their cries or defer His judgment.

“Will God listen to their cry
when trouble comes upon them?
Can they take delight in the Almighty?
Can they call to God at any time?” – Job 27:9-10 NLT

Job’s questions are rhetorical and have only one answer.: “No!” One day, as they face their inevitable judgment, the wicked of this world will see the error of their ways and attempt to make things right with God, but it will be too little, too late. Job is not describing true repentance or what we might call “saving faith.” He is talking about those who live their entire lives in opposition to the will of God and then, at death, when facing their just and righteous judgment, try to escape their fate by a sudden death-bed display of godliness. It won’t work, asserts Job.

The most surprising aspect of Job’s assessment of the fate of the wicked is that he hopes his three friends will experience it.

“May my enemy be like the wicked and my opponent like the unjust.” – Job 27:7 BSB

This statement appears harsh and unjustified to the modern reader but it was a common rhetorical device in Job’s day. This over-the-top denunciation of his three friends was meant to accentuate the unjust nature of their false accusations of him.

King David uses a similar style of imprecatation when dealing with his own false accusers.

O God, whom I praise,
    don’t stand silent and aloof
while the wicked slander me
    and tell lies about me.
They surround me with hateful words
    and fight against me for no reason.
I love them, but they try to destroy me with accusations
    even as I am praying for them! – Psalm 109:1-4 NLT

These “friends” of David were not only guilty of slandering him but were going out of their way to ruin his reputation and life.

They say, “Get an evil person to turn against him.
    Send an accuser to bring him to trial.
When his case comes up for judgment,
    let him be pronounced guilty.
    Count his prayers as sins.” – Psalm 109:6-7 NLT

David provides a shocking list of their prayers for his downfall and they are unsparing in their desire to see him completely humiliated and ruined, not only for life, but for eternity.

“May all his offspring die.
May his family name be blotted out in the next generation.
May the Lord never forget the sins of his fathers;
may his mother’s sins never be erased from the record.” – Psalm 109:13-14 NLT

So, David responds with a prayer of his own.

May those curses become the Lord’s punishment
for my accusers who speak evil of me. – Psalm 109:20 NLT

Again, those kinds of words seem out of place and unacceptable for a child of God to pray. But they are a common form of rhetorical argument among all the semitic people groups. In those days, a man’s name was considered sacred and an extension of his very nature. That is why false accusations were taken so seriously and dealt with so harshly. One of the commands in the Decalogue dealt with this very issue.

“You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.” – Exodus 20:18 ESV

In the book of Deuteronomy, Moses outlines a further extension of this law, providing legal judgment concerning anyone who made a libelous accusation against another.

“If the accuser has brought false charges against his fellow Israelite, you must impose on the accuser the sentence he intended for the other person. In this way, you will purge such evil from among you.” – Deuteronomy 19:18-19 NLT

In a sense, this is what Job was calling for. He wanted the slanderous accusations of his three friends to have consequences. In his mind, they were attempting to ruin his name and tarnish his reputation amongst his neighbors. In Job’s case, the integrity of his name was all he had left and the malicious words of his three accusers were robbing him of even that.

Job’s anger is understandable. He has been through a lot and the attacks of his three friends have been relentless. It’s likely that these discussions did not take place in private but were conducted in front of an audience of Job’s peers. Bildad, Eliphaz, and Zophar had put their friend on trial. They probably sought evidence against Job by interviewing his neighbors. To bolster their case, they would have conducted pre-trial research and found individuals willing to testify against Job. The meteoric fall of Job would have been known to all in Uz, but the presence of the three friends would have fired up the rumor mill and stirred up all kinds of speculation concerning Job’s fate.

So, weighed down by his pain and suffering and angered by the destruction of his reputation among his neighbors and friends, Job lashed out. He couldn’t help but wish that his three friends would have their own words turned against them. It was only just and right in his mind that his false accusers suffer some kind of consequences for their actions, and his assessment was right in line with the will of God.

“Be sure never to charge anyone falsely with evil. Never sentence an innocent or blameless person to death, for I never declare a guilty person to be innocent.” – Exodus 23:7 NLT

Job was convinced of his own innocence, so his friends must be guilty of slander. It was a simple as that. His friends had been adamant that God punishes the wicked, and Job fully agreed. But in Job’s mind, the roles were reversed. They were the guilty ones and fully liable to the wrath of God. Their righteous-sounding rhetoric would not save them. Their claims of godly wisdom wouldn’t protect them. They had ruined Job’s name and they would pay dearly for their crime.

