Grace Fellowship    06/22/08    The Loathsomeness of Godliness    (Ch 13)

Let’s begin, as has become our custom, by reading together the entire 13th chapter of the book of Proverbs.  If you wonder why we go to this “trouble” every week, one of the reasons is because we are commanded by scripture to do so.  According to the New American Standard Bible, Paul commanded Timothy to “give attention to the public reading of Scripture . . . .” (1 Timothy 4:13, NASB).  The reading of the Old Testament was standard procedure in the Jewish synagogues, and that carried over into the New Testament church.  Until recent years, it has been the practice to some degree of most Protestant churches.  But it is becoming less and less popular to read the Bible publicly in church meetings because it lacks entertainment value.  

Another reason why we read it together each week is because for many church goers, and maybe for some of you, it is the only time they read the Bible all week.  They do not pick up the Scriptures and read them for themselves.  I pray that is not the case with us.  But even we, (I) can get distracted by the many lesser things that surround us daily, and fall prey to what someone has called “the tyranny of the urgent.”  The Bible is so easily set aside, so easily put off, so easily neglected, and there are so many other things that are so much more entertaining, . . . that we often set aside the word of God for the things of the world that are passing away.

But not today.  It is important that we are all readers of the Scriptures.  It was by means of hearing the word of God that the Spirit granted us faith to believe it.  Hebrews tells us the word of God is living and powerful.  Peter tells us we were born again through the word of God which lives and abides forever (1Pet 1:23).  The Psalmist tells us the word of God is more precious than silver or gold.  It is the word of God that grants us wisdom and instructs us in the way we should go.  The wise person is the first recipient of the blessing that comes from reading the word of God.  So let’s ask God to bless us as we read it together now.

1 A wise son heeds his father's instruction, But a scoffer does not listen to rebuke.

2 A man shall eat well by the fruit of his mouth, But the soul of the unfaithful feeds on violence. 3 He who guards his mouth preserves his life, But he who opens wide his lips shall have destruction.

4 The soul of a lazy man desires, and has nothing; But the soul of the diligent shall be made rich.

5 A righteous man hates lying, But a wicked man is loathsome and comes to shame. 6 Righteousness guards him whose way is blameless, But wickedness overthrows the sinner.

7 There is one who makes himself rich, yet has nothing; And one who makes himself poor, yet has great riches.

8 The ransom of a man's life is his riches, But the poor does not hear rebuke.

9 The light of the righteous rejoices, But the lamp of the wicked will be put out.

10 By pride comes nothing but strife, But with the well-advised is wisdom.

11 Wealth gained by dishonesty will be diminished, But he who gathers by labor will increase.

12 Hope deferred makes the heart sick, But when the desire comes, it is a tree of life.

13 He who despises the word will be destroyed, But he who fears the commandment will be rewarded. 14 The law of the wise is a fountain of life, To turn one away from the snares of death.

15 Good understanding gains favor, But the way of the unfaithful is hard. 16 Every prudent man acts with knowledge, But a fool lays open his folly.
17 A wicked messenger falls into trouble, But a faithful ambassador brings health.

18 Poverty and shame will come to him who disdains correction, But he who regards a rebuke will be honored.

19 A desire accomplished is sweet to the soul, But it is an abomination to fools to depart from evil.

20 He who walks with wise men will be wise, But the companion of fools will be destroyed.

21 Evil pursues sinners, But to the righteous, good shall be repaid.

22 A good man leaves an inheritance to his children's children, But the wealth of the sinner is stored up for the righteous.

23 Much food is in the fallow ground of the poor, And for lack of justice there is waste.

24 He who spares his rod hates his son, But he who loves him disciplines him promptly.

25 The righteous eats to the satisfying of his soul, But the stomach of the wicked shall be in want. (Proverbs 13:1-25, NKJV).

