"Turn to my reproof, Behold, I will pour out my spirit on you; I will make my words known to you. Proverbs 1:23
Can a person truly walk in wisdom if all they ever want in life are positive, uplifting messages from God? There are those today who say that the church should not be negative - should not issue rebukes, corrections, and most of all should not dwell on the whole issue of sin. "Let's be positive," is their cry - and when we are, people will come back to the church! There is a fundamental problem with this view of things. It completely ignores that whole, "fall of mankind" thing. The reason Christianity cannot be "all positive, all the time" is because man is a fallen creature given to rebellion and walking in ways that are destructive and damning. At some point the honest among us are going to have to address the fundamental flaw in human nature. If men were naturally disposed to honoring and glorifying God, this would not be necessary. But the facts are that the heart is deceitful and desperately sick - that there is none who have done good, not even one - and that unless we repent we will all likewise perish. Man is not a naturally wise creature - unless you count being wise in his own eyes. Wisdom is personified in Proverbs quite often. Wisdom shouts in the streets, calls out in the square seeking to get our attention. What does she say? Her first words are not exactly positive. She calls mankind "naive ones" as well as "simple-minded." She refers to the inhabitants of this globe as "scoffers" and "fools." The reason this does not sound positive is because it isn't. The Bible is not into any kind of a positive confession type of tripe - instead it is honest about the condition of man. As a result, her first command is issued here in verse 23. Turn to my repoof. That is her first command to mankind. If we are going to be wise, it will require us to turn from our present selfish and self-centered ways and turn to the reproof of true wisdom. Wisdom will require reproof - correction - rebuke. We need to grasp that our current fleshly thinking is foolish and stupid. Wisdom will not enter our hearts unless we first unseat the poser who sits there presently. That is us. We need to lay aside human wisdom and that which parades as understanding - and choose to conform our thinking to God's ways and paths. Here is a truth that will help you gain wisdom every day. Say it to yourself several times before you leave your home for the day. "If I disagree with God's Word, I am wrong!" Wisdom calls to us and tells us that something wonderful awaits those who accept reproof. But the person who in pride refuses to admit that he is wrong - that person will remain mired in the foolishness of his own ways. What happens when we turn to God's reproof? Here is something wonderful! He pours out His Spirit upon us. Did you know that the Holy Spirit is the personification of wisdom! He wants us to turn from foolishness - so He can be poured out upon us - and so that He can teach us. Each time we turn from self and the wisdom of this world, the Holy Spirit is waiting to make known God's words to us. Here is a shocker - wisdom is found when the God's Spirit is poured out on us and we come to know the Word of God. In that moment we know wisdom. The way of wisdom is the way of correction and reproof. We cannot become wise until we embrace humility. We cannot become wise until we respect and honor God's Word above all other sources of truth. We cannot become wise unless God in His mercy pours out His Spirit and opens our minds to the truth of His words. When this happens, we'll know the truth - and see that truth corrects us and turns us to the right thinking and the right path. The path to wisdom may not start positive - but when the Spirit of God begins to reveal truth and wisdom to us - it surely ends positive. Be open to God's reproof - to His correction - knowing that when we turn to Him - an abundance of truth and righteousness will be our reward.
