Job 1:1 states, “There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job; and that man was blameless, upright, fearing God and turning away from evil.” However, Romans 3:23 states that all have fallen short of God’s moral perfection.
Job himself didn’t believe that he could stand before God based on his own righteousness (Job. 9:1). He wasn’t blameless before God; he was blameless before man. Job “was righteous in his own eyes” (Job 32:1). He was a relatively righteous compared to the others in his day and age. Job himself admits that he does have transgression (8:21; 38; 42:6), but he is still considered righteous. Today, we might speak of the “righteous party” in a divorce settlement. By this, we do not mean that the spouse was sinless, but that they were relatively righteous by comparison.
James is an elder at Dwell Community Church, where he teaches classes in theology, apologetics, and weekly Bible studies.
