Job 9:1-2 “Then Job answered and said, I know it is so of a truth: but how should man be just with God?”
This sermon from American Pastor J.D. Montieth highlights the most foundational and important lessons in life from the oldest book in the Bible, the Book of Job. This sermon, the sixth in the series on the Book of Job, Job’s Initial Response to Bildad, chronicles Job’s response to the second of Job’s three friends, Bildad the Shuhite:
“In Job’s words is the very attribute God praised him for—a very deep and profound fear of the Lord—but at the same time, he makes a great accusation against Him. Job loved, praised, and honored the Lord, but he knew little about himself and the self-righteousness that filled his heart. Job also did not know how any man, including himself, could be found just before God, a topic also that must be directly addressed before we finish this study. To a godly man, there is no question in life more important than this one.
“Though Job was not aware of how to be just before God, he was aware that hardening himself against the Lord was not the answer, because no one, not even one person, has ever hardened themselves against God and won. To harden one’s heart is to make oneself insensible to sin. It is to close the ears so truth can no longer be heard. The result of this is always calamity and further brokenness. Resisting the Lord only brings tragedy to those foolish enough to oppose God’s will. Pharaoh proved this, but he is just one of many who have suffered the awful consequences of hardening the heart against the Lord. The religious leaders in Christ’s day also hardened themselves against Christ, and as a result, they crucified the very One sent to save them. Bent on rebellion, a man with a hard heart will shut out all other voices, especially God’s, to do what he wants. This teaches us that the base of all hardening of the heart is the stubbornness to do one’s own will.
“It is true that men need an arbiter, and Jesus Christ is just that for the sinner. In Him, forgiveness is found, but it can never be found in ourselves. The Lord Jesus is man’s Advocate with God, and to stand righteous before God, all men need Him. To understand this is to begin to move towards receiving God’s salvation. For men to stand righteous before the Lord, a mediator is needed to intercede on their behalf. Since Jesus is the Mediator between God and man, if a man wants to stand righteous before God, then Christ must stand with him. In Christ, men can be made righteous, whereas, through themselves, they can never be.”
This sermon was preached in the In the Mouth of Two or Three Witnesses series. Other sections of Scriptures highlighted in this sermon: Job 9:1-35.
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