Posted on 07/27/2020 6:31:27 AM PDT by Pilgrim's Progress
“Open rebuke is better than secret love. Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful” (Proverbs 27:5-6).
TODAY’S VERSE:
“Open rebuke is better than secret love. Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful” (Proverbs 27:5-6).
That is one of the ways that the Lord deals with us. You'd rather have that than being flogged or placed under a harsher more long-term judgment. Amen? I mean for the most part we get a chance to just hear things bad said about us rather than the Lord have to beat on us. The Lord is honest with us and tells us, “You are wrong in this. You need this and you better get right about this or this might happen.” This is sometimes hard to hear, but you do realize it is best. Right? And we do understand that the Lord blesses and judges and all those sort of things; but for the most part we get by in our relationship with God with the Lord just saying some very straightforward truths to us. By the way, He also says many gracious, loving, and merciful things to us to. Right? Sometimes in our human nature, and in our sinful nature, He deals with us rather harshly. You do realize for the most part that with preaching, the worse it gets is just you get to hear things you do not like. It has the possible result that we avoid facing fiery trials by repenting of error in our lives and getting right and staying right. That is not a bad deal.
Verse 6, “Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.”
Well, sometimes some things that the Lord chooses to deal with you about, in preaching even, goes down to the innermost parts of the belly and it is not talebearing; but boy it hurts just the same. There have been some things said about me to me by God in preaching that I would have preferred not to hear at all; but it says there, “faithful are the wounds of a friend.”
So, you should stop and think about that. I do not know what kind of friends you have; but for the most part you want friends that have had it instilled in them at least the necessity to go to you, if you get out of the way, to go find you and bring you back. Now, there are some that would stuff cotton balls all around you, drizzle you with honey, and give you a big hug. Now, I suppose that works sometimes; but the fact of the matter is “faithful are the wounds of a friend.” Sometimes, somebody that is truly your friend has something to say to you and it is well that you hear it, even though it hurts, because “faithful are the wounds of a friend, but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.” Right?
There are the Judas Iscariot’s of the world who would kiss Jesus Christ and then betray Him. You have the Joab's of the world that would kiss his underling, and then stab him under the third rib as he walked away. Right? “The kisses of an enemy are deceitful.” It says there, “faithful are the wounds of a friend, but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.”
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"Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you." - Matt 7:6
"But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, but in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his own house." - Mark 6:4
"So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it." - Isaiah 55:11
So, how do we apply these seeming uncomplementary verses? I think particularily about relatives we know who need a Word - who need correction but they have little or no espect for you or God's Word. They represent people who your heart goes out to - but you know their pride and blindness will reject you and God's Word. Should we treat them like swine according to Matt 7:6 - or not?
Yep.
I have always looked at the swine issue as a plurality of pigs. When witnessing to the lost, it is always better to work one-on-one, but when you get a crowd (and let’s assume that there is often at least one scorner in the bunch), it is much harder, and frankly, you are probably wasting your time. Even that “scorner” might listen to you one-on-one, and to that degree he is only a pig (also the lost are referred to as dogs).
I agree. Very insightful.
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