Just like most of the 31 chapters of Proverbs, there are a dozen topics addressed in this chapter that fall under the general heading of the Wise vs. the Foolish, or the Righteous Contrasted with the Wicked.  We could talk about the biblical discipline of children (but all the kids pooled their allowances and paid me off to avoid that topic).  We could talk about the dangers of talking too much: “He who guards his mouth preserves his life, But he who opens wide his lips shall have destruction.” (v. 3).  Riches, lying, the poor, pride, hope, understanding, hard work, are all mentioned in these 25 verses.  But I want to talk with you about verse 19, and more specifically, the second half of that verse: A desire accomplished is sweet to the soul, But it is an abomination to fools to depart from evil.

Solomon understood there was a connection between Part A and Part B of this proverb.  Modern readers and commentators have difficulty figuring out what that connection is supposed to be.  It is assumed that the first half and the second half of the verse are being contrasted, that they are saying virtually opposite things.  So it seems that this verse, like the majority of verses in Proverbs, has to do with the contrasting desires of the wise and the foolish.  Those things that are desirable to the wise are an abomination to the fool.

We talked last week about the word “abomination.”  The only time we hear that word nowadays is when we’re talking about the Abominable Snowman, or a teenager’s bedroom.  The word is used in some manner in the NKJV 73 times, but only 4 times in the New Testament, and two of those times are quotes from the Old Testament.  In the days of Joseph, it was an abomination among the Egyptians to eat with the Jews.  Jewish shepherds were an abomination to them as well.  I think most shepherds were fairly abominable to everyone.

God commanded that many animals could not be eaten by the Jews, such as eagles, buzzards, and vultures, because they were an abomination, as were many insects.  Homosexuality was declared by God to be an abomination.  Idols were and are an abomination to God.  From the contexts in which this word is found, it is obvious that things which were abominable were considerably more offensive than most other offensive things.  Certain sins, certain foods, certain objects, were absolutely intolerable.  An abomination isn’t something that is merely bad.  It is disgusting, revolting, nauseating.

Now let’s revisit our verse: A desire accomplished is sweet to the soul, But it is an abomination to fools to depart from evil.  When the desires of the righteous are realized, they are a sweet blessing to his soul.  His own soul, his innermost being is satisfied in a way that only the righteous can know.  It is assumed that the righteous desire whatever is pleasing to God because of what we have already read in the previous 12 chapters of Proverbs.  So if the righteous are satisfied in their souls with the pursuit and acquisition of holy desires, what would be the opposite of that?  How would you state the condition of the wicked man in terms that would be similar, but opposite?  

I would say something like, “But the desire of the wicked, when it is accomplished, is sweet to HIS soul.”  I think that is the point here, stated positively.  Evil is sweet to the wicked.  However, Solomon states it negatively, and it has much more power that way: “It is an abomination to fools to depart from evil.”  In other words, for the fool, it is intolerable to cease from doing evil.  The wicked think it is wicked NOT to be wicked.  To the fool, godliness is loathsome, holiness is despicable, and submission to God is disgusting, revolting, nauseating, and abominable.

You say, “Wow, I’m glad I don’t know many fools!”  Wouldn’t you hate to live around someone like that?  Beloved, I submit to you that that statement is true of every person who does not know the Lord Jesus Christ.  It is an abomination to the unregenerate to depart from their first love, from evil in order to pursue holiness, righteousness, and godliness.  That is exactly why Paul said all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.  The ungodly think they are serving God by persecuting godly people!

It is completely backwards.  That is the world in which we live.  For the natural man, biblically spiritual things are foolish.  The preaching of the cross of Christ is nonsense.  The Gospel is unintelligible.  For the fool, it is abominable to think of becoming a Christian, of repenting of sin, and living a life that is pleasing to God.  When the Apostle Paul and his mission team first took the Gospel to the Gentiles, he described his work to the believers in Corinth in these terms:

12 And we labor, working with our own hands.  Being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we endure; 13 being defamed, we entreat.  We have been made as the filth of the world, the offscouring of all things until now. (1 Corinthians 4:12-13, NKJV).

