Examining Job 1:1
There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil.
Job 1:1 and many other similar passages are used by Non-Calvinists to say that people on their own have the ability to choose God, or to refute Total Depravity.
Here’s an actual objection:
When confronted with the numerous good acts that people who are labeled as “totally depraved” perform, Calvinists then argue that the concept of total depravity does not imply that these individuals cannot do ANYTHING right!
Actually, it’s the Bible that makes that distinction. According to Romans 2:14-16, sinners can do good, “their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse [or] even excuse them on that day when… God judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus.”
Many Non-Christians are very kind and generous. From a human point of view, one person can be more righteous and upright than another: David was more righteous than Saul, for example (Psalms 7:8), but not before God (Psalms 143:2). Both Pilate and Judas sinned, but Judas’ sin was greater (John 19:11). However, before God, there’s none righteous. No one does good, no not even one (Romans 3:9-18).
Non-Calvinists’ faulty interpretation of Job 1:1 and many others is based on their inability to distinguish between: Human to human relationship and Human to God relationship. It is with human to human relationship that Paul exhorts us to be blameless and above reproach (1 Timothy 5:7). In this sense, one can be upright and perfect like Job. But before God, Paul wanted to be found in Christ not having his own righteousness (Philippians 3:9). And before God, Job repented (Job 42:5-6).
Before his conversion, Paul was blameless according to the law. He was above reproach, and boasted about it to make a point in one of his epistles. But guess what? His righteousness and blamelessness couldn’t save him. His heart was uncircumcised even while he strove to be above reproach in keeping the law. Paul was one of those “who handle the law” but “did not know Me [God]” (Jeremiah 2:8). And “desiring to be teachers of the law, understanding neither what they say nor the things which they affirm” (1 Timothy 1:5-7). He had zeal, but not according to knowledge (Romans 10:2). He was taught by men (cf. 2 Timothy 3:7), and not God (John 6:45 [cf. Galatians 1:11-12; Matthew 16:17]). This means that one can be perfect and upright from a human point of view, and yet be dead in sins, uncircumcised in heart and ears before God like Saul of Tarsus (cf. Acts 7:51).
Job 1:1 does not refute Total Depravity. Rather, it paints a picture of a regenerated man. Look at the case of Abraham, “You are the LORD God, who chose Abram, and brought him out of Ur of the Chaldeans, and gave him the name Abraham;” That’s what happened first: God’s choice of Abraham! Then it went on to say, “You found his heart faithful before You, and made a covenant with him…” (Nehemiah 9:7-8). You can read more in the post: Examining Psalms 1.
Abraham’s faithfulness was not the trigger that caused God to choose him. It was God first choosing him while he was a pagan, dead in sins and trespasses, brought him out, gave him a new name, and then he was found faithful to God. Non-Calvinists assume that Job (or people like Cornelius) was somehow this perfect and upright man prior to conversion, and then God chose him. See Examining Genesis 6:8 to see why the Non-Calvinists are wrong!
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