Like a chestnut tree

If my land cries out against me,
And its furrows weep together;
If I have eaten its fruit without money,
Or have caused its owners to lose their lives,
May the thorn-bush grow instead of wheat,
And stinkweed instead of barley. (vv. 38-40)

In this chapter, Job asserts his integrity. All the good works he had done were known to God—God knew Job’s integrity.

The Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job? For there is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, fearing God and turning away from evil.” (Job 1:8)

But what does it matter if my integrity is better than that of others? Can I demand a reward from God simply because I appear better in my own eyes?

God did not make Job suffer because of his good works. The only way Job could come to understand God’s righteousness was through suffering. We, the saints, are clothed with God’s righteousness—a righteousness that does not come from works. Therefore, the Book of Job powerfully refutes all false teachings about imputed righteousness. The righteousness we have received is greater than the righteousness that could be earned through works.

For I say to you that unless your righteousness far surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 5:20)

In fact, the righteousness of God is freely given to us apart from works. When I say “works,” I mean those that come from keeping the law. However, there is one work through which the righteousness of God came to us—the cross of Jesus Christ. Did Jesus have to work for us to receive God’s righteousness? The answer is yes. Christ had to suffer and die in order to make us righteous before God.

If our righteousness came from perfectly keeping the law, it would be changeable and conditional, not absolute. But if we are clothed with God’s righteousness, it is absolute and unchangeable. We truly become God’s children, united with Him, just as Jesus Christ is. And this adoption is made possible through Christ and the Holy Spirit.

The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him. (Romans 8:16-17)

The Spirit of God enables us to understand His Word. We communicate with God through prayer, and He listens to all the prayers of His children—because we have become His children through His only begotten Son.

So they removed the stone. And Jesus raised His eyes, and said, “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. But I knew that You always hear Me; nevertheless, because of the people standing around I said it, so that they may believe that You sent Me. (John 11:41-42)

On that day you will ask in My name, and I am not saying to you that I will request of the Father on your behalf; for the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me and have believed that I came forth from the Father. I came forth from the Father and have come into the world; again, I am leaving the world and going to the Father. (John 16:26-28)

If we have not earned this title, then it was freely given. Some have received it, while others have not. If grace is not conditional, then our election is not conditional. Therefore, we believe that we were destined to be adopted as children of God even before we were born.

… just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us to adoption as sons and daughters through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, with which He favored us in the Beloved. (Ephesians 1:4-6)

And now I have become their taunt,
And I have become a byword to them.
They loathe me and stand aloof from me,
And they do not refrain from spitting in my face.
Because He has undone my bowstring and afflicted me,
They have cast off the bridle before me.
On the right hand their mob arises;
They push aside my feet and pile up their ways of destruction against me. (vv. 9-12)

If you think you have wealth and health, hold a high position at work and in your church, you may find it difficult to understand what Job is going through. Our Lord, Jesus Christ, was born in a poor family. God did not give Him a proper room at the inn when Mary was in labour. Our Lord was laid in a manger. Compared to Him, we often have more than enough and yet complain about what we have or don’t have. People say that the rich can go to heaven. But the rich people cannot separate themselves from pride. They think they are prosperous because of their works. They talk about God’s blessings, but the poor Christians are more blessed than they are because they do not think highly of themselves. Christ went through poverty and humiliation.

But I am a worm and not a person, a disgrace of mankind and despised by the people. (Psalm 22:6)

Job still longs for his former days when he had prosperity and health in this chapter.

When I expected good, evil came;
When I waited for light, darkness came.
I am seething within and cannot rest;
Days of misery confront me.
I go about mourning without comfort;
I stand up in the assembly and cry out for help.
I have become a brother to jackals,
And a companion of ostriches.
My skin turns black on me,
And my bones burn with fever.
Therefore my harp is turned to mourning,
And my flute to the sound of those who weep. (vv. 26-31)

Job expected rewards for his good works, but instead he received disasters. Because of this, he claimed that God is not righteous. As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, God’s righteousness is neither conditional nor changeable. It is absolute—because only God is truly righteous. However, people often judge God by their own standards. They use (and have used) the law to judge Him, but in reality, they rely on their own interpretations of the law. Our Lord was judged according to Jewish law, even though He had committed no sin.

