I'm indeed thankful for Chloe
getting to come home today. I'm thankful that the Lord has
been gracious to Ravi and Debbie and we thank Him now. We prayed a lot for Him and asked
His grace and now we thank Him for everything He's done for
our brethren and praise Him and give Him all the glory for that.
Let's turn in our Bibles now to Proverbs chapter 1. Proverbs
chapter 1. I'm going to begin in verse 1
in my text, but I want to try to eventually skip over to chapter
2. I want to read chapter 2 to start
out with. Proverbs 2. And we'll just read the first six verses. Proverbs
2 verse 1, My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my
commandments with thee, so that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom,
and apply thine heart to understanding. Yea, if thou cryest after knowledge,
and liftest up thy voice for understanding, if thou seekest
her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures,
then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord, and find the
knowledge of God. For the Lord giveth wisdom, and
out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding. Now let's
go to Proverbs chapter 1. And the book begins in verse
1, The Proverbs of Solomon, the son of David, king of Israel. Now Solomon was used to pin these
Proverbs, but this is the word of Christ the Son of David, the
King of God's Israel, the King of God's elect Israel. Like all
Scripture, this is the Word of our God, our Savior, our great
King, the Lord Jesus. And tonight we're going to see,
for those who seek the Lord in His Word, for those who seek
the Lord in His Word, He says that the Word makes wise. God through this Word makes sinners
wise. Wise unto salvation. Wise unto
salvation. As I behold our children growing
older, and mine included, it presses upon me the fact that
I have a very short time to preach the gospel to you. I have a very
short time to preach the gospel to you. The world is waiting
to swallow you up and carry you away. That's what the world will
do to most young people. They grow up and they're swallowed
up in this world. When I saw Chloe suddenly become
sick, and become so weak, it pressed upon me the truth
that our life is but a vapor. It's just a vapor. When you're
young, you think you have plenty of time to seek the Lord. You've got plenty of time to
read His Scripture and hear the Gospel preached and all those
things. You've got time to think about those things. But there's
not anybody That's guaranteed tomorrow. Not anybody is guaranteed
tomorrow. I read one time about Spurgeon.
He was working and trying to work on his message and there
was a child, I can't remember now if it was his grandchild
or what it was, but playing around him. And he took that child and
he pulled out a little string of thread and he said, go out
in that cemetery and see if you can find how many graves are
that long. I believe he stretched it out
as tall as that child was and said, go see if you can find
any plots in that cemetery this long. And the child came back
and said, I found a lot of them. And that's so, brethren. Nobody's
guaranteed tomorrow. Our life is a vapor. And if you
don't have Christ, you're like a man walking on the edge of
a large crevice in the earth. Just one slip and it's over. One slip and it's over. In the
time it takes you to breathe your last breath, you can be
standing before God. and not have a righteousness
in which to stand. Those that don't have Christ
right now, the only thing between you and eternity in hell is God,
who this book says is angry with the wicked every day. Those outside of Christ have
nothing between them and the awesome fury of God's just wrath. Nothing. That's why it's so important
that you come and hear this Word preached and follow along when
the Word is being preached and look at these Scriptures as we
turn to them. And not only that, but then go
home and make time. Make time. to search these scriptures
concerning the things that you heard preached. And call on God
and ask God to give you an understanding. To ask God to give you spiritual
discernment. There is nothing so important
as this Word. Tonight I want to meet you where
you are. I want to meet you right where you are. I realize I have
to take advantage of the time that I have. I have to redeem
the time and teach you while I can teach you. And so tonight
I want to meet you where you are. I want to meet you with
some very basic, elementary truth. Everybody here can understand
this. God says, if you hear the gospel of Christ preached from
His Word, You study this Word and you seek Him in His Word
like you would seek for a hidden treasure. And call on God to
give you an understanding. God says He will. God says He
will. First of all, Christ is speaking
here and He says that by His Word, He's able to make you,
look at verse 2, He's able to make you to know wisdom and instruction,
to perceive the words of understanding. That's what He's able to do through
this book. To make you know wisdom and instruction, to make you
perceive the words of understanding. Through the preaching of the
Word, through the preaching of God's Word, God makes us to know
wisdom. Christ our wisdom. To you that
are called, whether Jew or Gentile, to you that are called, Christ
is the power of God and the wisdom of God. And it's because of God
is Christ made unto you wisdom. He says through this word, He's
able to make you to know wisdom, make you to know Christ our wisdom.