“Terror overwhelms them like a flood,
and they are blown away in the storms of the night.
The east wind carries them away, and they are gone.
It sweeps them away.” – Job 27:20-21 NLT

These verses are difficult to read and reconcile. But Job was desperately trying to protect and preserve the only thing of value that remained: His name. Without a good name, he had nothing. His future was ruined and his legacy was utterly destroyed. But the only way he could restore his soiled reputation was by having God step in and declare him innocent. He knew that only God could provide a just and righteous verdict in this case and he longed for that day to come.

God’s Greatness and Goodness

November 3, 2023November 4, 2023 / kdmiller55 / Leave a comment

¹Then Bildad the Shuhite answered and said:

²“Dominion and fear are with God;
    he makes peace in his high heaven.
³Is there any number to his armies?
    Upon whom does his light not arise?
⁴How then can man be in the right before God?
    How can he who is born of woman be pure?
⁵Behold, even the moon is not bright,
    and the stars are not pure in his eyes;
⁶how much less man, who is a maggot,
    and the son of man, who is a worm!”

¹ Then Job answered and said:

²“How you have helped him who has no power!
How you have saved the arm that has no strength!
³How you have counseled him who has no wisdom,
and plentifully declared sound knowledge!
⁴With whose help have you uttered words,
and whose breath has come out from you?” – Job 25:1-26:4 ESV

It almost appears as if Bildad is growing weary. In what will be the last of his three speeches, he seems to run out of energy and words in his ongoing attempt to convince Job of his guilt. Since Job has continued to express his belief that God will ultimately vindicate him, Bildad reminds his friend that God is not to be trifled with. He describes God as a “powerful and dreadful” (Job 25:1 NLT) ruler who reigns over the armies of heaven. His power is so vast that He controls the sun and “is more glorious than the moon” and “shines brighter than the stars” (Job25:5 NLT).

This all-powerful deity is a force to be reckoned with and not to be taken lightly. Bildad is appalled by Job’s arrogant display of faux intimacy with God. From his perspective, Bildad sees Job as far too flippant in his attitude toward the God of the universe. His beleaguered friend displays a schockingly and unwise disregard for God’s holiness and transcendence. Job speaks of God as if they were best friends and Bildad goes out of his way to paint God as anything but Job’s bosom buddy in the sky. This great and glorious God is so vast and holy that no mere mortal can dare to stand in His presence, let alone hope to be called His friend. Bildad drives home this point like a dagger.

“How can a mortal be innocent before God?
Can anyone born of a woman be pure?” – Job 25:4 NLT

And in an apparent attempt to build a bridge of reconcliation to Job, Bildad includes himself in the category of all those who fail to measure up to God’s glorious standard.

“In comparison, people are maggots;
we mortals are mere worms.” – Job 25:6 NLT

While there is truth in what Bildad has to say, he is applying that truth like a sledgehammer while neglecting to factor in such things as God’s love, mercy, compassion, and desire to have a relationship with mankind. God is indeed transcendent but He makes a habit of reaching out making Himself available and approachable to humanity. The incarnation of Jesus Christ is the greatest example of God’s desire to make Himself known to man.

No one has ever seen God. But the unique One, who is himself God, is near to the Father’s heart. He has revealed God to us. – John 1:18 NLT

Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. – Colossians 1:15 NLT

God made Himself known to Adam and Eve in the garden. Before the fall, they had daily fellowship with their Creator-God. Noah and Enoch are said to have walked with God. They both enjoyed an intimate relationship with the Almighty that He initiated. Abraham was called “the friend of God” (Isaiah 41:8; James 2:24) and that relationship was marked by regular interactions with his divine counterpart. They talked repeatedly and Abraham knew what it was like to be discipled and disciplined by his Heavenly Father and friend.

Bildad mistakenly portrays God as a one-dimensional being who is so dissimilar and distant from humanity that the gulf between the two cannot be bridged. What right does the lowly worm have to expect the God who created the universe to take notice of it. And, according to Bildad’s logic, a sinful human being has not hope of standing before the wholly righteous and sinless God of the universe. Job was out of his league and out of his mind to think that God would give him the time of day. Bildad believed ob was living in a fantasy land of illusion and false hope, and the sooner he woke up to the reality of his sinfulness and God’s holiness, the better.

But Job isn’t swayed by Bildad’s pessimistic logic. Rather than bow the knee to Bildad’s demand for abject submission to God’s trancendence, Job levels a series of stinging and sarcastic one-liners against his friend.

