How Can Man Be Right With God?

By Bonifresh Muhollo

Somewhere in the book of Job, a question was posed, “How can man be right with God”?

Jeremiah the weeping prophet is left at a point where he can’t see any hope for man except if God is to have mercy. Even the most conservative prophet at one point reaches this pinnacle of human desperation and begs for mercy.

The history of the nation of Israel is itself a monument of disappointment on the part of a God who expects humans to conform and hopelessness on the part of the prophet who keeps hoping that better sermons will change the people.

No amount of sweet worship music, no amount of Bible studies and definitely no amount of repentance can change the heart of man. For it is defiled beyond human repair.

The new testament comes as a rescue to Old Testament theology most of which was ridiculously optimistic in regard to the human condition.

Christ lands in the backyard of this theology and wastes no time to transform the society. He knew that such had already failed in the past.

The unbeatable evidence that Christ might have understood his mission is the fact that, unlike other prophets, he had nothing to smile about in regard to human earthly future.

Christ had a different vision from his contemporaries: his kingdom was not earthly but for another world. The prophets could not think of another possibility, except human effort to attain righteousness. Their theology was hopelessly existentialist. This resulted in an existentialist salvation.

The prophets always dreamt of a time when Israel would rise above all nations, and this was a result of her reform. But this reform always seemed elusive. And so it is. Man cannot reform. Man can only be saved by grace.

The Old Testament stares at you and me, as evidence of our hopelessness in regard to human efforts to conform.