Larger Catechism, #73

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The Larger Catechism

Question 73

73.       Q. How doth faith justify a sinner in the sight of God?

A. Faith justifies a sinner in the sight of God, not because of those other graces which do always accompany it, or of good works that are the fruits of it,[304] nor as if the grace of faith, or any act thereof, were imputed to him for his justification;[305] but only as it is an instrument by which he receiveth and applieth Christ and his righteousness.[306]

Scriptural Defense and Commentary

[304] Galatians 3:11. But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith. Romans 3:28. Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law. [305] Romans 4:5. But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness. Romans 10:10. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. [306] John 1:12. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name. Philippians 3:9. And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith. Galatians 1:16. To reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the heathen; immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood.

Introduction

If the believer is not careful in stating his understanding of justification by faith, he can easily imply that his faith itself justifies. That is, the strength (or virtue) of our faith justifies us. It is similar to saying, “My act of believing is the cause and ground of my justification.” William Pope, a very competent Arminian, argued that for a believer “his faith is counted for righteousness.”[1] John Miley says that “faith itself, and not its object, that is thus imputed” as the righteousness.[2] Justification by faith was somehow related to righteousness. In explaining this, these Arminians did not want it to be Christ’s imputed righteousness.[3] Many of them simply ended up arguing that faith itself was the righteousness. At some points, it is difficult to understand how they explained this but what becomes crystal clear is the denial of Christ’s imputation of righteousness. Faith was not the means of justification but the ground for these Arminians.

For this reason, we must be give this particular question careful consideration. The Westminster divines clearly saw (or foresaw) how all this could be misunderstood — this question carefully answers what later would become a problem. [I have not done enough research to see if certain individuals advanced what the Arminians later taught (though Arminian thinking was already soundly refuted in 1618-19). The Confession was finalized in 1646. Question 73 seems to have in mind a specific error but I have not verified as of yet.]

Accompanying Graces do not Justify

The answer states, “Faith justifies a sinner in the sight of God, not because of those other graces which do always accompany it, or of good works that are the fruits of it…” This part of the answer carefully lists the two ways faith does not justify. The other graces which accompany faith, like hope, charity, etc. do not justify. The various “other graces” would be the “fruits of the Spirit” in Gal. 5:22, 23. Peter speaks of adding to faith in 1Peter 1:5-7. Nowhere does it ever say that love itself justifies, or that our joy, peace, patience, etc. justifies. Our repentance, which flows from faith, also does not justify.

Gal. 5:6 says, “For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love.” This has been the locus classicus for Roman Catholics to refute sola fide. It seems clear that we are not justified by faith alone but instead are justified by “faith working through love” (πίστις διʼ ἀγάπης ἐνεργουμένη). Therefore, the Westminster divines err by saying “not because of those other graces which do always accompany” faith. Are they correct?

In interpreting passages, we must always consider the context. This verse is in the context of refuting those who boast in circumcision. Paul is saying being or not being circumcised is nothing. What matters is “faith working through love.” Is he speaking of justification? The context seems to suggest that.  One commentator says, “The faith which operates through love is clearly the same as the faith which justifies.”[4] At the same time, this author says, Paul “is saying simply that the faith which justifies is of such a nature that it will express itself through love.” That is, though faith alone justifies, it also expresses itself in love. By faith alone are we justified but this faith does more. as one author tersely summarized the verse with this maxim, “faith as root and love as fruit.”[5] So the New Living Translation pretty much got it right by translating it as “faith expressing itself in love.” Love is always the fruit, the fruit of the Spirit (v. 22) for those justified by faith.[6]

An illustration may help here. Electricity alone powers my router; nothing else can. Yet, electricity does far more than power my router — it warms my electric blanket, heats my electric heater, spins my blender, etc. Similarly, faith alone is the means of justification, yet faith does many other things. Thomas Schreiner says, “The participle ‘working’ (ἐνεργουμένη) should be construed as a middle here, so that faith is the root and love is the fruit.” That is, love is the fruit of faith which is precisely what Paul teaches in Ga. 5:22, “where love is the fruit of the Spirit, and therefore those who trust in Christ and embrace him as Lord show that faith in love.”[7]

We must not overlook the immense practical matters related to this theological observation. This is much more helpful than we can imagine. If we are justified by God’s grace through faith alone and these accompanying graces do not in the least justify, then we may be justified without joy, peace, etc. Though these graces are essentially connected to faith, we may not sense them. Some believers have thought their sense of being accepted, their experience of God’s peace, their felt sense of joy, etc. are the grounds of their justification. How can I be right with God if I don’t “feel” peace, joy, patience, etc.? These graces accompany faith but they do not justify. I believe in the Lord Jesus Christ; God justifies me as I humbly believe in His Son for my salvation, etc. To be declared forgiven, righteous on account of Christ’s imputed righteousness, are forensic acts and not necessarily felt experiences (though these do most often accompany it).

Good Works that are the Fruits of Faith do not Justify

Furthermore, “good works that are the fruits” of faith do not justify. Good works are always “fruits” and not the grounds of our justification. If we are truly justified, we will bear fruit and good works are themselves evidences, the fruits of our justification. As Paul said, “Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.” (Rom. 3:28) Paul’s statement is pitted against specific obedience to the law of God revealed in the OT (in particular, the Torah). That is what “deeds of the law” means. When it comes to justification, works of the law do not play any role. The “good works” that accompany those who are justified do not contribute to justification.

Major detractors to this interpretation have gained a hearing. N. T. Wright says that Paul is concerned with ecclesiology and not soteriology. So “Paul’s point in the present passage is quite simply that what now marks out the covenant people of God, in the light of the revelation of God’s righteousness in Jesus, is not the works of Torah that demarcate ethnic Israel, but ‘the law of faith,’ that faith that, however paradoxically, is in fact the true fulfilling of Torah.” He states that Paul is stressing “the badge of membership in God’s people, the badge that enables all alike to stand on the same, flat ground at the foot of the cross, is faith.”[8] This seems convoluted because it imports what is not present in the context. Remember, Jews have sought to establish their own righteousness (Rom. 10:3). Christ is “the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes” (Rom. 10:4). Many scholars have risen up to refute N. T. Wright. His innovative (and heretical) interpretation does not only destroy the biblical doctrine of justification by faith alone but it will also kill the life and soul of the church because his focus on ecclesiology is nothing more than externalism. Much more could be said but that cannot engage our present attention. It will not do you any good to read N.T. Wright.[9]

The Act of Faith is not Justification

The divines also state, “nor as if the grace of faith, or any act thereof, were imputed to him for his justification.” As mentioned in the beginning, the divines shut the door in attributing the act of faith as the ground of our justification. Vos summarizes the mistake in this way, “Abraham did not have a perfect righteousness, such as God originally required of men, but he did have faith, and so God graciously accepted faith as a substitute for righteousness.” (Vos, 163) Additionally, the phrase “any act thereof” would probably include repentance, sorrow, etc. (those things mentioned above). Faith itself or any kinds of acts we might perform (whatever that might be), etc. are not substituted for our righteousness. God does not say, “You don’t have good deeds but do something, like believe, and I’ll accept you as righteous.”