“How you have helped the powerless!
    How you have saved the weak!
How you have enlightened my stupidity!
    What wise advice you have offered!
Where have you gotten all these wise sayings?
    Whose spirit speaks through you?” – Job 26:2-4 NLT

These literally statements drip with sarcasm. Job wants Bildad and his two companions to know that their lengthy monologues have been utterly useless and of no benefit whatsoever. He is not impressed with their wisdom. He has received no life-altering insights from all their pontificating and posturing. He has not been swayed by their rhetorical skills or pithy-sounding platitudes masquerading as truth. There is nothing they have said that he didn’t already know. They have brought nothing new to the table but have simply regurgitated the same old worn-out arguments about God’s greatness and man’s lowliness. But that doesn’t help to explain Job’s predicament. Job fully understood that God is God and he is not. He knew that God was holy and righteous. In fact, he was counting on it. He was so convinced of God’s “otherness” that He was willing to take his questions and concerns straight to the sole source of wisdom, truth, and justice.

Job knew God was holy, and he wasn’t taking Him lightly or treating Him with contempt. Despite the picture his friends painted, Job wasn’t stupid. But he was desperate. He needed answers. He longed for relief. And so he called out to that powerful and dreadful God who rules over the host of heaven and controls the sun, moon, and stars. He went straight to the top, not out of some misguided sense of self-worthiness or equality with God, but based on his understanding of God’s greatness and goodness.

God invites His children to call upon Him. He desires even lowly worms to reach out to Him in faith and hope.

“…call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me.” – Psalm 50:15 ESV

“Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known.” – Jeremiah 33:3 ESV

…everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. – Romans 10:13 ESV

And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. – Acts 2:21 ESV

Job had not called his friends, but they had shown up anyway, and their arrival had brought him nothing but grief. Their answers and advice had proven unhelpul and nothing but hurtful. They were even advising Job to curtail his pitiful and pointless cries to God. It would do him no good, they reasoned. He was wasting his time. But Job knew better. Despite all that had happened, Job knew that God was his only hope. Yes, his hope was wavering and his faith was being severely tested, but he kept returning to the one piece of solid ground in the landscape of his shattered life: The greatness and goodness of God.

If Job had only had access to the Psalms, he might have shared the following insights with his friend, Bildad. These amazing words from the pen of Ethan the Ezrahite provide a powerful counterpoint to the short-sighted logic of Bildad.

O Lord God of Heaven’s Armies!
Where is there anyone as mighty as you, O Lord?
You are entirely faithful.

You rule the oceans.
    You subdue their storm-tossed waves.
You crushed the great sea monster.
    You scattered your enemies with your mighty arm.
The heavens are yours, and the earth is yours;
    everything in the world is yours—you created it all.
You created north and south.
    Mount Tabor and Mount Hermon praise your name.
Powerful is your arm!
    Strong is your hand!
    Your right hand is lifted high in glorious strength.
Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne.
    Unfailing love and truth walk before you as attendants.
Happy are those who hear the joyful call to worship,
    for they will walk in the light of your presence, Lord.
They rejoice all day long in your wonderful reputation.
    They exult in your righteousness. – Psalm 89:8-16 NLT

It is God’s greatness that makes possible His goodness. Only He is all-powerful and fully capable of using His righteousness and justice to right the wrongs and bring about vindication and restoration to the hurting and hopeless of this world.

Saved by Faith

September 3, 2023 / kdmiller55 / Leave a comment

⁷By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household. By this he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith. – Hebrews 11:7 ESV

Can things get any worse? That’s a question every person living on planet earth seems to be asking themselves these days. With each passing day, the global state of affairs seems to be on a decidedly downward spiral. But as bad as things may seem to be in our day and age, there was a time when things were far worse. In fact, according to the book of Genesis, the moral conditions on earth had degraded to such a degree that God decided to do something about it. Dissatisfied with the degenerated moral state of humanity, He vowed to wipe out everything and start over.

The Lord observed the extent of human wickedness on the earth, and he saw that everything they thought or imagined was consistently and totally evil. So the Lord was sorry he had ever made them and put them on the earth. It broke his heart. And the Lord said, “I will wipe this human race I have created from the face of the earth. Yes, and I will destroy every living thing—all the people, the large animals, the small animals that scurry along the ground, and even the birds of the sky. I am sorry I ever made them.” But Noah found favor with the Lord. – Genesis 6:5-8 NLT

Now before we get smug and pat ourselves on the back for not being near as bad as our antediluvian ancestors, we should consider that the only reason we haven’t experienced the same fate is because of the covenant God made with Noah promising to never destroy the world by water again. But the apostle Paul gives us another reason we should refrain from thinking that we are somehow better than our pre-flood relatives.

