Job 21, 22
1 Then Job answered and said:
2 “Listen carefully to my words,
That I may not have this consolation from you.
3 Bear with me and I will speak;
Then you will stop laughing at me.
4 “What? Is there any one who does not blame me?
Or why should I not be furious?
5 Look at me and be astonished,
And put your hand over your mouth.
6 For even when I remember, I am alarmed,
And pains take hold of my flesh.
7 Why do the ungodly live and become old, even in wealth?
8 Their offspring is according to their desire,
And their children are before their eyes.
9 Their houses flourish, and they have no cause for fear;
Neither is there any affliction from the Lord upon them.
10 Their ox does not miscarry,
For it is preserved safe during pregnancy
And does not suffer a mishap.
11 They remain as an unfailing herd,
And their children dance,
12 Taking up the psaltery and harp;
And they celebrate at the sound of song.
13 They spend their life in their good things
And fall asleep in the rest of the grave.
14 Yet such a man says to the Lord,
‘Depart from me. I do not wish to know Your ways.
15 What is a sufficient reason for us to serve Him?
What benefit is it for us to meet Him?’
16 For their good things are in their power,
For He does not take notice of the works of the ungodly.
17 “Nevertheless, the lamp of the ungodly will be put out.
Destruction shall come upon them,
And the sorrows of wrath will seize them.
18 They are like chaff before the wind,
And they are like dust a storm carries away.
19 May his possessions fail to supply his children.
God will recompense him, and he will not know it.
20 May his eyes see his own slaughter,
And may he not be saved by the Lord.
21 For is his will not in his house with himself?
But the number of his months has been apportioned.
22 “Is it not the Lord who teaches understanding and knowledge?
Does not He judge murders?
23 One shall die in the strength of his simplicity,
And wholly at ease and prosperous.
24 His innards are full of stiff fat,
And the marrow of his bones is dissipated.
25 Another dies under bitterness of soul,
Not eating any good thing.
26 They lie down together in the earth,
And decay covers them.
27 Thus I know you press me recklessly.
28 You will say, ‘Where is the house of the ruler?
Where is the shelter of the dwelling place of the ungodly?’
29 Ask those who travel the road,
And do not overlook their signs.
30 For the evil man makes light of the day of destruction,
But they shall be led away in the day of His wrath.
31 Who will tell him his way to his face?
Who will recompense him for what he has done?
32 Yet he is brought to the grave,
And a vigil is kept over the coffin.
33 The pebbles of the valley have been sweet to him.
Every man shall depart after him,
As countless have departed before him.
34 How then can you comfort me with empty words,
Since I have no rest from you?”
Eliphaz Accuses Job of Vice
1 Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said:
2 “Is it not the Lord who teaches understanding and knowledge?
3 For what concern is it to the Lord
If you were blameless in your works?
Or what profit is it to Him to make plain your ways?
4 Will He argue with you while you plead your case?
Will He enter into judgment with you?
5 Is not your vice plentiful,
And are not your sins innumerable?
6 For you have taken pledges from your brethren for no reason
And taken away the clothing of the naked.
7 Neither have you given the thirsty water to drink,
But have even withheld a morsel from the hungry.
8 You have also admired the personality of some
And have transplanted those already settled on earth.
9 You have sent widows away empty
And have mistreated orphans.
10 Therefore snares are all around you,
And a serious war has troubled you.
11 The light has turned to darkness for you,
And water has covered you as you fell asleep.
12 “Does not He who dwells on high take notice of all?
Does He not humble those who move about with insolence?
13 But you say, ‘What does the Mighty One know?
Will He judge down into the darkness?
14 A cloud is His hiding place, so He cannot see
As He travels through the circle of heaven.’
15 Will you keep to the old path
Which wrongdoers have trod,
16 Who were seized before their time
And whose foundations were swept away by a flood;
17 Who said, ‘What will the Lord do to us?’
Or, ‘What will the Almighty bring upon us?’
18 Yet He filled their houses with good things;
But the counsel of the ungodly is far from Him.
19 “The righteous have seen it and laughed,
And the innocent mocked them.
20 Surely their substance has perished,
And fire will consume what is left.
Eliphaz Exhorts Job to Be Strong
21 “Be strong, therefore. If you endure,
Then your fruit shall be in good things.
22 Receive utterance from His mouth
And lay up His words in your heart.
23 If you return and humble yourself before the Lord,
You have caused wrongdoing to be far from your dwelling.
24 Then you will lay up treasure for yourself
Like a mound on a rock,
And you shall be like the gold of Ophir
On a rock in the brooks.
25 So the Almighty will be your helper from enemies,
And He will restore you as pure as silver purged by fire.
26 For then you will speak freely before the Lord,
Looking up cheerfully to heaven.
27 When you pray to Him, He will hear you,
And He will allow you to pay your vows.
28 He will restore righteousness to your dwelling,
And there shall be light on your paths.
29 You will say, ‘He behaved arrogantly, but he humbled himself,
And He will save him who bows down with his eyes.’
30 He will deliver the innocent,
And you will save yourself in the purity of your hands.”
Psalm 36:21–40
21 The sinner borrows, but will not repay;
However, the righteous man is compassionate, and gives;
22 For those who bless Him shall inherit the earth,
But those who curse Him shall be utterly destroyed.
