FBC Morning Light – April 29, 2022

Well, a good Friday morning to you. I hope your week has gone well for you. As you look back over your work week, you can just be thankful that God has given you work to do and it is a meaningful work, a meaningful way to be employed in this world.

I hope he shows you how that work is meaningful. Well, we're coming to the end of this work week and so that means we're looking forward to the Lord's Day on Sunday, and this week our church schedule is a little different.

The first Sunday of the month, May 1st, already on Sunday, and so Sunday morning we're having our Bible study time at 9 .30, Sunday school for all ages, really, and then morning service at 10 .30. In the evening time, we're not having our evening service this week.

Instead, we're having the Young, Married, and Single Adult Fellowship time, that's meeting at the church at 5 o 'clock, and then encouraging everyone who's not young, married, or a single adult to get together in homes and fellowship with each other, spend some time in prayer, some time in the Word, and just some time getting to know one another and enjoying your friendship.

Job’s Friends and the Limits of Partial Truth

So that's coming on this Lord's Day. Today we're back again in the book of Job, and Job's friends, I think they meant well, and I think they expressed what they understood, even though much of what they understood was in error and was not sufficient.

They had a measure of knowledge, but not a fullness of knowledge. Let me explain. Here's this friend Elihu, who says some absolutely spot-on correct things, and yet what he says isn't the whole story.

It's not the full truth. Let me explain. In chapter 34, verse 9, he says this, absolutely correct, he says, Listen to me, you men of understanding, far be it from God to do wickedness. Absolutely. God is holy, and there is absolutely no way that God is going to do wickedness.

He repeats the same thing, he says, and from the Almighty to commit iniquity. Yes. God, the holy, righteous, perfect God, will never do wickedness, and he will never do iniquity. What he's suggesting in that, though, is that Job is accusing God of doing wrong by Job's suffering.

Job isn't going to accuse God of doing wrong, he's just wanting answers. He says, I don't understand, what did I do wrong? Why am I suffering like this? This is Job's question, and he's wanting answers.

Elihu seems to think that Job is accusing God of wickedness and doing iniquity, and there's no way God's going to do that. Agreed, 100 percent agreed, no problem. Then the next thing he says is also true, but you better be careful, because he says, For God repays man according to his work, and makes man to find a reward according to his way.

There's a general truth there, that God does repay man according to his work, and when you get to the book of Revelation, the end of Revelation, you find that God is going to open the books and judge everyone according to what's found therein, and everyone according to his works.

Agreed, acknowledged that, and he makes man find a reward according to his way. Got it. But the problem is, the way Elihu is applying that truth, we've seen this over and over again in the book of Job, where this idea of God exacts from a man what he deserves is twisted around, so that looking at Job's plight, his predicament, the suffering and all that he is enduring, the conclusion is that because you are suffering, and you're enduring all this terrible stuff, and you are in such a miserable plight because of this, therefore God is judging you for your iniquity.

He's judging you for sin, because after all, God only gives to a man what he deserves. He only rewards a man according to his way. What you're experiencing is obviously a terrible reward, so that must coincide with your terrible ways.

The general truth that, yes, God in his judgment never does wickedness, he never commits iniquity, he repays man according to his work, he rewards man according to his way, yes, that's true, but we can't look at a temporal situation, we can't look at a parenthesis of time, if you will, a snippet of our lives, and draw unwarranted conclusions based upon truths that have to do with the entirety of a person's life.

It is true that sometimes our suffering is due to a path of sin that we've chosen, absolutely. The way of the transgressor is hard, right? The way of the transgressor is hard. Sin hurts, but it's not a corollary to say that therefore, if your way is hard, it's because you've transgressed, or if you're hurting, it's because of sin.

We can't turn that around in a legitimate way and draw a legitimate conclusion. That's one of the benefits of the book of Job, that we can see that in the experience of this man who is experiencing so much pain and anguish and turmoil in his life, and it is not due to sin.

There are other factors that are involved. That's one of the messages of the book of Job. I trust that will encourage us today to be careful with misapplying God's Word in a way that can actually be hurtful to ourselves and maybe even to others.

Applying God’s Word Carefully in Suffering

With that, let's pray. Our Father and our God, we thank you that you are righteous, you are holy, you are just, you always do what is right. When we're suffering and going through affliction, may we not turn it around and accuse you of wrongdoing.

At the same time, we should legitimately consider, is sin behind my hurt? Father, we must not always conclude that's the case, especially when we're counseling and encouraging others. Father, help us to be careful in how we apply your Word and its truths, we pray.

We ask it in Jesus' name, for his sake, amen. We'll have a good rest of your Friday. Trust the Lord to bless you in it, give you a wonderful weekend, and I hope by God's grace we see you on this Lord's Day.

Have a good day.