Grace Fellowship    07/06/08    Why God Does Not Love Us Just the Way We Are    Proverbs 15

Today we are continuing our study through what we might consider to be the most practical book of the Bible.  Proverbs is a literal listing of do’s and don’ts.  Do this, walk this way, live this way, think this way, don’t do that, don’t walk that way, don’t live that way, and don’t think that way.  In other words, be wise, don’t be foolish.  Proverbs verbally pits the people of God and the people of this world against each other by illustrating for us in dozens of different ways, the contrast between the lifestyles of those who love God and those who don’t.  In chapter 15 alone, there are repeated references to “the righteous” and “the wicked.”  Verses 6, 8, 9, 26, 28, and 29 all directly refer to both the wise and the foolish person by using the terms like “righteous” and “wicked”, “upright” and “wicked”, “pure” and “wicked”.  Let’s read Proverbs 15 together.

1 A soft answer turns away wrath, But a harsh word stirs up anger. 2 The tongue of the wise uses knowledge rightly, But the mouth of fools pours forth foolishness.
3 The eyes of the LORD are in every place, Keeping watch on the evil and the good.
4 A wholesome tongue is a tree of life, But perverseness in it breaks the spirit.
5 A fool despises his father's instruction, But he who receives correction is prudent.
6 In the house of the righteous there is much treasure, But in the revenue of the wicked is trouble.
7 The lips of the wise disperse knowledge, But the heart of the fool does not do so.
8 The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD, But the prayer of the upright is His delight. 9 The way of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD, But He loves him who follows righteousness.
10 Harsh discipline is for him who forsakes the way, And he who hates correction will die.
11 Hell and Destruction are before the LORD; So how much more the hearts of the sons of men.
12 A scoffer does not love one who corrects him, Nor will he go to the wise.
13 A merry heart makes a cheerful countenance, But by sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken.
14 The heart of him who has understanding seeks knowledge, But the mouth of fools feeds on foolishness.
15 All the days of the afflicted are evil, But he who is of a merry heart has a continual feast.
16 Better is a little with the fear of the LORD, Than great treasure with trouble. 17 Better is a dinner of herbs where love is, Than a fatted calf with hatred.
18 A wrathful man stirs up strife, But he who is slow to anger allays contention.
19 The way of the lazy man is like a hedge of thorns, But the way of the upright is a highway.
20 A wise son makes a father glad, But a foolish man despises his mother.
21 Folly is joy to him who is destitute of discernment, But a man of understanding walks uprightly.
22 Without counsel, plans go awry, But in the multitude of counselors they are established.
23 A man has joy by the answer of his mouth, And a word spoken in due season, how good it is!
24 The way of life winds upward for the wise, That he may turn away from hell below.
25 The LORD will destroy the house of the proud, But He will establish the boundary of the widow.
26 The thoughts of the wicked are an abomination to the LORD, But the words of the pure are pleasant.
27 He who is greedy for gain troubles his own house, But he who hates bribes will live.
28 The heart of the righteous studies how to answer, But the mouth of the wicked pours forth evil.
29 The LORD is far from the wicked, But He hears the prayer of the righteous.
30 The light of the eyes rejoices the heart, And a good report makes the bones healthy.
31 The ear that hears the rebukes of life Will abide among the wise. 32 He who disdains instruction despises his own soul, But he who heeds rebuke gets understanding. 33 The fear of the LORD is the instruction of wisdom, And before honor is humility. (Proverbs 15:1-33, NKJV).

 Yesterday, I saw a sticker on a pickup that gave me pause.  On the back window was a circle with a cross in it, and a diagonal line drawn across it.  I don’t know the precise intent of the person who put that there, but I suspect it wasn’t a statement regarding a distaste for crosses.  It was a statement regarding Christianity, and probably more specifically, a statement regarding people who claim to be Christians.  If that is the case, it was also a statement about God.  Basically, “We don’t want any Christians around here, or their God.”

I’ve never personally seen anything quite so bluntly antagonistic towards Christianity as that sticker.  We Christians have lived for a long time in peace in this nation.  Persecution has been something that happens in other countries.  Those days are drawing to a close, quickly.  Soon, we are going to learn what the rest of the world has seen, known, and experienced for centuries: the cost associated with being a true disciple of the Lord Jesus.  