This is where everything began, to know Christ our wisdom. Because
by Christ our wisdom then, we're given instruction. He says He
makes you know wisdom and instruction. That word instruction means correction,
chastisement. That's what it means. You see,
when you're brought to know Christ who is wisdom, that's when you're
instructed, that's when you're corrected. Christ is the way. And when we're brought to behold
Christ, that's when we're chastened, that's when we're corrected from
all the false ways, all the vain ways we imagine in our minds. Christ is the truth. And when
you behold Christ, it's through Christ our wisdom that we're
chastened, we're instructed, we're turned from all the lies
of men and turned to Christ the truth. Through the preaching
and the study of this Word, the Holy Spirit, He says there, gives
us understanding to perceive the words of understanding. He gives you an understanding
and you can perceive the words of understanding. Go over to
1 Corinthians chapter 2. What does He mean by that? He
gives you to know the words of understanding. 1 Corinthians 2 verse 6. It means
it gives you spiritual discernment. He says here, how be it we speak
wisdom among them that are perfect. That is, among them that have
spiritual discernment. I'm preaching wisdom right now.
to you that have discernment, yet not the wisdom of this world,
nor of the princes of this world that come to nothing. But we
speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom which
God ordained before the world unto our glory, which none of
the princes of this world knew, for had they known it, they would
not have crucified the Lord of glory. But as it is written,
I hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the
heart of man the things which God hath prepared for them that
love Him. But God hath revealed them unto
us by His Spirit. For the Spirit searcheth all
things, yea, the deep things of God. The gospel is a mystery,
a hidden mystery to men of this world. And yet God, before the
world began, God ordained to reveal this mystery to every
single person that He chose in Christ. And He gives us wisdom. He gives you spiritual discernment
to understand, to perceive and understand the words of this
book. And He gives you to know things that even the princes
of this world don't know. The wisest philosophers in this
world, the wisest men of this world do not know the unparalleled
wisdom that God has revealed to you and me through this Word
right here. Do you think it's wisdom? You
that know Him do. You know this is wisdom. I want
you that have never known this wisdom, to know this wisdom.
I want you to know that what we are talking about here is
the chief wisdom a man can know, to have spiritual discernment,
to know His Word. Alright? He says this to us back
in our text. He says, when Christ has made
our wisdom, He says then verse 3, we are made to receive the
instruction of wisdom, justice, and judgment, and equity. Through
this Word, this Word right here that we hold in our hand, we
receive the instruction of Christ our wisdom. It says there, you
receive the instruction of wisdom. We receive the instruction of
Christ who is our wisdom. And what does He teach us? He
teaches us the best thing that can be known. He teaches us justice. and judgment and equity. Justice and judgment and equity,
the message of God's Word, the message of this book, the message
of the gospel, this hidden mystery is concerning the justice of
God. The word justice means righteousness,
the righteousness of God, the justice of God. Turn over to
Romans 3 now, Romans chapter 3. Through this Word, as you
hear this Word preached and as God gives you a heart to go home
and study this Word, Christ instructs us that God is righteous. This
is where we have to be taught this. God is righteous. He is
holy. And God will by no means receive
anybody who is less than holy. He will receive no one who is
less than the righteousness of God. And you and I cannot provide
the righteousness we need because we've all broken the law of God.
Christ is the righteousness of God. Christ is the righteousness
God has provided for His people. The Son of God came down. And
He is that righteousness God promised for His people. He is
the righteousness of God. He alone fulfilled all the law
of God in perfect righteousness for His people. He alone. He alone did it. And so the only
way that you and I can fulfill all the law of God and establish
the law of God, the only way we can do it, sinners like us,
is through faith in Christ our righteousness. He did it. He
did it. And the way to have that righteousness
is to believe on Him, to cast all your care on Him. Look here
in Romans 3.19. And we know that whatever the
law says, it says to them that are under the law, that every
mouth may be stopped and all the world may become guilty before
God. Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh
be justified in His sight. For by the law is the knowledge
of sin. So see, we can't take the law
and use the law to try to obtain this righteousness we need. We
can't do it. We've broken the law. The law
was given to declare us guilty and shut our mouth. Verse 21,
But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested. It's made known. It's been abundantly
made clear before all. The righteousness of God without
you and I doing the law. It's witnessed by the law and
it's witnessed by the prophets. It's what this whole book is
talking about. That's why I'm preaching this right now from
Proverbs 1. Because the whole book is concerning
the righteousness of God. You see over here in Proverbs,
the Lord gave Solomon a word to bear witness of His righteousness.
