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Grace & Peace: Proverbs 24:12

Douglas Wilson on November 7, 2023

At thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore (Ps. 16: 11)

“If thou sayest, Behold, we knew it not; Doth not he that pondereth the heart consider it? And he that keepeth thy soul, doth not he know it? And shall not he render to every man according to his works?”
Proverbs 24:12

“If you say, “Surely we did not know this,” Does not He who weighs the hearts consider it? He who keeps your soul, does He not know it? And will He not render to each man according to his deeds?”
Proverbs 24:12

The problem for those who get into the habit of making excuses is that most of their practicing is on those who are finite and limited, and who are usually not in a position to refute the excuse, whatever it is.

Someone asks, “who left this mess here?” The excuse leaps easily to the lips. “I didn’t know anything about it.” Or, in the words of this proverb, “I knew it not.”

The difficulty is that this is not just said to your teacher, or your supervisor, or your father. It is also said coram Deo, before the face of God. This proverb is therefore an exhortation, every time you think an excuse is in order, to remember that God is the possessor of all the omnis. He is everywhere present, and He knows all things.

Because He is everywhere present, He was there in the room when you left the mess for someone else to clean up. Because He is omniscient, all-knowing, He knows everything about it.

This proverb pushes this truth down into all the corners. This is saying much more than that God knows the state of the room. He knows the state of your heart when you are telling yourself all those lies. The Lord weighs the hearts. The Lord keeps the soul. And when He renders to all according to their deeds, He is going to go on the basis of what He says, and not on the basis of the excuses we may have offered.

Grace & Peace: Proverbs 23:23

Douglas Wilson on November 2, 2023

At thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore (Ps. 16: 11)

“Buy the truth, and sell it not; Also wisdom, and instruction, and understanding.”
Proverbs 23:23

Truth matters, and it matters big time.

This proverb starts there. Buy the truth, and once you have bought it, hang on to it. Don’t even think about selling. When you have bought the truth, you need to have done so in order to acquire a permanent possession.

What this means is that subjectivism, which amounts to sentimentalism, is prohibited to the person who would walk in biblical wisdom. Truth is objective. It is independent of our feelings, and does not require our affirmation in order to remain what it is.

And so we are justified in believing that this proverb teaches us that truth is very, very important. Relativism is false. It is not possible to serve God honestly and rightly apart from the truth. Truth matters.

But it is not the only thing that matters, and many truth-oriented churches get stuck here. The proverb goes on. Also, it says. Three additional things are mentioned, things which need to be used to supplement our possession of the truth. These three things are wisdom, instruction, and understanding. And although I used the word supplement, it is much more than supplemental. Without these things that arrive with the also, truth is not going to remain truth for very long.

Wisdom is the crown of all learning. It is not just knowledge, and not just understanding. It is the grace to know how all of it should be expressed, how it should all be lived out. What is the incarnational form of the truth? Instruction means that the one who possesses truth does not possess all truth, and must always be willing to learn more. The one who believes in absolute truth is not precluded from being someone who is always learning. And understanding means knowing how it is all to be assembled—how all the pieces go together.

Churches which cling to a set of naked truths do collide with our relativistic age, but they do so ineffectively. They have a clunkity clunkity approach to truth, which is not up to the challenge posed by the deep fog of relativism.

Truth matters, and has pulled into your driveway. Receive the truth of God into your homes . . . provided it is traveling in company. Are wisdom, instruction, and understanding in the back seat?

Let the Word Run Wild – Exhortation King’s Cross

Shawn Paterson on October 29, 2023

Looking back on all that had been done for the reformation of the church over the course of his ministry, Martin Luther had this to say:

“I simply taught, preached, and wrote God’s Word; otherwise I did nothing. And while I slept, or drank Wittenberg beer with my friends, the Word so greatly weakened the papacy that no prince or emperor ever inflicted such losses upon it. I did nothing; the Word did everything.”

In the fuller quotation, he also humbly calls himself a “poor stinking bag of maggots” – but that is beside my point.

What I want us to consider this Reformation Sunday is this – what gave life to the Reformation? What renewed the church in Europe? Was it the genius of man? Was it mere politics or statecraft?

