Tues., 2/25/14 Devotion (Job 25:4)

Today's encouragement comes from Job 25:4, where we read these words:

"How then can man be righteous before God? Or how can he be pure who is born of a woman?"

Bildad the Shuhite asked this question. It is a very good query. The answer to it is this, "No one can be righteous before God on one's own. What is neces-sary is an 'alien' righteousness." This "alien" righteousness is that of Christ, who imputes His own righteousness to sinful souls—as He is received by us by faith.

Faith follows regeneration (or the New Birth). Regeneration is God's sove-reign act of bringing to life a dead and rebellious soul. Faith is the gift of re-generation. By faith, we fetch to our hearts the Lord Jesus Christ, who then *becomes* our righteousness. Therefore, when we are asked, "Can a man be righteous before God?”—the answer is, "Yes, but only as he or she is clothed in Christ's righteousness."

[Puritan quote of the day: "A godly man loves God and therefore delights to be in His presence; he loves God and therefore takes comfort in nothing with-out Him." --Thomas Watson, in, "The Godly Man's Picture"]