Dr Greg Bahnsen - Proverbs: Proverbs 1:7-9 (Parental Wisdom) (Part 2)

Turn with me in your Bibles this morning to the Old Testament Book of Proverbs, chapter one, where we'll take our reading. Verses 10 to 19 dealing with the theme of foolish consent. Proverbs 1, beginning at the 10th verse. Hear now God's word, my son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not. If they say, come with us, let us lay wait for blood. Let us lurk privily for the innocent without cause. Let us swallow them up alive as Sheol, and completely as those that go down into the pit. We shall find all precious substance. We shall fill our houses with spoil. Thou shalt cast thy lot among us. We will have one purse, my son. Walk not thou in the way with them. Refrain thy foot from their path. For their feet run to evil, and they make haste to shed blood. For in vain is the net spread in the sight of any bird, and these lay wait for their own blood. They lurk privily for their own lives. So are the ways of every one that is greedy of gain. It taketh away the life of the owners thereof. And thus far the reading of God's word. The book of Proverbs has been given to us, as I told you already, as medicine, little pills, if you will, little dosages of moral medicine that we need to take into us daily to reflect upon, and let it have its full effect in our lives. And this morning the book of Proverbs tells us, don't be a fool who consents to evil. This is a message which, though basic, is very important. And I would imagine that the key to learning this particular discipline of godliness is one that very few of us have found as yet. I hope this morning we can help to do that. This particular passage of Proverbs speaks of the danger of collaborating with unrighteous people, in particular, the danger of having fellowship with those who want to sin against their neighbor's life or their neighbor's property. Verse 10 mentions sinners. My son, if sinners entice thee, the word for sinners refers to people of bad character who miss the mark, people who do not have the right goal, and those who do not hit the mark that God has set for man to live by. They are sinners. And in particular, some sinners have sins that become so habitual that they are a way of life, a way of life that they just take for granted. My son, if such people talk to you, if such people would entice you. The Hebrew means to be opened up, to be made susceptible. If such people would persuade you, now how could anybody persuade us to do something that's evil? You begin to wonder, why on earth would this be in the Bible? Because if we know that it's wrong, obviously we're not going to do it. And so all we need to do, apparently, is learn what is right and wrong. And then when people come along, these habitual sinners who would entice us and persuade us, then we have it made. We couldn't possibly do what they say because we know better. Boy, if that's your view of human nature, you're much closer to Plato than you are to Jesus. You know, Plato had this ridiculous idea, and it is ridiculous. As intellectual as it sounds, as flattering to human nature as it may be, it. It's ridiculous. It's the idea that if people know what is right, they'll do it. So that when you find a man who is wayward, who is not doing the right thing, then what you do is you instruct him. In fact, that's why Plato said the state must have compulsory education for all people, because if we instruct him in what is right, then there won't be any crime. What a laugh if it weren't so tragic in its consequences. That's the intellectualist error, that to know what is right is to do what is right, not correct at all, because, well, stop and think about it. David. David sinned with Bathsheba and aggrieved his way. Did David forget all of a sudden that adultery was wrong, that murder was wrong? Did David not know the proper way to go? Yes, he knew it, but he didn't walk in it. Knowing what is right is not sufficient. There is what I like to call in human psychology, a forbidden fruit syndrome that afflicts us goes back to our first parents. I'm sure this idea that evil entices us just because it's exciting, it's alluring, it's the evil that somehow gets us going. There are people who get in trouble. I think of businessmen who travel a lot, sometimes get into sexual sins outside of marriage. And when you counsel with such people, you don't always hear it's because they've got a bad wife who somehow is frigid or what have you. No, things may be very good in the marriage, but there's something about the excitement of getting away with such a thing that draws people in. So knowing what is right and wrong is not sufficient. My son, listen to the wisdom of this godly instructor. My son, listen to the wisdom of your mother and father. If sinners would entice you and persuade you. Don't listen to them. What do sinners say to entice us? You know, if you're going to resist the enticements of sinners, you better learn their ways. And I'm going to tell you right now, one of the key ways in which we are enticed