23 The steps of a man are guided aright by the Lord,
And he shall desire His way.
24 When he falls, he shall not be broken to pieces,
For the Lord supports him with His hand.
25 I was young, but indeed I grew old;
Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken,
Nor his seed begging bread.
26 Day in and out, he is merciful and lends,
And his seed shall be a blessing.
27 Turn away from evil, and do good,
And dwell unto ages of ages;
28 For the Lord loves judgment,
And He will not abandon His holy ones;
They shall be kept forever.
But the lawless shall be banished,
And the seed of the ungodly shall be utterly destroyed.
29 The righteous shall inherit the earth
And dwell upon it unto ages of ages.
30 The mouth of the righteous shall meditate on wisdom,
And his tongue shall speak of judgment;
31 The law of God is in his heart,
And his steps shall not be tripped up.
32 The sinner observes the righteous man
And seeks to put him to death;
33 But the Lord will not leave him in his hands,
Nor condemn him, when He judges him.
34 Wait on the Lord, and keep His way,
And He shall exalt you to inherit the earth;
You shall see the sinners when they are utterly destroyed.
35 I saw the ungodly greatly exalted
And lifting himself up like the cedars of Lebanon;
36 And I passed by, and behold, he was not;
And I sought for him,
But his place was not found.
37 Keep innocence, and behold uprightness,
For this is the remnant for the peaceful man.
38 But transgressors shall be utterly destroyed together;
The remnants of the ungodly shall be utterly destroyed.
39 Now the salvation of the righteous is from the Lord,
And He is their protector in time of affliction;
40 And the Lord shall help them, and deliver them;
And He shall deliver them from sinners,
And save them, because they hope in Him.
Proverbs 7:25–27
25 Now therefore, my son, hear me,
And hold fast to the words of my mouth;
26 Do not let your heart turn aside to her ways,
For she wounded and cast down many,
And those whom she slew are innumerable;
27 Her house is the road to Hades,
Leading down to the chambers of death.
Romans 10
1 Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they may be saved.
2 For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge.
3 For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God.
4 For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.
5 For Moses writes about the righteousness which is of the law, “The man who does those things shall live by them.”
6 But the righteousness of faith speaks in this way, “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’ ” (that is, to bring Christ down from above)
7 or, “ ‘Who will descend into the abyss?’ ” (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead).
8 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):
9 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.
10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
11 For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.”
12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him.
13 For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
Israel Rejects the Gospel
14 How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?
15 And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written:
“How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace,
Who bring glad tidings of good things!”
16 But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our report?”
17 So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
18 But I say, have they not heard? Yes indeed:
“Their sound has gone out to all the earth,
And their words to the ends of the world.”
19 But I say, did Israel not know? First Moses says:
“I will provoke you to jealousy by those who are not a nation,
I will move you to anger by a foolish nation.”
20 But Isaiah is very bold and says:
“I was found by those who did not seek Me;
I was made manifest to those who did not ask for Me.”
21 But to Israel he says:
“All day long I have stretched out My hands
To a disobedient and contrary people.”
From cliff notes on The Screwtape Letters: The invisible church is what Screwtape refers to when he says, “the Church as we see her spread out through all time and space and rooted in eternity terrible with an army and banners.” And “I will provoke you to jealousy by those who are not a nation,
I will move you to anger by a foolish nation.” Your voice seems very angry at a “nation” today. Is it possible not to be Orthodox, Catholic or Protestant and still confess that Jesus Christ is our savior (that there was a moment in time we met Him) and yet ALSO that He heals us daily? Is God so stingy that He won’t finish the work He started in all who have confessed Him as their Savior, as Paul says? Bury the minas, and stay small, because God is that “penny-pinching?”Protestant is said like racists say the N word here (I’m sure Wormwood would like that). I am so sad and only wish Jesus would come today, right now, and show us how foolish and stingy we ALL are.
My comments were simply to present what the Orthodox Church means when we say salvation. We are in a process. I did not say it applies only to Orthodox Christians or that God will only save Orthodox Christians. God will save whoever God saves. That is God’s business, not mine. But salvation, as we understand it, is a process. And this is not the teaching of all people who bear the name Christian. I am not angry at anyone, but I do believe it is important to know what the Orthodox Church teaches. And, by the way, I LOVE “The Screwtape Letters” as well as just about everything from CS Lewis. CS Lewis himself did not hold on to a view of salvation in which it is simply a mental ascent or belief, but rather the incorporation of our daily life and living. This is from his book “Mere Christianity.”
And let me make it quite clear that when Christians say the Christ-life is in them, they do not mean simply something mental or moral. When they speak of being ‘in Christ’ or of Christ being ‘in them’, this is not simply a way of saying that they are thinking about Christ or copying Him. They mean that Christ is actually operating through them; that the whole mass of Christians are the physical organism through which Christ acts-—that we are His fingers and muscles, the cells of His body. And perhaps that explains one or two things. It explains why this new life is spread not only by purely mental acts like belief, but by bodily acts like baptism and Holy Communion. It is not merely the spreading of an idea; it is more like evolution—a biological or superbiological fact. There is no good trying to he more spiritual than God. God never meant man to be a purely’ spiritual creature. That is why He uses material things like bread and wine to put the new life into us. We may think this rather crude and unspiritual. God does not: He invented eating. He likes matter. He invented it.