Download Volume 16, Number 28, July 6 to July 12, 2014 The Right Way

RPM Volume 16, Number 28, July 6 to July 12, 2014
The Right Way
Proverbs 15:6-10
By D. Marion Clark
Introduction
There are two types of people in the world, I am told: those who are Irish and
those who wish they were; according to Bob in the movie "What About Bob?",
they are people who like Neil Diamond and those who do not; there are those
who prefer that the toilet paper rolls over the tube and those who prefer it roll
under the tube; and then there are those who divide people into two categories
and those who do not. Proverbs likes to divide. Its two favorite sets of categories
are the righteous and the wicked, and the wise and the foolish. Our verses this
morning characterizes what happens to those who follow the right way of
righteousness and wisdom and those who depart it.
Text
6 The house of the righteous contains great treasure, but the income of the
wicked brings them trouble.
I’ve found a great way to prepare sermons from Proverbs. The book requires a
different approach than the other books we have studied, in that, where the
others required consulting the research of scholars to pull out the subtle
meanings of the texts, what Proverbs mostly requires is the insight of people
experienced in life. Thus, I turned to the teenagers Wednesday morning group
for consultation. I asked them what kinds of treasure would be in the house of the
righteous. Here are the answers I got: peace, contentment, love, knowledge.
The oddest answer was “serving others.” Certainly we think of serving others as
good work to do, but most of us would not think of placing it in the category of
personal treasure. But then, that is how the righteous think. They think differently
about what has value. Thus, as in this case, they believe that having the
opportunity and ability to serve others, is a treasure to prize. (I can immediately
think of exemplary persons in this church, but will not embarrass them by naming
them.)
Let’s go back to those other treasures mentioned. Peace was one. Everyone
would agree with that one. How many times have we thought or yelled, “If I could
just have some peace and quiet in this house!” Of course, what we mean is, “If
only the others in this house or in this church or in this workplace would change,
then I could have peace.” What we have to ask is why the house of the righteous
contains treasure like peace and love. The answer of course is that the righteous
are people who promote peace. They are people who have learned to be content
in all things. They have used knowledge wisely to better themselves and benefit
others.
This also explains why, in general, the righteous seem to have, if not great
wealth, at least financial security. They use their money wisely; they don’t value
material pleasures more than good relations with God and others; thus they don’t
spend more than they can afford.
They wicked, on the other hand, can never be contented, because they are either
worrying about losing what they have or about how to get more. Debt dogs them
no matter how much they have, thus more income only brings more trouble.
Indeed, income, which ought to be a source of building security, only creates
problems. As 1 Timothy 6:10 says, For the love of money is a root of all kinds of
evil. In the context of that statement, Paul grieves that it has led people astray
from the faith. It breaks up families. It leads good men and women astray who
started off in the workplace with noble motives. It creates insecurity when one is
secure, and creates a false sense of security when one’s downfall is near. It
skewers one’s ability to value what is really valuable. The wicked who love
money simply cannot comprehend how the mind of the righteous work. They
would hold the individual, who named “serving others” as a great treasure, in
contempt for being so simpleminded or regard him as a hypocrite since they can’t
imagine a person who has all his wits thinking that way.
7 The lips of the wise spread knowledge; not so the hearts of fools.
This proverb is similar to verse two: The tongue of the wise commends
knowledge, but the mouth of the fool gushes folly. Note the contrast: lips of the
wise with hearts of fools. The same idea is being brought out that we spoke of in
the previous sermon. What is at issue is the state of the heart. The wise spread
knowledge, not because they took a good course on communications (though
that can help), but because they prize knowledge.
We should consider for a moment what is meant by knowledge. In Proverbs
knowledge, as Derek Kidner explains, implies “not so much an informed mind as
a knowing of truth and indeed of God himself.” A person of knowledge is a
person of wisdom. We understand the distinction. There are many educated
persons who are foolish. That is why there is just as high, if not higher, incidents
of divorce, family dysfunctions, broken relationships, infighting, etc. in a university
as in a factory.
Furthermore, the reason for such foolishness is also evident. Consider what the
proverbs attribute as essential to having knowledge: The fear of the Lord is the
beginning of knowledge (1:7). The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,
and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding (9:10). If one is not willing to
acknowledge God; if one is not willing to submit to the revelation of God, then
wisdom is hard to come by.
Education is good, but education without godly wisdom leads to pride and foolish
application. Even secular people acknowledge that education does not
necessarily lead to wisdom. That is why universities and think tanks are filled with
contradictory political positions, moral philosophies, social policies and so on.
That is why the same research findings inevitably lead to contradictory
conclusions. It takes wisdom to spread true knowledge.