For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things just as we are, yet without sin. (Hebrews 4:15)

Christ suffered for our righteousness. Through His death and resurrection, we have become one with God. We are clothed in God’s righteousness through His Spirit. Some theologians say that we are not like God and that righteousness is merely imputed to us because of Christ’s perfect obedience to the law. But no—our righteousness comes from Christ’s death and resurrection. It is only through the Cross that we are made one with God.

But I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I am leaving; for if I do not leave, the Helper will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you. And He, when He comes, will convict the world regarding sin, and righteousness, and judgment: regarding sin, because they do not believe in Me; and regarding righteousness, because I am going to the Father and you no longer are going to see Me; and regarding judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged. (John 16:7-11)

If you feel you are lower than the least esteemed in the eyes of the world, remember Jesus Christ, who descended from heaven to the lowest position in order to save us.

Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or trouble, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? (Romans 8:35)

If we believe that we earn God’s love through our own initiative, then it ceases to be true grace.

I broke the jaws of the wicked
And rescued the prey from his teeth.
Then I thought, ‘I will die with my family,
And I will multiply my days as the sand.
My root is spread out to the waters,
And dew lies on my branch all night.
My glory is ever new with me,
And my bow is renewed in my hand.’ (vv. 17-20)

In this chapter, Job reveals what has been on his mind. Here, we understand why God has sent disasters into his life. Job is not arrogant but delusional.

To me they listened and waited,
And they kept silent for my advice.
After my words they did not speak again,
And my speech dropped on them.
They waited for me as for the rain,
And opened their mouths as for the late rain.
I smiled at them when they did not believe,
And they did not look at my kindness ungraciously.
I chose a way for them and sat as chief,
And lived as a king among the troops,
As one who comforted the mourners. (vv. 21-25)

Every day, we must look at ourselves in the mirror and see our true selves, not just superficially but in the light of God’s words. It’s easy to think that the world revolves around us, but God’s words act as a mirror, humbling us and bringing us back to reality. In God’s kingdom, there is no ‘I’, ‘me’, ‘my’, or ‘mine’. Anything good within us is not our own, but from God. We have no love within ourselves; it is only through God’s grace that we can love. Envy arises when we compare ourselves to others, but everything we have and enjoy in life is not the result of our efforts.

Job’s story reflects the arrogance of the first human, Adam, who contrasts starkly with Jesus Christ.

I have revealed Your name to the men whom You gave Me out of the world; they were Yours and You gave them to Me, and they have followed Your word. Now they have come to know that everything which You have given Me is from You; for the words which You gave Me I have given to them; and they received them and truly understood that I came forth from You, and they believed that You sent Me. I ask on their behalf; I do not ask on behalf of the world, but on the behalf of those whom You have given Me, because they are Yours; and all things that are Mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine; and I have been glorified in them. (John 17:6-10)

Our Lord is also contrasted with the queen in Revelation 18:7:

To the extent that she glorified herself and lived luxuriously, to the same extent give her torment and mourning; for she says in her heart, ‘I sit as a queen and I am not a widow, and will never see mourning.’

He is also contrasted with the king of Tyre.

Son of man, say to the leader of Tyre, ‘The Lord GOD says this: “Because your heart is haughty And you have said, ‘I am a god, I sit in the seat of gods In the heart of the seas’; Yet you are a mortal and not God, Although you make your heart like the heart of God— (Ezekiel 28:2)

The king of Tyre in Ezekiel 27 and 28 is often interpreted as the devil. Without knowing God through the Holy Spirit and His Word, we are all destined to deny Him and exalt ourselves. We act as if we are God and eventually come to believe that we are the Creator. We craft our own idols—this has been humanity’s unceasing pursuit. The Renaissance was a movement that exalted human greatness. Interestingly, the second Reformation took place during the Renaissance period.

If your life appears better than others’, take a moment to reflect on where you truly are and what you truly look like through God’s words and prayer. If suffering comes, pray for the strength to endure through God’s power. Every suffering in this life is a lesson for the saints.

Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though something strange were happening to you; but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing, so that at the revelation of His glory you may also rejoice and be overjoyed. If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory, and of God, rests upon you. Make sure that none of you suffers as a murderer, or thief, or evildoer, or a troublesome meddler; but if anyone suffers as a Christian, he is not to be ashamed, but is to glorify God in this name. (1 Peter 4:12-16)

But where can wisdom be found?
And where is the place of understanding? (v. 12)

And to mankind He said, ‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom;
And to turn away from evil is understanding.’ (v. 28)

Job illustrates that no creature has wisdom except God alone. When anyone glimpses wisdom, they begin to fear the Lord.