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To keep you from the evil woman, From the smooth tongue of the adulteress. Proverbs 6:24
Why do we need additional light by which to see in life? Why is it that we need to be reproved and disciplined so that we choose life? The answer to these questions and to the reason the Bible spends so much time warning us about sin, is found in the worldview of the Bible when it comes to the basic nature of man. The Bible teaches that man is fallen and sinful. Our basic nature is to turn from God and His ways. If left to ourselves, we will NOT choose life. If left to ourselves, we will by the very evil in our nature, go in a direction that is contrary to God's way. That is why we need the light of God's Word to light our way. That is why we need reproofs and corrections to move us into the path of God's commandments. Here, after making that clear, the writer of Proverbs then reminds us that one of the ways that we will choose to our detriment, is the way of the evil woman. The word evil here is the Hebrew "ra" which means an active, pernicious evil. This is an evil that cannot rest unless it is acting out evil - and encouraging others to do the same. The woman who is abandoning her vows to her husband - and encouraging other men to do the same - is an evil woman. But unless you are wise, you will not detect her as such. The father who is speaking here warns his son to turn to wisdom and the commandments and reproofs of God, so that he will not be led astray by the smooth tongue of this adulteress. Her smooth tongue is her weapon of choice. She uses it to flatter a man and use his natural tendency toward pride and a bloated ego as a trap. That is why we are warned against her smooth, flattering tongue. And it is also why we need God's commandments to direct us where our egos and our sinful nature will not. Finally, it is why we also need the Word of God to rebuke and reprove us when we begin to make unwise decisions concerning sexuality and the kind of company we keep with the opposite sex. A scoffer does not love one who reproves him, He will not go to the wise. Proverbs 15:12
Why is it that even when there is wise and godly counsel available, people do not take advantage of it? A southern saying that I heard a while back may help us on this situation. The reason a scoffer does not go to a wise man is the same reason a criminal does not hang out with the police. The proverb here tells us that a scoffer does not love someone who corrects or reproves him. The scoffer is the one who mocks the things of God. He makes fun of God's commandments and laws - and derides God Himself. He does this because he does not believe and because in his infinite arrogance he prefers his limited little pea-brain's ability to think - rather than the mind of the infinite God as it is revealed in the pages of Scripture. But he is not content to just reject the things of God - he scoffs at them - and seeks to get others to reject them as well. He is the "anti-evangelist" if you will - or at least an evangelist for his own foolish thinking. What is fascinating about the scoffer is that we read that he doesn't love anyone who reproves him. He is filled with pride and arrogance and therefore always thinks that he is right. In his own mind he is irreproveable - beyond correction. In this way it is only fitting that the one who thinks there is no God would consider his own wisdom and counsel very god-like. He is a god unto himself - and resents it when someone would deign to question his omniscience. There is a consequence to this arrogant man's rejection of reproof. As a result of it, he will not go to the wise. He rejects them - and their much needed counsel. This is a sad state of affairs because they could greatly use wise counsel. Thus this arrogant scoffer will remain a law unto himself - an island of self-sought, self-taught, self-exalting wisdom - that is nothing more than foolishness and arrogance disguising itself as sage counsel. This is why the wise man needs to embrace and welcome correction and reproof. Please do not misunderstand me - these things are seldom pleasant when they come. In fact they can be very difficult to hear as they are spoken to us. That is why I am grateful that Scripture tells me that discipline is not pleasant, but painful when it arrives. But I am also counselled in James and in Hebrews that when received it will bear fruit - creating a harvest of righteousness, truth, wisdom, and understanding when I welcome it and learn from it. Remember that the next time God in His love allows correction and rebuke to come into your life. Don't be like the scoffing fool who does not love the ones who reprove him. Be like the godly man who turns his ear to wise and godly rebuke. It will help open our ear to wisdom itself, and will bless us by turning us from unwise, arrogant, and unprofitable ways. For the commandment is a lamp and the teaching is light; And reproofs for discipline are the way of life. Proverbs 6:23
