A lesson from Job

In my daily reading I have been studying the book of Job. It’s a difficult book for a lot of people. And in my younger days I used to try not to think about it because it would cause me to question God. But as I have grown in the Faith I am able to accept it a lot easier now. One thing about the book itself is that there has always been a lot of debate as to the origin and timeframe of the events of Job. Some will go so far as to say that it is a story but not an actual historical account of a real person. On that note I will disagree. The book of Job is written in the form of Hebrew poetry. But it is a historical account of a man named Job.

Anyway…As I was reading this morning something struck me. The story is about the faith of Job while he was suffering. No, I have never suffered like Job did. Few of us have had to suffer that much. But his faith, it was indeed strong. But even in faith he questioned God. He didn’t question God in a sinful way but he did question God. He felt like God had abandoned him, or was allowing him to suffer without just cause. That part I can relate to. How many times in our Christian life does it seem like God is far away? How many times have you wished you could sit down with God and ask Him your questions to His face and listen to Him answer you directly? For me I have to admit I feel this way often. Actually I have been feeling this way for a few days now. Look at what Job said to his would-be comforters Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar.

Job 23:8-12 (NASB) “Behold, I go forward but He is not there, And backward, but I cannot perceive Him; When He acts on the left, I cannot behold Him; He turns on the right, I cannot see Him. But He knows the way I take; When He has tried me, I shall come forth as gold. My foot has held fast to His path; I have kept His way and not turned aside. I have not departed from the command of His lips; I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my necessary food.”

                Yep. I have felt that way a lot for the last few days. And it just so happens that there is nothing wrong with that. It would be a sin to lose faith in God, or to ask such a thing sarcastically against God, but not to want to be able to speak directly to God in the place of people who can only give us the same old clichéd answers. That would make so many situations so much simpler, wouldn’t it?

                But there is another interesting thing Job said. Job makes more than a few references to wanting to dispute his suffering and to proclaim his faithfulness directly to God. He uses legal terms as if he wants to go to God’s courtroom and prove his innocence.  In Job 9:32-33 Job wishes he had a mediator to negotiate between him and God.  That is another “aha” moment for me. We do have a mediator with God. 1 Timothy 2:5 tells us that Jesus is our mediator. Jesus sits on the throne, “at the right hand of the Father” and speaks for us just as a defense attorney would.

                So what does this mean for us? It means that when we feel lonely, abandoned, or forgotten by our Heavenly Father we can go to our mediator, Jesus, in prayer, and talk to Him. And we know that He will hear our prayers and that He will plead our case and in due time we will be blessed. But the story about Job also teaches us to remain faithful to God no matter how we “feel” and no matter what others are saying. I find all that to be very comforting. I pray you do to.

Peace and blessings to you all.

Shannon

Will there be “Christians” in hell?

The Lord has given me a burden for the lost. And I have been becoming increasingly aware of a need for real repentance by many of those who call themselves “Christians”. Now please do not misunderstand my intentions. I am by no means trying to “judge” anyone or say that I am better than the next. Lord knows I make more than my share of mistakes! But in looking more deeply at the Scriptures I have to question what it is that some people really believe. And what is even more disconcerting is that I have to question what some leaders are teaching.

I guess it comes down to how you define “Christian”. Some would say that a “Christian is someone who believes in God”, or “believes in Jesus”. I disagree. A true “Christian” is someone who is following Christ to become more Christ-like. I will say that I am totally against the legalistic teachings that say our salvation is dependent on or determined by our own actions. No. We are “saved by grace through faith” alone (Ephesians 2:8). But too many people have a weak and watered-down definition of “faith”. Saving faith is not the casual acknowledgement of the Biblical truth. It is not a creed where you hear it and say, “Ok, I believe that”. It is to trust in, to cling to, to rely on, and depend on the Biblical truth. It is so much more than a one-time decision to “believe” in Jesus.

You see, when one truly believes in, or has faith in Jesus, then (and only then) the Holy Spirit dwells within that believer. That is being “born again”, or “born of the Spirit”. That means God lives inside the believer. If God lives inside you then you will absolutely not be able to live in an ongoing life of continual rebellion against the standards of God. Yes you will make mistakes. Yes being like Jesus is a process of Spiritual growth. No you will not be “perfect” (at least not on the outside) all the time. But your life will display a trend of change going in God’s direction.

Look at it this way: In John 3:16 we read where Jesus said, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life” (NASB). That’s great. And it is the truth. So why then did Jesus also say, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter”? It is because we misunderstand and incorrectly define “believe”. In John 3:16 (and many verses throughout the Gospels) the Greek word “believe” is not a noun or an adverb but it is an active verb. It indicates an ongoing act. It means if you truly believe then you will continue to believe and grow stronger in that belief.

If you are a Christian, you will grow in the things of God. You will grow in your prayer life. You will grow in your worship of the Lord. You will grow in your interest in His word, the Bible. You will grow in your distaste for sin and you will grow in your thirst for His righteousness. This Western Worldview that says you pray a prayer and ask Jesus into your heart and then you are saved and you can then live anyway you want because God has forgiven you is false doctrine. That is not taught or implied anywhere in Scripture. Jesus also said, “Repent and believe…” (Mark 1:15). Repent means you turn away from your old life and change your direction toward a new life in Christ. If you are still living the same old life you lived when you were lost and in sin, then you are still lost and in sin regardless of what you said you “believe”.

So will there be Christians in hell? No. But there will be vast multitudes there who called themselves Christians.

Peace and blessings,

Shannon