Job 35
(American Standard Version)

1 Moreover Elihu answered and said,

2 Thinkest thou this to be thy right, Or sayest thou, My righteousness is more than God's,

3 That thou sayest, What advantage will it be unto thee? And, What profit shall I have, more than if I had sinned?

4 I will answer thee, And thy companions with thee.

5 Look unto the heavens, and see; And behold the skies, which are higher than thou.

6 If thou hast sinned, what effectest thou against him? And if thy transgressions be multiplied, what doest thou unto him?

7 If thou be righteous, what givest thou him? Or what receiveth he of thy hand?

8 Thy wickedness may hurt a man as thou art; And thy righteousness may profit a son of man.

9 By reason of the multitude of oppressions they cry out; They cry for help by reason of the arm of the mighty.

10 But none saith, Where is God my Maker, Who giveth songs in the night,

11 Who teacheth us more than the beasts of the earth, And maketh us wiser than the birds of the heavens?

12 There they cry, but none giveth answer, Because of the pride of evil men.

13 Surely God will not hear an empty cry, Neither will the Almighty regard it.

14 How much less when thou sayest thou beholdest him not, The cause is before him, and thou waitest for him!

15 But now, because he hath not visited in his anger, Neither doth he greatly regard arrogance;

16 Therefore doth Job open his mouth in vanity; He multiplieth words without knowledge.


God's Plan of Salvation

You must hear the gospel and then understand and recognize that you are lost without Jesus Christ no matter who you are and no matter what your background is. The Bible tells us that “all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23) Before you can be saved, you must understand that you are lost and that the only way to be saved is by obedience to the gospel of Jesus Christ. (2 Thessalonians 1:8) Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” (John 14:6) “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12)

You must believe and have faith in God because “without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” (Hebrews 11:6) But neither belief alone nor faith alone is sufficient to save. (James 2:19; James 2:24; Matthew 7:21)

You must repent of your sins. (Acts 3:19) But repentance alone is not enough. The so-called “Sinner’s Prayer” that you hear so much about today from denominational preachers does not appear anywhere in the Bible. Indeed, nowhere in the Bible was anyone ever told to pray the “Sinner’s Prayer” to be saved. By contrast, there are numerous examples showing that prayer alone does not save. Saul, for example, prayed following his meeting with Jesus on the road to Damascus (Acts 9:11), but Saul was still in his sins when Ananias met him three days later (Acts 22:16). Cornelius prayed to God always, and yet there was something else he needed to do to be saved (Acts 10:2, 6, 33, 48). If prayer alone did not save Saul or Cornelius, prayer alone will not save you. You must obey the gospel. (2 Thess. 1:8)

You must confess that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. (Romans 10:9-10) Note that you do NOT need to make Jesus “Lord of your life.” Why? Because Jesus is already Lord of your life whether or not you have obeyed his gospel. Indeed, we obey him, not to make him Lord, but because he already is Lord. (Acts 2:36) Also, no one in the Bible was ever told to just “accept Jesus as your personal savior.” We must confess that Jesus is the Son of God, but, as with faith and repentance, confession alone does not save. (Matthew 7:21)

Having believed, repented, and confessed that Jesus is the Son of God, you must be baptized for the remission of your sins. (Acts 2:38) It is at this point (and not before) that your sins are forgiven. (Acts 22:16) It is impossible to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ without teaching the absolute necessity of baptism for salvation. (Acts 8:35-36; Romans 6:3-4; 1 Peter 3:21) Anyone who responds to the question in Acts 2:37 with an answer that contradicts Acts 2:38 is NOT proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ!

Once you are saved, God adds you to his church and writes your name in the Book of Life. (Acts 2:47; Philippians 4:3) To continue in God’s grace, you must continue to serve God faithfully until death. Unless they remain faithful, those who are in God’s grace will fall from grace, and those whose names are in the Book of Life will have their names blotted out of that book. (Revelation 2:10; Revelation 3:5; Galatians 5:4)