And look, what is it? Verse 22. Even the righteousness
of God which is by the faithfulness of Christ Jesus, by His doing
and His dying. It's by His faithfulness. And
now look who it's unto. It's unto all and upon all them
that believe. Not your doing, not your attempting
to keep the Law, simply believing on Christ. Because there's no
difference. All have sinned and come short
of the glory of God. Look down at verse 31. Do we
then make void the Law through faith? God forbid. Yea, we establish the Law through
faith in Christ. That's how we establish the Law.
He is the righteousness of God. Now hold your place right here
in Romans 3. Christ instructs us that He alone
established, our text says, He teaches judgment and equity.
Judgment means justice, and equity means that which is equitable,
that which is right. That's what He established for
God and for His people. You see, all our best works and
everything that we do that, you know, as nice as you can be to
mom and dad and as nice as you can be to your neighbor and you
do everything that you think is good and right, even everything
that this book says is good and right. But all our very best works are
iniquity. Scripture says they are iniquity.
That means they are not equitable. They're not just. They don't
measure up to what God says is right and just. That's why we
just read up there, this is what it means. We just read, we've
sinned and come short of the glory of God. That means all
our works are not equitable. They're iniquity. They don't
measure up to God, to His glory. That's our very best deeds. But
by the finished work of Christ, God's just. And it's right, it's
equitable for God to give mercy to everybody for whom Christ
died. Read now with me Romans 3.24. It's just and it's equitable. It's just and it's right. Watch
this. Because we're justified freely
by His grace through the redemption that's in Christ Jesus. He justified
us from all our sins. Freely. Not by us doing anything.
By Him redeeming us from the law. Look, whom God has set forth
to be a propitiation through faith in His blood. This is where
satisfaction is. This is where God will be satisfied
with His people is in Christ. He set Christ forth for that
purpose. To be the seat of mercy where
you can come and find mercy with God. And it's through faith in
His blood. He did it. Why? Look at verse
25. To declare His righteousness for the remission of sins. To
declare His righteousness in putting away our sins. It means
God did it in a way that's just and equitable. He did it in a
way that's just and right. Verse 26. To declare, I say at
this time, His righteousness that He might be just and the
justifier of him which believeth in Jesus. Last night I was I
took Brother Henry's commentary and I opened it up to Romans
3 and I gave it to Will to read. And when we opened to Romans
3, the heading said, ìJust and Justify Her.î I said, ìYou ever
hear me say that, Will?î He said, ìI hear you say that a lot.î
I hope you hear me say it every time I preach because this is
the Gospel. God is just because He poured
out He poured out the just due, the wrath that all His people
deserve, He poured it out on Christ in our place. So He's
just. The soul that sinneth has died
in Christ, that is, of all His people. And He's the justifier
because in Christ He justified His people. So now it's just
and it's right for God to have mercy on everybody for whom Christ
died. Everybody that comes to God through
faith in His Son will find nothing but mercy from God. And it's just, and it's right.
