King James Bible Study – “And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” – Mark 8:34
Date: Wednesday, January 08, 2020
Chapters: Job 13-17
Message: Justified By My Faith
Hello My Friend,
Justify; To pardon and clear form guilt; to absolve or acquit from guilt and merited punishment, and to accept as righteous on account of the merits of the Saviour, or by the application of Christ’s atonement to the offender. Do you understand that the second you put your faith and trust in Jesus Christ as your Saviour, that you are justified? Meaning, you are trusting that His sinless death, burial, and resurrection is your atonement (payment) for sin, and you are free and clear from the punishment of death and hell? On yes, we are quite aware of what Christ did for us, and accept Him gladly, but over time we can lose sight of that, especially when affliction comes. We must never forget that we are saved, justified, by the blood of Christ. Affliction is not necessarily the result of some secret or unrepentant sin, if we are walking with Christ, then it is often the result of Satan, and his attempt to get us to forget that we belong to Christ, and he really has no power over us.
“Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified. For I through the law am dead to the law, that I might live unto God. I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.” – Galatians 2:16,19-20.
We do not need the Bible to know that God and Jesus, for that matter, exists, and by the way, God gave His Word to His believers. In Job’s days they did not have the written Word of God, so, if they were believers, they would worship and honor Him by faith. Of course, from what their fathers had taught them, they would give offerings to God in honor of Him, and to make peace if they sinned against Him. Since they did not have His Word, they drew their own conclusions as to why people prospered or became impoverished. When Job pretty much lost everything he had, and had been stricken with some crazy disease, people, including his friends began making assumptions about him, they just knew he had some hidden sin and if he only repented then God would forgive him and start blessing him again. Well, Job felt pretty bad being judged by them, but he knows he will be justified, and he knew something else, he knew who his salvation was.
“Will ye speak wickedly for God? and talk deceitfully for him? Will ye accept his person? will ye contend for God? Is it good that he should search you out? or as one man mocketh another, do ye so mock him? He will surely reprove you, if ye do secretly accept persons. Hold your peace, let me alone, that I may speak, and let come on me what will. Wherefore do I take my flesh in my teeth, and put my life in mine hand? Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him: but I will maintain mine own ways before him. He also shall be my salvation: for an hypocrite shall not come before him. Hear diligently my speech, and my declaration with your ears. Behold now, I have ordered my cause; I know that I shall be justified.” – Job 13:7-10,13-18.
“Though he slay me,” Although Job cannot understand why he is being afflicted, He does understand that all of it is in the hands of God, and he trusts Him. “but I will maintain mine own ways before him.” He is telling them that God knows the way he takes, and that “He also shall be my salvation:” Salvation is more than Jesus saving us from the punishment of death and hell, it is the remission of sin forever, eternal life with Jesus, an heir to God, and hope in the resurrection. You see, Job had no idea that Jesus existed at this point, and yet, he still knew that he would be justified by his faith. He contemplates life, and death, and even he knows that while we are all appointed once to die, we will all change one day through our faith.
“Man that is born of a woman is of few days, and full of trouble. Seeing his days are determined, the number of his months are with thee, thou hast appointed his bounds that he cannot pass; For there is hope of a tree, if it be cut down, that it will sprout again, and that the tender branch thereof will not cease. Though the root thereof wax old in the earth, and the stock thereof die in the ground; Yet through the scent of water it will bud, and bring forth boughs like a plant. But man dieth, and wasteth away: yea, man giveth up the ghost, and where is he? As the waters fail from the sea, and the flood decayeth and drieth up: So man lieth down, and riseth not: till the heavens be no more, they shall not awake, nor be raised out of their sleep. O that thou wouldest hide me in the grave, that thou wouldest keep me secret, until thy wrath be past, that thou wouldest appoint me a set time, and remember me! If a man die, shall he live again? all the days of my appointed time will I wait, till my change come.” – Job 14:1,5,7-14.
“and full of trouble.” We are born with a sin nature, so we get ourselves into trouble without even trying. “Yet through the scent of water it will bud,” Do you realize that Jesus is the living water that does spring life from a dead tree, being our soul, with one drop of His blood (John 7:38)? “till my change come.” Job knew that while we are appointed once to die, our bodies will change. Do you realize that when you finish this course in your life, that while your body may turn to dust, your soul will remain? Of course, where it ends up until Jesus returns depends on our faith. “Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.” – I Corinthians 15:51-54.
