Proverbs 1:23 Turn you at my reproof: behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you.
24 Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded;
25 But ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof:
Pro 1:26 I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh;
27 When your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you.
Pride is a common sin that mankind is afflicted with. The pride of man makes it difficult for him to admit that he is wrong. Too often we dig in on our position even though it is not grounded in Truth.
A person that trusts in God and walks with Him does not need to change his position. Biblical doctrine is True. We need to be saved and accept that as fact and live by it.
In our text, the challenge is to turn at God’s reproof. New Evangelicalism and the ecumenical movement have insisted that God needs to do the turning. They believe that God needs to get with the times. Thus, in the modern churches, the Word of God is replaced by a perversion. The music is the world’s music and the dress standards are also the world’s standards. God has not changed. Those who are truly born again need to grow to appreciate His wisdom.
God says that if a person will turn when He reproves him, He will pour out His spirit unto that person. God is not trying to keep truth and blessings from us. He does not give His pearls to the swine. He wants us to know His peace. He wants us to know His Truth. He will make His Words known to the person that will submit to Him.
The supposed grey areas will be gone. There will be a clarity and there will be a black and white rather than the confusion so many live by.
In verse 24 we see that God has called. He gives every person a conscience. Every person is born with a conscience that knows the basic difference between right and wrong. Too often that conscience is corrupted by bad teaching from the supposed adults in the room. The good news is that the Holy Spirit is greater than all the corruption, and that is why occasionally a person gets saved, even though they had a bad upbringing.
God says, the problem is when we refuse His call. He even stretched out His hand, but no man regarded.
Romans 3:11 There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God.
That is the problem facing man. However, as we see in verse 24 and many other verses, God does not leave man in that place of darkness. He reaches out. He reaches out through our conscience. He reaches out through His Word and through a true, Bible-believing church. God may put a godly neighbour or co-worker in your area. God works in many ways to seek to turn the lost person to Him.
The danger comes when we corrupt His Word and twist His counsel. That is what the perversions do. They change the way of salvation, of baptism, of the Lord’s Supper, of marriage, of family, etc.
God knows what is right. When we choose wrong He reproves us. When we put up roadblocks to that reproof, we hurt ourselves, not God.
God’s response to continuous rejection of Him is that He laughs at our trouble. We can see that in Canada. We see religious groups that have so much trouble within them. They need ‘shrinks’ and they have broken homes and they have no solutions. People go their separate ways and they get involved in things that harm them, spiritually and mentally and physically.
Isaiah 27:11 When the boughs thereof are withered, they shall be broken off: the women come, and set them on fire: for it is a people of no understanding: therefore he that made them will not have mercy on them, and he that formed them will shew them no favour.
We have seen the number of people who believed the lies of the government on the Wuhan virus. They followed all the lies and they got the poison shots. There are still people driving in their cars by themselves with a mask on. There is an inordinate fear that is governing many people to this day. It is sad to see. It is the result of a rejection of the Truth.
We are seeing an increase in violence. That is not God’s fault. It is the result of man’s rejection of God. I read a report of a family that had cameras on the outside of their home. The parents went shopping and left the children at home. The mother was notified that a stranger was on their yard. She called home and told the fifteen year old son to call 911. It took over two hours for a response to come from that call. They do not keep anything out in their fenced backyard because they are afraid of being burglarized. It used to be that people did not need to lock their homes or take the keys out of their cars. Now a locked house is no deterrent to the criminal who wants to get in. The locked car is also no deterrent. Home invasions are happening and other crimes are on the rise. Society has no answer to this. They know that the weak laws that are sometimes enacted do not stop the crime. So they go after legitimate gun owners but the criminal gets his gun. They go after others but the East Indian can wear his knife which is only there as an attack weapon. They accept the lies of those who live by violence and they allow them to terrorize law abiding citizens.
This careless way of living is not helpful. It is not necessary. It should not be normalized.
God says, we need to turn to Him. We need to know Him. True born again Christians do not vandalize their neighbourhoods. They do not break into stores and steal. Lost people who have no anchor commit all kinds of crimes. The solution is to turn to God. If you are saved today, be thankful for God’s mercy and grace. It is important to note that the saved person needs to check his heart daily to be sure that he is not being deceived by false teachers. We need to live by God’s wisdom. Sadly, we do not always do that. Thus we need the be reminded of the need to clearly identify God’s reproof and not shrug it off.
If you are not saved today, stop fighting against the truth. Repent and get saved. God’s peace is there for you if you will humble yourself and turn to Him.
Pastor Bartel