Avsnitt
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We’re resuming our Proverbs study this morning.
This is our 26th sermon in the book of Proverbs. We’ve learned a lot of things about wisdom and foolishness and righteousness and wickedness.
Before we begin, I wanted to take a few minutes and summarize our Proverbs series to date. It will be helpful for our study today.
1. First, while Proverbs does give us day to day wisdom for life’s decisions, it goes way beyond that. Proverbs teaches us how to understand life and death and good and evil and the world and God. In fact, the foundation to making day to day life decisions is understanding God, his world, and his word. Let me put it this way: Proverbs reveals a worldview for living.
2. Second, we learned that wisdom is a lifetime pursuit. It is a path. The path of wisdom calls us to pursue God’s wisdom and his righteousness. And when we do, we will grow in discernment of what is good and right and true.
3. Third, Proverbs reveals that there is not just one path. There are two divergent paths of life. The first path, as I mentioned, is the path of wisdom and righteousness. The second path is the path of foolishness and wickedness. Our thematic sermons starting in chapter 10 have been expanding our understanding of each path. Remember, foolishness and wickedness relate, but they are different. Foolishness is actively or passively ignoring God’s commands and his law. Wickedness and evil are hostile to them and often to the detriment of others. So, two paths. And we are called to walk the path of wisdom and righteousness.
4. Fourth, and this is very important. The path of wisdom begins with fearing the Lord. That is where Proverbs began – fear the Lord. And we’ve seen that phrase over and over. In fact, listen for it in our verses today. Fearing the Lord means recognizing who he is as the sovereign, holy, and just God; it means trusting in him, honoring him, and reverently worshiping him. And we fear the Lord through faith in Christ. The promises of God which are fulfilled in Christ are all throughout the Proverbs. We’ve seen that in each chapter and each theme. He is wisdom personified. Jesus models perfect righteousness. He leads us down the path of righteousness. Jesus is the one who at the end of our life on earth, will preserve us for eternity… as Proverbs promises. The fear of the Lord, which comes through Christ, is the first step on the path of wisdom. But it’s the first of many steps on the path.
5. Fifth, and last - you can fear the Lord, yet stumble down the path of wisdom. You can get stuck in a rut; you can be on the path of wisdom but do foolish things. And that will lead to struggles and difficulty in life. In other words, believing in Christ does not mean you coast to the end. No, God calls us in Proverbs to continue pursuing what is good and true and right. Remember, Solomon is writing primarily to his sons. Besides teaching them about God and wisdom generally, Solomon want’s his sons to prosper in the wisdom and righteousness of God. He wants them to make wise decisions in life, and Solomon warns them about foolish and wicked decisions.
Let me recap: (1) Proverbs gives us God’s worldview for living. (2) It teaches us that that the path of wisdom is a lifetime pursuit. (3) we’ve learned about the divergent path of foolishness and wickedness. (4) We’re given the starting place, which is to fear the Lord, and (5) We’re exhorted to persevere on the path of wisdom and righteousness and warned about the consequences of not following it. That last point, #5, is where our verses today fit within Proverbs as a whole - warnings about wickedness and exhortations about righteousness.
I know that was a very long preamble, but I wanted to make sure that we understand these verses in the context of Proverbs.
Please take out the Proverbs insert in your bulletin and turn to the inside.
As I read, listen for those encouragements about pursuing righteousness and those warnings about wickedness.
Stand
Reading of selected Proverbs
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11:27 Whoever diligently seeks good seeks favor, but evil comes to him who searches for it.
15:9 The way of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD, but he loves him who pursues righteousness.
17:15 He who justifies the wicked and he who condemns the righteous are both alike an abomination to the LORD.
17:26 To impose a fine on a righteous man is not good, nor to strike the noble for their uprightness.
19:19 A man of great wrath will pay the penalty, for if you deliver him, you will only have to do it again.
24:1 Be not envious of evil men, nor desire to be with them,
24:2 for their hearts devise violence, and their lips talk of trouble.
24:15 Lie not in wait as a wicked man against the dwelling of the righteous; do no violence to his home;
24:16 for the righteous falls seven times and rises again, but the wicked stumble in times of calamity.
24:17 Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, and let not your heart be glad when he stumbles,
24:18 lest the LORD see it and be displeased, and turn away his anger from him.
24:19 Fret not yourself because of evildoers, and be not envious of the wicked,
24:20 for the evil man has no future; the lamp of the wicked will be put out.
24:21 My son, fear the LORD and the king, and do not join with those who do otherwise,
24:22 for disaster will arise suddenly from them, and who knows the ruin that will come from them both?
24:24 Whoever says to the wicked, “You are in the right,” will be cursed by peoples, abhorred by nations,
24:25 but those who rebuke the wicked will have delight, and a good blessing will come upon them.
24:26 Whoever gives an honest answer kisses the lips.
25:19 Trusting in a treacherous man in time of trouble is like a bad tooth or a foot that slips.
28:4 Those who forsake the law praise the wicked, but those who keep the law strive against them.
28:9 If one turns away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer is an abomination.
29:27 An unjust man is an abomination to the righteous, but one whose way is straight is an abomination to the wicked.
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Prayer
We are a people easily influenced.
Speaking of being influenced, did you know, in the United States, Instagram has about 177,000 social media influencers. These are people with over 10,000 followers on Instagram. And let me give you an example - Dwayne Johnson – you may know him as “The Rock” has 398 Million followers. Because of that, when a company wants The Rock to market their product, they will pay him $1.5M per post because of his influence.
I know some of you are worried about my growing influence on Instagram. Well, I just checked my number of followers, I am up to 204 followers. Maybe you can help me catch up.
We are a people easily influenced, easily persuaded… and people are paid to influence us.
A recent study of peer pressure in teenagers showed that 61% of teenagers would break a rule if their friends were already breaking the rule. And 55% of those kids continued to break the same rule even when their friends were not around. The study also captured the peer influence on beliefs – it showed that 94% of kids are influenced by their peers in what they believe… to some extent.
I’m bringing this up because one of the things we learn from these verses is to be on guard against the persuasions and temptations of wickedness. Instead, we are called to be influenced by righteousness. We’re to actively pursue righteousness and avoid wickedness and the wicked in his ways.
Alright, take a look at the insert again. I want you to see a pattern here. There are many direct commands throughout. And most of them are formed in the negative. For example, look down at chapter 24 verse 1. “Be not envious.” A couple verses later, 24:15: “lie not in wait” and later in that same verse, “do no violence.” There are a total of 9 negative commands in these verses. Even more, there are also similar negative proverbs just not in an imperative form. And every single one of both types are about how we should relate to wickedness. Some of them are warnings and others direct us how not to react to wickedness.
So, let’s look at these verses in two main categories:
1. Be wary of wickedness
2. Be resolute in righteousness
And, by the way, each of those categories has four commands.
1. Be wary of wickedness
So again, first, Be wary of wickedness. The four command here warn us not to be drawn into wickedness.
And let me say, these warnings very much relate to our last sermon on wickedness and righteousness. Remember, it’s ultimately a heart matter. A heart of wickedness gives way to wickedness. A heart of righteousness gives way to righteousness. The warnings in these verses take us back to the heart. We need to guard our heart in Christ and not be drawn into wickedness.
The first warning is about envy. We’re not to envy wickedness. That’s what chapter 24:1-2 says: “Be not envious of evil men, nor desire to be with them, for their hearts devise violence, and their lips talk of trouble.” A few verses later there’s a similar command.
To envy is to want something or be to jealous of something. To envy the wicked is to have a heart desire to either want what the wicked has or to be jealous of his associations. I’ll illustrate these in a minute – I want to start by explaining them.
So first, envy. And next, envy leads to some sort of rationalization. The word “justification” is used in 17:15 “He who justifies the wicked and he who condemns the righteous are both alike an abomination to the LORD.” Justification in this sense is saying or believing that what the wicked are doing is somehow right. A few verses later, it says, “Whoever says to the wicked, ‘You are in the right,’ will be cursed by peoples…” It’s the same idea. The temptation is to believe that what the wicked are saying or doing is right.
Now, we’ve talked a lot in our Proverbs study about the dividing line between wisdom and foolishness and between righteousness and wickedness. And what is that dividing line? It is God’s Word – his commands and law. God determines the divinding line. Look at chapter 28 verse 4. It captures that line. 28:4 “Those who forsake the law praise the wicked, but those who keep the law strive against them.” What it is saying is that to justify or agree with the wicked is to actually forsake God’s law.
So, do not envy the wicked; do not justify or praise their wickedness; and then, next, do not seek out wickedness. That seeking is captured right there in 11:27. “Whoever diligently seeks good seeks favor, but evil comes to him who searches for it.” Do you know what happens when you search for evil and wickedness? You will find it! There’s no lack of evil to be found when you search for it.
That path obviously leads, next, to participating in wickedness. Joining in wicked ways.
24:15 “Lie not in wait as a wicked man against the dwelling of the righteous; do no violence to his home;” That envy and rationalization and seeking out wickedness turns to an active involvement in wickedness.
Here’s the scary part here. It’s often a subtle drift away from righteousness and toward wickedness. We are incrementally influenced by wickedness until we join in wicked ways.
I studied German in college for a year. My professor was from Germany and he was born right when Hitler was ascending to power. This professor had such a gentle and Christ-like spirit about him. And that is because as a young child, he experienced the devastation of war with evil all around him… but God’s mercy through it.
He wrote a book about his family’s experience. In it, he highlighted his mother’s faithfulness to disciple her children to stand against the evils of the Nazi regime. They were trapped like many others… in a world of evil.
He wrote this about his mother’s struggle: “What could a parent do to instill in one's children values of decency, respect, faithfulness, and diligence when all around the only thing that seemed to guarantee success was the rejection of such qualities?”
They sought to be faithful to the righteousness they were called to in Christ… and faithful to minister the hope of the Gospel in the darkness around them.
But their beliefs were in direct opposition to the Third Reich. My professor’s older brothers were forced to participate in the Hitler Youth. They had to mentally and spiritually fight against the brainwashing of the Nazis. By God’s grace, the boys held firm to their beliefs in Christ. At one point, one of them fled his Hitler Youth post and almost escaped out of Germany, but he was detained. He was maybe 13 years old. Because of his age, his life was spared.
The oldest brother was drafted at age 17 into the German military. Even there, he sought to be faithful to Christ and forthright about his Christian beliefs. At one point, his commanding officer found out… and this young man was cursed at in front of the entire company. The commander yelled at him that it was a great crime to be a Christian because Jesus had also been a Jew. Again, by God’s grace, this brother survived the war, despite being later captured by Russia and imprisoned for 5 years.
I want you to imagine the pressures to either give in to the wickedness… or the temptation to envy or desire the power of the wicked. Let me ask the teenage boys here… imagine being 12-years-old in the Hitler Youth. You are told that your race and nation were superior to all others… and that you would participate in conquering the world. Would you find yourself tempted to believe the lie and then actively join in the evil machine?
Or for any of us, if you lived there in that time… and you saw the power and the privilege afforded to those aligned with the Nazis, would you go down the path of these warnings? First, envying them, then rationalize their evil, then searching it out, then participating.
Did you know, many churches in Germany either supported the Nazi regime or turned a blind eye to the atrocities? Directly or indirectly, they were saying of evil, “you are in the right.”
Now, it’s one thing, of course, to look back 85 years at another generation in a country across the ocean, but what about wickedness and evil that exist today? What things today are we turning a blind eye to or supporting directly or indirectly? Over the last three sermons, we’ve considered several examples of evil – human trafficking, tragic shootings, our culture of death and the life of the unborn. But is there another evil that has drawn you in? For example, has your sin drawn you into porn? No, you are not the one driving that evil industry, but besides the sin of lust and heart adultery, your sin is feeding the industry… just like those in Nazi Germany supporting the regime. Now, we’re going to get to the righteousness that we can pursue in Christ, but I wanted to press the question of our sin and wickedness.
Alright, those are the four warnings. Be wary of wickedness.
2. Be resolute in righteousness
That brings us to a second set of commands. Again, I’m naming them - Be resolute in righteousness.
The question is, when faced with wickedness, how should we respond? Instead of being influenced and drawn toward the wicked and wickedness… how can we respond in righteousness?
And, as I mentioned, there are four admonitions here:
First, do not worry about wickedness. 24:19 says “Fret not yourself because of evildoers.” The word “fret” is stronger than the word “worry.” To fret over wickedness is to have an internal turmoil because of it.
I think this is perhaps the hardest command in all these verses today - especially when you are the target of evil. Or do you look around and see all the injustice and prosperity of the wicked, and you worry? But God says, do not fret. The wicked will come to their ultimate destruction. That’s the second part of the Proverb in verse 20 – “The lamp of the wicked will be put out.” On the day of judgment, they will stand before judgment seat of the Lord and be judged, but the righteous in Christ will be vindicated.
Again, this is a hard one. And, I have to say, I struggle with this. I have to remember that God will have victory in the end. His righteousness will prevail… despite evil at times seeming to overcome righteousness.
In the book I mentioned by my professor, I was struck by how often their family prayed…. by how they sought to trust in the Lord. As bombs were falling all around them, as they were helping their injured and grieving neighbors, as the evil of their own countrymen seemed to be prevailing, they prayed for protection and help, but they did so trusting the Lord’s will. Do not worry about evil.
And second, do not trust the wicked. That one is right there in chapter 25:19 – “Trusting in a treacherous man in time of trouble is like a bad tooth or a foot that slips.” But it is so tempting, isn’t it? You are down and out. Maybe you are overcome by your situation. And someone comes along says, “hey, I can help you out but I need you to do something for me.” But it turns out his offer is merely to use you for his evil schemes. Trust not in the wicked.
Ok, third, do not rejoice when the wicked fail. This is another difficult one! Look at 24:17 “Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, and let not your heart be glad when he stumbles…” I mean, who does not want to celebrate when your enemy falls?
But we are not to rejoice. It is a humble reminder of two things. Number 1 – it is only by the grace of God in Christ that you are counted among the righteous and can, in him, pursue righteousness. And number 2, it’s a reminder that the wicked need the Lord. Instead of rejoicing, we should pray that he would redeem them.
So, worry not. Trust not. Rejoice not when the wicked stumble. And last, rebuke wickedness. Honestly, all four of these responses to evil are all difficult. Beloved in Christ, we are called to call out wickedness. Proverbs 24:25. “those who rebuke the wicked will have delight, and a good blessing will come upon them.”
We are afraid to stand up for goodness and righteousness. We will be called names and perhaps persecuted. Think of Dietrich Bonhoeffer. He was a pastor in Germany during World War 2. He was part of the confessing church which did not support Hitler. He was in a position where he could speak out against the atrocities, and he did. He was jailed multiple times for his stance. In a tangential way, he also participated in a plot against Hitler. In the end Bonhoeffer was executed for that.
Now, I am not saying that on social media, you should call out every evil thing you see and hear. No, we should be thoughtful, sensitive, and clear. At times, it may require a bold witness like Bonhoeffer. But at times, like my professor’s family, it may require an under the radar testimony to neighbors and family who are tempted by wickedness around them.
In all of this, the call is to be resolute in righteousness. May we heed both the warnings not to get pulled into evil, but also the call to stand firm in the righteousness to which we are called.
Conclusion
On Thursday evening, we had our Smoke Rise home group gathering. We were looking at these verses and someone made a very helpful observation. I want to share it with you in conclusion. Chapter 24 verse 21 unlocks all these verses. Take a look at it. 24:21. It says, “My son, fear the LORD and the king, and do not join with those who do otherwise…”
It is the fear of the Lord, which I mentioned in the introduction, which enables us in each of these commands. It is the reverent trust in God through Christ, by which we can be wary of wickedness… and heed the warnings and be resolute in righteousness.
Here’s what I mean:
Instead of envying or justifying wickedness, we fear the Lord… we desire him and what he determines is right.
Instead of searching for evil and getting pulled into evil ways, we fear the Lord… seeking him and his ways.
And similarly, it is through that fear of the Lord, knowing his judgment and his love for us in Christ, that we can be resolute in righteousness.
Instead of trusting in the wicked, we trust in the Lord. That trust is really at the center of what it means to fear the Lord.
Furthermore, when we fear the Lord, we can set aside our worry and not fret about wickedness. He has and will overcome all evil. Yes, the cross of Christ atoned for the sin of those who fear the Lord, but through the cross and in the resurrection, Jesus also triumphed over evil. In the end, when he returns, all wickedness will be defeated. That is a great comfort.
And last and related… in that same confidence, we can rebuke wickedness. We can stand firm against wickedness because it is God’s standard and not ours. We can declare that in Christ, God has revealed righteousness and the path of righteousness and he has overcome wickedness.
So, may we fear the Lord, and in that holy fear, may he lead us in the paths of righteousness for his name sake. Amen?
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Thank you to our instrumentalists and choir. Especially Oscar and David.
For the last few months, we’ve been studying the book of Proverbs. It’s one of the wisdom books in the Bible and it is full of wisdom for life. I think that’s a good summary of Proverbs – wisdom for life.
Some of you are joining us for the first time this morning, and so let me give a quick synopsis. Last fall, we considered the opening 9 chapters of Proverbs. Those contain 12 foundational lessons about wisdom. Those lessons answered the questions, What is wisdom? Why do we need wisdom? And Where do we find wisdom? We were also warned about folly and evil.
When we got to chapter 10, instead of taking the proverbs in order, we began considering the themes found in chapters 10-31.
If you’ll take out the Proverbs insert in your bulletin, you’ll see those themes listed and the number of verses in each.
We’ve completed the ones with the check boxes. As you can see, we are about half-way through. Proverbs includes two major thematic contrasts. The first is wisdom versus foolishness. And the second is righteousness versus wickedness. We’ve made it through most of the categories related to wisdom and foolishness and today we are beginning the second major contrast.
Let me note that the differences between foolishness and wickedness are not always a hard line. However, there are a few important differences I want to highlight.
• The two Hebrew words for folly indicate either an active or passive disregard for truth and morality. A fool, as Proverbs describes, is someone who doesn’t care about living with integrity or pursuing what is good and right and true according to God. The actions or inaction of a fool do affect others but more as a consequence of their foolishness.
• Wickedness, on the other hand, is hostile. The underlying Hebrew word for wickedness includes violence and evil perpetrated against someone. A wicked person as Proverbs describes is someone guilty of intentional injustice according to God’s standard.
Hopefully that helps as we now consider the contrast of wickedness and righteousness.
By the way, there are an overwhelming number of verses about righteousness and wickedness. Because of that we’ll consider them in 3 sermons.
Now, you may be thinking – an Easter Sermon about righteousness and wickedness? It’s true! As I’m reading the verses, I want you to be thinking about the resurrection and I think you’ll see how they relate.
That’s a long preamble but hopefully it orients you to these verses and theme.
If you’ll open up your Proverbs insert, let’s now consider God’s Word.
Stand
Reading od Selected Proverbs
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(1) The heart of evil and righteousness
11:20 Those of crooked heart are an abomination to the LORD, but those of blameless ways are his delight.
12:26 One who is righteous is a guide to his neighbor, but the way of the wicked leads them astray.
13:5 The righteous hates falsehood, but the wicked brings shame and disgrace.
12:3 No one is established by wickedness, but the root of the righteous will never be moved.
21:10 The soul of the wicked desires evil; his neighbor finds no mercy in his eyes.
24:8 Whoever plans to do evil will be called a schemer.
29:7 A righteous man knows the rights of the poor; a wicked man does not understand such knowledge.
29:10 Bloodthirsty men hate one who is blameless and seek the life of the upright.
29:24 The partner of a thief hates his own life; he hears the curse, but discloses nothing.
(2) The way of evil and righteousness
10:6 Blessings are on the head of the righteous, but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence.
11:5 The righteousness of the blameless keeps his way straight, but the wicked falls by his own wickedness.
11:13 Whoever goes about slandering reveals secrets, but he who is trustworthy in spirit keeps a thing covered.
12:6 The words of the wicked lie in wait for blood, but the mouth of the upright delivers them.
12:10 Whoever is righteous has regard for the life of his beast, but the mercy of the wicked is cruel.
14:9 Fools mock at the guilt offering, but the upright enjoy acceptance.
15:8 The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD, but the prayer of the upright is acceptable to him.
15:26 The thoughts of the wicked are an abomination to the LORD, but gracious words are pure.
15:28 The heart of the righteous ponders how to answer, but the mouth of the wicked pours out evil things.
17:4 An evildoer listens to wicked lips, and a liar gives ear to a mischievous tongue.
17:11 An evil man seeks only rebellion, and a cruel messenger will be sent against him.
21:3 To do righteousness and justice is more acceptable to the LORD than sacrifice.
21:27 The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination; how much more when he brings it with evil intent.
21:29 A wicked man puts on a bold face, but the upright gives thought to his ways.
22:5 Thorns and snares are in the way of the crooked; whoever guards his soul will keep far from them.
28:1 The wicked flee when no one pursues, but the righteous are bold as a lion.
(3) The (temporal) result (impact?) of evil and righteousness
10:3 The LORD does not let the righteous go hungry, but he thwarts the craving of the wicked.
11:10 When it goes well with the righteous, the city rejoices, and when the wicked perish there are shouts of gladness.
11:11 By the blessing of the upright a city is exalted, but by the mouth of the wicked it is overthrown.
11:17 A man who is kind benefits himself, but a cruel man hurts himself.
11:30 The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and whoever captures souls is wise.
11:31 If the righteous is repaid on earth, how much more the wicked and the sinner!
12:13 An evil man is ensnared by the transgression of his lips, but the righteous escapes from trouble.
12:21 No ill befalls the righteous, but the wicked are filled with trouble.
13:17 A wicked messenger falls into trouble, but a faithful envoy brings healing.
13:25 The righteous has enough to satisfy his appetite, but the belly of the wicked suffers want.
14:19 The evil bow down before the good, the wicked at the gates of the righteous.
14:34 Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people.
15:6 In the house of the righteous there is much treasure, but trouble befalls the income of the wicked.
16:31 Gray hair is a crown of glory; it is gained in a righteous life.
17:13 If anyone returns evil for good, evil will not depart from his house.
18:3 When wickedness comes, contempt comes also, and with dishonor comes disgrace.
25:26 Like a muddied spring or a polluted fountain is a righteous man who gives way before the wicked.
28:10 Whoever misleads the upright into an evil way will fall into his own pit, but the blameless will have a goodly inheritance.
28:12 When the righteous triumph, there is great glory, but when the wicked rise, people hide themselves.
28:17 If one is burdened with the blood of another, he will be a fugitive until death; let no one help him.
28:28 When the wicked rise, people hide themselves, but when they perish, the righteous increase.
29:2 When the righteous increase, the people rejoice, but when the wicked rule, the people groan.
29:6 An evil man is ensnared in his transgression, but a righteous man sings and rejoices.
29:16 When the wicked increase, transgression increases, but the righteous will look upon their downfall.
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One of the things we’ve seen in Proverbs is how it deals with the breadth of the human condition. The joys and the sorrows – the height of virtue and wisdom and the depth of depravity and folly. We’ve seen that over and over.
Blaise Pascal, the famous 17th century mathematician and philosopher wrote about this contrast. He said of mankind’s condition that we represent “the glory and the garbage of the universe.” “Man’s greatness and wretchedness,” he wrote, “are so evident that the true religion must necessarily teach us that there is in man some great principle of greatness and some great principle of wretchedness!”
Those are true words, which Proverbs affirms over and over. Wisdom and foolishness, righteousness and wickedness, integrity and deceit, justice and injustice… and the list goes on.
It is a fool’s errand to argue that evil and good are only concepts made up in people’s minds.
Some may say that evil and good don’t really exist, but I bet if you pressed them with specific examples, they would reluctantly agree.
Let me give you an example.
Earlier this month I was at a breakfast event here in Tucker. It was about human trafficking. The event was attended by several police officers, civil servants including city and county officials, as well as a few pastors.
We heard first from a ministry called Street Grace that works with law enforcement seeking to end the exploitation of children. We also heard examples of victims rescued from trafficking. And then we heard from the main speaker - a man named Victor Marx.
When he was a boy, Victor had been physically abused by his five different stepfathers – once almost to the point of death. It was traumatic and led him to want to help others. Today, he works with militaries all over the world to save children from slavery. In fact, his wife is also trained and they work together. They’ve been to Gaza twice since October 7 to rescue children enslaved by Hamas.
He and his wife are battling against evil. They are battling against evil people who kidnap children to use them for their own and other’s perverted desires. I’m trying to be careful with my description, but I think you know what I mean by trafficking. It is outright wickedness.
And what a contrast between that evil and the righteous pursuits of Victor, his wife, and those with whom they work. They are putting their own lives at risk to rescue the victims of this horrible industry. And when asked why he does it, Victor speaks about his faith in Christ and how he wants to rescue these children the way he had hoped to be rescued himself as a child. What a testimony of a life dedicated to righteousness and seeking to put an end to wickedness.
And that is one thing that we cannot escape in these verses. The reality of wickedness and the reality of righteousness. 29 times the word righteous or righteousness or upright is used. 31 times the word wicked or wickedness or evil is used. And this is only a portion of the Proverbs that speak to these realities. By the way, the reality of righteousness and wickedness is found throughout Scripture, including Jesus own teaching. Jesus called his own generation an evil and adulterous generation.
What I’m saying is that wickedness and righteousness are not ideas that we come up with individually or even as a community. No, there are standards of right and wrong defined by God and given to us.
Now, you may have a lot of questions as to where the line is between righteousness and wickedness. Those are good questions. I would submit that Proverbs gives us that line.
• Similar to our study of wisdom and foolishness, we began with the broad categories and then drilled into the details week by week.
• Well, over the next 3-4 months, we’ll be working through the details of wickedness and righteousness. Proverbs gives us a clear line. I guess what I am saying is “stay tuned.”
But there’s a reason we’re starting with these verses. Unless we have the end in mind, we will not grasp the importance of these verses for our lives.
What is that end? Well, it’s life and deliverance for the righteous… death and destruction for the wicked.
I know that Proverbs is often thought of as a book of maxims by which we should live. Does it include principles to live by? Yes. Does it give us guidance in decisions and help us navigate life? Yes. But Proverb is way more than that. Proverbs is about God and his law and his promises. Remember, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. A big part of Proverbs warns us of the eternal consequences of folly. And it, instead, directs us to the path of wisdom which leads to life.
You see, the path of life and deliverance versus the path of death and destruction is not new. Proverbs has presented two paths over and over. And that’s what these verses expand on - where the path of righteousness and the path of wickedness lead.
So, let’s spend just a couple of minutes on where each path leads. And then we’ll come back and consider the critical question. Who is righteous and who is wicked?
First, where does the path of the wicked lead? There are so many words and phrases here that describe the end of the wicked. Let me highlight just a few.:
• What the wicked dreads will come upon him (10:24)
• An evil person will not go unpunished (11:21)
• The lamp of the wicked will be put out (13:9)
• Here’s another one, the house of the wicked will be destroyed (14:11)
• The wicked is overthrown through his evildoing (14:32)
• Proverbs 21:7 says, “The violence of the wicked will sweep them away, because they refuse to do what is just.”
