When He made firm the skies above, When the springs of the deep became fixed, Proverbs 8:28
Wisdom is telling us here what the early atmosphere of the earth was like at creation. We are also being told of springs that existed in the oceans - but they were held in place. Therefore, if truly the wisdom of God is being told to us - and this wisdom relfects the creation of God's world - then there should be some sort of evidence of this in the record of the earth. The atmosphere above us is a wonder, being made of seven layers - and consisting of various gases at varying pressures. The word that is used for this description is "amas" which means the skies were made strong, and that they would prevail. Our atmosphere is the result of water vapor and other elements that are in the skies above the land and water on the earth. They are held in place by gravity that keeps them in place around the earth. But the early atmosphere of earth most likely was even more "firm" with water - due to what we find in the fossil record on the earth. This record includes the amazing story of a planet that had a tropical climate pretty much worldwide. The Biblical record also records for us an aging process that enabled men to live far longer than they do now. The size of plants and animals was far greater than presently experienced. But there is evidence that some catastrophic event changed all this - and left us with the climate that we presently experience with temperate as well as frigid zones on earth - with the climate changing more drastically as we approach the poles of the earth. Wisdom presents an interesting picture of the early earth. This fits well with the Genesis account - as well as with the catastrophic flood of Noah. The pre-flood climate could easily have been due to a much more prolific water layer surrounding the earth. This canopy of water would have drastically affected the climate of earth making it far more like a tropical climate worldwide. This water canopy would have also severely limited the ultraviolet rays that bombarded the earth - which would have radically affected the aging process on earth. The catastrophic change for earth would have involved some kind of piercing or emptying of this water canopy around the earth. Such an event would have involved a tremendous anmount of rain happening over a long period of time (maybe like 40 days and nights?). The Bible records this in Genesis 10 as the Noahic flood. During this time additional water problems would have caused the earth to be innundated beyond the rains caused by the emptying of the water canopy. God reveals to us that during this time He also allowed the fountains of the deep to be broken up - and for a tremendous amount of water to be released from underneath the oceans. Such a combination of water canopy release and sub-crust water eruptions would have been sufficient to cover the earth in water. Of course, if that were true we would find sea creatures in the fossil records on mountains. Amazingly enough, that is what we have found - even finding sea creatures in the fossil records in the Himalayan Mountain range - and even on Mount Everest - the tallest peak on earth. Some will read this and say that such a view of things is obtained by having pre-conceived ideas of our world and its origin. I would answer such assertions with a resounding, "Yes!" I would only argue one point. These are not "my" preconceived ideas - they are more "biblically" conceived ideas that come from reading and seeking to understand God's revelation of what He has done - and is doing in the world. The evolutionist hides behind such attacks, because if the truth were to be fully revealed, he too has preconceived ideas upon which he bases his research. His ideas are that of a materialistic worldview that negates the concept of God or creation from the start. This is why his conclusions MUST support a world that simply exists due to no outside causes. He starts with no God - and must come to a conclusion that supports his presuppositions. At least I am honest about my biblical preconceptions. The evolutionist feigns pseudo-scientific objectivity - yet his quest is not for truth as much as it is for information that will allow him to continue to negate God - and therefore permit him to live his life according to his own wisdom - rather than the Wisdom of God.