The reason there is a price to pay for being a Christian is because the unregenerate person is naturally antagonistic towards the things of God, and we live in the midst of unregenerate people.  Because the majority of people are not born again, we who have experienced the grace of God in salvation will eventually be persecuted.  This is all because of the condition of the human heart without Christ.  The unregenerated, unconverted heart is a wicked heart.  

It is hard for us to even make such a statement as that because we know and have known so many outwardly decent people in our lives who were not Christians.  We tend to describe them as good, decent, moral people.  Thankfully, words like civil, decent, and moral (to varying degrees) describe the great majority of Americans.  In fact, the late Jerry Falwell even referred to them for years as the Moral Majority.

Is that true?  Is it true that the majority of people in America are moral?  I suppose it depends upon your definition of “moral”.  In a strict sense, all people are moral.  All people have at least an understanding of morality and immorality.  We all live under the rule of law which defines what we consider to be morally acceptable from what is not.  So according to that definition of moral, there is no moral majority, because there is no immoral minority.  We are all moral beings.  That is part of what being made in the image of God means.

Instead of asking if there really is such a thing as a moral majority, the better question might be, is there such a thing as a good majority?  We all would agree that there has always been a small group of despots and dictators that are particularly evil.  Thankfully, there have been only a few Neros throughout history.  Should we therefore conclude that the majority of people are good?  

I want you to see with your own eyes what the Bible says about this.  Turn to Romans 3.  We’re breaking into the middle of the context but that doesn’t do any damage to the clear meaning of these words.  The context bears out what we’re about to read:

9 What then? Are we [Jews] better than they [Greeks; Gentiles] ? Not at all. For we have previously charged both Jews and Greeks that they are all under sin. 10 As it is written:

"There is none righteous, no, not one; 11 There is none who understands; There is none who seeks after God. 12 They have all turned aside; They have together become unprofitable; There is none who does good, no, not one." 13 "Their throat is an open tomb; With their tongues they have practiced deceit"; "The poison of asps is under their lips"; 14 "Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness." 15 "Their feet are swift to shed blood; 16 Destruction and misery are in their ways; 17 And the way of peace they have not known." 18 "There is no fear of God before their eyes."

19 Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. (Romans 3:9-19, NKJV).

Paul uses the term “all” here to mean all without any exception but Christ.  Every other human being that has, or is, or will ever live, is included in this word “all”.  What does he say about all of us?  What words does he use to describe us?  Is there a good majority?  According to these verses, there isn’t even a good minority.  All have become guilty before God.  

The proof of that is the fact that none are naturally, inherently righteous.  Not one.  There is none who does good, no, not one.  The entire human race is composed of people whose throat is an open tomb.  They are the walking dead.  They are deceitful, deadly, full of cursing, bitterness.  Humans are murderers, destructive, miserable, contentious, and they have no fear of God.  In a word, all of humanity, left to itself, is wicked.

In Romans 7, the apostle Paul tells us about himself as a zealous Pharisee, seeking God’s approval by trying to be good.  Notice what he says, and you need to see this.  Look at chapter 7, verses 13-19.

13 Has then what is good [the Law] become death to me? Certainly not! But sin, that it might appear sin, was producing death in me through what is good, so that sin through the commandment might become exceedingly sinful. 14 For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal, sold under sin. 15 For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do. 16 If, then, I do what I will not to do, I agree with the law that it is good. 17 But now, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. 18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. 19 For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice. (Romans 7:13-19, NKJV).

By the power of our own unaided flesh, we can do no good which God recognizes as such.  The power to do that which is pleasing to God does not reside in the unregenerate heart.  There is no good there.  There is no power to do good there.  On the contrary, evil IS there.  Sin DWELLS there.  The evil that the outwardly moral and the superficially good unsaved person desires not to do, he does anyway.  He cannot help himself out of his own condition.  His heart is evil.  The prophet Jeremiah said, "The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it?” (Jeremiah 17:9, NKJV).  Who can trust his own heart?  Just trust your heart??  That is terrible advice!

Look again with me at Proverbs 15.

Pr 15:8 The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD, But the prayer of the upright is His delight.
Pr 15:9 The way of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD, But He loves him who follows righteousness.
Pr 15:26 The thoughts of the wicked are an abomination to the LORD, But the words of the pure are pleasant.

