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Abraham Or Job: Which Righteous Man Do You Want To Be?

Abraham or Job: Which righteous man do you want to be? The Bible tells us that these two great men were both righteous. However, the ways through which they attained their states of righteousness were radically different from each other: Job was what we may call SELF-righteous, in that he was very conscious of the good works that he did. Job knew that he was righteous because of HIS WORKS: his good conduct, his good behaviour, his good character, his piety, and his works of charity. That is why Job could say: "I will hold fast to MY righteousness; I will never let it go" (Job 27:6) In fact, because of his good works, Job could even challenge God: " I am righteous, and yet God has taken justice away from me." (Job 34:5) Job was righteous in his own eyes. (Job 32:1) Abraham was very different from Job, at least in the way through which he became righteous. The Bible tells us that Abraham BELIEVED God, and it was CREDITED to him as righteousness (Genesis 15:6; Romans 4:3) Abraham never WORKED to be righteous. In fact, the Bible tells us in Romans 4:2 that Abraham had absolutely no works with which he could use to boast before God that he was righteous. Notice here the difference with Job: Job had a lot of works he could boast about, and he actually did boast about them. Furthermore, Abraham never even knew that he was righteous we know he was righteous because God recorded it in the Bible, but Abraham was never conscious of his righteousness, and therefore, not once do you ever hear Abraham saying, "I am RIGHTEOUS." Abraham never called himself righteous God did.

Abraham made mistakes; they are recorded in the Bible, and yet in spite of them, the Bible tells us that Abraham was a FRIEND OF GOD. Was it because of his good works? No. The Bible tells us that he had no works he could boast about. Abraham was righteous and became a friend of God simply because he BELIEVED God. Now here is the thing to remember about righteousness: IT MUST BE PROVED. The Bible tells us in 1 Corinthians 3:13-15 that there is a day in which every mans works will have to be proved by fire, and if his righteousness stands, he will receive a reward.

Job had a day in which HIS righteousness had to be proved. He had lived his life conscious of his own righteousness through works, and so Satan was allowed to test Jobs righteousness, but thank God, Job passed the righteousness test. He lost everything, and still remained faithful to God, and because of his faithfulness, God rewarded him with seven times more wealth than he ever had. Abraham on the other hand, NEVER went through any kind of test in order to prove his righteousness, simply because he had no righteousness of his own to be proved. It was God Himself who had declared Abraham righteous because of Abrahams faith in God. Abraham had no works to boast about, and so even when Satan tried to accuse Abraham, and try to get God to allow him to put Abraham through what Job went through, God refused. Why? This is what God said about Abraham and everyone who believes in Jesus Christ: "Their righteousness is OF ME." (Isaiah 54:17) God told Satan, "Abraham is righteous, not because of his works, but because I say so." And Guess what? That is exactly what God tells Satan about everyone who believes in Jesus Christ. My Friend, if your righteousness is of God, Satan can never put you through what he put Job through. Why? Because your righteousness is of God.

However, God didnt just end there. God sent HIS righteousness, Jesus Christ, and then PROVED it on the Cross. Jesus Christ is the manifestation of Gods own Righteousness. It is the very righteousness which God imputed to Abraham, and the very righteousness He imputes to every one who accepts Jesus Christ today, as their Lord and Saviour. Jesus Christ suffered on the cross so that He could be our righteousness (including Abraham's), so that unlike Job, we would never ever have to prove how righteous we are. Job was tested by Satan because he trusted in his own righteousness. Yes, he passed the test, and no one can take that away from him. He proved his own righteousness, but he never would have had to go through what he did, if only he had let go of his own righteousness, and started resting in Gods righteousness, like Abraham did. By the way, just to be clear, Job was tested by SATAN. Now concerning Isaac, Abraham was tested by GOD, PERSONALLY, and this test was not to prove Abrahams RIGHTEOUSNESS, but to prove his love for God. God made Abraham righteous, FREELY. Always remember, there is a difference between being tested by Satan, and being tested by God. Satan will ruin you, but God will always empower you to overcome all things, and still enrich you in the process. So today, God is asking all of us the question: Which righteous man do you want to be Abraham or Job?

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