Job CXLIX

The truth doesn’t need to be molded. It doesn’t need to be shaped and hammered, stretched, and worked until it resembles what men want it to resemble. The truth is the truth, and it requires no help from us. It does not require us to reshape it into a more pleasing form but rather to present it as it is, without reservation or reluctance.

We are commanded to preach the gospel, not make it palatable, and then preach it or fashion it into something so different from the original that it becomes unrecognizable. We do the kingdom of God a disservice whenever we attempt to soften the blow of the truth or try to apologize for its directness on God’s behalf as though He needed our vindication.

We cannot approach the gospel with the mindset of an immovable object meeting an unstoppable force. One has to bend and relent, submit, and comply, and it’s not the gospel. When we read Scripture with the predetermined resolve that we are unwilling to change or allow ourselves to be transformed by the power of the Word, we will find reasons and excuses to remain as we are. What’s worse, we will discover voices among the masses who will validate and endorse our stubbornness.

2 Timothy 3:16-17, “All scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.”

By all scripture, Paul means all, not just the parts that suit our presuppositions or prejudices or the ones that, if taken out of context and put through a meat grinder, seem to suggest we can continue doing the things we know we ought not to do, but we love too much to walk away from.

All scripture is given by the inspiration of God, and all of it is profitable. Whether doctrine, reproof, correction, or instruction in righteousness, nowhere does the Word imply that it is given to personal interpretation, nor are there allowances made for disregarding whole books of the Bible just because they challenge us or make our flesh feel uncomfortable.

The downside to not allowing Scripture to mold us, guide us, correct us, and instruct us is that we will never be complete or thoroughly equipped for every good work. If we continually skirt and ignore the Word, then it cannot have the intended effect on our hearts and minds, keeping us at arm’s length from its transformative power. We will always remain incomplete. We will always be ill-equipped, whether for good work or resisting the enemy as he attempts to derail our faith and purpose.

The devil knows that the gospel of Christ is the power of God to salvation, and so does his best to keep us from it. Whether through distractions, rabbit trails, or that constant whisper that it’s too rigid, too implacable, and given to modern-day twists and interpretations, because surely God could not have foreseen how difficult it would be to walk uprightly in our current era.

When we think too little of God and too much of ourselves, we will always find justification for rebellion, faithlessness, duplicity, and lukewarmness.

Job knew who God was. He understood the majesty and omnipotence of the God he served and did not see himself as His equal or deserving of any special treatment because of his faithfulness. There was no explicit nor implicit declaration of a laundry list of expectations that he felt he was entitled to.

We serve and worship God because it is the duty of man to do so, not because we might get to the head of the line when he’s handing out million-dollar checks or keys to a brand-new car. Until one comes to the point of being humble enough to humble oneself in the sight of the Lord and submit to His authority, the dynamics of the relationship between the individual and God are off-kilter and improperly defined.

Because their expectations of what God should do for them fall short, many who initially feel enthused about the prospect of having a fix-all for all their bad choices become resentful and disillusioned with God Himself when these expectations are not met. If you start a journey on the wrong road, heading in the opposite direction, you will never reach your intended destination.

You may fool yourself into believing that God’s only function is to give you stuff for a season, but eventually, especially when an unexpected trial comes along, the bills start piling up, and you’re still packing on the pounds even though you prayed the calories away every time you sat down to have a sheet cake all by your lonesome, you’ll start to wonder if you were sold a bill of goods.

It’s a vicious cycle and one that must be broken if there is any hope for the contemporary church to be what God intended it to be. Men preach a false gospel, present a false god, focus on the material, and make promises of plenty; then, when all the things for which the people signed up fail to materialize, they turn around and blame the God of the Bible, as though He lied to them.

Sorry, Skippy, it’s not God who lied to you; it’s the man who you perceived to be on equal footing with Him because he told you everything your greedy little heart wanted to hear. Men grow bitter and harden their hearts toward God because they believe the lies men told them about God.

It’s not that God hasn’t kept His promises to His elect; it’s that He didn’t keep the promises men made in His name. Know the difference, and do not allow bitterness to take root in your heart because something someone told you has not come to pass. If God didn’t say it, He is not beholden to it, just as I am not beholden to take all the neighborhood kids out for ice cream just because my little girl said I would when I didn’t.

But how can one know what God has promised, you might ask? Read His Word! It’s there in black and white, without the filter of personal opinion or denominational prejudices. Between falling for the lies of men and wasting decades waiting on something God never said would happen and taking the time to devour Scripture so that I may be complete and ready for every good work, I know which one I’d choose.

With love in Christ,

Michael Boldea, Jr.  

Posted on 24 March 2025 | 10:58 am