If you would, turn with me to
Job chapter 1. The title of my message today
is Give and Take. Give and Take. In Acts chapter
20 and verse 35, the Apostle Paul quotes Christ in the matter
of give and take with these words, I have showed you all things,
how that so laboring you ought to support the weak and to remember
the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, it is more blessed
to give than to receive. In this context, the Apostle
Paul is admonishing his brethren to a Christian work ethic in
order to support themselves and the needy and not be a burden
to others. If one would give, he must possess.
One cannot give what he does not possess. The ability to give
belongs to those who have something to give. It is better for a man to work
and earn his way and help others than through neglect or idleness,
find himself needy and unable to give. In Matthew chapter 25
and verse 45, Jesus said, and as much as you did it not under
the least of one of these, you did it under me. We rob God when
we don't give to God. Witnessing the gospel is giving,
preaching the gospel, is also given. Jesus said, I was hungry,
and you fed me not with the bread of life. I was thirsty, and you
gave me not the water of life. I was naked, and you clothed
me not with a robe of righteousness produced by the Lord Jesus Christ.
You did it not unto the least of these, and you did it unto
me. So whether in the context of temporal or spiritual things,
life is an exercise in the art of give and take. That no man is an island is true. Everyone is dependent on someone.
Everyone can meet some or most of the needs of others. The question
is, are you a giver or a taker? Well, sadly, too many are takers. What can you do for me is the
prevailing attitude of many today. We have been schooled in the
art of taking to the point that society owes me is the mentality
of a large segment of our population. A reversal of this philosophy
is necessary lest the taker overwhelm the givers and the system collapses. The prevailing attitude of society
today is, how much can I get for the amount I have to give?
Can I get more by giving less, or will I have to give more to
get more? Well, this philosophy works in
the free market system, but in the spiritual realm and in spiritual
matters, this formula will not work. In spiritual matters, this
formula leads to certain failure for those who practice it. Giving
less to get more will fail. Giving more to get more will
fail. Giving anything or everything
will only gain the sinner eternal misery. Listen to the words of
our Lord in Matthew chapter 16 and verse 26. For what is a man
profited if he gain the whole world and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange
for his soul? The answer to both is nothing.
He shall gain nothing. My exercise in the art of give
and take for spiritual gain is futile. More than this, it is
idolatry, and it is deadly. Nonetheless, this is the practice
of all by nature, and that continually, because every imagination of
the thoughts of man's heart are only evil continually. And what
is that evil? It's giving for a reward or for
fear of punishment, Genesis chapter 6 and verse 5. So the question
is, do you want to be proficient in giving and taking? Well, we
have scripture to show us how to do that. Look with me at Job
chapter 1, if you would. Look at verse 20. Then Job arose,
and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon
the ground, and worshipped, and said, Naked came I out of my
mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither. The Lord gave,
and the Lord hath taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.
In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly. There is no negotiating with
God. We can come, let us reason together,
saith the Lord, but the standard is set. Be ye holy, for I am
holy, saith the Lord, is not negotiable. It is God who sets
the boundaries of give and take, and he does so at his own discretion. Sinners can only receive what
he gives and are helpless to influence either his giving or
his taking. This book of Job covers 42 chapters
of the Bible and is in many ways still a mystery to us. As part
of the canon of scripture, we must remember that all scripture,
from Genesis to Revelation, is centered around and shines forth
the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. The book of Job
is no exception. This is a book about Christ,
and it addresses the question of how can a suffering of the
righteous be reconciled with the justice of God. In Job chapter
25 and verse 4, this question is asked, how can he be clean
who is born of a woman? Or, how can God be just and justify
the ungodly? More so, how can God be just
and smite a sinless man? Well, Job is a type, as is many
figures in the Old Testament. He is a type of the righteous
man, he is a type of the church, and he is a type of Christ himself. In this historic figure is pictured
in shadows and types the ministry and message of Jesus the Christ
and his bride, the Church. In the life of Job is pictured
the representation of God's elect with Job in the first Adam and
in the last Adam, Christ. So in Job chapter 1 and verse
21 that we read, Job declares, the Lord gave and the Lord has
taken away. What has the Lord given and what
has he taken away? Well, look at the life of Job.