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. (Proverb 9:10)

This wisdom is Jesus Christ. It is also the Holy Spirit.

The Spirit of the LORD will rest on Him, The spirit of wisdom and understanding, The spirit of counsel and strength, The spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD. (Isaiah 11:2)

This wisdom is found in Jesus Christ and also in the Holy Spirit, bringing understanding and knowledge of God’s work through Jesus Christ and the purpose of creation, including its eventual end.

Jesus Christ is perfectly human without blemish, and also the Son of God with wisdom.

For indeed Jews ask for signs and Greeks search for wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block, and to Gentiles foolishness, but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than mankind, and the weakness of God is stronger than mankind. (1 Corinthians 1:22-25)

Once we receive the Holy Spirit, we cannot lose salvation. For this reason, many false Christians claim to have the Holy Spirit and speak in tongues, or assert they can impart the Holy Spirit to their followers. True recipients of the Holy Spirit know it’s not acquired through human works. Some misuse Bible passages to support evil intentions.

False teachers suggest Adam possessed the Holy Spirit, but Jesus Christ’s temptation tells us otherwise. Adam had knowledge but lacked the fear of the Lord, demonstrating his wisdom differed from that given to Jesus Christ and us.

Job states that we cannot know God because we do not possess wisdom. He does not yet know that God created the world to allow us to have wisdom, know and understand Him through His only begotten Son. Job does not yet fathom the depth of God’s plan.

In Job’s understanding, there is no need for Christ. He sees God as dwelling in holiness, separate from humanity. He cannot imagine that a saint could one day live with God and see Him face to face. Job lived a life that, in his own eyes, did not require Jesus Christ, as he considered himself righteous among other men. However, he will eventually come to understand the true meaning of wisdom and how feeble his own righteousness truly is.

… that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner self, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled to all the fullness of God. (Ephesians 3:16-19)

As God lives, who has taken away my right,
And the Almighty, who has embittered my soul,
For as long as life is in me,
And the breath of God is in my nostrils,
My lips certainly will not speak unjustly,
Nor will my tongue mutter deceit.
Far be it from me that I should declare you right;
Until I die, I will not give up my integrity.
I have kept hold of my righteousness and will not let it go.
My heart does not rebuke any of my days. (vv. 2-6)

In this chapter, we witness Job steadfast in his self-righteousness, accusing God of misjudgment. Job speaks from his limited understanding of God, acknowledging God’s judgment upon the wicked but struggling to comprehend why human righteousness through works alone falls short. Job even invokes God’s curse upon his adversaries, seemingly viewing his friends as enemies for accusing him of deserving divine punishment.

May my enemy be as the wicked,
And my opponent as the criminal.
For what is the hope of the godless when he makes an end of life,
When God requires his life? (vv. 7-8)

I will instruct you in the power of God;
What is with the Almighty I will not conceal.
Behold, all of you have seen it;
Why then do you talk of nothing? (vv. 11-12)

Some people are praised by others for their good deeds. They help the poor and dedicate their time and money to helping others. However, those deeds are not considered righteous before God if they are not from the Holy Spirit. I am not saying their deeds are evil. The word “righteous” belongs only to God.

Churches have enjoyed prosperity and peace for hundreds of years. Christians are not persecuted as in the time of the Apostles. But it appears the church era is ending soon. God sent many prophets to warn, but the Northern Israel and Judah went down. Their most noble people did the most outrageous things when they were under siege.

The refined and delicate woman among you, who would not venture to set the sole of her foot on the ground because of her delicateness and tenderness, will be hostile toward the husband she cherishes and toward her son and daughter, and toward her afterbirth that comes from between her legs, and toward her children to whom she gives birth, because she will eat them secretly for lack of anything else, during the siege and the hardship with which your enemy will oppress you in your towns. (Deuteronomy 28:56)

Even though someone like Job holds onto his own integrity and innocence, his love is towards only himself. There is no self-sacrificing love in our genes. Only God has and shows self-sacrificing love. And this love is the essence of the law.