Imputing faith for one’s justification is plausible given Rom. 4:3: “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.” This verse sounds like God is accepting the act of believing as a substitute for what Abraham couldn’t do and thus counting it as done. But as Douglas Moo says,

But if we compare other verses in which the same grammatical construction as is used in Gen. 15:6 occurs, we arrive at a different conclusion. These parallels suggest that the “reckoning” of Abraham’s faith as righteousness means “to account to him a righteousness that does not inherently belong to him.” Abraham’s response to God’s promise leads God to “reckon” to him a “status” of righteousness.[10]

Paul makes it clear in v. 4 that this gift of righteousness is not what is earned or what is due on account of works (“Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due.”). So the interpretation of v. 3 (i.e., making the act of believing the merit, basis, and the ground of one’s righteousness) would contradict the teaching of v. 4. NT scholars have noted that many of the Jews believed Abraham faith was Abraham’s obedience to God and regarded as a work for which God owed him a reward.[11] Paul would have been very aware of that and vv. 3, 4 contradict the received Jewish opinion. To locate merit in the believer (his act of believing) would destroy Paul’s argument. Bavinck puts it well:

If faith justified on account of itself, the object of that faith (that is, Christ) would totally lose its value. But the faith that justifies is precisely the faith that has Christ as its object and content. Therefore, if righteousness came through the law, and if faith were a work that had merit and value as such and made a person acceptable to God, then Christ died for nothing (Gal. 2:21). In Justification faith is so far from being regarded as a ground that Paul can say that God justifies the ungodly (Rom. 4:5).[12]

The Westminster divines obviously wanted to close the door on any and all kinds of imagined human activities that could be used to claim merit. Any act, whatever that might be, cannot imputed for one’s justification. The faith that justifies has not merit in itself. This is a wonderful blessing. Faith must always look outside itself and never to itself. Too often people look in to see if they have “enough” faith, piety, repentance, sorrow, passion, zeal, etc. No act, even faith (if we trust in it), can justify.

Faith is an Instrument

This last clause explains the function of faith. Faith is not itself a meritorious work but it is only an instrument by which we receive Christ: “but only as it is an instrument by which he receiveth and applieth Christ and his righteousness.” How does faith justify a sinner? Faith is only an instrument — it looks beyond itself to Christ to receive Him. We have already noted that justifying faith is a saving grace (LC #72) — it is produced by the work of the Spirit. When He works that faith in us, we look to Christ by faith and receive Him and all of His benefits. Thomas Watson summarizes it well: “The dignity is not in faith as a grace, but relatively, as it lays hold on Christ’s merits.”[13]

[1] William Pope, A Compendium of Christian Theology (New York: Hunt & Eaton, nd), 2:408.

[2] John Miley, Systematic Theology, 2:319.

[3] Cf. Adam Clarke, Christian Theology (London: Printed for Thomas Tegg & Sons, 1835), 154ff.; Henry C. Sheldon, System of Christian Doctrine (Cincinnati: Jennings & Graham, 1903), 445ff.

[4] Ronald Y. K. Fung, The Epistle to the Galatians (NICNT; Accordance electronic ed. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1988), 229.

[5] Loosely following F. F. Bruce in Gerald L. Borchert, in Galatians, Cornerstone Biblical Commentary, vol. 14 (Carol Stream: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., 2007), 316, loosely follows or cites F. F. Bruce. Bruce says, “faith is viewed as the root, love as the fruit.”

[6] Cf. F. F. Bruce, Commentary on Galatians, New International Greek Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publications Company, 1982), 233.

[7] Thomas R. Schreiner, Galatians, ZECNT (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2010), 317. “Middle” voice indicates that the subject is the one acting and in this instance, it is “working itself” (almost like a reflexive verb).

[8] N. T. Wright, Romans, The New Interpreter’s Bible, vol. 10 (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2002), 482.

[9] Some mature believers are gifted enough to work through Wright’s writings without being infected by his thinking. He is not a safe guide though at times he can be insightful and helpful. He has fundamentally reshaped Pauline theology and in turn historic theology. I grow more and more impatient with his writings as he pushes his agenda throughout his publications.

[10] Douglas J. Moo, The Epistle to the Romans, NICNT (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1996), 262.

[11] See Moo cited above.

[12] Herman Bavinck, Reformed Dogmatics, 4 vols. (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2008), 4:211.

[13] Thomas Watson, A Body of Divinity (Grand Rapids: Sovereign Grace Publishers, nd),158.

Larger Catechism, #72

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The Larger Catechism

Question 72

72.       Q. What is justifying faith?

A. Justifying faith is a saving grace,[297] wrought in the heart of a sinner by the Spirit[298] and Word of God,[299] whereby he, being convinced of his sin and misery, and of the disability in himself and all other creatures to recover him out of his lost condition,[300] not only assenteth to the truth of the promise of the gospel,[301] but receiveth and resteth upon Christ and his righteousness, therein held forth, for pardon of sin,[302] and for the accepting and accounting of his person righteous in the sight of God for salvation.[303]

Scriptural Defense and Commentary

[297] Hebrews 10:39. But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul. [298] 2 Corinthians 4:13. We having the same spirit of faith, according as it is written, I believed, and therefore have I spoken; we also believe, and therefore speak. Ephesians 1:17-19. That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him: The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power. [299] Romans 10:14-17. How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things! But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our report? So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. [300] Acts 2:37. Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do? Acts 16:30. And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? John 16:8-9. And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: Of sin, because they believe not on me. Romans 6:6. Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. Ephesians 2:1. And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins. Acts 4:12. Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved. [301] Ephesians 1:13. In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise. [302] John 1:12. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name. Acts 16:31. And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. Acts 10:43. To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins. [303] Philippians 3:9. And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith. Acts 15:11. But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they.

Introduction

The question assumes something we all recognize. There is a kind of faith that justifies and a kind that does not. Not all faith justifies though genuine faith alone justifies. Many people who go to church believe many orthodox truths but mere mental assent does not justify. I may believe that eating pork is bad for me or drinking wine is good for me but such belief does nothing for my health if I don’t act on that belief.

So the first thing to consider is that there is a faith that does not justify. James 2 speaks cogently of that matter. Believing orthodox truths may put us on an equal footing with demons — “You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe — and shudder.” (James 2:19) James says you do well to believe such things but also points out that that demons believe the same things. “The point James is now driving home is that a Christian creed without corresponding Christian conduct will save neither devil nor man.”[1]  Some have called this “dead orthodoxy” but it is in fact licentious orthodoxy. It is not only inert; it is carnal. Faith without works is dead! Jesus says that this kind of faith in the end “proves unfruitful” (Mt. 13:22, ἄκαρπος γίνεται, or “becomes unfruitful”).

Another example of a faith that does not justify is what we call a temporary faith. Temporary faith represents the ones who “believe for a while” (Lk. 8:13, πρὸς καιρὸν πιστεύουσιν, or “they believe for a time or a season”). Whatever the reason (worldliness, temptation, seduction, persecution, etc.), they end up believing for a season, for a time. The length of belief may be many years or for a short time but eventually time reveals the nature of their belief.

It is not wrong to examine ourselves regarding the nature of our faith. Protestants have rightly taught that we are justified by faith alone. Unfortunately, any and all faiths have been accepted. The mere profession of faith somehow protects the person from any scrutiny — forming any discerning judgment about the genuineness the person’s profession is considered uncharitable. Because a person says he has faith, it is tantamount to asserting that the person has justifying faith.

Furthermore, a growing trend in the Reformed circle has rightly stressed justification by faith. Yet, a strange (and disconcerting) aberration has developed from this. Any emphasis on obedience, sanctification, adherence to God’s law, etc. has been roundly criticized for being legalistic. Justification by faith alone has displaced sanctification and obedience in many. Men like Tullian Tchividjian have been criticized for this.[2] For this reason, we need to be clear about justifying faith.

Saving Grace

The first thing the LC states is that “justifying faith is a saving grace, wrought in the heart of a sinner by the Spirit and Word of God…” Justifying faith is first and foremost a saving grace. This means that those who have this faith have received a work of grace in their hearts that is saving. It will truly justify and in turn truly save. The classic text is Eph. 2:8-10. The saving faith “is not your own doing; it is the gift of God.” The text used to support the LC statement is Heb. 10:39: “But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls.” The phrase reads “but of faith unto the preserving of the soul” (ἀλλὰ πίστεως εἰς περιποίησιν ψυχῆς). The writer of Hebrews is arguing that his readers are those who have a faith that truly saves unto the end. The ones who “shrink back” are not saved but “are destroyed.” They believed for a while but such a faith did not justify.

This justifying faith is a gift wrought in us: “wrought in the heart of a sinner by the Spirit.”   2Cor. 4:13 supports that point: “Since we have the same spirit of faith according to what has been written, “I believed, and so I spoke,” we also believe, and so we also speak…” The phrase “same spirit of faith” is very important.[3] It teaches that Paul and the NT believers have the same faith the same Holy Spirit created in the Psalmist. He is the one who enables us to believe.

