Posted on 07/28/2022 11:45:03 PM PDT by Pilgrim's Progress
“If a wise man contendeth with a foolish man, whether he rage or laugh, there is no rest. The bloodthirsty hate the upright: but the just seek his soul. A fool uttereth all his mind: but a wise man keepeth it in till afterwards” (Proverbs 29:9-11).
What he is saying is, don't argue with a fool. You're a bigger fool if you argue with one. Now, the doctrinal application is in Titus chapter 3.
“But avoid foolish questions, and genealogies, and contentions, and strivings about the law; for they are unprofitable and vain. A man that is an heretick after the first and second admonition reject; Knowing that he that is such is subverted, and sinneth, being condemned of himself” (Titus 3:9-11).
His problem isn’t his heresies, his problems are his personal sins, you’ll have a hard time getting to that. You won’t be able to straighten him out on his heresy until they get him straightened out on his personal problems. His personal sin with God, so you just wasting your time to contend with a foolish man.
“The bloodthirsty,” this is people that are hunting for blood, like we had back in chapter one:
“If they say, Come with us, let us lay wait for blood, let us lurk privily for the innocent without cause: Let us swallow them up alive as the grave; and whole, as those that go down into the pit: We shall find all precious substance, we shall fill our houses with spoil” (Proverbs 1:11-13).
That's just people trying to steal men's livelihood. We say that the life of the flash is in the blood, but if you can’t feed the flesh food, you will destroy the flash. And you can destroy a man by taking his livelihood away from him. Stealing his money, or taking away his money, ripping him off. There is more than one way to be classified as bloodthirsty. the bloodthirsty hate the upright like they did Noah (Hebrews 11:7), because he built the boat and he did right. He condemned the world.
If there are bad people around, and you live right, the bad people are going to hate you. Jesus Christ said in John chapter 15:18, “If the world hate you, ye know that hated me before it hated you,” that that's just the facts of life.
“A fool uttereth all his mind,” you ever been around a fellow like that? Any little issue you get everything he knows.
“A fool uttereth all his mind: but a wise man keepeth it in till afterwards,” until he’s got the whole story, until he’s got all the facts, until he’s heard both sides of the story. I mean, some people are just too open-minded.
“A fool uttereth all his mind: but a wise man keepeth it in till afterwards,” “I'm going to speak my mind!” says the fool, another fellow said, “Go ahead, the next minute is yours.” That's about all it takes for some people?
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And we see this being played out every day these days.
I thought the same. So many good points in this piece. Shows how the Word is timelessly relevant.
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