How can man be justified before God according to Job 25:4? Scriptural Text “How then can a man be justified before God? How can one born of woman be pure?” (Job 25:4) Immediate Context and Speaker Job 25 is the final speech of Bildad the Shuhite. He affirms God’s perfect dominion (vv. 2-3) and mankind’s creaturely insignificance (vv. 5-6). Bildad’s question is rhetorically pessimistic: in his view the chasm between a holy Creator and sinful humanity is unbridgeable. The book as a whole, however, refuses to leave the matter unresolved; Job’s longing for a vindicating “Redeemer” (19:25-27) prepares the canonical way for the gospel’s definitive answer. The Universal Problem of Human Sinfulness From Genesis 3 forward, Scripture testifies that “there is no one who does good, not even one” (Psalm 14:3; cf. Romans 3:10-18). Job admits, “Though I were innocent, my own mouth would condemn me” (Job 9:20). Anthropology, sociology, and behavioral science corroborate this universal moral shortfall—every culture recognizes transgression, guilt, and the need for atonement. Old Testament Anticipations of Justification 1. Genesis 15:6—“Abram believed the LORD, and He credited it to him as righteousness.” 2. Levitical sacrifices—substitutionary blood atonement (Leviticus 17:11). 3. Psalm 32:1-2—“Blessed is the man whose sin the LORD does not count against him.” 4. Habakkuk 2:4—“The righteous will live by his faith.” These texts reveal that righteousness is credited, not earned, and that faith appropriates a substitutionary provision. Job’s Unfolding Yearning for a Mediator Job senses the need for: • an arbiter who can lay a hand on both God and man (9:32-35); • a ransom to deliver from the pit (33:24); • a living Redeemer who will stand on the earth (19:25-27). His inspired intuitions point beyond Bildad’s despair to a concrete, personal solution. Progressive Revelation and the Fulfillment in Christ The New Testament supplies the answer Bildad lacked: “But now, apart from the Law, the righteousness of God has been revealed… through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe…” (Romans 3:21-22). “God made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.” (2 Corinthians 5:21). The historical resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:3-8)—documented by early creedal material, multiple independent eyewitness claims, and an empty tomb that even hostile sources acknowledged—confirms the sufficiency of Christ’s atonement and the certainty of justification for all who trust Him. The Theology of Justification: Forensic, By Grace Through Faith • Forensic: A legal declaration in God’s court (Romans 8:33-34). • By Grace: Gift, not wage (Ephesians 2:8-9). • Through Faith: Instrumental means, not meritorious cause (Galatians 2:16). Imputation: The Righteousness of Another Counted as Ours Just as Adam’s guilt is imputed to his descendants (Romans 5:12-19), Christ’s obedience is imputed to believers, providing the spotless righteousness Bildad deemed impossible. Isaiah’s metaphor captures it: “He has clothed me with garments of salvation” (Isaiah 61:10). Sacrifice and Substitute: From Job’s Burnt Offerings to the Cross Job regularly offered burnt offerings for his children (1:5), prefiguring the need for substitutionary blood. The Passover lamb (Exodus 12), the Day of Atonement goat (Leviticus 16), and the Suffering Servant (Isaiah 53) converge on the cross where “Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed” (1 Corinthians 5:7). Answer to Bildad’s Question: How Man Is Justified 1. Acknowledging sin and inability to self-justify (Job 42:5-6; Romans 3:23). 2. Trusting the divinely provided Mediator whose resurrection vindicates His claim (Romans 4:24-25). 3. Receiving God’s legal declaration of righteousness, evidenced by peace with God (Romans 5:1) and a transformed life (James 2:17-26). Thus, man can be justified before God—solely on the basis of the atoning, risen Christ, received by faith. Harmony of Scripture: Consistency Across Canon No doctrinal contradiction exists: Bildad raises the question; later revelation supplies the answer. The same God who demanded perfect righteousness (Leviticus 19:2) also provided it in Christ (Philippians 3:9). The unity of this message across 66 books, written on three continents in three languages over fifteen centuries, is unparalleled in religious literature. Practical Response: Repentance, Faith, and Assurance • Repent—turn from self-reliance (Acts 17:30). • Believe—entrust oneself to the risen Lord Jesus (Romans 10:9-10). • Rest—enjoy the Spirit’s witness that we are God’s children (Romans 8:16). • Walk—express justified status through obedient gratitude (Ephesians 2:10). Summary Job 25:4 confronts humanity with its deepest dilemma; the rest of Scripture reveals the gracious solution. Man is justified before God not by moral effort, ritual, or philosophical speculation, but by God’s own provision of righteousness in the crucified and resurrected Christ, received through faith alone, to the glory of God alone. |
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