to do evil things, things which are contrary to our own conscience and better knowledge. One of the key ways is the ridicule of traditional morality, where I'm assuming traditional morality is biblical morality. The idea that that's square, that's bad, backward, that's hopelessly medieval. Who possibly worries about fidelity in marriage anymore? We live in an age of sexual revolution. And as far as showing integrity in business transactions, honesty, everyone lies when it's convenient anymore. Why worry about these things? The ridicule of traditional morality is one of the key things used by sinners to bring us down. And what happens, you see, is evil is set forth as alluring, as exciting, as making you someone to be dealt with rather than someone who is to be kept in his place. Young people like to hear that we're going to become important people. We're going to become exciting, we're going to become prosperous people. We'll get in with this crowd, we'll get with the people who know where it's at. We're going to be just fine. And so the path of evil, of unholy living, seems free, it seems enlightening, it seems exciting, it seems prosperous. And sinners would entice us to follow it. The advice of Proverbs, don't consent, don't be willing, do not agree. Verse 11 tells us by using an extreme example of how sinners entice us, they say, come with us, let us lay, wait for blood. Let us lurk privily for the innocent without cause. That is, let us lurk, let us lie in white in dark places. You have to remember, of course, the setting. Ancient cities were not well lit at night and even more poorly policed. And so let's go wait in some dark place and then we'll pounce upon people and we'll send them down to Sheol. They'll completely die and we'll bury them and take their goods. Murder and mugging are not modern phenomena. Murder and mugging are the ways of the city. Not just the city anymore, but they are the ways of men, not just in our culture, but through all ages. And this murder and mugging is being proposed as the way to prosperity and money. And I want you to note the insatiable appetite of the criminal mind as it's portrayed here. You know, murder is taken for granted as a way of life here. It's just part of the, it's just a feature of this occupation. And with a callous conscience. Come with us. Yeah, we'll kill these people and we'll take their money. It'll be great, it'll be fun. We'll fill our house with treasures. And so we see that the sinner has this unprovoked and unprincipled ruthless plan to inflict life threatening violence upon innocent people for the sake of one's own selfish delight. And then the promise is made of great substance. Verse 13, we shall find all precious substance. Interestingly, in Proverbs 8, 21 you'll notice that wisdom promises great substance for those who follow her. Wisdom is the only one who can make that promise. This promise from the sinner is deceitful. It will let you down, as we'll see later in this passage. And notice verse 14. You sociopolitical conservatives will especially appreciate the way the Bible ridicules the sinful idea of having a common purse. Socialism, let's do this and we'll just take everything and divide it evenly. We'll have a common purse for ourselves. Of course that would be quite an incentive to a novice robber, wouldn't it? Because you see, he'll get more that way than he would otherwise accomplish on his own in his ineptitude. I think that's similar to the motive that lies behind all socialist schemes too. All have common purse, you know, who wants to have the common purse are those who are on the lower end of the economic spectrum, right? Those who are going to be above the level of common distribution don't particularly like the idea. But here you have the criminal mind thinking the same way. Verse 16 tells us that sinners are hasty to get involved in such sins for their feet run to evil. And I think here of the little wind up toys that you get, you know, Christmas is coming up and you see children love these things. You wind them up and, and their little feet go. And sinners run to evil just like those toys it is. They're wound up inside by Satan and they just love to get to that goal of doing evil things and they make haste to shed blood. You know, the same teaching is found In Isaiah, the 59th chapter, which you should turn to with me this morning. Isaiah 59, verse 7. But I'm going to read the context for you to see what Isaiah has to say. Say Isaiah, speaking of unrighteous men says in verse 4, none sueth in righteousness, and none pleadeth in truth. They trust in vanity, they speak lies, they conceive mischief, and bring forth iniquity. They hatch adders eggs and weave the spider's web. He that eateth of their eggs dieth, and that which is crushed breaketh out into a viper. Their webs shall not become garments, neither shall they cover themselves with their works. Their works are works of iniquity, and the act of violence is in their hands. Their feet run to evil, and they make haste to shed innocent