2 Tim. 3
After a long list of very ungodly, human characteristics, Paul adds the statement, “having a form of godliness but denying its power.” (2 Tim. 3:5). I’m not sure what to make of that. As I said, the things Paul listed are human nature. They are what drive our behavior when we don’t have God behind the wheel. It’s often quite easy to spot these characteristics in the godless world around us. Maybe that isn’t what Paul was talking about, though. Maybe Paul was still talking about false teachers – people inside the church. Could it be that Paul was warning against an increase in self-motivated deceivers infiltrating the body of believers and leading the faithful astray?
That makes sense to me because Satan is the Great Deceiver. It would be just like him to hide these ugly human characteristics behind seemingly good things. And to be honest, I see it a lot. Whether it’s people hiding behind a good cause for selfish gain, acceptance of ungodly behavior in the church in the name of love and compassion, watered down feel good teaching that does nothing to move people toward God, religious scams, or any number of other things, I see a lot of ungodly things being passed off as something good. And I’d say these ugly human characteristics are much harder to spot in such circumstances.
So we need to stay on our guard. We need to trust those we know have their heart in the right place (they are probably the ones taking the most heat!). And we need to trust God’s word. Deceivers will not focus on their message because they know it won’t stand the truth test. Instead, they will focus on putting down those who stand for the truth and in causing distraction and division. They will try to distort scripture to justify their position. But scripture doesn’t exist to justify our behavior. It exists to point us to Jesus.
Job 32-33
Why did Job’s three friends stop answering Job? Why did young Elihu take up the task? I have no idea what Elihu was trying to say. Lots of words…not much point. I do understand that Elihu was upset because Job insisted that he was innocent and it was God who was acting without good reason. I also understand that he was upset because the other three had failed to make a case against Job’s arguments and had decided to back off and let God deal with him. Furthermore, I do like Elihu’s approach better than that of the other three. It seems a lot more compassionate and less condemning. In the end, though, he still seems to be saying that Job was suffering because of his own wrong-doing.
I think what I hear Elihu saying is that God had indeed spoken to Job. God had caused Job’s suffering in order to turn him away from the pit of destruction on which his life path must surely have been. If Job would only repent, then God would restore him. Then Job would know that, rather than getting what he didn’t deserve as he asserted, God actually spared him from what he did deserve. Like all the friends, Elihu started with the truth that God is always justified in all His actions. He is God, after all. But all four were unwilling to seek understanding beyond what they thought they knew. Thus, none accepted Job’s claim of innocence.
Funny thing is, I actually see the gospel message in what Elihu said. As he said, “God is greater than any mortal.” (Job 33:12b). Thus, no man meets God’s righteous standard. “Yet if there is…a messenger…sent to tell them how to be upright, and he is gracious to that person and says to God, ‘Spare them from going down to the pit; I have found a ransom for them’…then that person can pray to God and find favor with Him…He will restore them to full well-being.” (From Job 33:23-26). Jesus is that messenger, sent to not just find but be a ransom for us so that we can repent and find favor with God. Then we really are considered righteous before God and can say, “God has delivered me from going down to the pit, and I shall live to enjoy the light of life.” (Job 33:28).