Posted on 08/14/2022 11:26:59 PM PDT by Pilgrim's Progress
“A scorner loveth not one that reproveth him: neither will he go unto the wise” (Proverbs 15:12).
We have seen the scorner a number of times throughout Proverbs. He is the fellow that looks down his nose at God, the Bible, the truth. He openly expressed his contempt towards things of faith.
This is why people stay out of Bible-preaching churches. They don’t like to be told they are sinners. They don’t want to be told that their lives are moral wrecks. They neither like being reproved, nor do they love the one that reproves them.
“By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith” (Hebrews 11:7).
There was a man one time that was doing the will of God and was said to be a preacher of righteousness, and because of the way he lived and the things that he said, the people hated him. Notice that the motivation for Noah’s preaching was fear. There is nothing wrong with that, and one of the great themes of Proverbs which is often repeated in our studies is that “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” Noah built the ark, and notice this phrase, “by the which,” by preparing that ark, by being moved with fear, he condemned the world. He became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.
John the Baptist's message from the wilderness was not, “Smile, God loves you.” It was, “O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?”
Jeremiah was not put into a miry pit for preaching, “I'm okay, you're okay.” It was for crying against the adultery, idolatry and other wickedness of his nation.
Noah's message from the steps of the ark was not, “Something good is going to happen to you.” He condemned the world and was a preacher of righteousness.
Jesus Christ was not crucified for saying, “Consider the lilies how they grow,” but for saying, “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites . . . child of hell . . . fools and blind . . . whited sepulchres . . . generation of vipers.”
We condemn other people when we live right, and witness to the lost. It condemns them. That is why they don’t like to hear the Gospel and they despise the sound of Bible preaching. It condemns their way, their thoughts, their heart, their lives, their motives, and their actions. They don’t like that. In fact, they hate that. “A wicked doer giveth heed to false lips; and a liar giveth ear to a naughty tongue” (Proverbs 17:4).
Where do they go? They go to professors of colleges, they go to listen to men and women that will tell them what they want to hear—who will flatter them and build them up—and who will tickle their ears. They will not go to the preacher of righteousness. They will go to the ones that will tell them, “I’m Ok, You’re Ok.” They won’t go to church, they won’t go to a Bible believer. Well, there is one time when they will go, and that is when they get into desperate trouble. When they find themselves in deep trouble, that is when they will listen to the truth.
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