Today we are going to cover an amazing proverb that applies to every area and every aspect of life itself. Here, like in the gospel, we are told of "the way of life." Unlike in the gospel, this "way of life" is not one that can redeem us from sin - but it can be used by the Holy Spirit to make us a lifetime learner - a disciple who knows how God works through His Word and through the way that it is taught to us by the Spirit. If there was ever a day to listen closely - today would be that day. We are told of two things at the beginning of this proverb. We are told of the commandent and the teaching. These two things are compared to a lamp and to light. First we have the commandment. This is the same word that is used for God's 10 commandments. It refers to God's Law - and I believe beyond the Old Testament it can be applied to the inspired Word of God anywhere in the Old or New Testaments. We are told here that the commandment is a lamp. A lamp is something that can emit light if used properly. The lamp will always have the potential for light to come from it. It is something that holds light - and if lit it will radiate light. Interesting for us who understand the figures and types that are used for God's Holy Spirit, a lamp is filled with oil which is a type throughout the Old Testament for the Spirit and His work. When that oil is lit - the lamp produces light. In much the same way, the Word of God always has within it the teaching of the Holy Spirit - His leading and His instruction, warning, and rebuke. When we come to God's Word, the lamp, we have the wonderful working of the Spirit of God as He illumines the Scriptures for us. But before we think that simply reading or hearing the Word will always produce light, we need to remember that the commandment is a lamp. It can produce light - but it can also remain unlit and just be a lamp. There are those who misuse God's Word and no light comes forth. The devil himself quoted the Scriptures to Jesus - to try and get Him to sin. In that instance the lamp did not produce light - but it was abused to promote darkness. There are also professors even at semniaries who do not believe the Bible is the Word of God. The teaching they do promotes darkness. This means that we cannot make a blanket statement that when the Bible is taught or read that it always results in light. The second statement made here is that the teaching is light. First off we need to note here that we are not reading that the teaching is the light. "THE" light is reserved for references to Jesus Christ Himself - God - and amazingly enough, us when we are manifesting God's character to others. Here we read that the teaching is light. The word for teaching here is the Hebrew word "torah." Here torah means instruction or direction. In the Old Testament the word mean instruction in a general manner from God Himself. The idea here is that the command is the lamp - and when the Spirit or a Spirit-inspired teacher is instructing from it - the lamp becomes light - or begins to illumine with light. This is so important for us to grasp because it is the very way that God will instruct and teach us. We come to the Word, but we covet that when we do the Holy Spirit instructs us as we read and as we meditate upon what the Word says. Do not misunderstand me to say that the Bible becomes the Word as it is taught. That is false doctrine. The Bible is always the inspired Word of God that gives us the revelation of God. It is just that we are blind to it without the instruction of the Holy Spirit who opens our hearts and spirits so that we can receive what God says. That is why I think it is important to consciously ask the Spirit of God to teach us when we come to the Word of God. There is one other thing this passage teaches us about the functioning of the Word in our lives. Today there are many who teach that the major reason for God's Word is that we can "confess who we are" in a positive way. There is a potential problem with this doctrinal view. We can get to the point where we only receive "positive" messages about ourselves from God's Word - and not conviction of sin. When we read this passage though, it seems that we are learning something contrary to the positive confession doctrine. "And reproofs for discipline are the way of life." When we read this we have to come to the conclusion that a large part of what the Word of God is going to do is reprove us. It is probably at least one fourth of what it does because we read in 2 Timothy 3:16 that the Word of God is profitable for reproof. Actually the 2 Timothy passage says not just reproof, but also correction as well. The Word of God comes to us often to reprove and correct us. One of God's complaints against the false prophets is that they would whitewash Israel's sin. They would constantly talk about blessing without helping Israel and Judah to see that they had sinned against the Lord. It does not matter how many "positive" confessions you make to yourself, God, and others - if you have unconfessed sin in your life - God will not bless you. And since we are fallen creatures who live in a fallen world - we need for God to reveal to us that when we are acting "fallen!" If you read Romans 7 - you do not come away with the thought that Paul just needed to be more positive. He was wrestling with very real sin - and a very real fleshly, sinful nature that could not be defeated except through Jesus Christ. That is why we need desperately to see that we need to be reproved and disciplined by God to become all that God desires for us to be in Christ. Without that reproof and correction, we will not know from what we need to turn. The way of life is through being disciplined by God - and that involves the Lord reproving us for our sin. When we come to His Word - His commandments - He is going to reveal to us how we have sinned against Him. He does not do this because He hates us. Contrary to that thought, He does it because He loves us! He desires for us to share in His holiness (Hebrews 12) - and that means He wants us to share in His life. Wisdom is coming to God's Word in the right way each day. It means that we approach the Lord each day being open to what He wants to teach us. As we do this we also open