SELF RIGHTEOUSNESS - OUR STRONG ENEMY
All Christians must overcome their carnal nature daily. Anyone who has been a Christian for a while, comes up against this strong & sneaky enemy.
Life and its trials are not easy, but it is the trials of life, that teach, mold and shape us, as God uses all of the aspects of life for His purposes. This was true in the life of Job and it is true for all of us.
Like Job, as we realize more of the Lord's holiness and glory, we become more and more aware of our humanity. For sure, we are intensely aware of it in our need for a Savior and His grace but sometimes on the road of life, we become less aware of it. Recognizing and knowing who God is and who we are, is truly an awareness that humbles us and that we must never forget it.
Elihu's plea and the Lord's Reaction to Job
Elihu came to Job when he could no longer hold his tongue. Elihu defended God's character. When the Lord rebuked Job’s three "friends" - Elihu was not one of the three in trouble with God. (Job 42:7-9). Unlike Job's three friends, Elihu had something to say that could actually help Job. Elihu’s stance was to defend God’s character and urge Job to realize what he was now doing. It is important to note that God did not point out any past hidden flaws in Job's life as his three friends had alleged of him. God only brings up Job's recent self-righteousness.
Job had kept his life clean before the Lord. Job had not sinned to cause his predicament as his three friends had accused him of. In reality, only in his predicament did he start to get into trouble. Are we not much like this? We find ourselves, on the road of life, doing our best to serve the Lord and we feel like we are doing pretty good and someone comes along that let's say, “tests our patience”... or perhaps the “frustrations of life” seems to come in waves and bingo, we allow the pressure to start getting to us and we fall in to sin.
Back to Job, he had worked so hard to live right, but He did not give the Lord the glory for it when the pressures came on. Job said, in essence, “I" did right, "I" gave to the poor, "I" helped widows and strangers, "I" kept my eyes to my wife, "I" did not even lust in my heart... and this is what I get? And now God refuses to heal me or answer my cries. Prior to these times, he was sailing along through life as it would seem, living a very godly and successful life... (Job chapters 29,30,31)
Have you ever caught yourself saying to God that something in life is not fair? “I have been good, I have done right and this is what I get? Where is my healing? Why did my prayers not get answered as I asked?” It is a dangerous thing to put our righteousness before God as a reason for Him to do as we demand. Or to think He owes us something. It is much better to fall on Him and call on His mercy and grace and then stand on His promises. To stand on our supposed righteousness really, really is not wise...
Elihu had humbly declared to Job how he should pay closer attention to his motives and give the honor to God as He deserves. Elihu also said,
And Elihu continued on to remind Job, that if “anyone” was in “error,” that it was not God. When the Lord shows up in the whirlwind, He asks Job a great number of questions to humble and correct Job’s perspective. Notice how God begins.
The Lord continued to speak His heart and to show Job and all the future readers of his story, some of how awesome He, the Lord God Almighty, is.
And much, much more...
God was speaking and Job for the most part, was unable to respond. Twice, however, Job was able to utter a meek response. The first time in Job 40, Job answers by stating that what could he say?
The Self-Righteousness of Job
After Job's first response, the Lord gets to the heart of Job's error. This verse in Job chapter 40, seems to be the closest we get to understanding Job’s new found self righteousness. The LORD says to Job,
If we are not careful, righteousness can too easily become self-righteousness. We live righteous lives when we live by God’s ways but if we look down upon others for not living up to “our” set of standards, then we have become self-righteous. Sometimes we think ourselves to be so right and that if only all others would just do as we say or think, all the world would be perfect. This is the equivalent (in our hearts and minds) of taking on the role of God and is a place we should never go. If we find our selves there, we need to have an immediate reality check and repent!
How easy it is for us think so well of ourselves.
The LORD, in Job 40:8, revealed Job's sin by identifying how he condemned God. Job had come to think of himself to be right and God wrong. Job's self-righteousness depended upon God's error. Although we might think bad of Job for doing this, this slip into self-righteousness is very common and by a person who has forgotten their own desperate need of grace (and is in dire need of repentance).