…even though God has the right to show his anger and his power, he is very patient with those on whom his anger falls, who are destined for destruction. He does this to make the riches of his glory shine even brighter on those to whom he shows mercy, who were prepared in advance for glory. – Romans 9:22-23 NLT

It is simply because of God’s desire to shower His mercy through the gift of His Son that He has not chosen to destroy each and every one of us.

But back to Noah. Notice what it says at the end of the passage in Genesis: “But Noah found favor with the Lord.” In the midst of all the human wickedness on the earth, Noah had managed to remain in a right standing with God. We might ask ourselves how Noah stayed the course while everyone else was headed in the opposite direction morally and spiritually. How was he able to stay faithful in the face of such rampant wickedness? What kept him from giving up and giving in to the constant peer pressure? The author of Hebrews tells us. As he did when speaking about Enoch, he opens his short essay on Noah with the words, “By faith…”

Noah was a man of faith. He believed God existed and was a rewarder of those who seek Him (Hebrews 11:6). Moses, under the inspiration of the Spirit, wrote, “Noah was a righteous man, the only blameless person living on earth at the time, and he walked in close fellowship with God.” (Genesis 6:9 NLT). Noah wasn’t perfect or sinless. The word “blameless” simply means that he was whole or complete in his devotion to God. He lived his entire life before God with no hidden areas. He kept no secrets from God. He practiced complete transparency, rather than trying to compartmentalize his life into secular and sacred categories.

He had managed to remain faithful to God because he believed God was faithful. Noah was well aware of the wickedness of the culture in which he lived, and he knew that God was aware as well. So, when Noah was “warned by God concerning events as yet unseen,” he listened and believed. God shared with him the bad news concerning His decision to destroy mankind.

Now God saw that the earth had become corrupt and was filled with violence. God observed all this corruption in the world, for everyone on earth was corrupt. So God said to Noah, “I have decided to destroy all living creatures, for they have filled the earth with violence. Yes, I will wipe them all out along with the earth! – Genesis 6:11-13 NLT

In one sense, God was not telling Noah anything he did not already know. He knew the world around him was corrupt and filled with violence. He knew his neighbors well. He had been living his life in an ever-increasing climate of sin. But the news of God’s plan to wipe out everything and everyone must have left him shocked and surprised. God’s divine decision to destroy all that He had made would have been difficult to understand. So, God followed up the bad news with some very good news. He was going to spare Noah and his family, and this is the part where Noah’s faith comes into play. God gave Noah one more detail concerning His plan that was going to have a dramatic, life-altering impact on Noah.

“Build a large boat from cypress wood and waterproof it with tar, inside and out. Then construct decks and stalls throughout its interior. Make the boat 450 feet long, 75 feet wide, and 45 feet high. Leave an 18-inch opening below the roof all the way around the boat. Put the door on the side, and build three decks inside the boat—lower, middle, and upper. “Look! I am about to cover the earth with a flood that will destroy every living thing that breathes. Everything on earth will die. But I will confirm my covenant with you. So enter the boat—you and your wife and your sons and their wives. Bring a pair of every kind of animal—a male and a female—into the boat with you to keep them alive during the flood. Pairs of every kind of bird, and every kind of animal, and every kind of small animal that scurries along the ground, will come to you to be kept alive. And be sure to take on board enough food for your family and for all the animals.” – Genesis 6:14-21 NLT

There are a number of things we have to keep in mind when reading this all-too-familiar account. First of all, Noah had never seen a boat before. In fact, there is no indication that Noah had even seen a body of water large enough to float a boat before. And there are those who believe that Noah had never seen rain before. They arrive at this conclusion from a passage found earlier in Genesis that describes conditions on the earth before God had made man.

When no bush of the field was yet in the land and no small plant of the field had yet sprung up—for the Lord God had not caused it to rain on the land, and there was no man to work the ground, and a mist was going up from the land and was watering the whole face of the ground. – Genesis 2:5-6 ESV

On top of all this, we know that Noah was nearly 600 years old when he received this devastating news from God. He was being asked by God to build a massive boat and collect two of every kind of animal, all under a looming deadline that was bringing the destruction of the entire planet. Oh, and as if there wasn’t enough pressure on Noah, this boat was going to be his only means of salvation. So, how did Noah respond to this unbelievable and seemingly impossible assignment from God? Moses tells us, rather matter-of-factly: “So Noah did everything exactly as God had commanded him” (Genesis 6:22 NLT).

