Tues., 2/25/20 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 these questions (above). They are good queries. The answer to the first one is, "No one can be righteous before God on one's own. What is necessary is an 'alien' righteousness." This "alien" righteous-ness is that of Christ and His blood atonement, imputed to the sinful soul, by faith.

Faith follows regeneration. Regeneration is God's sovereign act of bringing to life a dead and rebellious soul. Faith is the gift of regeneration. By faith, we fetch to our hearts the Lord Jesus Christ, who then is our righteousness. Therefore, "Can a man be righteous before God?" Yes, but only as he is clothed in *Christ’s* righteousness.

[AUGUSTINE quote of the day: “It is hard to live right if one’s faith in God is wrong.” —from, “City of God,” Bk. 5.]