ResponsiveReiding

Proverbs 3:19–20 “The Lord by wisdom founded the earth; by understanding he established the heavens; 20 by his knowledge the deeps broke open, and the clouds drop down the dew.”

In the middle of Solomon’s laying out the implications of the Gospel Centered mind in chapter three, it is as though he stands up – unable to constrain himself – to tell his son how blessed this way of living is (vss. 13-18).  Then, in two follow up verses, he explains that God is a God of wisdom. He contemplates His own steps. He does not act arbitrarily or randomly – which is evident everywhere you look in creation. The point? The God of all blessedness, the One Whom IS blessedness itself – walks in wisdom. As made in His image, we get to walk that way too – above every other creature.

Animals, do not walk in wisdom, they live by instinct. That is not to say that certain species are not gifted with high levels of intelligence – they clearly are. But in the final analysis, they are not building nests on the basis of technological eco-forecasts. While certain behaviors are passed on from adults to offspring, that is not by means of relaying abstract thoughts through communication with complex speculations, verbal instruction and convincing arguments as humans do. Even animals that make and use rudimentary tools do not advance in such endeavors. Your dog may dream about chasing cats, but is hardly formulating opinions on the superiority of the canine over the feline in abstract ways – writing dissertations or blogging about it. They don’t have it in them. But we do. Because we were made in God’s image.

The upshot of Solomon’s remarks here is that they are remarkably tailored to the present day context in which we live. It is no happy coincidence that Solomon uses his appeal to creation to get his point across. And we need to listen to especially in our day.

Here is a call to keep always in view – that it is God who made this world in which we live – with purpose and wisdom, and that by His design it functions and exists. This is so we never cross over into existential despair. So we never fall into the fears of randomness. Never fail to see God is behind life itself, and that He remains sovereign and supreme as He moves all of history toward its final goal of all things summed up in Christ Jesus.

The knowledge that human existence is on a trajectory toward an eternal goal is vital to our living in hope and reality. The damnable horror that has sprung from a Godless, evolutionary view of man that makes him nothing more than a cosmic accident plunges the souls of men into a bottomless despair. Only the light of the Gospel as it reveals the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ can rescue us from that wretched abyss.

Proverbs 3:11–12 “My son, do not despise the Lord’s discipline or be weary of his reproof, 12 for the Lord reproves him whom he loves, as a father the son in whom he delights.”

We must not make the assumption that “discipline” & “reproof” are executed angrily by God. This is a human attachment which is by no means necessary. Training and reproof can often – and perhaps MOST often ought to be done gently and lovingly. Picture a father with his steadying hand on the bicycle while his sweet daughter attempts to ride for the first time without training wheels. It is a stereotype of fallen man that posits these roles to mirror Marine drill-sergeants. It need not be the case at all. In fact, God’s reproofs are never mean, arbitrary, disproportionate nor punitive. They are ALWAYS borne of love and affection.

This need to refrain either from despising (treating lightly) or wearying of the Lord’s discipline is true whether you are the subject of such loving discipline, or if you are in leadership and must be an agent in carrying it out, or, if you are part of a Body which engages actively in such outward love. And what applies to leadership in the Church here, equally well applies to parenting in our homes.

At least three applications must be made.

a. The sinner (and sometimes the Christian too) treats the Father’s discipline as though it is a light thing. Either that God does not discipline at all and just leaves us to ourselves, or, that He does not take unrepentant sin in our lives very seriously. It is easy then too – if we DO live in the reality of His loving discipline, to grow weary of it, as though we can do NOTHING right and want to just get away from every manifestation of it. Such then is the need to be reminded this is love, and the product of His delight in us. To pay us the supreme compliment, that the Lord of the universe pays attention to the details of our lives.

b. Leadership can treat discipline lightly and thus neglect it. Or, being confronted with many needs to administer it in certain seasons, can grow exceedingly weary in the process. But we are to be agents of God’s love – NOT His wrath. We must keep this focus and not let it cross over into something heavy and odious. We too must remember how the Father is delighting in sons and daughters, and that we are there to manifest His love, care and concern in His active involvement in their lives.

c. So too a congregation can begin to wonder if Church discipline is really all that necessary. After all, it is painful and uncomfortable. We naturally dislike it. As a people we can grow weary and just say – “let’s let God handle it alone – why get ourselves all upset at people’s sins and involved in them?” Then again, we must take up the banner of love and be sure we do not neglect to love in the hard places. To do what is uncomfortable, when it is best for the ones we are loving in Christ’s name.

Proverbs 3:5–6 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. 6 In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. “

It is an easy error to take a passage like this one, and turn it into something it is not. All one need do, is take the first word “trust” and make it bear the entire weight of the thought.