What was the description of faith given to us in verse one of Hebrews 11? “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” In the Genesis account, there is no indication that Noah questioned God or tried to talk Him out of His plan. He didn’t complain about the scope of the project or the impossibility of the assignment. He simply did what God told him to do. Why? Because he had faith in God. In “reverent fear” he went about constructing the ark that would prove to be the means of his salvation. It all sounded implausible and impossible. The task before him had to feel overwhelming and insurmountable. This was not a typical do-it-yourself project. He wasn’t adding a deck onto the back of his house. He was building a massive boat, and all on blind faith. Yet he had an assurance of what he was hoping for – that he and his family would survive the flood. He had a conviction of things unseen – that this boat would float and that this entire project would not end in disaster. Because he had faith in God.

When all is said and done, Noah was saved by faith, not a boat. Actually, Noah was saved by God. But it took belief in the plan of God for Noah to experience that salvation. Had he never built the boat, he would have died, along with his entire family. But he listened, believed, and obeyed. And he was saved. Noah had to believe in the wrath of God as well as the mercy of God. He had to believe that God, in His justice, would destroy mankind because of their sin. But he also had to believe that God was offering him a way of escape, a means of salvation – by faith. And we read the sobering words in Genesis:

All were destroyed. The only people who survived were Noah and those with him in the boat. – Genesis 7:23 NLT

God kept His word. He did what He said He would do. Including to provide Noah and his family with salvation from death. Noah’s actions, based on his faith in God, resulted not only in his salvation but in him becoming “an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith” (Hebrews 11:7b). His example of faith and trust in the promises of God was a foreshadowing of the salvation that God would make possible for all those who would eventually place their hope in the promise of eternal life through faith in His Son. Noah provided a model of faithfulness for generations of his own descendants. He wasn’t saved because he built an ark. He wasn’t saved because he was righteous. He was saved because he believed God and stepped out in faith and obeyed God.

Salvation has always been accomplished through faith. It was true in Noah’s day and it remains true even now. No matter how bad things may get in this world, there is always hope in the promises of God, and the apostle Paul provides us with a much-needed reminder of God’s power to save – by faith.

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.” – Romans 1:16-17 ESV

Nothing But the Blood of Jesus

August 27, 2023 / kdmiller55 / Leave a comment

¹For since the law has but a shadow of the good things to come instead of the true form of these realities, it can never, by the same sacrifices that are continually offered every year, make perfect those who draw near. ²Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered, since the worshipers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have any consciousness of sins? ³But in these sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year. ⁴For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.

⁵Consequently, when Christ came into the world, he said,

“Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired,
    but a body have you prepared for me;
⁶in burnt offerings and sin offerings
    you have taken no pleasure.
⁷Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come to do your will, O God,
    as it is written of me in the scroll of the book.’”

⁸When he said above, “You have neither desired nor taken pleasure in sacrifices and offerings and burnt offerings and sin offerings” (these are offered according to the law), ⁹then he added, “Behold, I have come to do your will.” He does away with the first in order to establish the second. ¹⁰And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. – Hebrews 10:1-10 ESV

The Law, the Tabernacle, the priesthood, and the sacrificial system associated with Judaism were all just a shadow, a feint outline of something far greater to come. They were a facade and not the real thing. This God-ordained system was intended to be a temporary representation and a daily reminder of man’s need for something better and more lasting. The sacrifices were ongoing and necessarily repetitive because they could never bring full forgiveness of sin. They could not remove the guilt associated with sin. No amount of animal sacrifices would make someone permanently and completely right with God.

In his commentary on Romans, W. H. Griffith Thomas writes, “Someone has well said: ‘The blood of animals cannot cleanse from sin because it is non-moral. The blood of sinning man cannot cleanse because it is immoral. The blood of Christ alone can cleanse because it is moral’” (W. H. Griffith Thomas, Hebrews: A Devotional Commentary).

The blood of animals was insufficient. The blood of men was contaminated by sin. That means that one man could not offer his life as a sin substitute for another. His own sinfulness prevented him from doing so. So, something better was needed.

Quoting from Psalm 40, the author of Hebrews uses the words of King David to express the attitude of Jesus when it came to His role as the sinless Lamb of God.