• The LORD is far from the wicked (15:29).
Again, that’s only a few of them. Other verses speak of the wrath and ruin that will come upon them.
One thing that is apparent all throughout these verses is that the wicked will endure condemnation and ruin by the Lord himself. There is an active judgment on the wicked by God. In fear and dread, they will endure his wrath because of their wickedness.
That’s the where the path of wickedness leads.
Let’s now turn to the result of righteousness. And it’s similar in intensity. There are so many words and phrases that capture amazing promises for the righteous. Let me highlight a few.
Consider these:
• The wages of the righteous leads to life (10:7)
• The righteous is established forever (10:25)
• 10:30 The righteous will never be removed
• The righteous is delivered from trouble (11:8)
• the house of the righteous will stand (12:7) – that’s a contrast to the one I read about the house of the wicked being destroyed.
Again, those are just a few of the descriptions. There are others like being rewarded with good and not visited by harm, and how the good will meet steadfast love and faithfulness.
Life and joy and blessing and refuge... these are the rewards of being righteous. Who would not want these blessings and future promises?
The contrast is so stark. The wicked will be defeated. Their judgment will be thorough and complete. And the righteous will inherit life forever.
Did you notice, there is no third path. Every one of us is either considered righteous or considered wicked. Let me point something out in these verses. About 80% of the descriptions are nouns - “The righteous” and “the wicked.” Proverbs describes righteousness and wickedness as a state of being… We are either righteous or we are wicked.
It’s easy to look outside of ourselves and say, “oh, you see that human trafficker. He is wicked or she is wicked.” But what happens if you look at your own heart? Would you consider yourself righteous? Do you think of yourself as a good person deserving of these promises?
In the Bible, do you recall which group of people considered themselves righteous? It was the Pharisees. Yet they are the ones who Jesus condemned for their self-righteousness. When speaking about the evil and adulterous generation, Jesus was talking about them. They thought they were righteous, but in reality, they were counted among the wicked.
I was thinking about King Solomon. Solomon was the one who authored and compiled the Proverbs. Who would he regard as righteous and wicked? Did he consider his father, King David, as righteous? David was an adulterer and murderer. Are these verses then condemning David? Is Solomon condemning himself, with his own violation of God’s law in the worship of false God’s and his many wives? Is Proverbs condemning us because of our own foolishness and wickedness? The answer to all those questions is “yes.”
Solomon also wrote the book of Ecclesiastes. It’s another book of Wisdom. In chapter 7 of Ecclesiastes, Solomon writes, “there is not a righteous man on earth who does good and never sins.” Not one. In the book of Romans, that verses is alluded to by the apostle Paul. “None is righteous… no one understands, no one seeks God… no one does good, not even one.”
Do you see what I am saying? We have a big problem. Every single one of us should be counted among the wicked. The destruction and condemnation of the wicked, which Proverbs describes here, is destruction and condemnation of our wickedness.
There’s a gap we cannot cross. We, in and of ourselves, are not righteous. And we cannot become righteous, in and of ourselves. That does not mean that the promise in these verses are not true. Righteousness does save. That is true! But it cannot be our righteousness. No, we need a righteousness that comes from outside of ourselves. Look down at Proverbs 21 verse 12. “The Righteous One observes the house of the wicked; he throws the wicked down to ruin.” Proverbs describes one who is righteous and who in his righteousness is the ultimate judge of wickedness.
And you probably noticed that it’s capital “R” righteous and capital “O” one. In the Hebrew, there are no capital letters, but the translators clearly ascribe this reference to Christ. First, because he is the only perfectly Righteous One. All the descriptions of righteousness in proverbs describe him. But second, Jesus Christ is also described over and over in the Scriptures as the judge. He will come to judge the living and the dead.
The righteousness that we should be seeking is not a righteousness in ourselves. No, in order to be “righteous” …to be part of the group here called “the righteous” we need a righteousness outside of ourselves. And that righteousness comes from the Righteous One.
We need to be delivered from our wickedness and made righteousness.
Did you notice the deliverance theme in a few of these verses?
Twice we read that “righteousness delivers from death.”. We’re also told that “the righteous is delivered from trouble” (11:8) …and you are promised that if you “wait for the LORD… he will deliver you” (20:22).
A couple of us have been reading The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe to one of the 5th grade classes here. It’s one of CS Lewis’s classic novels about the land of Narnia. There’s a point in the book, when Edmund betrays his brother and sisters. He in a sense sells them out to the White Witch. Little did he know but his betrayal required death at the stone table. He was to be killed. As the witch put it, “his life is forfeit to me. His blood is my property.”
Edmund needed to be delivered from the consequences of his betrayal. He was a traitor and the law of the land called for his blood. And so Aslan, the lion (who is the Christ figure) offers his life to save Edmund’s. Aslan delivers Edmund from his status as a traitor. To use the words of the proverbs, his status among the wicked. To do that, Aslan he had to be delivered over to the witch to die in Edmund’s place.
You see, that language of deliverance goes two ways. In order for us to be delivered from our wickedness and made righteousness, Jesus, the Righteous One, had to be delivered over to evil and take on the consequences of our wickedness. That is the language used in the New Testament. Jesus was delivered into the hands of sinful, evil, and lawless men to be killed. That exchange needed to happen for deliverance to be accomplished.
Back to Aslan. The witch and her evil creatures shaved Aslan’s great mane. They muzzled him and dragged him to the stone table… and tied him to it. The White witch then whet her knife and killed the great lion. Aslan was dead but Edmund delivered – no longer a traitor.
These particular Proverbs speak about deliverance from the consequences of being wicked. To use some of the words here - deliverance from the dread of destruction, from violence and evildoing, and from the punishment and wrath of the Lord.
But that is only half of the promise. It’s one thing to be delivered from the condemnation. But the promise here also includes receiving the eternal blessings of the righteous.
I’ve already highlighted a few verses about these eternal promises - how the righteous will be established forever, and how the righteous will never be removed. But look at Proverbs 14:32. It says, “The wicked is overthrown through his evildoing, but the righteous finds refuge in his death.” Proverbs promises life beyond death for the righteous.
But how is that accomplished?
Right before Aslan’s death, the witch leaned over and whispered to him “you fool, did you think that by all this you would save the human traitor? Now I will kill you instead of him as our pact was and so the deep magic will be satisfied. But when you are dead, who will prevent me from killing him as well?” And when the witch finished him off, they immediately set off to attack Edmund and his siblings.
You see, it’s a great thing to be delivered from our wickedness through the Righteous One, Christ… and to be righteous in him. But in order to receive the promises of life… in order to find refuge in death… in order to be established forever, as the Proverbs put it, Jesus needed not only to be delivered over to receive the consequences of our wicked ways, but he needed to defeat wickedness and death itself.
And he did that through the resurrection. He overcame death and overcame wickedness to give you the full promises being righteous in him. Deliverance and life.
To use the language of Narnia, there was a deeper magic from before the dawn of time. That if a innocent victim was killed in the place of a traitor, the stone table would crack and death itself would work backwards. Aslan would come back to life and would soon defeat the witch forever.
Let me tie this all together. Proverbs is wisdom for life - life now and life forever. There is not a single Proverb that describes an end for the righteous when his or her days on earth are done. Not a single one. Do you find that amazing as I do? The Righteous will be established forever and find refuge in death.
But there is only one path to be counted among the righteous and have the promises of life forever. And that path is through Jesus. He was delivered over to the wicked to deliver us from our wickedness to make us righteous. He endured all the consequences described here in Proverbs. But that was not the end. He is risen. Death and dread have been defeated. Through the resurrection, Jesus paved the way of life for the righteous.
And that path – the path of the righteous is offered to you. But it is not a path that you can earn. It is only a path you can receive from the Righteous One. To use some of the words here, he calls you to fear him. That means to recognize your wickedness, to see him as the Righteous One, and to revere and trust him as the one who can make you righteous. And when you fear him in this way… his righteousness will be yours and you will find refuge in death.
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Saknas det avsnitt?
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Acts 18:1-11
Many in this City Are My People
We’re taking a one week break today from our Proverbs study. Next week, we’ll resume. It will be an Easter sermon from Proverbs. That’ll be interesting.
But today, as part of our focus on outreach, I wanted to consider the call and importance of Gospel ministry to the community in which God has placed us.
To do that, we are going back to the book of Acts. Our very first sermon series was in Acts. Acts gives us the beginnings of the church after Jesus’ resurrection and ascension. In it, we learn a lot about missions and ministry. Acts testifies to the apostles and early Christians fulfilling the great commission.
From a macro view, we see the Gospel spreading from region to region. And from a micro view, we see how God directs ministry in a city.
That’s what we’ll be doing today. Zooming in on the city of Corinth to see how God uses his people to reach his people.
Our text this morning is from Acts 18. We’ll be reading verses 1-11 but mainly focusing on verses 5-11. You can find that on page 1102 in the pew Bible.
The first time I preached this chapter, we considered verses 1-17, and I remember wishing I had more time to focus on the middle section, so that’s what we’ll be doing today.
Reading of Acts 18:1-11
Prayer
Every city in the ancient world had a unique characteristic. Rome, for example, was the seat of authority in the whole region – the center of the Roman empire. Ephesus boasted of its entertainment and sport. The heart of Athens was its philosophical and religious beliefs. The city of Antioch brought trade and traders from east and west. And Corinth was the city of sensuality. I think nearly every commentator I’ve read and every sermon I’ve heard about Corinth calls it the Las Vegas of the ancient world. A city caught up in the worship of sexual gods with an anything-goes promiscuous culture.
We don’t know for sure what the apostle Paul was thinking when he arrived in Corinth. But we do know that he had just come from Athens. And Athens had been a let-down for Paul. Athens was the only major city where Paul did not plant a church. Furthermore, he left Athens after only a small handful of people believed. And he headed to Corinth, only 50 miles away,.. another major city with its own idolatry.
So, I think likely, Paul felt apprehensive about how he would be received. But nonetheless, he persevered in his calling. And just like in other cities, he began by going to the Jewish synagogue. Look what it says in verse 4. Every sabbath, he went to the synagogue to try and persuade the Jews and the God-fearing Greeks to believe.
And what happened? Well, Paul’s fears were realized. They would not believe! In fact, verse 6 says they “opposed and reviled” Paul. They didn’t just ignore Paul. They actively opposed him. That’s a strong word there. Reviled. It means to actively defame someone by insulting or slandering or cursing them. Of course, this response wasn’t new for Paul, but given the let-down in Athens, Paul was aggravated.
Look at his response at the end of verse 6. “Your blood be on your own heads! I am innocent. From now on I will go to the Gentiles.” As he was saying that, he shook off the dust of his garments. If you won’t believe, then that’s on you! You see, he desperately wanted them to believe, but they didn’t and he was disappointed because they rejected the truth.
Can you relate? Maybe you don’t have the passion of the apostle Paul. But have you ever felt like your words were falling on deaf ears - those in your family; your neighbors; your co-workers. You’ve shared your faith. You’ve sought to be faithful. You wanted to see others come to faith, but it seemed like your efforts were wasted. Have you ever wanted to say or think what the apostle Paul said? “I’m giving up on you!” For Paul, it was, “forget you Jews! I’m now going to the Gentiles.”
Now, if you take that verse out of context, you are going to think that you should walk away if your efforts are not fruitful. You may think that this verse means that if a group of people are not hearing the word… then you should move on. But that understanding is not true!
Paul said, “From now on I will go to the Gentiles.” But the fact is, he continued to proclaim the Gospel to both the Jews and Gentiles! When he left the synagogue, he went next door. He wasn’t giving up. In fact, and at the end of the very same chapter, chapter 18, Paul was travelling through Ephesus for the first time. And what did he do? He went to the synagogue. That first visit in Ephesus was just a brief stop. After that stop, he went back to Antioch, but he soon returned to Ephesus in chapter 19. And guess what he does back in Ephesus? He went back to the synagogue. Even though he said he would focus on the Gentiles, yet he continued to bring the Gospel to the Jews.
But there’s another surprising thing that happened. Look at verse 8 of Chapter 18. Remember, Paul had just said, your blood on you, I’m going to the Gentiles. But look what happens! Verse 8 - “Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue,” it says, “believed in the Lord, together with his entire household. And many of the Corinthians hearing Paul believed and were baptized.”
So, Paul had just shaken off the dust from his garments and he had left the synagogue with a parting word about their unbelief… But look who then believes! The ruler of the synagogue! The very guy in charge! And not just him, but his whole household. And not just his whole household, but it says many of the Corinthians believed and were baptized.
Talk about a turnaround. After all the opposition, the Lord turned the hearts of many Jews and gentiles to him.
10-12 years ago, I was involved in an English as a second language ministry. It was for international graduate students and their spouses. Besides offering English classes, we offered a class called Christianity Explored. Some of you may be familiar with it.
Every semester we had a small handful of students. Some were Christians and others just curious about Christianity since they didn’t know any Christians in their home country. And there was a period of time I was discouraged. We weren’t seeing any fruit, so to speak. But we continued faithfully.
One semester we had a visiting scholar at Emory University attend. Her academic focus was feminism. She was very curious. She had lots of questions. And one of the very first question she asked was this: Why didn’t God send twins, a boy and a girl? It was a serious question. She wasn’t combative or anything. It came to mind given her feminist studies. I don’t remember exactly how I replied! I fumbled through some kind of answer. She was satisfied, I guessed because she stuck with the class.
Well, the Christianity Explored curriculum begins with what the Gospel is, and who Jesus is… It begins with the good news about Jesus. He is the eternal Son of God. He has come to offer life. We are dead in our sin, but through faith in Jesus Christ, God forgives.
But about half-way through the curriculum shifts to ask more personal questions. And I remember I was teaching one evening and I asked the question, “do you believe?” Now, when I asked it, I asked it in kind of a rhetorical way. But she looked at me and she said “yes, I believe.”
I was not expecting that! I’m not sure why I didn’t expect that. I mean, that’s what God does. He works through his Word, using his people, and through that endeavor, people come to faith. The Holy Spirit is the one who turns someone’s heart to believe.
But sometimes we get discouraged, thinking our efforts are not working. And we forget it is God who does the work, and we are merely called to be faithful. And we don’t even know the half of what God is doing! …as far as changing hearts and mind.
By the way, we baptized this woman, she returned to her home country. She found a faithful church. Her daughter came to faith in Christ, as well. What a tremendous testimony of God’s work.
Well, the apostle Paul experienced, as he had experienced before, a tremendous work of God’s grace. He went from a drought of belief to an exciting response to the Word.
Now, that did not change the fact that many were still opposing Paul’s ministry.
And we learn that one night, the Lord himself spoke to Paul in a vision… verses 9 and 10 “Do not be afraid, but go on speaking and do not be silent, for I am with you, and no one will attack you to harm you, for I have many in this city who are my people.” Paul needed this encouragement.
Now, to be sure, these promises were spoken to Paul, and some of it is very specific for Paul. The middle of the promise is an example: “No one will attack or harm you.” The Lord promised to preserve Paul for that moment in that city. Later in Paul’s life, we know he would be killed for the sake of the Gospel like the other apostles before him. But in Corinth for that moment God had more work for Paul to do and he promised to protect him.
What I’m saying is we have to be careful about applying the promises and prophecies in Scripture directly to our situation. Sometimes they do apply to us. For example, the first part of the promise is true for us. It says, “Do not be afraid, but go on speaking, and do not be silent, for I am with you.” We know that this promise to Paul is also for us because we’re given that same promise elsewhere.
Jesus promised that he will be with us to the end of the age. That promise is part of the great commission in Matthew chapter 28. Or take what the apostle Paul said in Romans 8. Nothing will separate you from the love of God in Christ Jesus our lord… “neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation.” None of that will separate you from the love of God. As he puts it, “we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.”
So, that part of the promise to Paul is also a promise that God has given to us. He will be with us as we faithfully fulfill the Great commission.
Let’s now consider the last part of God’s promise to Paul. It’s an important one for us to know. It’s there at the end of verse 10, “for I have many in this city who are my people.”
The Lord was saying to the apostle Paul “go on speaking” why? “for there are many in this city who are my people.” These people still needed to hear the good news!
I heard another pastor put it this way… there were people in Corinth who were God’s people, but they did not yet know they were God’s people. They had yet to believe! But they would believe, and God would use Paul and the church in Corinth to proclaim the good news.
It’s a promise specifically for Paul, but it certainly has relevance to us. You see, we don’t know who God will call to be his people. We don’t know whose hearts and minds the Holy Spirit will open up to hear the Word and believe. And we don’t know if or when God would use something we have said in the life of our friends or neighbors. It could be years down the road that the Lord brings to their minds what you said, and they hear. You see, we don’t know, but God does. And that is the very reason we should be faithful and not lose heart in the task. God is the one at work.
There are many people in Tucker, in Lilburn, in Clarkston, in Decatur, or wherever you live, who are God’s people but who do not yet know it. And we need to find them and tell them the good news of Jesus. And do you know how we find them? We tell as many people as we can about the good news of Jesus and the Lord reveals them.
Let me take a brief tangent. Like many of you, I did not grow up in a Presbyterian church or a reformed church. Some of you may not know what I mean when I use the words Presbyterian and reformed. So let me briefly define them.
We are a Presbyterian church, as you know. A Presbyterian church believes that qualified elders are called to oversee the church. We believe the Bible teaches that. A faithful Presbyterian church is also Reformed. That means we believe the Scriptures teach that the Old Testament and New Testament present one unified story of Salvation. And we believe that the Scriptures teach that God is sovereign over salvation. So, we believe the centrality of the Bible as God’s Word, which teaches that God is sovereign over salvation – really over all things.
Let me take you back 30 years. I was a senior in college. It wasn’t until then that God gave me a passion to study his Word. And I had this great job. I was a security guard in a big corporate building. I mostly worked from midnight to 7am. Actually, when I got the job, my grades went up, because I was essentially paid to study. Well, I had this deep desire to understand the Bible, and I had a lot of time to study.
You may have heard me share this before, but in the middle of the night for months and months, I was reading through the New Testament and cross referencing every single Old Testament cross reference. It was transformative in my life.
One of the main things I learned is that it’s through God’s sovereign grace that people believe… from beginning to end. Here’s what I mean: From before the foundation of the world, God determined those who would believe. The term used in the New Testament is the term elect. God has elected his people to be his people. He’s chosen them. He’s the one who turns hearts of stone into hearts of flesh. He gives us ears to hear and eyes to see. We were dead in the sins and trespasses of our heart, but God made us alive in him.
This idea of God’s sovereign grace is infused all throughout the New Testament. Jesus speaks about those whom the Father has given him. The apostle Peter clearly testifies about how God choses and elects his people in Christ. The book of Ephesian and Romans walk us through God’s gracious choice in election. Over and over and over.
But this is not just a New Testament teaching. No, the Old Testament testifies to this as well. Over and over, God chose people. He chose Noah and his family. He chose Abraham. He chose the people of Israel to be his people. Not because they were better than anyone else or because they deserved to be God’s people. No, rather he chose them to demonstrate his undeserved lovingkindness. That is what sovereign grace is about. We read earlier from Ephesian chapter 2 how we were dead in our sins but God made us alive together with Christ, by grace, it says, you have been saved.
To say it again, from before the foundations of the world, God elected his people to be his people.
You may be thinking… “wait, if God has elected people to be his people, then what is the point of evangelism?” That is a very important question. The answer is that God uses his people. He uses us to be the mouthpiece of the Gospel. As the message goes forth, the Holy Spirit turns hearts of stone into hearts of flesh. People hear the truth and grace of God because they are given ears to hear. And when they are spiritually awakened, they repent and believe. It’s a beautiful thing for God to use his people to reach his people.
Romans chapter 10 captures it well. Listen to these words. “For ‘everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’ How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!’”
Do you see, there’s a chain there. It’s given to us in reverse order. Here’s the logical order:
1. Number 1 - we’re sent. That’s the Great Commission. God sends us all to bring his good news.
2. Step 2 - we’re faithful in going and declaring the Gospel. That looks different in different contexts and situations, but the Gospel message is the same.
3. Then number 3 – people hear. There are two sides to this. The outward call of the Gospel, which is what we do. The Gospel goes forth in words – spoken or written. And then there’s the inward call as God open ears to hear the good news.
4. And last, people believe! And I don’t have to tell you that, you know that because you believed! You believed and called on the name of the Lord, who saved you. Maybe you don’t remember the exact day that you heard and believed because you grew up in a home where the Gospel was always taught. Or maybe you do remember the day when you called upon the Lord and were saved. Either way, you did believe by faith.
To summarize: God uses us, according to his sovereign will, to bring the Gospel to his elect.
There’s no disconnect in the Bible between God’s sovereignty over salvation and his call for us to proclaim the good news of Jesus. In fact, they go together.
It is precisely because of God’s sovereignty that we have hope in the great commission! And not only hope, but confidence - confidence not in ourselves or our words, but confidence in God who is at work in the hearts and mind.
Think back to the apostle Paul again. What an amazing promise from God that there were more people in Corinth who were his people… more people who would hear and believe. Paul had seen it already and he would see it again. Just when he thought the Jews were a lost cause, God redeemed their synagogue leader. And then people from all walks of life believed. And a church was planted in Corinth. And Paul would continue on and leave Priscilla and Aquila to lead that fledgling congregation.
And beloved, God has and is using us. He’s using you in ways you do not realize. It may seem like the ground is hard. You may feel like your friends or family members are a lost cause, but do not underestimate the Sovereign will of our sovereign God, who in his sovereignty can call anyone from death to life.
So, may we press on individually and press on as a church in the great call to be a light of the Gospel here where God has placed us… whether that’s your neighborhood, your work, your family. Whether that’s in Tucker, or Clarkston or in Lilburn or around the school here or wherever the Lord leads. May we trust in the Lord’s work and be faithful in the call. Just as the apostle Paul was faithful in Corinth, may we also be faithful to the call where God has placed us.
Amen
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Parenting and Honoring Parents
If you would please take out the insert with the Proverbs verses. On the inside, you’ll see that our Proverbs reading this morning begins a few verses from Proverbs chapter 23. Verses 13-16. If you would like to read those in the pew Bible, You can find that on page 646.
Our theme is parenting and parents. Let me say, these verses are not just for parents with younger children. No, actually, these verses have applicability to all of us. They speak to children, of course, but also to adults of all ages, whether your parents are still alive or have passed from this world.
Let’s now consider God’s Word. Again, starting with Proverbs 23:13-16
Stand
Reading of selected proverbs
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Proverbs 23:13-16
13 Do not withhold discipline from a child;
if you strike him with a rod, he will not die.
14 If you strike him with the rod,
you will save his soul from Sheol.
15 My son, if your heart is wise, my heart too will be glad.
16 My inmost being will exult when your lips speak what is right.
The Joys and Sorrows of Parenting
10:1 The proverbs of Solomon. A wise son makes a glad father,
but a foolish son is a sorrow to his mother.
15:20 A wise son makes a glad father, but a foolish man despises his mother.
17:25 A foolish son is a grief to his father and bitterness to her who bore him.
23:24 The father of the righteous will greatly rejoice;
he who fathers a wise son will be glad in him.
23:25 Let your father and mother be glad; let her who bore you rejoice.
27:11 Be wise, my son, and make my heart glad,
that I may answer him who reproaches me.
29:3 He who loves wisdom makes his father glad,
but a companion of prostitutes squanders his wealth.
Honoring and Obeying Your Parents
17:6 Grandchildren are the crown of the aged,
and the glory of children is their fathers.
19:26 He who does violence to his father and chases away his mother
is a son who brings shame and reproach.
20:20 If one curses his father or his mother,
his lamp will be put out in utter darkness.
23:22 Listen to your father who gave you life,
and do not despise your mother when she is old.
27:8 Like a bird that strays from its nest is a man who strays from his home.
28:24 Whoever robs his father or his mother and says,
“That is no transgression,”
is a companion to a man who destroys.
Guiding and Disciplining Your Children
19:18 Discipline your son, for there is hope;
do not set your heart on putting him to death.
22:6 Train up a child in the way he should go;
even when he is old he will not depart from it.
22:15 Folly is bound up in the heart of a child,
but the rod of discipline drives it far from him.
29:15 The rod and reproof give wisdom,
but a child left to himself brings shame to his mother.
29:17 Discipline your son, and he will give you rest;
he will give delight to your heart.
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Pray
Every year, about 3-4,000 books about parenting or parents are published. That’s hard for me to wrap my mind around. To keep up, you would need to read 10 of those books every day.
Some of them, of course, become irrelevant pretty quickly because their cultural focus is so narrow. Many are not worth the paper on which they are written. But some parenting books stand the test of time.
And I would say, there’s one parenting book that is head and shoulders above the others. I strongly recommend that every single child read this book. Every single parent needs to read this book. If you’re not married or don’t have kids, reading this book will help you support others in the church. If you are a young or middle-age adult with parents, you need to read it. In short, everyone needs to read this book about parents and parenting.
I’m speaking, of course, about the book of Proverbs.
Do you realize, the entire background of Proverbs is about parenting. I know we just read 20 or so verses that focus on tangible areas of parenting and parents. But the premise of the whole book is a father writing to his sons.
Do you remember that from the first 9 chapters? Over and over, Solomon was speaking to his sons. Like Proverbs chapter 1 verse 8, “Hear, my son, your father's instruction, and forsake not your mother's teaching.”
In fact, 19 times in the first 9 chapters, Solomon is directing his wisdom to his son or sons. Sometimes it’s singular, son, and sometimes plural, sons. And the first nine chapters that we considered last fall gave us the foundations to wisdom. They answered the questions: What is wisdom? Why do we need wisdom? How do we obtain wisdom? Where is true wisdom found? Who is wisdom? Where should we not go to gain wisdom? It included warnings about evil and foolishness. Part of Solomon’s warning was about sexual temptations that his sons and all of us need to hear.
Twelve foundational lessons in the first nine chapters written from a parent to his children.
But when we get to chapter 10, the structure of the book changes. Instead of focused lessons, we’re given multiple themes in each chapter.
One commentator suggested that the first 9 chapters are from a father to his grade school and teenage kids. King Solomon was giving them the foundations to wisdom. But then chapters 10-31 are for his adult children. I think that’s a reasonable suggestion.
First, look at Proverbs 10:1. It’s on the left under the section titled “The Joys and Sorrows of Parenting.” This is the very first verse after the opening wisdom lessons. That’s why 10:1 begins with the title, “The proverbs of Solomon,” and then it says, “A wise son makes a glad father, but a foolish son is a sorrow to his mother.”
The very first thing that Solomon conveys in this entire second half is about a son living in wisdom. He wants his sons, perhaps adults now, to live a life of wisdom which would be pleasing to him and to their mother. Some of the Proverbs in chapters 10-31 contain themes more applicable to adults. Like, in today’s focus, disciplining children. Or other themes like just leadership and being a good steward of your money. So, in other words, it’s written to children of all ages – which includes you and me.
