Repentance or remembrance?

Job 8:20-21
Behold, God will not cast away the blameless, nor will He uphold the evildoers. He will yet fill your mouth with laughing, and your lips with rejoicing.

Job’s friends did what they thought they needed to do, that is, they came to Job and tried to offer and explanation for the situation he was in. They wanted to “lay it all out” for him so that he would be able to “get his life back on track”. They offered their human opinions about why these horrible things were happening to him in the hopes that he would “repent” and change his lifestyle. But the truth is this: Job didn’t need to change anything about himself; he had done no wrong.

All too often in our world today we act as Job’s friends did. We offer our opinions for why tragedies like the tsunami in Sumatra and Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans happen. We [the collective Christian population] say the very same things Job’s friends said: “It’s because of sin. What did you do to God? Repent and change your evil ways.” These responses are given, and guess who gets the bad name for it? That’s right, God!

Am I saying that these areas of the world, that my own house, is without sin? Of course not; that would be preposterous. What I am saying, however, is that God does not count our sin against us anymore (2 Corinthians 3:19). In His eyes we are, and will remain, as blameless and perfect as the man Job was to Him (Job 1:1). This is not because of our own doing, but rather, due to the once and for all sacrifice of Jesus Christ (1 Peter 3:18, Hebrews 10:10). It is by His stripes, His humiliation, His death, and His resurrection that we are viewed perfect in the eyes of Almighty God (1 John 2:2).

What I’ve realized, even through condemnation preaching such as that of Job’s well-intentioned but off-base friends, is that there are glimmers of redemption and hope, just as the Old Testament of the Bible, though full of laws and curses, is full of hidden revelations of Jesus Christ. In the closing words of Bildad’s explanation of why Job was suffering, he does something remarkable. Bildad, albeit probably unknowingly, reminds Job of his status with God. He tells Job that God will not cast away the blameless; He will fill him with laughter and rejoicing.

I wasn’t there with Job, so I can’t speak to whether or not he took this revelation to heart, but I am here with you. Please, take this revelation to heart. Because of Jesus Christ’s finished work on the cross you are righteous (2 Corinthians 5:21). God wants you to know this; He wants you to remember this truth. On the night Jesus was betrayed He had a meal with His disciples. During the course of that meal He spoke of His upcoming death. He broke bread and related it to His body. He poured out wine and related it to His blood. After He gave thanks for these things He told the disciples to get together and remember Him.

This is what we need to do: get together and remember Him. We need to remember that it is by His stripes we are healed, through His death that we are forgiven. Remember it is because of His resurrection we have been given life. And as a result of His perfection we are blessed by God. This is the truth; this is the gospel.