341 Then Elihu continued and said , 2 "Hear my words , you wise men , And listen to me, you who know . 3 "For the ear tests words As the palate tastes food . 4 "Let us choose for ourselves what is right ; Let us know among ourselves what is good . 5 "For Job has said , ' I am righteous , But God has taken away my right ; 6 Should I lie concerning my right ? My wound is incurable , though I am without transgression .' 7 "What man is like Job , Who drinks up derision like water , 8 Who goes in company with the workers of iniquity , And walks with wicked men ? 9 "For he has said , ' It profits a man nothing When he is pleased with God .'
10 "Therefore , listen to me, you men of understanding . Far be it from God to do wickedness , And from the Almighty to do wrong . 11 "For He pays a man according to his work , And makes him find it according to his way . 12 "Surely e , God will not act wickedly , And the Almighty will not pervert justice . 13 "Who gave Him authority over the earth ? And who has laid on Him the whole world ? 14 "If He should determine e to do so, If He should gather to Himself His spirit and His breath , 15 All flesh would perish together , And man would return to dust .
16 "But if you have understanding , hear this ; Listen to the sound of my words . 17 "Shall one who hates justice rule ? And will you condemn the righteous mighty One , 18 Who says to a king , 'Worthless one ,' To nobles , 'Wicked ones '; 19 Who shows no partiality e to princes Nor regards the rich above the poor , For they all are the work of His hands ? 20 "In a moment they die , and at midnight e People are shaken and pass away , And the mighty are taken away without a hand . 21 "For His eyes are upon the ways of a man , And He sees all his steps . 22 "There is no darkness or deep shadow Where the workers of iniquity may hide themselves. 23 "For He does not need to consider a man further , That he should go before God in judgment . 24 "He breaks in pieces mighty men without inquiry , And sets others in their place . 25 "Therefore He knows their works , And He overthrows them in the night , And they are crushed . 26 "He strikes them like the wicked In a public place , 27 Because e e they turned aside from following Him, And had no regard for any of His ways ; 28 So that they caused the cry of the poor to come to Him, And that He might hear the cry of the afflicted - 29 When He keeps quiet , who then can condemn ? And when He hides His face , who then can behold Him, That is, in regard to both nation and man ?- 30 So that godless men would not rule Nor be snares of the people .
31 "For has anyone said to God , 'I have borne chastisement; I will not offend anymore; 32 Teach me what I do not see ; If I have done iniquity , I will not do it again '? 33 "Shall He recompense on your terms , because you have rejected it? For you must choose , and not I; Therefore declare what you know . 34 "Men of understanding will say to me, And a wise man who hears me, 35 'Job speaks without knowledge , And his words are without wisdom . 36 'Job ought to be tried to the limit , Because he answers like wicked men . 37 'For he adds rebellion to his sin ; He claps his hands among us, And multiplies his words against God .' "
351 Then Elihu continued and said , 2 "Do you think this is according to justice ? Do you say , 'My righteousness is more than God's '? 3 "For you say , ' What advantage will it be to You? What profit will I have, more than if I had sinned ?' 4 "I will answer e you, And your friends with you. 5 " Look at the heavens and see ; And behold the clouds -they are higher than you. 6 "If you have sinned , what do you accomplish against Him? And if your transgressions are many , what do you do to Him? 7 "If you are righteous , what do you give to Him, Or what does He receive from your hand ? 8 "Your wickedness is for a man like yourself, And your righteousness is for a son of man .
9 "Because of the multitude of oppressions they cry out; They cry for help because of the arm of the mighty . 10 "But no one says , 'Where is God my Maker , Who gives songs in the night , 11 Who teaches us more than the beasts of the earth And makes us wiser than the birds of the heavens ?' 12 "There they cry out, but He does not answer Because e of the pride of evil men . 13 "Surely God will not listen to an empty cry, Nor will the Almighty regard it.
14 "How much less when you say you do not behold Him, The case is before Him, and you must wait for Him! 15 "And now , because He has not visited in His anger , Nor has He acknowledged transgression well , 16 So Job opens his mouth emptily ; He multiplies words without knowledge ."
