Introduction: Grace be to you and peace, from God our Father, and from our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ. Our text is the Epistle Lesson just read, from Rom. 10. We begin with prayer.
Dear fellow disciples of our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ:
- God is love, and everywhere in Holy Scripture we are assured that God loves us. He especially loves those who believe His Word and trust in His gracious mercy and forgiveness.
- Such was the case with Job, whom God bragged about to the angels. In verse 8 of the first chapter we read that “the LORD said to Satan, ‘Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil?’”
- Such was also the case with the disciples, whom Jesus had called to follow Him, and to whom He entrusted the keys of the kingdom and the building of His church.
- Yet strangely, Job suffered all kinds of difficulties, and when Jesus sent His disciples across the lake, their boat was “beaten by the waves, for the wind was against them.”
- We would assume that if one was a beloved child of God, following Jesus’ instructions, that the way would be smooth and easy. However:
I. Job, The Righteous Believer, Suffered, And Was Accused Of Evil By Satan And Job’s Friends, And Finally He Accused God Of Evil
Job 1:9-11 “Then Satan answered the LORD and said, “Does Job fear God for no reason? Have You not put a hedge around him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. But stretch out your hand and touch all that he has, and he will curse you to your face.”
And Job’s friend, Eliphaz the Temanite, also condemned Job. He said:
Job 4:7-9 “Remember: who that was innocent ever perished? Or where were the upright cut off? As I have seen, those who plow iniquity and sow trouble reap the same. By the breath of God they perish, and by the blast of His anger they are consumed.”
Thus he accused Job of iniquity and trouble.
And finally Job capitulates and accuses God:
Job 23:1-6 Then Job answered and said: ‘Today also my complaint is bitter; my hand is heavy on account of my groaning. Oh, that I knew where I might find Him, that I might come even to His seat! I would lay my case before Him and fill my mouth with arguments. I would know what He would answer me and understand what He would say to me. Would He contend with me in the greatness of His power? No; He would pay attention to me.”
Statement: Job wasn’t a bad guy – he just ran into a bad crowd, first Satan, then his friends, and even his wife gave him bad advice, and finally he just kind of capitulated to anger and frustration. What he was experiencing was just the opposite of what one who knows God’s love would expect. God’s love in this instance was certainly “strange.”
Application: And this is correct – in our own experience of God’s love too. For the more we grow closer to God, respectful and reverent of Him, it often seems the more troubles we have – the more Satan and others accuse and malign us, and try to grind us down. And we also have times when we wonder where God is and why He allows us such heavy experiences. And we also note with envy and anger that unbelieving and even wicked people seem to thrive in happiness and ease.
Transition: And so we are called to continue on in faith, but with a proper and correct understanding of “GOD’S STRANGE LOVE.” For:
II. God Is Righteous And His Love And Salvation Are Right And Righteous
A. His Law Certainly Does Condemn All, Removing All Hope Of Being Able to Justify Ourselves Before God, Reducing All To Hope In His Mercy
Text: “Moses writes about the righteousness that is based on the law, that the person who does the commandments shall live by them. [but “all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, and are justified by His grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.”]
So it is impossible for anyone to be justified by their own righteousness, their own “doing” of the commandments!
B. So His Free Gift Of His Justification, His Accounting Us To Be Righteous, Is Bestowed On The Believing, Giving Them His Salvation
Text: “The Word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart – the Word of faith which we proclaim; because if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. For as the Scripture says, ‘Everyone who believes in Him will not be put to shame.’”
C. And This Is Without Distinction, Applied Equally To All People
Text: “For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing His riches on all who call on Him. For ‘everyone who calls on the Name of the Lord will be saved.”
Statement: Job knew this – and trusted in God’s gracious mercy. It’s just that he wasn’t expecting the horrid changes God allowed to invade his life. In his depression and despair he forgot, and decided to begin proclaiming his own innocence – but this involved accusing God of unfairness. He just didn’t recognize the “strangeness” of God’s love at times.
Application: Many of us have had similar struggles – I have heard them many times from people who are afflicted and suffering various heartaches. And there is little I can tell them other than that God’s love is at times strange, but to keep their faith and trust in Him regardless. And while I can understand the temptation to think of our plight as being “unfair,” I would caution against “faulting” God. We all have plenty of sin to confess, which contributes plenty to our misery, and so we should rejoice to continue in our faith and trust in God’s great love! All of this is hard, a difficult training, but in the end:
III. God’s Strange Love Also Commissions And Empowers Human Beings
A. So The Disciples Strange Struggle Against Wind And Wave Provided Peter With Opportunity To Exercise Faith And Walk On Water
Gospel: “Peter answered, ‘Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.’ He said, ‘Come!”
B. So Also God’s Strange Love Calls And Commissions Preachers Of Good News, The Good News Of His Love
Text: “But how are they to call on Him in Whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in Him of Whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!’
C. And Finally God’s Strange Love, By The Power Of His Word, Brings People To Faith
Text: “So faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of Christ.”
Statement: In the end, after God had defended Himself against Job’s accusations and set Job’s understanding right, Job humbled himself, repented, and rested himself once again in God’s mercy. He once again became a promoter of God’s good news, and happier, or at least more content living in “GOD’S STRANGE LOVE.” He trusted God.
Application: Human beings, all of us included, are called to this same simple faith and trust in God and His great love for us. This involves coming to a greater understanding and acceptance of “GOD’S STRANGE LOVE,” even greater humility and trust in God. But all of this has good effect in our lives: we learn better than to accuse God, we learn better than to accuse others, to assume that when others suffer they must be “worse sinners” than we are, and we are empowered to do great and difficult things for the kingdom through faith – as He instructs us and strengthens us.
Conclusion: So let us also grow more mature in our understanding of God’s great love for us, which is often expressed by allowing strange and difficult circumstances to befall us. In this way we will be much deeper in our faith and trust in God, and much more capable of absorbing and digesting the very painful things in life in a positive way, one which actually strengthens our relationship with God.
All of this keeps us firm in our salvation and eternal life, for if we are convinced of God’s love for us we will continue to believe in Him and to call upon Him, and those who do so “will not be put to shame” but rather “will be saved.”
God grant such wisdom and blessedness to each of us! Amen.
Votum: And the peace of God, which surpasses all human understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds in the true faith, which is in Christ Jesus, even unto life everlasting, Amen.