“How then can man be in the right before God? How can he who is born of woman be pure?” Job 25:4
Two guys are in their prison cell talking about the crimes that landed them where they sit. One reluctantly admitted that he had killed two men in a robbery gone awry. The other glanced at him in disgust and stated that he had only killed half that many men. And then the second man, in his own thoughts, wondered how anyone could live with themselves after killing two men. You see, part of the sin nature of man is elevation of self…pride. We come out of the womb with a lofty view of ourselves which therefore places all others just a little below our grand perch. We view others and the deeds of their hands not in stark honesty and fair judgement, but using the prideful lenses in which we view our worlds. So considering that truth, the question looms, what is good, how do you determine it, and who really is better than another?
Job chapter 25 finds the last comment from his three friends, and it’s very short. It seems they have talked themselves out, the wind in their word sails exhausted by not finding the solution to Job’s situation they deemed so simple; repent from your hidden sin and God will quickly right everything. Bildad’s final comments beg for Job to realize who God is, the power He holds, and just how miniscule mankind is before Him. And in his continued folly, Bildaz begs for Job to admit something he already knows. He is asking Job to confirm a truth that he already rests his life upon. God is God, He created all, and He commands all. He built the universe for His purposes and He orchestrates the universe to see His purposes perfectly met. Within this, He created man and man was not able to live up to the level of perfection that God maintains. And as these Godly facts are deduced, Bildad speaks a simple truth that the world still struggles with to this today. Man in his natural state cannot be perfect in the eyes of God. Therefore every single life that is born upon this planet is destined for sinful failure before God.
Yes, the formula sounds rather dismal. And that is because it is. Think about every single young life born today, they are all born sinners and are doomed to commit sin that will disqualify them from spending eternity in Heaven with Christ. It’s dismal not just in the fact that it’s hopeless, but it’s also rather dark to think that God would start out every single life in this condition. But recall man’s innate inability to define good. We’re not talking about simple, common, street-level good here, we’re talking about the level of purity, righteousness, and perfection that can approach the presence of Almighty God. But within this dismal mix of sin, separation and condemnation, there is a ray of light that illuminates the universe. There is a point of light that pierces even the darkest corners of this sinful world…the work of Jesus Christ upon the cross. God, seeing that the good of man would never qualify them into His presence, sent the perfect sacrifice that would atone for their sins. He sent His only Son here to die and cover the sins of man with His precious, atoning blood. God made a way, the only way, for man to reside in Heaven for eternity. Today, don’t look around and attempt to judge the levels of good in this world. Maybe you will judge those that have sinned more than you, but that doesn’t discount the fact that you have also sinned and fallen short of the perfection God demands. For all have sinned, all have fallen short, and all need the power of Jesus Christ to usher them into an eternity with Almighty God. Call upon the Salvation of Jesus today and ensure that your sin will no longer belong to you…but be cast upon the ever-capable shoulders of Christ.
“Just then a man came up to Jesus and asked, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?” “Why do you ask me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good.” Matthew 19:16-17a
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