Proverbs 11:4 Riches profit not in the day of wrath: but righteousness delivereth from death.
5 The righteousness of the perfect shall direct his way: but the wicked shall fall by his own wickedness.
6 The righteousness of the upright shall deliver them: but transgressors shall be taken in their own naughtiness.
7 When a wicked man dieth, his expectation shall perish: and the hope of unjust men perisheth.
8 The righteous is delivered out of trouble, and the wicked cometh in his stead.
The Bible is clear that we cannot pay for our sins. The day of wrath is the day of God’s judgment against the wicked. The saints are not appointed to wrath. The saints have turned to God in repentance and have received salvation through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
1Th 5:9 For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ,
In verse 5 the perfect are those who are complete in Christ. There is no such a thing as sinless perfection on this earth. The Catholic teach the perfection of Mary, that she was without sin. God did not choose her to be the vessel through whom He would give flesh to His Son, Jesus Christ because she was without sin. He chose her because she was a young woman who was a virgin and walked in the fear of the Lord. She was a clean vessel because she trusted in God, not because she was sinless.
The wicked shall fall by his own wickedness. Judas chose to betray Jesus. He was greedy and lost and thought thirty pieces of silver would feel pretty good in his pocket. He came to realize that money did not feel good at all. Because he was a fool, he went back to the chief priests to try to find forgiveness for his sin. Of course the chief priests did not care that he felt guilty. They had what they wanted. The chief priests were just like the Catholic priests. They cannot forgive sin and they cannot even point anyone to the One Who can forgive sin because they do not believe in the true God. They call Mary the mother of God. It is sad that so many people accept that lie.
In verse 6 we see that the upright will prove they are upright. The Bible never teaches works salvation. The Bible does teach that the true child of God will give evidence of his or her salvation. That evidence is clearly defined for us in the Word of God. James wrote that faith without works is dead. To say you believe in God but then make up your own rules of righteousness does not work. There are too many people who reject the Word of God but want to call themselves Christians. You cannot pick and choose what you will believe. All Scripture is given by inspiration of God.
Transgressors are those who transgress against God’s law. Rather than be perfect, they are naughty. Too often people think it is cute to see a person be “a little naughty”. There is nothing cute about being naughty.
In verse 7 we see that the wicked make plans. However, when he dies all his plans die as well. He might pass on his ideas to another, but that person will have their own ideas they will try to incorporate into the other person’s plans. Death is very final on this earth. Nothing from this earth passes the grave. The treasure Jesus tells us to lay up in heaven is the good deeds of witnessing to someone else and showing them the truth.
The unjust person is the wicked person is the unrighteous person. He might have the hope of going to heaven, but he will not get there. He did not put his hope in God, but rather in his imaginary religion. That never works.
In verse 8 we see that the righteous person is delivered out of trouble. The righteous person does not yield to temptation. If a righteous person chooses to sin against God and ignores what God says and makes a bad decision, he will face the consequences of making that bad decision. God does not whitewash sin. The righteous person needs to listen to God and walk in His wisdom. When he chooses wisely, of course he will not face the trouble that would come from bad choices. That is why a God-fearing man does not drink. The Bible commands us not to look on the wine when it moveth itself aright. The Bible also warns of the detrimental effects of taking any wine. You want trouble, listen to your heart. You want peace, listen to God.
The wicked person will reap the effects of bad choices. Haman built a gallows to hang Mordecai. Things did not go as he planned. He was hung on the gallows he had made for Mordecai.
Today is the Lord’s Day. It is another day to get up and get ready to go to a good church. Don’t settle for just any place that calls itself a church. Go to one that actually respects God’s Word and teaches it unapologetically. You will be blessed in doing so.
Pastor Bartel