“What is man that he can be pure? Or he was born of a woman that he can be righteous.”
-Job 15:14
Now this is counsel coming from Eliphaz. And again, he’s making accusations against Job, about his sinfulness and his lack of fear of God and he’s missing the whole point of what God is doing in Job’s suffering. But even still, he’s saying something that’s true. Like there’s no person who can be pure in and of themselves or is pure ultimately in and of themselves righteous. This is Romans chapter three. There is none righteous not one. Think about it. Seven billion people in the world today, not one of them righteous or pure. All of them, all of us, sinners before a holy God, which means all of us need a savior. All of us need one who is pure.
Job 15:14 Tells Us We Need Jesus
We need one who is righteous. And the good news of the Bible is that there is one man, one in all of history, no one like him, without sin, pure righteous before God. Jesus stands alone. And we, obviously for good reason, talk much about the death of Jesus and the resurrection of Jesus. Let us not forget ever the significance of Jesus life and specifically the sinlessness of Jesus life.
What makes him the substitute sacrifice for our sin, able to save us, is the fact that in him there is no sin. And so it is good for us to pause in light of Job chapter 15, verse 14 and to praise Jesus for his purity and his righteousness. Jesus, we say together today, there is none like you. We praise you for your purity. We praise you for your righteousness. God, we praise you for your sinlessness.
Job 15:14 Teaches Us Jesus Overcame Temptation
We praise you for every time you were tempted, you overcame. And as we praise you in these ways, help us to remember that your power now dwells in us who have put our faith in you. You, your spirit, your power, your victory in us. We are united with you. So God help us today by the power of your son in us to resist sin and temptation, to turn from sin, to be pure, to be holy. Make us holy as you are holy, oh God. Make us righteous. Help us to run from sin today. Help us to be honest about sin that we struggle with. God help us to be quick to confess sin and receive your mercy and to live in the righteousness that you have made possible for us by the life of Jesus in us.
This Verse Reminds Us Jesus Alone is Righteous
Oh God. In and of ourselves, no way we can be pure or righteous. Through Jesus we are counted righteous and we can live righteous lives. So help us to live righteous lives today God. I pray that for me, for each one of us, help us to live in the righteousness of Jesus to run from sin, not to flirt with it, rationalize it in any way, but to run from it and live in purity and a holiness based on your life in us Jesus. We pray these things in your name. Amen.
David Platt serves as a pastor in metro Washington, D.C. He is the founder of Radical.
David received his Ph.D. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and is the author of Don’t Hold Back, Radical, Follow Me, Counter Culture, Something Needs to Change, Before You Vote, as well as the multiple volumes of the Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary series.
Along with his wife and children, he lives in the Washington, D.C. metro area.