Now some people will tell you that, back in our text, now let's
go back there with me just a minute. Some people will tell you that
what that teaches you is that teaches us how to do what's just
and right in our lives. Well, there's no doubt about
it, that's what God's Word teaches too. For husbands and wives,
for parents and children, for those that rule and those that
serve, and for every other relationship in this life, this book teaches
us what's just and right. But you see, the first thing
we have to be brought to see is that God is just and right. to have mercy on His people because
He's done it in a way that's just and equitable by sending
His Son to die in the place of His people. We've got to be made
to see Christ and believe on Christ first, and then in that
new heart God's given, these other things that He teaches
us to do will be done from a right motive, constrained by Christ's
love for us. Before then, we'll go doing these
things that we think that the book says is just and right and
we'll be trying to indebt God to us. But when you met Christ,
now you want to do what's just and right because you see that
what He's done for you is just and right. Go back with me now
to our text. So then when He's taught you
this justice and this equity in Christ. Then it says in verse
4, He's able to give subtlety to the simple. What does that
mean? When you come across a phrase like that in Scripture and you
don't know what it means, read the next phrase. Here's what
it means. He's able to give the young man
knowledge and discretion. You take a man who is simple,
who is young. What does that illustrate? A
young simpleton. That illustrates you and me who
are sinners. We are ignorant sinners by nature.
And God through His Word is able to take an ignorant sinner and
He is able to give you knowledge and discretion so that you can
You use God's Word and you know what's true and what's untrue.
You know what is deceitful and what's honest. You know what's
right and what's not right. And you have God's Word to teach
you. So that through His Word in every situation we come to
in life, God teaches us in principle what we are to do in every situation. You might come into a situation
in your life and you say, well, I don't see in that situation
how I'm going to do this or that. It doesn't spell it out for me.
No, it doesn't. I always spell out every single
situation. It gives you something better.
It gives you principles that will not change no matter what
the situation. So they can be applied to any
situation. This is knowledge and discretion
that only God gives and He does it through this book right here,
through this Word. Through this Word, it gives you
what no other book can give you. The highest wisdom, the highest
knowledge. Go over to 2 Timothy 3. I think the Apostle Paul was
paraphrasing our text in Proverbs 1 when he told young Timothy
this. 2 Timothy 3 and verse 15. He says, from a child thou hast
known the Holy Scriptures. That's what we're talking about
tonight. Simply hearing this Word preached and studying this
Word. That's all we're talking about.
This is the instruction being given. Hear this Word preached
and study this Word. He says, these are the Holy Scriptures
which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith
which is in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is given by inspiration
of God. I can't see God and you can't
see God. We can't talk to Him, we can't touch Him. But this
is His Word whereby He instructs us and teaches us the very Word
of God. Given, written by men, but it's
the inspired Word of God. Look, and it is profitable. It's eternally profitable for
doctrine, for reproof, for correction. There's what those first words
meant that we looked at. For instruction and all of this
doctrine and reproof and correction and instruction is in righteousness. It's what's right according to
God's Word. that the man of God may be perfect,
mature, throughly furnished unto all good works." Now will you
hear the instruction that Christ has given us through our text? He is saying, take this book
and give yourself to hear it preached and to diligently study
this book. Through this, God makes men wise. Will you hear that instruction
and do it? And let nothing stop you from
coming and hearing the Word preached. Let nothing stop you from making
time to study the Word. This is how He's going to do
it. It's through the Word that God's given. Now let me show
you this next thing. I want to show you this next
thing. God says the person who does this is a wise man. The person who hears this instruction
to seek the Lord through the preaching of His Word and through
the study of His Word, God says, this is a wise man. Look here,
Proverbs 1.5. A wise man will hear. He'll hear
this simple instruction that it's all through this Word. He
will hear this and he'll do it. And He will increase learning.
He will increase learning. And a man of understanding shall
attain unto wise counsels. To understand a proverb and the
interpretation, the words of the wise and their dark saying.
He says here, a wise man will hear. God calls us wise if we
hear this instruction to hear and study His Word and we do
it. He says, that man is wise. He
is a wise man. Now would you be wise? He's wise
who doesn't leave here tonight like all the nights before. He
doesn't leave here tonight like all the nights before and immediately
let the Word be stolen away because of something else. He's wise
who will hear this Word and not only follow along as it's being
preached and truly call on God while these men are praying,
you call on God to give you understanding. But also, he'll go home now and
he'll make time and he'll study this Word. He'll want to see
these things and take some time to meditate on these things and
to truly feed on what he's heard. God says, that's a wise man.
