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Can We Defend What God Condemns? (Prov. 28: 4-11) · (Un) Common thoughts of Christ

• 0:00
  Bernard: We call this short podcast meditation: Can We Defend What God Condemns?
• 0:05
  Bernard: A short meditation on Proverbs 28, highlighting verses 4 through 11 with adapted meditations from Harry Ironside's commentary on Proverbs.
• 0:14
  Bernard: Solomon is not merely describing the difference between good men and evil men.
• 0:19
  Bernard: He is revealing something deeper about the human conscience and its relationship to the Word of God.
• 0:26
  Bernard: What happens when a person begins to set aside the authority of Scripture?
• 0:31
  Bernard: What happens when personal judgment becomes more important than God's revealed will?
• 0:37
  Bernard: And perhaps most searching of all, can a person become so confident in his own wisdom that he no longer recognizes his own spiritual blindness?
• 0:47
  Bernard: These verses provide some solemn answers.
• 0:50
  Bernard: We come to verses 4 and 5 which read:"They that forsake the law praise the wicked: but such as keep the law contend with them." What a remarkable statement! Solomon does not simply say that those who forsake God's law practice unrighteousness themselves.
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  Bernard: He tells us that they praise the wicked.
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  Bernard: There is a distinction worth considering.
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  Bernard: A man may begin by departing from God's Word in his own conduct.
• 1:17
  Bernard: But eventually he may find himself excusing, defending, and even praising unrighteousness in others.
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  Bernard: H.
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  Bernard: A.
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  Bernard: Ironside makes a searching observation.
• 1:29
  Bernard: Those who are quick to excuse evil in others often reveal something about the condition of their own conscience.
• 1:35
  Bernard: Why would someone defend what God has condemned?
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  Bernard: Could it be that acknowledging evil in another would require him to confront something he has refused to judge in himself?
• 1:47
  Bernard: This is an important question for each of us.
• 1:50
  Bernard: The latter part of the verse speaks of those who keep God's law.
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  Bernard: They contend with the wicked.
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  Bernard: This is not an invitation to become quarrelsome.
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  Bernard: Rather, it describes those who recognize God's authority and are therefore unwilling to call evil good.
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  Bernard: And this brings us directly to verse 5.
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  Bernard: "Evil men understand not judgment: but they that seek the LORD understand all things." Here is an important spiritual principle.
• 2:19
  Bernard: The man who lives in unrighteousness loses the ability to judge matters correctly.
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  Bernard: His own conduct clouds his understanding.
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  Bernard: But the man who seeks the Lord is enabled to discern what is right.
• 2:33
  Bernard: Ironside explains that understanding all things does not refer to unlimited knowledge, but particularly to matters of upright living and righteous judgment.
• 2:43
  Bernard: How important this is! We cannot expect to judge matters rightly while refusing to walk rightly ourselves.
• 2:51
  Bernard: Let's continue at verse 6:"Better is the poor that walketh in his uprightness, than he that is perverse in his ways, though he be rich." The world has its measurements of success.
• 3:03
  Bernard: Wealth, position, influence, and reputation are often considered evidence of wisdom.
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  Bernard: But God measures differently.
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  Bernard: A poor man who walks uprightly before God possesses something far more valuable than the riches of a man whose ways are perverse.
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  Bernard: Ironside directs our attention to the rich man and Lazarus in Luke chapter 16.
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  Bernard: One enjoyed earthly abundance while the other experienced poverty and suffering.
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  Bernard: Yet eternity revealed the true condition of each.
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  Bernard: How easily we are impressed by outward circumstances! But neither wealth nor poverty, by itself, establishes a man's spiritual condition.
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  Bernard: What matters is his relationship with God and the uprightness of his walk.
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  Bernard: And this thought becomes particularly important when we arrive at verse 11.
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  Bernard: We continue in Verse 7 which says:"Whoso keepeth the law is a wise son: but he that is a companion of riotous men shameth his father." Here Solomon introduces the evidence of wisdom in everyday conduct.
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  Bernard: The wise son is known by his obedience.
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  Bernard: He brings joy to his father because he recognizes the value of instruction and the importance of walking in what is right.
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  Bernard: The foolish son chooses companions who encourage reckless living.
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  Bernard: His associations reveal something about his heart.
• 4:30
  Bernard: How often the company we choose influences our willingness to obey God! Ironside connects this verse with the prodigal son in Luke chapter 15.
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  Bernard: What a contrast between the wayward son and the loving father! The son's choices brought shame and sorrow.
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  Bernard: But when he returned, the father met him with grace.
• 4:51
  Bernard: What a beautiful reminder that while God never excuses unrighteousness, His heart delights in genuine repentance.
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  Bernard: The wise son walks in obedience, and the repentant son returns to the father whose instruction he once disregarded.
