Pro 12:21 There shall no evil happen to the just: but the wicked shall be filled with mischief.
Pro 12:22 Lying lips are abomination to the LORD: but they that deal truly are his delight.
The last couple of days we have taken a detour from the book of Proverbs. We have addressed issues that are currently occupying much air time. The problem is that they are getting the wrong coverage from the world. Truth is important and necessary. It is particularly necessary for those who do not want to hear it or recognize it.
As we have mentioned many times and God always mentions, the only solution to the troubles we are facing is to know the Lord. In verse 21 of our text, those who know the Lord are those who are just. The just person is not born any different than the wicked person. All are born as lost sinners. The difference is that the just person becomes a just person when he or she turns to God in repentance and trusts in the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation.
We have talked often about the deception that is permeating our world today in regard to this important matter.
True Biblical salvation will change the recipient from the inside out. It is not a work of man. It is a work that only God can do. He does it in every person that is truly saved. It is essential to take God at His Word. Don’t allow any man, including yourself, to deceive you into thinking otherwise. You will regret it for all eternity if you ignore what God has to say.
We need to understand what God is saying here in verse 21. The Hebrew word translated as “evil” refers to “trouble”. We know that God classifies trouble differently than we do. We know that Daniel and his three friends faced trouble for being just. We know that Peter and John faced trouble for being just. We know that the apostle Paul faced trouble for being just. We know the Catholics caused trouble for many people through the centuries because the people were just.
It is important to keep the context in mind when we study the Bible. The point to note is that we do not want to be in trouble with God. We do not want Him allowing evil to affect us. We know the nation of Israel was judged severely for being in trouble with God. They chose idolatry over truth and God could not allow that to carry on. He brought the Assyrians in to capture and further corrupt the north. He brought the Babylonians in to trouble Judah (the south). He brought trouble to the early church in Jerusalem in the book of Acts because they refused to spread out and preach the Gospel to every creature. They were content to remain in Jerusalem.
God expects His children to follow Him.
The wicked are always scheming some wicked thing. We all know that the Carney government is causing layoffs in Hamilton, Ontario. We also should know that the same government is causing massive layoffs in Windsor, Ontario. This is the same government that promised a massive LNG project in B.C. What may not be as well known is that they have given foreigners the contract for that project and they can choose whether to use Chinese steel or Canadian steel to build the project. How does that make Canada strong?
We have noted many times that Parliament Hill is a place of wickedness. No good is coming out of that place. It is filled with mischief. We also know that New Evangelicalism is filled with mischief. They make a lot of noise and they draw crowds at times, but they are not helping anyone know the Lord. There is talk and there is a form of godliness, but they deny the power thereof.
In verse 22 God shows us further what the problem is. Lying lips. God hates them. Thousands of people will be driving to religious social clubs today where they will entertain lying lips.
Today is the Lord’s Day. Every day is a day in which the Lord should be exalted. However, He has declared that the first day of the week should be special for humanity. He decreed that when the Lord Jesus Christ rose from the dead on the first day of the week.
On this day, godly people need to get up and drive to a place that deals truly. That includes taking God’s Word and opening It and expounding It faithfully. God’s Word will do one or more of four different things anytime It is opened and read and proclaimed:
II Timothy 3:16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
That is what God declares. I did not make that up. If you are looking for a place that will stick an adult soother in your mouth, you will not find that in a true church. You will find that in the religious social clubs that are so popular.
Those who have raised children know that a soother will calm a troubled child sometimes for a short time. However eventually that child will need a diaper changed or be fed or some other need that must be addressed.
If a true child of God will heed God’s Word, they will find comfort and hope there. If the true child of God is fighting against the truth, they will find God’s Word and the true local church will bring them a rebuke. That soul may not enjoy that but if that soul is alive, it will benefit greatly from the Truth.
The lost will always find God’s Word reproving, and correcting them. After all God’s Word is doctrine. It is right teaching. It is not a book of suggestions. It is a book of absolutes. It takes a wise person to be able to understand God’s Word properly. It takes a wise person to accept the reproof, the correction and the instruction in righteousness that is intentionally in all of God’s Word.
Be sure you attend a true local church today. It will be a blessing to your soul. It will be a delight to your soul if you are saved because it delights God.
Pastor Bartel