But if you wrong it is dead serious! The one sin that will cause a person to be lost is the sin of self-righteousness - the spirit of self-justification! That was Job's problem and I dare say many SDA too!

The whole purpose of the book seems to be to show that bad things can happen to good people. Are you trying to say that Job deserved what he got? I think you are wrong.

mel

The reason God sees Job as blameless is the same reason that He proclaims any of His children as blameless. Job believed, revealed in the sacrifices of shed blood on the alter, that His sins were cleansed from the record by that shed blood.

"His sons used to go and hold a feast in the house of each one on his day, and they would send and invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them.
When the days of feasting had completed their cycle, Job would send and consecrate them, rising up early in the morning and offering burnt offerings according to the number of them all; for Job said, "Perhaps my sons have sinned and cursed God in their hearts." Thus Job did continually." Job 1:4,5 NASB

If it is revealed anywhere in the Word, a reason why these sacrifices were not sufficient to maintain the reality of Job's blamelessness, it would have to be Job's confession that he did not fully believe in the full sufficiency of release through the shed blood of the alter sacrifices that pointed forward to the shed blood of the Lamb of God on the cross.

"For the thing I greatly feared has come upon me,
And what I dreaded has happened to me." Job 3:25 NKJV

"There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love." 1 John 4:18 NASB

"...for you had compassion on me in my chains, and joyfully accepted the plundering of your goods, knowing that you have a better and an enduring possession for yourselves in heaven. Therefore do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise: " Hebrews 10:34-36 NKJV
Regards!

You are right, Melvin. Job truly believed God and had faith in Him, and this faith in God made Job different from those who had no such faith. He obeyed God. The same applies to Noah and Abraham. God trusted them in return, and Job did not let God down.

#170409 -That's good, John317. It's so simple a child, and only a child of God, can understand it.
Maranatha!

Amen!

Soooo! What you're saying is that Job's conclusions about himself are more to be trusted than God's conclusions about him. re: Robert's post #170436
Regards!

Apparent meaning, you must be willing to think outside of the Word.

"I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues which are written in this book" Revelation 22:18 NASB

"Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men." 1 Corinthians 1:25 KJV
Regards!

So? Saul of Tarsus believed in God. And he shared the same view Job had of himself: "As to the righteousness which is in the Law, found blameless." [Phil 3:6]

God considered Saul faithful because he acted ignorantly in unbelief, but God [Jesus] still had to correct Saul's theology.

1 Tim 1:12 I [Paul] thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, because He considered me [Saul of Tarsus] faithful, putting me into service; 13 even though I [as Saul] was formerly a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent aggressor. And yet I was shown mercy, because I acted ignorantly in unbelief...

So "yes" Job believed in God, but there was something wrong that needed correcting. And it seems that the only way for God to get Job's attention was to partially abandoned him.

What was Job's problem again? It is self-evident for those who are not themselves blinded by their own self-righteousness:

“I [Job] hold fast my righteousness and will not let it go." [Job 27:6 NASB]

"But the anger of Elihu the son of Barachel the Buzite [the 4th man], of the family of Ram burned; against Job his anger burned, because he justified himself before God. [Job 32:2 NASB]

And Job repented:

Job 42:3 You [God] asked, ‘Who is this that obscures my counsel [given through Elihu] without knowledge?’ I have uttered what I did not understand [compare Job 27:6 above], things too wonderful for me, which I did not know [i.e., he was ignorant]....6 Therefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes."

Job 40:4 “Behold, I am vile [not blameless]; what shall I answer thee? I will lay mine hand upon my mouth…."

Again, for those defending the traditional view of Job, why did Job repent if everything was just fine?

Rob

That's your assumption that God thought Job was actually a righteous man, but it does not hold water when compared to the whole of the book of Job.

For example, take the following:

Ex 4:11 Then the Lord said to him [Moses], “Who has made man’s mouth? Who makes him dumb, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Is it not I, the Lord?"

If taken at face value it looks like God causes blindness (among other things).

Throughout the Bible you’ll see that God sees and describes Himself as doing what He does not prevent. He knew Lucifer would rebel - He knew the results of Lucifer's system of "self" - yet because of His agape love He allowed Lucifer to develop his system of self-love.

So while Satan is responsible for the creation of sin, God is ultimately responsible for allowing sin to develop and here He assumes the blame until the day of atonement when the blame for sin will be placed upon Satan.