Job 25 is short and full of nonsense from Bildad:
“Dominion and fear are with God; he makes peace in his high heaven. Is there any number to his armies? Upon whom does his light not arise? How then can man be in the right before God? How can he who is born of woman be pure? Behold, even the moon is not bright, and the stars are not pure in his eyes; how much less man, who is a maggot, and the son of man, who is a worm!” (Job 25.2 – 6, NKJV)
“How can he who is born of woman be pure?…man, who is a maggot…” In other words, “Job, you can’t be pure. No one is pure.” HOWEVER, remember what God himself said about Job:
And the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil?” (Job 1.8, NKJV)
Evangelicals get this wrong sometimes, also. We overemphasize Romans 3.10, “There is none righteous…”, for example, while forgetting that God wants us to live righteously. “Be perfect,” Jesus said.
Growth occurs. That’s the whole point of this parable:
And he said, “The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground. He sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows; he knows not how. The earth produces by itself, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. (Mark 4.26 – 28, ESV)
Growth takes time, but growth occurs over time. It’s a cop-out to say, “Well, I can’t be perfect. That’s why Jesus died for my sins.” I was watching my friend Jim teach an adult Sunday School class once, and when he challenged them to do something (I don’t remember what), someone said, “Oh, Jim. You know we can’t do this stuff! Leave us alone.” Wrong. Jim was only following the Apostle Paul’s example:
Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ. (Colossians 1.28, ESV)
Everyone mature.