ourselves to His Spirit to reveal to us that we may have sinned - or we may be lacking godly character - or a good attitude toward an authority. There are any number of ways that God might speak to our hearts and help us to abandon sin - and embrace His holiness. Regardless of what specifics are involved, God desires to bring blessing into our lives through this process. Remember - the reproofs and discipline are the way of life! He is bringing you life when He does these things. Be wise therefore and receive what He is saying each day - whether it is encouragement, exhortation, teaching, or reproof. They are all in his arsenal of blessing to conform you to the image of His Son and change you to be a better vessel for the blessing of not just yourself - but everyone around you. Take hold of instruction; do not let go. Guard her, for she is your life. Proverbs 4:13
If we want the life of God, we will have to embrace the ways in which God grants us life. The way He does this initially is by grace through the gospel of Jesus Christ. After God grants us His life this way - there are ways that we can experience and enjoy the life He provides in Jesus. One of the ways that God continues to bless us with life is by us embracing His instruction in our lives. The word for instruction here is the Hebrew word "musar" which means instruction and discipline. Throughout proverbs this instruction and discipline comes primarily through the father and the mother in the family. They come as a teacher to their children offering them this instruction via teaching and at times the rod. Some might squirm a little when we speak of discipline, but the Scriptures are clear that God disciplines us because He loves us. Hebrews 12:5-11 is an excellent passage that might help us here in seeing how we receive life through God's instrutive discipline. Hebrews 12:5-11 says, "You have forgotten the exhortation which is addressed to you as sons, "MY SON, DO NOT REGARD LIGHTLY THE DISCIPLINE OF THE LORD, NOR FAINT WHEN YOU ARE REPROVED BY HIM; FOR THOSE WHOM THE LORD LOVES HE DISCIPLINES, AND HE SCOURGES EVERY SON WHOM HE RECEIVES." It is for discipline that you endure; God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline? But if you are without discipline, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Furthermore, we had earthly fathers to discipline us, and we respected them; shall we not much rather be subject to the Father of spirits, and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but He disciplines us for our good, so that we may share His holiness. All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness. " God's instructive discipline does many things. First it reminds us that God loves us as His sons. Second, we know that God disciplines us for our good - not because He is angry and disgusted with us. Third we learn that God's discipline is done for good, that we mighy share His holiness. Without discipline we would rebel against Him - but the discipline reminds us that we are being conformed to His image - and that involves being conformed to His holiness. Lastly, His instructive discipline will yield peace in our lives. As we are conformed to His image - as we are made righteous as He is righteous - there will be great blessing - as well as great peace added to our lives. God's instruction is not solely disciplinary - much of it is instructive as God is showing us the way to God - the things to say - the people to whom we need to minister. But for us to get the full blessings of it we will have to follow what Solomon is telling us to do here. We need to "take hold" of this instruction and "guard" it. Taking hold of instruction means that with great strength we grab it. The idea behind this word is to grab something with a powerful grip and not let go. Elsewhere in Proverbs we are told to listen intently with a view toward obedience. This is what we are being told in another way here. We have such a tendency to partially hear someting - or to hear it with no intent to obey or make what we hear an integral part of our lives. We need to latch on to whatever we are taught by the Holy Spirit - and to put a death griip on it - so it does not slip away from us. The proverb tells us to "guard" the instruction - the teaching - the discipline that we receive from God. This is the word "natsar" that we have encountered so often in this book. It means to watch, the guard, and to keep something. It has the idea of setting a guard - a watchman - a sentry over our instruction from God. We cannot come away from this admonition without seeing clearly God is warning us NOT to forget something - NOT to let it go - NOT to let it slip away from us as we think of other things later. Our Lord knows how prone we are to be distracted and forget things. If we want life, we will have to counteract this by forcefully taking hold of the things God teaches us. Wisdom is taking what God teaches us very seriously - and taking His discipline the same way. If we do this we will be fully embracing the life that He desires to pour into our lives. Like an earring of gold and an ornament of fine gold Is a wise reprover to a listening ear. Proverbs 25:12