This applies to the church as well. One can become knowledgeable about
doctrine and biblical facts, but, nevertheless, be unable to understand the
implications of the doctrine and biblical information. Let me give one example. As
Reformed Christians we uphold the doctrine of total depravity, which teaches that
sin taints all that we think and do, even as Christians. That doctrine should teach
us, therefore, to be cautious and humble in the opinions we hold, knowing that
we may err. Even so, we Reformed Christians can be obstinate and arrogant in
the way that we hold forth our teachings. We can have knowledge – right
knowledge – and yet miss out on the benefits ourselves, because we do not
wisely examine ourselves in light of the knowledge. It is not enough to be right;
we must have a right heart and attitude towards others, as well.
8 The Lord detests the sacrifice of the wicked, but the prayer of the upright
pleases him.
We will turn to Isaiah 1:10-17 for a commentary on this proverb.
10 Hear the word of the Lord,
you rulers of Sodom;
listen to the law of our God,
you people of Gomorrah!
11 “The multitude of your sacrifices—
what are they to me?” says the Lord.
“I have more than enough of burnt offerings,
of rams and the fat of fattened animals;
I have no pleasure
in the blood of bulls and lambs and goats.
12 When you come to appear before me,
who has asked this of you,
this trampling of my courts?
13 Stop bringing meaningless offerings!
Your incense is detestable to me.
New Moons, Sabbaths and convocations—
I cannot bear your evil assemblies.
14 Your New Moon festivals and your appointed feasts
my soul hates.
They have become a burden to me;
I am weary of bearing them.
15 When you spread out your hands in prayer,
I will hide my eyes from you;
even if you offer many prayers,
I will not listen.
Your hands are full of blood;
16 wash and make yourselves clean.
Take your evil deeds
out of my sight!
Stop doing wrong,
17 learn to do right!
Seek justice,
encourage the oppressed.
Defend the cause of the fatherless,
plead the case of the widow.
I think this gets the message across. Don’t live unethical and unloving lives, and
then come to church thinking that our attendance and contributions and service
activities will please God. No, God hates, he despises, such hypocrisy and the
disgrace that it brings on him and his church.
Conversely, the smallest of prayers by the upright gives him great pleasure. Who
are the upright? We will turn to another prophet for insight into that.
6 With what shall I come before the Lord
and bow down before the exalted God?
Shall I come before him with burnt offerings,
with calves a year old?
7 Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams,
with ten thousand rivers of oil?
Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression,
the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?
8 He has showed you, O man, what is good.
And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
and to walk humbly with your God (Micah 6:6-8).
What’s in your heart? We keep coming back to that. What is in our hearts is what
matters to God. Large contributions are good. Being active in church activities is
good. Attending worship is good. It is important to know the right way of
worshiping and serving God. But rule number one is that we must have hearts
that desire the same things God desires, viz., justice, mercy, and a humble
relationship with our Lord. If those things are not in our hearts, then no worship,
however theologically correct it may be, will please God.
9 The Lord detests the way of the wicked but he loves those who pursue
righteousness.
God is prejudiced. He doesn’t like wickedness. Dress it up, make it look
sophisticated, make it look open-minded, make it look like fun, even make it look
respectable – the Lord detests the way of the wicked. We can rationalize
disbelief and immoral behavior; we can minimize the harm done; we can try to
make up for it by being good in other ways; God hates our wickedness and will
not excuse it.
On the other hand, God loves those who pursue righteousness. Blessed are
those who hunger and thirst for righteousness (Matthew 5:6), says Jesus.
Blessed are they because God loves them. Righteousness is not so much about
separating oneself from sin as it is getting involved with battling the effects of sin.
Righteousness primarily refers to upholding justice: defending the weak,
supporting the cause of those with little voice, helping the poor. It is the student
who comes to the aid of another student who is being bullied or taunted, such as
a teenage Christian I recently read about who publicly became friends with a
homosexual student who was being harassed at school. How is this
righteousness? By showing friendship while still disapproving the behavior, he
demonstrated the commandment to love one’s neighbor whoever the neighbor
may be. Is this other student under the judgment of God? Yes. But now, because
of the Christian’s unconditional love, there is greater opportunity for him to repent
and turn to Christ. There is also greater opportunity for others to see the power of
the gospel to make Christians risk their own reputations to befriend the outcast. I
assure you, that pursuing righteousness will bring slander not only from the
immoral, but from the socially moral. That is what happened to Jesus when he
had the audacity to befriend notorious sinners.
10 Stern discipline awaits him who leaves the path; he who hates correction will
die.