blood. Their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity. Desolation and destruction are in their paths. The way of peace they do not know. And there is no justice in their goings. They have made them crooked paths. Whatsoever goeth therein doth not know peace. And then the apostle Paul in Romans the third chapter, if you want to turn to the New Testament, makes use of the same imagery to describe the general depravity that is part of human nature. Paul applies this to all men in Romans 3:15. He says, Their feet are swift to shed blood. Destruction and misery are in their ways. Paul says this tendency is in all of us. Up to this point. My guess is you were probably thinking we were describing what might be called the criminal mind. But not me, not you, not the decent, good people that are in our society. But you know those people who, to take the extreme example, are out there mugging people and killing them for their money. But Paul does something interesting. He takes that and he says, there is none that doeth good. No, not one. We are all become as those who are unclean in the eyes of God. We all have feet that pitter patter, you see, run to evil. We all have hearts that are inclined to violence to get our way. There is a general depravity that afflicts us. And what's the answer for this sinful character that the book of Proverbs and the rest of Scripture lays before us? What can you do for a person who is enticed to sin? The only answer is wisdom. In Proverbs 2:1015, listen to what wisdom says. For wisdom shall enter into thy heart, and knowledge shall be pleasant unto thy soul. Discretion shall watch over thee. Understanding shall keep thee, to deliver thee from the way of evil, from the men that speak perverse things, who forsake the paths of uprightness, to walk in the ways of darkness, who rejoice to do evil and delight in the perverseness of evil, who are crooked in their ways and wayward in their paths. Wisdom is what is required to deliver you. Those who have a sinful bent within them need wisdom to correct them, to help them. Specifically, what will wisdom do for you? What would wisdom say to you this morning about sinners who would entice you? Well, I see four applications here I want to pursue this morning. The first is this. Wisdom points to an ethic of consequences as supporting the laws of God. Wisdom points to an ethic of consequences. What do I mean by an ethic of consequences? I mean wisdom teaches us that the end justifies the means. Wait a minute, there's been a typo here, right? Preacher, that isn't what you mean to say. No, that's what I mean to say. Wisdom teaches us that the end of evil doesn't ever justify the evil because the end is always the ways of destruction. Verse 18 shows us the boomerang effect of verse 11. In 11 we read and they say, come with us verse 18 and these lay wait for their own blood. Actually in verse 11 they say they were going to lay wait for blood. Then verse 18 say, they lay wait for their own blood. Little do they know that in choosing this lifestyle where they think they're going to take from others, they have actually chosen to take from themselves and to destroy themselves. Sin is, in the words of Proverbs, self destructive. Sin is self destructive. In the long run, you lose out by living dishonestly. In the long run, you lose out by living violently. It's always safer, always in your own best interest to live by the golden rule that Jesus taught us. To do unto others as you'd have them do unto you. It is safer to live that way. You see, interestingly, the motive offered by Proverbs is not simply that evil behavior is contrary to God's moral law. That's taught, that's important. But that's not the only dimension to biblical teaching. Yes, evil behavior violates God's moral order, but the motive offered in Proverbs is really quite practical. It's the motive that it's in your own best interest to avoid sinful behavior. What we have here is nothing less than an appeal to rational self interest. You want to get ahead, you want to have a happy life. In the long run, you want to do what's in your own best interest. You want to really be egoistic, not egotistic. Now egoistic, then don't sin. Be cautious, because crime is not worth the risk that it is to you. This is what I mean by a consequential ethic. An ethic that looks at consequences. I will decide what to do based on what the outcome promises to be. And Proverbs says the outcome of sin is always death. And you're a fool if you don't see it. You're short sighted and you are already on the path to destruction. If you don't realize you need to say no to sinners. You need to say no and back away and don't fellowship with them. This is a pragmatic ethic. You want to do what is successful, what will work out best for you. You want to do what is egoistically in your own interest. Then don't sin. Don't go with sinners. Don't listen to their persuasions. You see, we have to learn first and foremost that there's a harmony between the way God governs the world and the law that he lays down for us to follow. There is a