You have not desired sacrifice and meal offering;
You have opened my ears;
You have not required burnt offering and sin offering.
Then I said, “Behold, I have come;
It is written of me in the scroll of the book.
I delight to do Your will, my God;
Your Law is within my heart. (Psalm 40:6-8)

Can anyone become Jesus Christ by works? Could Adam give us eternal life and make us God’s children? The answer is no. However, this is what churches teach. They say they follow the TULIP doctrine and believe in predestination. The Covenant of Works and the Active Obedience of Christ show that they believe in Adam’s integrity and works. God is showing Job that this isn’t right.

I know your deeds and your labor and perseverance, and that you cannot tolerate evil people, and you have put those who call themselves apostles to the test, and they are not, and you found them to be false; and you have perseverance and have endured on account of My name, and have not become weary. But I have this against you, that you have left your first love. (Revelation 2:2-4)

How then can mankind be righteous with God?
Or how can anyone who is born of woman be pure? (Job 25:4)

Bildad and Job rebuke each other in these chapters. Bildad asserts that no one is righteous before God. Job acknowledges God’s greatness but argues that there is no point in doing good.

Behold, these are the fringes of His ways;
And how faint a word we hear of Him!
But His mighty thunder, who can understand? (Job 26:14)

Job understands that God is mighty, but he seeks an answer. From his point of view, God does not speak—and even if He does, no one can understand Him. Job seems frustrated that he cannot comprehend God. When it comes to righteousness, he did everything he believed God required. Yet everything has been taken away. Job is mocked and ridiculed. His closest friends accuse him of wrongdoing. His wife and his servants despise him.

When the law was given, the Israelites tried to follow it outwardly, but their hearts were far from God. The law opposed everything that humans are naturally inclined to do—such as making and serving idols, theft, murder, and sexual immorality. Keeping the law goes against our human nature. Most people serve idols, believing they will bring prosperity on earth. When disasters strike, they quickly abandon one idol and turn to another. We often assume that people in the modern world make rational decisions based on reason and science, but in reality, they are no different from the Israelites in the wilderness.

The law does not make us righteous before God. The law was given so that we would understand that we cannot live by keeping the law. Even if there is someone who keeps the law perfectly, he is not righteous because righteousness requires the knowledge of God. Therefore, it is absurd to say that Adam and Eve were righteous. They were blameless like Job was. But they did not understand God like Job didn’t. Righteousness that we have in Christ is true righteousness because we understand why God has sent Christ to die and resurrect for us.

People go to churches but are not satisfied because they are confused. The Book of Job explains why people feel void even when they do all the right things that their church leaders have taught them. Interestingly, church leaders mention the Book of Job when others go through difficult times in their lives. The Book of Job is not about regaining prosperity after trials. People only mention Job’s happy ending in the last chapter. Likewise, the books of Ruth and Job are sometimes used to give people false hope that their suffering will be followed by earthly rewards. But neither Ruth nor Job received blessings as a direct result of their good deeds. It is misleading to use these books to assure people that everything will turn out well. In fact, no one will be “alright” when Christ returns if their hope is in the works/law. Both books are wisdom books, giving us insight into why God has made the world and what His plan is.

No one has seen God at any time; God the only Son, who is in the arms of the Father, He has explained Him. (John 1:18)

From the city people groan,
And the souls of the wounded cry for help;
Yet God does not pay attention to the offensiveness. (v. 12)

In this chapter, Job continues to rebuke God with his words, asserting that God does not intervene for the poor and needy. Evil people persist in their wicked deeds without facing consequences. Job implies that he could manage things better if he were in God’s position.

Because I saved the poor who cried for help, and the orphan who had no helper. (Job 29:12)

We see many unjust acts every day. It appears as if God does not want to punish the wicked. But God is not like us—He is eternal. The things we believe should happen now are, in fact, better if they happen later.

Then in the fourth generation they will return here, for the wrongdoing of the Amorite is not yet complete. (Genesis 15:16)

Those who reject predestination assert that God merely reacts to whatever we do. According to this view, God does not make plans and fulfill them; rather, He foresees events like a fortuneteller and responds to what will happen. People reject the doctrine of predestination because it means their actions are not counted as merits. Some individuals perform many “good” deeds, such as supporting charities, donating money to churches and seminaries, and more. However, they cannot earn their way into the kingdom of God. If salvation were based on merit, then the poor would be the most pitiful, as they cannot perform as many “good” works as the rich.

Interestingly, many Christians—even those raised in Reformed churches—believe that material prosperity is a sign of God’s blessing. Within their small communities, they compare themselves to one another in terms of children, careers, and wealth. The rich, having the means to do more “good” works, are often appointed to church offices.