In sacrifice and offering you have not delighted,
    but you have given me an open ear.
Burnt offering and sin offering
    you have not required.
Then I said, “Behold, I have come;
    in the scroll of the book it is written of me:
I delight to do your will, O my God;
    your law is within my heart.” – Psalm 40:6-8 ESV

Jesus came to do the will of His Father in heaven. The apostle Paul emphasized Jesus’ self-sacrificing obedience in his letter to the believers in Philippi.

…though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. – Philippians 2:6-8 ESV

Jesus died, not as some kind of a martyr, but as “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29 ESV). Jesus was the sinless, unblemished Lamb, whose sacrifice fully satisfied God’s judgment against the rebellion of the human race He had created. And unlike the animal sacrifices that had to be offered year after year, the sacrifice of Jesus was one and done. It was a once and for all time kind of sacrifice that never needed to be repeated.

With Jesus’ sacrifice, no other deaths would be required to satisfy the just demands of God. But to enjoy the benefits of Jesus’ sacrifice, each individual must place their faith in Him as their sin substitute. They must acknowledge their own sin and their need for an all-sufficient Savior. As Peter put it, the unrighteous must recognize their need for a source of righteousness outside of themselves.

For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit. – 1 Peter 3:18 ESV

For sinners to take advantage of the righteousness that Jesus offers, they must first confess that their sin prevents them from having a right standing with God. It is their sinful state that separates them from a holy and righteous God and they must accept the sacrifice of Jesus as payment for their sin penalty. There is nothing anyone can do to satisfy or appease God through self-effort or attempts at self-righteousness. Paul would have us remember that man’s sin problem has only one solution.

For God in all his fullness
    was pleased to live in Christ,
and through him God reconciled
    everything to himself.
He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth
    by means of Christ’s blood on the cross.

This includes you who were once far away from God. You were his enemies, separated from him by your evil thoughts and actions. Yet now he has reconciled you to himself through the death of Christ in his physical body. As a result, he has brought you into his own presence, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault. – Colossians 1:19-22 NLT

The sad reality is that there are still those who believe their right standing with God is dependent upon their own human effort. They spend their days trying to earn favor with God by attempting to keep some set of rules or engaging in some ritualistic behavior that they believe will assuage the anger of the Almighty. They struggle with the idea that someone else could pay for their sins. They wrestle with the concept of Jesus being the Son of God and sacrificing His life on their behalf. In their misguided attempt to please God with their own lives, they mistakenly view Jesus as nothing more than a role model, a good man who somehow managed to live a relatively sin-free life. And they wrongly assume that they can do what Jesus did. But that is not the message of the gospel.

The apostle Paul makes this clear when he writes, “but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8 ESV). He doesn’t say that God shows his love for us when we figure out how to live without sin. No, God loved us in the midst of our sinfulness, and He proved it by sending His Son to die for us. The whole sacrificial system makes no sense if this is not the case. The Law, the sacrifices, the priesthood – none of it makes sense if Jesus was not the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. Each of these elements associated with the old covenant was designed to point to Jesus. They provided a faint glimpse of the better covenant to come.

…if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion to look for a second. – Hebrews 8:7 ESV

Jesus came to do His Father’s will of His Father, and that included His death on the cross. But as the author of Hebrews writes, “and by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all” (Hebrews 10:10 ESV). Under the old covenant, it was God’s that men offer up sacrifices, the blood of bulls and goats, in order to atone for their sins. But ultimately, those sacrifices were not enough to satisfy the righteous, holy, and just demands of God. He had given His Law in order to show His chosen people that they were incapable of living righteous lives and obeying His commands. Trapped in a constant state of willful rebellion against God’s covenant commandments, the people of Israel were incapable of changing their sinful behavior. In His mercy and grace, God provided the sacrificial system to provide temporary relief from the guilt and condemnation of sin. Without it, the Israelites could have never enjoyed the experience of a restored fellowship with God. Their sins had to be atoned for so that they could stand in the presence of a holy and righteous God.

But that system was simply a shadow, a glimpse of something far greater to come. Jesus was not simply a man who somehow managed to live a sinless life. He was the Son of God who came in human flesh and lived without sin because He was divine. Because He was born of the Spirit of God, He entered this world without a sin nature. This is what enabled Jesus to live as a human being, suffering all the same temptations we do, yet without ever violating the will of His Heavenly Father.

