As preached by Timothy O'Day.
How can we walk in wisdom and not swerve away? By doing the following:
Embracing the Legacy of Wisdom (1-9).
Forsaking the Path of Wickedness (10-24).
Pondering Your Path (26-27).
Don’t Swerve from Wisdom
Proverbs 4
3 of 10
June 2, 2024
Pilgrim’s Progress was published in 1678, and it has never been out of print. At one time, it was the second most sold book after the Bible and is still widely considered to be the second most widespread book after the Bible, being that it has been translated into over 200 languages.
The endurance of this book is incredible. This book is enduring because it resonates with people, and it resonates because it captures so well the idea that the Christian life is an arduous journey to the greatest destination: perfect communion with God.
The Bible in general, and Proverbs 4 in particular, portrays the Christian life as not merely a decision to be made but a journey to have. Life is not a series of unconnected decisions. Each choice is a step on a journey, a movement in a certain direction.
Notice this kind of language in Proverbs 4. Wisdom is a way or a path of righteousness in verse 11; Learning wisdom will keep you from stumbling when you walk in verse 12; wisdom is the alternative path to wickedness in verse 14, and verse 15 exhorts us not to walk on this path of wickedness. Instead, we are called to walk on the path of righteousness and shun this dark path of wickedness in verses 18-19.
This path concept is used again in verses 25-27, with verse 27 giving us an apt exhortation to cap off the chapter: do not swerve to the right or to the left; turn your foot away from evil.” On the journey of life, you will have many opportunities to swerve from the path of wisdom but don’t do it. Proverbs 4 gives us directions on how. How can we walk in wisdom and not swerve away? By doing the following:
First, Embracing the Legacy of Wisdom (1-9)
The father speaks to his son, offering to give what he himself has received. Verses 1-2 are a call to listen to the wisdom that he is giving, with verses 3-9 then giving a description of how he himself received what he is about to give.
In short, he received instruction in wisdom from his own father and mother. And what we see in verses 3-9 is a condensed form of the teaching of wisdom that we have seen thus far in Proverbs 1-3. Verse 4 is an exhortation to receive the instruction he is being given; verses 5-6 an exhortation to keep and love wisdom; verses 7-8 declare that wisdom should be one’s top pursuit and prized above all else; and verse 9 lays out the promise of what keeping wisdom will give. This is not an exhaustive statement of what his parents told him, but a faithful summary of it which he is now passing on in detail here in Proverbs.
In other words, the father is simply passing on what he has received from his parents to his own children. He is sharing the gift that he has been given. He shares the legacy of wisdom.
Seeing God’s Good Gifts in Legacies Given
God is kind to give us many kinds of legacies. There are several sorts. We can all, some to greater extents than others, thank God for the legacy of our families. We all have good things that our parents gave us: sweet memories of care, a healthy work ethic, examples of service, and nurturing care when we were vulnerable. The list could go on. Whether you want to admit it or not, much of who you are is derived from the family from which you come. Some of you may rejoice to admit this because you received much good from your parents, but others of you may hear this and want to reject it because you received much evil. This is not a defense of the evil, but a call for you to recognize that at least some good was also given, and in that, you should thank God. You can thank God for the good that they gave while also recognizing that they were sinners.
But all the same, even if you do not have much of a legacy from your earthly family, you can rejoice that God has given you an incredible legacy in the family of faith.
If you are in Christ, then you are adopted into the family of God. This means that Scripture, God’s Word, is given to you and for you as a legacy of wisdom and instruction. It also means that every saint throughout all of history is your ancestor. The legacy of the church is your legacy; church history becomes your history.
We need to embrace this rich history and legacy given to us by embracing the Bible, but also by embracing our brothers and sisters in the faith who have gone before us. We can do this while also recognizing that they are not the ultimate authority. You can embrace and thank God for the good that they gave while also recognizing that they were sinners. You can thank God for Martin Luther, while also acknowledging he was wrong about a lot of things. You can embrace John Calvin as a brother while simultaneously recognizing that he failed to embrace a truly reformed ecclesiology because of cultural assumptions. You can thank God for the penetrating mind of Thomas Aquinas while also rejecting the slippery slope of his thinking in regard to justification.
The history of Christian theology is not an authoritative document, but it is a priceless reflection on God’s authoritative word. By reading theology and taking up historic Christian confessions, we have a legacy of reflection that only fools would ignore and disregard.
So, in as much as possible, thank God for the gifts he has given you in the legacy of your family and in the church. Here are two ways to do that:
Rejoicing in God’s Good gifts
First, in order to embrace the legacy that God has given you, you must humble yourself before it. You will not listen to someone if you despise them as inferior. Don’t despise instruction from your elders, they are the ones who have gone before you and have experience. This is the call of verses 1-2. Be attentive and don’t forsake the teaching of those who have gone before you.
Each one of us should be willing to listen when someone older speaks, whether that be someone who is 70 or a saint who passed away 700 years ago. Humility is recognizing that we are not sufficient for all things in and of ourselves. Humility is submission, and wisdom calls us to submit to experience as it aligns with God’s Word.
