Can One Be Right Before God?

In the book of Job, we see the suffering of one man who the devil wanted to prove to God that he will curse Him if calamity should fall upon him. God granted Satan to cause great suffering to Job with the exception of taking his life. Job sat in silence for some time till he spoke where he cursed the day of his birth. We pick in chapter 4 where one of Job's three friends, Eliphaz, begins to speak.

As he was engaging with Job, Eliphaz asked this question:

Can mankind be right before God? Can a man be pure before his Maker? (Job 4:17).

This is a great question to ask considering that many have some idea to be right with God based on how good they are. Some might think that good works will make them right before God. Isaiah says that our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment (Isaiah 64:6). The Apostle Paul said his own righteous acts, as he thought they were before turning to faith in Christ, were rubbish (Philippians 3:8). Our good works will never make us right before God.

There are some that say being a good person will make you right with God. What they mean by being a good person is they not like certain individuals. They may compare themselves to those who have committed genocide or swindled people out of millions of dollars. They may not be as bad as those people, but the Bible makes it very clear, "...there is no distinction; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:22-23). We all fall short of the glory no matter how moral we may seem in our eyes.

So how does one become right before God? The only way is coming to faith in Christ. Jesus said, "This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent" (John 6:29). If "you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved" (Romans 10:9). When we come to faith in Jesus, we become justified and have peace with God (Romans 5:1) and we become the righteousness of God in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:21). 

Can someone be right before God? They sure can, but it only happens when we come to faith in Jesus Christ. Acts 4:12 says, "And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved." Salvation is found no one else but the Lord Jesus Christ. If you have never come to faith in Christ, I pray that you do so as you read this blog. Turn from your sins and put your faith and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the only One who can make us right before a holy God.