Some versions use words like “scum” and “the dregs,” “the refuse,” the stuff you scrape off your shoes.  You get the picture.  That is how the ambassadors of God who first spoke the Gospel among the Gentiles were perceived and treated by those unregenerate people to whom they went.  Consequently they were beaten, imprisoned, stoned, placed in stocks, and thrown out of the cities to which they carried the words of eternal life.  Paul was an abomination to the Judaizers and to many of the Gentiles to whom he spoke, because it is an abomination to fools to depart from evil.  But according to the word of God, without holiness, no one will see the Lord. (Hebrews 12:14).  

Fools think it is abominable to depart from evil.  They think evil is good and good is evil.  So if they have this backward mindset about holiness, but no one will see God without holiness, then who goes to Heaven?  Who gets eternal life?  How can a person who thinks this way be saved?  Again, the Bible tells us that without faith, it is impossible to please God “for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” (Heb 11:6).  But that is just it!  The fool diligently seeks evil!  The fool earnestly believes it is reprehensible to seek God, if he must depart from evil in order to do so.  The heart of the unregenerate man cannot, will not, and believes it to be disgusting, to depart from the sin to which he is so eagerly enslaved.
 
Turn with me to 1 Corinthians 2:14.  These verses give us crystal clear insight into the mind of the unbeliever.  Few men fit the description of the fool of Proverbs 13:19 as precisely as Richard Dawkins does, but to say that the unregenerate man considers godliness to be distasteful is putting it mildly.  Why does he think that?  Because, “. . . the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.” (1 Corinthians 2:14, NKJV).  Listen to what my good friend Octavius Winslow says about that verse:

“By no stronger argument does the truth of God establish the Divinity of its origin, than that to all, save the regenerate, it is a sublime mystery.  Not only the great principles of truth are inexplicable, but the hidden and transforming operation of that truth upon the mind, --the alarm, the contrition, the joy, the hope, the varied and often conflicting emotions which are its proper results, all are perfectly unintelligible.  The life of God in the soul, the mode of its communication, the peculiarity of its actings, and the source of its nourishment, are incomprehensible.  To such an unregenerate individual, spiritual truth has no attraction.  There is neither admiration of its external form, taste for its intrinsic excellence, sympathy with its holy revelations, nor love for its adorable Author.  We fear not to assert, that to a mind on whom the renewing influence of the Holy Ghost has never passed, the great mystery of godliness is invisible.  ‘Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.’  If we are to understand our Lord, whose words we quote, to mean by ‘the kingdom of God,’ . . . not strictly the kingdom of glory and purity in which Jehovah reigns with an immediate and majestic presence, but distinctively and emphatically that spiritual empire which Christ came to establish among men, then it is as true as the testimony of Jesus can make it, that until a man is regenerated, or born from above, -- until he is the subject of a new spiritual creation, the truth of God he cannot see.  It requires no laboured process of reasoning to establish the proposition, so simple and self-evident is it -- things that are spiritual can only be discerned by a mind that is spiritual.”

Have you ever wondered why there aren’t more real Christians in the world?  Doesn’t eternal life at any cost seem like a good deal?  If there is a judgment day in which all the people who have ever lived will be placed on trial before a holy God and sentenced to Hell or invited into Heaven to live forever, if there was any chance of that being true, wouldn’t you think the majority of people would do whatever was necessary in order to avoid eternal death and gain eternal life?  Just as a precautionary measure IF it’s true!  Doesn’t that make sense?

When God miraculously led Israel out of Egypt and into the Promised Land, has it ever caused you to wonder why all the nations that surrounded them didn’t chuck their gods for the REAL God?  Didn’t they see what happened?  Didn’t they know that Israel’s God had done these astoundingly miraculous things?  Didn’t they realize that their own gods had never done anything like that?  That their gods were at the very least, inferior?

Have you ever thought it was strange that virtually all the people of Canaan decided to go to war against Israel AFTER the walls of Jericho fell into the ground?  AFTER the Jordan River stopped flowing and all the nation of Israel walked across on dry land?  Did they not know these things?

