Incorrect Perspectives
We must not assume that sincere
Christians are always correct in their
perspectives simply because they
are older and more experienced.
Here now is Gene Getz:
In our last Principle we actually
looked at Eliphaz.
And Eliphaz had a real problem
in counseling Job because he relied
too much on experience.
Now, experience is important.
Intuition is important.
But the most important thing is what
God has revealed.
And our intuitions and our experience
should always be in harmony with
what God says.
And that's very important when we're
counseling somebody who's having
a difficult time. Who is in crisis.
And of course Job is certainly,
certainly in crisis.
Now a second friend comes along.
And his name as we've already seen, is Bildad.
And Bildad had a problem in the sense
that he put tradition--
historical perspectives and traditions--
above God's revelation.
And that led him to say some things
that were very hurtful and very painful
to Job as he was trying to counsel him.
But he didn't do a very good job.
And if you'll notice chapter 8, verse 3,
he asked two questions.
And they're leading questions
in terms of communicating with Job.
And so Bildad said:
Does God pervert justice? ...
Well the answer of course, is no.
That God would never do that.
And then he asked the second question:
...Does the Almighty pervert what is right? ...
And of course, the answer to that
question would be no.
Certainly God would not do that.
So there's an implication here that Job
is actually perverting justice or accusing
God of that. And not dealing with reality
and with truth in his own life.
And so Bildad goes on to look to the past--
to tradition.
And we see that in verse 8. He says:
...[Job] for ask the previous generation,
and pay attention to what their fathers discovered,
since we were born only
yesterday and [we] know nothing. ...
And by the way, that is a bit obsequious I think.
And by the way. I just looked up that word again
to make sure I was using it correctly.
But basically it means excessive.
It's an overstatement. It's hyperbole.
And it sounds really humble to say:
Since we were born only yesterday,
we know nothing.
And by the way, in saying that
he's making Job feel bad.
Because the implication is:
Job, who do you think you are?
You know, we don't claim to have
all the answers to this.
You shouldn't either.
So he's not taking a very sensitive approach.
But it goes on to say:
...Our days on earth are but a shadow.
Will they not teach you and tell you
and speak from their understanding?
In other words, Job you really need
to listen to the fathers.
You need to listen to the previous generations.
In essence, Job, you're not very teachable.
And those aren't very comforting words
to a man who is suffering.
And of course, we know the end of the story.
We know the beginning of the story.
Job doesn't understand it.
They don't understand it.
And we know that what this man
Bildad is sharing with him is not true.
He's only adding pain to Job's suffering.
And so he goes on to say:
Such is the destiny of all who forget God;
the hope of the godless will perish.
Now notice--this is very important:
Eliphaz was correct in his view regarding
God's power and justice.
No question about that.
That was a correct observation.
But he was dead wrong to suggest that
Job had forgotten God and was godless.
That was dead wrong.
And that implication was such
a painful innuendo in relationship
to this communication.
So you see, Bildad and his older mentors
had a false view of God's perspective
on Job's personal predicament.
It wasn't correct.
His comments sounded spiritual--they really did.
But frankly, they were also arrogant.
Sounded spiritual but arrogant.
And it's interesting that in the New Testament,
when we look at Jesus and His relationship,
particularly with the Pharisees.
He put His finger right on their problem.
Now I'm not saying that Job's three friends
were like the Pharisees in every respect.
But in some respects they were.
And this is the question that
the Pharisees asked:
Why don't Your disciples live according
to the [what?] traditions of the elders,
instead of eating bread with ritually unclean hands?
In other words, they're appealing
not to the Word of God, but they're
appealing to tradition and putting
tradition above, really, the Word of God.
And so Jesus really put His finger
on their problem. And notice,
it's a pretty sharp barb.
Jesus said to these men:
Isaiah prophesied correctly about
you hypocrites, as it is written:
These people honor Me with their lips...
They sound good.
They really sound good.
That's kind of a reminder, isn't it,
in some respects of Job's friends,
his counselors:
...These people honor me with their lips,
but their heart is far from Me.