“and the dead shall be raised incorruptible,” This means that when Jesus returns, our body will raise from the grave, reunite with our soul, and we will receive immortality. I know this all sounds like something out of a science fiction movie, but it is all true. As long as we have received Jesus Christ as our Saviour before our last breath in our body, we are justified, we will change, and we will be immortal. Well, as you can imagine, Job’s friends were not impressed with his words, in fact, Eliphaz lashes out at him, basically saying he has no idea what he is talking about.
“Should a wise man utter vain knowledge, and fill his belly with the east wind? Should he reason with unprofitable talk? or with speeches wherewith he can do no good? Yea, thou castest off fear, and restrainest prayer before God. For thy mouth uttereth thine iniquity, and thou choosest the tongue of the crafty. Thine own mouth condemneth thee, and not I: yea, thine own lips testify against thee. How much more abominable and filthy is man, which drinketh iniquity like water? The wicked man travaileth with pain all his days, and the number of years is hidden to the oppressor. He shall not be rich, neither shall his substance continue, neither shall he prolong the perfection thereof upon the earth. He shall not depart out of darkness; the flame shall dry up his branches, and by the breath of his mouth shall he go away.” – Job 15:2-6,16,20,29-30.
“Thine own mouth condemneth thee,” Is that not like those who falsely accuse you? They want to justify their actions by saying you are only reacting that way because of your own convictions. Let me tell you, there is a difference between critical judgment, and righteous judgment (John 7:24), which is addressing your concern for others. Whenever someone comes at us with accusations, we naturally become defensive, but it is not the same as those who really are under personal conviction themselves. That is just like Satan, to make us look like we are the one in the wrong when we defend ourselves. Those who are guilty become quite destructive, lashing out at you, and trying to make you look like you are the one who is hiding something. I have seen Christians turn on each other over unrepentant sin that they refuse to admit and address themselves, and it really is quite sad. The more they spoke against him, the more frustrated Job became, he was beginning to think that God sent them to bring more grief to him. They were not about to change their opinion of him, in fact, the more he defended himself the worse they got. Job figured out that it was a waste of time to argue with these men.
“I have heard many such things: miserable comforters are ye all. God hath delivered me to the ungodly, and turned me over into the hands of the wicked. I was at ease, but he hath broken me asunder: he hath also taken me by my neck, and shaken me to pieces, and set me up for his mark. His archers compass me round about, he cleaveth my reins asunder, and doth not spare; he poureth out my gall upon the ground. He breaketh me with breach upon breach, he runneth upon me like a giant. I have sewed sackcloth upon my skin, and defiled my horn in the dust. My face is foul with weeping, and on my eyelids is the shadow of death; Not for any injustice in mine hands: also my prayer is pure. O earth, cover not thou my blood, and let my cry have no place. Also now, behold, my witness is in heaven, and my record is on high. My friends scorn me: but mine eye poureth out tears unto God.” – Job 16:2,11-20.
“miserable comforters are ye all.” Job had no hope in finding comfort from anyone, and even though he knew he was justified before God, that still did not bring him comfort as his friends kept accusing him. “and set me up for his mark.” Job feels like everyone is against him, and all he can do is lie there and wait to die, but he did know one thing, “my witness is in heaven,”. He knew that no matter what people accused him of, and no matter what evil thing that God had sent before him, that he was justified. We may leave this earth not having one friend left, but we still have a friend that sticks closer to us than a brother, Jesus Christ. He is our witness that we are justified by our faith in Him. “Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.” – Romans 3:24-26.
Today’s Prayer: God, Thank You for sending Your Son Jesus to save me from my sin, he not only saved me from death and hell, through my faith alone in Him, He saved me from a life that would have lead to an early death. While I know that no righteousness of my own is necessary to save my soul, that I am justified, and all of my sin is gone, never to be remembered again, I do want to live a life that is pleasing to You. Lord, lead me and guide me, fill me with Your mercies and grace, keep me in Your Word, learning and discerning it, give me the wisdom I need to follow it just as You say, not by what the misinformed try to teach me. Give me Your strength, will, and boldness to live in a way that glorifies Your Son, and lets Him be seen in me. And let me never forget that I am Yours, and nothing and no one can change that. I ask this in Your name, Jesus, Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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