I’m pointing this out for a reason. We need to understand the bigger picture of wisdom and foolishness in order to understand how it applies to parents and children. For example, when Proverbs 22:6 says “Train up a child in the way he should go…” We first need to know what way he should go be going. That “way” is referring to the way of God’s Word as Proverbs instructs. Parents need to know this way in order to fulfill that Proverb. That’s why the whole book is the best parenting book around.
With that in mind, let’s tackle these verses. We’ll actually start with that last category, Guiding and Disciplining Children. It’s the most focused as far as who it applies to, so I thought we would start there and then get broader.
1. Guiding and Discipline Children
So, disciplining children.
That word, discipline, is used four times in these verses. Like the very first verse listed, Proverbs 23:13. “Do not withhold discipline from a child…” The word discipline in the Hebrew means to be corrected or admonished through some sort of punishment.
Our New Testament reading earlier today spoke about this kind of discipline. That was from Hebrews 12… discipline from both our earthly fathers as well as our heavenly Father. Our earthly fathers “disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but [God] disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.”
You see, the goal of discipline, is to train the person in righteousness and warn them about the severity of their words or actions.
Disciplining a child is guiding them through the means of a tangible consequence. Children go through different stages as they mature, and discipline helps them to know in concrete ways what is not honoring to God and others. In other words, discipline is directing a child away from folly and evil and toward wisdom and righteousness.
In order to convey that message, children need concrete and tangible consequences when they disobey.
The reason for discipline goes back to what we’ve seen over and over in Proverbs. Foolishness and wickedness lead to sad consequences and death. Discipline is necessary to redirect a child to the road of life.
That idea is captured right there in the very first verses we read from chapter 23. “Do not withhold discipline from a child; if you strike him with a rod, he will not die. If you strike him with the rod, you will save his soul from Sheol.” Sheol is the grave.
On the top right is a similar one. Proverbs 19:18 “Discipline your son, for there is hope; do not set your heart on putting him to death.” It’s the inverse… If you do not discipline your child, then it’s like you want him to be put to death.
Let me make a brief side note here. I’ve said it before but want to remind you. Proverbs are not formulas. 22:6 is an example of that. “Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.” That Proverb is giving us the general pattern of what leads to life and godliness. It does not remove the responsibility to pray for your child, nor the sinful heart of your child, which may still be led astray. We’ll come back to the sorrows of parenting in a few minutes.
Parents, the call is to discipline your children, because you love them. And that may include corporal punishment (I’m talking about spanking). Four times in these verses, parents are exhorted to use the “rod” for discipline. It’s the same word for a shepherd’s staff. A shepherd’s staff has a hook on one end to grab hold of a sheep and redirect it. But it was also used to strike the sheep as a punishment. The rod is a corrective and protective instrument.
Now, some have suggested that the word “rod” is metaphorical… they would say, instead of physical punishment, it’s referring to the responsibility of discipline in a general way, no matter the form. I would agree that the word “rod” is not always used in a literal way. For example, In Isaiah 10, God says that Assyria is the “rod of my anger.” So yes, sometimes it’s metaphorical, but even in that example, the punishment is still physical.
Let me say a few things to be clear because I know this is a sensitive topic.
· Corporal punishment is encouraged in Scripture. But I’m distinguishing Biblical corporal punishment from abuse, which is always wrong.
· When used, though, it needs to be measured and careful. It should be done out of a heart of love and never in a moment of anger. Dads, that’s a hard one at times.
· Corporal punishment is best for younger children because of its tangible effect.
· Also, it should be used as a punishment for disobeying and not to force a child to do something.
However, if in your conscience, you are unsure about corporal punishment (you may have some legitimate reasons), then whatever alternate discipline you choose should correspond to the severity of the offense. Discipline needs to make the point clear.
Whatever discipline you choose, always explain why your child is being disciplined – to the extent that you are able to communicate depending on their age and situation.
Let me add one more thing. Shaming your child in front of others is wrong. What I mean is either verbally putting them down for what they did in front of others, or making them do embarrassing things in front of others as a punishment. To be sure, that’s different than telling them to go ask forgiveness from someone they sinned against. They may feel embarrassed but it’s still the right thing to do.
Lots more can be said, of course, but I’ll end it there for now. The bottom line is this: discipline is necessary, and it is a sign of love.
2. Honoring and Obeying your Parents
OK, let’s move to the middle category. #2 Honoring and obeying your parents. As I mentioned earlier this is not just for young children and teenagers, rather, this is also for adults.
But first, I would like to speak to the school aged children here.
Kids, God has given you parents, and he has called you to obey them. And this is really important for your life. Earlier in the service we read the fifth commandment about honoring your parents. It’s one of ten summary statements of God’s law and it is directed to you. That’s how important obeying is.
Let me give you another example where God calls you to obey your parent. There’s a book in the Bible called 2 Timothy. The apostle Paul, guided by God, wrote this book to Timothy, a young pastor, whom Paul was discipling. And in chapter 3, he talks about godlessness. Godlessness includes the things people say and do, which demonstrates that their heart is turned away from God. And he lists all of these evil and foolish things. I want you to listen to this list. He writes: “understand this, that in the last days [he’s talking about now] there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power.”
Did you hear that? In the middle of that list of grievous sins, he includes, “disobedient to their parents.” God considers obedience so very important. Now, to be sure, God forgives, and he helps.
The book of Proverbs, likewise, emphasizes how important it is to obey your parents. For example, Proverbs 20:20 says “If one curses his father or his mother, his lamp will be put out in utter darkness.” That image is a grave warning about not honoring your parents.
For the younger children here… at your age, it’s sometimes difficult to understand why you should obey. Sometimes you want to do something and your parents say “no” OR you don’t want to do something and your parents require it. And it’s hard to understand. But, let me say, your parents more often than not, know what’s best for you.
Onetime, I didn’t like all the things my parents told me not to do. So, I decided to run away. I was young, by the way. I packed a small bag with clothes and I told them, “I’m running away!”
And my parents said, “ok, well, umm… the door is always open if you want to come home.” So, I left and went around to the side of the house. I think I lasted like 30 minutes and then came back.
They knew what would happen.
Proverbs 27:8 says, “Like a bird that strays from its nest is a man who strays from his home.” Now, that has applicability to both children and adults. To be sure, it’s not talking about physically leaving, rather, one who leaves behind a faithful commitment to the Lord and his Word.
That’s a good transition because all of us here are called to honor our parents. And that can be difficult at times.
For the adults here, I want you to think about your relationship with your parents… or parent if you grew up in a single parent home. Maybe you live close by and see them often. Or maybe you occasionally visit them. Or maybe you are caring for them in some way. Maybe one or both of your parents have passed away. Whatever your situation, how would you describe your relationship? Loving and caring? Did something happen that broke that loving bond? Is it strained because of other factors, like health or divorce? If you had a father growing up, did he work so hard to provide for the family that you felt he wasn’t there for you when you needed him? Many, many things affect our relationships with our parents. We sinned against them. They sinned against us.
But that doesn’t change the responsibility you have to honor your father and mother… again, whether they are still alive or have passed from this life. It may mean forgiving them for something that happened or a pattern of sin. If your parents are older, honoring them may mean caring for them or helping them in different ways. You may need to honor their choices, even if those choices may not be what you prefer or think is best.
Look at Proverb 23:22 “Listen to your father who gave you life, and do not despise your mother when she is old.” That applies no matter your age or theirs.
To be sure, I am not diminishing the challenges or relational strain, whether current or past. Each situation requires prayer and help.
Nonetheless, we are each called to honor those whom the Lord ordained to be our parents.
3. Joys and Sorrows of Parenting
That brings us to the last category, which is the first there on your list. the Joys and Sorrows of Parenting.
Parenting is full of joys and sorrows… times of rejoicing and times of worry and sadness and fervent prayer. These verses capture that reality:
“A wise son makes a father glad” – multiple verses say that in different ways. Or take chapter 23 verses 24 and 25 “The father of the righteous will greatly rejoice; he who fathers a wise son will be glad in him. Let your father and mother be glad; let her who bore you rejoice.”
It is the great joy of parents to have a child or grandchild faithfully walking in the wisdom of God.
And it is a deep sorrow to have a son or daughter walking down the path of folly. The second half of 10:1 speaks of that sorrow, “…a foolish son is sorrow to his mother.” 17:25 is similar, “A foolish son is a grief to his father and bitterness to her who bore him.”
Some of you here carry the weight of a son or daughter who has wandered from the way. It’s a heavy burden and often seems hopeless. And you pray that the Lord would turn your son’s or daughter’s hearts back to him.
Recently, I was listening to a podcast where the hosts were interviewing a guy name Christopher Yuan. He wrote a book a few years ago titled “Out of a Far Country.” In it, he describes his conversion to Christ.
You see, Christopher had gone down the path of drugs, drug dealing, and homosexuality. He lived a life of partying and promiscuity.
His mother, Angela, became greatly distraught because of her son’s choices. At one point her despair brought her to the place of contemplating suicide. It was in that moment that she came to believe in and know Jesus (that’s a story of it’s own). Through her new faith in Christ, she found solace and hope. And she began praying. While Christopher was partying and dealing drugs, his mother prayed. She committed every Monday to pray and fast for her son. And she enlisted dozens of friends. At one point, she fasted 39 days for him.
Well, for Christopher, things came crashing down. He was arrested and sentenced to 6-years in prison for drugs. All of his so-called friends deserted him. He hit rock bottom. And so he reached out to his mom, whom he had not spoken to in a long while. She shared her faith in Christ and that she had been praying for him for years. That had a profound impact on him.
On his third day in prison, he pickup up a book from the trash pile. It was a New Testament, so he took it and read it. Then he read it again and again. And the Lord opened Christopher’s ears to hear. And the Lord transformed his life… The Lord answered his mom’s faithful prayers. After his imprisonment, Christopher dedicated his life to ministry, he eventually received a doctorate in ministry. He now teaches at Moody Bible and also runs a ministry reaching the LGBTQ community with the Gospel. And his mom continues to be his prayer warrior.
Through the joys and sorrows of parenting, there is hope.
Conclusion
That hope comes through the one we call our Heavenly Father and through his Son, the Savior of the world, Jesus Christ. Their relationship perfectly models the relationship between a Father and a son. And every single aspect of their relationship ministers to every single aspect of our relationship with our parents… and if you are a parent, with your children.
Consider three things related to our three points:
· First, we deserved the fullness of the rod of the Father’s discipline. Yet, that rod of discipline fell on Christ for us. The judgment we deserved for our disobedience, Jesus endured for us. So, children, when you receive discipline from your parents, it is only a shadow of the discipline that you truly deserve. Parents, when you discipline your children, you are demonstrating to them the consequences of sin. That discipline reveals to your children the justice of God and it ultimately points to their need for Christ. That is why discipline is so important for children.
· Second, Jesus perfectly honored and obeyed his Father. He submitted himself to his Father’s will. And the results of Jesus’ obedience are amazing – his exaltation and glory and our salvation. When we honor our earthly mother or father, even considering their failures, it testifies to the perfect obedience of Christ… and it testifies to how, in him, we can honor and obey our parents, no matter our age.
· And last, sorrows and trials exist in every single relationship in this world. That is the result of sin. But there is a particular heartache when it is between a parent and child or child and parent. If you know and believe in Christ, you not only have a Savior who took on the discipline you deserved, but in him, you have a Heavenly Father who loves you. He loves you despite your sin. It’s the true love of a Father. And through his love, you can love your parents… and you can love your children despite their sin and wayward lives. You can pray for them trusting in your heavenly Father. And you can rest in his comfort and love through his son.
So, for the parents of young children, here, when you discipline your children, may it point to the one who endured the disciple you deserve. And for the children here, all of us. May we honor our mother and father, not because they deserve it in and of themselves, but because we’re called to and we have a heavenly Father who loves us.
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Faithful Friendships, Fake Friendships
Several of you have expressed appreciation for our Proverbs series. Thank you.
Before we started working through the themes, I was worried they would feel repetitive or moralistic. But I’ve found it refreshing, convicting, and redemptive. It sounds like many of you have as well.
Our verses this morning deal with a thing that is near and dear to each of us - friendship. Faithful friendship that builds up and loves and cares versus shallow friendship that is selfish and fleeting and convenient.
Please take out your Proverbs insert. On the inside you’ll see those two categories. (1) On the left-hand side, The Foundation to Faithful Friendship, and (2) and on the right, The Folly of Fake Friendship.
Stand as we read God’s holy Word.
Reading of selected proverbs
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The Foundation to Faithful Friendship
Proverbs 11:25 Whoever brings blessing will be enriched,
and one who waters will himself be watered.
17:9 Whoever covers an offense seeks love,
but he who repeats a matter separates close friends.
17:17 A friend loves at all times,
and a brother is born for adversity.
18:24 A man of many companions may come to ruin,
but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.
20:6 Many a man proclaims his own steadfast love,
but a faithful man who can find?
22:11 He who loves purity of heart,
and whose speech is gracious,
will have the king as his friend.
27:5-6
Better is open rebuke than hidden love.
Faithful are the wounds of a friend;
profuse are the kisses of an enemy.
27:9 Oil and perfume make the heart glad,
and the sweetness of a friend comes from his earnest counsel.
27:10 Do not forsake your friend and your father's friend,
and do not go to your brother's house in the day of your calamity.
Better is a neighbor who is near than a brother who is far away.
27:17 Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another.
The Folly of Fake Friendship
Proverbs 14:20 The poor is disliked even by his neighbor,
but the rich has many friends.
15:17 Better is a dinner of herbs where love is
than a fattened ox and hatred with it.
19:4,6-7
Wealth brings many new friends,
but a poor man is deserted by his friend.
Many seek the favor of a generous man,
and everyone is a friend to a man who gives gifts.
All a poor man's brothers hate him;
how much more do his friends go far from him!
He pursues them with words, but does not have them.
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You may not have heard this, but there is a new epidemic sweeping the nation. Last October, the surgeon general released a report about its devastating effects.
But it’s not an epidemic spread by germs. It’s not an epidemic that requires masks. We don’t have to wipe down door handles and counters. This epidemic is not helped at all by any kind of social distancing. No, in fact, quite the opposite.
But this epidemic sadly increases your risk of diseases. The report states that if you are touched by this epidemic, your disease and heart condition risks increase by 29% and 32% respectively.
This epidemic has affected 61% of adults. But it has especially targeted younger people. In the last two decades, this epidemic has increased 70% in teenagers and young adults ages 15-24.
It’s been devastating in so many ways.
What is this epidemic? Let me read you the title of the surgeon general’s report: Our Epidemic of Loneliness and Isolation.
The trend of more and more loneliness began way before the COVID pandemic but was heightened by it.
Think about this: We live in a world where we have more interaction with other people through social media, yet we are more and more lonely.
We live in a world where we have hundreds of so-called “friends,” online, yet we feel isolated. And I think you know some of the tragic results of loneliness.
In speaking with several of you, I know that some of you are lonely - lonely to different degrees and for different reasons. And we go through phases of loneliness in our lifetime. I remember driving into the Atlanta area for the first time back in the mid-90s. I had taken a job here. But I didn’t know a single soul. Those first few months were very lonely. But by God’s grace, through the church, I began to develop some fast friends. Many with whom I am still friends today.
Proverbs speaks to our hearts about friendship. It not only tells us the importance of friendship, but it directs us to what faithful friendship looks like. And it also warns us about superficial friends.
My hope this morning is that each of us would see, in a deeper way, the importance of friendship… and how to be a faithful friend to one another.
With that in mind, let’s first consider the foundation to faithful friendship and then second, the folly of fake friendship. After that, we’ll talk about where to begin.
The Foundation to Faithful Friendship
As I was contemplating these verses, three categories stood out to me that summarize a faithful friend.
A faithful friend (1) provides steadfast support through the joys and trials of life, (2) imparts God’s wisdom in love, and (3) nurtures mutual brotherhood. (2x)
Some of these verses fit nicely into one of these categories, but a couple of them speak to more than one category.
(1) steadfast support
Let’s begin with the steadfast support one. I am including the phrase “through the joys and trials of life” because think of the different kinds of experiences in life. Joys include celebrations and success and other kinds of milestones, and trials include different kinds of suffering and sadness and difficult change.
And a true friend is one who is there. It’s someone who is present and who endures with you through thick and thin.
I think the Proverb that most embodies this characteristic is 17:17. “A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.”
If you are going through one of life’s valleys– no matter what it is whether grief or doubt or persecution of some kind, a true friend will be there for you. He or she will encourage you if needed, or be present with you if needed, or care for and provide. That friend will know you and how to care for your soul. And if you are both going through that adversity together, you can support one another through that time.
Proverbs 18:24 also captures this in a different way: “A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.”
A companion, by the way, is someone with whom you share something in common or you occasionally spend time together. In other words, a casual friend.
If you only have people in your life who are companions, then when adversity comes, you may not have someone there for you. “…but a friend,” it says, “sticks closer than a brother.” Someone you are knit close to will be there for you.
A couple of these other verses similarly emphasize this kind of steadfastness, like the one that says, “do not forsake your friend or your father’s friend…”
And this kind of steadfast support needs to be demonstrated. What I mean is, it’s one thing to say you are faithful, but it’s another thing to confirm it with your actions. That’s what Proverbs 20:6 says. “Many a man proclaims his own steadfast love, but a faithful man who can find?”
So, that’s the first category – steadfast faithfulness.
(2) imparts God’s wisdom in love
The second characteristic in these verses is how a friend imparts God’s wisdom in love.
This is about loving your friends by giving counsel - not the world’s counsel, but wisdom from the Word. That may be listening to and praying with your friend through a big decision in life. It may be giving godly advice.
For example, look at Proverbs 27:9 “Oil and perfume make the heart glad, and the sweetness of a friend comes from his earnest counsel.” A dear friend helps to apply God’s word in various situations in life.
Sometimes that means gently exhorting them when you see a disconnect between their actions and faith in Christ. Take, for example, Proverbs 27:5-6 – It says there in the middle – “Faithful are the wounds of a friend; profuse are the kisses of an enemy.” A friend speaks the truth in love.
Let me add, a friend supports you but does not enable you.
And let me give you an example. Let’s say you are married. Maybe you are. And you are going through a rough patch. And you go to your friend and say, “I’m really hurt. My husband (or my wife) said this difficult thing to me.” Whatever it is… If your friend says back to you “I can’t believe he (or she) said that. You have a right to be angry. That’s the worst thing I’ve heard in a while. I hope that you dished it back at him.” Well, that is not being a good friend.
A faithful friend will instead say something like “I’m so sorry. That sounds very difficult. Can I pray with you and encourage you?” And then later have a deeper conversation about what transpired. And if there were hurtful things said on both sides, encouraging your friend to seek forgiveness from her spouse.
That’s a pretty different kind of response, isn’t it?
I heard someone say the other day “there is no such thing as ‘I love you but’.” Meaning, if you love someone you will always affirm them. That’s not what the Scriptures teach. No, quite the contrary. Displaying love to a friend is speaking the wisdom and truth of God to them. The book of James ends with this word: “My brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death...”
Now, that’s the extreme case. Often times, we just need a gentle correction. Or a reminder of God’s Word in matters of doctrine or practice.
So, first, a faithful friend is there for you in the joys and sorrows of life. Second, a faithful friend speaks God’s wisdom to you, in love.
(3) nurtures mutual brotherhood.
And third, a faithful friend nurtures mutual brotherhood - brotherhood in the sense it’s used in Scripture meaning brotherly love. Phileo. It’s mutual. To use another word, it’s reciprocal. It’s giving and receiving. Good friends support one another. Not in a selfish way, but in an edifying way.
It’s really difficult to be in a friendship that’s always one-sided, meaning one friend is always the one who gives in the ways we already talked about. To be sure, there will be times when one friend needs to pour her life into her friend. That’s part of what it means to be an enduring friend. But healthy friendships are mutual.
Look at the very first Proverbs listed. 11:25 “Whoever brings blessing will be enriched, and one who waters will himself be watered.” There’s that mutual relationship.
Here’s another one: Proverbs 27:17 “Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another.” I think that Proverb is in every single men’s ministry book I’ve ever read. The reason is, it captures both the second point of speaking wisdom to a brother as well as this point, reciprocating brotherly love by sharpening one another.
It’s a great one because faithful friends nurture and challenge one another.
So steadfast faithfulness, speaking the truth in love, and mutual brotherhood.
The greatest example in the Bible of these principles lived out is the friendship between King David and Jonathan. Jonathan was King Saul’s son. We read about their friendship earlier from 1 Samuel 18 and 19.
These two men, David and Jonathan, loved each other with that phileo - brotherly love. They forged a two-way covenant friendship. They fought alongside one another in battle. Jonathan defended David from King Saul’s jealousy. And after Jonathan died in battle, David not only wept bitterly, but later in honor of Jonathan, David cared for Jonathan’s son Mephibosheth. Mephibosheth essentially became part of David’s family.
And think about this, King Solomon, David’s son, would have heard about his father’s friendship with Jonathan. Solomon never met Jonathan. Jonathan died before Solomon was born. But Solomon would have known Mephibosheth. Solomon would have read the prophet Samuel’s account of David and Jonathan’s friendship - the very words we read earlier. And I think it’s safe to assume that King David would have spoken about Jonathan and so would, of course, Mephibosheth.
So, as Solomon was composing and compiling these Proverbs on friendship, one of the examples of a faithful friendship was his father’s friendship with Jonathan.
It's a beautiful picture of faithful friendship.
And I get angry when I hear people say that David and Jonathan’s friendship included intimacy in inappropriate ways. The Scriptures in no way paints that picture. These were brothers, knit together with that phileo love and trust to defend and support one another.
For the guys here… deep friendships with other men is critical for each one of us. If you are married, yes, your wife should be your closest friend in many ways. But you need other guys like this to sharpen you - to be there for you and to both challenge and encourage you.
Ok, let me say one more thing about friendship and love. As you know, one of the most common passages used in weddings is 1 Corinthians 13 – the love chapter. I think I’ve preached 3-4 wedding homilies on it. But you know what, that chapter is not about marriage. No, the book of 1 Corinthians is written to draw the Christians in Corinth back to unity with and love for one another. Certainly 1 Corinthians 13 applies to marriage, but it’s primarily about brotherly love.
Hear these familiar words… “Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.”
The similarities are striking between Proverbs description of faithful friends and 1 Corinthians 13.
That’s because it’s the love between friends. It was the love that David and Jonathan had for one another. And it’s the love we each need in faithful friendship.
The Folly of Fake Friendship
That brings us now to the opposite of genuine deep friendship and that is fake friendship. You can see those verses on the right, The Folly of Fake Friendship.
These verses capture the general folly of false friends... false friends are convenient friends. They are only a friend to you because they can get something from you or vice versa. Or false friends are superficial because their friendship with you is not based on trust and love but is just a means-to-an-end.
The main example here is how someone with wealth has many friends and someone in poverty has few. You see that in Proverbs 19:4 and 6. It says, “Wealth brings many new friends, but a poor man is deserted by his friend. Many seek the favor of a generous man, and everyone is a friend to a man who gives gifts.” The point is that the friends of the wealthy are often not genuine. Their interests are more “what can you give me” rather than genuine reasons of mutual brotherhood.
I’ve always found Proverbs 15:17 humorous. “Better is a dinner of herbs where love is than a fattened ox and hatred with it.” Amy has tried to get me to eat more herbs – like, you know, basil and cilantro…. something about nutrients and anti-oxidants. But, of course, I’d rather have fattened ox.
Actually, I think the point is more about poverty and wealth. A dinner of inexpensive herbs with faithful friends is so much better than dining on the choicest of foods with fake friends.
And maybe it’s not money, but maybe instead it’s the other person’s popularity. Or their lifestyle that you like participating in… or because it will advance your career or your status in the community. Or because they are an expert at something, and you are intrigued by that. Or because they can become a client of yours.
This reminded me of a painful story in college. I had a friend, a good friend, who signed up for Amway. And, of course, he wanted to tell me about the products he was selling. I listened, but in the end, I politely declined. My reason was that I didn’t want our friendship to be complicated by multi-level marketing or salesy type things. But he kept pushing and he wouldn’t take “no” for an answer. That eventually drove us apart and we haven’t talked since. When I think about what happened, it’s always grieved my heart.
Think about it this way: shallow convenient friendships don’t have the foundation of faithful friendships.
· Instead of standing by you through trials, a superficial friend is going to flee.
· Instead of speaking the truth in love, a superficial friend is going to lie or tell you what you want to hear.
· And especially this last one… instead of reciprocation, a superficial friendship is one sided. It’s a “what have you done for me lately” friendship.
And that is sad.
Finding Faithful Friends
But it doesn’t have to be that way.
The question is, how do you be a faithful friend?
And the answer is, you look to the one who is the most faithful friend. You begin with and look to Jesus. He’s truly the one who has fulfilled these proverbs. Like back to 20:6 He promises steadfast love and he has faithfully fulfilled that steadfast love.
Jesus modelled and fulfilled that kind of friendship with his disciples… especially his inner circle – Peter, James, and John. They served alongside of Jesus. He poured out his wisdom to them. He was there to lift them up when they lacked of faith. He called them out when they misunderstood, and he loved them. He washed their feet.
And think about this. All of Jesus disciples left him when he was arrested. Peter was even there in the courtyard that night where they had taken Jesus. And yet, instead of standing by Jesus, Peter denied him three times. Yet, Jesus remained faithful to him and all of his disciples.
Despite their unfaithfulness, Jesus faithfully endured the cross. Through his faithfulness, he redeemed their unfaithfulness.
And after Jesus resurrection and ascension, an amazing thing happened. Peter, James, and John became the epitome of faithful friends to Jesus. They risked their lives to defend Christ and proclaim his truth. They would ultimately die for him, that his name may be exalted.
Jesus faithfulness to them, gave them courage and hope to be faithful to him to the end.
This is the friend that we have in Jesus.
And to be sure, we do not need to set aside our reverent awe for Jesus. He is not our “pal,” so to speak. No, he’s the kind of faithful friend described here… and he is our Savior and our Lord. We can come to him in prayer. We can bare our hearts to him knowing that he bore the cross for us and he hears us. He is the most faithful friend for each of us.
And it is out of that friendship with Christ that we can seek and be faithful friends with one another.
I’m not saying we can’t have faithful friends who don’t yet know the Lord, but I am saying that our closest friends will share that friendship in Jesus. Why is that?
· Well, because #1 it is through the faithful ministry of Christ that we can love and support one another through all of life.
· And #2 because Jesus turned our hearts and minds to him, we can speak his wisdom into each other’s hearts and minds.
To say it in another way, our friendship with Christ enables our friendships with one another.
With that in mind, let me close with two practical encouragements for each of us.
· First, loneliness is real here among our church family. We are brothers and sisters in Christ. And so, as we look out for the needs of one another, one of our deepest needs is faithful friends. That means, if you see a brother or sister in Christ here who seems disconnected, let’s work together as a church family to foster friendships… that we may be a family known for our love and care and support of one another. And if you feel lonely, please share that with one of our ministry team leads or elders or with me so that we can be the body of Christ together.