But that is to miss the point entirely.

In other words, our author’s exhortation is NOT to merely be a trusting person, to be a “person of faith” or to have some sort of generic trust that everything will work out OK. What we are being called to here is to trust in God Himself. To trust His character, His promises.

We cannot trust our own perceptions of circumstances and their imagined meanings. But we can and MUST trust God’s revelation of Himself in His word, and in the person and work of Jesus Christ.

This takes us off of the futile task of trying always attach specific meaning to very little event in life – and to instead find the meaning of everything in the Author of Life Himself. Trust Him Believer. Trust the God who cannot lie. Trust the God who cannot sin. Trust His promises. Trust His descriptions of reality in the Word. Trust His Gospel. Trust Him above everybody and everything else.

Then again – do not forget the underlying presupposition here: You cannot trust anyone you do not know – not really. So – do you know Him? Do you know Him in the person of Jesus Christ? Do you know Him as your Lord and Savior? As your sin-bearer? When you do – then you can trust Him fully.

If you do really know Him, then you know you can bring everything to Him, EVERYTHING. He can be trusted with it. Do not fail to make every concern, ever twinge of anxiety or fear known. Do the same with every joy and thanksgiving. And with every sin and failing. You delights, desires and pains and woes. Nothing puts Him off. Nothing scares Him. Nothing is beyond His power. Because He loves you He is FOR you in every struggle. Never try to appear before Him the way you think He wants you to be – come naked, wounded, discouraged, fearful, fretful, sinful and undone. Bring Him into every aspect and moment of life. Every experience. Live life IN Christ.

Matthew 12:20–21 “a bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not quench, until he brings justice to victory; 21 and in his name the Gentiles will hope.”

Are you broken and bruised? He will not break you. He will tenderly nurse you back to strength. Is your spiritual flame reduced to little more than a smoldering wick? He won’t extinguish you – He’ll cause His Spirit to gently blow until you burn as a bright flame once more. Come to Him.

Trust in HIM with all your heart – even when you can’t sort out the pieces. And He will see to it you do not fall off the path to His glory.

As we saw Sunday, this address of Solomon to his son is aimed at encouraging him to develop a Gospel Centered Mind. Why do we say Gospel centered all the way back in Proverbs? Because verses 3-6 camp on letting steadfast love and faithfulness dominate his thinking, while at the same time exhorting him to trust the Lord with his whole heart. The connection can’t be missed. It is the Lord we are to trust this absolutely – letting HIS steadfast love and faithfulness rule our entire thought process.

Only the one who has seen their sin and guilt before God, and His amazing provision for human sin in the person and work of Christ – especially at Calvary – can have such a deep, life encompassing assurance. We cannot over emphasize the need for this in the Believer’s life. Apart from it, life will overshadow Christ. In it, the Cross overshadows all of life. It is a “pre-echo” if you will of Jude 21 “keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life.”

So allow me to exhort you as well in this vital matter again today. Christian, Believer, Child of God  –  Never let the wonder, the mystery, and glory, the reality of God’s steadfast love and faithfulness toward you ever escape your consciousness.

When we imagine His love to be vacillating or indistinct – or when we doubt the absolute certainty of His commitment to see all of His promises to come to pass – faith suffers its most devastating blows. We must see our God as constitutionally incapable of the any of the defects of human love. In the darkest of hours, He cannot love you any more, nor can He love you any less. See Him as ontologically unable to fail to keep His word, or to break His promises. He does not merely carry out His promises faithfully, He IS faithful. This is the One with whom we have to do. This is our God. Loving and faithful beyond anything the human mind can imagine. This is the One in whom we place our trust.

Know this for yourself, and remind yourself often, of the steadfast love of the Lord, and of His faithfulness. That He cannot fail. And in that, become one of steadfast love and faithfulness yourself. And when that seems to wane, do everything in your power to restore it. Call out for it in prayer. Seek for it like buried treasure in His Word. Sing about it in your Psalms and hymns and spiritual songs. Talk about it with your fellow Believers. Find books rehearing and explicating it. Saturate your heart and mind with the wonder of His grace – with His inviolably steadfast love, and His absolute faithfulness. Above all – keep looking to the Cross, and see it carried out there and sealed in the very blood of the Savior. What more absolute guarantee can He grant?

As the 18^th century hymn writer put it:

How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord,
Is laid for your faith in His excellent Word!
What more can He say than to you He hath said,
You, who unto Jesus for refuge have fled?

In every condition, in sickness, in health;
In poverty’s vale, or abounding in wealth;
At home and abroad, on the land, on the sea,
As thy days may demand, shall thy strength ever be.