How well do we accept reproof when it is offered to us? Do we consider such reproof and correction a blessing - or to we view it as that which causes us problems and grief. The fact of the matter is that someone who reproves us is a wonderful friend. It is not often that men will be of such godly charcter and strength that they will offer reproof. When we run into one God speaks in proverbs to tel us what a wonderful thing it is that we have. The earring of gold here is thought by some to be a nose ring. This however does not fit the context at all - as what is being said refers to a hearer. The earring of gold speaks of a reward or an ornament given to another of great value. But what is truly of value here is the ear that is listening to the reproof offered to it. That is something that is special - and deserves to be rewarded and decorated. There are wonderful rewards for the man who listens to reproof. Proverbs 1:23 says that the Spirit of God will be poured out on such a man. There is something we don't hear often enough by the Holy Spirit movement. Proverbs 13:18 says that the one who regards reproof will be honored. Other verses in Proverbs speak of the one who receives reproof as being sensible, wise, and understanding. Much wisdom comes to us when we will listen to reproof and respond to it as the Lord directs us. Finally, we read in 2 Timothy 3:16 that the work of the inspired Scriptures of God is to bring reproof to us. So, if we want the Word of God to truly do its work in us - we will have to have an ear that is open to reproof. There is also mentioned here an "ornament of fine gold." When we have someone who can offer to us "wise reproof" we should realize that we are being rewarded and blessed. The word for ornament most likely refers to a necklace of some sort. These were usually given to show a position of honor. It is an honor to be wisely reproved by a godly man - or by the Word of God. Wisdom is the ability to receive and learn from reproof. May God Himself give us a humility that will receive that reproof when offered. May we also consider such reproof as ornaments of gold, silver, and precious jewels. That reproof will turn us away from ourselves and toward the Lord Who offers to us great wisdom and understanding. Grievous punishment is for him who forsakes the way; He who hates reproof will die. Proverbs 15:10
What happens when we depart from God's ways? According to this passage in Proverbs there is a very serious consequence for us when we do this. Even worse is what awaits us if we go even further than this and reject God's reproof after we've left his ways. What is at stake here? Well, what drives this particular proverb is the idea of "forsaking the way." "The way," refers to God's way - the way of his commandments. Several times the phrase, "the way of the Lord" is used to refer to this. If you want to understand it better you can turn to the 119th Psalm which calls it by various names like, "the way of righteousness," "the way of Your testimonies," "the way of Your precepts," "the way of Your statutes," as well as what we've already said as the way of God's commandments. This way is the commands and the things God calls us to be and to do in His Word. When we "forsake" this way, we are doing the following. We no longer listen carefully to God's Word - we don't pay heed to it or obey it. But the core idea here is no longer listening or paying attention to someone. That Someone here is God. In case you do not know what this means - it means as you listen - you do so in order to respond and obey God. What happens when we forsake God's way? The Word here says that we face "grevious punishment." The word translated for this is the Hebrew word "ra" - and it simply means, bad things! When you no longer walk with God, listen to Him, or obey Him - bad things are going to eventually happen in your life. This is the case no matter whether you are His or not. If you take a close look at the progress (or regress) of the world around you, you can see that ignoring and forsaking God's ways has never led to a world of peace and blessing. By its very nature this world works best when God's ways and paths are followed. When they are ignored - or worse - shunned, things go bad. This is a fait accompli - an established fact! Now a second warning is also issued at this point - and I think it is a reminder that God's rebuke and reproof are proofs of His love - not hate. When we forsake God's way, we will face bad things, but when we go further and ignore His loving reproof of those ways and continue in rebellion - we are headed toward death. It is God's great mercy and love that arrests us in our rebellion with disciplinary action. He allows difficulties and problems to come to us to turn us from the insanity of abandoning His ways. But when we are too stubborn to listen - we are moving toward death itself. What is terrifying is the warning in 1 John that there is a sin leading unto death - a point at which a disciplinary measure from God involves having a person die. Wisdom tells us to respond to His discipline and His reproof quickly - so that we will not have to go that far. One last comment on this passage. These two truths are just that - truth. But they had their most astounding fulfillment in the cross of Jesus Christ. It was there that we saw the most grievous punishment imaginable. It had nothing to do with the Roman scourage or the nails in the hands of our Savior. It had little or nothing to do with the agony of the cross physically as Jesus gapsed for air as His torn and bruised body slowly died on the cross. But it had everything to do with why Jesus sweat blood the night before in the garden. It had everything to do with the agony of the wrath and judgment of God upon sin. Calling it a grevious punishment seems too small in light of what it truly cost Christ to pay for our sin before His holy Father. That is why we should never take sin in our lives lightly. Yes, our sin was paid in full by the sacrifice of Christ on the cross - but we should always view that truth with both trembling and a sense of honor to God for what He did for us. Otherwise we will take sin too lightly - and risk thinking that forsaking His way really is not that bad - and it really won't cost us much. There is foolish talk that reaches to the heavens themselves - and the kind of talk that will give rise to actions that will in the end yield that grevious punishment and stinging rebuke. Aiming Straight for our Sons Hearts, part 3 - Speak the Truth, But Don't Lecture - Proverbs 23:2110/25/2010 For the heavy drinker and the glutton will come to poverty, And drowsiness will clothe one with rags. Proverbs 23:21 (NASB)