· Second, every single human being has been created in God’s image. That means we were all created for relationships. As we think about our own need for friendships, we should also consider the need that our neighbors have for friendships. In the surgeon general’s report on loneliness, it included not only an analysis of loneliness and isolation, but it also included practical guidance - advice to different kinds of organizations including churches. And yes, a lot of that guidance was fostering friendships within the community. But the report also challenged organizations to foster friendship in the broader communities around them. And I think that’s a good word. One suggestion was to “lead by example” to quote the report. When the world sees a church community loving one another as faithful friends…. it testifies to the ministry of God in Christ in us. Another thing we can do is continue to be a welcoming community. That includes here on Sundays as well as the ministries in which we’re each involved in the community. Witnessing to Christ often comes through relationships with those whom God has brought into our lives.
So, may we each grow in our faithful friendship with one another. And in that endeavor, may we look to the one who is our faithful friend – Jesus our Lord. And may we testify to the world around us of the faithfulness of God in Christ as we build relationships in his name.
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Gluttony, Drunkenness, and the Grace of God
This morning our Proverbs topic is gluttony and drunkenness. Neither are a primary emphases in Proverbs, but there are several verses that speak to the issues.
While gluttony and drunkenness are related, they are also different. Gluttony is essentially indulgence in matters of food, but it does not lead to a mental impairment, so in that sense it is different than drunkenness, which does.
Also, I want to expand the topic beyond alcohol to include substance abuse. If we compare ancient Israel at the time of Proverbs with today, there’s a big difference in the quantity and availability of drugs. Opium was certainly available 3000 years ago, but today, as you know, there are many many more drugs on the streets. So, I think it’s important to apply these verses to include substance abuse and drug addictions.
One thing we will not consider this morning is pornography addiction. Although there are some similarities, if you were here in the fall, we spent time working through lust and pornography, as we worked through chapters 5 to 7. If you missed those, I really encourage you to go back and listen to them.
Please take out and open your Proverbs bulletin insert.
Reading
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Gluttony and Drunkenness
Proverbs 20:1 Wine is a mocker, strong drink a brawler,
and whoever is led astray by it is not wise.
23:20-21
Be not among drunkards or among gluttonous eaters of meat,
for the drunkard and the glutton will come to poverty,
and slumber will clothe them with rags.
23:29-35
29 Who has woe? Who has sorrow? Who has strife? Who has complaining?
Who has wounds without cause? Who has redness of eyes?
30 Those who tarry long over wine; those who go to try mixed wine.
31 Do not look at wine when it is red,
when it sparkles in the cup and goes down smoothly.
32 In the end it bites like a serpent and stings like an adder.
33 Your eyes will see strange things,
and your heart utter perverse things.
34 You will be like one who lies down in the midst of the sea,
like one who lies on the top of a mast.
35 “They struck me,” you will say,
“but I was not hurt; they beat me, but I did not feel it.
When shall I awake? I must have another drink.”
25:16 If you have found honey, eat only enough for you, lest you have your fill of it and vomit it.
28:7 The one who keeps the law is a son with understanding, but a companion of gluttons shames his father.
31:4-7
4 It is not for kings, O Lemuel,
it is not for kings to drink wine,
or for rulers to take strong drink,
5 lest they drink and forget what has been decreed
and pervert the rights of all the afflicted.
6 Give strong drink to the one who is perishing,
and wine to those in bitter distress;
7 let them drink and forget their poverty
and remember their misery no more.
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Prayer
These are sensitive topics. The reason I titled my sermon “Gluttony, Drunkenness, and the Grace of God” is because we need the grace of God in these struggles. To be sure, we need God’s grace in all of life, but I think with matters of addiction it is especially important to begin there given the shame that often comes with them… and how often recovery is a journey.
If you are a believer in Christ, let me remind you that you are his, forever. Just like in Jesus’ parable of the prodigal son, God the Father has given you his robe which indicates his blessing and honor. He has given you his signet ring indicating you are his son or daughter and will share in his inheritance. God has forgiven you and will forgive you in Christ. And he will never leave you or forsake you. And if the things that we are working through today are your struggles, know that God has given you the church to come alongside and help.
As we go through this, we are going to work out what that grace looks like in more detail, but I wanted remind you up front because God’s grace is at the heart of recovery from our sin and struggles.
The other thing I want to say up front is that you are not alone. It’s easy to come to church and look around and think that everyone else has it all together. The truth is: none of us has it all together. On our podcast this week, Amy quoted a friend of hers. This friend said, “we often compare our insides to everyone else’s outsides.” That is to say, we each know our own internal heart struggles and sin, but we don’t often know what other people’s are. It’s easy to presume because we often just see the outsides of others.
So, if you struggle with drinking or substance abuse or a kind of addiction, you are not alone here. We’ll talk later about how we can support one another.
Others of you may think that you are immune to such things. If you think that, I want to caution you that it’s something to which each and every one of us is susceptible. It may be triggered by a painful event, or it may be triggered by something out of the blue.
Let me give you an example. Several years ago, I was at six-flags with my family. They used to have an old rickety roller coaster. At least, I think it’s gone now. But anyway, we rode it one time and at the end of the ride, it came to a screeching halt. It felt like it went from 60 to 0 in 1 second. And I remember getting off the ride and my neck was a little sore. Well, two days later, I could hardly move my head. And then I started feeling pain radiating down my left arm all the way to my finger. It was very painful for months. Because of the pain, the doctor prescribed me Percocet. I didn’t think anything of it. I just knew that it provided a lot of relief. Well, over the 4-5 weeks that I was taking it, my desire for the drug became unrelated to the pain I was experiencing. I began taking them even when I wasn’t in pain. It was a scary moment for me when I realized what was happening. I got rid of the remaining pills and am thankful that a cortisone shot eventually relieved the pain.
Many things cause drinking and drug abuse and let me add, gluttony. I do want to talk through those root causes in a few minutes. But before we do, let’s spend some time in these Proverbs.
We generally learn two things from the Proverbs. First, the problem and second the impact.
Let’s first look at Proverbs 23 verse 31. It’s in that middle section of verses on the left. 23:31 says, “Do not look at wine when it is red, when it sparkles in the cup and goes down smoothly.” It’s speaking of a desire to drink. The wine is desirable to your eyes. You’ve become captivated by looking at it… not because it looks pretty, but because of its effect. And as it says, “it goes down smoothly.” In other words, you have to have it. And you have to have more of it.
Now, there’s nothing in Scripture that forbids drinking alcohol. You’ve probably heard different things like “Jesus first miracle was turning water into wine.” Or you’ve heard, “the feasts in the Old Testament included drinking wine, like the Passover meal. And likewise, the Lord’s supper was celebrated with wine.” Wine was a part of life.
But these verses are referring to something different. They’re referring to when your alcohol consumption brings you to the point of drunkenness. Look now at verse 33. “Your eyes will see strange things, and your heart utter perverse things.”
Your drinking has brought you to the place where you are mentally and physically impaired. Verse 34 continues the problem. It describes being in the middle of the sea on the mast of a boat. You can’t think straight because it feels like your body is swaying. Notice that twice it says you lie down. In other words, you can’t even walk. Those verses continue on and end on an ominous note. You say, “I must have another drink.” You’re addicted.
Can you see why I’m including substance abuse this morning? It does similar things as being drunk in how it affects your mental faculties.
Here’s the problem: Wisdom goes out the door. Drunkenness and getting high on whatever… strips away your ability to think and speak and act with wisdom. I’m speaking about the wisdom that God has given you. Instead, it turns you into a fool. Note the very first verse listed there. Proverbs 20:1 “Wine is a mocker, strong drink a brawler, and whoever is led astray by it is not wise.” It steals God’s wisdom in you and replaces it with foolishness.
You will do and say things that are that are not honoring to God or others. For example, if you travel for work… and at night you go to the bar with your work friends, and you have one or two or three too many. Well, you will say and do things unbecoming of your calling in Christ.
If you then get in a car and drive, your utter foolishness may destroy your life and others made in God’s image.
In a few minutes, we’ll be digging deep into the grace of God in Christ in different ways. But let me say, God’s grace does not minimize the seriousness and foolishness of these sin struggles. Rather, by his grace, he forgives and helps us overcome them. I hope that difference makes sense. Hold on for a few more minutes until we get there.
Before that, let’s go back to the Proverbs. Let me highlight a couple of other consequences.
First, Proverbs 31:4-5. It says there in the second line, “it is not for kings to drink wine, or for rulers to take strong drink, lest they drink and forget what has been decreed and pervert the rights of all the afflicted.” The consequences of drunkenness or addictions affect those for whom you are responsible. For a king, it’s those in his dominion. For a parent, it’s those in your family. Like Proverbs 31 here, the collateral damage of your addiction may be heavy.
But also, part of the impact is financial. Look back up at Proverbs 23 verses 20-21. In the middle there, it says, “the drunkard and the glutton will come to poverty.” This is another example of wisdom going out the door. Addictions lead to a squandering of resources, which leads to self-inflicted poverty… and if you are married, poverty for you and your family.
Gluttony is included here because, as you know, good food is expensive! Over-indulging day after day will also lead down the same path.
By the way, when I read verse 25:16 about honey, it reminded me of a funny story. Our family was sitting around the kitchen table a long time ago. The kids were young, and they were talking about honey and butter… and one of them said. “when I get older, I am going to make a note to myself, ‘eat butter and drink honey’.” Well, we all have ambitions in life. I guess some are about food.
On a serious note, let me take a brief interlude to talk about gluttony. At the heart of the Hebrew word for glutton is excess. It means excessive feasting and/or partying. Drinking may be part of that or may not. It’s eating or partying often, for the pleasure of it. It’s turning something good into something you live for. Gluttony can become an addiction and at times just as debilitating as other addictions.
Two weeks ago, I quoted CS Lewis’s book Screwtape Letters about being slothful. I’m going to quote it again because he has a whole chapter on gluttony. It’s quite convicting. Screwtape, a senior demon in the devil’s army, writes this about how to tempt men. He says, “males are best turned into gluttons with the help of their vanity. They… think themselves very knowing about food, …[like] having found the only restaurant in town where steaks are really ‘properly’ cooked. What begins as vanity can then be gradually turned into habit. But, however you approach it, the [best] thing is to bring him into the state in which the denial of any one indulgence-it matters not which, champagne or tea… or cigarettes ‘puts him out,’” In modern terms, if he can’t have his favorite BBQ or craft beer, he feels robbed. Screwtape continues that at that moment… “his chastity, justice, and obedience are all at your mercy. Mere excess in food is much less valuable than delicacy.”
Maybe we should call that “sophisticated gluttony.” It’s often our kind of gluttony. And what it does is it steals your heart away from God… and away from true pleasures which are found in him.
At this point, let’s now come back and let’s talk through some of the root causes of these struggles and God’s grace. For us in this room, I don’t think that partying is what leads us down these paths. Although maybe for some. Rather, I think our struggle with alcohol and addiction including gluttony is most often caused by deeper struggles and heartaches, like depression or anxiety or grief.
The reason we’re tempted to turn to these things is because they numb the pain and heartache temporarily. They become an escape mechanism where we self-medicate to try and survive the sorrow that we carry. Instead of turning to Jesus, we turn to alcohol or drugs. That may be recreational drugs or abuse of prescription drugs.
Before exploring those root causes, I do feel a need to comment on Proverbs 31:6 It says, “Give strong drink to the one who is perishing, and wine to those in bitter distress;” Yes, it sanctions the use of alcohol to sooth physical and emotional pain, but only for extreme cases - someone dying and someone in “bitter” distress. But note also that it’s monitored. Someone is giving the drink in a medicative sort of way. That verse is not saying that alcohol is the solution.
When we self-medicate with alcohol and drugs, we are looking to those things as solutions, and we are not seeking to resolve the source of our anxiety or depression. In fact, when these things become an addiction, it often only exacerbates the heartache and pain we experience. It adds to our woe, our sorrow, our strife, and our complaining. Those are the exact words that Proverbs 23:29 uses to describe someone addicted to wine.
· You may be here today struggling with an addiction. Maybe this is your first or second time here and the Lord brought you here for a reason. What I want you to know today is that God offers his grace and help.
· Now, you may not struggle with alcohol or drugs (or excessive eating), but maybe today you are weighed down because of some traumatic event or pain in your life. What I want you to know today is that God offers his grace and help. Same grace, same help.
· For many of you, perhaps at this moment in your life, you neither struggle with these addictions nor are you currently burdened with sorrow. What I want you to hold onto today is that God offers his grace and help when those times come.
In other words, God offers his grace to help free us from addictions and on the long journey to recovery. And he offers his grace and help to keep us from alcohol and substance abuse.
God’s grace ministers in different ways depending on the burdens you bear.
I have a dear friend who has been involved in Celebrate Recovery. It’s a Christ-centered ministry for any kind of addiction. He shared with me about a friend he met at CR as it’s sometimes known. His friend had been trapped by both alcoholism and a drug addiction.
By God’s grace this man has been on an amazing journey of healing. One of the things that they do at CR is drill deep into the causes so that they can apply the Gospel to the specific underlying struggles. They recognize that addiction is almost always a “fruit issue” and not a “root issue.” Fruit issues are more easily addressed once the root issues have been brought into the light… so that the Gospel of Grace may bring healing.
When this man started pealing back the layers which caused his addictions, he first realized a deep self-hatred. He had been getting high and drunk to escape from himself. As he went deeper to the source of that self-hatred, he realized that his anger was also directed at his mother. You see, she had mistreated him when he was young. He found out that his mom’s anger at him was because she had a miscarriage before this man was born. His mom had lost a baby girl and she had hoped that he would be a girl. Because of her own pain from the miscarriage and anger at him, she emotionally abandoned him.
In this man’s life, four things were instrumental in his recovery.
· First, forgiving his mother for her anger toward and abandonment of him. His ability to forgive her came through the grace of God in Christ who had forgiven him.
· Number 2 - knowing that even though his mom abandoned him, God will never abandon him. In Christ, God has secured his salvation for eternity. Even with setbacks, he knows he is secure in Christ forever… and he can persevere on the path of sanctification in him.
· Third, he knows that he is loved by God because he has been redeemed by Christ. His self-hatred has been replaced by the love of God in Christ for him.
· And fourth, a grace-oriented community of Christian brothers came alongside of him in his recovery journey.
On that last point about the church, I want to add something. My friend told me about his own journey. He said that if it hadn’t been for a family member and his pastor intervening, he would have died. But God used his family and his church family to minister God’s grace to him.
For both of these men, their journey to recovery has come through God’s love and grace in Christ. The journey is often hard and rocky, but the transforming work of the Gospel brings healing and hope.
Let me touch upon a couple of other causes of addictions and how God’s grace intervenes.
· Feelings of insecurity or inadequacy. We all want to be able to fit in and have friends. We sometimes think we need to act in a certain way to be accepted. We may be afraid of how we’ll be treated, or we may have fears because of past relationships. Those struggles can turn someone to alcohol to either change the way he or she acts or as a coping mechanism. The truth is, if you are believer in Christ, your identity is in him. And that is a blessed reality now. You are secure in him, and you can hold on to him through all your feelings of inadequacy and failure. And those feelings can be transformed to surety and confidence in Christ.
· Another common root cause is anxiety. Pressures at work, or in your family, or conflict with others or a move or a health condition… or a combination of those can stir up deep levels of anxiety in your heart. The problem is, when you self-medicate with alcohol or drugs, those initial feelings of relief are often followed by more intense anxiety. In fact, anxiety can accelerate an addiction because the lows get lower and you have to drink more and longer to sustain those fleeting feelings of false peace. Friends, true peace and stability and freedom from worry comes through a growing foundation of knowing the promises of God and his Gospel.
· And the last one I want to mention: depression. Depression is a difficult one because there are so many factors that lead to depression. It may be hereditary. It may be because of grief or one of the other factors I already mentioned. It may be loneliness or caused by a difficult life situation. It may be seasonal or postpartum. Similar to anxiety, drinking or drug abuse may give you relief from the sadness, but it is only a fleeting relief. It’s a false relief. True joy and hope is found in Christ. To be sure, there are some helpful treatments available for depression. But the path to recovery needs to begin with God and the amazing hope that we have in Christ.
As Psalm 18 says, “The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised, and I am saved from my enemies.”
In closing, I know that often times addictions are stigmatized in the church. And I know that often times we feel shame for our current and past struggles in this area. But I also know that we have a Savior who knows our weakness. He is a friend and redeemer of sinners. Every single one of us needs him. We need the hope and joy and forgiveness that God the Father offers us in his Son through the grace and reconciliation of the cross.
If one of these things is your struggle, please reach out to me or one of our elders. We will not be surprised nor make you feel ashamed, but we will come alongside you… both to pray for you and to help you on the journey to be restored and healed.
Pray
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Discernment, Discretion, and Answering the Fool
Our proverb’s focus this morning is on discernment, discretion, and whether to answer a fool in his folly. Originally, I was planning on preaching these in two sermons, “Discernment and Discretion” and Answering a fool. But I realized that the verses about answering a fool in his folly are really about discernment. So, I thought we’s take them together.
If you’ll take out you proverbs insert, we’re starting with a few verses from chapter 23. If you’d like to read them directly, you can find those verses on page 646 in the provided Bibles. We’ll start with those verses from chapter 23 and then read the read the rest of the selected verses on the insert.
Reading of Selected Proverbs.
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Proverbs 23:1-3; 6-9
1 When you sit down to eat with a ruler,
observe carefully what is before you,
2 and put a knife to your throat
if you are given to appetite.
3 Do not desire his delicacies,
for they are deceptive food.
6 Do not eat the bread of a man who is stingy;
do not desire his delicacies,
7 for he is like one who is inwardly calculating.
“Eat and drink!” he says to you,
but his heart is not with you.
8 You will vomit up the morsels that you have eaten,
and waste your pleasant words.
9 Do not speak in the hearing of a fool,
for he will despise the good sense of your words.
Pursue Discretion and Discernment
11:22 Like a gold ring in a pig's snout
is a beautiful woman without discretion.
18:13 If one gives an answer before he hears, it is his folly and shame.
25:7b-10
7b What your eyes have seen
do not hastily bring into court,
8 for what will you do in the end,
when your neighbor puts you to shame?
9 Argue your case with your neighbor himself,
and do not reveal another's secret,
10 lest he who hears you bring shame upon you,
and your ill repute have no end.
25:15 With patience a ruler may be persuaded,
and a soft tongue will break a bone.
25:17 Let your foot be seldom in your neighbor's house,
lest he have his fill of you and hate you.
25:20 Whoever sings songs to a heavy heart
is like one who takes off a garment on a cold day,
and like vinegar on soda.
27:14 Whoever blesses his neighbor with a loud voice,
rising early in the morning, will be counted as cursing.
Answering a Fool and His Folly
13:20 Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise,
but the companion of fools will suffer harm.
14:7 Leave the presence of a fool,
for there you do not meet words of knowledge.
17:12 Let a man meet a she-bear robbed of her cubs
rather than a fool in his folly.
26:1 Like snow in summer or rain in harvest, so honor is not fitting for a fool.
26:4-6
4 Answer not a fool according to his folly,
lest you be like him yourself.
5 Answer a fool according to his folly,
lest he be wise in his own eyes.
6 Whoever sends a message by the hand of a fool
cuts off his own feet and drinks violence.
26:8 Like one who binds the stone in the sling
is one who gives honor to a fool.
26:10 Like an archer who wounds everyone
is one who hires a passing fool or drunkard.
29:9 If a wise man has an argument with a fool,
the fool only rages and laughs, and there is no quiet.
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Prayer
Last year, a guy named Young Baek was crowned king of coffee tasters. It’s a thing. The formal job title is coffee cupper. It’s the person who tests the quality of coffee batches on behalf of producers or buyers. Their taste buds are highly refined. Mr. Baek is constantly practicing and honing his skill. He studies beans from all over the world and soils and altitudes. He intimately knows the different roasting methods. And when he’s tasting, he can identify impurities in the beans or issues in the roasting or finishing.
Basically, being an expert coffee cupper requires three things:
· First, it requires knowledge about all things coffee and beans.
· Second, it requires understanding the problems that may arise when the beans are processed.
· Those first two things are the easy part. The third thing is applying that knowledge and understanding practically when you taste the coffee. In other words, having coffee discernment.
And those three things are very similar to wisdom. Wisdom, as Proverbs has taught us, requires:
· First, knowledge. Knowing God, his Word and his world
· Second, having wisdom requires an understanding of what is good and right and true compared to what is not.
· And third, wisdom requires discernment. Discernment is basically applying that knowledge and God’s standard of right and wrong in life situations.
That definition of wisdom is how King Solomon began Proverbs back in chapter 1. And he’s been, or I should say, God has been working that out that definition in different ways throughout the book.
What I’m saying is that discernment, Biblical discernment, is part of the equation of having wisdom. You can’t have wisdom without discernment.
Our goal today, therefore, is to answer two questions: what is discernment? And how do we learn discernment so that we may mature in wisdom? In other words, how do we become a coffee cupper in life?
I want you to look on the front page of the proverbs insert. You’ll see that Proverbs give us two main contrasts. Those are in the bold. We’ve been talking recently about wisdom contrasted with foolishness. In a couple of months, we’ll be getting into the second main contrast. Righteousness and wickedness. Notice also that several of the sub-categories in Proverbs are also contrasts. Like last week, sloth versus industry. Or two weeks ago deceit versus honesty. A little further down the list you’ll see others like pride versus humility, anger and hate versus peace and love. Just and unjust leadership.
You see, one of the things that God is teaching us in proverbs is discernment. Not just knowing what wisdom and foolishness and righteousness and wickedness are… but being able to differentiate between all of the categories listed here and apply that understanding in life - in your life, in the situations that you find yourself in, and the people that God has brought into your life.
Discernment
Ok, let’s now look at some of these verses. Let’s start with those opening verses in Proverbs 23. It’s a helpful illustration of discernment.
You are sitting down to eat with a king. He’s invited you. And there’s an amazing spread of delicacies from all over the world. His goal, however, may be to distract you or to bribe you or for you to become indebted to him. It’s deception as verse 3 puts it – deceptive food. And notice what verse 2 says – “put a knife to your throat if you are given to appetite.” In other words, your appetite could be your undoing in that situation. You will fall prey to the king. What it’s saying is you will need self-control in those situations.
What is discernment in that scenario? Well, it’s knowing the human condition. It’s seeing beyond what is in front of you. It’s understanding both the heart of the king and your own heart. And it’s responding by not falling into his trap. You see that?
And verses 6-8 are similar. But instead of a ruler, you are being offered food from a man who is stingy. He may say, “eat and drink” but he will hate you if you actually eat and drink.
So, having discernment is the ability to navigate the complexities of a situation. It’s being able to apply your knowledge of God, his Word, and his world to a situation. First and foremost, discernment is understanding. Look at Proverbs 18:13. It’s on the left side of the page. “If one gives an answer before he hears, it is his folly and shame.” Our tendency is to react immediately or overreact in a situation… or presume something and respond out of that presumption.
But first, we need to listen in order to understand. Perhaps ask questions, or if that is not appropriate, observe what’s going on. Evaluate the situation through the lens of what we have been learning in Proverbs.
Then, ask yourself, how should I respond? Should I even respond at all?
So discernment is, in a sense, decision making. It begins with evaluating and understanding a situation and then it moves into responding. It’s knowing what is appropriate and not appropriate. Follow me?
Now, we will talk about how to gain discernment and therefore grow in wisdom. Hang on for a few minutes. We’ll get there.
But before we get there, let’s consider two practical areas of discernment from these verses. First discretion and second interacting with a fool.
Discretion
That word discretion is used there in Proverbs 11:22. That may be the most well-known Proverb in this group. “Like a gold ring in a pig's snout is a beautiful woman without discretion.” Discretion is having good judgment to act appropriately and thoughtfully. In that verse, if a woman with external beauty flaunts her beauty, or has no moral sensibilities nor propriety, or perhaps she is rude and unruly, then she is, in fact, not beautiful. Ether her indiscretion overshadows her external beauty, or her indiscretion takes away her beauty. She’s either the gold ring in a pig’s snout… or she’s the pig with a gold ring. Either way, it is to her shame.
Ok, part of having discretion is being sensitive to situations.
Let’s say that your neighbor is going through a tough time. And you want to help her with yard work. So, you get up at 7am on Saturday, you get your leaf blower out, and you start blowing her leaves. Well, Proverbs 27:14 addresses that: “Whoever blesses his neighbor with a [leaf blower], rising early in the morning, will be counted as cursing.” I think we can relate to that one. That’s poor judgment.
And there are a couple of other examples of this… like not rushing to court to expose your neighbor. That one is about being discrete, and first going to your neighbor.
I like how Coleman described it earlier this week. He said it’s like having good emotional intelligence. That applies to discernment in general, but I think it especially applies to having discretion. It’s being able to understand the emotional dynamics going on, including your own… and responding appropriately. Proverbs 25:20 captures that. “Whoever sings songs to a heavy heart is like one who takes off a garment on a cold day…” It goes back to navigating what is appropriate and inappropriate and responding in measure.
So, to summarize, having discretion is acting with thoughtful judgment. It’s being careful and sensitive. You can think about it this way, discretion is essentially applying your discernment in situations with others.
Answering a Fool
Ok, so that is discernment and discretion – understanding and acting. Which brings us now to a very focused application of that. Interacting with fools.
Now, before we go there, I think it would be helpful for me to summarize Proverbs teaching on the fool. We considered a few weeks ago the contrast between the wise and the fool. How the fool pursues folly and the wise pursues wisdom. As a reminder…
· A fool is someone who ignores or rejects seeking knowledge, understanding, and guidance. That’s either actively or passively.
· A fool also disregards moral truth and he opposes God’s wisdom.
· In addition, Proverbs describes a fool as being very much wrapped up in himself, and his thoughts. He is right in his own eyes, and he acts out of his selfish disregard for others and he acts out of his rejection of truth and goodness.
· A fool flaunts his folly. Remember that Proverb. And we’ve seen a couple of examples of foolishness so far. Last week was about the sluggard. And the week before about how a fool lacks integrity and is instead deceitful.
So, with that in mind, how should you relate to a fool? How should you respond to a fool in his folly?
Of course, this takes us to Proverbs 26 verses 4-5. You see them on the right side of the sheet. Verse 4 – “Answer not a fool…” and verse 5 “Answer a fool…” So, which is it?
Now, some have critiqued Proverbs because of this seeming contradiction. But the thing is, those verses are intentionally together. The reason is, it takes discernment to know if, how, and when to answer a fool.
Let me give you an example of how not to answer a fool. And I want to do that with a modern-day parable. Some of you have heard of Juha, especially down in front here. Juha is a middle eastern man living somewhere in the Arabian Peninsula.
Well, one day Juha was in the market. And he ran into a guy who loved to argue. It didn’t matter what, he just liked to disagree. And this guy said to Juha. “Did you know, the sky is green and the grass is blue?” Juha couldn’t pass up the opportunity to respond. “The sky is not green and the grass is not blue. You are out of your mind. The sky is blue and the grass is green.” “No it’s not, the guy answered.