Fear not, I am with thee, O be not dismayed,
For I am thy God and will still give thee aid;
I’ll strengthen and help thee, and cause thee to stand
Upheld by My righteous, omnipotent hand.

When through the deep waters I call thee to go,
The rivers of woe shall not thee overflow;
For I will be with thee, thy troubles to bless,
And sanctify to thee thy deepest distress.

When through fiery trials thy pathways shall lie,
My grace, all sufficient, shall be thy supply;
The flame shall not hurt thee; I only design
Thy dross to consume, and thy gold to refine.

Even down to old age all My people shall prove
My sovereign, eternal, unchangeable love;
And when hoary hairs shall their temples adorn,
Like lambs they shall still in My bosom be borne.

The soul that on Jesus has leaned for repose,
I will not, I will not desert to its foes;
That soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake,
I’ll never, no never, no never forsake.

We will close out our look at the 4 benefits Solomon told his son he could expect from following the 7 steps of vss. 1-4, with verse 20: “so you will walk in the way of the good and keep to the paths of the righteous.”

What a wonderful and vast promise that is.

It is vitally important at this point that we realize Solomon’s concern is not that his son simply adopt a certain set of behaviors. Whenever we confuse mere behavior with true sanctification we open the door for legalism, Phariseeism and religiosity. It is a very dangerous place to go spiritually. Once one assumes that walking in righteousness is a matter of mere performance, they set themselves up to be either perpetually discouraged, or, measuring their performance against others – become prideful and trusting in their own performance more than trusting in grace alone.

Without reading too much into the word – Solomon’s use of the word “walk” is wonderfully instructive. For nothing is more natural, nor a better way to conceptualize true sanctification than the image of walking. It is a picture of every day movement. It is not a picture of formalized actions. When one walks, they do not give much thought to how they walk – the mechanics of it, as much as simply moving toward an object or a destination. And this is precisely what we want to get to. We want our walking in righteousness to be the natural way we continue to move toward the final destination of conformity to Christ’s image, and eternity in His presence. It is Bunyan’s Pilgrim on the way to the Celestial City.

Let me try to say it another way. When Jesus called the Disciples to Himself, He did not say “here’s my book of rules, read it, memorize it, and start doing these things. It was far more simple. “Follow me” is the repeated formula. Walk with me. I always do what the Father desires. I always say what He gives me to say. I am on my way to where He is by way of the Cross – so just walk with me. Follow me. And you can’t go wrong.

Why can He say that? Because (as Bunyan remarks in a different place) Jesus didn’t “do” righteousness as if obeying some law structure outside of Himself. He did what came naturally. He was righteous, and so He walked righteously. And this is what He wants to reproduce in us by virtue of the Holy Spirit – the Spirit of Christ within us. A people who “walk” – who comport themselves in everyday life, as naturally in righteousness as it is natural for God Himself. Indeed, this is the promise of being conformed to the image of Christ.

One day Believer, you and I will just be able to do what comes naturally – because by virtue of the Spirit’s completed work in glorification, we’ll only WANT to do what is righteous. Not conforming to an external standard, but having been transformed in the inner man. The fullness of what Peter says we already taste now: 2 Peter 1:3–4 (ESV) — “His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, 4 by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.”

This is the process which has been begun in us by grace, and this is what we are to grow in continually – until He comes for us. And this is what He will complete in us. All this, in the searching out of the unsearchable riches of the person and work of Jesus Christ – actualized by His indwelling Spirit.

What a salvation! What a Savior!

Continuing on our current track, we’re once again looking little more closely at the 4 main benefits Solomon told his son could expect from following the 7 steps of vss. 1-4:

1 (5-8) “Then you will understand the Fear of The Lord”.

2. (9-15) “Then you will understand righteousness, and justice and equity, and every good work.”

3. (16-19) “So you will be delivered from the forbidden woman” (i.e. temptation).

4. (20) “So you will walk in righteousness.”

The third benefit he lists is “So you will be delivered from the forbidden woman.”

As a father speaking frankly to his own son, Solomon pulls no punches. He knows two things are true in regard to our fallen condition; a. Everyone is subject to temptation. The areas of temptation may differ from person to person – but no one is without them. b. Young men are especially prone to sexual temptation. There is no sense trying to dodge it, nor is it profitable to shift the blame to women. Every young man struggles with what to do with his burgeoning sexuality. Period. And every man – regardless of age is called to learn to manage his sexuality righteously. There is a pure and holy context (within monogamous, heterosexual marriage) and there is a defiling context – the “forbidden” woman. The woman who is not his wife. In person, in print, in pixels, on-line, on the phone or in the imagination. If she is not yours by marriage, she is forbidden.