harmony between the way God governs the world and that law that he gives us by which we should live in the world. Do you think God is so foolish, or God is so incoherent, or God is so unmindful of the way things work that he would let evil be prosperous and successful in the end, even though he tells us not to be evil? Do you think God says one thing out of one side of his mouth and then he governs the world out of the other side of his mouth in a contrary way? Proverbs says, absolutely not. You lie in wait for blood, and it's your own blood that you'll lie in wait for. You decide you're going to sin and try to get away with it. You'll find out that God will see to it that you are destroyed. God says, live in the world in this way, and if you try to live contrary to My law, you're living contrary to your own best interest. Don't be deceived. Galatians says, don't be deceived. God will not be mocked. Whatever a man sows that shall he reap. There is a harmony between the way God governs the world and the laws he lays down. And so follow personal prudence, if you will. And you'll find that personal prudence harmonizes with the law of God. And so Proverbs teaches us that the consequences of consenting to evil do not make evil behavior worthwhile. After all, you see, the fool originally thought the end will justify the means. I know it's not right to kill people. I know it's not right to show violence and to behave in this way just to satisfy myself and to get rich. But the end is so enticing and so he's thinking the end will make it worthwhile. The end will justify the means in the book of Proverbs says, you're absolutely right, the end does justify the means, you fool, and the end of following this means is destruction. And so now follow out your philosophy and be a little smarter in what we call the minor premise. That is, your principle is correct, the end will justify the means. But you're wrong in the next premise, the that you think the end of unrighteousness will be happiness. It never will be. When all is said and done, the evil means will not be justified with a happy end for you. Indeed, this is one of the wisest lessons in all of life for us to learn, and it's one which very few of us have. One of the best lessons you could ever learn is that the wicked dig their own pit. The wicked dig their their own pit. How often does the Bible tell us this? Follow along with me. Psalm 7, 15 and 16 Psalm 7:15 16 David puts it this way. He hath made a pit and digged it, and is fallen into the ditch which he made. His mischief shall return upon his own head, and his violence shall come down upon his own pate. Look at Psalm 9:16 Jehovah hath made Himself known he hath executed judgment. The wicked is snared in the work of his own hands. Proverbs the fifth chapter, verses 22 and 23. His own iniquities shall take the wicked, and he shall beholden with the cords of his sin and he shall die for lack of instruction and in the greatness of his folly he shall go astray. Proverbs 28:10. The way of wisdom teaches us that the wicked fall into their own pit. Proverbs 28:10 Whoso causeth the upright to go astray in an evil way, he shall himself fall into his own pit. But the perfect shall inherit good. One more. Proverbs 29:6. In the transgression of an evil man there is a snare but the righteous doth sing and rejoice. Children, this is what you have got to learn. Sometimes your parents haven't you? Adults need to catch up. Sin never pays off. Sin is a snare. To sin and to live a wicked lifestyle is to dig a pit that you will fall back into. Think of Haman. Isn't that the story book of Esther? How Haman built this grand gallows because he was going to kill Mordecai, whom he couldn't stand. And Haman dies. Where? On his own gallows, thinking of Ahab, who is going to put Naboth to blood. And the message of the prophet is, and the dog shall lick your blood for what you have done. This is a message that is throughout the Scriptures. The wicked dig their own pit. Sin has its own snare, it does not pay off. And so those who cheat their way to riches, and those who pursue evil paths and are partners with thieves actually seek. Listen to this. Seek death, Proverbs says, and they hate their own souls. Proverbs 11:19. He that is steadfast in righteousness shall attain unto life. And he that pursueth evil doeth it to his own death. Proverbs 21:6. The getting of treasures by a lying tongue is a vapor driven to and fro by them, that's seek death. Proverbs 29:24 whoso is partnered with a thief hateth his own soul. He heareth the adjuration and uttereth nothing. Don't you see that those who are unrighteous in their ways, those who are sinful in the paths that they walk, those who do not show integrity, those who do not care for holiness of character and principle, they hate themselves. They do. They hate themselves and they hate the ways of life. They hate life because God created life to be lived on his terms. And when they don't like his terms, then they hate life itself. They seek death. And you know, one of the grandest things