Well, Juha and this guy went at it for a long time. They caused so much disturbance in the marketplace that the police showed up and arrested both of them.
They were soon brought before the judge. Juha knew that he would finally be vindicated. The judge, of course, would agree that the sky was blue and the grass green… and besides that, the judge was his friend.
And so, the judge listened to both sides of the story. And then he pronounced his judgment. He ordered Juha to spend a week in jail.
Well, as you can imagine, Juha was shocked and confused. He waited until the courtroom emptied, then asked the Judge: “Judge, you know the sky is blue and the grass is green. How could you rule against me and send me to jail for a week?”
The Judge replied, “You’re not going to jail because of the color of the sky or the grass! No, you are going to jail for disturbing the peace by arguing with a fool in the market and then wasting my time by bringing the stupid argument into my courtroom!”
Juha learned his lesson the hard way.
You see, answering a fool by stooping down to the level of his foolishness is not how to answer a fool. Look at verse 26:4 again. “Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest you be like him yourself.” You see how that directs us not to enter into a fool’s folly? Now, verse 4 could either mean, don’t answer him at all, or it could mean, don’t answer him using his foolish ways. I think either interpretation is fine.
If you look at the very last Proverb listed, 29:9 it’s similar. “If a wise man has an argument with a fool, the fool only rages and laughs, and there is no quiet.” Juha would have been served well to know that one.
So, if you choose to answer a fool, how should you do it? Verse 26:5 gives us some clarity: “Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own eyes.” What it means is to answer by revealing the folly of his ways. The purpose would be for him to see his foolish ways, or to at least know that what he thinks… is regarded as folly.
In a conversation, that would mean changing the direction of the conversation. It would be showing him (in some way) why his thinking or his actions are self-contradictory or selfish or unwise in whatever way… Just know that depending on the situation, that may only stir up more folly. If so, then maybe you should not respond.
So, in the end, how do you know if, when, and how to answer a fool? Well, it takes wisdom and discernment. And so, we’ve come full circle.
Learning Discernment
Which brings us back to the question of “how?” How do we grow in discernment so that we may mature in wisdom?
Again, we’re talking about Biblical discernment. Now, there is discernment in a general sense of the word that is something available to all people, Christians and non-Christians. It’s someone with a keen sense to understand situations and people. And that’s good. But the discernment that Proverbs speaks of goes much further. It’s a discernment based on the wisdom and knowledge of God. It is a discernment that understands God’s commands and the righteousness to which he calls us.
And so the obvious prerequisites to having discernment are having the first two components of wisdom. First, knowledge… knowledge of God, his word and world. And second, an understanding of righteousness. Let’s take those one at a time.
· First, the knowledge part. It’s knowing what God has revealed. Or to put it another way, it’s having a worldview based on what God has revealed. Revealed in his Word and revealed in the creation around us. You have to have those. First, you have to be in God’s word to know God’s word. There’s no substitute for that. And, second, you have to be a student of God’s creation – his general revelation. To be sure, we are limited in our knowledge. So, I’m talking about having a general understanding of how the world works, how people are, and how people and systems interrelate. And that includes a general understanding of history. In order to pursue discernment, you have to be growing and learning in those things.
· Second, the morality part. It’s not just knowing God’s law. You have to know it, of course, but you have to believe and apply God’s commands in your life. I know I probably sound like a broken record sometimes, but I’m trying to ingrain this in your head: God’s wisdom necessarily requires pursuing righteousness. You can’t read Proverbs without seeing that over and over. And we’ve talked over and over about how that righteousness comes by and through Christ. We’ll come back to him in a minute.
So those are the two pre-requisites to Biblical discernment – growing in knowledge and righteousness.
And it’s from that platform that you then will be able to learn and grow in discernment. Discernment is being able to see how the different aspects of that knowledge and that righteousness interrelate in different circumstances. Hebrews 5 speaks to this. It says, “for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child.” It’s talking about not maturing in knowledge and righteousness. “But,” it says, “solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.”
It takes practice, like a coffee cupper. It takes learning from your mistakes and thoughtfully analyzing situations. It takes being with people in the marketplace. It takes serving and working and reading. It takes being around people with wisdom – that’s right there in Proverbs 13:20. “whoever walks with the wise becomes wise…”
And, of course, it involves prayer. Pray that God would give you wisdom and discernment in situations. In the book of James, God tells us to pray for wisdom, and he promises to give it to you graciously. Ask for the Holy Spirit to guide you as you navigate life.
Ok, here’s where I want to draw us back again to Christ and the Gospel. Because, in order to receive and grow in Biblical discernment, knowing Jesus and his Gospel of grace are the foundation.
Let me give you three reasons why.
· Number 1: Jesus is the perfect model of discernment. Even though we don’t have Jesus’ omniscience – how he intimately knew the hearts with whom he interacted, yet his interactions are still examples of discernment and discretion. All throughout his ministry, he was able to get to the core of the matter. He was able to call out the deceitful and reveal the folly of the fools with whom he interacted. There were times, on the way to the cross, that in discretion, he did not speak. There were times when he did. We could spend all afternoon considering each situation and how his great discernment was on display. The point is that in him we can grow in discernment as he leads us in discernment.
· Second: Discernment of situations outside of you first requires discernment inside. God has to first awaken your heart so that you may see your sin… as Proverbs puts it, your foolish and evil ways. That’s where discernment begins, seeing your need for him and the grace and forgiveness that God offers in Christ. Part of that internal discernment is knowing that when you are his you are a redeemed sinner. You are redeemed by faith. You are secure in that. But in this life, you will still struggle with sin. Discernment is knowing your own sin struggles as you seek to be discerning.
· And related to that, number 3 is the Gospel. As the apostle Paul put it, the Gospel is “the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes.” The Gospel includes that Jesus has redeemed you from your sin, but it’s also how God redeemed you. He accomplished your salvation through the most amazing display of wisdom and discernment - the cross. God, in all of his vast wisdom… in his perfect and eternal justice and love, and in his infinite power, discerned a way for his greater glory and our good. At the very center of his eternal wisdom and discernment is the cross. It’s where God’s infinite, eternal, and unchangeable justice and love intersect. It’s where Jesus, the eternal son of God, in his perfect righteousness took on the eternal consequences of our sin… as only he could as truly God and man. Is that not the most amazing wisdom and discernment? It is the lynchpin of all things - the center of history. What I’m saying is that in order to begin down the path of Biblical discernment, you need to know this Gospel. To know not just what God has done, but to believe it yourself, and to see Jesus for who he is, Lord and Savior.
This truth is what unlocks the door to your journey of wisdom and discernment.
So… may we each understand the importance of having discernment and discretion in our lives. May we each navigate, with the help of God’s Spirit, different situations and relationships through that Biblical discernment. And may we each mature in our discernment, through the grace of God in Christ through what he has done. Amen.
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The Ant and the Slug
Thank you to Coleman for his sermon last week on integrity and slander, and flattery, among other things. I listened to it a few days ago. Very well done! And I’m not trying to flatter him.
Well, as we’ve gone through the book of Proverbs, one of the amazing things is how timeless the proverbs are. I think you would agree. This book was written almost 3000 years ago… But no matter whether you lived back then or you live today, the human condition is the same. It’s just manifested in different ways.
This morning we’re considering the theme of sloth or idleness compared to diligence. In fact, it’s one of the more prominent themes in Proverbs. Clearly in King Solomon’s day, it was a significant issue. And I think that it’s also one of our struggles today.
Please take out your Proverbs reading insert. You’ll see that we are starting with a few verses from chapter 6 this morning. The first half of chapter 6 was the only portion of Solomon’s opening lessons that we saved for later. So we’re coming back to part of it now and in a few weeks, we’ll consider the rest of it.
If you would like to read those first verses from you Bible, please turn to Proverbs 6.
Please stand for the reading of God’s Word.
Reading of Proverbs 6:6-11 and selected proverbs
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Proverbs 6:6-11
Go to the ant, O sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise.
Without having any chief, officer, or ruler,
she prepares her bread in summer and gathers her food in harvest.
How long will you lie there, O sluggard? When will you arise from your sleep?
A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest,
and poverty will come upon you like a robber, and want like an armed man.
10:4-5 A slack hand causes poverty, but the hand of the diligent makes rich.
He who gathers in summer is a prudent son,
but he who sleeps in harvest is a son who brings shame.
10:26 Like vinegar to the teeth and smoke to the eyes,
so is the sluggard to those who send him.
12:11 Whoever works his land will have plenty of bread,
but he who follows worthless pursuits lacks sense.
12:24 The hand of the diligent will rule,
while the slothful will be put to forced labor.
12:27 Whoever is slothful will not roast his game,
but the diligent man will get precious wealth.
13:4 The soul of the sluggard craves and gets nothing,
while the soul of the diligent is richly supplied.
13:12 Hope deferred makes the heart sick,
but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life.
14:23 In all toil there is profit, but mere talk tends only to poverty.
15:19 The way of a sluggard is like a hedge of thorns,
but the path of the upright is a level highway.
16:26 A worker's appetite works for him; his mouth urges him on.
18:9 Whoever is slack in his work is a brother to him who destroys.
19:15 Slothfulness casts into a deep sleep, and an idle person will suffer hunger.
19:24 The sluggard buries his hand in the dish
and will not even bring it back to his mouth.
20:4 The sluggard does not plow in the autumn;
he will seek at harvest and have nothing.
20:13 Love not sleep, lest you come to poverty;
open your eyes, and you will have plenty of bread.
21:17 Whoever loves pleasure will be a poor man;
he who loves wine and oil will not be rich.
21:25-26
The desire of the sluggard kills him, for his hands refuse to labor.
All day long he craves and craves,
but the righteous gives and does not hold back.
22:13 The sluggard says, “There is a lion outside! I shall be killed in the streets!”
22:29 Do you see a man skillful in his work?
He will stand before kings; he will not stand before obscure men.
24:27 Prepare your work outside;
get everything ready for yourself in the field, and after that build your house.
24:30-34
I passed by the field of a sluggard,
by the vineyard of a man lacking sense,
and behold, it was all overgrown with thorns;
the ground was covered with nettles, and its stone wall was broken down.
Then I saw and considered it; I looked and received instruction.
A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest,
and poverty will come upon you like a robber, and want like an armed man.
25:13 Like the cold of snow in the time of harvest
is a faithful messenger to those who send him;
he refreshes the soul of his masters.
26:13-16
The sluggard says, “There is a lion in the road!
There is a lion in the streets!”
As a door turns on its hinges, so does a sluggard on his bed.
The sluggard buries his hand in the dish;
it wears him out to bring it back to his mouth.
The sluggard is wiser in his own eyes than seven men who can answer sensibly.
27:18 Whoever tends a fig tree will eat its fruit,
and he who guards his master will be honored.
28:19-20 Whoever works his land will have plenty of bread,
but he who follows worthless pursuits will have plenty of poverty.
A faithful man will abound with blessings,
but whoever hastens to be rich will not go unpunished.
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Prayer
A few years ago, ESPN hosted a contest which they called the “Ultimate Couch Potato.” The goal was to see who could last the longest in a recliner watching ESPN. The rules allowed only one stretch per hour. You were not allowed to sleep… and you could only take a bathroom break once every 8 hours. Oh, and they provided all the food and soft drinks you wanted. The winner went 72 hours. Can you believe that?
The guy received a new TV, a new recliner, and the coveted Ultimate Couch Potato trophy. By the way, it was the third year in a row this guy won. I suspect that’s why they discontinued the contest.
Our culture glorifies and enables laziness.
Here are some statistics. Americans spend, on average, 3 hours and 9 minutes a day streaming video content. On average, we spend 4 hours and 25 minutes on our phones every day. And weekly, we average 8-12 hours playing video games.
To quote the title of Neil Postman’s prophetic book, we are Amusing Ourselves to Death. He wrote that in 1985. Imagine what he would say today.
And social media and games are only one of the paths today to an idle and slothful lifestyle. As we read, Proverbs speaks to this. It warns against this. The problem is, such a life does not reflect the goodness of God’s creation in you, nor does it reflect God’s call for your life. Let me say that again, a slothful lifestyle does not reflect the goodness of God’s creation in you, nor does it reflect God’s call for you life.
That’s basically the summary for today. Let me tell you how we’re going to work that out.
1. First, we’ll analyze Proverb’s account of the slothful and the diligent. What it says
2. Next, we’ll look at the consequences. What it warns.
3. Third, it’s very important to consider the cause. And let me say, there are some difficult things in life that can contribute to idleness.
4. And fourth, last, we’ll talk through the cure.
So, the account, the consequences, the cause, and the cure. That’s where we’re headed.
1. The account: The Sloth and the Diligent
Number 1. How do these verses account for the slothful and the diligent?
The first thing is that there’s word here used over and over. It’s the word “sluggard.” It’s used 14 times here. Now, in English, the word “sluggard” is a derivative of the word “slug.” Slug, meaning, of course those slimy little creatures that move so slowly.
In the Hebrew language, the word for sluggard and slug are totally different words, but the idea is similar. The Hebrew meaning of sluggard is someone who is slow to take action - someone habitually lazy with no discipline or initiative in his life. That’s very similar to the second word used here. The word slothful… used 3 times. It’s someone who constantly refuses work. He is the opposite of diligent.
And we see these definitions worked out all through these verses.
· First, a sluggard loves to sleep! As a door turns on it’s hinge, so a sluggard on his bed. Or as we read a couple of times, “a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest” He even sleeps during the harvest, it says. By the way, we all need sleep… but this is different. The sluggard wins the couch potato award.
· Second, the one who is slothful is mere talk. That’s how Proverbs 14:23 describes him. “Mere talk tends only to poverty.” He’ll say something like, “Oh, I’ll get to that tomorrow.” But tomorrow never comes. He talks a big talk, but never follows through.
· Next, he also makes excuses. Like in 26:13 – This is a funny one… “There’s a lion in the road!” In other words, “I can’t go out there to work.” There are murder hornets out there! Or, the dog ate my homework. If you lived in our house, that could actually happen.
· And a fourth description are his worthless pursuits. That phrase is there in Proverb 28:19. “…he who follows worthless pursuits will have plenty of poverty.” That’s pretty descriptive of us today. We get sucked into the vortex of social media. Name your favorite – Tick Tok, X, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube. We get pulled into the articles, pictures, videos, and reading the comments. Then all of a sudden, hours have passed! Has that happened to you? It’s happened to me.
· There are some other descriptions in here as well. For example, work is drudgery to the slothful. Also he ignores the severity of his situation.
So, he loves his lazy-boy recliner or his bed, always procrastinates, talks a big talk, pursues the unimportant, and cares not about working or his situation.
Now, no one here that fits that full description. But I think we can each identify slothful areas or lazy tendencies, perhaps even significant ones, in our lives.
The contrast here is with the diligent. That word means someone who is industrious in his work and focused. It’s not just that he is diligent to do something, he is also thoughtful and intentional in his tasks. Look at Proverbs 27:24, you’ll see that sense of priorities. “Prepare your work outside; get everything ready for yourself in the field, and after that build your house.” The diligent understand when it’s time to plant seed and when it’s time to harvest. It’s in between those times, that’s when he will build or maintain his house.
And, of course, the illustration is the ant. Now, at the time in Israel, one of the more common types of ants was the harvester ant. It was known to store kernels of grain during the harvest, which would last them the whole year. At other times of the year, these ants would expand their nest and care for the young. So likely, Solomon had these in mind. It’s a picture of diligence and preparedness in the tasks at hand. You see, the diligent don’t need a task master to keep them going, rather they understand and can accomplish their responsibilities.
Kids, if your mom or dad are always reminding you, every day, to do your school work, then likely you are acting more like a slug than an ant. It’s time to become like an ant.
2. The Consequences
Ok, point #2. The consequences. All throughout these verses, we’re given consequences. Let me say, these are generalities, not formulas. When the Proverbs speak about immediate consequences, it’s not giving us a formula. We can’t say, if you are diligent, the result will always be blessing and security. No, those Proverbs are rules of thumb. Look at Proverbs 10:4. “A slack hand causes poverty, but the hand of the diligent makes rich.” Is it the case that a sluggard will always find himself in self-inflicted poverty? No? Is it the case that the diligent will always have financial security? No. External circumstances can change the outcome. But the principal is generally true. It’s important to understand that.
For the sluggard, in many many cases, his carelessness and laziness will lead to poverty. Some of the language used here is “suffer hunger” or “have nothing” or he’ll “be put into forced labor.” Or he’ll have “plenty of poverty.”
On the other hand, the diligent will in many many cases “reap a harvest” or “will have plenty of bread” or “will abound in blessing.” That’s the language here. You can see the contrast – poverty versus plenty.
Let me highlight another consequence. Being around a sluggard is no fun. Especially if you are responsible for him or her.
This last week, Amy, Caleb, and I were in the kitchen, and Caleb said, “Mom, do you remember when you made us take a mouthful of vinegar and then you read us that Proverb?” Amy and I both laughed because little did Caleb know at the time, but that Proverb is on the list for today. Look down at Proverbs 10:26. “Like vinegar to the teeth and smoke to the eyes, so is the sluggard to those who send him.”
This was several years ago. The kids were all having one of those days. They weren’t listening. They were not following through on chores or assignments. They didn’t want to do anything. Parents, you know what I’m talking about.
So Amy brought them out on our deck. She gave them each a little cup of vinegar, and made them swish it around in their mouths … and then she read Proverbs 10:26. Her point was this: That bitter and sour taste in your mouth is what it’s like to those around you when you disobey and are lazy.
Now, to be sure, Amy didn’t make them swallow the vinegar, so please don’t call family services.
By the way, some of the other consequences listed here are similar. A sluggard brings shame and the diligent brings honor.
To summarize: the consequence for the slothful include self-inflicted poverty, difficulty working with him, and often shame to his family. And for the diligent? Stability, security, leadership even, and honor.
#3 The causes
At this point, let’s transition to the causes and the cure. We’re going to focus on idleness and sloth. Now, is it possible that our diligence can become a problem? Yes! Absolutely. Work can become an idol. What I’m saying is that you should not use these verses to justify working 60, 70, or 80 hours a week at the expense of your family. Nor should you use these verses to turn work into your identity. Those are problems, for sure… but what these verses focus on is laziness.
Also, I also want to acknowledge that there are difficult things in life which can lead to struggles with motivation. Grief is one of them. When you lose a family member or dear friend, some days it’s hard to even get up out of bed. Depression is similar. Depression can be caused by many things. And I want to say, in those two situations, it’s important to get help – that may be Godly counselling or other kinds of help. If that’s your struggle, please reach out for help and guidance.
I also want to say that idleness is different than rest. We all need rest. God has given us the pattern and focus of our rest. That’s a topic for another day. What many of these verses speak to is the sin of laziness. It’s being a dead weight on your family or friends or at work. It’s when you are not contributing with your God given skills and gifts to labor.
Let me add, this is not just about a career. Rather, we all have lowercase “c” callings. That may be a paid job. It may be caring for someone or a family. It may be serving the needs in the church or community.
For example, children, at this point in your life, your responsibility is to be diligent in your schoolwork. On the other hand, if you are one of our older members and struggling with heath issues, your calling may be prayer. Whatever it is, we’re to pursue it with diligence.
But the problem is that sin has affected everything. That includes affecting our motivations and our work. And this goes way back to Genesis 3. Part of God’s curse on all creation is that the ground will produce “thorns and thistles.” And as it also says, “by the sweat of your face you shall eat bread.” Because of that, we often don’t want to work. We don’t want to deal with the struggles of whatever calling we have.
And those thorns and thistles can come in many forms. And so, we cave in. We don’t want to put in the effort. We distract ourselves and we make all kinds of excuses. But at the heart of it all, the heart of our laziness in whatever area of our life… is our sin. We don’t want to recognize that part of God’s call for us is to work. Again, work in a broad sense of our daily callings.
You see, we were created to work. Every one of us. We read that earlier in the service from Genesis 1 and 2. Part of God creating man in his image, is the inherent responsibility to labor in this world… which is patterned after God and his work in creating all things.
In other words, work is not a result of the fall. No, the toil of work is the result. And in our selfishness and pride, we would rather distract ourselves with mind numbing activities or a lazy lifestyle, than follow through on the gift of God in our callings.
To summarize, what are the primary causes of our sloth? Sin in the world and the sin in our hearts.
Let me add one more cause. And I’d like to use CS Lewis for this one.
Some of you have read his book Screwtape Letters. It’s a fiction and it’s really unique. It’s a series of letters written by Screwtape, who is a senior demon in the devil’s army.
Screwtape, the demon, is writing to his demon apprentice, Wormwood. Screwtape’s goal is to get Wormwood to effectively distract his human patient from God and instead direct him to sin. His tactics are many including exploiting personal weaknesses, stirring up anger and strife, undermining prayer and the church, promoting despair and apathy, and elevating the patient’s pride.
Let me read what Screwtape writes in letter 12:
“My dear Wormwood… You no longer need a good book, which he really likes, to keep him from his prayers or his work or his sleep; a column of advertisements in yesterday's paper will do. [or should I add, “a little screen time”] You can make him waste his time… [by doing] nothing at all for long periods… you can keep him up late at night… staring at a dead fire…. Nothing is very strong - strong enough to steal away a man's best years not in sweet sins but in a dreary flickering of the mind over it knows not what and knows not why in the gratification of curiosity so feeble the man is only half aware of them… You will say that these are very small sins… [but] it does not matter how small the sins are provided that their cumulative effect is to edge the man away from the Light and out into the Nothing.” He wrote that 85 years ago.
You see, the devil has many lies and tactics and one of them is complacency or sloth. He wants to exploit your sin and the fallen world around you… He wants you to retreat into the world of idle nothingness and away from God.
#4 The Cure
So, where does that lead us? Well, it leads us to the cure. This is point number 4.
The good news is that God is at work. He’s at work redeeming. And one of the things that he’s redeeming… is he’s redeeming our labors.
We don’t often think about redemption being applied to our daily callings. Do we?
Rather, when we think about redemption, we think about how Christ has redeemed us from the eternal consequences of our sin. Or we think about how we are reconciled to God through Jesus’ atoning sacrifice. Or we think about how the resurrection gives us hope for eternity. Or we consider the grace that God gives us through Christ in forgiving us for the sins that we actively commit. Those are all amazing things.
But we should also consider that God’s redemption applies to our passive sins like sloth… and we should consider how God is redeeming our labors. Whatever you’re called to do in this life.
Many of you know I spent almost 20 years in a different career. I experienced the highs and lows of any job – difficult situations, demanding responsibilities. At times, I struggled with motivation. But at other time, I experienced joy in my work.
And I will say, these last 10 years as a pastor, there have been highs and lows. Times of discouragement and times sensing the joy and passion of this calling. I’m thankful to God that most often it’s been the later.
Let me share four things I’ve learned over the years:
· First, when we intentionally seek to honor God in our work, God often gives us a desire to work and a satisfaction in our work. That’s the first one. By the way, I’ll restate them at the end.
· Second, when we recognize that part of what it means to be created in God’s image is being created to work… when we recognize that, God often gives us purpose and meaning in our work.
· Third, when we recognize that God’s work of redemption includes our work, we are able with his help to endure the thorns and thistles.
· And fourth, when we realize that God’s grace in Christ through the cross includes forgiving us for our sloth, then we can be renewed to diligence… as we pursue our daily callings.
Let me says those again. (1) Pursuing God’s glory in what we do, often gives us desire and satisfaction in our callings (2) Remembering that we are created in God’s image gives us purpose in our callings (3) God is redeeming our work which helps us persevere through trials in our callings and (4) God’s grace covers all our sin, including our idleness. When we come to him with it, he will help renew our hearts in our callings.
As we come to a close, let’s consider one more thing - work in this life compared to eternity. You see, in this life, each one of us struggles or will struggle in our daily callings. That may include a struggle of apathy. You may have days or weeks or months where you are fighting to regain motivation and fighting against idleness. But beloved, if you are in Christ, there will be a day when work will no longer be a chore. A day when you will be in the presence of your Savior with all the saints. A day when you will enter his rest. His eternal rest. But it won’t be a rest without work. No, it will be an eternal rest from the thorns and thistles… an eternal rest from any and all temptations to sin. Yes, we will be worshiping forever, but we’ll also be working in some way. But our labors and service will be fully redeemed, with no toil or struggle. Whatever it is like, at every moment it will be fully satisfying to us and fully glorifying to God.
May God give us an eternal motivation and perspective, as we labor in this life. My we forsake our sloth and idleness and instead hear the call to diligence – not for our glory, but for God. Amen?
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Introduction
We’re continuing our Proverbs thematic study this morning. And let me say, we’ve been in unchartered territory. I’ve actually never heard anyone preach through the second half of Proverbs, so this has been a new experience.
I’ve learned a couple of things:
· First, reading 40-50 Proverbs takes more time than I realized. My sermons have been a few minutes longer than usual, so I’ going to try and adjust. We’ll still read all the verses, but I’ll slightly shorten my content.
· Second, I’ve learned that it’s virtually impossible to reference every verse in my sermon. Last week, I was blitzing through too many verses too quickly. So, what I plan to do instead is point to representative verses that really encapsulate the emphasis. And, I’ll also summarize themes and words without always pointing to specific verses.
· To be sure, I still want to anchor my sermon to the text so, I’ll still reference specific verses, but just fewer of them.
Well, that brings us to our focus this morning - the results of wisdom and foolishness.
Last week, we considered the nature of wisdom and foolishness. The wise pursues wisdom. The fool pursues folly. And remember, our words and actions reveal whether we have a heart of wisdom or whether we need a heart of wisdom. That wisdom is ultimately found in Christ. The good news is that there is not a single one of us, nor anyone in the world, who cannot be redirected to the wisdom of God in Christ.
So, that was last week. This morning is more about the effects and consequences of the one who is wise and the one who is a fool.
If you’ll take your Proverbs bulletin insert… On the inside, you’ll see two groupings of verses. The first is titled near-term effects of wisdom and foolishness. In other words, what wisdom and foolishness cause. I’ll say, those verses do include some action verbs, like a fool “troubles” his household or “belittles” his neighbor. Those words imply an effect, so I’ve included them. The second grouping contains more longer-term results. Many of those are eternal in nature. In other words, where does each path lead?
There’s a little overlap from last week as well.
The first 3 verses are from Proverbs 13:13-15. If you would like to read those out of your Bibles, please turn there. You can find them on page ???.
Stand
Reading of selected proverbs:
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Proverbs 13:13-15
13. Whoever despises the word brings destruction on himself,
but he who reveres the commandment will be rewarded.
14. The teaching of the wise is a fountain of life,
that one may turn away from the snares of death.
15. Good sense wins favor, but the way of the treacherous is their ruin.
A. The near-term effects of wisdom and folly
11:12 Whoever belittles his neighbor lacks sense,
but a man of understanding remains silent.
11:29 Whoever troubles his own household will inherit the wind,
and the fool will be servant to the wise of heart.
12:8 A man is commended according to his good sense,
but one of twisted mind is despised.
12:16 The vexation of a fool is known at once,
but the prudent ignores an insult.