Second, Be on Guard
Wisdom is listening, but not blindly accepting. Many have come to say, “Did God really say?” It is a questioning of God’s word, but there is also a questioning of the legacy God has given to his church. Satan questioned the legacy passed from God to Adam, and Adam and Eve fell. Muhammad questioned whether or not Jesus was God the Son who lived, died, and was raised to save us, and created a religion of works that denies God as he really is. Joseph Smith questioned the legitimacy of the church, the nature of God, and salvation by grace through faith, bringing into existence an alternate organization that he called the church.
Beware of anyone who calls you to reject what the Bible says because it isn’t sufficient or right. That is to cut yourself off from the gift of God’s legacy.
Second, Forsaking the Path of Wickedness (10-24)
The great threat to the legacy of wisdom is to embrace the call to leave it behind for something new and exciting, which is the promise of wickedness. Verses 10-13 are a positive opening to this section, calling us to accept the legacy of wisdom, walk in the instruction given, and therefore have secure steps in life. As verse 13 puts it, “Keep hold of instruction; do not let go; guard her, for she is your life.” She is your life because it is instruction that keeps you on the path of life by telling you not to embrace the call to live in a way contrary to God’s instruction.
Verses 14-15 capture the warning,
“Do not enter the path of the wicked, and do not walk in the way of the evil. Avoid it; do not go on it; turn away from it and pass on.”
Proverbs often speaks in such black-and-white terms because it is capturing a greater reality. It isn’t saying that if you sin then you are automatically on the path of wickedness and if you do what is right you are automatically on the path of life. Wisdom, at its heart, is an issue of faith. That’s why “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge” (Proverbs 1:7). Faith in Christ is the path of righteousness and the path of life. Rejection of Christ is to call yourself lord and live as you please, which is the path of wickedness named in Proverbs.
By faith in Christ, we enter into the path of life and walk in it. By refusing to bow the knee to Christ, we enter the path of wickedness and walk in it.
For those outside of Christ, there is a constant call to stay away from him and to continue on the path of wickedness. For those of us in Christ, there is a constant call to enter into the path of wickedness that we must see and reject.
Proverbs 4 gives us two ways that we are tempted to enter into the path of wickedness that we must forsake: Outward and inward wickedness
Outward Wickedness
Outward wickedness is described in verses 16-17. There the wicked are described as those who cannot sleep unless they have done evil, meaning that evil is what gives them peace and rest. Making others stumble, either by abusing them or getting them to join in their evil, is one of their great aims that gives them peace. This should put us in mind to Paul’s description of wickedness in Romans 1:32, which says of those who reject God,
“Though they know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.”
Why is that? Why do the wicked derive peace by bringing others into schemes and practices of outward evil? Because company makes you feel safe and powerful. In reality, sin separates us from God and others, but if you can also call others to separate from God, then you derive a faulty conception of safety as you stand away from God.
June is a primary example of this, for the world has declared that June is Pride month. It is a month in which all people are called to celebrate homosexual practice and radical human autonomy that cries out, “I control my destiny and my desires decide what is right.” Pride month is a call to the path of wickedness. It is a call from those committed to the path of wickedness saying, “approve of my sin so I can feel fine about it.”
Christ calls out to us, “Don’t join the wicked by approving of their ways.” The first step to joining into wickedness is to deny that the acts are wicked. Don’t reject the legacy of wisdom in exchange for the approval of those who have rejected it. To make this mistake is like mistaking dawn for dusk, as verses 18-19 tell us. You might think that there isn’t a difference between dawn and dusk because both have limited light. But if you take the path of wickedness, only darkness will grow. If you take the path of wisdom, then you will only have increased light and clarity.
Inward Wickedness
Verses 20-25 capture the second warning against wickedness, calling us to forsake inward calls to reject the Lord. Verses 20-22 repeat the exhortation to keep to the path of wisdom that was already stated in verses 10-13, showing us that this is a similar threat to the path of wisdom. But instead of being warned against joining with others in wickedness—that is, speaking to an outward draw—we are warned against inward corruption in verses 23-24,
“Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life. Put away from you crooked speech and put devious talk far from you.”
Your heart refers to the center of who you are. Out of your heart flow all of your actions, as Jesus says in Mark 7:21-23
“For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.”
We need to be wary of the calls to join in wickedness, but we also need to be aware that the calls to join in wickedness are only effective because wicked desires already exist in us.
This is why we are exhorted to honesty in verse 24. In order to keep your heart with all vigilance, you need to speak the truth and put away falsehood.
Crooked speech is dishonest speech. It is speech that twists the straight line of truth in order to achieve the devious plan of making yourself look good. Our dishonesty has the aim of creating a fake world in which we are just and others are evil. It does not acknowledge what Jesus proclaims in Mark 7:21-23. And honest mouth admits sin instead of blame-shifting or coming up with excuses. And honest mouth doesn’t try to reconstruct the world by fashioning events in a way that makes us look best.