He's a wise man. And God promises this, He will
increase learning. He will increase learning. God
will make him increase in learning more of Christ. Look down at
Proverbs 1 and look at verse 23. Look at this. This is the
Word of God. Turn you at My reproof. Behold,
I will pour out My Spirit unto you. I will make known My words
unto you. God says, He promises it. He
will increase learning. And God promises this back in
verse 5. A man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels
to understand the proverb and the interpretation, the words
of the wise and their dark sayings. One, it means he'll go and he'll
ask those that God's already made wise by His Word. He'll
go and ask them. He'll attain to wise counsels. He'll go to men who could give
him some counsel and tell him what this passage means or what
this other passage means. And he'll ask them and they'll
teach him what it means. Look there in verse 8. My son,
hear the instruction of thy father and forsake not the word of thy
mother. There'll be an ornament of grace under thy head and chains
about thy neck. There's a lot of you or well
some of you sitting here who did not have believing parents. Just think of the privilege God
has already given your children. He has taught you the gospel
and made you wise unto salvation, so now you will be able to teach
your children. They can come to you if they
hear this word and they can come to you and say, what does this
mean? And you can teach them. And for the rest of the young
people sitting here, almost every young person here, I guess every
young person here has a believing mother and father that you can
go to, that God has made wise and you can ask them, what does
this mean? And they will teach you. Sometimes
it is harder to go to your mother and your father. Go to one of
these other brethren and ask them. They'll teach you. Come to Me. I'd love to teach
you. And God says, see this is diligently
seeking Him. This is really wanting to find
out and know more of the Lord. Know Him and know more of Him.
And God says that this will be an ornament of grace to you.
Chains about your neck. It's good for a young man to
bear the yoke in his youth. This light and easy yoke of Christ
is good to slip into this yoke when you are a young person and
start learning of Christ like Timothy who was wise in his scriptures
from his youth. But also this means the wise
counsels are the teachings, the truths that make up the whole
counsel singular of God. the counsels or the teachings,
all these different branches of teaching that make up the
one gospel of God. And he says here, the man that
is truly seeking Him will attain to all these truths of the gospel. God is going to teach him. God
is going to teach him. the counsel of total depravity,
God is going to make him to attain so that he understands and knows
the doctrine of total depravity that he and all other men in
this world fell in Adam and come into this world depraved and
undone. He's going to make you to know
the counsels of election. He'll make you to know that the
reason God didn't destroy this world as soon as Adam sinned
is because before the world was made, God chose a people in Christ
and they've been under that refuge, in that shelter in the storm. They've been in Him from the
beginning because God chose them in Christ. He'll teach them the
teaching of of predestination, that everybody God chose, He
predestinated them to the adoption of children, to bring us into
the family of God, and to conform us to the image of Christ. He's
predestinated the time that that's going to happen. He'll teach
you particular redemption, the counsel of particular redemption.
He'll teach you that when Christ came into this world, He didn't
come into this world and lay down His life for all men and
fail. He didn't die for men that perish
in hell. He came into this world and laid
down His life for those God gave Him. And He accomplished their
salvation. He accomplished their redemption.
He justified us from all our sins by His one offering on the
cross. He'll teach you the counsel of
preservation so that we persevere. He'll teach you that it's by
Christ preserving us, working in us His will in almighty power
so that we continue in the faith until the end and not one of
His people will be lost. He'll teach you the counsel of
holiness. That Christ is the holiness within. Christ is the... He's one in
that new man that He's put in you. One in that new spirit He's
put in you so that He's the one who's with you constantly. He's
with you always so that He's the one who will keep you from
the evil Christ abiding within you. If you're the wise man who tonight
goes home and heeds this basic instruction and begins tonight
seeking the Lord's face and crying out to Him for understanding
and really searching His Scriptures. And don't just go at it at fit
and start, start and stop, start and stop, but really stay with
it. If you're that wise man, in time
He'll make you know the doctrine of irresistible grace. They make
you to know that on this very night when you started wanting
to seek Him, it was because He in Irresistible Grace blessed
this Word to your heart and gave you life when you didn't even
know He gave you life. And began drawing you when you
didn't even know you were being drawn. And put that desire in
your heart when you didn't even know where it came from. and
He'll bring you to give Him all the glory and all the praise
for working it beginning to end. But you're going to attain. He
says, all my people are going to attain. They're going to know.