17:21 He who sires a fool gets himself sorrow,
and the father of a fool has no joy.
21:22 A wise man scales the city of the mighty
and brings down the stronghold in which they trust.
24:9 The devising of folly is sin, and the scoffer is an abomination to mankind.
27:3 A stone is heavy, and sand is weighty,
but a fool's provocation is heavier than both.
29:8 Scoffers set a city aflame, but the wise turn away wrath.
B. The long-term results of wisdom and folly
10:8 The wise of heart will receive commandments,
but a babbling fool will come to ruin.
10:21 The lips of the righteous feed many, but fools die for lack of sense.
14:3 By the mouth of a fool comes a rod for his back,
but the lips of the wise will preserve them.
14:12 There is a way that seems right to a man,
but its end is the way to death.
14:18 The simple inherit folly, but the prudent are crowned with knowledge.
14:35 A servant who deals wisely has the king's favor,
but his wrath falls on one who acts shamefully.
15:24 The path of life leads upward for the prudent,
that he may turn away from Sheol beneath.
16:25 There is a way that seems right to a man,
but its end is the way to death.
17:2 A servant who deals wisely will rule over a son who acts shamefully
and will share the inheritance as one of the brothers.
19:29 Condemnation is ready for scoffers, and beating for the backs of fools.
21:16 One who wanders from the way of good sense
will rest in the assembly of the dead.
22:3 The prudent sees danger and hides himself,
but the simple go on and suffer for it.
24:13-14 My son, eat honey, for it is good,
and the drippings of the honeycomb are sweet to your taste.
Know that wisdom is such to your soul;
if you find it, there will be a future, and your hope will not be cut off.
26:3 A whip for the horse, a bridle for the donkey,
and a rod for the back of fools.
27:22 Crush a fool in a mortar with a pestle along with crushed grain,
yet his folly will not depart from him.
28:26 Whoever trusts in his own mind is a fool,
but he who walks in wisdom will be delivered.
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Prayer
About 10 years ago, we visited the Grand Canyon. It was the first time that I had ever been there. If you’ve ever seen it, you’ll know that it is really grand. Our kids were a lot younger then, so we only hiked down a little way into the canyon. And of course, we were holding their hands really tight. Because you quickly realize that the Grand Canyon is a dangerous place. There are cliffs everywhere without railings. It’s also very hot and dry with hardly any water except the river below.
In fact, in the visitor center we found a book titled “Death in the Grand Canyon.” It’s really sad. On average, a dozen people die every year due to various causes. People have died trying to take selfies as close as they can to a ledge, and then slipping. Some have died when they pretended to fall but in doing that, they actually did fall. Others have ignored warning signs and wandered off the path only to get lost and die of heat exhaustion or of cold at night. Some have tried to jump across to rock outcroppings but didn’t make it. And every year, a couple of people die attempting to hike the 26 miles from one rim to the other and back again in a single day. That happened twice this last fall. They were ill-prepared physically and mentally and did not plan well.
You could categorize many of those tragedies as foolishness.
And I’m sure we could spend all day coming up with similar examples.
As we read, and as we each intuitively know, actions have consequences… and words have consequences. The folly of our foolish ways leads to tragedy - that may include near term damage and drama. Sometime it includes immediate tragic results like these examples, and certainly living a foolish life will lead to long term consequences… as Proverbs puts it, to ruin.
On the one hand, these verses are a warning to us. If you act this way, if your words are flagrant and foolish, this is what will happen. But, on the other hand, these verses also give us hope. They give us a picture of wisdom’s results – both the near-term benefits but also the ultimate deliverance that wisdom will bring. So, again, on the one hand, the warnings about foolishness, and on the other hand, the hope of wisdom.
Here’s where I do want to draw your attention to a couple of verses. Either in your Bibles or in the insert, look at Proverbs 13:13-15. These are the first three verses in the list.
Really, they are a good summary of today’s focus.
Verse 13, “Whoever despises the word brings destruction on himself, but he who reveres the commandment will be rewarded.”
“Whoever despises the word…” The Hebrew for the word “word” literally means, “that which has been stated.” What Solomon is saying is that if the Proverbs which he has written are rejected, the result will be self-destruction. That’s an important point to note. The one who rejects the Proverbs will bring destruction upon himself. His words and actions will cause his own demise.
And remember, Solomon is being guided by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit here. His words in Proverbs are God’s words. The second half of verse 13 alludes to that. Again, it says, “but he who reveres the commandment will be rewarded.” That word for “commandment” is equated with the word “word” and it’s a reference to God’s commandments. So, the determining factor of whether you will receive self-imposed destruction or whether you will receive a reward is… whether you obey the commandments of the Lord.
Now, to be sure, this is not saying that obedience is the way to salvation. No, remember, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Reverent trust in the Lord is the starting point. The New Testament calls that faith. Our obedience rather testifies to our faith.
To be sure, Proverbs is a rubber-meets-the-road book. We’ve talked about this. There are tangible consequences in this life to both wisdom and folly. I don’t want to skip over those and jump right to the eternal matters. So, we’ll consider both the near-term and the eternal consequences.
In fact, verse 14 is the verse about eternal matters. It says, “The teaching of the wise is a fountain of life, that one may turn away from the snares of death.” It’s saying, wisdom and foolishness are ultimately matters of life and death. We’re going to come back to those eternal matters.
And next, notice verse 15. It’s about near-term matters. “Good sense wins favor, but the way of the treacherous is their ruin.” When we act and speak with “good sense” (meaning all the things we talked about last week - humility, sensitivity, carefulness, prudence, and thoughtfulness) when our lives reflect those things, there are near-term blessings that we will reap.
But the opposite is true for the fool: “the way of the treacherous,” as verse 15 says, “is their ruin.” There’s that self-induced trouble, again.
So, near term and long term.
Near Term Effects
We’ll first consider the near-term effect and then we’ll move to the long-term ones.
Do you remember Mr. T? He’s still out around! His life motto is, “I pity the fool.” That was originally a line in Rocky III. After that, he adopted it personal;y and would use it in both acting as well as in real life. Although, for Mr. T, the line was always blurred between his characters and his persona.
But what does he mean when he says, “I pity the fool.” Well, as you would suspect, he’s been asked several times about that. And Mr. T’s is pretty clear about it. He feels sorry for the fool, he says. He has both sympathy for a foolish person as well as a desire to see him change. The reason is that a fool has to deal with the consequences of his foolishness. As Mr. T puts is, “something bad is going to happen to him. So, I pity the fool.” By the way, he’s a professed Christian and he even connects that phrase to the Scriptures warning to the fool.
And these verses here have much to say about the effect of a fool. A big one is relational. To use some of the words in grouping A, a fool is “despised” and an “abomination” to society. He causes, as one of these verses says, “vexation.” A fool is a trouble-maker. He brings “trouble” on himself as well as others. Another word used here is “provocation.” His words and actions provoke trouble.
I think the verse that best captures the near-term effects of folly and wisdom is 29:8. It’s the last verse there in grouping A. It says, “Scoffers set a city aflame, but the wise turn away wrath.” In his folly, a fool stirs up and escalates controversy and anger. He fans the flame. You could compare a fool to a tornado. He or she leaves a path of destruction - relational and other.
But on the flip side of that, “the wise turn away wrath.” They put out the flame. Instead of fanning the flame, they help to extinguish it. One of the other verses says that “the prudent ignores an insult.” That’s hard to do! Instead of going into attack mode, the wise respond by absorbing the insult and thereby defusing a situation.
You know, we’ve been having problems with one of these cafeteria refrigerators. It’s very noisy. To try and minimize the noise, we put up a couple of sound blankets over the top, and they really help. You can still hear the compressor, but the noise is greatly reduced. Someone wise is like a sound blanket. He or she dampens the folly of a fool or acts as a peacemaker instead of a peace breaker.
By the way, there’s plenty of ventilation on the other side of the wall. We don’t want to foolishly burn the building down.
Now, to be sure, there are more positive effects to wisdom than just peacemaking. Proverbs 21:22 captures that. “A wise man scales the city of the mighty and brings down the stronghold in which they trust.” There’s safety in wisdom. There’s power in wisdom – power in the good sense of the word. A power that protects and enacts justice. And there’s security in wisdom, compared to the fool.
I think Jesus’ parable of the wise man and the fool captures the near-term consequences well. We read it earlier. The wise man built his house on the rock. The foolish man built his house on the sand. Some of you know the parable and are probably singing the song in your head! What happened? The rain fell, the floods came, the wind blew – and the house built by the wise man stood firm. But the house built by the foolish man was destroyed. Now, that implies both near term and long term consequences.
Jesus makes clear that the rock is his Word. He said, “everyone who hears these words and does them, will be like the wise man who built his house upon the rock.”
That’s quite relevant. It takes us back up to the first verse we looked at… Proverbs 13:13… where we look for wisdom? We look to the Word.
Long Term Results
Ok, so there are real and tangible near-term consequences to wisdom and foolishness. But, we’re also told of long-term including eternal consequences. So, let’s go there now. The long-term results of wisdom and foolishness.
The language is very ominous for the fool. Let me highlight some of the phrases in the second grouping.
· “The babbling fool will come to ruin.”
· And “fools die for lack of sense.” That certainly captures some of the deaths in the Grand Canyon.
· Here’s another result “the simple will inherit folly”
· There are a few others that speak to the long-term consequences. They include words such as “wrath” and “condemnation.”
Really, the heart of the issue is near-sighted, self-absorbed sin. It’s near-sighted because a fool is not considering the longer-term consequences of his actions. He’s more interested in the instant gratification or the thrill of what he’s doing or taking the path of least resistance. And the results are tragic.
But besides being near-sighted, a fool is also self-absorbed. It’s all about him and his ways. He rejects God’s word as the standard of guidance. He doesn’t care about the impact of his words and actions on others. And in the end, following his own path will leads to death and condemnation.
Do look down at Proverbs 28:26. It’s the very last one in the list. It says, “Whoever trusts in his own mind is a fool, but he who walks in wisdom will be delivered.”
That verse encapsulates the world in which we live. Doesn’t it? If you were to summarize our culture in one word, it would be the word “self.”
“Be true to yourself.” “you do you.” We’ve all heard the phrases. It’s the self-absorbed notion that the standard of right and wrong centers on “you,” not God, not his Word. There’s no universal standard of right and wrong to a fool. Rather, his heart desire is what matters most. That’s what the world says. You determine your way. It’s the Disney and Sesame Street message today.
But that belief is described here as foolish. Again from 28:26, “Whoever trusts in his own mind is a fool.” And the warning is that it will lead to tragic results.
That self-absorbed sentiment and results are captured in two of these Proverbs. They’re in fact, identical. 14:12 and 16:25. They both say, “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.” When we define our own wisdom… when we chose our own way, not the way of God in his word, the path will lead to death.
So then, where can the path to life be found? Well, I think you know the answer, it is found through pursuing the wisdom of God.
The language used is a stark contrast to the end of folly. Here are some of the things these verses say. The wise will be “delivered.” It also says, “The path of life leads upward.” It promises, “There will be a future, and your hope will not be cut off.” Those are encouraging words because they promise life and hope.
Someone with the wisdom of God has an eternal perspective. He or she sees the enticements of the world as fleeting pleasures. They may feel good, but their path leads to the grave.
There’s a well-known quote by Jim Elliot about this. Jim was one of 5 missionaries killed while trying to reach a remote tribe in South America. He wrote this in his Journal. “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.”
To put that in terms of our Proverbs study, “he is no fool, who rejects the folly of the world and it’s path, and instead embraces the wisdom of the word and it’s eternal life.” He gives up the temporal to gain the eternal. May God give us eyes to see not just the way of the fool and the wise, but also where each path leads.
Let me briefly summarize.
· In the near term, foolishness breeds strife. It sets a city aflame and leaves a wake of pain and destruction. In the long term, a fool’s self-absorbed and near-sighted life rejects God and his word… it will ultimately lead to death and condemnation.
· On the other hand, the wise are peacemakers. Their prudence yields near term security and stability. And through an eternal perspective founded on the wisdom of God, their hope for eternal life is secure.
The near-term effect and long-term results of wisdom and folly.
Gospel Connection and Conclusion
But there are two important questions remaining.
· First, How do I receive this eternal wisdom?
· And then second, how does God actually give us his wisdom?
I ask those questions because if we critically look at our lives, each one of us is a fool. What I mean is that each one of us follows our own way and acts out and says foolish things. And the tension in these verses is the question, does that mean I am a fool? Will I reap the consequences of my foolishness –condemnation?
Well, there are answers to those two questions.
· First is that the wisdom of God can be received. And it starts by trusting, not in our own mind (again, as 28:26 puts it), but rather trusting in God. That means (1) recognizing your foolishness, (2) recognizing how it ultimately is a rejection of God and his word, and then (3) turning to him. That means acknowledging your self-absorbed and near-sighted folly that only leads to death. And it means trusting God by faith to renew your heart and mind, and give you his wisdom.
· But the answer to the second question is just as important. How does God give us his wisdom? The answer is that we receive it from the one who is wisdom – that is, Jesus. Last week we briefly considered how Jesus is the model and fulfillment of wisdom. But we need to take it a step further. When we come to God by faith, we come believing in Christ. When you do, he takes your foolishness and he gives you his wisdom. He takes the consequences of your foolishness and you receive the results of his wisdom. Do you get that? That is the purpose of the cross and resurrection. In Jesus death, he bore your foolish sin and rejection and he took on the consequences of it… to use the words here from Proverbs… wrath, condemnation, and death. Jesus absorbed the Father’s wrath and condemnation and he overcame death. The grave could not hold him. You see, in the resurrection we are given life in him. Both life now, which includes having the wisdom of God. And it includes the eternal fountain of life, everlasting. the results of Jesus wisdom are ours.
It does not mean that in this life, you will never act in foolish ways. No, but you have the wisdom of God in Christ. You are given his Word and Spirit, and you can pursue the wisdom of God, because you are on the path of wisdom.
Let me conclude with the words of Proverbs 24:14 “Know that wisdom is such to your soul; if you find it, there will be a future, and your hope will not be cut off.”
May we believe by faith in this wisdom, the wisdom of God in Christ, and know of life eternal in him.
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Wisdom vs. Foolishness Part 1: The folly of the fool; The wisdom of the wise
Introduction
This is the second sermon in our Proverbs thematic study. Last week, we talked through our need for rebuke and discipline and godly counsellors in our lives. Those are important first steps as we move into these themes that deal with our words and actions.
If you’ll take out the Proverbs insert in your bulletin. On the front page, note our next theme focuses on wisdom and foolishness. We’ll be covering this theme in three sermons. The first, today, is on the nature of wisdom and foolishness. What is wisdom like? What is foolishness like? We’ll also consider their worth?
Then, next week, we’ll shift to consider the consequences of wisdom and folly. What are their near-term effects and long-term results?
Part 3 will be later in February or early March.
Go ahead and turn to the inside of the insert, you’ll see the Proverbs for today. There are two sub-categories. A - The nature of wisdom and folly and B - The worth of wisdom and folly to the wise and the fool.
Stand
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Proverbs 24:3-7
By wisdom a house is built, and by understanding it is established;
by knowledge the rooms are filled with all precious and pleasant riches.
A wise man is full of strength, and a man of knowledge enhances his might,
for by wise guidance you can wage your war,
and in abundance of counselors there is victory.
Wisdom is too high for a fool; in the gate he does not open his mouth.
A. The nature of wisdom and folly
10:13-14 On the lips of him who has understanding, wisdom is found,
but a rod is for the back of him who lacks sense.
The wise lay up knowledge, but the mouth of a fool brings ruin near.
12:23 A prudent man conceals knowledge,
but the heart of fools proclaims folly.
13:16 Every prudent man acts with knowledge, but a fool flaunts his folly.
14:1 The wisest of women builds her house,
but folly with her own hands tears it down.
14:8 The wisdom of the prudent is to discern his way,
but the folly of fools is deceiving.
14:15-16 The simple believes everything,
but the prudent gives thought to his steps.
One who is wise is cautious and turns away from evil,
but a fool is reckless and careless.
14:33 Wisdom rests in the heart of a man of understanding,
but it makes itself known even in the midst of fools.
15:2 The tongue of the wise commends knowledge,
but the mouths of fools pour out folly.
15:7 The lips of the wise spread knowledge;
not so the hearts of fools.
15:14 The heart of him who has understanding seeks knowledge,
but the mouths of fools feed on folly.
17:7 Fine speech is not becoming to a fool; still less is false speech to a prince.
17:24 The discerning sets his face toward wisdom,
but the eyes of a fool are on the ends of the earth.
17:28 Even a fool who keeps silent is considered wise;
when he closes his lips, he is deemed intelligent.
19:2 Desire without knowledge is not good,
and whoever makes haste with his feet misses his way.
18:2 A fool takes no pleasure in understanding,
but only in expressing his opinion.
18:7 A fool's mouth is his ruin, and his lips are a snare to his soul.
18:15 An intelligent heart acquires knowledge,
and the ear of the wise seeks knowledge.
27:12 The prudent sees danger and hides himself,
but the simple go on and suffer for it.
29:11 A fool gives full vent to his spirit, but a wise man quietly holds it back.
29:20 Do you see a man who is hasty in his words?
There is more hope for a fool than for him.
B. The worth of wisdom and folly to the wise and the fool
10:23 Doing wrong is like a joke to a fool,
but wisdom is pleasure to a man of understanding.
12:14 From the fruit of his mouth a man is satisfied with good,
and the work of a man's hand comes back to him.
13:19 A desire fulfilled is sweet to the soul,
but to turn away from evil is an abomination to fools.
14:24 The crown of the wise is their wealth, but the folly of fools brings folly.
15:21 Folly is a joy to him who lacks sense,
but a man of understanding walks straight ahead.
16:16 How much better to get wisdom than gold!
To get understanding is to be chosen rather than silver.
16:22 Good sense is a fountain of life to him who has it,
but the instruction of fools is folly.
17:16 Why should a fool have money in his hand to buy wisdom
when he has no sense?
19:8 Whoever gets sense loves his own soul;
he who keeps understanding will discover good.
20:15 There is gold and abundance of costly stones,
but the lips of knowledge are a precious jewel.
21:20 Precious treasure and oil are in a wise man's dwelling,
but a foolish man devours it.
26:7 Like a lame man's legs, which hang useless,
is a proverb in the mouth of fools.
26:9 Like a thorn that goes up into the hand of a drunkard
is a proverb in the mouth of fools.
26:11 Like a dog that returns to his vomit is a fool who repeats his folly.
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Prayer.
In the late 15th century, author Sebastian Brant wrote a book which he titled Ship of Fools. Maybe you’ve heard that phrase before. In his book, Brant critiques many of the follies of his time. His metaphor throughout the book is a ship filled with all sorts of foolish characters. The book has 112 chapters. And each chapter focuses on a different character, giving a satirical vignette of their foolish behavior or vice or disregard for reality…. Such as: flattery, greed, laziness, lust, lack of charity, neglect for one’s own affairs, foolish talk, disrespect for tradition and history. And the list goes on. Does that list sound familiar?
Well, Brant’s book became wildly popular, especially because of his use of satire. It was translated into multiple languages and inspired other writings and art. For example, a well-known painting by Hieronymus Bosch comes from Brant’s book. The painting, also titled “Ship of Fools” depicts a boat floating on the sea. And in it, 10 people are engrossed in all kinds of folly, oblivious to their surrounding. Next to the boat, 2 people swim carelessly. It’s a ship without a captain, without a rudder, floating aimlessly toward an uncertain end.
All of it really captures the essence of folly. In many ways, it captures how the book of Proverbs portrays the fool.
By the way, I want to acknowledge that this is not the first time we’ve come across wisdom and foolishness in Proverbs. Remember chapter 7? …the foolish man seduced by the adulteress. He was ignorant of her twisted speech and her deceptive ways. It was a trap and he fell prey to a tragic end.
And remember wisdom? Several chapters gave us a clear definition of wisdom including its value. Do you remember how chapter 1 described wisdom? Biblical wisdom has three parts: knowledge, righteousness, and discernment. (1) knowledge of God, his Word, and world; (2)righteousness that reflect God’s goodness and his Word in your life and (3) discernment in understand and applying what is true and right and good.. We covered that definition multiple times in the fall. Hopefully that is a good reminder.
Foolishness is like the mirror opposite of wisdom. If you’re old enough, you’ll remember that cameras used to use film. Light helped to capture the image to the film, but what’s interesting about the film is that it captures the opposite. Dark colors were captured as light colors…. dark reds were light blues. Basically, it captured the inverse. That’s why they were sometimes called negatives.
Well, folly is the negative of wisdom. Instead of seeking truth and knowledge from God and seeking to apply that knowledge in righteousness and understanding, folly is the opposite. It is ignoring or rejecting knowledge and understanding and goodness.
In the original Hebrew text, there are two words in Proverbs which are translated “fool.” They’re also the root for the words foolish and folly.
The more common word for fool means someone with not just a lack of understanding but a rebellion against understanding. One commentator described it to be someone who has an active disregard for moral truth. It’s someone who defiantly opposes wisdom and instead doubles down on his folly. This word for fool is used about 80% of the time in Proverbs.
The second less common word for fool indicates someone more passive in his foolishness. It’s not a lack of ability to understand, rather it’s a lack of desire to understand. This kind of fool stubbornly rejects the need for wisdom because he doesn’t care.
So, foolishness can be active and passive.
That brings us to the two questions to which these verses speak.
#1 – What is the nature of wisdom and foolishness? Again, what does foolishness and wisdom each look like?
#2 – What is the worth of wisdom and folly to the wise and fool?
Those two questions line up with the two groupings of verses in the reading.
But really, instead of the word “foolishness,” we should talk about the fool. There are 26 occurrences of the word “fool” in these 41 verses. That’s a lot! You see, the contrast here is between the “fool” and the “wise.” It’s saying you are either in one category or another. You are either a fool or you are wise. These verses don’t present a middle ground. I think that’s hard for us to hear. Because if we reflect on our own lives, we’ll recognize that we each have a measure of foolishness in us. Don’t we?
I’ve been thinking about this, and I want to propose an analogy. Did you know, the City of Tucker is on the Eastern Continental divide? What that means is that when it rains in Tucker, some of the water flows into the Gulf of Mexico, and some of the water flows into the Atlantic Ocean. The line runs somewhere near Main Street. I’ve heard that sometimes the firetrucks will come out and turn on their hoses and spray them on one side of the eastern continental divide line… and then they will spray them on the other side. Interesting fact, isn’t it?
Well, each of us is like a drop of water in Tucker. We’re heading in one direction or another… not to the Gulf or to the Atlantic, but we’re either travelling down the path of wisdom or the path of folly. And Proverbs names the person travelling down the path of wisdom as a wise man or wise women (verse 14:1) and it names someone heading down the other path as a fool. I hope that helps orient you toward the language here.
In fact, what we learn from the first set of verses here is that a fool pursues folly and someone wise pursues wisdom. You see, the nature of a fool is self-perpetuating and the nature of the wise is self-perpetuating.
The Folly of Foolishness
Let’s start with the fool.
And actually, that self-perpetuating description is all throughout these verses. Let’s look at some of them.
· Provrbs 12:23 in group A. “A prudent man conceals knowledge, but the heart of fools proclaims folly.”
· The next verse there is similar… 13:16. “Every prudent man acts with knowledge, but a fool flaunts his folly.”
· Or on the right side of the list in section B. look at 14:24. “The crown of the wise is their wealth, but the folly of fools brings folly.”
There are a few others verses that also show this. Foolishness breeds more foolishness. A raindrop falling on the Gulf side of the divide in Tucker is probably going to make its way into Peachtree Creek, which is then going to flow into the Chattahoochee River. It’s going to get bigger and bigger until it then flows out into the Gulf. Foolishness snowballs. That’s the nature of a fool.
And these verses get very specific in how that happens. Let me give you three things described here.
· First, a fool rejects or ignores the pursuit of knowledge and understanding. I already briefly mentioned that, but look at Proverbs 15:14 – “The heart of him who has understanding seeks knowledge, but the mouths of fools feed on folly.” He rejects wisdom and instead seeks folly.
· Second, a fool flaunts the fact that he rejects wisdom. He proclaims folly (12:23). He pours out folly (15:2). And there are a couple of other similar ones. Basically, a fools words spew forth whatever comes to mind - hurtful or vulgar or thoughtless words. Look at the beginning of 18:7 “A fool’s mouth is his ruin.” And 29:11 “A fool gives full vent to his spirit, but a wise man quietly holds it back.” By the way, I know I’m listing these verses pretty quickly. All of my notes are published on our website and in our app if you’d like to go back. Also! One of the future themes is on words. Stay tuned for that.
· Ok, first, a rejection of wisdom. Second, a flaunting of foolishness. And now third, “a fool is reckless and careless.” Those are the exact words right there in Proverbs 14:15-16. He is irresponsible in his words and actions. Proverbs gives us an example of that. Look on the top right to 27:12. “The prudent sees danger and hides himself, but the simple go on and suffer for it.” A fool is irresponsible and reckless.
Ok! How about a real word example of such a fool? I’m going to give you one. Last November, Sam Bankman-Fried, or SBF as he’s known, was convicted of the biggest financial fraud in history. He’s 31 years old. He stole billions from his crypto customers and was convicted of fraud, embezzlement, and criminal conspiracy. He’s facing a 110-year prison sentence not to mention how his actions brought financial ruin to many of his customers. But also, let me read to you what he said just a couple of years ago. He said, “I would never read a book. I don’t want to say no book is ever worth reading, but I actually do believe something pretty close to that. ... If you wrote a book, you [messed] up…” only he didn’t use the word “messed.”
(1) He rejected the pursuit of knowledge and understanding. (2) He flaunted that rejection with thoughtless and crass words. And (3) he displayed utter reckless and careless actions. And all of that didn’t start a couple of years ago. No, SBF has been on the continental divide of foolishness his whole life.
Now, before we switch wisdom, let’s consider the second question applied to foolishness. What is the worth of wisdom and folly to the fool? The answer is this: a fool sees folly as worthwhile, and he sees wisdom as worthless.
Let’s look at some of the Proverbs on the right side of the page under grouping B.
· Proverbs 10:23 – “Doing wrong is like a joke to a fool.” This means either he laughs at his folly, or he pursues folly as if it is a funny joke.
· Similarly, 15:21 “Folly is a joy to him who lacks sense.” A fool revels in his folly. He enjoys his careless and thoughtless words and actions.
· And, as you would suspect, he also de-values wisdom. The last four Proverbs in the list speak to that. He “devours” the precious value of wisdom (that’s 21:20). Wisdom is “useless” to him (26:7). And Proverbs 26:9 “Like a thorn that goes up into the hand of a drunkard is a proverb in the mouth of fools.” Wisdom, to him, is an irritating thorn. It only stirs his heart to more foolishness.
Let me summarize where we are. The nature of foolishness is a downward spiral of thoughtless and reckless words and actions. A fool is like a drop of water on one side of the continental divide that grows into a mighty river of a careless and self-centered existence. A fool rejects the pursuit of God and all knowledge and understanding that is found in him. True wisdom is worthless to the fool.