Furthermore, this faith is wrought “by the Spirit and Word of God.” Vos has this to say, “The Word, or gospel, message alone, without the Holy Spirit, may result in a kind of faith, but not justifying faith. Where the Word is not known, as among the heathen who have never heard the name of Christ, the Holy Spirit does not do any saving work (except perhaps in the case of infants dying in infancy, etc.).” (159-160) The Spirit doesn’t create faith without a context. The person believes the truth preached. He has faith in something and justifying faith believes in the gospel and all that it teaches. When God created faith in Lydia, we see that it is coupled with the message preached to her: “and the Lord opened her heart to respond to the things spoken by Paul” (Acts 16:14, NASB). She responded or paid attention to the message preached; God did not merely create faith in her without a corresponding gospel for her to believe. As Paul has taught, “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ” (Rom. 10:17).

Justifying Faith and Conviction

There is an element added here that could easily be misunderstood. Justifying faith includes the following, “whereby he, being convinced of his sin and misery, and of the disability in himself and all other creatures to recover him out of his lost condition…” The person with real justifying faith is also convinced of his sin and misery. We read in Acts 2:37 that the people who heard Peter’s preaching were “pricked in their heart.” That is, they were convicted by what they heard, convicted of their guilt and sin. The Spirit will “reprove the world of sin” (Jn. 16:8) and everyone who has genuine justifying faith will be convinced he is a sinner. What is not spelled out (and it cannot be spelled out) is how much conviction of sin and a sense of misery they must experience. Some measure, however little, accompanies genuine justifying faith — whatever it takes to get them to Christ.

In Acts 16:30, the Philippian jailer was compelled to ask what he must do to be saved, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” Here, the jailer recognized his need for salvation and realized there was no one who could help him. He had a sense of the “disability in himself” — he does not seek the remedy from somewhere else except in Christ Jesus. The truth of Acts 4:12 (“Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.”) also means that the convinced sinner realizes that Christ is the answer to his misery and lost condition.

Some, like Zane Hodges (a dispensationalist), have argued that faith is simply “believe.” It is no different than asking someone if he believed that the President will do what he promised. Faith is just like that, he argues.[4] There is no “mental assent” for him; there is only belief and unbelief. Faith is the “inward conviction that what God says to us in the gospel is true.”[5] He (along with Ryrie) is convinced that the Bible doesn’t teach intellectual faith, historic faith, etc. It is belief or unbelief. Ryrie says, “When a person gives credence to the historical facts that Christ died and rose from the dead and the doctrinal fact that this was for his sins, he is trust his eternal destiny to the reliability of those truths.”[6] They fail to recognize a simple point. It is true that faith means all those things but what they failed to consider is that Scripture teaches much more than that. Those who say they believe do not necessarily savingly believe on account of their lifestyle, affections, etc. So faith includes much more than mere credence to some historical facts. Are there not many who have left the church who would never say they don’t believe those verities in the Bible? Justifying faith is more than mere mental assent.

Faith and Assent

Here is where the divines saw right through this issue: “not only assenteth to the truth of the promise of the gospel, but receiveth and resteth upon Christ and his righteousness, therein held forth, for pardon of sin…” First of all, assenting to the truth of the promise of the gospel is necessary. Salvation is not just an experience. Something happens to the sinner (regeneration) but that work in him comes with the reception of the truth by the sinner. To be more precise, the work of regeneration enables the person to assent to the truth. The sinner trusts in Christ as he first believes in the truth: “when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him…” (Eph. 1:13). Hearing the word of truth and believing in Him go together; that is, the sinner assents to the “word of truth” when he hears it and with it he believes in him. Before unpacking that point, we need to consider a very important aspect of assenting to the truth. Vos asks, “When a person denies the truthfulness of God’s Word, in whole or in part, what does this show concerning the state of that person’s heart?”

Such unbelief ordinarily indicates that the person does not have saving faith, and is not a child of God. The only exception to this statement would be the case of a person in whose heart justifying faith has been wrought by the Holy Spirit, who yet because of weakness of intellect denies the truthfulness or authority of some portion of the Bible without realizing that this is inconsistent with justifying faith and that it dishonors God. (Vos, 160)

Assenting to the truth of the gospel means that the person believes what the Bible says. We have no gospel except the one presented in the Bible. Assenting to the truth of the promise of the gospel go hand in hand with the truth of the Bible. The Spirit who gave the Word is Himself the one who enables a sinner to believe in His Word. He would not regenerate someone to not accept His own Word.

As we’ve already stated, it is more than assent because the truth brings with it the Person to whom the truth points. Jn. 1:12 speaks of receiving Christ (“But as man as received him…”) while Acts 16:31 writes of believing on the Lord Jesus Christ (cf. Acts 10:43). These verses clearly teach that in assenting to the truth, we are also receiving and resting on Christ. Propositions do not save us; Christ does. In justifying faith, the sinner receives Christ— the whole soul rests on Christ: “Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Mt. 11:28). The Puritans spoke of the sinner “recumbing and relying on the Lord Jesus Christ as offered in the promise of free grace for his righteousness.”[7] Recumbing means to repose, recline, etc. These various verbs all connote the simple idea of “resting” or leaning on Christ.

In this believing we set our seal that God is true; and God will, in due time, if He has not done so already, set His seal to work assurance in you, to second your reliance. ‘But if you believe not, thus you make God a liar’ (1 John 5:10).

Though you assent to the truth of the promises of Christ, yet if you draw back your affiance and relying, as if the promises were not to you, you give God the lie. Oh, then, in the sense of your own nakedness, come out of yourselves and cast yourself on Christ for righteousness—and this is the faith that saves you.

How many men deceive themselves in this saving act of faith! If they know the promise of Christ as our righteousness and assent to it, they think that is enough. But, alas, it is not; for there must be a stripping of a man’s self naked of his own righteousness and a resting on this righteousness of Christ’s alone. David stripped himself of his armor, and so went out against Goliath in the name of the Lord. Adam was naked and saw it before God made the promise of Christ.[8]

To lean or rely on something means that if the said object upon which we rely or lean is removed, we would fall. The sinner does not merely assent to the truth, he also leans on Christ. If the “prop” is not there or if the prop fails, then the one leaning on it falls. The sinner leans on Christ and His righteousness so much that if Christ fails him, he is undone.

The divines rightly recognize that justifying faith means that the sinner looks to Christ and His righteousness — he sees that righteousness and the forgiveness of sins are offered in Christ and he rests in Christ for them. In the Bible we read that God enables us to be “in Christ Jesus, who became to us … righteousness” (1 Cor. 1:30). Paul says he wants to be found in Christ not having a righteousness of his own “but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith” (Phil. 3:9). Justifying faith looks to Christ for that righteousness and the forgiveness of sins — “that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name” (Acts 10:43).

So, justifying faith assumes a body of biblical knowledge, a belief in those truths, a relying and resting on Christ and a looking to Him for righteousness and the forgiveness of sins.  That is to say, justifying faith means something more than a vague religious experience! It possesses rich biblical content that focuses on forgiveness of sins and Christ’s righteousness! If those things are not preached then there can be no justifying faith — however sincere the profession may be!

Faith and Being Account Righteous

Lastly, justifying faith of course assumes the effect of faith: “and for the accepting and accounting of his person righteous in the sight of God for salvation.” Phil. 3:9 (quoted above) clearly teaches the point made in the LC. The sinner who truly believes recognizes that his believing in Christ means that he will be accounted righteous in the sight of God. God does not merely tolerate us by forgiving us — He actually accounts us as righteous in his sight. It is not as if we never sinned but rather as if we had perfectly obeyed the law — not we in ourselves but Christ and His righteousness!

[1] James B. Adamson, The Epistle of James, NICNT (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1976), 127.

[2] See http://www.reformation21.org/blog/2011/08/sanctification-and-the-nature.php.

