The Just Man

Ecclesiastes 7:20 For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not.

I quote this verse often in my witness and my public preaching. But notice how removing the last half of the verse would render the first half untrue. The statement, “For there is not a just man upon the earth” doesn’t hold up without the further description “that doeth good, and sinneth not.”

The Bible says he that ruleth over men must be just (2 Samuel 23:3).

The Bible says that a bishop must be just (Titus 1:8).

The book of Proverbs lists 21 descriptions of the just man (Proverbs 3:3; 4:18; 9:9; 10:6; 10:7; 10:20; 10:31; 11:1; 11:9; 12:13; 12:21; 13:22; 16:11; 17:15; 17:26; 18:17; 20:7; 21:15; 24:16; 29:10; 29:27).

Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations (Genesis 6:9).

Joseph, the husband of Mary, was said to be a just man (Matthew 1:19).

Simeon, who saw the Lord’s Christ that day at the temple, was a just man (Luke 2:25).

Herod knew that John the Baptist was a just man (Mark 6:20).

The Holy Spirit called Joseph of Arimathaea a good man and a just (Luke 23:50).

Cornelius was called a just man (Acts 10:22).

Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked, was judicially a just man (2 Peter 2:7).

All these men were just. But not a one of them always did good and never sinned. The people we witness to might be just, in a sense, but all have sinned and come short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23).

There’s only one man that ever defied the truth of Ecclesiastes 7:20. And that’s because He was God, manifest in the flesh. Praise the Lord, Jesus Christ offered himself, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God (1 Peter 3:18; Isaiah 45:21; Zechariah 9:9; Matthew 27:19, 24; Acts 3:14; Acts 7:52; Acts 22:14). And if we confess our sins – to Him – He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9).