In Proverbs 6, let's begin reading
in verse 12. I want to read 12 through 19. A naughty person, a wicked man,
walketh with a froward mouth. He winketh with his eyes. He speaketh with his feet. He
teacheth with his fingers. Frowardness is in his heart. He devises mischief continually. He soweth discord. Therefore
shall his calamity come suddenly. Suddenly shall he be broken without
remedy. These six things doth the Lord
hate. Yea, seven are an abomination
unto him, a proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent
blood. and heart that devises wicked
imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief, a false
witness that soweth lies, and he that soweth discord among
brethren. Those of you that have raised
children, you know there's nothing, and I've experienced this, When
my boys was little, there's nothing sweeter than a little toddler
laying on your stomach or on your chest, that little fuzzy
hair against your cheeks. You would think, how could these
little, many people call them little angels, how could they
turn out to do the things they do? And we've experienced that
in our own lives. So we often speak of children
as being naughty, and they are. They're naughty. And only because
of different restraints, they'd be worse than they are. And we
know that the way children are raised has a lot of influence
on their actions and the way they turn out. But it all has
to do with their nature. There's a statement in the middle
of Genesis chapter 8 and verse 21 that says that the imagination
of a man's heart is evil from his youth. We know Adam was made
in God's image. And I remember what, first time
I ever heard this, I heard Todd Norbert say this at a conference. And I've heard John repeat it.
If you're wrong on what took place in the garden, you're wrong
on it all. So we know that since Adam fell,
we all have this evil nature. And in Psalms 58 and verse 3
says, The wicked are strange from the womb. They go astray
as soon as they're born, speaking lies. Now this is God's Word,
and it's as true now as it was when He spoke it. It's His Word,
and it's like Himself. It is eternal. God does not change,
nor does His Word. He tells us that in Malachi 3
and verse 6. He says, For I am the Lord, I
change not. Therefore, you sons of Jacob
are not consumed. Well, who are the sons of Jacob?
The sons of Jacob are the sons of Abraham. They only got from
Adam his nature, his fallen nature. If you would turn to Psalms chapter
36. In Psalms chapter 36 and verse 1, it says the transgression
of the wicked. The transgression of the wicked.
And beside the word wicked, I wrote me. That's me. And notice how
some of these words are written. The transgression of the wicked
saith within my heart, my heart, there is no fear of God before
His eyes. Now that's me. And that's you. For Romans 3 and verse 23 says
there is none good, no, not one. We're all sinners. An example
of this in the Scriptures, turn to 1 Samuel 2. Chapter 2 and
verse 12. Now the sons of Eli were sons
of Belal. They knew not the Lord. We know
Eli was an Old Testament priest who had two unruly, disobedient
sons. These two boys were guilty. of
all manner of evil. If you'd look across the page
in verse 22, you'd see some of their evil deeds. It says, they
lay with the women that assemble at the door of the tabernacle
of the congregation. We know that the Lord is a God
of knowledge, and by Him, men's actions are weighed. These two
sons of Eli, Hopniah and Phinehas, were later slain in the battle
with the Philistines. They believed not God. And God,
excuse me, Apostle Paul, calls such a one in Acts chapter 13. Let's look at that. Acts 13. And this is it. a false prophet,
a Jew whose name was Bar-Jesus. And in verse 8, they call him
Elimus, the sorcerer. In verse 9, then Saul, who is
also called Paul, filled with the Holy Ghost, set his eyes
on him and said, O fool of all subtlety and all mischief, Thou
child of the devil, Thou enemy of all righteousness, wilt Thou
not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord? And then turn
back to Proverbs 5. And look at verse 21. For the ways of man are before
the eyes of the Lord, and He pondereth all His goings. It
means that God weighs our actions. says almost the same thing in
Hebrews 4.13. And then in verse 13 of our text,
this says, he winketh with his eyes as though his evil deeds
had no consequences. But you can be sure they do.
