Proverbs 15:21 Folly is joy to him that is destitute of wisdom: but a man of understanding walketh uprightly.
22 Without counsel purposes are disappointed: but in the multitude of counsellors they are established.
23 A man hath joy by the answer of his mouth: and a word spoken in due season, how good is it!
24 The way of life is above to the wise, that he may depart from hell beneath.
People that enjoy listening to comedians have too much time on their hands. They are quite shallow thinkers. God says people that love folly are destitute of wisdom. Obviously a person that is truly saved would not waste time with folly.
The man of understanding walks uprightly. Walking uprightly is doing what is right. That is contrary to what our politicians suggest. It is also contrary to what the New Evangelical crowd suggests. The upright person seeks a true local church where he can fellowship with true saints and can serve the Lord.
In verse 22 we are further reminded of the importance of counsel. Those who want to act independently, will find disappointment. Bad counsel, which is what our government seeks out leads to disappointment for all of us. Our economy is in the tank and going down. Our debt load is unsustainable. We will not need to face a war to be destroyed. Our financial mismanagement will open the door for China and others to take us over.
The reason for the economical problems is founded in the moral bankruptcy of this nation. We have mentioned before that the murder of unborn children and the promotion of sodomy as well as the increasing antisemitism, are the underlying problems that are leading us to our downfall. Don’t put your hopes in those who are promising a turn around. There is nothing to support those lies. The antichrist will come in with a peace plan that will deceive the lost. His plan will not work, and within three and a half years, he will force all to take his mark in order to do any commerce.
The wise person seeks out godly counsel. He is not looking for conflicting voices like Rehoboam did. He is seeking out wise individuals who have a track record of walking humbly with the Lord.
In verse 23 we are reminded that a wise man enjoys being a help to others. Joseph had the privilege of giving sound advice to Pharaoh. Daniel had the privilege of giving wise counsel to Nebuchadnezzar and to Darius.
The wise person is not puffed up with pride. He is not like president Trump who cannot stop boasting about his imagined success. He has done some good things, but he is not as good as he imagines he is. The wise person seeks wisdom from the Lord and and is happy to pass that on to others.
A word spoken in due season is a good thing. Too often we turn away from wise counsel. When I was in Bible school there was a younger student who seemed to want to run his ideas by me and see what I thought of them. He was of the charismatic mindset and thus he did not have many good ideas. He was young and needed some direction. I would ask him some questions about his plans and give him some Biblical counsel, but he did not appreciate that. He kept coming to me for a while, but eventually chose other students who thought more like he did. If you do not want the truth, you will find yourself in a ditch that will not lead to a good end.
The way of life leads to heaven. It originates from heaven. Jesus called it the narrow way and the straight gate. Heaven will never be crowded. It has much room, but there are few people actually getting saved. That is the sad reality. It is only the few who enter that narrow way that will escape hell.
The natural man is headed for hell. A person does not need to do anything to go to hell. He just needs to follow his sin nature. It is a guaranteed fact that the natural man is going to hell.
New Evangelicalism suggests that the majority of people will go to heaven because after all, we are all good people. Put on a smile and try to be nice sometimes and everything will be good, so they claim.
God gave us His Word to warn us and also to encourage us. The encouragement is for those who will listen to God. Those who will listen to God will turn to God in repentance and be saved. Salvation is a great benefit for man now as well as the end which is in heaven. It is a blessing to be free from the guilt of sin. It is a blessing to be able to confess sin and be forgiven. It is a blessing to have fellowship with God the Father and with the Lord Jesus Christ as well as fellow true saints.
Be sure you are a true child of God. Be sure that you know heaven is your final destination. Don’t deceive yourself by listening to false teachers. Take God’s Word and submit to God’s Word. It is a blessing to be a true child of God. God has given everyone a conscience. That conscience can be defiled by listening and accepting false teaching. If you are attending a New Evangelical church you are being deceived. There is no doubt about that. You are not strong enough to fight off the lies you are subjecting yourself to.
If you attend a true church, your pastor will likely make some mistakes. However, if he is a God-fearing man, he will acknowledge his mistakes and correct them. If you are looking for a perfect man, you will never find one. What we need is a humble man who is obviously demonstrating his walk with God.
The Bible is our authority. Examine everything in the light of God’s Word. No one will be able to argue with God that they did not know better. Many people do not know better because they are too lazy to take the Word of God and read it and study it properly. Of course the lost person does not have the desire to know the truth. I Corinthians 2 makes this very clear.
Be sure you are saved and if you are, don’t fight against the truth. Submit to the truth and join a true, local Bible-believing church. You will be blessed for that.
Pastor Bartel