about the character of God is that he always gives people what they seek. You know, people live their lives now and they say, I want nothing to do with God. And God will say, on the day of judgment, fine, then your will be done. Have nothing to do with me. You wish to live apart from me, I now grant you the fondest desire of your heart. Depart from me into everlasting darkness, where is the weeping and the wailing and the gnashing of teeth. Those who will not live holy lives will not lead happy lives, as the book of Proverbs teaches us. An ethic of consequences supports God's law from this particular scripture passage is that we have to show wise faith in God's moral order and not short sightedness. First of all, we learn that the consequences of evil will not be happy. And secondly, we need to have faith that that is the moral order of the universe. We need to have faith that that is the case and not be short sighted. We need to remember that God will indeed render what is deserved to all those who trust trust and oppression as their way to gain riches. Psalm 62, 10:12 teaches us that about God and His character. Psalm 62 at the 10th verse. Trust not in oppression, become not vain in robbery. If riches increase, set not your heart thereon. God hath spoken once, twice have I heard this. That power belongeth unto God also. Unto thee, O Lord belongeth lovingkindness. For, for thou renderest to every man according to his work. Don't trust in oppression. Don't think to get rich by deceitful means. For God will render to every man what he really deserves. If you wanted to study the book of Proverbs in this regard, you would see, as I've already said, that adversity is what the wicked will receive. Over and over again. The book of Proverbs teaches us that. Okay, don't be short sighted then. Fools are short sighted. According to the Book of Proverbs, fools say, well, I see somebody getting away with this, so maybe I can. For a little while maybe. Maybe for a little while I can cheat. For a little while, maybe I can lie. Maybe in this situation I can get myself out by being dishonest. The fool says, maybe for a little while it'll work. The fool is so short sighted, there are some people who say, wait a minute, politicians make a living out of being dishonest. They actually get famous and they get wealthy. They do all these things, doesn't seem so bad for them. And do you really want to tell me those people are head of these huge corporations, roundabout making all these mega bucks, you know? Tell me they've lived righteous, holy lives? Forget it. They're cheating on their wives, they're breaking people's back facts, they're breaking their contracts. They're lying, they're scheming. No, I think that you will get ahead, okay? The Book of Proverbs teaches you you're a fool if you think that that's all there is to be seen. You want to follow just what you can see, just the immediate consequences, then you are in fact a fool. Though temporarily successful, the path of sin ultimately leads to destruction. And it's the wise man who sits back patiently and says, no, I'm not going to go in that path because I know that the day is coming when God will require it. The wise man is the one who says, I'm not even tempted. Don't even suggest that. Maybe for a week or two we can get by with this. Because you see, there's an eternity of consequences that will follow. Only a fool defies the moral order of God. Only the fool entraps his own soul. Look at verse 17. In vain is the net spread in the sight of any bird. Fools you see are bird brains. They're worse than bird brains. I don't know if you've ever done this. You want to catch a bird? You don't go out there and say, now watch this bird. I'm setting up this trap, and here's the snare, and I'll throw this bait down there. And then you come over and eat this, and we'll catch you. No. In vain is the net snake in the sight of the bird. But you know what's wrong. Fools. They see the consequences of crime all around them. They know that in the end, in their heart of hearts, that God will require it. And yet, though the trap is set, they go right to it. The book of Proverbs says, you bird brain, you're worse than a bird, you fool, because God has said he will require it of you, and you run to it anyway. And so we need faith, secondly, and wisdom to believe in the moral order of this universe even when it's not immediately obvious to our sight. The wise man, as I said, is that patient man who says, God will repay in his time. And so don't foolishly try to gain the world and lose your soul. Third application of this passage, avoid unrighteous associates. Some of you aren't going to want to hear this, but you see, though you may pay my salary, in the end I answer to God, and I must tell you the truth. Part of the problem for all of us is we run with the wrong crowd. We have the wrong kind of friends and business associates. We sometimes are tempted to marry people we shouldn't be married to because they don't share a common faith. All of us have that temptation to have the wrong