[3] “Gk. τὸ αὐτὸ πνεῦμα τῆς πίστεως, a probable reference to the Holy Spirit, through whom faith comes (see, e.g., 1 Cor 12:3). Despite his emphasis on the eschatological coming of the Spirit in the new covenant, Paul nonetheless acknowledges the work of the Spirit in the life of the psalmist” (Paul Barnett, The Second Epistle to the Corinthians, NICNT (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1997), 240).

[4] Zane C. Hodges, Absolutely Free: A Biblical Reply to Lordship Salvation (Dallas: Rendención Viva, 1989), 27-28.

[5] Hodges, Absolutely Free, 31.

[6] Charles Ryrie, So Great Salvation: What it Means to Believe in Jesus Christ (Wheaton: Victor Books, 1989), 30.

[7] Obadiah Grew, The Lord our Righteousness: The Old Perspective (reprint, Orlando: Soli Deo Gloria, 2005), 69.

[8] Obadiah Grew, The Lord our Righteousness, 70.

Proverbs 6:1-5

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Proverbs 6:1-5

6:1-2 — 1 My son, if you have put up security for your neighbor, have given your pledge for a stranger, 2 if you are snared in the words of your mouth, caught in the words of your mouth,

Putting up security is equivalent to our “co-signing” for someone and it is a big “No, No” in Proverbs. Here, the person is a neighbor, someone close (could be translated as “friend”) or the stranger. That is to say, the verse is simply including “everyone” (cf. Longman calls it a merism, that is, it “is a figure of speech by which a single thing is referred to by a conventional phrase that enumerates several of its parts, or which lists several synonyms for the same thing.” Wikipedia).

The son is tempted to help someone out and thus guarantees the help with his promise. The young naïve man pledges his own assets as security for someone else. He was hasty and has been caught by what he said; he is trapped by his pledge (like a handshake, something like “struck your palm for a stranger”).

Though helping is one thing, but we must avoid being the guarantee for someone’s financial debt. We must not be tied to our indebted friend’s goodwill to pay off his debt; if he is good for it, then he can do it on his own. We must not be his guarantor. The Bible is emphatic: “The teaching is consistent: don’t give loans or secure debts.” (Longman) “The book of Proverbs, however, consistently and unconditionally warns against becoming surety or the debtor for a stranger’s debt…” (Waltke)[1] “He forbids us to become surety, even for a friend, (except for some weighty reason,) and to strike hands with a stranger, in token of our becoming bound for our friend’s debts.” (Lawson)[2]

 

6:3-5 — 3 then do this, my son, and save yourself, for you have come into the hand of your neighbor: go, hasten, and plead urgently with your neighbor. 4 Give your eyes no sleep and your eyelids no slumber; 5 save yourself like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter, like a bird from the hand of the fowler.

While the son has the opportunity, he must do all that he can to get out of this situation. The description here is quite alarming. He has “come into the hand of your neighbor” — he is in a trap from which he must be delivered. Furthermore, the father is saying that he must be shameless and give himself no rest until he is out of this predicament. He must act like a gazelle or a bird which is about to be captured. Break free, flee, fly, leave the situation as quickly as possible.

It is recognized that the guarantor is at the mercy of the creditor and the debtor. We are out of power; we are in the hands of the fidelity of our indebted friend and the goodwill of the creditor. This is a serious impediment to his happiness.

The effect of suretiship, even with the most upright men, has often proved hurtful to their souls, embittering their days, and unfitting them for the cheerful services of religion. It has not infrequently rendered them unable to perform those services to God and to his church, for the sake of which a competency of the good things of life is to be valued. We are the servants of Christ, and must not disqualify ourselves for his service, by making ourselves needlessly the servants of men. (Lawson)

On “co-signing” or serving as a guarantor, Proverbs has much to say. The first time this idea is addressed after these verses in ch. 6 is Prov. 11:15 — Whoever puts up security for a stranger will surely suffer harm, but he who hates striking hands in pledge is secure. The newer New Living Translation has, “There’s danger in putting up security for a stranger’s debt; it’s safer not to guarantee another person’s debt.” The original NLT has, “Guaranteeing a loan for a stranger is dangerous; it is better to refuse than to suffer later.” Furthermore, the Contemporary English Version states, “It’s a dangerous thing to guarantee payment for someone’s debts. Don’t do it!”

Whereas Prov. 6 encourages us to get out of it, this tells us of the harm that will befall us. It is dangerous so we ought not to do it. Proverbs never says that it is good to become someone’s guarantor. We are helping other people secure loans, that is, helping them to get into debt! (cf. Longman)

Whereas these examples (6:1-5 & 11:15) focus on the negative aspects of being a guarantor of someone else’s debt, Prov. 17:18 actually says that if we do, we are senseless or stupid. It says, One who lacks sense gives a pledge and puts up security in the presence of his neighbor. CEV has, “It’s stupid to guarantee someone else’s loan.”[3] One may have “reasons” for participating in these precarious situations but the Bible consistently says that such a person is actually senseless.

One more place in Proverbs addresses this topic and it is found in 22:26-27. These verses actually forbid it: “Be not one of those who give pledges, who put up security for debts. If you have nothing with which to pay, why should your bed be taken from under you?”  The New Living Translation: “26 Do not co-sign another person’s note or put up a guarantee for someone else’s loan. 27 If you can’t pay it, even your bed will be snatched from under you.”

The reasoning is very sensible and practical. If we incur debt or put up security for debt, what will happen if we can’t pay back? We can lose the very bed on which we sleep. We must simply avoid the situations that will jeopardize what has been lawfully and graciously given to us.

Proverbs has another way of looking at this. It looks at it from the lender’s perspective! In some situations, the lender is to make sure he receives a pledge or gets security under certain circumstances.  20:16 says, “Take a man’s garment when he has put up security for a stranger, and hold it in pledge when he puts up security for foreigners.” That is, if we ended up loaning to someone who was foolish (putting up security for a stranger), then show no mercy and get what is coming to you. This is more explicit in 27:13, “Take a man’s garment when he has put up security for a stranger, and hold it in pledge when he puts up security for an adulteress.”[4] Kidner says, “Don’t lend to him without security (Ex. 22:26); he is a bad risk!” “At stake in these warnings was more than the protection of individual wealth or reputation. The stability of the society was a prime consideration. Promises lightly made or pledges rashly offered contribute to economic uncertainty and interpersonal ill will. They enable shysters and con men to flourish and jeopardize the credit of the reliable.” (Hubbard, 172-3)

 

Further Thoughts on Money, Debt, & Co-Signing

What makes a person co-sign or become the collateral for someone else?

Pressure and a sense of obligation may “guilt” us into it! It may be for a “noble” reason.  A dear friend may need a car badly but his credit is not good enough and you are tempted to serve as his co-signer. We may want our own children to develop good “credit” so we help them get into debt by co-signing for something they want! Our parents, whom we love and to whom we own so much, may ask us to co-sign or offer some collateral to enable them to get the final dream house, summer home, etc. Perhaps it is the person we recently met who is a mutual friend of someone very close to us (our parents, our parent’s friends, etc.) and his “need” for something comes to our attention and he asks that you co-sign for him.

 

Why shouldn’t we?

•We have encouraged the friend to enter into debt. Prov. 22:7 says, “The rich rules over the poor, and the borrower is the slave of the lender.” We do not wish to be in debt and should not be in debt — why should we make it easier for our friend to enter into debt?

•Prudence indicates that if the person in question cannot guarantee his own debt, why should we gamble on him?

•We do not know the future. Why should we hazard our assets on the uncertainty of someone who cannot secure his own? God has not promised us that we will have enough to take care of our friend’s debt in the event he defaults.

•Pride? Do we really think we can underwrite someone else’s bad behavior? Or, can we be certain he will pay back?

•God’s word says (Prov. 22:26), “Be not one of those who give pledges, who put up security for debts.”