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"From everlasting I was established, From the beginning, from the earliest times of the earth. Proverbs 8:23
What were things like before the beginning - and even in the very beginning of time, space, and creation? The world would have us believe that all things were chaos - with a huge universe originating explosion followed by nothing more than random events that came together to form life (even though this completely contradicts the 2nd Law of Thermodynamics). What is interesting is that this particular passage in Proverbs 8 definitely contradicts the world's view of things. We read that wisdom was established from everlasting. The terminology used here speaks of a time before time itself. We read first that it was from everlasting - and then again it was from the beginning - and from the earliest times of the earth. All these phrases point us to Genesis chapter 1 and the creation account. Thus God "established" wisdom from before time itself or at least as time itself began. This tends to directly contradict the whole idea of a huge explosion followed by a random, unintelligent, and if you will "unwise" period of billions of years - with nothing driving the world but mere chance. What we have instead is that there was glorious intelligence and wisdom that was present from the very beginning of creation itself. We also read that this marvellous wisdom was "established" from the very beginning. The word used here means to consecrate. There is a two-fold idea presented here. First is that God poured out wisdom as one would pour out anointing oil - thus pouring out the glorious wisdom and super-genius level intelligence that is seen in the design of nature itself. Second, we have the idea that as God created wisdom - it was set apart - it was different because it came from God Himself. It was not random and unintelligable. It was radically distinct and clearly seen as something that had been set in place. What are we left with then as we look at the beginnings of wisdom? We are left with the realization that if this world around us seems to have an intelligence behind it. If there is an apparent design in our universe - that would fit the Biblical narrative like a hand in a glove. God said that as He began all things, the first thing He made was wisdom itself. Then all that came forth as He made time, space, and all of creation mirrors His glorious wisdom and understanding. But, if we simply see randomness - with no real purpose, no real design, no real structure for our universe or even our own highly complex bodies - well, then that would resemble a random universe that came together purely by chance. What we see in the universe - and in creation and our bodies screams to us that there is an intelligence - an intelligence of super-abounding, infinite genius that is behind what we see in the world and in the universe. The precision of the stars and of all that is in space could never have come about randomly. The astounding complexity of every aspect of nature - from the microscopic complexity of a single cell, the the mind-boggling complexity of the human body with its myriad of systems all functioning perfectly together - leaves no doubt in our minds. The only way one could doubt is if they rejected God outright and therefore had to come up with the most unplausible of concepts of a random universe which winds up with an incredibly complex, ordered system at every level of life. The truth is God made wisdom - at the very onset of His creative work in making the universe around us. That wisdom is then seen in even the minutest of details of life at the nuclear level. But then again that is what we would expect if there was a God - and if God chose to reveal Himself to us in nature first - and then through His Word - and ultimately in His Son. To make you know the certainty of the words of truth That you may correctly answer him who sent you? Proverbs 22:21
Why does a wise man teach his student or his son wisdom? Why does he call him to listen and apply himself to gaining a knowledge of how to live? Why does he call his pupil to trust in he Lord and to learn how to put that trust to use in very practical ways? Why does he write to him of the wonderful Words of God - words that are filled with glorious counsel and knowledge that will last a lifetime? We've been looking at verses 17-21 for the past several days - and learning from this call to God's wisdom. Today we come to the final verse of this call and in it we find the reason this teacher/father has called his student/son to pursue and seek after God's wisdom. "To make you know the certainty of the words of truth." It really does not get much more plain that this does it? The teacher is pointing the student to God's Word and wisdom because he wants him to know the truth. Even more than this - he wants him to know that the truth is true. I know that this sounds a little strange to us - but the literal translation of this phrase is this, "to make you know the truth of the words of truth." The idea here is that first of all there is an ultimate truth. There is an absolute truth upon which we can base our lives and our moral choices. The world today does not believe this. They believe that all truth is relative - and that we make our own truth. This is the same lie Satan used in the garden, and the same lie that Romans chapter one says God reveals His wrath against. In a nutshell it is the belief that we are gods - and therefore we make our own truth relative to what we (the god of ourselves - and our ultimate deception of self-worship) want for ourselves. The book of Proverbs (and indeed