• 5:07
  Bernard: Let's now look at verse 9:"He that turneth away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer shall be abomination." Perhaps this is one of the most solemn verses in our meditation.
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  Bernard: Consider the contradiction.
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  Bernard: A man wants God to listen to him, but he himself refuses to listen to God.
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  Bernard: He desires an answer from heaven while rejecting the Word that has already come from heaven.
• 5:33
  Bernard: Ironside reminds us of Psalm 66:18:"If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me." There is a profound distinction between a struggling believer who comes humbly to God for mercy and a man who knowingly refuses God's Word while maintaining the outward appearance of devotion.
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  Bernard: God has revealed His will in Scripture.
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  Bernard: When His Word is truly honored, it governs our judgments, our decisions, and our conduct.
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  Bernard: But when we deliberately refuse what He has spoken, religious activity cannot make that refusal acceptable.
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  Bernard: This should bring us to a personal question.
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  Bernard: Am I willing to receive God's answer when it contradicts my own opinion?
• 6:19
  Bernard: Prayer cannot be separated from the authority of the One to whom we pray.
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  Bernard: In verse 10 we read:"Whoso causeth the righteous to go astray in an evil way, he shall fall himself into his own pit: but the upright shall have good things in possession." Now Solomon takes the subject one step further.
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  Bernard: It is solemn enough for a man to reject God's Word in his own life.
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  Bernard: But what about the man who deliberately encourages others to depart from the path of righteousness?
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  Bernard: Ironside draws attention to the Lord's words in Matthew chapter 18, where He warns against causing one of His little ones to stumble.
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  Bernard: He also reminds us of Balaam, whose counsel became a snare to the children of Israel.
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  Bernard: There is a serious responsibility connected with influence.
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  Bernard: Our words, our example, and our counsel may either encourage obedience to God or persuade others to disregard His Word.
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  Bernard: Consider the connection with verse 4.
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  Bernard: There, those who forsake the law praise the wicked.
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  Bernard: Here, we find the dreadful consequence of deliberately leading someone else into an evil way.
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  Bernard: What begins as excusing unrighteousness may eventually become encouraging unrighteousness.
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  Bernard: How necessary it is to examine our own motives! Are we helping others walk faithfully before the Lord?
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  Bernard: Or are we making it easier for them to disregard what God has plainly spoken?
• 7:51
  Bernard: We wrap up on verse 11 where we read:"The rich man is wise in his own conceit; but the poor that hath understanding searcheth him out." Now we come to a verse that brings our meditation to a particularly searching conclusion.
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  Bernard: Solomon describes a man who is wise in his own estimation.
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  Bernard: He possesses wealth, perhaps influence and standing among men.
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  Bernard: And because of these outward advantages, he has developed great confidence in his own judgment.
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  Bernard: Ironside observes that riches often produce a sense of security and independence from God.
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  Bernard: And with that independence comes the danger of pride.
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  Bernard: But notice the contrast.
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  Bernard: The poor man, who possesses understanding, is able to search him out.
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  Bernard: He sees through the appearance of wisdom.
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  Bernard: Here we learn that spiritual discernment does not depend upon wealth, status, or worldly accomplishments.
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  Bernard: A man may have considerable influence and yet possess very little understanding of the things of God.
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  Bernard: Another may have no earthly distinction, yet because he fears the Lord and receives His Word, he possesses true discernment.
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  Bernard: There is an interesting connection back to verse 5.
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  Bernard: Those who seek the Lord understand what pertains to righteous judgment.
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  Bernard: But the man who trusts in his own wisdom may become blind to the very things he believes he understands.
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  Bernard: Self-confidence is no substitute for spiritual discernment.
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  Bernard: And perhaps that is the deepest warning in these verses.
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  Bernard: Let us consider the progression we have seen over these handful of verses in chapter 28.
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  Bernard: Those who forsake God's Word may begin to praise wickedness.
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  Bernard: Those whose lives are governed by evil lose the ability to discern righteous judgment.
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  Bernard: Those who refuse to hear God cannot expect religious activity to substitute for obedience.
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  Bernard: And those who encourage others to depart from righteousness place themselves under solemn accountability before God.
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  Bernard: Finally, we encounter the man who is wise in his own conceit, perhaps unaware of how clouded his judgment has become.
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  Bernard: But how precious is the contrast! Those who seek the Lord receive discernment.
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  Bernard: Those who walk uprightly are precious in His sight.
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  Bernard: And those who humbly submit to His Word possess a wisdom that earthly wealth and position can never provide.
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  Bernard: Perhaps the most important question is not whether we can identify unrighteousness in those around us.
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  Bernard: It is whether we are allowing the Word of God to search and govern our own hearts.
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  Bernard: May we never become so confident in our own judgment that we cease to listen to the Lord.
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  Bernard: For true wisdom is not merely knowing what God has said.
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  Bernard: True wisdom is having a heart that is willing to hear Him, believe Him, and obey Him.