And Proverbs 10 and verse 10 says, He that winketh with the
eye causeth sorrow. And then a verse that explains
that further in Proverbs 8.36 says, He that sinneth against
the Lord wrongeth his own soul. All that hate me love death. And verse 13 also says, He speaketh
with his feet. And a verse that would go along
with that is Proverbs 1.16. where it says, their feet run
to evil and make haste to shed blood. Turn to Psalms 10. I listened to that message John
preached here recently on Psalms 10. I listened to it last night. But let's read from verse 2 through,
I believe it's verse 11. Verse 2 says, the wicked in his
pride doth persecute the poor. Let them be taken in the devices
that they have imagined. For the wicked boasted of his
heart's desire, and blessed the covetous whom the Lord abhorred. The wicked, through the pride
of his countenance, will not seek after God. God is not in
all his thoughts, His ways are always grievous. Thy judgments
are far above out of his sight. As for all his enemies, he puffeth
at them. He has said in his heart, I shall
not be moved, for I shall never be in adversity. His mouth is
full of cursing and deceit and fraud. Under his tongue is mischief
and vanity. He sitteth in the lurking places
of the villages. In the secret places doth he
murder the innocent. His eyes are privately set against
the poor. He lieth and waits secretly as
a lion in his den. He lieth and wait to catch the
poor. He doth catch the poor when he
draweth him into his net. He crouches and humbleth himself. that the poor may fall by His
strong ones. He hath said in His heart, God
hath forgotten. He hideth His face. He will never
see it." That's what they say. They say God will never see it.
Turn to Job 34. Job 34 and verse 21. Here it
tells us, that the eyes for His eyes are
upon the ways of man, and He seeth all His goings." God sees. He's the all-seeing eye. And
the last part of verse 13 says, He teaches with His fingers.
Turn to Isaiah. Well, you ain't got to turn.
I'll read it. I got it. In Isaiah 2, verse 8, it says, they worship
the work of their own hands. that which their own fingers
have made." And in Jeremiah 9, verse 14, it says, "...but they
have walked after the imagination of their own heart, and after
Balaam, which their fathers taught them." Then in verse 14, it says,
"...forwardness is in his heart." In Ecclesiastes 9, verse 3, the
preacher said, The heart of the sons of men
is full of evil, and madness is in their heart while they
live. And after that, they go to the dead. In the middle of
verse 14 says, He devises mischief continually. And Micah says in
chapter 2 and verse 1, Woe to them that devise iniquity and
work evil upon their beds. When the morning is light, they
practice it, because it is in the power of their hand. Then
in Isaiah chapter 3 and verse 11, it says about such a person,
Woe to the wicked! It shall be ill with him, for
the reward of his hands shall be given him. And then in the
last part of verse 14, it says, He soweth discord. Here Solomon
speaks of the danger of sowing discord among the brethren. And
in Proverbs 28.10, he says, Whoso causeth the righteous to go astray
in an evil way, he shall fall himself into his own pit. And then in verse 15, we have
the result. Verse 15 says, Therefore shall
his calamity come suddenly. suddenly shall he be broken without
remedy. And then in Proverbs 29, 1, it
says, he that being often reproved, hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly
be destroyed, and that without remedy. Like those two sons of
Eli, Hopni and Phinehas, They were slain in the same day in
battle. And I got a quote from Mr. Spurgeon
about this evilness of the human heart. He said that if any man
could see his own heart as it is by nature, he would be driven
mad. The side of our disease is not
to be born unless we also see the remedy. And Solomon says
here in verse 16, These six things that the Lord hate, yea, seven
are an abomination unto Him. Now these six things mentioned
in verses 17 through 19, they're awful sins. And destruction shone
to be the sad portion of those who commit such acts. Every part
of his life is perverse, and every portion of his conduct
crooked. The calls of God, the warnings
of His providence, the alarms of death, all lose their effect
upon His unthinking and worthless heart. His joy is His evil, and
the frowniness of His heart, of the wicked, is His delight. Then in 17 through 19, we have
the fruits of such a wicked man. the result of his conduct, as
Solomon described, a proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that
shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked imaginations,
feet that be swift in running to mischief, a false witness
that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren. And in Psalms chapter 5, verses
4 and 5, Here it says, for thou art not
a God that hath pleasure in wickedness, neither shall evil dwell with
thee. The foolish shall not stand in thy sight. Thou hatest all
workers of iniquity, and God is angry with the wicked every
day. This is not a complete list of
man's evil deeds. If you turn to Galatians chapter
5, Look at Galatians 5.19-21. Now the works of the flesh are
manifest, which are these, adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,
idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath,
strife, sedition, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revelings,
and such like, of the which I tell you before, as I have also told
you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit
the kingdom of God. And I'm glad Paul didn't stop
there. I'm glad he went on to to give us the fruits of the
Spirit, which is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness,
faith, meekness, temperance. Against such there is no law.
And they that are Christ have crucified the flesh with the
affections and the lust." So here in the book of Proverbs,
These are the words of Solomon to his son, to instruct him and
to warn him. But we know that the greater
than Solomon is here speaking. This is God's word. Christ is
here instructing and warning his sons.