the entire Bible) militates agaisnt that view with the strongest prejudice possible. God is ths author of truth - and He has revealed Himself through the Word of God, the Bible. We know truth - if we know the Bible. Remember that the teacher here is urging the student to know wisdom - the knowledge and understanding that comes from seeing the world as God sees it. When we read His Word we KNOW the truth. But when we learn to think according to His wisdom - to reason, to consider and discern things by His Word - then we will know not just the truth itself, but also the certainty of it - the truth that the truth is the truth. Please stay with me until I finish this argument. We not only need to know Scripture - but we also need to know how to reason by it and defend it. Do not misunderstand what I am saying - God's Word IS the truth. But as we walk through this world filled with its deceptions and lies - we are going to need to be certain of the truth. We WILL face opposition to our beliefs from the world that is around us. I live in the college town and know from dealing with students who have had professors attempt to destroy their faith that there is a need to be able to defend the truth in your mind - and at times - openly to others. This will not come by reading a little devotional each day - and having a few moments of prayer at meals. This comes by speanding time thinking, considering, and learning to reason and discern as God's Word directs. It means knowing God - spending time with Him in intimate fellowship so that you can know the conterfeits and lies that will seek to draw you away from Him. The teacher/father knows this - and that is why he is calling his student/son to know wisdom. For when he knows wisdom and has a functioning worldview that operates according to God's wisdom - he will know the certainty of the Word of God. The second reason he makes this call is given in the last half of this verse. "That you may correctly answer him who sent you?" The Hebrew here can honestly go one of two ways - as this is a little difficult to translate. Yet either way is very helpful to us. One way to translate this is that we are correctly answering the one who has sent us out. What this is promoting is accountability. We are sent out by God - or by an authority who is under Him - and in the end we will have to give an answer. The word "correctly" here gives the idea of returning truth to someone. Thus, as we are sent out to live a godly life, we are going to be accountable for the truth that has been given to us. Godly wisdom is crucial to this responsibility. We can return the truth we have been given - which basically would mean that we give an account of how we have lived by God's truth in life - and in making moral and spiritual choices. Knowing wisdom will mean being faithful to God - and therefore doing well as we are accountable to Him or to those He has placed over us to lead and guide us. The other way this second phrase could be understood is in the context of living in the world - and giving an account for our faith. Peter speaks of this in 1 Peter 3:14-16 when he says, ". . . and do not fear their intimidation, and do not be troubled, but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence; and keep a good conscience so that in the thing in which you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ will be put to shame." We need to be ready to answer those who "send for us," or who basically call for us to answer their questions about our faith, about our Lord, and about why we live the way we do. This is somewhat of a call to know apologetics - or being able to share the reason you believe. Wisdom will give this to you. You may answer with truth the questions that are posed about your relationship with God. We are called to know wisdom - to know God's wisdom. This is a call to be able to think, consider, discern, and reason according to what God says in His revelation of Himself - in the Word of God. As we heed this call God will instruct us and help us gain wisdom. And as we learn to apply this wisdom in a way that will help us build a godly, Christ-centered, Bible-based worldview and way of living - we will find that we become very confident of our faith - of the truth itself. One of the things our world desperately needs is beleivers who know what they believe, why they believe it, and Whom their belief helps them to know. May we be among those who not just hear the call to God's wisdom - but who realize we need it - heed it - and are blessed because of it. Incline your ear and hear the words of the wise, And apply your mind to my knowledge; Proverbs 22:17
All throughout the book of Proverbs we have little sections devoted to calling people to wisdsom. Here is another one. From this verse all the way through verse 21 we are called to give ourselves to the "words of the wise" as we walk through life. The call here is to hear what the wise are saying. Something that we should realize is that as we walk through life God is going to bless us with those who are wise. Unfortunately the cutlure of the west has turned from learning from the elderly - and thus has cut off from ourselves a wealth of wisdom and understanding in the process. There is much to learn from someone who has walked through life many years. If nothing else -we can learn from the fact that they've faced things we have not - and that they are failed at things and learned form their mistakes. The call is to incline our ear and hear these words. This is in some ways a call to humility. We have to submit ourselves to their words if we are going to learn anything. If we think that we are the fountanhead of