First of all, he gave Job affirmation. Look at verse one. There was
a man in the land of us whose name was Job. It has been supposed
by some that the book of Job is an allegory and not a narrative. But the prevailing belief of
most scholars is that he was a real historical figure. Other
scriptures support this belief. He's mentioned in Ezekiel chapter
14 and verse 14 with Noah and Daniel as righteous men and the
Apostle James wrote in James chapter 5 and verse 11 of the
patience of this man Job. Verse 1 of Job 1 says this, there
was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job. Many Bible scholars
place the book of Job as the oldest book in the Bible. If
so, This would place Job in the time of the patriarchs. But whatever
the time, we have God's testimony that Job was a great man in his
time. Look at the latter part of verse
3. So that this man was the greatest
of all the men in the east. Man cannot be more affirmed than
to be declared perfect and upright by a holy God. Look at verse
3 again. This man was the greatest of
all men in the East, and he says in verse 1 that he was perfect
and upright and one that feared God. Job was a chosen vessel,
a servant of God given to Christ in the everlasting covenant of
grace and marked for eternal glory in heaven. He stood tall
in the sight of men and in God's sight. and his legacy lives on
even today. God affirmed Job. In other words,
he was highly favored of God. So God gave him affirmation. Secondly, he gave him affluence.
Look at verse two. And there was born unto him seven
sons and three daughters. His substance also was 7,000
sheep and 3,000 camels and 500 yoke of oxen and 500 she-asses
and a very great household. so that this man was the greatest
of all the men in the East. God gave him affluence. He had
seven sons and three daughters. He had a family that cared for
each other and was greatly loved of Job himself. Look at what
it says Job did for his children in verse 5. And it was so that
when the days of their feasting were gone about, that Job sent
and sanctified them and rose up early in the morning and offered
burnt offerings according to the number of them all. For Job
said, it may be that my sons have sinned and cursed God in
their hearts. This did Job continually. So Job had a large family. He was blessed as are all who
are blessed with children. Listen to the psalmist in Psalm
127 in verse three. He says, Lo, children are an
heritage of the Lord, and the fruit of the womb is his reward.
As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man, so are the children
of the youth. Happy is the man who hath his
quiver full of them. They shall not be ashamed, but
they shall speak with the enemies in the gate. Of his children,
Job said in verse 21, the Lord gave them to me. So not only
did Job have a large family, he was wealthy beyond measure.
He possessed all he needed to subtain him and his family in
life. He lacked for nothing. God gave him affluence. Thirdly,
God gave him affection. Look at verse 8. And the Lord
said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is
none like him in the earth, a perfect and upright man, one that feareth
God, and askeweth evil? Now this doesn't look like affection
or love that God would Turn Job over to Satan, but listen to
the writer of Hebrews in Hebrews chapter 12 and verse 6. He says
this, For whom the Lord loveth, he chasteneth, and scourges every
son whom he receiveth. If you endure chastening, God
dealeth with you as with sons. For what son is he whom the father
chasteneth not? But if you be without chastisement,
of which all are partakers, then are you bastards and not sons.
God does not veil His children in obscurity, but openly manifests
them to the world. Look at Hebrews 12, verse 11.
