92. Does It Matter If I Am Righteous?

Posted on Posted in Sermon Notes Tagged with , , ,

Hymns: RHC 351 He Leadeth Me 565 Have You Counted the Cost? 352 All the Way My 
Savior Leads Me

Job 35:1-13

1 Elihu spake moreover, and said, 2 Thinkest thou this to be right, that thou saidst, My righteousness is more than God’s? 3 For thou saidst, What advantage will it be unto thee? and, What profit shall I have, if I be cleansed from my sin? 

4 I will answer thee, and thy companions with thee. 5 Look unto the heavens, and see; and behold the clouds which are higher than thou. 6 If thou sinnest, what doest thou against him? or if thy transgressions be multiplied, what doest thou unto him? 7 If thou be righteous, what givest thou him? or what receiveth he of thine hand? 8 Thy wickedness may hurta man as thou art; and thy righteousness may profit the son of man.

Does It Matter If I Am Righteous?

OUTLINE

(1) Does Righteousness Pay? (v1-3)

(2) God’s Perspective (v4-8)

INTRODUCTION

Do you attach a string to your faith in God? Does your faith in God comes with the condition of His blessing upon your life the way you would like it to go? 

Do we come to trust God solely because He is God and therefore, we worship Him? Will we worship Him and obey Him however great the suffering the suffering that may come upon us? 

Is our relationship with God conditional or do we worship Him because He alone is God? Pertinent questions for our consideration so that we will not deny God however severe the suffering may come upon us.

We saw at the close of chapter 32, Elihu counselling Job to confess and forsake his sin, and to stop demanding God to do what he wants. Job has been talking ignorance, speaking evil, spewing forth rebellion, sin, and a multitude of words against God.

Here in chapter 35, Elihu reproves Job for claiming to act more righteously than God and for saying that righteousness does not pay. Man’s sin does not harm the sovereign God, neither does his righteousness benefit God. (William MacDonald)

For Job, his suffering was so severe, the question is asked “If I take the trouble to live a pertinent and godly life, what is the point, if, despite my virtue, I experience such terrible suffering? Surely I might at least expect some measure of blessing instead of this dreadful pain.” (Christopber Ash)

This was what Elihu pointed to Job in this third speech – 1 Elihu spake moreover, and said, 2 Thinkest thou this to be right, that thou saidst, My righteousness is more than God’s? 3 For thou saidst, What advantage will it be unto thee? and, What profit shall I have, if I be cleansed from my sin?

Christopher Ash observed well, “That is Job’s question and objection. Elihu answers it with considerable robustness. There is no arm around Job’s shoulder and no sympathetic cup of tea but rather a strong rebuke!

Matthew Henry said well, “Job being still silent, Elihu follows his blow, and here, a third time, undertakes to show him that he had spoken amiss, and ought to recant. Three improper sayings he here charges him with, and returns answer to them distinctly:

  • He had represented religion (faith in God) as an indifferent unprofitable thing, which God enjoins for His own sake, not for ours; Elihu evinces the contrary (v1-8). 
  • He had complained of God as deaf to the cries of the oppressed, against which imputation Elihu here justifies God (v9-13). 
  • He had despaired of the return of God’s favour to him, because it was so long deferred, but Elihu shows him the true cause of the delay (v14-16).”

(1) Does Righteous Pay?

1 Elihu spake moreover, and said, 2 Thinkest thou this to be right, that thou saidst, My righteousness is more than God’s? 3 For thou saidst, What advantage will it be unto thee? and, What profit shall I have, if I be cleansed from my sin? 

Suffering can cause a person to be shaken to make light of eternal blessings and to wallow in present sufferings. 

The Apostle Paul says in Philippians 3:8-11 (KJV) Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith: That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death; If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead.

There is a spiritual and eternal weight to his faith that enables Him to despise his present suffering and shame.

The resurrection of Christ giving victory to all men over sin and death was the Apostle’s hope and anchor. God granted Him the grace to suffer for His Name’s sake.

The writer of Hebrews gave this encouragement to believers to look to Jesus and be not dismayed as the race gets very tough and challenging.

Hebrews 12:1-13 (KJV) Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds. Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin. 

And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons. Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live? For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness. 

Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby. Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees; And make straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way; but let it rather be healed.

Job is charge with renouncing the peace and joy that comes with sins forgiven when we allow our suffering to take away the eternal peace and joy that God has bestowed to believers in Christ.

(2) God’s Perspective (v4-8)

4 I will answer thee, and thy companions with thee. 5 Look unto the heavens, and see; and behold the clouds which are higher than thou. 6 If thou sinnest, what doest thou against him? or if thy transgressions be multiplied, what doest thou unto him? 7 If thou be righteous, what givest thou him? or what receiveth he of thine hand? 8 Thy wickedness may hurt a man as thou art; and thy righteousness may profit the son of man. 

Man’s righteousness is for man’s profit. In fact, God had a high price through the death of His Son to purchase our redemption. God cares immensely our well-being. We are made in the image of God. Only men are made in the image of God. Our unrighteousness and sin do not affect God’s holiness, He cannot be tainted by our sins. Rather, He was pleased to reach out to us, sinners, consigned to eternal judgment in hell fire, so that He may save us from eternal destruction which the Bible calls the second death.

Revelation 20:6 (KJV) Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.

This present life’s suffering will be past when eternity begins in Christ.

Revelation 21:3-4 (KJV) And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.

Christopher Ash observed well, “Elihu begins with an illustrative exhortation (v5). In essence he says, “Have a good look up at the vast high sky and the clouds so far above you! Think about the transcendence of God and how His dwelling-place is beyond your reach. He lives above and beyond this world of human mortals. Nothing you can do on earth will change what happens up there. You can murder and commit adultery or be generous and faithful, and the clouds will continue the same as before. You won’t affect the sky because it is way up there.”

In the same way, because God in His nature is transcendent (up there), two things follow. Negatively (v6) you can sin as much as you like, but you won’t damage God; you cannot cause him to suffer or damage His essence. Positively (v7) you can be as good as you like, but you can never put God in your debt; He doesn’t need your good deeds, and your good deeds do not give Him anything. God in His very nature and eternal blessedness is impassible and immutable, unchangeably the same. Putting the two together (v8), both your wickedness and your righteousness (your bad behaviour and good) can only affect human beings.””