wisdom itself - we will be too arrogant and too apt to "lean on our own understanding" to listen to what someone else has to say. There is much to simply learning to shut one's own mouth and hear what others have to say. That is why God admonishes us through the book of James to be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry. The wise old saying goes that God gave us two ears but only one mouth. By this He is saying that we need to listen twice as much as talk. That one thought alone, if adhered to, would grant us a great deal of wisdom. The thing though that the wise old sage offers to the youth is that not only should he listen, but he shoud also apply himself to understanding what he has heard. This is where a great deal of wisdom is gleaned. We not only listen, but then later we take the time to mull over what has been said with a view to truly understanding it and applying it to the various situations that we face in life. It is not enough just to listen - we must apply what we've heard as well. This application process happens as we also truly seek to grasp the very root truth of what we've heard. This means going to the level of the worldview that wisdom teaches us. That worldview is one of knowing and valuing to the utmost what God has to say to us. Wisdom is best defined as seeing things like God sees them. This means that we take what we've learned from God not just as information, but as a framework to understanding everything in the world around us. This is the way to wisdom - to see and to grasp things from God's perspective - and then to live as He would direct us. Good understanding produces favor, But the way of the treacherous is hard. Proverbs 13:15
Intelligence with insight and discernment is worth its weight in gold and jewels. We see the phrase "good understanding" at the beginning of this proverb today. This phrase means to have an intelligence or good sense. God did not intend for us to be ignorant. The Word of God makes it clear that we are to learn, to be educated, and to gain knowledge. Where the world has made its fatal mistake is to separate their gathering and thirst for knowledge from God and from a life given to know and please Him. The idea behind having good understanding is ones ability to take their intelligence and use it to also manifest good sense and discernment. It is the ability to have more than just knowledge - it is the ability to gain insight from that knowledge. It is taking our knowledge and seeing it as the servant of God. Unfortunately in the past there were some in the church (not necessarily in Christ) who reacted wrongly to those who in foolish education decided that part and parcel of their education was a call to reject God. In their misguided zeal to "protect" God - they began to reject education. In our day there has been such a false separation between God and education that many believe you have to choose one or the other. Such a separation is falacious entirely. What the academic rejects is submitting his knowledge to anything or Anyone - which leads him to many foolish conclusions. What the Christian academic does is submit his study to the Word of God - which, if he will do so consistently, will lead him to even greater discoveries (and by the way - acurate ones as well). Ultimately - and here is where the purely secular academic will howl with disapproval - the goal of life is to experience God's favor and grace. This is wholly unacceptable to the academic who rejects the Bible as ultimate truth. He sees this as a step backwards into stupidity and ignorance. But his rejection of God's favor only produces problems for him - and for those who adopt his worldview based upon purely flesly science and research. The Scriptures here state very clearly that the way of the treacherous is hard. The word treacherous is telling here. It is the Hebrew word "bagad" and it means to be traitorous, to act unfaithfully, to betray. This has at least two applications. First is the one I to which I am currently referring in this discussion of true scholars - who move past mere research to conclusions which ultimately seek the favor of God. The treachery of which they are guilty is a betrayal of their very principles of research and understanding. In cutting off any consideration of the divine - they betray their own conclusions. They demand a world without anything except what their fallen senses can detect. But such a world would be one without meaning or purpose. Thus their very science which seeks to make sense out of the world and its workings - is passionately pursuing of a moot point. There is no meaning - there are no morals - there is no purpose in a world that is based on an amoral starting point. You cannot begin with amorality - and come to a conclusion of any moral reasoning. This is why the way of the treacherous is hard. Rejecting God, rejecting truth, rejecting the biblical worldview - is hard. In the end you are left with a machine that has no purpose nor meaning that crushes the life out of those who are desperately wanting their philosophical nothingless void to whisper that there is something to live for in life. Though they may never admit it in their lifetime - their pursuit of a nothing that means something will laugh at them in the end - showing that their lifetime has been spent tilting at philosophical windmills. Even worse - they will give the philosophical underpinnings that will give rise to the most monstrous of men. Germany rejected God - and rejected truth in the early 20th century in what they thought was a freedom from the mentally constipated constructs of Christian theology which they felt constricted science