 

Good Advice

“In dealing with close friends or relatives…outright gifts may make for less strain and better relations than loans. If the person is able and willing to repay, good and well. Then we have a few dollars to give to someone else. If not, by viewing the transaction as a gift, we are spared both the anxiety of wondering if the repayment will come and the edginess of deciding whether to confront the issue when we see the other person. Jesus’ word about keeping the left hand and the right hand in ignorance about the transactions in which each is engaged is a vote for quiet, unheralded generosity as a mode of Christian living.” (Hubbard, 173)

 

More Advice

Bridges says (on 17:18) — “Beware of striking hands in agreement, without ascertaining, whether we can fulfill our engagement, or whether our friend is not equally able to fulfill it himself. “ He says we “must not befriend our brother at the risk or expense of injustice to our family.” He seems to believe there are occasions when it is permitted to enter into suretyship.

One thing he warns against is selfishness. We are to be wise as well as rich in sympathy (p. 104).

 

Lending, Debt, and the Poor

The Bible does not forbid lending but we are not to incur interest from our brethren. Exodus 22:25-27 says, “If you lend money to any of my people with you who is poor, you shall not be like a moneylender to him, and you shall not exact interest from him. 26 If ever you take your neighbor’s cloak in pledge, you shall return it to him before the sun goes down, 27 for that is his only covering, and it is his cloak for his body; in what else shall he sleep? And if he cries to me, I will hear, for I am compassionate.”

Lending is not forbidden but it is also controlled. M. D. Carroll R. summarizes what the Law says about how debt and lending are related in the OT (in view of the poor):

The laws of the Pentateuch attempted to provide a safety net for the unfortunate and vulnerable members of society. The Pentateuch prescribed a series of charitable acts and legal measures that were designed to aid the poor in their distress…The precariousness of existence made falling into debt a constant danger. In Israel, as in the rest of the ancient Near East, the accumulation of debt could eventually lead to debt slavery, where children (Ex. 21:7-11; cf. 2 Kings 4:1) and even heads of households would be sold to pay off a debt. The sabbatical manumission laws set the limit for such a arrangement at six years and laid down guidelines for the pardoning of debts and release from servitude which could help the individual be reincorporated into civil society (Ex. 21:1-11; Deut. 15:1-18).[5]

We will deal with more the other verses in Proverbs that relate to these topics later on when we encounter them in the course of this study.

 

Conclusion

Wisdom is needed regarding this topic and God gives us such guidance in the book of Proverbs. Even in this mundane area, God is Lord of our lives. We must use what God has given us very wisely. Our use of money, whether old or young, reveals the nature of our hearts. Will we act with wisdom or in foolishness? The Christian must not be so “liberal” with his money that he is easily manipulated nor should he be so tight that he fails to be generous and full of charity. Wisdom must guide us in this matter.


[1] “Modern commerce is essentially based on interests on loans, a practice not known in the ancient Near East.” (Waltke, 330)

[2] Bridges appeals to Reuben and Judah for Benjamin to be the rare exception. Gen. 42:37; 43:9; 44: 32-33. But this is an improper use of the account. Reuben was putting up himself and his family as security for what he wanted to do. It was not his asset for someone else. Besides, it is not a financial issue; it was a life and death situation.

[3] The Message (a paraphrase version) has, “It’s stupid to try to get something for nothing, or run up huge bills you can never pay.” The point is well made but that is not the point of this verse.

[4] The Hebrew is virtually the same.

[5] “Wealth and Poverty,” in Dictionary of the Old Testament: Pentateuch.

Lessons for Christians from Joe Paterno

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[This is the document I passed out in our Sunday School. I have added to it to make it clearer for the reader. It is to be used in conjunction with the lesson I have in the Sunday School hour. The audio of the lesson can be found http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=1114111144442]

1Cor. 10:12 Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall.

We have all heard about what happened to Joe Paterno, the coach of Penn State for 46 years. I am neither a Penn State fan nor a devotee of football. In fact I know very little of college football and rarely watch it these days.

I also do not presume to know all the facts or details of this heinous situation. It is neither edifying to rehearse the details of this wicked crime nor prudent. Enough is known to compel us to be circumspect.

Three things compelled me to pursue this study. 1) A caller on the radio noted how Joe Paterno be remembered — no longer as a great honorable coach but one who mishandled this situation very badly. 2) A dear brother in Christ said to me that these events were sobering. 3) I happened to be reading a selection from John Newton again that dovetailed with these events. I thought it necessary as a pastor to strike while the iron is hot.

For all I know, Joe Paterno may emerge as a hero — I don’t know and it doesn’t matter but there are definitely three things (at least) we can draw from this grievous situation. I have not heard if Paterno is a Christian or not but allow me to use his life as a metaphor for our spiritual pilgrimage, the pilgrim’s progress. I want to meditate on four lessons we could learn from this.

1. We need the Lord’s grace to see things with moral clarity.

If Joe Paterno were able to do it again, he would have acted differently knowing what he knows now. To see things clearly from a spiritual moral perspective is an act of God’s grace; we must beseech Him for wisdom so that we will not fall into sin. We make myriads of decisions in our lives and many of them chosen unwisely may be our undoing later on. Let us earnestly beseech the Lord to keep us, to fill us with wisdom, to enlighten our hearts and imprint upon our souls the gravity of the moment.

2. We need the Lord’s grace to run well unto the end. It’s not over til it’s over! Remember Peter, David, & Solomon.

All of us have the race before us. Some of us will reach the celestial city much earlier than the rest. Either way, we must run to the end. None of us can presume that we will make it to the end with ease. Joe Paterno almost ended his distinguished career with distinction but now his entire life and all his achievements have been sullied. O to make it unto the end without dishonoring our dear master! May He give us the grace to run well and to the end.

3. We must recognize how quickly man’s glory fades.

This football legend, had he ended well, would still have been forgotten. Eventually, all our exploits and glory done for self and this world will come to naught. Only what is done for Christ will last.

4. We must remember that our glory can turn to dishonor in a flash. The Lord must hold us up or we will perish.

One mistake, one act of indiscretion, etc. can overturn our reputation, our wealth, our health, etc. We are in the Lord’s hands at all times but let us not presume that we can flirt with sin and lesser things and assume all will be well. May the Lord keep us and may we by His grace and mercy humbly and safely cling to Him! O to cling evermore to Him who loved us and gave Himself up for us!

How quickly our lives change. In looking up a few bits of information regarding Joe Paterno, I ran across this clip on a site. I’ve never heard of him before but the news blurb aptly illustrates how quickly our lives and fortunes can change.

Once-richest Irishman declared bankrupt

Sean Quinn, three years ago listed as Ireland’s richest man, has been declared bankrupt in a Northern Ireland court over alleged debts of €2.8bn to the Irish state-owned lender Anglo Irish Bank.

The 64-year old businessman’s insurance, cement and property empire collapsed last year following a multibillion euro stock market gamble on the share price of Anglo, which was nationalised during Ireland’s banking crisis.

http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/7c86e246-0c76-11e1-8ac6-00144feabdc0.html#axzz1dYaZU1aR

John Newton and the Lord our Keeper

In a letter to young John Ryland, Newton refers to his sense of inner corruption and weakness. Earlier, he confess, “It is a mercy that I have not been surprised and overwhelmed long ago: without help from on high it would soon be over with me.” (p. 88)

One trial however abides with me; a body of sin and death, an inward principle of evil, which renders all I do defective and defiled. But even here I find cause for thankfulness, for with such a heat as I have, my sad story would soon be much worse, if the Lord were not my keeper. By this I may know that he favours me, since weak and variable as I am in myself, and powerful and numerous as my enemies are, they have not yet prevailed against me. And I am admitted to a throne of grace, I have an advocate with the Father. And such is the power, care and compassion of my great Shepherd that, prone as I am to wander, he keeps me from wandering quite away. When I am wounded he heals me; when I faint, he revives me again.[1]

Newton recognized how easily he could have fallen. He attributes his continued state of grace to God’s mercy. True believers feel the plague of their hearts and are surprised that they have not been undone by their sins. Newton’s humbly admits that the Lord had kept him; if the Lord were not our keeper, we would all fall. What happened to Paterno and those related to this incident could easily affect us — “It is a mercy that I have not been surprised and overwhelmed…”

 

Edward Reynolds and His Meditations on Peter’s Fall

Another extract that helps us on this matter of Joe Paterno is from Edward Reynolds (a Westminster Divine). He penned thirty short meditations on Peter’s fall and rise. This is taken from his third Meditation. Written in old English, it may be difficult for readers to follow so let me summarize the main point and then you can meditate on this paragraph. He says that we can never assume that we will never fall. If we are true believers, we will indeed make it to heaven but there is no promise that we will never fall into temptation. Reynolds’s words are sobering because he reminds us that all our resolutions (like Peter’s protest and promise) are worthless unless our Lord gives us grace to keep them for His glory.