Here are the consequences of the sins of drunkenness and gluttony. The father of these sons has been seeking to aim for their hearts on these issues. Now he does so by letting them know where these sins will take them in the future. This dad is not brow-beating his boys as he says this. If he was, this would not be three verses long - but 1003. That is the way of the lecture - and most of them are usually ignored. This wise father takes the time to give his sons a call to wise and a godly heart. Then he takes a moment to offer them a command of instruction - and follows that up with a warning about the consequences that are coming for those who live such lifestyles. Then he is quiet. Having an advanced degree in the art of "Father-Lecturing," I wish that I was wholly unlearned in this area. I've engaged in lectures that took far too long - and were usually tuned out the moment I began my second (of 53 points). This dad just puts out the facts - and lets them sit with his son. This dad knows that if his sons ignore him - all the additional words in the world will make little to no difference. They will become the cautionary tale for others through the consequences that come upon them. As a result, this father wants to make sure his sons know the truth - but that they know it with brevity and a lack of wordiness. Their hearts will not be turned due to the length of his talks. They will be changed and turned due to the work of the Holy Spirit as He seeks to teach them and lead them in the truth. The heavy drinker and glutton will come to poverty. This is the first warning and consequence that the dad tells his son. For a few years in seminary I had the honor of being able to work and preach at the Union Mission in Memphis, Tennessee. We would serve food to the men - and afterward would take turns bringing a message to them. After the preaching we would sit with whoever was interested and share with them personally. While doing this I met numerous men who were in bondage to alcohol. Many of these men were former executives - some who would still be wearing an expensive suit - as they slept on the streets of Memphis. Their drunkenness had destroyed their lives. I remember one man who had previously had an office in a downtown skyscraper. He told me that just two years ago he was pulling down a six-figure salary, had a beautiful family, and lived in a house worth nearly $350,000. Due to the sin of drunkenness and an addiction to alcohol - he had lost all of this. Every month that I read this passage - I usually remember him. Truly, his sin and brought him to poverty. The glutton will have the same problems as well. His poverty though may be an inability to play with his children - or a poverty of respect as others wonder why he has so little self-control. His poverty may be a lack of self-respect himself - as he struggles with his weight. I've personally experienced some of these things as I've struggled with gluttony. The second thing that happens to those who indulge in these sins is that a drowsiness will come upon them. It is a drowsiness that will clothe them with rags. Both of these sins lead to a lack of awareness and also - honestly - a person who has to sleep more. The drunk has it because he has to sleep off the affects of his drinking. The glutton experiences it because he is too full - or too overweight to exercise. The result of that is that he is sleepy all the time. There are also problems that result from blood sugar levels and other medical conditions that rob the glutton from the alertness that he should have. These things, if left undealt with long enough, will clothe these men with rags. They will miss promotions - and some will even lose their jobs. The wise father will warn his children of the real consequences of these sins. He does so - not to be melodramatic. He even avoids such things. But he does tell his sons the truth. His hope is that ultimately such warnings will open their eyes to the problems that lie ahead when these sins are ignored. The goal of all this is not just that his sons won't be drunks and gluttons. Too often young people in the church equate Christianity with phrases like, "A Christian doesn't drink, doesn't chew, and doesn't go with girls that do." This kind of training does more to harm our kids than help them. It gives them the false idea that if they just steer clear of these evil three sins that they are right with God. Nothing could be further from the truth. In the end we want to win our children's hearts - not just burn a three rule list into their minds. We want them to be wise - not just in these couple of areas - but in all of life. Dads - don't get caught in the trap of warning your kids about your list of deadly sins - but not giving them the gospel and good rounded biblical teaching. We want more than obedience to us in a couple of areas. We want obedience to God in all of life. This we will obtain when we aim straight for their hearts - and have as our aim - that they be wise, godly, and Christ-centered. When we see these things in their hearts - we will know that we've been truly successful! A rebuke goes deeper into one who has understanding Than a hundred blows into a fool. Proverbs 17:10