and philosophical thought. The step-child of their philosophy rose to power amidst the Third Reich - and Hitler arose as the one who would take their atheistic, evolution-driven understanding and put it to a use that would horrify the ages. His actions that sought a super-race - free from the restraints of human kindness and consideration - gave us the genocide of the Jews in his generation. Yet he was only following the treacherous path laid for him by those who asserted that a worldview based on the survival of the fittest. He was only taking their philosophical treachery and drawing conclusions that make sense in that system. In the end the way is hard for the treacherous. There is a second kind of treachery - one that exists in the church itself. It is the treachery of hypocrisy within our hearts. This is where our so-called Bible understanding short-circuits and does not lead us to valid discernment of sin and righteousness. This is where we have a disconnect with the truth. We choose NOT to follow the Word - nor the conclusions that should be drawn from it. We choose NOT to walk in obedience - or to reject an action because the Scriptures clearly show it to be sin. Thus we become treacherous in how we either know the Word or how we should apply it. Once again the conclusion of this matter is that the way of the treacherous one is hard. Sin, regardless of who commits it, is going to be hard. There are going to be stumbling blocks - consequences - and difficulties that will not go away simply because we claim to be Christians. The Word stands - we can either follow it and walk in a way that will be blessed - or go the way of the transgressor, which the Bible also tells us, is hard. The wise man is the one who grasps that God is truly God - and that His Word IS truth. Knowing this he is armed with what I would call "advanced" information about this world. It is information given to us - indeed revealed to us - from an Infinite Intelligence. If we learn to follow it - and know that stepping outside of its philosophical and moral constructs will only bring difficulty - we will be blessed - even favored if you will accept it. But to do so requires us to also accept the Author's worldview of man - that of a fallen one who has rebelled and turned from the right way to follow his own base nature. It requires us to see that the purpose of all things does not find its apex in man - but in God. Unfortunately for many academics - and religious hypocrites - that is the most odious step to take. A wise man is cautious and turns away from evil, But a fool is arrogant and careless. Proverbs 14:16
Why is it wise to be cautious in our choices and decisions in life? It is because we live in a world that has fallen. I know that those of you who read this regularly in these posts may think that I emphasize this too often, but I fear that we do not fully grasp at times what mankind's rebellion against God has wrought in this world. Today's proverb tells us that a wise man fears. That is the literal translation of the word "cautious" here. It refers to the fact that the wise man fears God. He fears God becasue he reads of God's Word - God's glory, power, majesty, and holiness - and he fears displeasing and dishonoring Him. Wisdom tells us to fear God's displeasure. Wisdom also tells us that there is a way that is evil. Here is where we run into some very serious worldview problems with the world and its philosophies. The majority of worldviews do not take into account the fall of man into sin and the subsequent ruin of this world. They consider man's basic nature as good. As a result you will hear people tell others to, "Just trust what is in your heart." That is not wise or good advice. What is in our hearts is rebellion toward God and a bent toward sin. We will choose with an astounding regularity contrary to God's ways. This is because there is within us a bent toward selfishness - and a bent away from God. The wise man knows this - and as a result is cautious - and does fear making decisions and choices that run contrary to God's Word. This is the place he turns for wisdom - to the Word - because it gives us an objective revelation of Who God is and what He has said. Thus he takes time in making those decisions to check for God's will and favor in things. The fool though is said to be arrogant and careless. He is arrogant because he thinks he does not need anything to make wise decisions. He doesn't need anyone to tell him what to do - especially a "God" Who knows all things. He considers the Bible to be an ancient document that has no bearing on his life or his decisions. His arrogance is manifest by how he views himself - as just fine and having NO need of refinement - let alone a fundamental change in who he is or how he makes decisons. Therefore he is careless - he does not care about God, about God's Word, about God's will. He will make his own way. His favorite verse is an interesting rendition of Proverbs 3:4-5. It goes something like this, "Trust in yourself, and lean heavily on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge yourself and what you want. Forge your own path - make it what you want." These two paths definitely diverge from one another. One heads toward God and sees God's Word as a road map and a guide for decisions - for life itself. The other sees nothing but self and a pursuit of what the world says is valuable. Even in instances where the world is not used as the standard - this one turns to his own desires and his own ways. Correspondingly, one path leads to destruction and misery - the other to life and life abundantly. My son, let them not vanish from your sight; Keep sound wisdom and discretion, Proverbs 3:21
