Confessions of a Church: The Naive and the Prudent

The Psalm writer wrote:  Open my eyes, that I may behold Wonderful things from Your law. As we come before a Holy God and hear his word, may we have eyes open to the wonderful and fearful things from his law. May it move us to repent and seek forgiveness, fear disobedience, and live in light of the grace we have received.   This is the word of God.  It is eternally true and applicable for all of life.  

Proverbs 22:1-10 A good name is to be more desired than great wealth, Favor is better than silver and gold. The rich and the poor have a common bond, The Lord is the maker of them all. The prudent sees the evil and hides himself, But the naive go on, and are punished for it. The reward of humility and the fear of the Lord Are riches, honor and life. Thorns and snares are in the way of the perverse; He who guards himself will be far from them. Train up a child in the way he should go, Even when he is old he will not depart from it. The rich rules over the poor, And the borrower becomes the lender’s slave. He who sows iniquity will reap vanity, And the rod of his fury will perish. He who is generous will be blessed, For he gives some of his food to the poor. Drive out the scoffer, and contention will go out, Even strife and dishonor will cease.
 
 
John Gill said:
"A wise man, whose eyes are in his head, who looks about him and before him, and is cautious and careful of his conduct and behaviour; he foresees the evil of sin he is liable to be drawn into by such and such company, snares, and temptations; and therefore he keeps from them, and abstains from all appearance of evil, or what would lead him to it; and he foresees the evil of punishment, or the judgments of God that are coming on for sin; and he betakes himself to the Lord, to those hiding places and chambers of retreat and protection he has provided for his people, till the indignation be overpast; but the simple pass on, and are punished: foolish persons, devoid of the grace of God and the fear of him, go on careless and unconcerned in their sinful course of life, transgressing the law of God; they proceed from evil to evil, from lesser to greater sins; they go on in the broad road to destruction, and are punished with temporal judgments here, and with everlasting destruction hereafter."

He spoke these words in relationship to Proverbs 22:3 which states:
The prudent sees the evil and hides himself, But the naive go on, and are punished for it.
When it comes to temptations, snares, or the company we keep, all of which can lure us onto the broad path of destruction, it is a wise man, woman, boy, and girl who recognizes the danger and seeks shelter. It is not brave to frequent a website, entertain a conversation, or meditate upon a certain subject, knowing that each and every time you have done so, sin was there lurking for you, waiting in ambush. Jesus said that if your right eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out.

Attempting to flirt with sin, wanting to see how close you can come without getting burned, reveals a rebellious heart. Knowing that God has eyes which are so pure that He will not even look upon sin, we foolishly believe we can toe the line between obedience and warfare with God. Like good little Pharisees we outwardly conform to the letter of the law, while inside we are full of death.

Jesus said that if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off. A prudent, wise person, one filled with the Holy Spirit, is one that recognizes the pitfalls where they are prone to stumble, and avoids them at all cost. In another Proverb it is said in relationship to an adulterous woman, that young men ought not even go past the door of her house.

But mere avoidance of temptations is not enough. Temptations will come, whether they be temptations to murder, or covet, steal, or commit adultery. Think about the last six months, with the mask mandates and civil unrest. How many of you have been tempted to sin in response to these things? How many of us have sinned, by rebelling against authority, grumbling, trembling in fear, doubting whether God is really working all things for our good?
 
When tempted, our response cannot be to simply try harder next time, or put ourselves into some pharisaical box. When temptations come, the plucking out of eyes and cutting off of hands is an element of the equation, but as we turn from the temptations, and turn from the sins, we must turn to Jesus.

Jesus, my brothers and sisters, is where we hide ourselves from evil.
He is our:
Refuge,
Strong tower,
Mighty fortress,
Shelter from the storm,
Our peace.

We are not saved by works, by attempts to appease and conform like Pharisees. We are not saved by our best efforts, or by trying harder. We are not saved by wrapping ourselves up in a veneer of holiness and self righteousness. Rather, we are saved from sin, rescued from temptations, and spared the wrath of God Almighty through the perfect sacrifice of God's Son Jesus Christ.

We are saved from temptation, sin, and the wrath of God when we flee to Christ as Noah and his family ran into the ark for shelter from the coming floods.
 
He alone is our refuge.
He alone is mighty to save.

A person born of the Spirit of God will recognize Christ as their only hope in life and death. They will be satisfied with a drink from the eternal fountain, their appetite  satiated by eating the bread of life. But to the natural man, the one led along by the lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, and the prude of life, things like warring against sin, trusting in Jesus, and His death, burial, and resurrection, are foolish. The natural man sees no harm in pursuing his base appetites. The natural man foolishly believes that he is a good person, and his righteousness will carry him on the day of judgement.

This is true. An unbelieving fool will be carried by his self righteous rags on the day of judgement: right to hell, that place of weeping and gnashing of teeth.
The prudent sees the evil and hides himself, But the naive go on, and are punished for it.

If you are able, join me in kneeling as we confess our sins to God Almighty.
Heavenly Father,
We come before Your throne this morning burdened by sin, plagued by temptations, and in desperate need of rescue.
Time and again temptations to sin come upon us, and rather than turning to You for shelter, we make war in our own strength, and sometimes not at all, and we succumb.
Father, we are weak and need mercy like the tax collector who cried "please be merciful towards me the sinner!", yet far too often find ourselves like the Pharisee holding up our own righteousness as if that can save us.
Father please forgive us for our impenitent hearts. Please forgive us for flirting with sin and temptations rather than setting our minds upon Your Son. Please forgive us for our pride, believing that we can harbor sin in our bosom, forgetting that You see even into the dark places of our hearts.
Help us Father to turn our eyes upon Jesus, and look full into His wonderful face.
In Jesus Name we pray, amen.
 

Please stand and listen to the comforting assurance of the grace of God, promised in the gospel to all that believe: 

1 Corinthians 10:13 There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.

To all those who thus repent and seek Jesus Christ for their salvation, your sins are forgiven in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Lift up your hearts!

(From the 09/06/2020 liturgy of Sovereign King Church written by Aaron Sabie.)