Paul, the writer here, says, Now no chastening for the present
seemeth to be joyous, but grievous. Nevertheless, afterward it yieldeth
the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised
thereby. Though we would never choose
to be assailed by Satan, God makes us to endure the trials
and tribulations of life. because he loves us. The Apostle
James said this of our suffering, knowing this, that the trying
of your faith worketh patience. God had great affection for Job
and for his elect, for God so loved the world. So God gave
Job affection, and fourthly, he gave him affliction. Look
at verse six of Job chapter one. Let's read a few verses here
that speak of the affliction of this man, Job. In verse 6
it says, Now there was a day when the sons of God came to
present themselves before the Lord, and Satan came along with
them. And the Lord said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then
Satan answered the Lord and said, From going to and fro in the
earth, and from walking up and down in it. And the Lord said
unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is
none like him in the earth, a perfect and upright man, one that feareth
God, and askeweth evil? Then Satan answered the Lord
and said, Doth Job fear God for naught? Hast thou not made a
hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he
hath on every side? Thou hast blessed the work of
his hands, and his substance is increased in the land. But
put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he
will curse thee to thy face. And the Lord said unto Satan,
Behold, all that he had is in thy power. Only upon him put
not forth thine hand. So Satan went forth from the
presence of the Lord. And there was a day when his
sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest
brother's house. And there came a messenger unto
Job and said, the oxen were plowing and the asses feeding alongside
them. And the Sabians fell upon them and took them away. Yea,
they have slain the servants with the sword, edge of the sword,
and I am escaped alone to tell thee. While he was yet speaking,
there came another, and said, The fire of God is fallen from
heaven, and has burned up the sheep and the servants, and consumed
them. And I am escaped alone to tell
thee. While he was yet speaking, there
came also another, and said, The Chaldeans made out three
bands, and fell upon the camels, and hath carried them away. Yea,
and slain the servants with the edge of the sword. And I only
am escaped alone to tell thee. While he was yet speaking, there
came also another, and said, Thy sons and thy daughters were
eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother's house. And behold,
there came a great wind from the wilderness that smoked the
four corners of the house, and it fell upon the young men. And
they are all dead, and I only am escaped to tell thee." So
God gave Job into the hands of Satan to afflict him and buffet
him. God took everything Job had away from him except his
life and the life of his wife. Why is that? The one thing Satan
cannot have is the life of one of God's elect. Why? Because that life has been bought
with the precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. Everything
we possess is temporal, but life is eternal, either in Christ
or with the reprobate in hell. Not only did God take away his
blessings, he gave Job sore trials. All the physical blessing he
had enjoyed were now gone. His family was dead except for
his wife. who encouraged him in Job chapter
2 in verse 9 to curse God and die. Look at that verse 2 in
verse 9. Then said his wife unto him,
Dost thou still retain thine integrity? Curse God and die. So we have a stark contrast here
of Job in plenty and Job in poverty. The life of Job is a parallel
of every sinner whom the Lord loveth. In the experience of
Job, we see our oneness with him and our federal head and
representative, Adam. Let's look at this man, Adam,
for just a moment. In Genesis chapter 1 and verse
31, after he had created man, God saw everything that he had
made, and behold, it was very good. God created man in his
image from the dust of the earth and placed him in the garden
and set up him. Very good. By God's declaration, Adam was
pronounced good. He was, like Job, perfect, upright,
and sinless in God's sight, and he feared God. With access to
God, he walked with God, he talked with God, and he pleased the
Lord. Adam's standing before God was a conditional standing
based on his obedience to the law. That law simply stated do
and live, disobey and die. God gave Adam life. He gave Adam
a paradise in which to live. He gave him dominion over all
his creation. Adam had the choice to obey or
disobey God. Adam's posterity, that includes
you and me, stood in him. As a representative of the whole
human race, we stood with Job and Adam, perfect, upright, and
obedient. Job and we along with Adam were
given life and everything necessary to sustain that life by God himself. But as with Adam, Job and we
and Adam lost it all. The Lord taketh away. What did
Job lose? What did Adam lose? What did
we lose? We lost our position. Go back
to Job chapter 1 and verse 1. There was a man in the land of
us whose name was Job, and that man was perfect. Our state before
God was altered. We stood in Adam, perfect before
God. Our perfection gave way to imperfection. Where God had declared us very
good in Adam, he now affirms us sinners in Adam. Though our
standing in Christ didn't change, our state before him did change,
so we lost our position. We also lost our purity. Look
at verse 1. He said, That man was upright.