Now, we started with the fool because I didn’t want us to end there!
The Wisdom of the Wise
So, let’s switch to wisdom. The good news is that these verses also present the nature of wisdom. They direct us to the worthy pursuit of knowledge and discernment that is founded on the one who is wisdom.
Now, we already reviewed the definition of wisdom – knowledge, righteousness, and discernment. What these verses do, is give us a picture of how that Godly wisdom is lived out. It’s similar, of course, to how it painted a picture of the fool.
Ok, here’s the nature of wisdom: A wise person displays careful and thoughtful words and actions. His (or her) words reveal knowledge and demonstrate a discernment of what is good and true and right. His actions demonstrate a faithful pursuit of wisdom lived out in righteousness.
Let’s start with the words, and then move to the actions.
Again, his words demonstrate knowledge and discernment. Several Proverbs speak about this.
· Look at Proverbs 15:2 - “The tongue of the wise commends knowledge.” The wise direct people to knowledge.
· 15:7 is very similar. “The lips of the wise spread knowledge”
· But also, the wise are cautious in their words. They are not prideful in the knowledge and understanding that the Lord has given them. In other words, they don’t blurt out everything they know. Rather, they cautiously and humbly dispense the wisdom of God. Look at 12:23 – “A prudent man conceals knowledge.” That word “prudent” is used a few times here. It means discerning and sensible. Let me translate this into modern language. A wise man does not go around “mansplaining” what he knows to everyone. Yes, that word is in the dictionary.
In other words, he’s discerning about when and how to share his knowledge and understanding.
Ok, second… actions. A wise man or woman lives out that knowledge and discernment.
· 14:1 “The wisest of women builds her house, but folly with her own hands tears it down.” A wise woman is intentional and diligent and careful.
· Look again at Proverbs 14 verses 15-16. “The simple believes everything, but the prudent gives thought to his steps. One who is wise is cautious and turns away from evil.”
In summary, wisdom is lived out in a life faithful to the knowledge and righteousness of God. Wisdom is displayed in words and actions.
Let me add one more thing about the nature of wisdom. It’s like a rain drop on the other side of the continental divide. Wisdom grows in wisdom. Wisdom pursues wisdom.
Let me give you some rapid fire verses:
· 10:14 – “the wise lay up knowledge”
· 15:14 – he “seeks knowledge”
· 17:24 – “the discerning sets his face toward wisdom”
· And 18:15 – “an intelligent heart acquires knowledge…” and it continues, “the ear of the wise seeks knowledge.”
Think of someone in your life, present or past, who displays a maturity in wisdom. That person is likely stable, and thoughtful and intentional and caring… He studies God’s Word. She enjoy reading thoughtful and faithful books. In a discerning manner he applies God’s Word and his wisdom in situations. Her life displays a godliness, and she has a purpose in life that is centered on the Lord and his glory, not hers. When confronted with folly or evil, he speaks truth and respond carefully but firmly.
A few people come to mind who demonstrate several of those traits.
And there’s one thing that they all share. They point to the one who is wisdom. They point to Christ.
You see, if you are on the path of wisdom, one of the first things to know is that your wisdom journey will not end in this life. You will never become the perfect example of wisdom. And actually, to think that is foolish. But there is one who has.
This week, I was re-reading each of these verses on wisdom and thinking about how Jesus fulfilled them. It’s quite an encouraging exercise! We have a Lord who in every way demonstrated in his words and action and heart the fulness of wisdom.
· As a child, Jesus grew in wisdom and stature.
· His words displayed an understanding of all things
· In any conversation and interaction, he could penetrate to the heart of the matter with remarkable discernment.
· He spread his knowledge and commended his wisdom to his disciples and the crowds and really, the world.
· When confronted by foolishness, he dispelled arguments. He left his adversaries speechless.
· The wisdom of his parables revealed an eternal perspective and justice that defied the way of the world.
· His life testified to the wisdom of God’s Word as he perfectly fulfilled the law
· He faithfully and sensitively ministered to any and all who came to him in need
· He set his mind and heart on his purpose – not deterred by Satan nor the powers of this world, nor the detractors of the faith.
· He faithfully endured the cross set before him. The cross, which was foolish to the world, yet through it, God fulfilled his infinite wisdom.
· In all of it, as it says in 1 Corinthians 1, Christ Jesus became to us wisdom from God, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption.
He is wisdom. And for us, he is the beginning of wisdom. He is the continental divide, the line which determines if you are on the side of the fool or on the side of the wise.
He is the one who can move you to the other side of the divide… the only one who can redirect you to the path of true wisdom.
And when you have his wisdom, you have the most worthy knowledge and understanding.
That’s where I want to bring this to a close – the worthiness of the wisdom of Christ.
Look again at the verses in section B.
· Proverbs 10:23, the second line. “Wisdom is pleasure to a man of understanding.” The wisdom of Christ is a joy to his heart.
· It “satisfies him with good” (12:14); it is “sweet to the soul” (13:19)
· His wisdom is better than gold and silver (16:16)
· It is a “fountain of life to him who has it” (16:22) and “a precious jewel” (20:15)
· And finally, as Proverbs 21:20 says, “Precious treasure and oil are in a wise man’s dwelling.” To have the wisdom of Christ is to have precious treasure and oil that overflows in your life to others.
The wisdom that Jesus models and that he gives us is a wisdom that cannot be bought. It can only be received by faith. And when you receive it, it’s joy and blessing will radiate from a new heart – a heart of wisdom – the heart of Christ.
Are you on the ship of fools? Are you on the wrong side of the continental divide of foolishness and wisdom? If so, the wisdom of Jesus is for you… and it’s a wisdom that he offers to you.
So, may we each embrace the wisdom of Proverbs – a wisdom that pursues the knowledge of God and the righteousness of Christ.
And may we set aside our foolish ways and our foolish words that we may be wise in him… Amen.
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Discipline, Rebuke, and Godly Counsellors
Thank you… and thank you to David Fraser for bringing God’s Word last week. Always a blessing.
You’ll see there is a second insert in the bulletin beside the hymn sheet. On the front is a chart of the themes in Proverbs that we’ll be covering this winter and spring. Last fall, we worked through Solomon’s 12 wisdom lessons to his son, which are found in chapters 1-9.
But in Proverbs, once you get to chapter 10, there’s a change from focused lessons, to wisdom nuggets. And so rather than work through chapters 10-31 sequentially, we’ll be working through different wisdom categories. Besides the themes listed on the first page, you can also see the number of verses in each theme.
Let me note that most of the verses in Proverbs 10-31 are organized in poetic couplets. They start with a statement and then are followed by either a contrast, or a comparison, or an affirmation. For example here’s one for today: “Without counsel plans fail, but with many advisers they succeed.” You can hear the two sides of the couplet.
That brings us to our focus today. We’ll be considering the theme of rebuke, discipline, and counsellors. In a few minutes I’ll explain why we’re beginning there.
If you would turn to the inside of the insert. You’ll note the initial 5 verses are from Proverbs 22. If you want to read those from your Bibles, you can do that. In the pew Bible, you’ll find them on page 645. For the rest, I’ll be reading from the insert.
As we come to God’s Word, know that this is the inspired and authoritative word of the Living God. Please stand as we give reverence.
Proverbs 22:17-21
Incline your ear, and hear the words of the wise,
and apply your heart to my knowledge,
for it will be pleasant if you keep them within you,
if all of them are ready on your lips.
That your trust may be in the LORD,
I have made them known to you today, even to you.
Have I not written for you thirty sayings of counsel and knowledge,
to make you know what is right and true,
that you may give a true answer to those who sent you?
10:17 Whoever heeds instruction is on the path to life,
but he who rejects reproof leads others astray.
11:14 Where there is no guidance, a people falls,
but in an abundance of counselors there is safety.
12:1 Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge,
but he who hates reproof is stupid.
13:1 A wise son hears his father's instruction,
but a scoffer does not listen to rebuke.
13:18 Poverty and disgrace come to him who ignores instruction,
but whoever heeds reproof is honored.
13:24 Whoever spares the rod hates his son,
but he who loves him is diligent to discipline him.
15:5 A fool despises his father's instruction,
but whoever heeds reproof is prudent.
15:10 There is severe discipline for him who forsakes the way;
whoever hates reproof will die.
15:12 A scoffer does not like to be reproved;
he will not go to the wise.
15:22 Without counsel plans fail,
but with many advisers they succeed.
15:31 The ear that listens to life-giving reproof
will dwell among the wise.
15:32 Whoever ignores instruction despises himself,
but he who listens to reproof gains intelligence.
17:10 A rebuke goes deeper into a man of understanding
than a hundred blows into a fool.
18:1 Whoever isolates himself seeks his own desire;
he breaks out against all sound judgment.
19:20 Listen to advice and accept instruction,
that you may gain wisdom in the future.
19:25 Strike a scoffer, and the simple will learn prudence;
reprove a man of understanding, and he will gain knowledge.
19:27 Cease to hear instruction, my son,
and you will stray from the words of knowledge.
20:30 Blows that wound cleanse away evil;
strokes make clean the innermost parts.
23:12 Apply your heart to instruction
and your ear to words of knowledge.
23:19 Hear, my son, and be wise,
and direct your heart in the way.
23:23 Buy truth, and do not sell it;
buy wisdom, instruction, and understanding.
25:12 Like a gold ring or an ornament of gold
is a wise reprover to a listening ear.
25:28 A man without self-control
is like a city broken into and left without walls.
27:5 Better is open rebuke than hidden love.
27:9 Oil and perfume make the heart glad,
and the sweetness of a friend comes from his earnest counsel.
27:23-24 Know well the condition of your flocks,
and give attention to your herds,
for riches do not last forever; and does a crown endure to all generations?
29:1 He who is often reproved, yet stiffens his neck,
will suddenly be broken beyond healing.
29:18-19 Where there is no prophetic vision the people cast off restraint,
but blessed is he who keeps the law.
By mere words a servant is not disciplined,
for though he understands, he will not respond.
29:21 Whoever pampers his servant from childhood will
in the end find him his heir.
Prayer
Several years ago, I was at a co-worker’s home for a company event. And I remember at one point he asked his 8-year-old daughter to help with something. And she responded, “You’re not the boss of me!”
My jaw dropped. But my co-worker, without missing a beat, said to his daughter, “Oh yes, I am.” And he took her aside and lovingly rebuked her, explaining his responsibility over her and her responsibility to him.
That was the first time I had heard that phrase.
I thought, where did that come from? Was it a refrain in a hit song? Or some movie line? But after some research, I found that it’s a phrase that’s been around for decades.
And then I realized, that independent-minded, self-autonomous idea has been around since the garden… since the moment that man rejected the authority of God. In fact, it’s in every single one of us. It’s intrinsic to our fallen nature. We don’t want others to tell us what to do. We don’t want to be told we’re wrong. Or that we’re hypocritical or selfish or prideful.
Instead, when we’re told one of those things, our natural reaction is to be defensive or dismissive or to lash out at the one who said it. “You’re not the boss of me!”
It’s in my heart. As much as I want to believe I can receive rebuke, I can tell you my knee-jerk reaction is often denial or dismissal.
So, why begin here? Why begin this section of Proverbs with these verses on rebuke and discipline?
Well, turn back to the front of the Proverbs insert. This book will be getting into your business. To be sure, every text of Scripture deals with us in some way. Our beliefs, our faith, our sin … but you can’t read Proverbs without being confronted with the state of your heart, with the inconsistency of your life, with your words, and your actions, and your relationships.
And the question is, will you receive this word? When we get to the verses on integrity (you see that in the list), will you examine yourself? When we get to the verses on honoring your parents, will you resent it? What about anger and justice and greed? Will you dismiss these words? What about sloth? Will you justify the hours you spend watching and talking about SEC or ACC football or playing video games or watching the Hallmark channel? I see some of you getting a little nervous.
Now, to be sure, the opening 9 chapters did speak to our hearts and words and actions. Some of them were very pointed, but these chapters cover a much broader application.
You see what I’m saying? Being willing to apply each of these themes to your life begins with being willing to listen, and being willing to be rebuked by God’s Word. Committing yourself to godly change.
In other words, studying these Proverbs needs to begin with a heart receptive to reproof. Really, it begins with having the heart of Christ. We’ll be coming back to that, of course.
So, we’re beginning here because we need to begin here. We need to allow other people to speak God’s Word deep into our lives. We need to humbly desire that. And when we do, God will be more glorified in our lives. We will be conformed more and more to the image of Christ. And we will be able to walk alongside one another on the rocky path of life.
Before we continue, I want to revisit King Solomon and his son. We talked plenty about Solomon last fall. God spoke through him to give us this wisdom. And at the time, three thousand years ago, Solomon was renowned. He was known all throughout the world for the wisdom God had given to him.
But do you remember this… Sadly, he turned away from the one true God and began worshiping foreign Gods. In other words, he did not keep the wisdom that God had given him.
And also sadly, it was similar for Solomon’s son, Rehoboam. The first 9 chapters of Proverbs were written explicitly to him. Solomon penned these words for Rehoboam, his first-born son, heir to the throne.
But Rehoboam witnessed his father’s decline. As we read earlier in the service in 1 Kings 11 and 12, Rehoboam witnessed the increased burden that his father inflicted on the people. And after Solomon passed away, Rehoboam had a choice to make. Would he listen? Would he listen to the wisdom of God through what his father had written? Would he listen to the counsel of the older men who said to him, “serve the people and speak good words to them.”
No, he wouldn’t. We know the path that Rehoboam took. He essentially said, “you’re not the boss of me.” He rejected God’s wisdom. He increased the burden on the people, and it led to tragic results - the splitting of the kingdom.
Besides the impact on his own life and reign, it also led to 350 years of struggle in Judah until Babylon overthrew the nation. Much of it can be traced back to Rehoboam’s decision not to listen to wisdom.
Now, you may remember, we came across the idea listening to wisdom all throughout the opening chapters. But I want to point out something out. The emphasis in these verses today is more than just listening to wisdom that you may stay on the path of wisdom. No, it’s also heeding wisdom to bring you back to the path.
Let me note a few words that are repeated over and over, and then I’ll define them.
· First look at verse 13:1. You’ll see the words “instruction” and “rebuke.” “A wise son hears his father's instruction, but a scoffer does not listen to rebuke.” That word instruction is used 9 times in these verses. The word “rebuke” is used 3 times.
· Next the words “reproof” and “discipline.” Look down at verse 15:10. “There is severe discipline for him who forsakes the way; whoever hates reproof will die.” The word “reproof” or “reprove” is used 11 times in these verses, and the word “discipline” is found 4 times.
Here’s the continuum.
· Instruction is conveying God’s truth and righteousness. Remember, wisdom has a moral component to it. We see that all throughout the Proverbs. That’s instruction.
· Next rebuke. The Hebrew word for rebuke means a verbal correction. It’s telling someone that what they believe or what they are saying or doing does not conform to God’s law or his Word. Rebuke does not have an associated punishment with it other than the weight of the verbal correction.
· But the words discipline and reproof do. In fact, they are very similar in the Hebrew. Reproof is instruction or rebuke plus some kind of just penalty or direction. In English, we think of rebuke as more pointed than reproof. But in the Hebrew, reproof is more intense and includes consequences.
· And last, the word discipline is similar. Discipline is a path of correction. It may include making amends for something or it may include a punishment for something said or done.
· So, instruction, rebuke, reproof, and discipline.
All of it is to help the one receiving the correction. The point is to bring one back to what God has ordained as good, right, and true. In other words, rebuke and discipline are intended to restore and not push away.
Hopefully that clarifies the words here.
With that said, let me give you 3 principles from these verses. By the way, they all start with the word love.
1. Love instruction, rebuke, and discipline.
2. Love and listen to godly counsel
And the last one…
3. Love others by rebuking and disciplining them
Now, we are not going to end there. After considering these three principles, we’ll consider some underlying assumptions which lead us to the Gospel. But let’s spend the next few minutes on these principles.
1. Love instruction, rebuke, and discipline
Again, number 1: Love instruction, rebuke, and discipline.
Our heart disposition should be to desire these things. And we are called to not just receive or tolerate correction and reproof, but to seek them out. And I know, that is really difficult.
I remember one of the times that I had asked Amy out on a date. She initially said yes, but later, she called me back and said no. I hung up the phone and in frustration, I kicked over one of my roommates dining room chairs. And he looked at me and he said “you have any anger problem.” That was rebuke. How do you think I took that?
Let me highlight some of the verses here:
· Look at 12:1 – “Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but he who hates reproof is stupid.” Isn’t there something raw about the Proverbs.
· Consider 17:10 – “A rebuke goes deeper into a man of understanding than a hundred blows into a fool.” If you have the wisdom of God in Christ, you will not only want to receive rebuke, but you will desire a heart change when you receive it. A fool, on the other hand, dismisses rebuke.
· There are of course, several other verses here which are similar.
Amy shared on our podcast a story about one of her College professors. He was talking about this very thing. And he said, when people come to him with feedback or a rebuke, here’s what he says to them: “Thank you so much. But let me tell you, you don’t know the half of it!” Instead of being defensive, he acknowledged that he did need correction – even beyond what the person was addressing. May we all have that mindset.
Now, before we move on to the second principle, let me note a couple of negative examples:
· Look at 15:12 “A scoffer does not like to be reproved; he will not go to the wise.” We’ve come across that word before. A scoffer is someone who mocks truth and righteousness.
· And then one last example from 29:1 “He who is often reproved, yet stiffens his neck, will suddenly be broken beyond healing.” Here’s what we do. We deny the loving correction from our parents or our spouse or friend or from another brother or sister in Christ, and instead, we set our mind against them. We reject their loving reproof and become angry. That’s what it means to stiffen your neck. And that breaks relationships. It causes disunity and turns something that should have been good for us into something that breaks us.
But beloved, this is not God will for you. No. Rather (and here’s the principal again) we’re called to love instruction, rebuke, and discipline. As hard as it is to do that, we’re to have an open heart, listening to what God is speaking to us, through others.
2. Love and listen to godly counsel
Principle number 2. Love and listen to godly counsel.
Each of us has been or will be faced with important decisions in life. Should I marry this person? Should I move to this place? Should I take this job or go to this school?
How do you decide? Well, part of your decision should be to seek advice from godly counsellors.
· Look back down at chapter 15. This time verse 22. “Without counsel plans fail, but with many advisers they succeed.” That’s a well-known Proverb.
· Jump down to 18:1 “Whoever isolates himself seeks his own desire; he breaks out against all sound judgment.” If you isolate yourself, you will miss out on the godly wisdom of others. Others can help you see things you wouldn’t have considered or thought.
· And one more: 27:9 “Oil and perfume make the heart glad, and the sweetness of a friend comes from his earnest counsel.” A true friend give you loving and wise counsel.
Ok for the kids. The older you get, the more decisions you will have to make in life. And what’s so important is that you seek out godly advice… from your parents or perhaps others in the church who can direct you to God’s Word in those decision. And part of it is listening to and evaluating that advice. I want you to remember that as you get older.
Again, the principle: Love and listen to godly counsel.
3. Love others by rebuking and disciplining them
That brings us to the last principal… number 3. Love others by rebuking and disciplining them.
Honestly, I think this may be the hardest one for us. Some of us are people-pleasers. The Bible calls this the fear of man. Because of that, we tend to shy away from being honest with our family and friends. We worry about pointing out things in their lives that are contrary to God’s Word. But others of us may be too comfortable with expressing criticism and rebuke.
These verses direct us that love requires reproving and disciplining others, but from a position of humility. Think about this: If the call here is to receive rebuke, it means that we should also lovingly give rebuke. Again, lovingly.
Let me highlight a couple of verses.
· First, 19:25 “Strike a scoffer, and the simple will learn prudence; reprove a man of understanding, and he will gain knowledge.” That verse gives us the full scope from a scoffer to a man of understanding. In other words, we all need to rebuke and be rebuked.
· Or consider 20:30 “Blows that wound cleanse away evil; strokes make clean the innermost parts.” That is, blows from a friend.
Now, I’m not saying we should go around pointing fingers. “Do you know what your problem is? Well, I do” I am also not saying that children should discipline their parents. There’s more to be said of course, about discipline and the structure of the family and church. But what I am saying is that we should have the mindset of being a community committed to one another. And part of loving one another is being willing to speak truth and righteousness to one another lovingly.
Several years ago, I observed a friend of mine in the church struggling with a prideful attitude in a particular area of his life. So, I went to him, and I asked if we could get together for coffee for the purpose of sharing some feedback. He was willing to receive it. And so, we sat down. I said, “you know, I want to share this because I would want you to do the same for me.”
Then, I explained what I thought the Scriptures taught in that area. I read them and then I gave him some examples that I observed in his life. Now, he didn’t agree with everything. And that’s ok. But there were things that I think were helpful for him to hear. I’m not the Holy Spirit, but I did feel my responsibility was to communicate those things. And we still occasionally talk or see each other.
What I’m saying is that rebuking doesn’t have to be painful – especially when we lovingly give it, and we lovingly receive it.
Ok, let me make one last comment on this principle. The most famous Proverb in this whole batch is 13:24 “Whoever spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is diligent to discipline him.”
Parents, part of training your child up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord is discipline. Now, we can have a healthy conversation about how to discipline – there are different ways, but discipline is necessary.
Every single one of us was born selfish. Parents know this. And disciplining children begins early. When your child talks back, or lashes out at a sibling, or is defiant in some ways, then that child needs to be disciplined. That could be a punishment, or it could be directing a child to practice righteousness or make something right.
One time when I was in grade school, my parents made me write an apology letter for something I did… and I had to go over to the person’s house, give it to them, and ask for forgiveness. I was mortified, but you better believe it made an impression.
And children, because your parents have a responsibility to discipline you, you likewise have a responsibility to receive that discipline. That’s difficult, isn’t it. Your parents probably tell you this, but it’s true “I’m disciplining you because I love you.” They are training you in righteousness. The more you respond to God’s discipline now, the greater blessing that will result later in life. I know that’s easy to say, but hard to do.
Conclusion
Ok, to recap: 1. Love instruction, rebuke, and discipline 2. Love and listen to godly counsel and 3. Love others by rebuking and disciplining them.
Now, we cannot conclude here. Hopefully it’s been ingrained in you from last fall that Proverbs is not a book of morality. Yes, it directs us to live a life honoring to God and receiving the blessing of living out his law. It certainly points us to that. But Proverbs fits in the broader narrative of Scripture by revealing faith.
The beginning of chapter 3 was so clear that this book fits into the covenant framework of God promises fulfilled in Christ. And remember, where does wisdom begin? The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom – fear is the reverent faith that comes with knowing God in Christ.
We’ve seen over and over how these chapters are fulfilled in Christ. He’s the greater Solmon. He’s the creator of all things, chapter 8. He's the faithful husband despite his wayward wife, the church, chapters 5, 6, and 7.
So let me conclude by telling you how these verses fit into the narrative of the redemption found in Christ alone.
· First, these verses presuppose sin. We can’t read them without a recognition of our fallen nature. We need reproof. We need discipline because our hearts have gone astray, and we need to be called back.
· Second, these verse point to a standard that is outside of us. God has established righteousness and truth. It’s who he is. And the contrast to that is foolishness and wickedness. In other words, to be called to give and receive rebuke presupposes a standard upon which that rebuke is based. We can’t read any of the Proverbs without this recognition.
· Number 3, rebuke, reproof, and discipline are part of the call to repentance. Part of faith in God, is repenting of our wayward beliefs and life… and turning to the one true God who receives us. And remember, God receives us not because of our righteousness, but because of Christ’s righteousness.
· And that brings us to a final consideration. The call to respond to these verses is not so that God may save us. No. Instead, we respond by faith for what God has done for us in Christ. In other words, we can respond because of what Christ has done on the cross. By his grace and through his Spirit, we can receive rebuke.
In closing, we still have a long way to go through Proverbs. But let’s be reminded that it’s not in our strength that we seek to be rebuked or disciplined but rather it’s through the Holy Spirit in us. He enables us to pursue God, His Word, and receive correction. As we read from Hebrews 12 earlier, God disciplines his children. As painful as it may be at times, it testifies to God’s work through Christ in you and me.
May we receive God’s love and discipline through others from his word out of hearts desiring to conform to Christ.
Amen
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A Prophet Greater than Moses
Hebrews 3:1-14
Last Sunday we began a brief advent series in Hebrews. Hebrews is probably not the first book of the Bible that comes to mind when you think of Advent or Christmas. However, the whole book is about Jesus. It speaks clearly about his coming, his nature, his glory, and as we considered last week, his offices. As a reminder, that word office is the official capacity of his ministry – who this child that we celebrate at Advent is… who he is… and what he has come to do. His offices are Prophet, Priest, and King.
The first few verses of Hebrews chapter 1 introduce Jesus as the Son of God in those redemptive roles. This week, we’ll be focusing on Jesus’ prophetic office. A prophet is one sent by God, to speak the word of God, on behalf of God. Our text is Hebrews chapter 3 verses 1-14. You can find that on page 1188 in the pew Bibles.
As you are turning there, let me note that if we had time, we would read all of chapter 3 and chapter 4. Those two chapters are really one message. Our text this morning in chapter 3 is a good summary of the larger section. The opening 6 verses compare Jesus to Moses. Then in verses 7-14 the author of Hebrews quotes Psalm 95:8-11 and gives a brief explanation and application. They call us to hear and believe in Christ, holding fast to our faith in him.
Let’s now come to his Word.
Reading of Hebrew 3
Prayer
As you know, the Old Testament is full of history. Of events, of people, places, festivals, wars, promise, families. But out of all of them, one event stands out as the most significant in the life of God’s people. The Exodus. It was ultimate demonstration of deliverance in the Old Testament.
It’s amazing what God did and how he did it. It’s hard for us to even wrap our minds around some of it. God sent Moses to the king of Egypt, Pharoah, multiple times calling him to free God’s people. Each time, Pharoah rejected the call. And after each rejection, God sent plages on Egypt. Terrible plagues. The worst was the tenth. The angel of death came and all the firstborn in Egypt died. Yet, the Lord passed over the homes of the Israelites, if the blood of the lamb was on the their doorposts.
It was that moment that Moses led God’s people out of Egypt. God went before them with a pillar of smoke by day and a pillar of fire by night. The people rejoiced, thinking they were set free but then the Egyptians began pursuing them, and they ended up at a dead end - the Red Sea. It appeared that all was lost. They couldn’t cross. But yet again, God displayed his power and salvation. First, the pillars of smoke and fire held off the Egyptian army. But even more amazing was what happened next. Moses raised his staff, struck the water and the Red Sea parted. Another miracle. Moses led them across on dry land. And as soon as the last Israelite crossed, the waters came crashing down on the Egyptian army… destroying them all.
Imagine all that had transpired. Imagine being a father or mother or child and seeing and experiencing all of it. And that wasn’t the last of it. Even the small miracles displayed the provision of God. The soles of their shoes didn’t wear out. God gave them manna from heaven - daily provision of food. They were there when Moses went up on the mountain and returned with the commandments. They were there to see the pillar of smoke and fire above the tabernacle revealing the Lord’s presence.