Vows and promises unconditionally addressed, cannot but prove dangerous to the strongest faith. God must first give us perseverance, before we can promise it; it is not in our power, though it be our duty to perform it. Though Peter may, in the virtue of Christ’s promise, be sure not to fall into hell, he cannot, in the virtue of his own promise, be sure not to fall into temptation: though he can be secure that faith shall have the last victory; yet he cannot, that it shall have every victory: though it cannot die and be finally dried up, yet it may ebb and languish; and though even now it can look undauntedly on the nails of a cross, yet presently it may be affrighted at the voice of a maid. He only that hath given faith unto us, can give life and action unto our faith… Lord! let me never barely promise, but let me withal pray unto thee; and let ever my purpose to die for thee, be seconded with a supplication that I may not deny thee; whenever I have an arm of confidence to lift up in defence of thy truth, let me have a knee of humility to bow down before thy throne: Lord, give me what I may promise; and I will promise what thou requirest. (Works, 3:11)

[1] John Newton, Wise Counsel – John Newton’s Letters to John Ryland Jr., ed. Grant Gordon (Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth, 2009), 170. Newton has made similar confessions earlier on, see pp. 88, 145.

Proverbs 5:15-23

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Proverbs 5:15-23

5:15-17 — 15 Drink water from your own cistern, flowing water from your own well. 16 Should your springs be scattered abroad, streams of water in the streets? 17 Let them be for yourself alone, and not for strangers with you.

Though erotic images may be suggested here (ANE texts suggest this, cf. Longman), there is also the sensible aspect to these verses. Contrasted to the life of waste in vv. 9-11, we are called to remain at home. Don’t waste your energy on some strange woman; drink from your own well (cf. Song of Sol. 4:10-15)— be homebound, not a carouser. Namely, we should be content with our own spouses and not go beyond.

The man who often travels away from home for business or other excursions (hobbies, interests, etc.) will not be able to drink from his own cistern. The practical effect is to open himself up to temptations or these extra curricular activities are in fact conscious willful defections away from his wife. None of us should presume that we are islands to ourselves; go far from your own cistern and you will inevitably fall into temptation. Admittedly, a few exceptions to the rule may exist but they are exceptions and not the rule.

 

5:18-20 — 18 Let your fountain be blessed, and rejoice in the wife of your youth, 19 a lovely deer, a graceful doe. Let her breasts fill you at all times with delight; be intoxicated always in her love. 20 Why should you be intoxicated, my son, with a forbidden woman and embrace the bosom of an adulteress?

A man is to be content with his own wife. “But it is highly important to see sexual delight in marriage as God-given; and history confirms that when marriage is viewed chiefly as a business arrangement, not only is God’s bounty misunderstood, but human passion seeks (cf. verse 20) other outlets.” (Kidner)

Sexual contact and satisfaction are limited only to married couples. Adultery and fornication will lead us to death. Why should a man go somewhere else when he has been provided for? Why drink stolen water when you have your own supply? The language of intoxication suggests that satisfaction can occur in the embrace of one’s own wife or the in embrace of another woman. Theses commands “rejoice in the wife of your youth” and “let her breasts fill you at all times with delight” imply conscious effort — it just does not happen without prayerful commitment and conscious pursuit. This intoxication erupts with willful decisions; it does not fall from the sky. The silly statement, “We fell out of love” only means “We stopped trying.” God commands the man to rejoice in his wife and be satisfied with her. This also means that the wife has her godly role in fostering and enabling this to happen. It take two to tango, does it not?

 

5:21-23 — 21 For a man’s ways are before the eyes of the LORD, and he ponders all his paths. 22 The iniquities of the wicked ensnare him, and he is held fast in the cords of his sin. 23 He dies for lack of discipline, and because of his great folly he is led astray.

With these solemn warnings, the father reminds the son that God is well aware of each man’s ways. His sins will trip him up and in the end they will destroy him. “In conclusion the father grounds his teaching in theology, that is, the LORD’s omniscience (v. 21) and justice (vv. 22-23).” (Waltke) Also note, “The linkage assumes that sin against God and insolence toward the wisdom instruction are inseparable.” (Waltke)

God is watching, and so the punishments of vv. 22-23 (ultimately death) are not a matter of chance, but certainty; the implication is that no matter what particular form the punishment might take, God will assure that it will happen. The sin of the adulterers will come back and harm them (v. 22). If they are not inebriated by the love of their wife, then they will be inebriated by their own stupidity, and that will result in their death. (Longman)

Proverbs 5:7-14

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Proverbs 5:7-14

5:7 — And now, O sons, listen to me, and do not depart from the words of my mouth.

This section begins another speech addressing the same theme. These are practical words of advice. The words of the father’s mouth are to be heeded and not the words of the faithless woman.

 

5:8 — Keep your way far from her, and do not go near the door of her house,

This is similar to 1 Tim. 2:22 and Mt. 5:28-29 [2 Timothy 2:22 So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart. Matthew 5:28-29 But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell.] One does not resist temptation by hanging around the temptress. The young man must flee, keep away, remain at a far distance from her. Eventually, all men will fall if he flirts with temptations like this.

May not a man be permitted to talk with her, merely by way of amusement? Is it unlawful to drink a glass in her house, and to satisfy our curiosity by observing what passes in it, and by what arts she contrives to seduce those who are less established in virtue than ourselves? Yes; it is unlawful to have the least correspondence with her. By the requirements of the ceremonial law, no man was to be in the same house with a leper. The moral law forbids us to enter into a house full of the leprosy of sin. Her house is full of snares, and her hands are as bands. The devil glances in her smiles, and lurks in her dress and in her motions. (Lawson)

 

5:9-11 — 9 lest you give your honor to others and your years to the merciless, 10 lest strangers take their fill of your strength, and your labors go to the house of a foreigner, 11 and at the end of your life you groan, when your flesh and body are consumed,

To court this woman is to waste our powers, our energies, our honor, our labors, etc. One’s wages and wealth may also be wasted. The general meaning is that all of the young man’s efforts will have been in vain. It was to be for himself and his household but now it is given to other people (did we not see this in the parable of the prodigal son, Lk. 15:13?). “Although sexual immorality today may not lead to slavery, it still leads to alimony, child support, broken homes, hurt, jealousy, lonely people, and venereal disease.” (Waltke)

The father has already described death as the final end (a few verses above), now he shows how that death comes about. The “lot” of the adulterer is a huge waste. His life will be filled with groaning and his body will waste away. There may be temporary exceptions (Hugh Hefner?) but the end still awaits him.

 

5:12-14 — 12 and you say, “How I hated discipline, and my heart despised reproof! 13 I did not listen to the voice of my teachers or incline my ear to my instructors. 14 I am at the brink of utter ruin in the assembled congregation.”