God was showing Job that he should not be making statements about God which insist upon Him to be a certain way or 'demand' Him to perform ultimatums or commands. God is God. We are human and we adjust, not Him. After showing “Job his humanity” and “the Lord's omnipotence and wisdom,” Job is desperate to state his humble apology.
God's revelation to Job is a reminder to us all of who God is and how human we are resulting in a much better perspective for us. Not only Job, but we have all fallen short of God's glory.
Even as Job failed this in this area, so do each of us. We are human and have to battle a fallen nature while living in this human house.
C. Puscas asks, What humbled Job? God's truth exposed Job's selfish way of seeing his life and deeds... and exposed that Job had thought he had the right to judge God and had found fault in the Lord. Then as God spoke, Job finally started to KNOW GOD. And switch from having a form of religion and worship (as he just heard about Him ("I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, but now my eyes see You.”)) (Job 42:5-6) and Job had offered unto the Lord sacrifices as he did “just in case” there was any sin in his children's lives) to then having real worship by getting humble at the feet of the Lord, repenting and opening his eyes clearly to the truth. In his previous relationship with the Lord, he was did not really know God and but was willing to live to please HIM in the sense of: I have to do whatever it takes to be saved... In reality, Job could not really repent for his grown children.. although he had brought sacrifices on their behalf... because salvation is personal! It is RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD and comes from us each KNOWING HIM. When we do know Him, our pride is put down and we find our true identity and incredible value in Him alone!
Guarding our Hearts and Daily Walk
We need to take great care not to become self-righteous & keep the right heart in order to stay humble. It is a huge mistake to feel free to condemn God or others by making “ourselves the standard unto ourselves.” Self-righteousness really is “pride in disguise.” When under the influence of pride, we can walk around looking down on others, including God Himself. If we start seeing a critical or condemning attitude in ourselves or one where we think that if everyone would listen to us - and all would be perfect, warning bells should be sounding. Pride and self-righteousness alert! In order to find healing, we need to re-examine ourselves in the light of God and His holy ways.
Let me ask a question.
Who did Adam blame for his sin?
Many often joke about this being “the first blame game” - he blamed Eve, she blamed the serpent, etc.
But in reality, Adam, had just told the Lord it was “His fault” as “He” had given him the woman that He did to be with him as “she” had given the fruit to him.
Adam willfully sinned.
It was not a matter of Adam vs Eve, Eve vs Adam or Eve vs the serpent. It was that all three individually disobeyed God and were individually & directly responsible to God. In God's presence, excuses fall way short. When the naked truth is exposed in the presence of the Lord, then its time to get serious.
When we get to the point that we decide that we “know better than God” - like He is late, sleeping, or allowing and disallowing things that we think should or should not be happening or that we know what is best for ourselves better than HIM or worse; “we know it better than Him for others too” according to our dictates... Warning alarms should be sounding.
Jesus quoted the Word of God to the devil during His time of testing. He could have said, “Bow to me now devil” but He didn't. He took every temptation and answered it in the same fashion as we should. We should stand on the Word of God and the Word of God should stand in us.
All our hope, all that is good, all that we need is found in God and in the truth of God. Apart from the Lord, we are but dust. “Our best righteousness is as filthy rags before Him.” In the days that verse was written, old garments were shredded and used for rags.. there were no such things as toilet paper or feminine products as we have today... are you getting the message of just how great our righteous acts are in relation to a Holy God? We have no righteousness of our own to stand on before a holy Lord.
Like Job, as we realize more of the Lord's holiness and glory, we become more and more aware of our humanity. For sure, we are intensely aware of it in our need for a Savior and His grace but sometimes on the road of life, we become less aware of it. Recognizing and knowing who God is and who we are, is truly an awareness that humbles us and that we must never forget it.
Elihu's plea and the Lord's Reaction to Job
Elihu came to Job when he could no longer hold his tongue. Elihu defended God's character. When the Lord rebuked Job’s three "friends" - Elihu was not one of the three in trouble with God. (Job 42:7-9). Unlike Job's three friends, Elihu had something to say that could actually help Job. Elihu’s stance was to defend God’s character and urge Job to realize what he was now doing. It is important to note that God did not point out any past hidden flaws in Job's life as his three friends had alleged of him. God only brings up Job's recent self-righteousness.