They witnessed so many things. And at the center of it all, besides, of course, God himself, was Moses. He had been the one to boldly speak to Pharoah. He had been the one to lead them out. God parted the Red Sea through Moses. God had revealed himself to Moses in the burning bush and on the mountain. He was used to bring the tablets of stone, the ten commandments.
Moses was the man. And besides all that God had done through Moses in the Exodus, God also revealed to Moses his laws. Through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit Moses wrote down the creation account, their history including the patriarchs, the ceremonial and civil laws. Moses was and is the central figure in Judaism… perhaps only paralleled by Abraham.
Moses was their guy.
So, when the author of Hebrews brings up Moses, you better believe it that his readers would be paying very special attention. Verse 3 would have been a particular eye opener to them – It says, “Jesus has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses.” For some of the Jewish reader, this would have been shocking. More glory than Moses? Moses had to veil himself (cover his face) when he descended from Mount Saini because he reflected the glory of God.
But Jesus was counted as more glorious than Moses.
Now, to be clear about the audience, Hebrews was written to Jewish people who believed in Jesus as the Messiah. We read that right there in verse 1. The author calls them “brothers” and, as it says, they “share” in the same “calling” and “confession.”
But they still would have been startled by the emphasis of Jesus over Moses. We know from other New Testament books that Jewish background believers often struggled by overemphasizing Moses and the law. Sometimes the law was elevated above grace (the book of Galatians deals with that), and other times the law was put on the same par as faith. Like grace plus circumcision, or we’re saved by grace plus the law (the book of Romans deals with some of that).
So, what the author of Hebrews is doing here is making really clear that Jesus is greater than Moses. But note: the author is not diminishing Moses, no, rather Moses, as great as he was, is being put in his proper place compared with Jesus.
Jesus is the greater prophet.
Now, I said that, but some of you probably noticed, the word “prophet” is not found in our text this morning. In fact, the word “prophet” is not found anywhere in chapters 3 or in 4. So, first, let me explain why the underlying emphasis is Jesus as the greatest prophet – greater than Moses.
· Number 1 - we often don’t think of Moses as a prophet, do we? But he was the most preeminent prophet in the Old Testament. In Deuteronomy 18, which we read earlier, Moses calls himself a prophet. And that makes sense. God sent Moses to speak and through Moses God gave his Word and law to the people. And related to that, the prophets often performed signs and miracles as a testimony to their prophetic role. And that was certainly true for Moses. He was a prophet.
· The second reason - in the same Deuteronomy passage, Moses writes that God will raise up a prophet like him from their brothers. Moses says, “it is him you shall listen.” Well, there are two places in the New Testament that quote that Old Testament verse. Both pronounce that Jesus is the prophesied prophet. We read one of them earlier in the service - Acts 3 – Peters sermon. Stephen also says the same thing in Acts 7. Jesus is the prophesied, capital “P” Prophet.
· Third, in Hebrews 3 verse 1, Jesus is called THE apostle. He’s “the apostle and high priest of our confession.” That word apostle in the Greek means “sent one.” It’s a different word than prophet, but both have been explicitly sent by God and they share the divine authority to speak his word. So even though these verses don’t use the word prophet, yet they still convey the role of prophet.
· And last, these two chapters, 3 and 4, are about God speaking and our listening. In fact, the beginning of verse 7 reminds us that God is the one speaking through his Word. Look at what it says: “Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says” and it quotes Psalm 95. The thing is, King David is the one who wrote Psalm 95, but he was carried along by the Holy Spirit. Many of the Old Testament quotes in Hebrews are attributed directly to God. To be sure, it doesn’t diminish the human author’s intent or context, but it’s a good reminder that God has given and directs his Word. OK, now flip forward to chapter 4 and jump down to verse 12. Basically, the end of chapter 3 and the beginning of chapter 4 are an exposition of Psalm 95. The author has made the case to listen to the Word of God and to believe it. And then he writes these well-known words. Starting in verse 12 of chapter 4: “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” Again, he’s talking about the word of God. Now listen carefully to verse 13. “And no creature is hidden from his sight…” Did you hear that? It doesn’t say “its sight” but “his sight.” The author of Hebrews is speaking of Jesus as the Word of God. And the second half of verse 13 makes that abundantly clear: “but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.” Jesus is the one to whom we will be accountable on the last day. He is God’s Word.
Let me boil it down this way. Earlier, I gave you a definition of a prophet. A prophet is sent by God to speak the word of God on behalf of God. Moses certainly fits that definition. But Jesus fulfills that definition. He is sent by God as THE apostle – God the Son sent into the world. He speaks the word of God because he is the word of God. And he’s come on behalf of God because he is God.
Jesus is considered worthy of greater honor than Moses for all those reasons.
Let me pause here. Why does this matter? You may be thinking, “Isn’t this just an intellectual discussion? Can’t we just get to application?” Well, look at verse 1. What’s the imperative in verse 1? Do you see it there? It’s the word “consider.” “Consider Jesus, the apostle and High Priest of our confession.” Beloved, there’s nothing and no one greater to consider. He IS the application. Now, we’re going to get to our response in a few minutes, but I wanted to point that out.
And just to be sure, these verses don’t minimize Moses. Verse 2 makes that clear. Moses was faithful. He was a faithful leader. God called him to faithfully speak to Pharoah. He faithfully obeyed God. The people saw Moses’ faithfulness to God – they knew Moses had a special role in God’s kingdom. Look at the phrase at the end of verse 2: “Moses… was faithful in all God’s house.” That term "house” describes God’s people – as in the family of God. Moses faithfully served the family of God.
Jesus was also faithful. Faithful to speak the truth and grace of God. Faithful to God the Father in fulfilling his task on earth - salvation. Faithful in perfect obedience to God’s law.
You see, both were faithful. But faithful in different ways. And what these first 6 verses highlight is that Jesus is categorically more faithful than Moses. Jesus is worthy of greater glory than Moses. Why? Well, he writes, “the builder of a house has more honor than the house itself.” Verse 5 explains: “Moses was faithful in all God's house as a servant…” and in verse 6 “but Christ is faithful over God's house as a son.”
So, on the one hand, you have Moses. He’s a servant in the house. And on the other hand, you have Jesus, as the builder of the house, as over the house.
This last summer, we vacationed in Washington DC. And one of the things we did was go on a White House tour. The most famous house in the world. It was very interesting. We didn’t see the west wing or the oval office, but we entered the east wing and were able to walk through the lower level and then the rooms on the main floor. And there were pictures everywhere (and painting, too). Almost every picture included one of the presidents… but he was with a foreign dignitary, or a famous musician or movie star, or the queen, or the first lady, or the family dog. Pictures of president after another president after another president. It was a good reminder that each president merely serves in the house. He didn’t create the office of President or build the house and he doesn’t own the house. No, the president serves the country. It’s the constitution which established the office 250 years ago. The President, though important, is merely a servant in the house… appointed by the people.
It’s not a perfect analogy, but you get the point. Moses served in the house. He’s described as a servant. And what did Moses do? End of verse 5: he was there “to testify to the things that were to be spoken later.” There it is again, by the way… prophet. Moses was a prophet pointing to a greater prophet. That’s Moses… faithful in the house.
Jesus, on the other hand, is described as “the builder” – verse 3… and “the son” – verse 5. He has more honor because he is over the house. It’s his house. He established the house. Again, we’re talking about the household of God – the people of God. The reason that Jesus is over the house is that he is God. Verse 4 notes. “For every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God.” So after being described as the builder, Jesus is equated with God. Moses is a servant in the house. But Jesus, as God the son, owns the house.
We’re to consider him: Jesus is not another faithful prophet like Moses, rather he’s THE prophet, the Word of God. He’s the one whom Moses prophesied would come. He’s over Moses and over the whole house of God, the church. Greater and more glorious as the builder of the house.
Response
And that brings us now to our response. We’ve considered Jesus, but what does that mean for us? Well, look at the middle of 6. “And we are his house, if indeed we hold fast our confidence and hope.” Verse 14 is very similar to verse 6. Look down at 14. “we have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end.” “Hold our original confidence.” And earlier, “Hold fast our confidence.” Those two verses are saying the same thing. We’re to hold onto Christ. We’re to see and hear and have a believing heart.
The Psalm 95 quote illustrates the opposite - an unbelieving heart. In fact, verses 7-11 take us back to the Exodus and the wilderness. The sad reality is that even though they witnessed the 10 plagues…. Even though their firstborn had been passed over by the angel of death… even though they were there when God protected them from the Egyptian army… even though they crossed the red sea… even though they experienced God’s provision in the wilderness… yet they did not believe. They witnessed and experienced it all, yet constantly displayed unbelieving hearts. Things got to a boiling point at Meribah – the place of the rebellion. They needed water, yet they didn’t trust the Lord to provide, even though he had provided all along the way. So they rose up against Moses. “Why have you brought us into this wilderness to die?” They wanted to go back to Egypt, back to slavery. They hardened their hearts. That’s how Psalm 95 describes their rebellion in verse 8. It’s the same phrase used to describe Pharoh’s heart.
Suppose you had not gone to your doctor for years. You thought you were fine. But then one day, you notice that you get out of breath really easily and your chest feels tight. So, you go see your doctor. After performing some tests and scans, he or she sits you down and says, Tell me about your diet? Well, I don’t eat green things. Usually, it’s ice cream for breakfast. For lunch sometimes grilled cheese sandwiches or a burrito. For dinner, my all-time favorite is BBQ, but pizza or fried foods will also do.
You then learn that your arteries are 80% blocked. Your terrible diet is causing your heart to slowly harden and die. You have congestive heart failure and the risk of a massive heart attack is high. The doctor says, Your diet needs a radical change or you will die. How do you respond? Do you think, I don’t believe it. I’m fine. Or will you believe and realize your grave condition.
The generation in the wilderness had spiritual heart disease. Because of it, sadly they would not be allowed to enter the promised land. As Psalm 95 puts it they would not enter God’s rest. You see that in Hebrews 3:11. It’s referring to the eternal rest in God’s presence for eternity. And why would they not enter it? It’s because of their unbelief. You can see that down in verse 19. We didn’t read that verse, but it directly answers the question why.
Let me take a brief tangent here. Some have suggested that verse 12 means we can lose our salvation. It says that you should not have “an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God.”
However, it’s not saying that we can have true faith in Christ and then later lose that true faith in Christ. Rather these verses are emphasizing that a true testimony of faith is revealed by someone who demonstrates their faith over time. Who indeed, “holds fast our confidence,” as it says. The Israelites in the wilderness demonstrated they never had a believing heart. It wasn’t a matter of believing and then losing that belief, rather it was witnessing the deliverance and provision of God, but never believing.
Now, you may be asking yourself this question: “If that generation had all those reasons to believe, yet they didn’t believe, what hope is there for us and our generation?”
Well, we have even more reasons to believe. Moses was a shadow of the greater prophet who has come. And the Exodus, despite how God miraculously delivered his people and displayed his glory, was also just a shadow. The deliverance that Christ has brought is greater. Deliverance not from bondage in Egypt but bondage from sin and shame, and not through the blood of a lamb, but through the blood of THE lamb of God, Jesus. And we have the prophecy fulfilled because the Word of God has come – Jesus himself. What was veiled in the past, we now see clearly… the faithfulness and mercy of God in Christ.
And speaking of veiled… let’s go back to when Moses had to veil his face. Exodus 34 describes Moses’ face radiating the glory of God after being in his presence on the mountain. So much so, the people were afraid to come near him. So he put a veil over his face. But over time, that reflected glory of God on Moses face faded away.
But not so the glory of God in Christ. 2 Corinthians 4:6 says that God has shown the light of his glory in our hearts. What is that glory? It says: “The light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ Jesus.” Not a reflected glory, but the glory of God himself in Jesus. As Hebrews 1 says, Jesus is the radiance of the glory of God.
This advent, may we consider Jesus, the one greater than Moses, the great prophet of our confession, and may we believe. May our hearts not be hardened by the deceitfulness of our sin,” as it says, but instead, may we believe and behold the one who delivers us from our sin.
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The Eternal Son of God: Prophet, Preist, and King - Rev. Erik Veerman
Hebrews 1:1-6
We’ll be taking a break from our Proverbs study until January. In the meantime, we’ll be in the book of Hebrews for a brief Advent series.
Last year for advent, we spent time the book of Matthew chapter 1 - Jesus’ genealogy and his birth narrative.
The year before we looked at Luke 1… both Mary’s song - her Magnificat as well as Zechariah’s song.
This year, our Advent focus will be a little bit different. We’ll be considering who Jesus is as the Son of God - specifically as Prophet, Priest, and King. This morning will be an introduction from Hebrews 1, then next week, Prophet, the following week Priest, and then Sunday morning, December 24, Jesus as King.
You can find Hebrews 1 on page 1187 in the provided Bibles. We’ll focus on the first 6 verses. Later in this short series, we’ll consider the rest of chapter 1.
As I read, listen for the different aspects of Jesus’ identity as prophet, priest, and king.
Reading of Hebrews 1:1-6.
Prayer
Back when I was in grade school, I always enjoyed visiting my grandparents. They had a large farmhouse in western Pennsylvania. As a kid, there was lots to explore, both inside and outside.
And one of my memories was their large formal living room. It had bookshelves and chairs and tables, and a big picture window that let the afternoon sunlight in, which light up the whole room. In front of the window, my grandmother had strategically hung a set of crystal prisms. They were oval shaped glass-like prisms with angled surfaces. When the sun hit them, it would refract the light in different colors around the room. Small little colored spots would appear on the walls and furniture - yellows, blues, greens, reds. Of course, I would stick my hand out to capture the light on my palm. It was mesmerizing because at the time, I didn’t know how a prism worked.
How could this sunlight turn into different colors? I didn’t realize that the sunlight was actually made up of different colors… and the prisms were simply revealing that.
In a similar way, Hebrews 1 is like a prism. Instead of revealing the different colors of the sun s-u-n, it is revealing different aspects of the son s-o-n. Essentially who Jesus is - His nature as God and the different redemptive roles he fulfills.
I think it’s a beautiful thing to consider the breadth of Jesus’s identity and ministry. At least for me, it expands the awe I have of God in how he accomplished salvation for his glory and our good. And, I would add, it deepens my understanding of and relationship with Jesus – my savior, my Lord, my king, my hope, and my redeemer.
The prism of Hebrews 1.
This morning, we’ll begin with Jesus as God’s son. And then we’ll briefly consider Jesus as prophet, priest, and king from these verses. It will be an introduction to his three redemptive offices. That’s what we call them. Like the “office” of president or the “office” of governor. The redemptive offices of Jesus are “prophet,” “priest,” and “king.” As I mentioned, over the next 3 weeks we’ll be exploring each in details from Hebrews.
But before we get there, let me make some introductory comments about the book. We haven’t studied Hebrews together so let me briefly touch upon the author and audience.
First, we do not know who wrote Hebrews. We often refer to the author as simply… “the author of Hebrews.” Over the centuries, different possibilities have been suggested.
· Some believe that the apostle Paul wrote this letter. The problem with that view is that the style and grammar in Hebrews is very different from the apostle Paul. John Calvin points out that the author’s teaching approach is also different than Paul’s. So, I think it’s unlikely to be him.
· Others have proposed Apollos or Barnabus. Those could certainly be possibilities.
· But in the end, it’s best to simply say: we don’t know. God does.
Second, as the title of the book indicates, it’s written to a Hebrew audience – a Jewish audience. If you were to flip through chapter by chapter, you will see dozens of Old Testament quotes. And what the author is emphasizing is how Jesus has fulfilled the promises and prophecies of old. How he is greater than the angels, greater than Moses, greater than the High Priests and the priesthood. His covenant is greater than the old covenant.
Those were all shadows of the one to come. But now Jesus has come and fulfilled them all as the promised Savior.
When I think about the book of Hebrews, I think of ever chapter as a different sermon about Jesus. In some ways, it teaches us how to exposit the Old Testament and explain how Jesus has fulfilled God’s promises.
Many have said that the book of Hebrews can be summarized this way: The supremacy of Christ. I think that’s a good succinct summary.
So, this Advent, as we briefly study Hebrews. we’ll behold Jesus for who he is as God, and as Prophet, Priest, and King.
Jesus: God in the Flesh
Number 1. Jesus as God – God in the flesh – fully and truly God in every way. The first thing I want you to see is that Jesus is referred to as God’s Son. That’s right there in the middle of verse 2.
And related to that, there is a clear distinction in these verses between God (including his Son) and his creation. We, you and I, are his creation. The whole world is his creation. God the Son is not identified as being created. In fact, God the Son is the one, “through whom [God] created the world.” That’s right there at the end of verse 2.
You may remember, just 3 weeks ago, we were studying Proverbs chapter 8. That amazing chapter is about the wisdom of God in Christ, who was there at the beginning. In God’s wisdom through Christ, the full expanse of the universe was made. And if you remember, we considered a couple of New Testament texts which speak of Christ as creator.
· One of them is the Gospel of John chapter 1. It says in John 1 verse 3, “all things were made through him.” That is, through Christ, through God the Son.
· And also very similar is Colossians chapter 1. It says, “For by him, all things were created in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible.”
The prepositions are helpful here. Everything was created “through him” or “by him.” It’s not that God the Father and God the Holy Spirit were uninvolved. No, creation was an act of God - the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. God the Son was and is the instrument through which creation came to being. Sometimes we say, Christ was the agent of creation.
I want to make the point really clear here: God’s Son was not created. No, rather he is God and is central in all of creation coming into being.
This is really important. Over the last two years, we’ve had Jehovah’s Witnesses come to our door, I think, 3-4 times. You will also see them on Main Street.
In talking with some of you, I know that that you are also dialoging with them. Well, they would say that God’s Son is not part of the Trinity. He is a lesser god, they believe, who has some of the powers of God. They would also say that Jesus Christ was created by God before he created the world. And also, they will say that Jesus himself is not God in the flesh. As some of you know, they will often go here to Hebrews 1 to argue their point.
For example, they will go to verse 5 and say “see, Jesus was begotten, that means he was created.” Furthermore, they will point out the word ”today” there in verse 5. To them, it means there was a time when the Son did not exist.
That’s a lot, isn’t it? And as you know, they have their script.
Well, what do you say to all of that? Do you say, “can I give you the phone number to my pastor?” You’re welcome to do that, but they are not going to call me.
There’s a lot to say about Jesus being fully and truly God – it’s all through the Bible. But let’s focus on Hebrews chapter 1.
First, let me respond to the word “today” in verse 5. It does not mean there was a day when God’s Son didn’t exist. Rather, verse 5 is referring to the incarnation – when God became man. When through the Holy Spirit, Jesus was begotten by God, in his mother Mary. We know this because the apostle Paul quotes the very same verse (Psalm 2:7) in the book of Acts chapter 13. There, the apostle specifically uses it in reference to the incarnation. In other words, Hebrews 1:5 in no way suggests that the Son of God was created.
In fact, quite the contrary. Let me give you 3 brief reasons from verse 3 why these verses testify to Jesus’s divine nature:
1. Let’s go to the beginning of verse 3. “Jesus is the radiance of the Glory of God….” “is…” “Jesus is the radiance….” It does not say Jesus reflects the radiance of the Glory of God. No, it’s not like the moon reflecting the light of the sun. Rather, Jesus has all the glory of God because he is God. He radiates the glory of God as God.
2. Second, verse 3 continues, Jesus is also “the exact imprint of his nature.” In the Greek, it implies identical in form. Jesus being, in other words, is one and the same nature as God because he is God. That statement alone is pretty clear. There are dozens of New Testament passages that support this, including words from Jesus himself.
3. And third, verse 3 continues. “He upholds the universe by the word of his power.” That adds to what we already talked about - Jesus as creator God. What an amazing testimony to the power of Christ as God – as creator of all things.
You see, verse 3 testifies to Jesus in all his glory as God.
Now, much more can be said, of course. In fact, as we work through Jesus as Prophet, Priest, and King, it will add to the testimony that Jesus is indeed God in the flesh.
Well, I hope that does two things for you. I hope it helps you in your conversations to stand firm on Jesus as fully and truly God. And I hope that it draws you to an even deeper awe and reverence – that this Jesus whom we worship, the one we celebrate at advent, is not some little “g” god. But rather he is God the Son, the one through whom all things were created, the exact imprint of God’s nature. And who upholds the universe… he uphold us… by the word of his power. The entire cosmos is created by and sustained by the Son. Very God of very God…
Prophet
Next, Jesus as prophet. Now, next week we’re going to dive deep into this redemptive office, but in the meantime, there’s so much here in these opening verses.
Jesus as Prophet is where this chapter begins. It says: “Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets… but, ” it says, “ in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son.”
A prophet, by the way, is one chosen by God to speak the word of God on behalf of God. In the Old Testament time, there were many prophets. In the Scriptures, there are 16 prophetic books, but there were dozens of other prophets mentioned in Scripture. Think of Elisha, Elijah, Nathan. Each of their prophetic messages were similar, but for different contexts. And what did they do? They called the people to repentance and back to God. They warned about coming judgment. They proclaimed God’s mercy. They performed signs and miracles which demonstrated their call as prophets and demonstrted God’s power. They foretold what was to come, including the Messiah. But in the end, each of their voices died out. Each prophet was limited and each prophet was a frail, fallen man. Even the repetition of prophecies and the number of prophets revealed a weakness in the prophetic role of old.
But then we read Hebrews 1. There’s a finality to Jesus as Prophet. His prophecy is for all… every people and nation. Jesus is not just a new prophet that has come on the scene. No rather, his words… his voice is the voice of God.
God has given us his Son, through whom God now speaks.
· Jesus is the Word of God as God himself, as the apostle John writes.
· He is the final and ultimate pronouncement of mercy and judgment.
· His words are eternal because he is eternal.
· His signs and miracles culminate in the greatest sign and miracle of all… his death on the cross and his resurrection.
· And it is his word, as we considered in verse 3, which upholds the universe.
And let me point out something important in verse 2. That phrase “last days” is a special phrase. It’s specifically referencing the New Testament times. It doesn’t say “these days” but instead “last days.” You see, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and others prophesied that the “last days” would come. Those days would usher in a final prophet who would bring fulfillment to their prophecies. It is his voice which would go out to the world. In other words, we are in the last days. The author of Hebrews is declaring that the time has come because God’s Son has come. The Word made flesh has come. He is THE prophet. Through him, the last days have come.
Priest
And notice, the reference to “last days” in verse 2 doesn’t only apply to Jesus as the ultimate prophet. No, the description of the “last days” continues. It also includes Jesus’ fulfillment as priest and king. Let’s consider priest next.
Jump down to the end of verse 3. There’s a short phrase there… sometimes we skip right over it. It says “After making purification for sins, he [that is, Jesus] sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.”
That sentence right there is the Gospel - Christ is the one who purifies us from our sin. In some way, that one sentence summarizes the driving emphasis of the book - Jesus as the ultimate High Priest. A priest, by the way, was the one who represented the people before God. He was their intermediary… their go-between to God.
And what the priests of old did were to made sacrifices for the people. Sacrifice after sacrifice, year after year. And these sacrifices were to make purification (or cleansing) for sins. That’s what verse 3 references. But the problem was, (1) the priests had to make sacrifices for themselves, for their own sin, and (2) the sacrifices were inadequate. You see, the whole Old Testament sacrificial system was pointing to something greater. A greater sacrifice and a greater priest. In fact, one in the same.
As God the Son, Jesus’ himself was the only sacrifice that could once-and-for-all cleanse us from our sin. And as God in the flesh, he was the perfect priest – the perfect mediator between God and man.
Let me submit to you this: in order for Jesus’ sacrifice to be effective as a once-and-for-all sacrifice AND in order for him to be the eternal mediator, Jesus had to be fully and truly God and fully and truly man. That goes back to the question earlier about Jesus as God.
Before we move on to king… let me mention one more thing about Jesus as the Priest. He lives. Verse 3 highlights that. Jesus is now seated in heaven… it tells us. After his sacrificial death, Jesus was raised and then ascended to heaven. You can also see the present tense there in verse 3. Jesus IS the radiance of the Glory of God. He UPHOLDS the universe. He overcame death as the perfect sacrifice so that he could be the perfect priest and continually intercede for his people from heaven.
Now, you may have more questions about the Old Testament sacrificial system… and maybe the role of the High Priest… and how it all relates to Jesus. Well, stay tuned for 2 weeks from today. We’ll be in chapter 9.
King
That bring us to one last redemptive office. Jesus is King. THE King. The greater king.
You see, the kings of Judah and Israel all had their weaknesses. Some were downright evil. But even the good kings like David and Solomon and Hezekiah and Josiah had their weaknesses. Their governing was limited. Their sins were apparent. They all passed from this earth.
But we have a king today. Not an earthly king, but an eternal king. And one without any limitation or sin.
Let me note two things here from the text.
First, verse 3 identifies Jesus as the “heir of all things.” What’s an heir in this context? Well, Jesus is the heir to the throne. He’s the one who has the full status as heir to the eternal throne of God – Heir to God the Father.
The author of Hebrews notes that Jesus is the heir of “all things.” That’s language of dominion and authority. He is “King of Kings and Lord of Lords” as Revelation 19 puts it.
And the second thing to note is at the end of verse 3. We already considered part of this. It says, “he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.”
Actually, this is the first of four refences in Hebrews to Jesus sitting at the right hand of the Father. The phrase “right hand” is significant because it indicates power and authority. The one who sits on the right hand of a throne is the one given authority to govern and judge. He has all the majesty and glory of the one next to whom he sits. In other words, it’s a testimony of Jesus as equal with the Father in authority and glory and power. He is our king.
Let me summarize it this way. Jesus is the eternal King with all dominion, power, authority, and Majesty… all of that “due his name.” That’s from verse 4 – Jesus is superior than the angels. Why? Because he is the Son. That’s his name. That means Jesus is worthy for us to ascribe all those attributes to him because he is king of kings.
Conclusion
So, Jesus is Son the God – He’s one with God… He’s the ultimate Prophet as the eternal Son of God and Word of God. He’s the perfect high Priest. He’s the triumphant King with all God’s radiance and power.
And he’s all of that together. Isn’t that the incredible part? The prism of Hebrews 1 merely reveals who Jesus is in all these aspects of his nature and ministry. They are not separate. but are unified in the person and work of Christ. The dominion of his kingship, his priestly intercession, and the authority of his prophecy as the Son are who he is and what he has and will do for all eternity as the redeemer of the world.
And in conclusion what is our response? Worship!
Look at the response of the angels in verse 6! Worship. “Let all God’s angels worship him.” When the Son of God entered the world as a baby in a manger, what did the angels do? They worshipped. Verses 5 and 6 here takes us back to Luke 2. Do you remember that? The angel appeared to the shepherds. He announced the great joy of the birth of the Savior, who IS Christ the Lord, he declared. And then verse 13 of Luke 2. “and suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!’”
This advent, may we worship Jesus with the angels… worshipping our Lord in all the radiance and glory of God due his name as our Prophet, Priest, and King. Amen.
- Visa fler
