Walking In Wisdom- Part 1

April 10, 2016

Wisdom is the power of right judgment, the ability to discern any situation and know what to do, or see how a particular course of action will turn out. Imagine the happiness and success you could have with a good dose of wisdom (Proverbs 3:13). The book of Proverbs is insightful because it offers wisdom about all of the practical affairs of life. The wisdom literature of Proverbs 3:1-12 exhorts us to do six things, three of which we will look at today.

First, we are exhorted to obey God (Proverbs 3:1-2). If we expect to have a Father-Child relationship with God, we must be obedient children (1 Peter 1:14). In the Gospel of John, Jesus connected love with obedience, “If ye love me, keep my commandments” (John 14:15). By this we learn that loving God is much more than just a verbal expression. Our love for God is to be expressed by our obedient faith. Jesus said, “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 7:21). Not everybody who talks about Heaven is going to go there. It is only those who do the will of the Father (Matthew 7:24; 12:50). We also learn in the Proverbs that there are benefits to our obedience (Proverbs 3:2). Perhaps the greatest benefit associated with obedience is salvation (Proverbs 19:16; James 1:21; Hebrews 5:9). When we obey God, good things happen.

Secondly, from Proverbs 3:3-4 we need to remember God. Solomon warns us not to allow the Divine attributes of mercy and truth to forsake us. God’s mercy is one of His most distinguishing characteristics, “The LORD is longsuffering, and of great mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression, and by no means clearing the guilty…” (Numbers 14:18). God’s great mercy allows Him to treat us better than we deserve.

Truth is that objective standard of right and wrong that we find only in God’s Word (John 17:17). According to wisdom literature, we should bind both mercy and truth around our necks and treasure them in our hearts. As we go through life, we need the continual mercy and guidance we find in God’s word (Luke 18:13; 2 Timothy 3:16-17). David once wrote, when “mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other” (Psalms 85:10). Mercy and truth lead to “favor and good understanding in the sight of God and man” (Proverbs 3:4). Mercy and truth are essential components of wisdom. When we learn to be merciful to others as God is merciful to us and to abide in truth, we will find ourselves walking in the wisdom of God.

Walking In Wisdom- Part 2

April 17, 2016

As we noted last week, wisdom is the power of right judgment, the ability to discern any situation and know either what to do, or how a particular course of action will turn out. To practice wisdom we must both obey God and remember Him in all that we do.

Thirdly, we learn from Proverbs 3:5-6 that we are to trust God. Rather than doing things our own way, we must learn to turn our trust (or faith) toward God and do things His way. His ways are much better than ours (Isaiah 55:8-9; Jeremiah 10:23). Doing things our own way can lead us down the wrong path and reap disastrous consequences in our lives (Proverbs 14:12). If I trust in God, that means I believe that He exists (Psalm 19:1-6). It also means I believe in His inspired Word and that I trust that He will reward those who diligently seek Him (2 Timothy 3:16; Hebrews 11:6). The foundation for wisdom is learning to trust God in all aspects of life and acknowledge Him in everything we do (1 John 2:3).

Next, on our journey toward wisdom, we are commanded to hold God in reverence (Proverbs 3:7-8). Solomon identified the fear or reverence of the Lord as the beginning of both knowledge and wisdom (Proverbs 1:7 & 9:10). It is the beginning of knowledge because knowledge is the full body of truth that tells us what is right and what is wrong. It is the beginning of wisdom because wisdom tells us the proper application of knowledge. When we blend these two verses together, the idea seems to be that if we walk in wisdom, we will have a sober reverence for God and a holy desire to please Him no matter what.

Proverbs 3:6 reads “in all thy ways acknowledge Him…” If you have never acknowledged God, please do so by hearing the good news and uniting it with faith. Believe that Jesus died for your sins, that He was buried and that He rose again on the third day (Romans 10:17; 1 Corinthians 15:1-4). Acknowledge Him by repenting of your sins and confessing that Jesus is the Son of God (Acts 17:30; Acts 8:37). Show your trust in the cleansing power of His blood by being baptized into Christ (Galatians 3:27; Acts 22:16; Revelation 1:5). Acknowledge Jesus’ Lordship by abandoning the life of sin and walking each day in newness of life (Romans 6:4).

Are you ready to “walk in wisdom” (Colossians 4:5)?

Walking In Wisdom- Part 3

April 24, 2016

We began two weeks ago looking at Proverbs 3:1-12 where Solomon exhorts us to do six things that can help us walk in wisdom. It is wisdom which ultimately helps us to stay on the straight and narrow path that leads us to our Lord. We have seen already how wisdom dictates that we obey (1-2), remember (3-4), trust (5-6), acknowledge (6) and revere God (7-8).

The next thing we are encouraged to do is honor God with our substance (Proverbs 3:9-10). It is easy to say that we love God, but here the proverb writer says “put your money where your mouth is.” Learning to give is an important factor for those who would walk in wisdom. Wisdom dictates not only that we give, but that we do it cheerfully (2 Corinthians 9:7). One who is wise knows that it is “more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35). Our giving is a reflection of our love for God. As one writer put it, “giving should be your favorite financial activity.”

The final aspect of wisdom in Proverbs 3:11-12 is probably the most difficult. If we want to walk in wisdom we must submit to God’s chastening. The writer of Hebrews states that if God left us alone when we needed correction, we would be illegitimate children (Hebrews 12:6-11). You see, God’s chastening and correction are proof of His love. He knows everything that is going on in our lives, even those things that are hidden deep within our minds (Jeremiah 17:10; Ezekiel 11:5). When we need to be corrected, we should receive God’s chastening as His dear children trusting that He knows what is best for us. We should also remember that the very nature of His inspired Word is that it reproves and corrects us when we are wrong and instructs us in what is right (2 Timothy 3:16-17).

If we will allow God’s Word to guide us, it will help us walk in wisdom and travel down that straight and narrow path that leads to heaven. David was chastened sternly by God at times, but His prayer to the Lord was, “Teach me to do thy will; for thou art my God: thy spirit is good; lead me into the land of uprightness” (Psalms 143:10).

Choosing to walk in wisdom makes us happy people and builds us up spiritually (Proverbs 3:8). Our bodies will age and break down, but the spiritual man can be renewed by wisdom day after day (2 Corinthians 4:16). “Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, and the man that getteth understanding” (Proverbs 3:13).