Two things are mentioned to us in this proverb - and we are told to always keep these things in sight as we walk through life. The two things mentioned here are sound wisdom and discretion. Because these are such important things, it would be very wise for us to define both of them. Sound wisdom is the Hebrew word, "tushiyah" and it means, the essence or substance of a thing. The place where we receive such foundational level wisdom is from God Himself. He is the ultimate essence of substance of all things. To know this and to think and reason from this is sound wisdom. When we embrace this world view of life - we embrace seeing all things from His perspective - and reason all things from the counsel of His Word. Here, dear saints is the very sustance and essence of wisdom. All other things are infinitely less than this and they are infinitely inferior to the wisdom and direction that God brings us as we turn to Him and listen to Him. We do this by studying His Word and doing so under the tutelage of the Holy Spirit. Do not let God's Word and the instruction of His Spirit depart from your sight as you walk in this world. This is a difficult thing because there are so many different things clamoring for our attention in this world. To listen to them and to heed them is NOT wisdom - and will lead to our lives being lived for that which is not the substance and essence of why we are alive. We will live a small life - and one that will not last. Staying focused on God and His Word is the way to live a life of meaning and purpose. The second word used here is discretion. This is the Hebrew word, "umezimmah" and it means, "to resolve to act according to the directions of God's wisdom. What is fascinating here is that discretion is setting our lives practically on the foundation of God's wisdom and Word. It speaks of taking the lofty purposes and intentions of God that come from the sound wisdom gained in His Word - and then using those to make every day decisions and plans which help us to live our lives according to His will. We must be able to take the information we gain in understanding God and His ways - and boil it down to practical application in our lives. If we do not do this - then all we have are lofty thinking and high principles in our heads with no action upon them in our lifestyles. Though it is nice to have lofty thinking - it is useless if it is not put to practice in choices every day. Solomon is telling us that God wants both lofty and deep thinking on Who He is and what He desires in our lives - as well as very practical ways of taking that knowledge and making it a part of our choices every day. This is truly the whole picture of Godly, wise living. It does not shun the foundational thinking that makes a worldview - yet it also does not make a wise and godly lifestyle a matter of mental exertion only. God has set the two things that will truly bless our lives here in front of our faces. We have therefore a choice - to embrace both the instruction in deep, wonderful theological thinking about life - as well as the very practical activities that will make that knowledge a part of how we live every day. Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child; The rod of discipline will remove it far from him. Proverbs 22:15
Ah, we come to the NOT-Dr. Spock proverb. If you do not know who Dr. Spock is the first thing I should tell you is that he is not the pointy-eared science officer from the Star Trek series. He is a child psychologist from the 1960's who announced to the world through his writings that spanking a child was wrong. Unfortunately an entire generation decided that he was right (after all he is a psychologist!) and that God was wrong. If you are wondering the results of that choice, take a look at our society today. Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child. This is a view that is also rejected by the vast majority of psychologists and educators today. We are told that we need to let children "express themselves." When we try to impose our views upon them - we are only warping them in our image. I can only tell you that when we add a biblical worldview to the practice of guiding and disciplining a child - people in the academic world tend to go ballistic. But the biblical fact is, well . . . fact. The Bible reprents mankind as fallen and ruined due to sin. That includes little ones fresh out of the womb. I know that it is very easy to look at little ones and think, "Oh, they are so cute - they're just little angels." The problem is that they are NOT little angels. The Biblical view is that they are little fools - and will remain that way unless we apply the rod of discipline in their lives. Children will basically be selfish and self-centered. The will have a tendency toward sin - and if left to themselves without discipline will become little tyrants. Some will howl with disapproval for this statement saying that not all children are this way. I've helped rear six children and would be the first to say that different children have different ways that they express their sinful nature - but every one of them needed discipline to keep from being fools. Some of my children were active in their rebellion - others were passive in how they disobeyed - but without a doubt they all disobeyed naturally. God's Word says that what we are after is their hearts. Note that we read that foolishness is bound up in a child's heart. We are not aiming for their bottoms - although that is where the discipline usually is administered. We are aiming for their hearts. We want them to see that they are fallen and that they need