Not only was he perfect, but Job was upright. In Adam we stood
righteous before the Lord, and that by his declaration. We became
guilty, defiled sinners by imputation and practice. In other words,
we lost our innocence. We became unrighteous, ungodly,
and deserving of God's wrath. So we lost our position, we lost
our purity, and we lost our privilege. Look at verse 1 again. That man
feared God. Before our fall in Adam, we respected
our Creator God without legalism. After we fell, our fear of God
became legal. Listen to what God said in Genesis
3 and verse 10. I heard thy voice in the garden
and I was afraid because I was naked. In other words, I was
exposed to the wrath of God and I hid myself. In Adam, we were
privileged to all the blessings of paradise. We were privileged
to worship and serve God acceptably. For disobedience, we were driven
by God from paradise and alienated from God and enemies in our minds
by wicked works. Those wicked works were not immorality,
lawlessness, but disobedience and idolatry. So we lost our
position, we lost our purity, we lost our privilege, and we
lost our power. Look at verse one again. That
man was perfect and upright, feared God, and eschewed evil. That word eschewed means to put
away, to avoid. We lost all ability to please
God based on anything proceeding from our persons. We lost all
ability to restore our fellowship with God. We lost all ability
to obey God acceptably. Our free will became enslaved
to the sinful nature we inherited from Adam. And instead of a skew
and evil by nature, we drink iniquity like water. Every attempt
we make to reconcile God to us is legal and abominable to a
holy God. We are, as was Paul, who said
in Romans 7 24, Oh, wretched man that I am. So the Lord who gave all we had
in Adam took all we had in Adam away. The Lord gave, and the
Lord taketh away. But wait, don't despair. The
same Lord who gave and took away has given again. Look at what
he did to Job in Job chapter 42. Turn to Job 42 in verse 12. Job 42 in verse 12. So the Lord
blessed the latter end of Job more than his beginning. For
he had 14,000 sheep and 6,000 camels and 1,000 yoke of oxen
and 1,000 she-asses. He had also seven sons and three
daughters. The same God who gave Job and
us affirmation, affluence, affection, and affliction at Adam and took
away our position, our purity, our privilege, and our power
has given again. Job suffered much at the hands
of Satan. As I stated earlier, the book
of Job raises and answers the question of how can the suffering
of the righteous be reconciled with the justice of God. The
answer is given and revealed in Job the type and Christ the
antitype. What we lost in the first Adam
was replaced with better in the last Adam. How much better? Look
at Job 42 in verse 10. And the Lord turned the captivity
of Job when he prayed for his friends. Also, the Lord gave
Job twice as much as he had before. Job's temporal blessings before
his trials were doubled. His wealth was increased twofold. What we had in the first Adam,
temporal, conditional blessings, were replaced twofold in the
last Adam with spiritual, eternal blessings. Where our living was
conditioned on our obedience in Adam, it is now conditioned
on Christ's obedience and the propitiation He rendered by His
death for us. Christ not only put away our
sins by His blood, He established and the Father imputed to us
a perfect righteousness that is all our salvation. This is
far better than our previous state in the first Adam. How
much better? Even God himself cannot take
away what he has given us in Christ. To the contrary, God
engages himself to ensure we receive every benefit Christ
earned for us, even our final glory in heaven. What we had
in Adam was conditional. What we have now is unconditional. What we had in Adam was temporal.
What we have in Christ is now eternal. What we had in Adam
was always pending. What we have now is anchored
in Christ. It is finished, he said. So God
restored Job with double his possessions except for his children.
And that number of the elect chosen by God out of every kindred,
tongue and nation has been eternally said and cannot be added to or
taken away even by God himself. Look at Job 42 in verse 15. Speaking
of his three daughters, and in all the land were no women found
as fair as the daughters of Job, and their father gave them inheritance
among their brethren. Even the daughters who were excluded
from the inheritance in Eastern cultures. were given equal portions
by their Father, our Heavenly Father, with their brothers.
Why? Because according to Acts chapter 10 and verse 34, God
is no respecter of persons. But in every nation, he that
feareth God and worketh righteousness is accepted of him. There is
neither male nor female, bond nor free, Gentile or Jew, but
all in Christ are one. God is no respecter of persons,
but in every nation he that feareth him and worketh righteousness
is accepted of him. What is the equal portion God
has given to each of his elect? Well, first of all, he has given
us the Savior. In Acts chapter 5 and verse 31,
the writer speaks of Christ as him whom God exalted with his
right hand to be a prince and a Savior, for to give repentance
to Israel and the forgiveness of sins. Christ himself, the
Savior, is the fountain and source of every blessing of God. Upon
the God-man was condition, the elect salvation. Upon the God
appointed surety and substitute was placed the responsibility
of our eternal security. Him who knew no sin was made
sin that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
He died, the just for the unjust. He obeyed, he suffered, he bled
to make satisfaction to law and justice. and bring in everlasting
righteousness for those he represented. That righteousness imputed and
secured forever those whom it was established. It is in an
unchangeable standing of justification before God. It is by his blood
and righteousness God is just to justify the ungodly. He has
blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places
in Christ Jesus. Job spoke of this Christ hundreds
of years before his incarnation. In Job chapter 19, Job says this,
verse 25, For I know that my Redeemer liveth, that he shall
stand at the latter day upon the earth. Job had the Savior,
not a counterfeit. Do you? So he has given us a
Savior. He has given us the Spirit. Listen
to what the prophet Joel wrote hundreds of years before Christ.