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. – Hebrews 4:15 ESV

He alone was qualified to serve as the sacrifice for which God was looking. He alone could serve as the payment for the sins of mankind that would satisfy and propitiate God. Nothing else would do. No other sacrifice would work. No amount of human effort, rule-keeping, good works, or so-called deeds of righteousness could appease the wrath of God. Only the sinless sacrifice of the Son of God would do. This is why boldly proclaimed, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6 ESV).

Notice that He did not say, “No one comes to the Father unless they live like me.” He didn’t say, “No one comes to the Father unless they model their lives after me.” No, He said we must access the Father through Him by placing our faith in His work on the cross, not our works on this earth.

Such a Great Salvation

August 20, 2023 / kdmiller55 / Leave a comment

¹¹Now if perfection had been attainable through the Levitical priesthood (for under it the people received the law), what further need would there have been for another priest to arise after the order of Melchizedek, rather than one named after the order of Aaron? ¹²For when there is a change in the priesthood, there is necessarily a change in the law as well. ¹³For the one of whom these things are spoken belonged to another tribe, from which no one has ever served at the altar. ¹⁴For it is evident that our Lord was descended from Judah, and in connection with that tribe Moses said nothing about priests.

¹⁵This becomes even more evident when another priest arises in the likeness of Melchizedek, ¹⁶who has become a priest, not on the basis of a legal requirement concerning bodily descent, but by the power of an indestructible life. ¹⁷For it is witnessed of him,

“You are a priest forever,
after the order of Melchizedek.”

¹⁸For on the one hand, a former commandment is set aside because of its weakness and uselessness ¹⁹(for the law made nothing perfect); but on the other hand, a better hope is introduced, through which we draw near to God.

²⁰And it was not without an oath. For those who formerly became priests were made such without an oath, ²¹but this one was made a priest with an oath by the one who said to him:

“The Lord has sworn
and will not change his mind,
‘You are a priest forever.’”

²²This makes Jesus the guarantor of a better covenant.

²³The former priests were many in number, because they were prevented by death from continuing in office, ²⁴but he holds his priesthood permanently, because he continues forever. ²⁵Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.

²⁶For it was indeed fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens. ²⁷He has no need, like those high priests, to offer sacrifices daily, first for his own sins and then for those of the people, since he did this once for all when he offered up himself. ²⁸For the law appoints men in their weakness as high priests, but the word of the oath, which came later than the law, appoints a Son who has been made perfect forever. – Hebrews 7:11-22 ESV

A better hope is introduced, through which we draw near to God. What better summary statement could there be for this section of Hebrews? The author has been establishing the high priesthood of Jesus and setting up his defense of the superior nature of Jesus’ sacrifice. There was no need for the Jews in his audience to fall back on or revert back to their old Judaic rituals or customs. He has already warned them about drifting away and neglecting such a great salvation found in Jesus. He has reminded them that Jesus “had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people” (Hebrews 2:17 ESV).

With His incarnation, crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension, Jesus accomplished something new, better, more effective, and totally permanent when it comes to man’s damaged relationship with God. As Paul stated in his letter to the Romans, “For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God” (Romans 6:10 ESV). Peter fully concurred with Paul when he wrote, “Christ suffered for our sins once for all time. He never sinned, but he died for sinners to bring you safely home to God. He suffered physical death, but he was raised to life in the Spirit” (1 Peter 3:18 NLT).

The main point of the author of Hebrews is that God sent Jesus because the Mosaic Law, the Levitical priesthood, and the sacrificial system were never meant to be a permanent solution to man’s sin problem. He elaborates further on this fact in chapter ten.

The old system under the law of Moses was only a shadow, a dim preview of the good things to come, not the good things themselves. The sacrifices under that system were repeated again and again, year after year, but they were never able to provide perfect cleansing for those who came to worship. If they could have provided perfect cleansing, the sacrifices would have stopped, for the worshipers would have been purified once for all time, and their feelings of guilt would have disappeared. – Hebrews 10:1-2 NLT

He even takes it one step further: “But instead, those sacrifices actually reminded them of their sins year after year. For it is not possible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins” (Hebrews 10:3-4 NLT). This is why he infers that the high priesthood of Jesus would never have been necessary if “perfection had been attainable through the Levitical priesthood” (Hebrews 7:11 ESV).

If men could have been made right (justified) with God through the law, there would have been no need for Jesus to come to earth. But He did come because the law could only convict but not save. It was temporary, a shadow of something greater to come. The law revealed the holiness of God and the sinfulness of mankind. And Jesus came in order to bridge the gap between the two. He became God in human flesh, living among men, and doing what no other man had ever been able to do, including Aaron the high priest: He obeyed all of God’s law. In doing so, Jesus revealed His perfect righteousness and demonstrated that He required no sacrifice for atonement.