kinds of associations. And this proverb is a warning against the way of sinners. This proverb tells us in no uncertain terms, avoid bad company. Seek social acceptance among a fellowship of peers that's enticed to sin, and you'll be brought down. Don't think. I mean, how many people do this? Fools do this. I've been a fool so often. You've been a fool so often. We think we can go with these kinds of people and hear their kind of talk and listen to their kind of reasoning and share their kinds of desires and not be brought low spiritually. It's impossible. Scripture requires us to turn away from the path of unrighteous men. Look at Proverbs, the fourth chapter, verses 14 and 15. Proverbs 4:14. Enter not into the path of the wicked and walk not in the way of evil men. Avoid it, pass not by it, turn from it and pass on. Very simply put, I mean, these are so down to earth. Don't even go near that off ramp. Drive all the way around and get in the left hand lane so you can't possibly get over, turn away from it. And that's our problem. You see, we think, wait a minute, going down that off ramp, that isn't the problem. It's when you get off the off ramp and they start doing bad things. The book of Proverbs says, no, no, the problem is in choosing to go that way in the first place. You say, but I'm going to go down, I'm going to be a witness to others. Don't fool yourselves. Don't deceive your own hearts. How many people have I known who said, well, I stay with these wicked people because I want to be a witness to them? Well, why is it then that you start looking like them and acting like them and dressing like them and joking like them and engaging in their behavior instead of their becoming more right righteous. Why is it instead of their being broken under the weight of their sin and guilt because you're around them, you tend to be broken under the weight of their sinful practices? No, the book of Proverbs says, you fool, don't use pious excuses. Don't even go their way. Don't get near the off ramp of sin. Turn your feet away from it. In fact, the very first Psalm opens that way, doesn't it? Opening Psalm, verse 1. Blessed is the man that walks not in the counsel of the w wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers. Don't stand in their way. Don't put your feet in their paths. That's the message of the Book of Proverbs. Don't have unrighteous friends. Does that mean don't associate with people? No, it doesn't mean you don't associate with people. It doesn't mean you stop being a witness to your neighbors or your business associates or what have you. But it means you don't make them your kind company. Paul says that it's just on this subject that men are most prone to deceive themselves and let down their guard. What can I do for your children to teach you this this morning? The Bible says, don't have wicked friends. Don't have friends who don't love the Lord. Don't have friends that Use bad language. Don't have friends who want to change, cheat who are thinking about doing bad things. The Bible says, don't have such friends. Turn away from them, run the other way, don't even get close. First Corinthians 15:33. Notice how Paul says, you fools, it's just here that you think that you can get by, but you can't. First Corinthians 15:33. Don't be deceived. Evil companions corrupt good morals. You run with the wrong kind of people and you'll live the wrong kind of life. You will. You're not an exception. In fact, most people who talk that way as though, well, it'll be different for me. They're the very people that others would be least inclined to consider moral exceptions. You know, it's weak spirited people who say, oh, but I'll be a good influence, influence on them. Don't be deceived. Paul says, evil companions corrupt good morals. And so Proverbs says, when sinners entice thee, my son, consent thou not. That's the fourth application. We need to learn to resist the temptation of sinners and not to consent to it. This proverb tells us not to go along with evil behavior. Indeed not even to begin. Begin to listen to such considerations which might persuade us to take a momentary dip into unrighteous living. Resist such urgings. Resist them with all your might. Notice how verse 15 answers. Verse 11. Verse 11 says, Come with us. Verse 15 says, My son, walk not in the way with him. You know, it's just, it's a classic, simple moral lesson. On the one hand, you hear, come over here. And God says, don't go, don't go. Don't listen to them. Don't consider it. And you know, the problem is where it begins. It begins by thinking inside. Maybe this one time, it's okay, maybe once. And the Bible would teach us that with every compliance that we give to evil suggestions, our conscience becomes less sensitive to God's holiness. Can I take you back to the Garden of Eden and just remind you of what happened there? Here are Adam and Eve. Eve is the subject of this story. At this particular point, I personally think Adam was standing right by her side and abdicating his authority in the family as his wife was