Job had kept his life clean before the Lord. Job had not sinned to cause his predicament as his three friends had accused him of. In reality, only in his predicament did he start to get into trouble. Are we not much like this? We find ourselves, on the road of life, doing our best to serve the Lord and we feel like we are doing pretty good and someone comes along that let's say, “tests our patience”... or perhaps the “frustrations of life” seems to come in waves and bingo, we allow the pressure to start getting to us and we fall in to sin.
Back to Job, he had worked so hard to live right, but He did not give the Lord the glory for it when the pressures came on. Job said, in essence, “I" did right, "I" gave to the poor, "I" helped widows and strangers, "I" kept my eyes to my wife, "I" did not even lust in my heart... and this is what I get? And now God refuses to heal me or answer my cries. Prior to these times, he was sailing along through life as it would seem, living a very godly and successful life... (Job chapters 29,30,31)
Have you ever caught yourself saying to God that something in life is not fair? “I have been good, I have done right and this is what I get? Where is my healing? Why did my prayers not get answered as I asked?” It is a dangerous thing to put our righteousness before God as a reason for Him to do as we demand. Or to think He owes us something. It is much better to fall on Him and call on His mercy and grace and then stand on His promises. To stand on our supposed righteousness really, really is not wise...
Elihu had humbly declared to Job how he should pay closer attention to his motives and give the honor to God as He deserves. Elihu also said,
- Job 37:14 "Listen to this, O Job, stand and consider the wonders of God.”
And Elihu continued on to remind Job, that if “anyone” was in “error,” that it was not God. When the Lord shows up in the whirlwind, He asks Job a great number of questions to humble and correct Job’s perspective. Notice how God begins.
- Job 38:1-4 "Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind and said, "Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge? Now gird up your loins like a man, and I will ask you, and you instruct Me! Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding"'
The Lord continued to speak His heart and to show Job and all the future readers of his story, some of how awesome He, the Lord God Almighty, is.
- Job 38:33-34 "Do you know the ordinances of the heavens? Can you set their dominion over the earth? "Can you lift up your voice to the clouds, that an abundance of water may cover you?"
- Job 40:1-2 “Moreover the Lord answered Job, and said: "Shall the one who contends with the Almighty correct Him? He who rebukes God, let him answer it."
And much, much more...
God was speaking and Job for the most part, was unable to respond. Twice, however, Job was able to utter a meek response. The first time in Job 40, Job answers by stating that what could he say?
- Job 40:3-5 "Then Job answered the Lord and said: "Behold, I am vile; What shall I answer You? I lay my hand over my mouth. Once I have spoken, but I will not answer; yes, twice, but I will proceed no further."
The Self-Righteousness of Job
After Job's first response, the Lord gets to the heart of Job's error. This verse in Job chapter 40, seems to be the closest we get to understanding Job’s new found self righteousness. The LORD says to Job,
- Job 40:8 “Will you condemn Me, that you may be justified?”
If we are not careful, righteousness can too easily become self-righteousness. We live righteous lives when we live by God’s ways but if we look down upon others for not living up to “our” set of standards, then we have become self-righteous. Sometimes we think ourselves to be so right and that if only all others would just do as we say or think, all the world would be perfect. This is the equivalent (in our hearts and minds) of taking on the role of God and is a place we should never go. If we find our selves there, we need to have an immediate reality check and repent!
- Proverbs 16:2 "A person thinks all his ways are pure, but the Lord weighs motives."
How easy it is for us think so well of ourselves.
The LORD, in Job 40:8, revealed Job's sin by identifying how he condemned God. Job had come to think of himself to be right and God wrong. Job's self-righteousness depended upon God's error. Although we might think bad of Job for doing this, this slip into self-righteousness is very common and by a person who has forgotten their own desperate need of grace (and is in dire need of repentance).
God was showing Job that he should not be making statements about God which insist upon Him to be a certain way or 'demand' Him to perform ultimatums or commands. God is God. We are human and we adjust, not Him. After showing “Job his humanity” and “the Lord's omnipotence and wisdom,” Job is desperate to state his humble apology.