God. We want them to see that they are foolish and need the wisdom of God. We want them to see that they are sinful and need the forgiveness of God. We also want them to see that they are bound in sin and desperately need the deliverance of God. Finally, we need for them to see that they are fatally flawed and need the regeneration of God that comes with salvation. They need their "heart of stone" to be replaced at salvation with the heart of flesh that God promises in the new covenant. One reason we do this is because they must learn that discipline is the way of life. God will continue to discipline them as Hebrews 12:5-9 says. If we are His children - we WILL be disciplined. Thus we are to be trained by our parents early to learn to receive discipline and to learn from it. The rod of discipline is applied to help remove the foolishness from our hearts. As it does its work, we will grow in wisdom and understanding - and will learn to put away foolish things from our lives. There are some who will argue that the "rod" mentioned here is just words. But the word itself means a rod or stick - a club or the stick in a spear. I will not argue with those who say that at times God refers to the rod of His mouth. But when it comes to child training there are other passages in Proverbs that make it clear that we are to spank our children in disciplining them. This being said, I will also state clearly that over-spanking a child is abuse - and that God's Word refers to "LOVING" discipline that should be administered. Simply grabbing a child and swatting them is very ineffective. There should be instruction, clear boundaries, discipline, as well as reassuring love that is given after any kind of spanking that is given to a child. Our children need to know that we are not disciplining them because they are annoying us. We are discplining them so that they will become pliable in the hands of God - and so that they will learn not to embrace foolishness when it presents itself in their minds or through their friends and aquaintences. This is the kind of discipline that will train up that child. It is also the kind that will help them love their parents - and later the Lord for what He is doing. They will see that this is a very positive thing done out of love and always done with their ultimate best interests in mind. 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. "For the waywardness of the naive will kill them, And the complacency of fools will destroy them. Proverbs 1:32
Never will you understand the necessity of a negative message, a message of warning - than you will when you see the latter end of someone who ignores then when they are given. That is the case here as we look at this next to last verse of chapter one of Proverbs. This verse lets us know that the unwise moral and spiritual choices of the fool cost him dearly at the end of his life. Actually, here we learn that these choices may be what ends his life. The first thing of which we are warned here is imitating the "waywardness" of the naive. To be wayward is to be one who turns away from God and His Word. The Hebrew word here is "mesubah" and it means to turn away, to be apostate, or to backslide. What it refers to is someone who is constantly fluctuating or vacillating in their views. This describes the ones who turn away from the Word. Their "open-mindedness" that describes their naive thinking will constantly change and morph as society itself does. In time, they will have one view - but change to another. This accurately describes the reason that the morals of society seem to constantly be in flux. But the part of this that is frighening is that we read here that it is these very tendencies that will kill them. Their naivete is that they can order their own lives and have no real consequences from such choices. The truth though is that by turning away from the Lord, they will face judgments and severe consequences, the most severe of them being what will happen to them after they die and face the final judgment before God. The second thing we see here is that the complacency of fools will destroy them. Complacency here is the Hebrew word, 'salway" and it speaks of a sense of security and quietness in one's prosperity. There is no anxiety or concern. There is only an excessive easy and prosperity. They take the lack of trouble as a sign that everything is fine and there is no need to even be concerned about eternal matters. The problem for them is that there is very real trouble in their future - but their attitude toward God's Word keeps the from knowing the danger. There is a need for messages that warn and correct us. If we could guarantee that we would life perfect lives that never need correction, we could blow off these kind of things. But the fact of the Biblical worldview is that we are fallen, sinful people who are prone to rebellion and disobedience. This necessitates that we have to be warned of the consequences of unbiblical choices. We need to be reminded that there are very real, very negative results that come with walking apart from God's revealed will in His Word. Hopefully, such warnings will turn us away from ungodly choices and lifestyles. Hopefully we will hear such things and not trust in ourselves - but in God who guides us into paths of righteousness and blessing. Staying Positive is Not Always Staying Wise, Part 5 - When God Rejects and Why - Proverbs 1:28-304/5/2011 "Then they will call on me, but I will not answer; they will seek me diligently but they will not find me, because they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the LORD. They would not accept my counsel, they spurned all my reproof."