Only a sheer fool will continue to pant after this life of waste. After all this, he will regret what he did because it yielded nothing good. The assembled congregation is either a legal body appointed to judge this matter or simply the public at large before whom this fool stood. “Made public, adultery brings personal shame, humiliation to loved ones, and loss of respect in the larger community.” (Hubbard) “The public shame… will be complete and unchangeable. No one will ever forget that the son had reached the point of being completely spent by profligate activity.” (Longman)

Proverbs 5:1-6

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Proverbs 5

The exhortations in ch. 4 begin to make more sense in the light of chapters 5-7. These repeated pleas to heed the father’s words prepare the son to receive the additional exhortations.  The following three chapters address matters of sex, money, work, violence, etc. The predominant focus is on avoiding sexual immorality. “Moreover, his last two lectures in ch. 4 on avoiding the way of the wicked and on unswerving commitment to the father’s way paved the way to the next three lectures to stay far away from the unchaste wife (chs. 5-7).” (Waltke)

The fifth chapter is aptly summarized by Kidner: “The chapter first uncovers the corruption under the surface-charm of the seductress (1-6), then warns of the price of infidelity (7-14), and finally enlarges on the lasting delight of a faithful marriage, over against its pathetic alternative (15-23).” (Kidner)

 

Proverbs 5:1-6

5:1-2 — 1 My son, be attentive to my wisdom; incline your ear to my understanding, 2 that you may keep discretion, and your lips may guard knowledge.

Verse 1 begins another plea with “my son.” The father’s plea is repetitive but in this context, it deals with a very practical moral issue. The father assumes that the son is old enough to experience sexual temptations and pleasure (cf. Waltke). In fully receiving the father’s wisdom, the son will have discretion and his lips will guard knowledge. “Attention will enable us to keep knowledge in our hearts, for a wanton imagination, ever dictating corrupt conversation to the lips, proves the beginning of ruin to many of the sons of men.” (Lawson)

 

5:3 — For the lips of a forbidden woman drip honey, and her speech is smoother than oil,

The ESV has “forbidden woman” (it could be “strange woman” or a seductress (Kidner), or “unchaste wife or woman” (Waltke), etc. Longman says, “She is acting outside of community norms. An adulteress or a prostitute would qualify for this description.”  What is certain is that this woman is not the young man’s wife and he must avoid her.

The young man needs to guard his “lips” because he will need to answer the lips of this woman. Joseph fended off Potiphar’s wife (Gen. 39:8-9) with his godly knowledge. Speech and sexuality go together (“Culturally, it is closely associated with speech: courting speech, seductive speech, love songs, whispered sweet nothings.” Newsom cited in Waltke, 308) This unchaste women (cf. perhaps a married woman, 6:34; 7:19) will speak words that seem to make sense since they are sweet and smooth.

For a young man, his temptation will be a beautiful woman while for a young pious lady, it may be a charming young man. Words will be used to play on the affections of the one being pursued. Will the wisdom from above (vertical speech from the father) rule the heart of the son or the words of the woman (horizontal speech)? Young perverse men have seduced women with flattering words as well as with sensual words. Women have done the same with men. Kind flattering words from the opposite sex can cause the naïve person to easily fall.

 

5:4 — but in the end she is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword.

Whoever follows her will experience the exact opposite of what seems to be promised. One writer says, “Honey is sweet, but the bee stings and this lady has sting in her tail.” (cf. Waltke) The taste will be like a very bitter (and perhaps poisonous) plant; it is not honey but wormwood. Rather than being smooth like oil, she will be deadly and sharp as a two-edge sword. “…the delicious ends as the disgusting; the soothing, as the murderous” (Kidner) Better to taste the bitterness in repentance than to feel the bitterness of death (cf. Lawson).

 

5:5-6 — 5 Her feet go down to death; her steps follow the path to Sheol; 6 she does not ponder the path of life; her ways wander, and she does not know it.

This seductress will only lead to death; there is no other place. Sheol and death are synonymous here. Interestingly, v. 6 suggests that she may not be conscious of her ways. “The unfaithful wife, having no home and no future hope, staggers about in her sin (Jer. 14:10; Amos 4:18).… Lacking external instruction and an inner conscience, she can no longer distinguish between right and wrong, and so, without a moral compass to give her direction to true life, she strays to her death.” (Waltke) Some women (as well as men) are bereft of moral sense; they are unaware of their soul-damning ways. She wanders into eternal perdition. The foolish young man who listens to her will also have to embrace her destiny. Heed the warning; do not listen to her, do not follow her.

Proverbs 4:20-27

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Proverbs 4:20-27

4:20-22 — 20 My son, be attentive to my words; incline your ear to my sayings. 21 Let them not escape from your sight; keep them within your heart. 22 For they are life to those who find them, and healing to all their flesh.

Many of these verses repeat themes and exhortations we have already read in previous chapters. As Kidner says, “The constant repetition of such a call …is deliberate, for a major part of godliness lies in dogged attentiveness to familiar truths.”

Several words stand out from vv. 20-27. The teacher calls us to be full hearted, full bodied in our devotion to wisdom —  EAR (v. 20), SIGHT (v. 21), HEART (vv. 21, 23), FLESH (v. 22), SPEECH (v. 24), EYES (v. 25), FEET (vv. 26, 27). We must utilize every facet of our being. These physical vessels express folly or wisdom. Godliness is full bodied as is wickedness. We are not to present our “members to sin as instruments of unrighteousness” but instead to present our “members to God as instruments for righteousness” (Rom. 6:13).

 

4:23 — Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.

The heart expresses itself in all that we do (cf. Mk. 7:15-23). The “springs of life” are found in the heart that is full of wisdom and for that reason, it must be kept, guarded “with all vigilance.”  “The father is not interested in just a superficial response from his son, some kind of behavior modification; he desires that his child be wise at his very core.” (Longman) “The ‘heart’ serves as a vault within which the treasures of wisdom are to be guarded and from which they are to be withdrawn and skillfully employed…” (Hubbard)

With a strong hand must the heart be ruled, and it ought to be our constant endeavor to subject to the word of God every imagination and reasoning, every opinion and thought, every inclination and affection. A neglected garden will not be so full of weeds, as a neglected soul of vain thoughts and exorbitant passions, hateful to God, and dangerous to our own happiness and peace. (Lawson)

 

4:24 — Put away from you crooked speech, and put devious talk far from you.

“As part of the process of guarding the heart, the wise son must keep a perverse mouth/loose lips far from him.” (Longman) “Superficial habits of talk react on the mind; so that, e.g., cynical chatter, fashionable grumbles, flippancy, half-truths, barely meant in the first place, harden into well-established habits of thought.” (Kidner) Our speech expresses our hearts but it can just as well taint our hearts. “It is not enough just to restrain the heart. One must also keep track of the body’s members through which the inner life manifests itself. The list does not aim to be exhaustive but paradigmatic of practical right living.” (Waltke) That is, what we do impacts us and what we do expresses who we are.

 

4:25-27 — 25 Let your eyes look directly forward, and your gaze be straight before you. 26 Ponder the path of your feet; then all your ways will be sure. 27 Do not swerve to the right or to the left; turn your foot away from evil.

The key verb is found in v. 26. We must “ponder” the path of our feet. As we look straight with our eyes (v. 25), we must consider or ponder where we would go. Both the goal and the steps to that goal must be weighed. The son must take care that every step conforms to the father’s words of instruction. We must not be led astray by going left or to the right; we must heed God’s word. “The wise person will have an unswerving directness, but the fool is easily distracted (17:24).” (Ross) So, the “idea is that one should not be distracted from the way of wisdom (v. 25).” (Garrett) But what if we do go astray? Lawson reminds us of our need for pardoning mercy.

From this whole directory, we may see our need of pardoning mercy; for which of us can say, ‘We have made our hands clean, or kept our tongues from every evil thing?’ But the blood of Jesus is a fountain opened to cleanse from all sin.

Without renewing grace, our labor in guarding our hearts, and restraining our tongues and fee from evil, will be as vain as to attempt washing an Ethiopian white. The old heart cannot be reformed, but God has promised to give us a new heart, and to put a new spirit within us.

With our vigilance, faith and prayer must be joined. (Lawson)

Proverbs 4:10-19

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Proverbs 4:10-19

Two paths are presented to us in these verses: the way of wisdom (vv. 10-13) and the way of the wicked (vv. 14-17). The father/teacher continues his lecture on godliness.

4:10-13 — 10 Hear, my son, and accept my words, that the years of your life may be many. 11 I have taught you the way of wisdom; I have led you in the paths of uprightness. 12 When you walk, your step will not be hampered, and if you run, you will not stumble. 13 Keep hold of instruction; do not let go; guard her, for she is your life.