151 Some men came down from Judea and began teaching the brethren , "Unless e you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses , you cannot e be saved ." 2 And when Paul and Barnabas had great e dissension and debate with them, the brethren determined that Paul and Barnabas and some others of them should go up to Jerusalem to the apostles and elders concerning this issue . 3 Therefore , being sent on their way by the church , they were passing through both Phoenicia and Samaria , describing in detail the conversion of the Gentiles , and were bringing great joy to all the brethren . 4 When they arrived at Jerusalem , they were received by the church and the apostles and the elders , and they reported all that God had done with them. 5 But some of the sect of the Pharisees who had believed stood up, saying , "It is necessary to circumcise them and to direct them to observe the Law of Moses ."
6 The apostles and the elders came together to look into this matter . 7 After there had been much debate , Peter stood up and said to them, "Brethren e , you know that in the early days God made a choice among you, that by my mouth the Gentiles would hear the word of the gospel and believe . 8 "And God , who knows the heart , testified to them giving them the Holy Spirit , just as He also did to us; 9 and He made no distinction between us and them, cleansing their hearts by faith . 10 "Now therefore why do you put God to the test by placing upon the neck of the disciples a yoke which neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear ? 11 "But we believe that we are saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus , in the same way as they also are." 12 All the people kept silent , and they were listening to Barnabas and Paul as they were relating what signs and wonders God had done through them among the Gentiles . 13 After they had stopped speaking , James answered , saying , "Brethren e , listen to me. 14 " Simeon has related how God first concerned Himself about taking from among the Gentiles a people for His name . 15 "With this the words of the Prophets agree , just as it is written , 16 ' AFTER THESE THINGS I will return , AND I WILL REBUILD THE TABERNACLE OF DAVID WHICH HAS FALLEN , AND I WILL REBUILD ITS RUINS , AND I WILL RESTORE IT, 17 SO THAT THE REST OF MANKIND MAY SEEK THE Lord , AND ALL THE GENTILES WHO ARE CALLED BY MY NAME ,' 18 SAYS THE Lord , WHO MAKES THESE THINGS KNOWN FROM LONG AGO . 19 "Therefore it is my judgment that we do not trouble those who are turning to God from among the Gentiles , 20 but that we write to them that they abstain from things contaminated by idols and from fornication and from what is strangled and from blood . 21 "For Moses from ancient generations has in every city those who preach him, since he is read in the synagogues every Sabbath ."
(Read Acts 15:1-6)
Some from Judea taught the Gentile converts at Antioch, that they could not be saved, unless they observed the whole ceremonial law as given by Moses; and thus they sought to destroy Christian liberty. There is a strange proneness in us to think that all do wrong who do not just as we do. Their doctrine was very discouraging. Wise and good men desire to avoid contests and disputes as far as they can; yet when false teachers oppose the main truths of the gospel, or bring in hurtful doctrines, we must not decline to oppose them.
(Read Acts 15:7-21)
We see from the words "purifying their hearts by faith," and the address of St. Peter, that justification by faith, and sanctification by the Holy Ghost, cannot be separated; and that both are the gift of God. We have great cause to bless God that we have heard the gospel. May we have that faith which the great Searcher of hearts approves, and attests by the seal of the Holy Spirit. Then our hearts and consciences will be purified from the guilt of sin, and we shall be freed from the burdens some try to lay upon the disciples of Christ. Paul and Barnabas showed by plain matters of fact, that God owned the preaching of the pure gospel to the Gentiles without the law of Moses; therefore to press that law upon them, was to undo what God had done. The opinion of James was, that the Gentile converts ought not to be troubled about Jewish rites, but that they should abstain from meats offered to idols, so that they might show their hatred of idolatry. Also, that they should be cautioned against fornication, which was not abhorred by the Gentiles as it should be, and even formed a part of some of their rites. They were counselled to abstain from things strangled, and from eating blood; this was forbidden by the law of Moses, and also here, from reverence to the blood of the sacrifices, which being then still offered, it would needlessly grieve the Jewish converts, and further prejudice the unconverted Jews. But as the reason has long ceased, we are left free in this, as in the like matters. Let converts be warned to avoid all appearances of the evils which they formerly practised, or are likely to be tempted to; and caution them to use Christian liberty with moderation and prudence.
