We Castaways - Job 8:20

Behold, God will not cast away the blameless, nor will He uphold the evildoers. - Job 8:20


    Keeping with the theme of dualities, we come to our title verse in Job. On the one hand, it states that God will not cast away the blameless. Seems fair enough, but what was it that Paul so aptly pointed out? “As it is written: ‘There is none righteous, no, not one; there is none who understands; there is none who seeks after God. They have all turned aside; they have together become unprofitable; there is none who does good, no, not one.’” - Romans 3:10-12.
    In considering the second part of Job 8:20, we see that God will not uphold the evildoers. And since Paul has revealed to us that none of us are righteous and that none of us do good, it becomes apparent that God, in His utter holiness, cannot uphold us in our evil doings! That is a far cry compared to what most Evangelicals preach today, in spite of what Holy Scripture teaches us. “For there is not a just man on earth who does good and does not sin.” - Ecclesiastes 7:20.
    Certainly, we all sin. We don’t all sin in the same way. James puts it into perspective when he states, “But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed.”
 - James 1:14. This just another way of referring each man’s cup of poison.
    What we as Christians must come to terms with is that God will not overlook our sins, nor will He grade us on a curve. We have been warned, time and again, in verse after verse, of God’s holy wrath. “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” - Hebrews 10:31. We are just like castaways living in exile, waiting for God’s chosen time. His wrath is indeed coming - “For behold, the Lord is coming out of His place; He will come down and tread on the high places of the earth. The mountains will melt under Him, and the valleys will split like wax before the fire, like waters poured down a steep place.” - Micah 1:3-4. Is there any hope left for us when God decides upon the time? Are we now without recourse? “He who covers his sins will not prosper, but whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy.” - Proverbs 28:13.
    For the true believer in Jesus Christ, there is most certainly salvation awaiting. Christ Himself has promised us that repentance precedes salvation. “Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.’” - Mark 1:14 15. Repent and believe. Repentance turns us away from our sin and belief in the gospel (the Good News of Jesus Christ) is the assurance of salvation from our exile. Our faith in that Good News is what saves us, not any deeds or works, nor ceremonies nor rituals. “But what does it say? ‘The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart’ (that is, the word of faith which we preach):  that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the Scripture says, ‘Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.’” - Romans 10: 8-11.
    When the sinless righteousness of Jesus is imputed to us by our faith in Him and we are justified in the sight of God, then and only then, will we no longer be castaways.