No, not at all. The Reformation was simply the result of the Word being freed to run wild and hit the hearts of men. This is because the Word is efficacious. The Word gives life. As Scripture testifies of itself, the Word is living and powerful (Rom. 1:16), able to save souls (Jas. 1:21), at work in those who believe (1 Thess. 2:13), and will not return void (Isa. 55:11).

Isaiah said that the Word of God is like water which gives life to the earth (Isa. 55:10), David likened it to a lamp casting light upon the path (Ps. 119:105), Jeremiah compared it to a hammer that shatters rock (Jer. 23:29), and Paul called it the sword of the Spirit, able to pierce the innermost man (Eph. 6:17, Heb. 4:12).

It was the Word spoken through Ezekiel that called the dry bones to life (Ezek. 37). And it was the Word spoken through the incarnate Word that called forth Lazarus from the tomb (Jn. 11:43).

This is simply what the Word of God does. Ever since the beginning – when God spoke and light came forth (Gen. 1:3). And so on this Reformation Sunday, we are reminded of our need to keep the Word at the center of our lives. Let all that you do be according to the Word, and there, in families and in a community where the Word is received and believed, the Spirit of God promises to be at work again.

Shawn Paterson – October 29, 2023

How to Get Glory – CCD Exhortation

Ben Zornes on October 29, 2023

There is a magnetic pull, especially for men, to long for glory. The boy in the yard with his football imagines himself throwing the winning touchdown for the Super Bowl. This longing for glory doesn’t leave as we mature into manhood. Instead, it seeks it in academic degrees, promotions at work, esteem from colleagues, or a yacht collection.

Seeking for glory is not wrong. In fact, you were made for glory. The problem is that, due to sin, we seek glory in our shame. Glory is not found in the skyscrapers of the Tokyo business district, or in the halls of Congress, or in viral Social Media accounts.

The Psalmist gives us the path to glory. He instructs us with this truth: “Surely [the Lord’s] salvation is nigh them that fear him; that glory may dwell in our land (Psa 85:9).” If you desire glory to dwell in the midst of our land it begins with the salvation that comes from bending the knee to Almighty God.

If your life has felt like a slog recently, and glory is the last thing you would describe your life as a good question to ask yourself is whether you are walking in the fear of the Lord. Have you allowed grumbling to be the undertone of your conversations? Have you allowed your contempt for others to bubble at a low simmer? Have you been rejoicing in evil, and resenting righteousness? Have you gotten good at hiding sin? Well then, glory will not dwell with you. It will elusively remain just past your fingertips.

Therefore, bend yourself before God. Bow before His every Word. Study to put all His commands into practice. Confess your sin. Forsake your evil ways. Break your vile habits over your knee. And then, know that the Lord’s glory shall rest in the land.

Ben Zornes – October 29, 2023

Exhortation CCT

Daniel Namahoe on October 29, 2023

Proverbs 15:4 says, “A gentle tongue is a tree of life, but perverseness in it breaks the spirit.” As Christians we must bring our body under submission. The apostle Paul said, “I discipline my body and keep it under control.” We must do this with our hands, to the point of cutting them off if they cause us to sin. We must do this with our eyes, to the point of plucking them out if they cause us to sin. But the tongue is so unruly, that James says if you tame the tongue, then you are also able to keep the whole body in check. There is no shortage of ways to sin with the tongue. Do you gossip behind a person’s back? Do you talk down to people? Do you exalt yourself? Do you mutter under your breath? Do you keep your mouth open when you should be shutting it? Do you use it to revile the President of the United States? Ephesians 4 talks about coarse jesting; do you use it for that? All of these things break the spirit within a person. Listening to someone brag is not fruitful, and it’s certainly not fun to find out something that was said behind your back. So how do we combat this? A gentle tongue implies a tame tongue. There’s a wild beast in your mouth and it must be bridled. If you can focus on any part of yourself for spiritual growth, focus on your tongue. And if you can do that, then you’ll be in a position to build your brother up rather than tear him down.

Daniel Namahoe – October 29, 2023