Psalm 88; Job 19:21-27a; Heb. 4:1-16; Rom. 8:1-11
Job protested his innocence until the day God showed up to talk. His friends accused him of secret sin based on their causal interpretation of suffering, all suffering is based in sin and Job had no obvious sins so there must be something he was hiding. These friends should have taken Job’s case, should have been pleading before the Lord for Job but instead they allowed themselves to take the job of Satan who is, quite literally, the accuser. Job has had enough of their words and says that he knows there is a Redeemer out there for him, one who will take up his cause and stand before the Lord on his account and that even if it comes too late for him to see this in the flesh it will happen. His belief in his own innocence, which God proclaims to Satan in the first chapter of the book, is unshakeable and affirms a belief in a life after death that was, in some ways, before his time in Jewish understanding. He knew, or at least believed, that death wasn’t the final answer.
Christ lives in me. The Spirit of life is now in me and is there to lead me into righteousness and away from a life characterized by sin. How do we cultivate that life? As Dallas Willard wrote, “Grace is opposed to earning, not effort.” Too often we fail to work at bringing forth the life of the Spirit. Too many Christians are passive in the life we live. The disciplines of study, prayer, fasting, etc. are there for us and we ignore them at our own peril. In the garden, Adam and Eve were to work with God in bringing forth fruit and tending the garden, it wasn’t a life of passively enjoying the delights of life. In the Christian life we must devote ourselves to the pursuit of the kingdom of God and His righteousness, we don’t become Christ-like if we neglect the effort.
Our high priest is Jesus and yet He offered only one sacrifice in His life, His life, and that offering wasn’t for His sins but for ours. If we accept His sacrifice, we can enter the rest that has been promised. We are set free from attempting to earn God’s favor and can rest in mercy and grace, unmerited favor that is ours through the merits of Jesus alone. Our redeemer has come and instead of pleading our case based on our innocence He offers His innocence on our behalf before the Father. To the extent we have a plea it is based completely on our faith in Jesus, we ask God to look not on our sins but on Jesus’ righteousness and we know that God has found that sacrifice acceptable. Now we can get about the business of the Father based on His loving acceptance of us and not to win that reward.
O for a thousand tongues to sing
My great Redeemer’s praise,
The glories of my God and King,
The triumphs of His grace!
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