“But how can a man be in the right before God?”
-Job 9:2
That is the question. Isn’t it? Maybe the most important question in the world. It’s asked here in the context of Job and him wanting to be before God, and to see God, and to understand God, and even to make a defense before God. But really, he says right here what is the big question of the Bible, “How can a man be in the right before God?”
How can sinful people stand before a holy God and be right before Him? Ever since Genesis chapter three, that’s been the question because man and woman have been separated from God, and guilty of sin before God, and not right before God. So how can man in his sinfulness be in the right before God?
Job 9:2 Reminds Us of the Gospel
This is the question that leads to the gospel, the good news at the center of the Bible. That man, woman can be right before God by faith in Jesus, that we have an intermediary who stepped in to take the payment, judgment due, our sin upon himself. He’s died on a cross. He’s risen from the dead. And God has granted eternal life in His presence to all who trust in Him, and His righteousness, and His justice, and His love, and His mercy displayed on the cross for them.
Ah, the greatest news in the world, let’s share it. Let’s share it with the people around us. We know how everybody around us can be made right before God. Don’t keep that to yourself. Let’s make it known around the world. There’s 3.2 billion people in the world who don’t even know this good news. It’s not that they’ve never heard of it. They’ve not believed it. Yes, there’s tons like that. But we’re talking about 3.2 billion people who’ve never even heard the good news. They don’t have access to the truth of how they can be made right before God through Jesus.
Job 9:2 Compels Us to Share the Gospel
So God, we pray, all glory be to your name for making the way for us to be made right before you. Jesus, we praise you for dying on the cross, for rising from the grave, for taking our sin upon yourself, for your victory over sin and death, and the grave, and forgiving us of our sin, oh God, through faith in Jesus, for making us right before you. And so, God, we pray, please help us to share this boldly and compassionately with people around us.
God, we pray, please don’t let us keep this good news of righteousness before God to ourself. Help us to not be ashamed of the gospel, for it is your power for the salvation of everyone who believes. For in the gospel, a righteousness from God was revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last. Just as it is written, “The righteous will live by faith.”
Pray for People of Afghanistan
God, help us to make this known right around us to the ends of the earth. We pray for those Southern Uzbek people of Afghanistan. 4.4 million of them in such suffering right now. God, they’re in such suffering. We pray for the spread of the gospel to Southern Uzbeks in Afghanistan. Please bless our Christian brothers and sisters in Afghanistan as they’re meeting in house churches in secret. God, we pray you would help them to know how best to spread the gospel during these days. God, we pray that you would send more people to Afghanistan with the gospel.
As Afghan refugees are going different places in the world, we pray that they would hear the gospel and believe it. God, we pray for the spread of this good news to the Southern Uzbek and to 7,000 other people groups that are unreached by it right now. We praise you for, by your grace, making the way for us to be right before you. We pray that you’d help us to lead others to be right before you, to lead the nations to be right before you. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