Does it strike you odd that Jezebel still wanted to kill Elijah AFTER fire fell from Heaven and consumed the waterlogged altar to Baal and all her prophets were slaughtered?  Isn’t it at least a little bit peculiar that AFTER the Angel of the Lord kills 185,000 soldiers in one night, Sennacherib goes back home to Assyria to worship an idol?  Are the ancient people of the Middle East just dopier and more blind to the obvious than we are today?  How stupid can you be?  Why could they not figure out that it is absolutely moronic to go up against a God (and His people) who can do the stuff they saw happen?  How can so many people be that blind?  Because it is an abomination to fools to depart from evil.

They cannot see it.  It does not compute.  To the unregenerate heart, the things of God are a sublime mystery.  In the case of these Old Testament examples, those enemies of God could not even logically comprehend real time events that took place before their eyes!  Even the children of Israel, in their unregenerate state, constantly rebelled against their own God!  

The Gospel message cannot be fathomed, and is certainly not welcomed IF one has to depart from evil in order to be saved.  “To a mind on whom the renewing influence of the Holy Ghost has never passed, the great mystery of godliness is invisible.”  (Or un-visible.)  They cannot see it, they cannot grasp it, they cannot comprehend the beauty of salvation because such things are only seen and perceived and understood and appreciated and loved by those upon whom God has moved so that they are granted eyes to see, and repentance from their sin.  Bad trees CANNOT produce good fruit. (Matthew 7:18).  Only the regenerate, the good trees, are willing and able to depart from evil because they have been made willing by the Spirit of God.

Does this shed any light on your relationships with your unsaved friends and relatives?  Do you now understand why they just don’t get it?  They don’t get it because they CAN’T get it.  This is the natural condition of the human heart.  Spiritual things are only comprehensible as a result of a work of God within the soul.  You cannot make the unsaved them see, you cannot force the ungodly to believe the Gospel, you cannot coerce genuine repentance from sin out of fools.  Why?  Because it is an abomination to fools to depart from evil, and because salvation is of the Lord (Jonah 2:9). Salvation from such foolishness is a work that God does, not you or me.

Someone may ask, “Then why share the Gospel with anyone?  Why evangelize?  If we can’t provoke people to be saved from their sin, then why try?”  Because faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.  It is by means of the preaching and teaching of the Gospel message that God works in the minds and hearts of fools.  This is precisely why the Lord Jesus commanded His disciples to go into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature (Mark 16:15).  For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. (1 Corinthians 1:18, NKJV).  It is foolishness to fools, to those who think it is abominable to turn from sin.  But to those who are being saved, or I believe it could be stated correctly, to those whom God is saving, the message of the cross is the most magnificent news imaginable!

So, based upon what we’ve seen here, how does a church attain success in evangelism?  How does a church promote genuine church growth by seeing people truly converted?  What must a church do to "get people saved"?  There is nothing a church can do to save people, . . . except to use the God-ordained means of imparting saving faith to fools: Preach the Gospel.  Share the Gospel.  Invite people to sit under the sound of the Gospel.  

That is all we can do.  That, accompanied by prayer for the mercy of God to save those who hear the message.  We can pray that God would impart faith, that the Holy Spirit would convict people of sin, that He would awaken them to their spiritual need, that He would cause them to see the kingdom, to understand the beauty of salvation, to comprehend their own danger, and to flee to the only place of refuge, the Cross of Jesus Christ.

Why did you become a Christian?  Because you were smart enough to figure it out?  Because you were an exception to the rule?  You were not one of those who are not righteous (Romans 3:9-10), you were not among those who do not seek after God, you were not so foolish as to think all this stuff about repentance and holiness was hogwash?  

Beloved, every Christian at some time in their past thought it was evil to depart from evil, including you and me.  But we who were once far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ (Eph 2:13).  We were brought to an understanding of this good news.  We were delivered from darkness to light.  We were raised from spiritual death to spiritual life.  We were in no condition to deliver ourselves because we thought the very thing that could save us was an abomination.  That is why we say that our own salvation is by grace alone.  It is only because God saved us (Titus 3:5) that we were saved at all.  Never forget that.  We did not seek Him.  He had to first seek us.

¹  Winslow, Octavius, The Atonement and the Cross, Tentmaker Publications, 1998, p. 22-3.