However, the truly good work in God’s eyes is faith in Him—believing that God chose us before the foundation of the world, watched over us, cared for us, and made us His children by giving us the Holy Spirit so that we are righteous before Him. Despite various challenges and trials, we are not discouraged, because God is always with us. This assurance is so precious—it is incomparable to the riches that the wicked boast about in this world.

I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, so that He may be with you forever; the Helper is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him; but you know Him because He remains with you and will be in you. (John 14:16-17)

With our limited knowledge and insight, we often make mistakes by acting as if we were God—judging situations and people. All we can truly do is pray. We must not tell God what to do, as if He were a genie. Instead, we should ask Him for faith, wisdom, love, and patience. In our pride and ignorance, we are foolish and boastful.

As for the days of our life, they contain seventy years,
Or if due to strength, eighty years,
Yet their pride is only trouble and tragedy;
For it quickly passes, and we disappear.
Who understands the power of Your anger
And Your fury, according to the fear that is due You?
So teach us to number our days,
That we may present to You a heart of wisdom. (Psalm 90:10-12)

My foot has held on to His path;
I have kept His way and not turned aside.
I have not failed the command of His lips;
I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my necessary food.
But He is unique, and who can make Him turn?
Whatever His soul desires, He does it. (vv.11-13)

Job continues to claim that he is righteous while asserting that God is not. He acknowledges that God can do whatever He wants, yet Job does not perceive God as just. There are times in our lives when we feel mistreated by God, leading us to complain more than to thank Him. Our perspectives and understandings are often limited and narrow. Despite this, we sometimes boast of our knowledge, comparing ourselves favorably to others and even passing judgment on God.

God, who is patient and merciful, understands the depths of our hearts. He listens to all our complaints and unjust accusations against Him. Through His words and the trials He places before us, He teaches us His ways, prompting us to confess our sins and ignorance.

Job and his friends inhabit a one- or two-dimensional world, while God resides in a realm vastly beyond our comprehension.

When I was a child, I used to speak like a child, think like a child, reason like a child; when I became a man, I did away with childish things. (1 Corinthians 13:11)

Being God is righteousness. Anyone who is united with Him is righteous because of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit gives us faith in God and His promise of the Saviour. However, theologians deny this. They say that our righteousness is from works. There is only one kind of righteousness. And it is not from the law. The law will be fulfilled and will be no more.

Do not presume that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish, but to fulfill. For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke of a letter shall pass from the Law, until all is accomplished! Therefore, whoever nullifies one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I say to you that unless your righteousness far surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 5:17-20)

If our righteousness comes from the law, it disappears the moment we break the law. Like Adam and Eve, we would be cast out. But we are no longer slaves—we are children of God because we have been reborn. We uphold the law, yet we are no longer enslaved by it. My righteousness comes from being one with God. I do not see myself as equal to God, but God has given all authority to the Son. As the Church, we are one body with Christ. Therefore, we confess:

… whatever things were gain to me, these things I have counted as loss because of Christ. More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them mere rubbish, so that I may gain Christ, and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith, that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death; if somehow I may attain to the resurrection from the dead. (Philippians 3:7-11)

Is it because of your reverence that He punishes you,
That He enters into judgment against you?
Is your wickedness not abundant,
And is there no end to your guilty deeds? (vv. 4-5)

In this chapter, Eliphaz accuses Job of wrongdoing and concludes that Job is being punished by God.

If you return to the Almighty, you will be restored;
If you remove injustice far from your tent,
And put your gold in the dust,
And the gold of Ophir among the stones of the brooks,
Then the Almighty will be your gold
And abundant silver to you. (vv. 23-25)

God made Job suffer not because Job did something wrong.

The Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job? For there is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, fearing God and turning away from evil.” (Job 1:8)

God did not make Job suffer as if He was tricked by the devil. Before the suffering, Job had the same idea about suffering as his three friends.

I too could speak like you, If only I were in your place. I could compose words against you And shake my head at you. (Job 16:4)

Job and his three friends had the wrong idea about righteousness. Righteousness does not come from one’s actions. Righteous people love God’s law, and their actions reflect their love for God. However, their actions do not make them righteous. This is why we reject the doctrine of the Active Obedience of Christ. Our righteousness does not come from perfectly keeping the law.

