Outwardly he kept the law, but because Job was producing his own works it lack the main ingredient that makes law-keeping real - agape. Hence, "agape is the fulfillment of the law."

Go to 1 Cor 13:3 If I give all I possess to the poor [an outwardly righteous act] ..., but have not love [agape], it [the act] is meaningless.



The point is that a self-righteous spirit will eventually cause God to retreat. Look at Matthew 23:27

“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men’s bones and everything unclean."

On the outside the teachers of the law and Pharisees looked wonderful, but on the inside they were void of the very ingredient that would make their works genuine - agape! What was the result?

34 "Therefore I am sending you prophets and wise men and teachers."

God sent warnings to the Jews just as He sent Elihu to Job. What was the result of their self-righteousness? Did God punish them? No, they brought disaster on themselves:

37 “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing. 38 Look, your house is left to you desolate."

What happened in 70AD? The Jews, except for the Christians, were butchered. Who did it? Satan, through Roman. Why? God had retreated.

What happened to Job because of his self-righteous attitude? Right, God backed off and Satan came in and wrecked his life. So it wasn't God (as Job's three friends stated) it was Satan.




If I was being accused of a sin I knew I didn't commit, yes I would deny it, but I would never claim that I am righteous - i.e., without sin. Why?

1 John 1:8 "If we claim to be without sin [righteous], we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us."

Job was deceived. He was deceived that his righteousness was of God, but his law-keeping lacked one key ingredient - agape! Agape is the supreme gift of the Holy Spirit and it comes to those resting in God's redemption and who put no confidence in human performance.



42:1 Then Job answered the Lord, and said, 3 ‘Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge?’ ”Therefore I have declared that ["I am righteous"] which I did not understand, Things too wonderful for me, which I did not know.”...6 Therefore I retract [that I am righteous], And I repent in dust and ashes.”



God accepted Job's repentance so your question is meaningless.

Rob

Let’s start again where Elihu begins to rebuke Job:

32:1 THEN these three men ceased answering Job, because he was righteous in his own eyes. 2 But the anger of Elihu the son of Barachel the Buzite, of the family of Ram burned; against Job his anger burned, because he justified himself before God.

Did Elihu have the same argument of the other three men? No! Drop down to verse 14:

“But Job has not marshaled his words against me, and I will not answer him with your arguments.”

Elihu was moved by the Spirit of God to rebuke Job:

Verse 18: “For I am full of words; The Spirit within me constrains me.”

Job 33:8 [Elihu to Job] “But you have said in my hearing—I heard the very words—9 ‘I am pure and without sin; I am clean and free from guilt.'”

God’s Spirit has put His finger on Job's problem. Job is not living a immoral life as the previous three men suggested, but Job does have a problem and that is that Job is self-righteous!