God gave me a wonderful man who has a heart after Him to be my mentor. His name is John Dale Rector. John Dale spent 3 years of his life teaching and training me in the things of the Lord. He taught by precept and by example. He also had his hands full as I was a proverbial bull in a china shop with my zeal that lacked wisdom. Thus John Dale had to spend more than his fair share of time rebuking me for my excesses. Thus he taught me a very important verse of Scripture and had me memorize it early in my walk with the Lord. The verse says, "Let a righteous man strike me, it is a kindness." That particular verse has a lot to do with what today's proverb has to teach us. I am an advocate for both verbal and corporal punishment. There is a time for rendering blows to fools. One of those times in during childhood where the responsibility of the parent is to train up a child in the way he should go. It is a time where through loving discipline (which includes spanking) a parent seeks to teach a child what he should and should not do. The parent is not trying to dominate the child or to crush his spirit. The parent IS seeking to help a child grasp what is acceptable and unacceptable to God and to society. But the end of that corporal punishment is to train a child to be a young man or woman who knows two things. First he or she knows how to accept rebuke from the Spirit of God. This happens as he or she is walking through life and about to make un ungodly or unwise decision. The Spirit of God then rises up within to remind of Scripture, to offer correction and guidance with the Word. Some times the Spirit just activates our conscience and we are smitten with a bad sense or feeling - or we just know that what we are about to do, or have done, is wrong. What we desire to do with our children (and in training disciples in the church) is to have them be responsive to that rebuke - to that warning from within. The second way that a parent and discipler wants to train up their charge is to have them be responsive to people who come to them with a word of rebuke. It would be wonderful if everyone who offered such rebuke were being constructive with it - but we all know that is a perfect world and not the real one. The truth is that even non-constructive criticism can be beneficial to us. Therefore we want to be open to all rebuke. The wise thing is to receive the rebuke and be thankful for it. Then take it to the Lord and ask Him to confirm what is in agreement with what He is doing through the Word of God. Then take what God affirms and use it to grow into all the fullness of Jesus Christ in our character and actions. This is how to allow rebuke to go deep within us - rather than just bounce off of us as we reject it outright. The Scripture tells us that in order for this to happen, we have to be one who has "understanding." This is the ability to discern and perceive truth from error - right from wrong - God from the flesh and the world - the work of the Holy Spirit from the work of the devil. We discern an pay attention to what God saying to us. Because of this we truly understand the will of God - and grow wiser because we have learned to see things from His perspective. The proverb tells us that this ability to receive rebuke and understanding from goes deeper into us than a hundred blows into a fool. An interesting thing is that God instructed not to give corporal punishment beyond 39 blows at any time. There is the penalty of imprisonment and even the death penalty that is applied by the state to crimes against society. But God knows that a hundred blows as opposed to 39 would not bring wisdom and understanding into a fool. There is a point where no amount of corporal punishment is effective. The fool rejects all of it - verbal rebuke as well as any kind of physical punishment. Thus we know that all that is left to us is intercessory prayer that God will ultimately break the fool and open his heart to begin to understand. When I read this proverb, I am thankful to those whom God uses to offer rebuke into my life. Let me be perfectly honest that often it is hard to receive the rebuke - and yes, it hurts. But those who wound us can be healers. Remember that when a surgeon does his work he has to injure us before he can take out the cancer that will kill us. We consider the incision made by his knife a good thing - because it is ultimately working healing into our lives. Remember that the next time you receive some verbal surgery through a brother or sister in Christ who loves you. Those words will bring blessing into your life if you receive them and allow God to work through them. If it is hard to remember that - just remember this instead. I'd rather have some verbal surgery - than a hundred blows on my back! POSTSCRIPT: Recently, individuals have quoted articles from this section and stated that we teach child abuse at Calvary Chapel Jonesboro. To this I feel the need to respond. First, biblically, we are told that if we have a problem with our brother to go to our brother - not the internet - and confront our brother. To date, these individuals have yet to contact me to discuss these things. That should say volumes in itself. Second, we do not teach child abuse at our fellowship. This blog is an endeavor to teach what is in the Bible for the edification and upbuilding of God's people. Anyone who has been to our fellowship knows that in our classrooms we administer