They worship Me in vain, teaching
as doctrines the commands of men.
Disregarding the command of God,
you keep the tradition of men.
And so you see, what basically we have
here in this illustration with the Pharisees
is that the religious leaders in many
respects had a correct view of God.
They had a correct view of God's power.
They had a correct view of God's justice.
Just as Bildad did. And the older generation.
But they were wrong in consulting
tradition that contradicted
certain aspects of biblical truth.
So there's a tremendous Principle there
that we need to think about.
And here's the question for Reflection and Response:
How can the average Christian
keep from being confused by the teachings
and writings of sincere Bible students,
particularly those who have done so much
to lay the groundwork for
our biblical studies today?
Now this, I think is a very practical question.
Because as all of us look back at church
history, or even at our mentors, there
are a lot of godly people out there.
There are a lot of authors.
There are a lot of books.
There are a lot of teachers.
There a lot of preachers.
So you know, how can we avoid being
led astray by people who are sincere?
People who really believe the Word of God?
And I just simply would say that one
of the things that we need to do is
to make sure that we don't follow
the teachings of just one person.
Including yours truly.
We need multiple teachers, multiple counselors.
Because it's in a multitude of counselors
there's safety in understanding
the Word of God.
And as you look at church history and
as you look at people today, some of
the incredibly false religions that have
crept up. And even within the true
bounds of evangelical Christianity.
There are people that follow one individual.
That one individual becomes
their primary leader.
They're always quoting that one individual.
And so they become followers of a man,
in some respects, rather than followers
of the Lord. And followers of the book.
And followers of others
who interpret the Scriptures.
So we have to be very careful of that.
And what we need to do as we research,
as we study, as we listen, is to look for
harmony among more than just
one sincere Bible student.
And that can be the older and that
can be the younger.
I think sometimes we get led astray
by new voices.
And we have to be very, very careful of that.
And there's a lot of younger individuals
that can come on the scene who feel
like they have truth beyond their seniors
or their older ones.
And they just are beginning
the learning process themselves.
So we have to be very,
very careful about that.
Recently, I've been researching
my own religious history.
And I've had the privilege of being in Germany
and in Switzerland in the very locations
where my great-great grandfather grew up.
And my great-grandfather on both sides--
of my mother's side and my dad's side.
But the interesting thing is that
there was one man that emerged
who developed a certain theology
within that region.
And he did a lot of good.
And he had a lot of truth.
But he also had some error.
And that error eventually was
transmitted to the United States.
It came into our culture, into our society.
And I happened to grow up
in the generations to follow that.
And I was exposed to that religious
system and to that error which was
based on one basic individual.
So we have to be very careful about that.
Because out of the Reformation came
some very significant voices. Such as
Luther, and John Calvin, and Zwingli, and others.
But they all had their personal opinions
on certain aspects of theology and truth.
And again, we must be careful that we
take into consideration multiple voices
of people who understand the Scriptures.
And who are committed to the Scriptures.
And who are teachable.
And one of the things I've noticed,
is a lot of times individuals who emerge
to develop their own system of thinking
and thought, really are resistant
to learning from other people as well.
And they're not teachable.
Even though they have a lot of truth,
they don't have their ideas molded
and shaped and evaluated by other
individuals who love the Lord
just like they do.
So there's a very important Principle
here that I think that really grows out of this.
And by the way, one of the interesting
things we should keep in mind is that
God has modeled that because He has
given us a book authored by who?
Matthew?
Are we Matthew-ites?
Mark-ites?
Luke-ites?
John-ites?
No.
We follow Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.
[And Luke.] And the apostle Paul, and Peter, and James.
In other words, God has modeled
how important it is for us to have
multiple voices. And to see the unity
that's within those voices--to give us
the security that we need in Jesus Christ.
That we are following the truth.
And so that applies to us today.
And to those that we listen to today.
So here is the Principle to Live By:
We must not assume that sincere
Christians are always correct in their
perspectives simply because they
are older and more experienced.