Now, I've got one last thing to show you. God calls the man
who refuses His Word something awful. In verse 7, the fear of
the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise
wisdom and instruction. I'll try to figure out how I
could illustrate this, but you imagine there was a billionaire
and he hid a treasure. And he wrote a book, and in that
book he wrote down how you can find this treasure. But if anybody's
going to find this treasure, he requires you're going to find
it through reading his book. You're going to have to hear
this book and read this book or you won't find this treasure.
And He sent men that are going to declare to you what the book
says and tell you all the riddles and unfold the riddles for you
so you can understand what the man wrote. And then you go home
and you read it. And the man who knows, there
is a treasure waiting on him. All he has to do is pick the
book up, hear it proclaim, pick it up and study it. He can find
this treasure. A man that wouldn't even pick
the book up, what would you call him? What else could you call
him but a fool? But a fool. To fear the Lord
is to reverence the Lord with affection. Do you all remember
the wet helmet? To fear the Lord is to reverence
Him with affection. One time I preached a message,
I titled it, Wet Helmet. This was the gist of it. This
illustration I gave at the very end. One time Will and I were
going to pick up Emma at school. We were going to walk up there.
Will wanted to ride his bicycle. He's about seven. And we came
out to, he was going to get on his bicycle and I was going to
walk. And when we came out, he went to put his helmet on and
I took his helmet and I felt in it and it left out in the
rain and it was wet. And I said, son, you can't ride
your bicycle, your helmet's wet. And I said, here. And I took
it, put his hand in there, and I said, feel of it. And he felt
it. Well, we took off, and about a block later, he said, dad,
you didn't have to make me feel it. And I didn't even, I'd kind
of forgotten. I said, what are you talking
about, son? He said, the helmet. He said, you didn't have to let
me touch it. He said, you told me it was wet.
And he said, I believe everything you tell me. Reverence, a fear of the Lord
is an affectionate reverence for God so that you believe everything
God tells you is so. And you believe He is the only
one who every word He says to you is true. You see, the fear
of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge because when He
is the height of knowledge to you, then He is the filter through
which all lesser knowledge is filtered so that you know it
is true or false by the Lord. You know it is right or wrong
by the Lord. That is why the fear of the Lord is the beginning
of knowledge when He is your chief knowledge. He is your chief
knowledge. But the man that will not hear,
he doesn't have a reverence for him, he refuses reproof, this
very reproof that says, here's my word, use it. He refuses that
reproof. He mocks at it and he laughs
at it. He puts all other knowledge above
the knowledge of God. And here's what God says, verse
24. Because I've called and you refused, I've stressed out my
hand and no man regard it, but you've said it not. All my counsel
and would none of my reproof, I also will laugh at your calamity.
And I'll mock when your fear cometh. When your fear cometh
as desolation and your destruction comes as a whirlwind, when distress
and anguish comes upon you, then shall they call upon me, but
I will not answer. They shall seek me early, but
they shall not find me, for that they hated knowledge. and did
not choose the fear of the Lord. They would not of my counsel.
They despised all my reproof. Therefore shall they eat of the
fruit of their own way and be filled with their own devices.
For the turning away of the simple shall slay them and the prosperity
of fools shall destroy them. But whoso hearkeneth unto me
shall dwell safely and shall be quiet from fear of evil."
Which one sounds better? Which one of these sounds better?
Will you hear this Word and do it? Will you start coming to
hear this Word preached and follow along in the Word and then go
home and read it and all along ask God for understanding? Listen
to what God says. Proverbs 2.1. if thou will receive
my words, and hide my commandments with thee, so that thou incline
thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thy heart to understanding. Yea,
if thou cryest after knowledge, and lift up thy voice for understanding,
if thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for
a hid treasure, then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord,
and find the knowledge of God. For the Lord giveth wisdom. And out of His mouth comes knowledge
and understanding. I pray that there is some young
person here tonight, I pray this for all of us, that God is making
us all hear this. We are all younger than we are
going to be tomorrow. I hope we all are hearing this
and we will all apply our hearts to wisdom and seek the Lord in
His Word. This is a promise, a faithful
promise God makes. You shall attain. You shall attain. God, God's Word makes wise. I pray you bless that. Amen. Brother Art, after we sing,