Unlike those other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices every day. They did this for their own sins first and then for the sins of the people. – Hebrews 7:27 NLT

Aaron was just a man and, as such, he was susceptible to sin and in constant need of atonement. He could not serve as the mediator between God and the people of Israel until his own sins had been paid for. He and his sons required constant purification from their own sinfulness so that they might offer sacrifices on behalf of the people. But that was not the case for Jesus.

Jesus needed no cleansing from sin. And rather than offering repeated sacrifices to atone for the sins of the people, Jesus took care of the problem with a single sacrifice that served as a permanent solution to mankind’s sin problem.

Jesus did this once for all when he offered himself as the sacrifice for the people’s sins. – Hebrews 7:27 NLT

And Jesus did this despite the fact that He was not a member of the tribe of Levi. He was not a descendant of Aaron and, therefore, was not in line for the high priesthood. His path to the priesthood was ordained by God.

Jesus became a priest, not by meeting the physical requirement of belonging to the tribe of Levi, but by the power of a life that cannot be destroyed. – Hebrews 7:16 NLT

Just as Aaron had been appointed by God, so too was Jesus. But His priesthood was of a different order altogether. As God had done so many times before, He began again. He started fresh. He annulled the earlier priesthood and replaced it with a better one.

…the old requirement about the priesthood was set aside because it was weak and useless. – Hebrews 7:18 NLT

God had never intended the Aaronic priesthood to last forever. It was a temporary institution that would eventually run its course. When the temple was destroyed the priesthood effectively came to an end. Without the house of God, there was no place to offer sacrifices. There was no Holy of Holies, no mercy seat, and no hope of atonement. The priesthood became unnecessary and the peoples’ hopes of being made right with God all but disappeared – until Jesus appeared on the scene.

With His incarnation, Jesus became the permanent and superior high priest. Unlike Aaron and his descendants, Jesus cannot die, therefore His priesthood has no end. And because He cannot sin, He has no need for atonement. His perfection made Him the perfect high priest and allowed Him to provide a better way for men to be restored to a right relationship with God.

The author says that the old system of the law has been “set aside.” The Greek word he used is athetēsis and it means “to annul, abolish, reject.” This word has powerful implications and he uses it for a reason. He wants his readers to know that there is no reason whatsoever for them to fall back to their old way of life as Jews, because “a former commandment is set aside because of its weakness and uselessness (for the law made nothing perfect)” (Hebrews 7:18-19 ESV).

They now have a “better hope” (Hebrews 7:19 ESV). Jesus, the new-and-improved high priest, provides a way for sinful men to be justified before God. It isn’t based on the blood of bulls and goats but on the blood of the sinless Lamb of God. In offering Himself as the perfect offering for the sins of mankind, Jesus did away with the need for animal sacrifices.

The old system under the law of Moses was only a shadow, a dim preview of the good things to come, not the good things themselves. The sacrifices under that system were repeated again and again, year after year, but they were never able to provide perfect cleansing for those who came to worship. If they could have provided perfect cleansing, the sacrifices would have stopped, for the worshipers would have been purified once for all time, and their feelings of guilt would have disappeared. – Hebrews 10:1-2 NLT

The better priest offered a better sacrifice. And, unlike Aaron, Jesus’ priesthood is permanent because He is eternal. God made Jesus our high priest and swore an oath that His priesthood would last forever. This makes Jesus “the guarantor of a better covenant” (Hebrews 7:22 ESV). Aaron, the original high priest, eventually died. Every Levite who served as a priest in the Tabernacle of God also died. And even while they were alive, their sacrifices were temporary at best. Again, the author elaborates on this issue in chapter ten.

Under the old covenant, the priest stands and ministers before the altar day after day, offering the same sacrifices again and again, which can never take away sins. But our High Priest offered himself to God as a single sacrifice for sins, good for all time. Then he sat down in the place of honor at God’s right hand. – Hebrews 10:11-12 NLT

He is the better high priest who offered a better sacrifice and provides us with a better source of hope. His sacrifice will never have to be repeated. His death left God the Father fully propitiated or satisfied. Those who are in Christ have had their sins forgiven completely and permanently. They have been made right with God forever. There is nothing more they need to do to earn God’s favor or remain in His good graces. Which is why the author calls it “such a great salvation.”

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