NO physical discipline. We correct with words and with "time outs" and eventually with a report to parents. From our nursery throughout every age group our people are instructed NEVER to administer physical discipline. We believe this right alone belongs to a parent. Even then we teach the following about any application of physical discipline. Discipline is about the heart of a child. Physical or corporal punishment is ONLY to be administered in a spirit of love for the child. Teaching and loving verbal correction is key - as is prayer for the child's eventual salvation in Jesus Christ. Any physical punishment administered due to anger or rage is out of line and wrong. The parent is to discipline the child with appropriate discipline - not abuse. In the end the child should be taught - and in every circumstance hugged, loved, and prayed with after any physical punishment to assure them of our love. The idea of a "beating" is completely out of step with what the Scriptures are teaching. Instead the idea of loving discipline is intended. Do not reprove a scoffer, or he will hate you, Reprove a wise man and he will love you. Proverbs 9:8
Wisdom manifests itself in how we receive reproof. Here we see two people who experience reproof or correction. How they respond to that reproof has everything to do with whether they are a fool or whether they are wise. First we see a person who is called a scoffer. The word "scoffer" means one who boasts, scorns, mocks, or derides another. The reason that the scoffer does this is to express utter contempt of the person or comment that has been made to him. The context for the scoffers utter contempt is that of having someone reprove him. When he faces correction he reacts with complete disdain for the one who has offered the correction. To emphasize his disgust for the person who has tried to offer correction or constructive criticism, we read that this scoffer will hate them. There are those who bristle immediately to any correction or reproof offered to them. This indicates that they are indeed a fool. To say that one does not need any correction is to say that one is perfect. It is indeed a sad thing to watch someone who thinks in their own mind that they are the manifestation of perfection itself. They are above criticism - because everything they do and everything they say is without flaw. First of all this is the highest form of arrogance and pride. We all make mistakes and have flaws. When someone offers us correction - whether constructive or not - it is an opportunity for us to embrace humility and see ourselves improve. Second, when we reject correction, we are saying that we ourselves are the judge of what is right and wrong. The fool rejects any evaluation of himself - and chooses his own horrifically flawed and prejudiced view of himself as truth. That is the only way he or she can be deceived enough to think that they are above criticism. Finally, the fool who rejects correction is actually rejecting love. It is love that often motivates people to correct us. That is the motivation of loving parents and others who only desire us to succeed and prosper. It is the motivation of God who desires us to be a partaker of His righteousness. But the fool who rejects all this - rejects the very ones who love him the most. The wise man loves the one who reproves him. He understands that someone who is reproving him is not against him, but for him. This word reprove means to argue and convince, and was used to speak of those who would "prove" something. We need to see this word in this way because "proving" something was done by submitting it to the heat of a crucible - for the purpose of refining it. This was done only for one of two reasons. You proved something either to make it more valuable - or to make it stronger. The scoffer sees reproof as an attack - or as inaccurate information being used to hurt him. The wise man sees the reproof as something positive. He is being refined so that impurities are removed from his life. He is being refined so that weaknesses are taken out. He is being refined to be even more valuable in the Lord's work. He is being refined to be more valuable to God's kingdom and people. The reproof is making him stronger - better - richer. As he receives the reproof this way - the correction does its work - and he is blessed as a result. It is not fun or pleasant to be reproved or corrected. If it was - everyone would want it all the time in their lives. The fool looks at reproof only through eyes that see the negative. He is too focused on his own comfort and his own ego being protected at all costs. The wise man looks beyond the possible unpleasantness of the moment. He sees the value of refining and the blessing of having potentially harmful things removed from this character. He knows the benefit of this experience will far outweigh its problems and difficulties. If we want to be wise, we too will begin to love those who reprove us and help us to become more Christlike - and of greater use to our Master. |
Proverb a DayEach day, we'll take a look at a verse from the chapter of Proverbs for the day. Our hope is to gain wisdom each day - and from that wisdom - to have understanding to make godly decisions in the throes of everyday life. Thank you for visiting our website! Everything on this site is offered for free. If, however, you would like to make a donation to help pay for its continued presence on the internet, you can do that by clicking here. The only thing we ask is that you give first to the local church you attend. Thank you!
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