When we accept our father’s words, we will live long (v. 10) and run well (v. 12). Furthermore, as wisdom guards us as we heed (v. 4), so we are required to guard her because “she is your life.” (v. 13). Verse 11 suggests that the son is already walking in the right path — the father reinforces the journey. Regarding verse 12, Waltke says, “The wise are free of debilitating moral obstacles that bring God’s judgment (see v. 19; Job 18:7).”

 

4:14-17 — 14 Do not enter the path of the wicked, and do not walk in the way of the evil. 15 Avoid it; do not go on it; turn away from it and pass on. 16 For they cannot sleep unless they have done wrong; they are robbed of sleep unless they have made someone stumble. 17 For they eat the bread of wickedness and drink the wine of violence.

We have already met with similar exhortations in 1:10ff. “There is more than irony in this picture of upside down morality, where wickedness has become meat and drink and even duty. It is a warning against setting foot on a path which one might think adventurous and diverting, for it can lead as far as this. The Bible does not hide the fact that one can become as zealous for evil as for good.” (Kidner) Lawson adds these wise words: “We pray to be kept from temptation, and our practice ought not to contradict our prayers; otherwise it is evident, that as one man mocks another, so we mock God, by asking from him what we wish not to have.” (Lawson)

Perhaps we have met people like this? Whether we have or not is not important. Any fellowship with people who will not walk in the way of wisdom can easily lead to this. A seared conscience (as depicted in these verses) began with the first choice to forsake wisdom and the way of godliness. This moral depravity began with a simple defection.

Let us not form the mistaken idea, that the worse they are, we are in the less danger of imitating them, for the heart of man is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked. Of little sins we are not afraid, but say within ourselves, ‘These sins are attended with little danger, are they not little ones? surely our souls shall not die though we fall into them.” We are as little afraid of great sins, because we think them so shocking that we cannot fall into them. Frequently does it happen, that laboring under such misapprehensions as these, men lay down their heads upon the lap of temptation, and awake like Sampson in the hands of their enemies. By these enemies they are carried captive at their will, and to this punishment God has given them up for neglecting to follow his counsels, and preferring to them the instructions of those who cause to err. (Lawson, 85-86)

 

4:18-19 — 18 But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, which shines brighter and brighter until full day. 19 The way of the wicked is like deep darkness; they do not know over what they stumble.

Solomon contrasts the way of the righteous and the wicked. The future of God’s people who walk in wisdom can only get better. The idea being, each choice leads to other choices, from clarity to more clarity, from light to brightness, etc. They see where they are going and by the grace of God, they avoid obstacles. “Christians increase in knowledge, and grace, and happiness, in this world, and are perfected at death and the resurrection.” (Lawson)

The way of the wicked is just the opposite. Life does not get easier; every choice is complicated and more morally confused by each choice. This is probably best seen in those who are drug addicts or are in sexual bondage. The darkness becomes even darker. “Unbelievers may have some glimmerings of light in their minds and consciences, but these are not sufficient to keep them from walking in darkness…” (Lawson) “Their life course (the path) is filled with obstacles that cause them trouble…” (Longman) Jeremiah 23:12 says, “Therefore their way shall be to them like slippery paths in the darkness, into which they shall be driven and fall, for I will bring disaster upon them in the year of their punishment, declares the LORD.”

Proverbs 4:1-9

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Proverbs 4:1-9

This chapter can be divided into three parts. Each section begins with a call to the sons to hear— verse 1 (“Hear, O sons,…”), verse 10 (“Hear, my son, and accept my words…”), and verse 20 (“My son, be attentive to my words”).

4:1-3 — 1 Hear, O sons, a father’s instruction, and be attentive, that you may gain insight, 2 for I give you good precepts; do not forsake my teaching. 3 When I was a son with my father, tender, the only one in the sight of my mother,

There are three generations in this section. There is the speaker (the son’s father) who refers to the son (#1), the father of the son (#2, v. 1), and the father of the father (#3, v. 3). This is either wisdom speaking to the young man or wisdom speaking through the mouth of the father. Chapter four perpetuates a good family cycle.

Wisdom calls us to heed our parents. God tells us to “hear” our father’s instruction. He tells us not to “forsake” our father’s teaching. One writer says, “Parental authority is a channel for communication of God’s will. The two sources of authority reinforce each other, and in places where only one is mentioned, the other is not thereby excluded.” (Fox, 178, cited in Waltke, 276)

Parental authority is given by God; they are supposed to raise their children in the Lord (Eph. 6:4). In this morally dubious world, one wonders where a naïve young person can receive good instruction. The Bible’s answer is to heed our parents. The general idea is that if we forsake any of their good teaching (as long as they are words that do not go against God’s word), we jeopardize our lives (v. 4). Hubbard says, “’Parents know best’ is not an affirmation that would have cued laughs from an audience of Israelites. They expected such teaching and were expected to give it heed at the time and to cling to it throughout the years…” (Hubbard, 81)

 

4:4-6 — 4 he taught me and said to me, “Let your heart hold fast my words; keep my commandments, and live. 5 Get wisdom; get insight; do not forget, and do not turn away from the words of my mouth. 6 Do not forsake her, and she will keep you; love her, and she will guard you.

The father recalls his days of youth (perhaps Solomon recalling David, his father). Israel’s idea of godliness, wisdom, and good instruction being passed down from generation to generation continues in this recollection. Godly parents instruct their children who in turn will instruct their own. The grandfather’s words are used to beseech the teacher’s or father’s son to do the same. In obeying, we will “live”; we will be “kept” and “guarded.”

There is something in these verses that is amiss in our generation. Parent’s wisdom are to be cherished, held fast and embraced. Forsaking them was not an option for a young man of wisdom. Every young man or girl will have to seize his or her parent’s words; if they are not contrary to God’s Word, then they must be held fast. Their authority and experience are God’s own teachers for us. Though they are not infallible, they have been appointed to this task. Should they abuse their authority, God will hold them accountable. Should the naïve person forsake their teaching, he will reap the repercussions — the opposite of life and safety (“live” “guard”). “Wisdom is not a once-and-for-all decision; it is a process. It is not ‘once wise; always wise.” One could lose one’s wisdom unless it was ‘guarded.’” (Longman)

Solomon communicates to his children the instructions which his father had given him. We do injustice to our children, if we do not endeavor to leave them that estate which our forefathers acquired for their posterity. It is a more grievous iniquity, if the fathers transmit not to their children those pious instructions, which in their tender years they received from their own parents. Families are reckoned honorable, when a rich estate passes from father to son, through many generations; but it is a far more lovely sight, to behold the same faith dwelling in a rising family, that dwelt in their mother, and father, and remote ancestors. (Lawson, 77)

 

4:7 — The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom, and whatever you get, get insight.

The simple way of stating this verse is, “What it takes is not brains or opportunity, but decision. Do you want it? Come and get it.” (cf. Kidner) The first step is to prize her (v. 8) and go for it. “Whatever he treasured in his heart as more precious than wisdom and in which he invested his time, energy, and resources must be given up to get wisdom.” (Waltke) Wisdom must be the goal, the prize; everything should be used to get it and everything set aside which might impedes our pursuit of it.

 

4:8-9 — 8 Prize her highly, and she will exalt you; she will honor you if you embrace her. 9 She will place on your head a graceful garland; she will bestow on you a beautiful crown.”

In treasuring our wise parent’s instructions, we will be lifted up and honored. The student will be graced and honored. The fundamental axiom is that heeding parents is good and not harmful. This is probably the issue vexing many of us. Parents do err and are not infallible. But in general, what they have to say will do us good. To obey will not harm us; to forsake them can lead to death. Their instructions will in the long run do us good.

 There are some who think it necessary, in particular cases, to forsake wisdom, lest their strictness should expose them to damage. But David here tells Solomon and us, that this must be a dangerous error. The way of duty and of safety is still the same. (Lawson)