Because Proverbs is primarily written from a father to his son, the metaphor for temptation is couched in terms of what will be most common to a young man. But it takes no imagination to see how that metaphor could be modified to the peculiar temptations of young ladies, older men or older women. The issue is temptation more than the particular kind of temptation. The text could just as easily used some different picture. But in this context, it is spot on.

Once again, it is the “fear of the Lord” – created through devoting oneself to seeking out, treasuring, inclining the heart to, pursuing God’s Word that is insisted upon.

The Word meets this need in a host of ways – only a few of which are:

It informs us we are made for higher things than to be given over to mere sexual lust – having been created in the image of God. (Gen. 1:27)

It shows us how sexual lust is the first sign of our fallen condition. (Rom. 1:18-25)

It instructs us in marriage and the right relationship between the sexes – where God blesses sexual love as a high and holy type of intimacy between Christ and the Church. (Heb. 13:4, Eph. 5:22-32)

The Word is replete with various ways to detect how our own hearts are drawn away and provides myriads of “techniques” or ways to overcome. (Rom. 6, Rom. 8:13, 2 Tim. 2:22, Gal. 5:16 – etc. )

The Bible is a mirror to show us what is really going on in our hearts so that we do walk in self-deception. (James 1:22-25)

It shows us how we are not alone in temptation and how God is on our side in facing it. (1 Cor. 10:13)

We are exposed to nature of God’s judgment upon sexual sin. (Eph. 5:3-5)

We are told how it defiles not just ourselves, but others. (1 Cor. 6:15-20)

And it tells us how to depend upon the indwelling Spirit of Christ in gaining the holy skill of dying to sin’s cries and arguments. (Rm. 8:13)

Because sexual temptation is so pervasive, and because it is one of the most glaring realities of our own age and culture – nothing can be more useful in discussing all temptation under this umbrella.

Would YOU be delivered from whatever the “forbidden woman” is in your life? Seek out the fear of the Lord.

1 Corinthians 10:13 No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.

As we did yesterday, we’re looking at little more closely at the 4 main benefits Solomon  emphasized his son could expect from following the steps outlined in vss. 1-4:

1 (5-8) “Then you will understand the Fear of The Lord”.

2. (9-15) “Then you will understand righteousness, and justice and equity, and every good work.”

3. (16-19) “So you will be delivered from the forbidden woman” (i.e. temptation).

4. (20) “So you will walk in righteousness.”

The 2^nd benefit of following his 7 steps in searching out God’s Word is he would “understand righteousness, and justice and equity, and every good work.” In this portion are Gospel centered realities that Solomon puts in front of his son, long before the Gospel as we know it had been fleshed out the way it is in the New Testament.

First then he mentions understanding “Righteousness”. What do we need to know about righteousness? A lot! What righteousness is from God’s viewpoint for one. We think of righteousness on the sliding scale of human imperfection. God sees righteousness on the scale of His own, eternal, absolute perfection. So we and Solomon’s son together need to understand that the righteousness which God demands of us is not the weak, sin-riddled righteousness which passes muster compared to other broken people – but righteousness compared to infinite holiness. And if that is God’s standard, then the second thing we NEED to know about righteousness is HOW TO GET THAT KIND OF RIGHTEOUSNESS. Only the Word of God will tell us, it must come from the imputation of Christ’s righteousness to us. In other words, when we search out God’s Word, we understand our real need as God knows it, and we come to understand His remedy for our need in Christ Jesus. This can be found nowhere else in all of human religion – but in God’s Word alone. Only in the Bible will we find this unpacked: Philippians 3:8–9 “Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— “

Second, Solomon says we can come to know “justice.” And we need to understand what justice really is, if we would understand what the Gospel really is. If God’s nature does not require justice in regard to our sin – then the cross is meaningless. Only when I know it would be justice for God to punish me eternally for my sin, can I understand both the need for and the wonder of the substitutionary atonement of Christ at Calvary.

See: Romans 3:21–26  and Romans 4:1-8. Christ died because righteousness demands sin be dealt with, and in the Cross, sin is punished to the full, so that those who trust in Christ’s substitution can go free – without violating God’s justice.

Third, God’s Word opens up “equity” to us – the true nature of fairness, and why grace is not contrary to it. Matthew 20:1-16 contains Jesus’ parable concerning the Kingdom where he talks about a man who contracts with some to work for him early in the day for a fair wage, then 3 subsequent times throughout the day. At the end, all are paid the same. When that is objected to we hear this stunning pronouncement regarding the Landowner’s freedom to give those who worked less the same wage, as what those who worked the whole day had agreed to: Matthew 20:13–15 “He replied to one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? 14 Take what belongs to you and go. I choose to give to this last worker as I give to you. 15 Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or do you begrudge my generosity?” Only in God’s Word will come to understand equity on God’s terms.

