November 2, 2022

Because they hated knowledge And did not choose the fear of the LORD [that is, obeying Him with reverence and awe-filled respect], 30They would not accept my counsel, And they spurned all my rebuke. 31“Therefore they shall eat of the fruit of their own [wicked] way And be satiated with [the penalty of] their own devices. 32“For the turning away of the naive will kill them, And the careless ease of [self-righteous] fools will destroy them. 33“But whoever listens to me (Wisdom) will live securely and in confident trust And will be at ease, without fear or dread of evil.” Proverbs 1:29-33 AMP

The Scripture warns us of the dangers of rejecting the application of the wisdom of God in our daily lives. The use of extremely strong language here emphasizes the importance of the issue! The word “hated” here in the Hebrew language is the word meaning to “loathe, be hostile toward and in strife with another or lacking love and compassion for an object leading to a rejection of the relationship.” The word is often used to describe the motivation of an enemy. Those who reject the wisdom of God set themselves up as “enemies of God!” Paul wrote to the Philippians,

“Brothers and sisters, together follow my example and observe those who live by the pattern we gave you. 18For there are many, of whom I have often told you, and now tell you even with tears, who live as enemies of the cross of Christ [rejecting and opposing His way of salvation], 19whose fate is destruction, whose god is their belly [their worldly appetite, their sensuality, their vanity], and whose glory is in their shame–who focus their mind on earthly and temporal things. 20But [we are different, because] our citizenship is in heaven. And from there we eagerly await [the coming of] the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ;” Philippians 3:17-20 AMP

The Apostle warned the members of the church that there were false teachers and false-living men, who professed to be followers of Christ, but who were in fact the worst enemies of the cross! These are driven by their worldly appetites and are led by the insatiable desires of their flesh.   Notice that “their glory” has become their shame! We see this clearly in the gay pride movement. Parading sin in the streets and schools of our children will not change the fact of its sinfulness. Paul is clear that it is their perceived glory that is really a showing forth of their shame.

The cross of Christ brings man face-to-face with the reality of his own sinfulness and pride. But why should they want pardoned? They say they have done nothing amiss; they are as good as most people and area not hurting anyone! The problem is that they continually peruse the god of their belly meaning the desires of the flesh, their worldly appetites, and their physical sensuality. The word usedhere for “focus” is the word meaning to be driven. It is far beyond an obsession and signifies an all-consuming passion for sin!

We must remember that before the cross of Christ, we too found ourselves in exactly the same place. We were shackled by our sin and its relentless pursuit of fulfillment. In the book of Luke, Jesus is handed the scroll of the prophet Isiah and asked to read;

“THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD IS UPON ME (the Messiah), BECAUSE HE HAS ANOINTED ME TO PREACH THE GOOD NEWS TO THE POOR. HE HAS SENT ME TO ANNOUNCE RELEASE (pardon, forgiveness) TO THE CAPTIVES, AND RECOVERY OF SIGHT TO THE BLIND, TO SET FREE THOSE WHO ARE OPPRESSED (downtrodden, bruised, crushed by tragedy),:19TO PROCLAIM THE FAVORABLE YEAR OF THE LORD [the day when salvation and the favor of God abound greatly].” 20Then He rolled up the scroll [having stopped in the middle of the verse], gave it back to the attendant and sat down [to teach]; and the eyes of all those in the synagogue were [attentively] fixed on Him. 21He began speaking to them: “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing and in your presence.” Luke 4:18-19 AMP

Jesus came to set the captive free form sin’s relentless pursuit of fulfillment. Our freedom now isn’t one unto sin but rather a freedom from the power of sin NOT TO be controlled by its unconquerable power! Verse 20 reminds us that,

“20But [we are different, because] our citizenship is in heaven. And from there we eagerly await [the coming of] the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ;” Philippians 3:20 AMP

Have a blessed day, Pastor Ken