4 How then can a mortal be righteous before God? How can one born of woman be pure?
Did you ever wonder why toddlers are disobedient and from whom they learned it? They reach for an object, look you straight in the eye as you say no, and then they take it. This bent toward rebellion is what theologians call original sin. Bildad wrote the words above because he understood this concept. We are all born sinners. No one is without sin and Bildad knew this. There is no such thing as a ‘good’ person. So Bildad hears Job claiming to be OK before God, but he knows original sin knocks us out before the first punch. But Job does not claim that the righteousness he possess is his own. Besides, you can’t see inside a person’s spirit and see if they are in relationship with God. You can only see what their attitudes and actions say about the presence or absence of that relationship. If we are changed on the inside, it will show up on the outside. What do people see when they are around you? Do they see Jesus seeping through every pore of your being, or do they see you, the sinful you, poking out? In Jesus, we get the righteousness of God planted in us where sin used to make its home. And from that point on we must die to self, to that sinful part, and live for Him. We need to choose actions that reflect this new reality, actions that are in line with His righteousness, actions that honor Him. We can’t be righteous on our own, but we can allow God’s righteousness to take hold in our lives. Are you allowing His righteousness to take hold? Or are you continuing to make sinful choices?
The Arnold Journey 