PROFITING FROM PROVERBS

“The sacrifice of the wicked is abomination: how much more, when he bringeth it with a wicked mind?” (Proverbs 21:27).

“The sacrifice of the wicked is abomination,” there are some people that give just to appear to be religious, or they do it just because they are supposed to do it. Their religious obligation is just as binding as their need to pay their taxes to the government—not that they enjoy either one.

“. . . how much more, when he bringeth it with a wicked mind?” It is bad enough in God’s mind to see people that give gifts without any substance as to see those that give with a wicked motivation behind it. Some businessmen join a church and give sums of money knowing that it is really only good for their business. They know that as long as they can appear to be a Christian businessman, more in the community will trust them to do a good job and be fair—which they are not.

Here it is for some despicable motive, which is even worse. Notice here that sins have degrees. Some sins are worse than others. God finds some sins abominable, but others he sees as much worse. Our general thinking at once is what can be worse than abominable? Especially in the area of religion. Hence, Jesus said to the Pharisees, “Therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation” (Matthew 23:14).

The Pharisees’ sacrifices were not just wrong, they were premeditatively wrong. They had thought their schemes out. When that curtain split in two in the Holy of holies, signifying that God had done away with the old ways, they just sewed that thing right up and went on with their religious tradition that obviously had nothing to do with God.

“The sacrifice of the wicked is abomination,” is one thing, doing a good thing wrong is bad, but doing it with a wicked motive is worse. There are some folks that sacrifice and go to church before they got saved—they just think it is the right thing to do—but “the sacrifice of the wicked is abomination,” but some folks do it purposefully with a wicked motive and a wicked desire to do it. They know what they are doing means nothing, except in some business sense.

There is a man in the New Testament that pictures both of these things, and that is Simon the sorcerer in Acts 8. The first time he comes to Peter and the rest of them, the Bible says that Simon believed also and was baptized. Now it was bad that he was bewitching the people at first, but he supposedly got right. The next thing you know he sees the apostles performing signs and miracles, he offered them money and tried to buy that religious power. His wicked motive in that was even worse than his first sin. Some will be worthy of a greater damnation: “But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows' houses, and for a pretence make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation” (Matthew 23:13-14).

One sin is bad, but another sin is worse and that is with a premeditated desire to do wrong. A lot of people don’t realize this, but there are a lot of religious people out there that are going to church, and there isn’t any kind of wicked thought behind that. They are just trying to be religious and do what they think they are supposed to do. They are trying to work this thing out between themselves and God the best way they know how to do it. Owing to their lost estate, however, it is still an abomination to God because they are unknowingly trying to reach heaven out of a way which seemeth right, but the end thereof is still death. Yet, far worse are those that try to use religion for personal gain or personal profit. A lot of these prosperity preachers and faith healers are going to find themselves on this far end of the spectrum.

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