We are tempted to do this all the time. Our speech is crooked through withholding the truth and through saying things that are not true. We withhold the truth by not confessing sin. Why would you not confess your sin to others? Because you want to construct a world in which you are holy.
We say things that are not true. Tell the truth: when someone asks you about your time in Scripture or prayer, have you ever lied? Have you ever lied about why you were late to work? Have you ever made excuses for gossip and slander in the name of saying, “I just wanted to help that person by getting counsel from 15 other people about the situation?”
The issue behind crooked speech is that you are trying to make a fake world in which you are impressive. But as Ray Ortlund said, “You can be impressive or you can be known, but you cannot be both.”
On the path of wisdom, there are going to be times when you do not look impressive. You are going to look downright pathetic. But here is why that is okay: Jesus is impressive for you. You can be honest about your sin because Jesus offers you forgiveness of sin. By turning to him in faith, he takes your sin from you, thus freeing you from the guilt of sin. That is to say, he absorbs the penalty. One reason we don’t want to admit sin is that we don’t want to bear the penalty of it. While there may be temporal ramifications that we have to deal with in regard to our sin, Jesus takes the ultimate penalty for sin from us: death and hell. This is why we can stand honestly before God with our sin now and why hiding and denying it is so foolish. You can be forgiven if only you confess and admit that you are wrong! There is a pardon offered to the honest man.
But not only is our guilt taken away, but the power of sin is removed as well for those who walk in the wisdom of honesty. Sin thrives in darkness. Just as mold and mildew need darkness to grow, so does sin. Light is the greatest disinfectant. This is what John 1:5-7 tells us,
“This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.”
Do you want freedom from the guilt and power of sin? Then confess your sin and walk in honesty. The world says you will die, but God says you will truly live—and you will.
The pathway of honesty is simple. Look at verses 20-21,
“My son, be attentive to my words; incline your ear to my sayings. Let them not escape from your sight; keep them within your heart.”
You keep your heart and speak honesty from your heart when you pay attention to God’s promises in his word and store them in your heart. God’s powerful word transforms you as you hear it in faith. This is how you can be impressed—changed—by Christ and his word.
Those on the path of wisdom are not impressive but impressed by Christ himself. And the impression of Christ grows deeper on us as we walk in wisdom, making us more and more like Christ. The wise are impressed with Jesus, not impressive like Jesus.
Third, Pondering Your Path (26-27)
The chapter closes with the call for us to “Ponder the path of your feet” and “Do not swerve to the right or to the left; turn your foot away from evil.” Verse 26 has a promise that is tied to this call to ponder, saying, “Then all your ways will be sure.”
Seeing the danger, both inward and outward, should cause us to stop and ask, “Am I on the path of wisdom, the path of Christ?” Being aware of the danger around us can clarify our thinking. I’ve not yet had the opportunity (nor do I know if I want it) to hike Angels Landing at Zion National Park, but I have had friends who have hiked it before. When they show me pictures, I always feel the urge to tread carefully. As one travel guide puts it, "The hike climbs up roughly 1,500 vertical feet along the narrow fin of stone that reaches a top elevation of 5,790 feet. A chain railing adds an element of safety, but if exposed heights make you weak in the knees, it will take a double dose of courage to make the summit.” Based on pictures I’ve seen, the phrase “narrow fin of stone” is apt. It is narrow and there is a huge drop-off on either side. It is danger and death to your right and to your left. But there is a chain railing that you can grip to make your way sure. If you stumble, your feet will still be sure.
That wisdom is what wisdom gives to you; that is what Christ does for you.
So ponder this morning by asking, “What direction am I heading?” Are you holding fast to Christ by listening to his word and heeding his calls? Or is his voice distant because you aren’t guarding and keeping his instruction?
The world calls to you and says, “It is thrilling and freeing to let go of that chain and to explore a little bit on the edges! Come be brave like us and wander off to see and do what others haven’t done!” But that leads to do. Freedom in Christ is to be secure on the path of life; freedom from Christ is an invitation to take a 5,790-foot fall to your doom. You have that freedom, but it is folly to choose it.
You enter the path of wisdom through Christ and Christ alone. This is done by coming to Christ in faith, which means you believe what he says about himself. You believe that Jesus is God the Son, the second person of the Trinity, who took on flesh, lived a life of perfect obedience, died to bear the penalty for your sin, rose again from the grave, ascended to the Father, and will come again to judge the living and the dead.
And you can enter into the way of Christ, the way of wisdom, right now. You can believe and trust in Christ as you sit and listen to me. I plead with you: trust in Christ now.
And then show the world your trust in Christ. You can trust Christ right now, but then no one would see it. But the Lord has given us a means by which we can declare our faith, which is baptism. And he has given us a community of faith so that we can aid one another as we seek to continue to walk in wisdom.
If you are trusting in Christ for the first time, let it be known through baptism, and let your walk be joyful and safe within God’s means of the church. This is how we walk in wisdom together.
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