And it shall come to pass afterwards that I will pour out my spirit
upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
and your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall
see visions. And also upon the servants and
upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit. All
of the work of Christ for us, as magnificent as it is, as sufficient
as it is, would be useless without the Holy Spirit's work in us.
Though the Holy Spirit's work in us forms no part of the satisfaction
we owe to law and justice, or the establishment of a perfect
righteousness we needed, whereby God is just to justify us, without
his convincing, Christ would have died in vain. Why? Because
God promised in Jeremiah chapter 32, they shall all know me, from
the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord. For
I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin
no more. Jesus said to himself in John 17, 3, This is life eternal,
that they might know thee, the only true and living God, and
Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. How shall they know God? By the quickening power, convincing
work of the Holy Spirit. It is expedient, Jesus said in
John chapter 16 and verse 7. Turn to John chapter 16 verse
7. It is expedient, Jesus told his disciples, that I go away. Because if I don't go away, the
Holy Spirit won't come. John chapter 16, verse 7. Nevertheless, he says, I tell
you the truth, it is expedient for you that I go away. For if
I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you. But if
I depart, I will send him unto you. And when he has come, He
will reprove the world of sin and of righteousness and judgment.
The sin, because they believe not on me. That is idolatry. Of righteousness, because I go
to my father and you see me no more. He went to his father,
having already established and finished that work of redemption.
And of judgment, verse nine, because the prince of this world
is judged. And all who believe not are condemned, are judged
already in him. This is a convincing without
which no sinner is saved, a convincing every sinner for whom Christ
died shall experience, a convincing Job experienced when he said
in Job chapter 33 and verse 24, I have found a ransom. Where
in heaven or on earth is a ransom but in the Christ of God. I have
found the atonement in Christ, Job said. More exact, the Spirit
has found me. Job had the Spirit of God. So Job has given us the Savior.
He has given us the Spirit. He has given us, thirdly, the
Scriptures. Second Timothy chapter 3 and verse 16 says this, All
Scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for
doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness,
that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all
good works. There are two Gospels in the world today, the Gospel
of Works and the Gospel of Grace. Romans chapter 1 and verse 1
through 4 define the true gospel is that gospel concerning his
son Jesus Christ our Lord who was made of the seed of David
according to the flesh that speaks of his humanity but declared
to be the son of God with power that speaks of his deity according
to the spirit of holiness by the resurrection from the dead
in other words this Christ is the only begotten son of God
This gospel concerns the only Christ with two natures, human
and divine, made like unto his brethren, according to Hebrews
2, verse 19, that he might be a merciful and faithful high
priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for
the sins of the people. It is that gospel, declared in
Romans 1, 16 and 17, wherein the righteousness of God is revealed
from faith to faith. Jesus said this in John chapter
5 and verse 39, Search the scriptures, for in them you think you have
eternal life, and they are they which testify of me. As I stated
before, there is no salvation apart from the scriptures. It
is the word of God that is sharper than a two-edged sword, that
pierces even to the abiding asunder of soul and spirit, and of the
joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of
the heart. Where did Job get his gospel? He got it from God. Listen to Hebrews 1 verse 1.
God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spoke in times
past unto the fathers, hath in these latter days spoken to us
by his son, Jesus Christ. God spoke unto Job out of the
whirlwind. You can read about that in Job
38, 1 and chapter 40 in verse 6. It is in the scriptures, the
gospel, that the righteousness of God is revealed. Job was versed
in the scriptures, are you? So God has given us a savior,
his savior. He's given us his spirit. He's
given us the scriptures, and he's given us sanctity. Sanctity
means holiness of life and character. The scripture says that Christ
has made unto us wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, holiness, and
redemption. He has given us faith, repentance,
perseverance in the gospel, and love of the brethren. One last
verse in Romans chapter 8 and verse 33. Romans chapter 8 and
verse 33. The writer Paul asked this question,
who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? It is
God that giveth. Who is he that condemneth? It
is God who has taken away. What has he taken away? He's
taken away our reproach. Who shall separate us from the
love of God? It is God who hath given again.
The Lord give it, and the Lord take it away. Blessed be the
name of the Lord.