led into sin. But the fact is that Eve is the spokesman now. And Satan comes and he wants to know what God has required. And Eve gives the requirement of God, she kind of botches it. She doesn't have it right. And Satan says, what you'll what if you eat this fruit, come on, you'll die. You'll not die, Eve. And you know what Eve's problem was? Instead of saying, get thee behind me, Satan, she said, well, maybe I ought to think about this. Why would we die? I mean, God hasn't given us an explanation. I mean, what is the chemical relationship between eating this fruit and my dying? I mean, God hasn't explained that. And maybe Satan's right. Maybe God has a bad motive for saying that to us. He doesn't want us to be like him. Maybe. See, I don't think we have the right picture if we think that Satan says, you'll not surely die. And then he says, oh, give me the fruit. No, I think Eve pondered this, and that's her problem. She pondered and said, well, maybe this, maybe that. How about this? How about that? And the book of Proverbs says, you should learn the lesson. Don't consent when sinners entice. You say, no, thanks, I'm going the other way. And Eve didn't say, no, thanks. She started to think about it and then was drawn away by her own lust. Proverbs counsels us to resist the path of unrighteousness. Look at chapter 22, verse 3. A prudent man seeth the evil and hideth himself. But the simple pass on and suffer for it. You know, the righteous man, the man who has prudence, he sees the evil and he says, whoa, I'm getting out of here. You know when you go to parties and people are doing things that are illegal or immoral? Is that your attitude? You say, no, thanks. Where's the door? I'm leaving. I don't want to be around when people act like that. I don't want anything to do with this. You're saying, come on, that's got to be a joke. Nobody acts like that. Nobody's so uncool as to just walk out of a party because they don't like what's going on. You got to be more suave about it. You know, you got to hang around and say, well, of course, that's not for me. But everybody's got their own choices to make. No, the Bible says, get out of there. The righteous man hides when he sees people acting like that. Proverbs 24:1 2. Be not thou envious against evil men. Neither desire to be with them, for their heart studieth oppression, and their lips talk of mischief. The book of Proverbs takes another step, says, don't simply hide from evil men. Don't envy them. Don't say, oh, I wish I could be with these people. I bet they're going to have a lot of fun when they do these things. Look at Proverbs says, don't envy evil. Don't sit back and say, boy, that looks like it would really be great. Proverbs 27:12. Take one more example here of how the book of Proverbs says, resist. A prudent man seeth the evil and hideth himself. But the simple pass on and suffer for it. What are we to do? Well, I'm going to give you some suggestions here to help you resist evil and don't consent with it. First of all, remember where evil comes from, the temptation to evil in every case. Are you listening to me? In every case, the temptation to evil comes from Satan. You say, well, these people don't have pitchforks and tails. They don't have red suits on. I know that Satan's much smarter than that. In fact, if you think that you know in your simplicity you can deal with Satan and morally resist him, boy, you're really in for a low, low, low fall. Satan is very beguiling. Satan doesn't come with the pitchfork and the red suit. He comes as an angel of light. He comes to you and friends who say, we're not going to get into any trouble. We won't get caught. It's okay. Just once, don't tell the truth here. Hey, here's a way you can get out of that contract. Your wife will never find out. No, it doesn't come with just, hey, this is going to be evil. Let's do it. It comes from Satan nevertheless. And the Bible says we are not to be unwary of his devices. Second Corinthians 2:11 says, but you are aware of the devices, and so this morning, pay attention to the devices of Satan. One of the main ways he brings us into sin is by using other people to entice us. Those who tempt us to unrighteous behavior are unwittingly perhaps, but just as truly the servants of the great tempter Satan. You know, the Bible tells us in the book of Proverbs, chapter 16, verse 29, that evil men are not content with indulging in their wickedness themselves. Proverbs 16:29. A man of violence entices his neighbor and leads him in a way that is not good. Satan takes evil men who are not content in their evil and he says they will go out and they will entice others. Because you know what happens when an evil man entices Another person into his evil, then he feels better of it. He feels it's more normal. He feels it's more justified. There's a lot of us now that are doing this. I can't be as wrong as maybe my conscience was telling me. And in response to the temptations that Satan sends to you through other people, the Bible says, remember that consenting is sin. Eve consented