Last, we will understand “Every good path” – how to live out righteousness, justice & equity in every day life. So we read in 2 Timothy 3:16-17: “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.”

What an amazing provision God makes for us in His Word. All of which is ours – when we apply ourselves to gain it. Every aspect of which will apply to every area of life.

Solomon places a special emphasis on 4 main benefits his son can expect from following the steps he outlined in vss. 1-4:

1 (5-8) “Then you will understand the Fear of The Lord”.

2. (9-15) “Then you will understand righteousness, and justice and equity, and every good work.”

3. (16-19) “So you will be delivered from the forbidden woman” (i.e. temptation).

4. (20) “So you will walk in righteousness.”

Let’s just look for a few moments of some of what Solomon says about the 1^st benefit – understanding the fear of the Lord.

Notice 1^st in vs. 6 that is the Lord who gives this wisdom. It comes from God Himself. We do not get it from outside sources, or mere reasoning or even meditation by itself. We must get it from God Himself. This is why we spent so much time emphasizing the necessity of reading, studying, searching out, and exploring God’s Word. Because He has determined that He alone will be the source to teach us this wisdom. We must get it (as the old yarn puts it) right from the horse’s mouth.

No one comes to the fear of the Lord thru proxy, or ritual, detached experience, imagination or any other source. It comes from Him. And His means of communication is the Word itself. We come back to it over and over to hear His voice, and learn the “sound” of it.

But note that He DOES give it. He makes a gift of it. He wants us to have it. He is not withholding, stingy or playing games with us. He extends it to us in His Word, and we need only receive it.

2^nd, vs. 7 says He stores it up for us. He takes amazing, almost unimaginable pains to see to it first that it was written down, and then preserved, and then brought to us. How blessed we are! He has not scattered it like ashes on the water and left it to us to put back together like an infinitely complex cosmic jigsaw puzzle. Written over a span of 1500 years by more than 40 different authors most of whom did not know nor collaborate with one another –  and yet presenting one consistent theology and story line centering on the person and work of Jesus Christ in the redemption of fallen mankind and the fulfilling of God’s eternal purposes. We have it in our hands today in a myriad of translations and languages – preached in countless pulpits, on radio, TV, the internet and expounded in numberless books – because He has stored it up for us!

3^rd, vs. 7 also says He is a shield to those who walk in integrity. In other words, this wisdom which comes from Him and has been stored up for us, is a means whereby He exercises His power to protect us from the onslaught of bankrupt human philosophy, false religion, corrupt human imagination and the lies of the Enemy of our souls. What great provision He has made – if only we will run and hide behind His “shield” – in the safety of His protective care.

4^th, in vs. 8 we see that He guides us with it. Here is the roadmap for everlasting life. To navigate this life – in the light of the life to come. So see life from 40,000 feet. To know the beginning as He revealed it, clarifying the present through His lens, and projecting out to the sure future He has planned for those who love His appearing.

What a God! What a Savior!

Digging Deeper into Proverbs #4: Wisdom, Will and Courage

1 Corinthians 1:30  “But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption”

Where is Christ Jesus in Proverbs? Everywhere. Just as our text above says, He “has become to us wisdom from God.” We cannot understand how the universe functions, its plan and purpose, without understanding the role of Jesus Christ at the center of it all. Everything depends upon this. Without Jesus in the central place, we may gather an infinite number of facts about life and the world and even God, etc. But we cannot know “the Truth”. That, is wrapped up in Him.

But just knowing truth isn’t sufficient either. One must act upon it. The epistle of James remind us that the devils know the orthodox truth of the Trinity is true, but they reject God nonetheless. Wisdom from God reveals our condition. Wisdom from God reveals the Savior – He who IS God’s wisdom – the sum of reality according to God – Christ. But wisdom also moves us to action – or it does us no good. The Book of Ecclesiastes bears unsparing record to Solomon’s own failure in this regard. The wisest man who ever lived, not acting upon that wisdom, brought him to ruin.

In the entire book of Proverbs, bear this in mind – all service to God requires these 3 things:

a. The WISDOM to KNOW what’s right.

b. The WILL to WANT what’s right.

c. The COURAGE to DO what’s right.

These are the product of the Word, and the Spirit together. Proverbs will reiterate these truths in a multitude of ways, showing us over and over how they must fit and work together if we would have the results of wisdom in our lives.