Proverbs 14 (Select
verses) ESV
8 The wisdom of the
prudent is to discern his way,
but the folly of fools is deceiving.
9 Fools mock at the
guilt offering,
but the upright enjoy acceptance.
10 The heart knows its
own bitterness,
and no stranger shares its joy.
11 The house of the
wicked will be destroyed,
but the tent of the upright will flourish.
Why would a holy God, who loves us, his creation, send Jesus
Christ to die a cruel death on a cross, if it only meant that we were now
forgiven our sin so we could go to heaven one day? But, it meant we were still
in slavery to sin with no hope of deliverance?
He wouldn’t! That would be cruel to Jesus, who is God, and
it would be cruel to all who put their faith in Jesus Christ, too.
Yet many people today are teaching a gospel of salvation
which delivers no one from slavery to sin, but which leaves them still bound in
their sin believing there really is no way they can live godly and holy lives
in moral purity. And, so they accept that they will always “struggle” with (meaning
they will regularly give in to) their sinful addictions, and that their only
consolation is that one day they will go to heaven where they will be free.
And so, in this sense, they are those who foolishly mock at
the guilt offering. For, that offering for us was Jesus’ death on a cross for
our sins so that we could be without guilt because, by God’s grace, we are now
walking in purity, and in holiness, and in righteousness in the power of God’s
Spirit now living within us. We don’t have to go around feeling guilty all the
time now, or trying to find ways to ease that guilt by telling ourselves lies.
So, we need to be those who discern what is right and what
is wrong. For, a lot of lies are being spread throughout the church that are
leading people to believe that they can’t be delivered from their slavery to
sin (or that they don’t have to live in freedom from sinful addiction), and then
they call that “grace.” But God’s grace sets us free from sinful addiction, and
it empowers us to walk in the holiness and righteousness of God. Amen! Praise
Jesus!
12 There is a way that
seems right to a man,
but its end is the way to death.
14 The backslider in
heart will be filled with the fruit of his ways,
and a good man will be filled with the
fruit of his ways.
15 The simple believes
everything,
but the prudent gives thought to his steps.
16 One who is wise is
cautious and turns away from evil,
but a fool is reckless and careless.
These are wise words here. And, we would all do well to
listen to them and to take them to heart. For, many people are following a way
that “seems” right to them, because it feels good, but it will lead to
destruction. For, they are buying into a cheap grace gospel which tells them
that they don’t have to change their wicked ways and yet God will still accept
them and that they are guaranteed that he will receive them into his heaven no
matter what.
But, one day we are all going to reap what we sow. If we sow
to please the flesh, from that flesh we will reap destruction. But, if we sow
to please the Spirit, from the Spirit we will reap eternal life (Gal. 6:7-8;
Rom. 2:6-8).
If we walk (in practice) in darkness (in sin) according to
the ways of our sinful flesh, but we claim we are in fellowship (in
relationship) with God through faith in Jesus Christ, we are liars who don’t
live by the truth. For, if we walk according to the flesh, we will die in our
sins. But, if by the Spirit we are putting to death the deeds of the flesh,
then we have eternal life with God (1 Jn. 1:5-9; Rom. 8:1-17; Rom. 6:1-23; Lu.
9:23-26; Gal. 5:16-21).
So, we can be wise and we can believe in Jesus Christ with
God-given faith which turns away from sin (away from evil) and which turns to
God (to Jesus) to follow him in obedience to his ways of holiness and
righteousness. Or, we can be foolish and keep on in our sinful ways, and
instead of our lives ending in life everlasting with our Lord, they will end in
death (damnation).
So, we can choose God’s way for us, which is life, or we can
choose our own way, and we can go after the way that “seems” right to us in our
own eyes, but it will end in death.
22 Do they not go
astray who devise evil?
Those who devise good meet steadfast love
and faithfulness.
25 A truthful witness
saves lives,
but one who breathes out lies is deceitful.
27 The fear of the
Lord is a fountain of life,
that one may turn away from the snares of
death.
29 Whoever is slow to
anger has great understanding,
but he who has a hasty temper exalts folly.
Faith in Jesus Christ is not some one-time experience which
happens in our lives, then we are good to go no matter how we live our lives
from that moment forward. For, genuine faith in Jesus is from God, it is gifted
to us by God, and it is divinely persuaded to follow after the ways of God.
And, so it submits to God and it surrenders to his purposes.
It dies with Christ to sin that we might live with Christ to his righteousness.
But, this is not a one-time deal. This is a choice to have a change of
lifestyle by God’s Spirit. It is like we were going left, then we turn 180
degrees, and now we are going right, in the opposite direction of where we were
headed. And, this is what it means to repent (to have a change of mind).
Is adultery, hate, lust, stealing, cheating, abusing others and
lying, etc. a good way to go? NO! So, why do we get this idea that God is
somehow okay with us living in hate, adultery, deception, and the like now that
we are “under grace”? That is not what scriptures teach, that grace somehow
frees us from the guilt and punishment of our sin but that it gives permission
for us to keep on in our sinful practices unhindered.
The fear of the Lord
is a fountain of life,
that one may turn away from the snares of
death.
Amen! Can I get an amen? Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior,
paid much too high a price for us to have our souls just stirred emotionally at
times and yet never truly changed.
For, He shed his blood for us on that cross to buy us back
for God so that we would now be God’s possession, and so that we would now
honor God with our lives; with our whole being. Jesus Christ died that cruel
death on that cross so that you and I might die with him to sin and live with
him to righteousness. And, he died that we would no longer live for ourselves,
but for him who gave his life up for us (1 Co. 6:20; 2 Co. 5:15, 21; 1 Pet.
2:24).
He died to transform us, not just to forgive us. And, He
died to give us NEW lives in him FREE from slavery to sin, not just to free us
from punishment so that we could go on living in sin guilt free (Rom. 6:1-23;
Eph. 4:17-24).
Much
Too High a Price
Phil
McHugh and Greg Nelson
You paid much too high a price for me,
Your tears, Your blood, the pain –
To have my soul just stirred at times
yet never truly changed.
You deserve a fiery love that won’t
ignore your sacrifice
Because You paid much too high a price.
Your grace inspires my heart to rise
above the sin
And all the earthly vanity that seeks
to draw me in.
I want to tell a jaded world of love
that truly saved my life,
A love that paid so high a price…
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