Christ has always been blameless before the law because He is God. God is not judged by His own law. He is not like the kings of the earth. Christ did not need to earn righteousness through works—neither for Himself nor for us. If He had, our righteousness would come from the law.

Christians go through various trials and sufferings. These are part of the training we must endure as children of God. The new world is coming, and we will live forever with God. And we are already living forever with God.

The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him. (vv. 16-17)

We do not lose our righteousness because of our actions. By the seal of the Holy Spirit, we are confirmed as God’s children. The Holy Spirit rebukes and admonishes us if we go astray.

In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of the promise, who is a first installment of our inheritance, in regard to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory. (Ephesians 1:13-14)

No one was given the promise of eternal life based upon his/her actions. However, theologians and ministers believe and preach that Adam could earn it by his actions. This theory is called the Covenant of Works, which the Bible denies.

Every day, we are reminded that we received eternal life through Jesus’ resurrection through the words of God. The Roman Catholic Church and most (if not all) Protestant churches deny this. While they gather money and celebrate Easter, they do not preach the true gospel. They believe in the human will to earn grace. Grace of God is freely given to anyone God has appointed before birth. If I have the knowledge of God, I did not earn it by reading many theology books or spending time on church activities. The knowledge of God is given to God’s people through His words.

“For this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days,” declares the Lord: “I will put My law within them and write it on their heart; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. They will not teach again, each one his neighbor and each one his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them,” declares the Lord, “for I will forgive their wrongdoing, and their sin I will no longer remember.” (Jeremiah 31:33-34)

His sides are filled with fat,
And the marrow of his bones is wet,
While another dies with a bitter soul,
Never even tasting anything good.
Together they lie down in the dust,
And maggots cover them. (vv. 24-26)

In this chapter, Job reflects on the lives of the wicked and the blameless. The wicked seem to prosper, while the blameless receive no reward. Neither can escape death. Job speaks as though there is no point in keeping the law or living a blameless life.

The Book of Job is a story rich in wisdom. It is one of the Wisdom Books in the Bible and raises profound questions about life on earth.

Is there truly no point in keeping the law and striving to live a moral life? God punishes all, for no one can fully meet His demands. Job speaks as if it would be better to live the life of the wicked than the one he has tried to live.

I repeat these thoughts again and again because the answer to Job’s question is simple—yet, in real life, we often fail to see it. In Christianity, the central message is the Kingdom of God. Every word written in the Bible points to that Kingdom.

Many believe in Christ so that their sins may be forgiven and they will not go to hell. They believe in Him to gain entry into heaven after death. Since Christ’s sacrifice, this has become the dominant message. However, many have forgotten—or turned a blind eye to—the true reason Christ became a man.

From that time Jesus began to preach and say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Matthew 4:17)

Without preaching about the Kingdom, ministers cannot preach the true gospel. I see that many ministers have become more like counselors to their church members, spending much of their time going from house to house, listening to personal problems. While we live on earth, our true life begins when the Kingdom comes. Our hope is placed entirely in that Kingdom. As we live in this world, we face various trials and challenges. Through them, we are trained as children of God.

Many churches today are no longer preaching about the coming Kingdom. They have become merely social communities. People participate in various activities together, but these do not bring true satisfaction. Some do these things believing that good works will earn them points to enter heaven. Others seek praise from fellow church members. Many are obsessed with church office roles, thinking those roles guarantee entry into heaven. Anyone who speaks the truth in churches often becomes unpopular because they speak of things others do not understand or do not want to hear.

In some ways, Job’s words ring true: the wicked prosper, and people who strive to keep the law fall short. God punishes both, because no one is truly righteous. When it comes to earthly prosperity, it can seem as though living a lawless life is better, since keeping the law appears to offer no benefit. Job speaks this way because he does not yet understand what true righteousness is.

God does indeed save the righteous. But who are the righteous? The righteous are those who are united with God through Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. Are they blameless in terms of morality? No, they are not. Yet, they are declared blameless and righteous because God has promised to forgive their sins and give them a new heart.

They will not teach again, each one his neighbor and each one his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them,” declares the LORD, “for I will forgive their wrongdoing, and their sin I will no longer remember.” (Jeremiah 31:34)

So how should we live a life as God’s child? Should we go back to our old ways as a dog returns to its own vomit?

It has happened to them according to the true proverb, “A DOG RETURNS TO ITS OWN VOMIT,” and, “A sow, after washing, returns to wallowing in the mire.” (2 Peter 2:22)