- Job 42:1-6 "Then Job answered the Lord and said: "I know that You can do everything, and that no purpose of Yours can be withheld from You. You asked, 'Who is this who hides counsel without knowledge?' Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know. Listen, please, and let me speak; You said, 'I will question you, and you shall answer Me.' "I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees You. Therefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes."
God's revelation to Job is a reminder to us all of who God is and how human we are resulting in a much better perspective for us. Not only Job, but we have all fallen short of God's glory.
- Romans 3:23 "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."
Even as Job failed this in this area, so do each of us. We are human and have to battle a fallen nature while living in this human house.
C. Puscas asks, What humbled Job? God's truth exposed Job's selfish way of seeing his life and deeds... and exposed that Job had thought he had the right to judge God and had found fault in the Lord. Then as God spoke, Job finally started to KNOW GOD. And switch from having a form of religion and worship (as he just heard about Him ("I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, but now my eyes see You.”)) (Job 42:5-6) and Job had offered unto the Lord sacrifices as he did “just in case” there was any sin in his children's lives) to then having real worship by getting humble at the feet of the Lord, repenting and opening his eyes clearly to the truth. In his previous relationship with the Lord, he was did not really know God and but was willing to live to please HIM in the sense of: I have to do whatever it takes to be saved... In reality, Job could not really repent for his grown children.. although he had brought sacrifices on their behalf... because salvation is personal! It is RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD and comes from us each KNOWING HIM. When we do know Him, our pride is put down and we find our true identity and incredible value in Him alone!
Guarding our Hearts and Daily Walk
We need to take great care not to become self-righteous & keep the right heart in order to stay humble. It is a huge mistake to feel free to condemn God or others by making “ourselves the standard unto ourselves.” Self-righteousness really is “pride in disguise.” When under the influence of pride, we can walk around looking down on others, including God Himself. If we start seeing a critical or condemning attitude in ourselves or one where we think that if everyone would listen to us - and all would be perfect, warning bells should be sounding. Pride and self-righteousness alert! In order to find healing, we need to re-examine ourselves in the light of God and His holy ways.
Let me ask a question.
Who did Adam blame for his sin?
- Genesis 3:11-12 "And He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat?” And the man said, “The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree and I did eat.”
Many often joke about this being “the first blame game” - he blamed Eve, she blamed the serpent, etc.
But in reality, Adam, had just told the Lord it was “His fault” as “He” had given him the woman that He did to be with him as “she” had given the fruit to him.
Adam willfully sinned.
- Genesis 3:17 "And to Adam He said, “Because you have hearkened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree, of which I commanded you saying, ‘You will not eat of it.’"
- I Timothy 2:14 "And Adam was not deceived, but when the wife was deceived she was in transgression"
It was not a matter of Adam vs Eve, Eve vs Adam or Eve vs the serpent. It was that all three individually disobeyed God and were individually & directly responsible to God. In God's presence, excuses fall way short. When the naked truth is exposed in the presence of the Lord, then its time to get serious.
When we get to the point that we decide that we “know better than God” - like He is late, sleeping, or allowing and disallowing things that we think should or should not be happening or that we know what is best for ourselves better than HIM or worse; “we know it better than Him for others too” according to our dictates... Warning alarms should be sounding.
Jesus quoted the Word of God to the devil during His time of testing. He could have said, “Bow to me now devil” but He didn't. He took every temptation and answered it in the same fashion as we should. We should stand on the Word of God and the Word of God should stand in us.
All our hope, all that is good, all that we need is found in God and in the truth of God. Apart from the Lord, we are but dust. “Our best righteousness is as filthy rags before Him.” In the days that verse was written, old garments were shredded and used for rags.. there were no such things as toilet paper or feminine products as we have today... are you getting the message of just how great our righteous acts are in relation to a Holy God? We have no righteousness of our own to stand on before a holy Lord.
Dear LORD, please help us to remember, WHO YOU ARE and who we are not!
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Copyright 2014 E. Cockrell May be used for personal study or instruction but shall not be copied and/or distributed in whole or part without permission or for financial profit.