When the Bible speaks of the wicked in the Old Testament, it speaks of what Paul refers to in 1 Cor. 2:14 in the New Testament as the natural man.  We are born wicked.  Righteousness is not something we ever possess naturally.  There is no such thing as a naturally-born good, righteous, and holy person [except for Christ].  So what is God’s assessment of such people?  If they are not naturally good, or righteous, or holy, what is their standing before Him?  Does He stand in Heaven ready and willing to accept them because they have come to the conclusion that they are satisfied with themselves and with their relationship to God?  Is God delighted to know that the wicked consider themselves to be good and upright people?  No.

The sacrifice of the wicked is disgusting to God.  What does that mean?  The sinful, unrepentant Jew who merely goes through the motions of bringing a sacrifice for his sins to the priest at the Temple, without any heartfelt remorse or acknowledgment that his sinfulness really is an affront to a holy God, that person’s sacrificial act is disgusting to God.  He hates it.

The way of the wicked is an abomination to God.  How the wicked person lives and conducts himself, his lifestyle, his manner of thinking and how he interacts with other people - his relationships with his wife and children and his extended family, how he runs his business, the manner in which he performs his religious duties - his way of life is revolting to a holy God.

The thoughts of the wicked are an abomination to God.  What is it that the wicked think about?  God knows.  And He despises it.  Jesus said it is sinful to look on a woman with lust in one’s heart, and he called it adultery.  He said it is sinful to hate someone from one’s heart, and called it murder.  No actions are necessary.  Sin begins with one’s thoughts, in the mind and heart.

So what should we conclude from this?  Does God love such people?  Can we truthfully say to crowds of thousands of people whom we do not know that God loves them just the way they are and that He has a wonderful plan for their lives?  That He is as close as a prayer?

Pr 15:29 The LORD is far from the wicked, But He hears the prayer of the righteous.

Not only are the wicked an abomination in God’s sight, and not only is He far from the wicked and He doesn’t hear their prayers, but Solomon goes so far as to make the following awful, almost unspeakable statement in Proverbs 16:4 -

“The LORD has made all for Himself, Yes, even the wicked for the day of doom.”

But in the midst of a race of people that is described in Genesis 6 as having thoughts that are only evil continually, there is another group, a subset of humanity referred to as the righteous, who are contrasted against the wicked.

Pr 15:8 The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD, But the prayer of the upright is His delight.

God delights in the simple act of a spoken prayer from these upright people, while the sacrificial animals of the wicked do not please Him.  “With what shall I come before the LORD, And bow myself before the High God?  Shall I come before Him with burnt offerings, With calves a year old? 7 Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, Ten thousand rivers of oil?  Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, The fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? 8 He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the LORD require of you But to do justly, To love mercy, And to walk humbly with your God?” (Micah 6:6-8, NKJV).

Pr 15:9 The way of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD, But He loves him who follows righteousness.

God hates how the wicked live, but He LOVES those whose way, whose lifestyle is according to righteousness, goodness, mercy.

Pr 15:26 The thoughts of the wicked are an abomination to the LORD, But the words of the pure are pleasant.

The thoughts of the wicked, versus the words of the pure.  Those things which the pure in heart speak are pleasant, they are pleasing to God.

But if all people are naturally sinful and wicked, how is it that there are any people at all who can rightly be described as pure, righteous, and upright?  If God does not love the wicked, if He does not hear their prayers, if the wicked are an abomination to Him so that He is far from them, and if they have no natural inclination towards God, can we really say that God loves wicked people?

Answer: 8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. 10 For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. (Romans 5:8-10, NKJV).

We who believe, all who are counted among the righteous, are that way because God has reconciled us to Himself.  Those who have been saved were once counted as sinful and the enemies of God.  We were also wicked!  But God determined to love us anyway.  How is that possible?  I don’t really know except to say what John says: God IS love.  Somehow, in the midst of His holy hatred for sin, God has provided a sacrifice that actually works to save all those who believe from their own condemnation.

God does not love us as we are.  Naturally we are wicked, just like the rest of the world.  We also were among those who were abominable in God’s sight.  But God Himself has changed us, changed our hearts, granted us forgiveness, made us different, given us His Spirit to dwell within us.  He has reconciled us to Himself.  

Now He delights in our prayers, He loves us as we walk in His ways, the words of our mouths are pleasant to Him, He hears us when we pray, and He is always near.  God has made us lovable by making us His own, at the expense of His Son.