The KJ uses the term “grievous.” To leave the path of righteousness only leads
to painful correction. That phrase, leaves the path, indicates a person who had
been walking in the way of righteousness. Such a person began life well,
perhaps because of Christian parents and a good church. Perhaps it is a person
who made a Christian commitment and had started off his new life faithfully
following the Lord. But for whatever reason, he has fallen off that path. Perhaps it
was the lure of worldly pleasures – the fun that the party crowd seems to have;
perhaps it was due to disappointments in the church and with Christians or with
parents, perhaps just disappointments with problems in life. He thinks that the
new way is the answer, or at least, gets him away from the old path. What he
finds instead is another set of problems and disappointments. Or even worse, the
new path seems fine, and his correction does not come until death when there is
no opportunity to repent. That is why, by the way, that in my prayers for the
unsaved, I pray that they will not be made restless and troubled. I’d rather they
be corrected now and turn to the Lord.
Even so, many never do turn to God, and they receive the warning of the proverb
that he who hates correction will die. The teenagers made the point that this can
speak of spiritual death, which is true. One can live physically and be dead
spiritually. So many people are dead, for example, to truth, to real pleasure, real
righteousness, real peace and joy and love. But ultimately, of course, if one
continues to reject correction, he will die the second death – i.e. receive the
eternal judgment of God.
Conclusion
Note the approach of these proverbs as it they make distinctions between the
righteous and the wicked, and the wise and the foolish. They do not say what
makes a person righteous or wicked, wise or foolish. Rather, they denote what
happens to or springs forth from them. Thus, the righteous have treasure, while
the wicked have trouble; the wise spread knowledge, while the foolish spread
nothing but foolishness; the righteous please the Lord and receive his favor,
while the wicked repulse him; and finally, the wayward receive harsh correction
and ultimately death if they do not repent.
What is the premise? Jesus states it in Matthew 7:16: By their fruit you will
recognize them. The point in saying this that what matters, what makes a real
difference in our behavior, is the state of our hearts. And what affects our hearts
is the regenerating and sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit. A man does not heed
correction if he does not fall under conviction of the Holy Spirit. A woman does
not think wisely as God thinks, if her spirit is not under the control of God’s Spirit.
Therefore, to any who may not have experienced true conversion, I can
recommend the proverbs as good counsel that will make one’s life better, but I
cannot pretend that God is pleased with a person who outwardly conforms to
these precepts, yet refuses to yield his life to God through Jesus Christ. That is
the message of verse 8. The actual worship practice of the wicked may outwardly
be commendable, but God judges the heart, and a heart that rejects the sacrifice
of God the Son will not be judged as righteous no matter how much good religion
and morals is practiced. What Simeon told Mary as he held the baby Jesus in his
arms is true of us all, that by our reaction to Jesus the thoughts of many hearts
will be revealed (Luke 2:35). We may seem to desire the right way and do many
good deeds that appear righteous, but if we reject the Son of God, then we
demonstrate that we are only seeking our own way, our own glory. Rejecting the
good news of Jesus’ atonement for our sins is neither righteous nor wise.
To the converted, those who profess Christ as Lord and Savior, understand that
the right approach to these proverbs is not to pronounce how well you will live up
to them, but to humbly pray for God’s Spirit to produce such fruit in you. This way
we will avoid both the path of pride and the path of despair. (There are two kinds
of people!) Some of us are filled with pride because of our outward behavior
which seems to be righteous and wise. We share the sin of the Pharisees and
scribes who actually believed that they were living up to the law. How can you
test if you are in danger of that sin? Here is one test. When listening to the
exhortations of these proverbs, is your first instinct to think, “I hope (someone
else) is listening to this”? I know that I did during last week’s sermon, and the
proverbs turned around and hit me between the eyes.
Others of us are despondent because we feel keenly our failures to keep up the
ideals of the proverbs. That is a reaction that is more on target, because we do
fail to live up to the standards for the righteous and the wise and can always
benefit from examining ourselves and striving to conform more and more to
them. But if all we gain from the proverbs is a sense of being reprimanded for our
failures then our sin is as great as those who have a false self righteousness.
Both those who are confident in their righteousness and those who continually
despair of their unrighteousness are guilty of ignoring the righteousness of Christ,
which is our only hope and confidence.
But now a righteousness from God, apart from law (and proverbs), has been
made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from
God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no
difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified
freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus (Romans
3:21-24).
Let us all understand, that the greatest of the treasures in the house of the wise
is Jesus Christ and the redemption that he has bought through his blood.
This article is provided as a ministry of Third Millennium Ministries. If you
have a question about this article, please email our Theological Editor. If you
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