and she sinned. What does Acts, the eighth chapter, verse one, tell us? Saul's sin was. Stephen was being stuck. Paul wasn't throwing stones, he was holding their coats. And the Bible says he was consenting. In contrast to Joseph. Joseph is such a godly, righteous example there in the Old Testament. Here is the wife of his master who is coming on to him. And what does Joseph do? He flees the room. In fact, he leaves his outer garment in her clutches rather than to be around. Don't be a consenter, be a fleer. Flee temptation. God's law commands that we not consent to evil suggestions even when our closest family is the one who is suggesting it. In Deuteronomy, the 13th chapter, we read that if your husband or your wife or your mother, father, your children come to you, your parents come to you and suggest that you should go follow other gods. It says, do not consent with this, but rather turn them into the authorities that they might be punished. What? Turn them in? Yes. The Bible says we must develop a moral sensitivity and a strength of resisting temptation so that even our own family can't bring us down. After all, no one, as the old adage says, no one becomes a profligate at once. Becoming a profligate in your lifestyle become begins with the first lie, the first indiscretion, the first act of immorality, and it just develops from there. In the end, we have to recognize that consent to sin comes from within ourselves. James, the first chapter, verses 13 to 16, says that no man, when he is tempted, can blame it on God or other in circumstances. But a man is tempted when he is enticed by his own heart. Heart and pulled aside. See, the problem, my friends, is that you know you shouldn't listen to sinners, but you do. And the reason you do is because you're weak inside. You're weak inside. We need to develop the moral strength of a Joseph. We need to develop the pattern of saying no, saying no. Whenever we hear evil suggestions. We need to nurture and develop them in inner moral strength that is active and is ready to deal with external temptations when they arise. How are you going to do that? I started this morning's sermon by telling you knowing what is right isn't enough. I told you what is right now. I told you how to develop that. What are you going to do to develop that inner strength if you haven't got it already and none of you do? So what are you going to do about it? There's only one person I know who learned how to resist temptation. That's Jesus. Matthew the fourth chapter shows us Jesus in the worst of conditions. He's fasted for 40 days and there's Satan saying, you want some bread? Here's Jesus contemplating a life of suffering and going to the cross to win the kingdoms of the world. Satan says, I'll give them to you, shortcut. Bow down to me and they're yours. What does Jesus do when he's tempted? Oh, don't make fun of these words. These words are so important, so wise. Jesus says, get behind me Satan, you're standing in my way. Satan needs to be resisted in the power of Jesus Christ. And there's only one way that you can achieve that is that coming to him and saying, christ, live within me, live through me. Make your spirit the power of my life. Psalm 119, verse 115 says, Depart from me you evildoers, that I may keep the commandments of my God. If we can learn in the power of Jesus Christ to resist evil companions to put them behind us even as we say to the one who inspires them to Satan, get thou behind me, then we can keep the commandments of our God. It will not come in our own strength. We have too often failed. It will come only by the saving mercies of Jesus Christ. Well, what's it going to be for you this morning? Shortsightedness, foolishness and the allurements of sin? Or will you bow the knee to Jesus Christ and say, I need your strength to teach me to say no to Satan. Two paths. The one has a short promise of happiness and the other a true, enduring and eternal promise of your own well being. Don't be a fool. Let's pray. Lord, take away our foolishness. Help us to put Satan behind us and all those servants of Satan that would tempt us. Teach us, as socially unpopular as it may be, teach us to say no to get out of sin's way, to not even come close, to not walk with people who are interested in bringing us down morally. Teach us to have that inner strength that will not listen and be persuaded by the enticements of sinners. Correct our hearts better, Lord give us new hearts. Take away those hearts that are so prone to sin. And by your Holy Spirit, make us new people. New people who know the wisdom of Jesus Christ and want to live in the power of the Savior. People who know the forgiving mercies of the Son of God and wish for him to be our guide. That we might listen to his wisdom and follow in his paths and please him not just for this life, but for the life which is to come as well. O God, take away our foolishness and our love of sinning. Help us not to yield to temptation. For we pray in the name of our all powerful Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.