Proverbs 1:28-30 There is a time when prayer will not reach God - not will it do a person any good at all. That may sound like a strange thing to say - but it is true biblically. God warns those who reject His counsel and who turn away from His reproof that there will be a time when they pray and find that no one is listening. Proverbs tells us that when our lifestyle is one that rejects God's Word and wisdom that there will be a time when due to the lack of it we will call on God and even seek Him diligently. The problem is that the reason they do this is because they want to be rescued from their bad decisions and from the consequences of their actions. Their call to God is not made out of any desire to repent and change how they are living. This kind of prayer will not receive God's answer - although it will receive His rejection. The reason God rejects these kinds of prayers is because of the state of their hearts. These are the one who hated knowledge. They are not ignorant in human terms. In fact often those who hate knowledge are brilliant in the world's eyes. They just hate the knowledge that God has to offer to them. They hate the Word of God - and they hate the things that God has to say about the true state of humanity and the true state of this world. What I refer to is the worldview that sees mankind as fallen and sinful. There are scholars who absolutely reject that worldview. They see man as basically good. In their estimation what mankind needs is not salvation from sin - but to be resuced from those who make us feel bad about ourselves and tell us that we are sinful. They believe that if mankind was just educated properly and kept from the negativity of the Biblical view of mankind. If mankind were not told that anything was sin - but that man could claim their basic god-ness once again - then mankind would prosper and climb to a whole new level of evolution. This was the view at the turn of the century as mankind pretty much rejected the biblical view of sin. The world thought it would rise to a whole new existance without war and without anything to hinder it. What we received from this new enlightened man was a century like no other in its ability to kill one another, make war, commit genocide, and perpetrate horrors upon one another in ways that seemed previously impossible. When men reject God's knowledge - they also choose against the fear of God. They do not honor or respect Him - and they also do not tremble at His Word. When men do not believe God's Word - they are destined in every negative way to fulfill it. They truly will show the work of the fall of man in ways that will astound future generations. Actually future generations, just as blind as their fathers, will say that these things happened because they didn't quite do it right - or because they need an even more God-rejecting philosophy. In so doing they fulfill what verse 30 says. They would not accept God's counsel and they spurn all His reproof. Even as they watch the truth of God come to pass and His worldview upheld again and again, they reject it. Blind guides of the blind, they reject the existance of the very pit into which they lead one another as they continue in their rebellion. Please understand that I know that such writing as this is very depressing. But it is only depressing if we continue to reject God's Word and the counsel, knowledge, understanding, and truth that comes from it. For those who accept God's counsel there is an answer to the futility of mankind and the stupidity of his ways. There is the grace of God in the gospel of Jesus Christ. There is a savlation that God grants us and offers to us through His Son. There is a hope that when we embrace God's ultimate worldview - we not only see our sinfulness - but we are also allowed to see our Savior as well. God graces us with forgiveness, regeneration, and His ongoing work of sanctification. We are redeemed, literally bought from the slave market of sin and given the glorious hope of heaven and fellowship with God for all eternity. There have been and will continue to be those who scorn the negative message that MUST come to mankind for there to be hope. They will say that it is the negative message itself that is the problem - and that if we would just rid ourselves of it - all would be well. But they do not understand that the so-called negative-ness of that message is absolutely necessary in order for us to get the most glorious message of the ages - God's salvation through His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ! You cannot have one without the other. If you reject the message that we are sinners - and choose instead to spurn God's truth and counsel - all that awaits you is deception, destruction, and ultimately death. |
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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