Dr Greg Bahnsen - Proverbs: Proverbs 10:17 (Ignoring Rebuke is a Deadly Mistake) (Part 34)

Please join me in turning to Proverbs, the tenth chapter this morning. We take as our verse for consideration verse 17 and a number of others of similar import throughout the book. But for our text, we'll read this morning Proverbs 10:17. Hear now God's word. He is in the way of life that heeds correction. But he that forsaketh reproof, erreth, and thus far the reading of God's word. It doesn't seem like a very long reading. It doesn't seem like it's very much to consider. One might imagine that we should go on and on, maybe pack in a few more paragraphs so that we'd have enough to look at to fill our time this morning. But I want to guarantee you that what we've looked at already in just this very short reading is way more than we can really take, even in one day's sermon. The book of Proverbs suggests to us, to put it very simply, that those who cannot take criticism, those who cannot take criticism are not cut out to be Christians. What would you ask for if you could have anything at all in the world? We've played that game before, haven't we? We've talked about how we should ask for wisdom if we had one choice. That's what Solomon asked for. Well, what if I were to tell you, though, that a life of wisdom means a life of criticism, A life of listening to rebuke and needing to respond to it, and submitting to those corrections of life that God has given to us in any number of ways in which they come, be they through the Word and our reading, be they through our conscience or through our friends or from our church or from those who are over us in life, be it at work or in state or whatever else in our social relationships. What if a life of wisdom meant a life of grief, listening to the things you've done wrong and having to correct them? Would you then choose wisdom? I'm afraid we wouldn't choose wisdom, first and foremost, even without that. But now we learn that a life of wisdom is a life of heeding rebuke, so that those who cannot take criticism, in all honesty, we must confess to be not fit to be God's people. Proverbs persistently makes teachability the mark of wisdom. There are others as well. I don't want to be simplistic and to reduce it to just that, but I would say that it's a leading mark. It's a salient mark when you find in yourself an unwillingness to Hear what you have done wrong and an unwillingness to be corrected, then you're going to have to confess that you are lacking wisdom. As the Bible understands it, a wise man is not necessarily a man who is morally perfect. A wise man is a man who recognizes his position before God and is willing to make the changes necessary. Proverbs 12:1 turn to that with me this morning. We there read, whoso loveth correction, loveth knowledge. But he that hateth reproof is brutish. The word brutish is not commonly used in our parlance, and so it's easy to overlook that a brutish man is one who doesn't have the normal human sensitivity, if you will. He acts like a brute, he's more like an animal than he is like a human being. And the book of Proverbs says that someone who hates reproof is insensitive to human qualities. He's brutish. He doesn't really show what makes a man a man. And so if you think that you are above criticism, then very likely you are too brutish to deserve criticism. Think about that for a minute. Deserving criticism. Not everyone deserves to be criticized. And so when you want to put yourself in a position that is beyond criticism, remember what position you're putting yourself in as the brutish man, the one you see who lacks that sensitivity that makes people human, that sets them above the animals, that gives them a dignity as made in the image of God. The man who doesn't want to be criticized does not deserve to be criticized. Proverbs 13:1 begins in a similar way. A wise son hears his father's instruction, but a scoffer heareth not rebuke. The measure for determining whether you are wise or whether you are scoffing is precisely do you heed instruction and rebuke? And I want to emphasize that word heed. It is not enough simply to hear the criticism. It's probably true that many of us have made a great deal of progress in our spiritual life. If we're willing to let people speak to us critically, we're willing to hear it. There are some, you see, who won't have anything of it. They'll avoid it at any cost. They don't want to hear it if you bring it to them, and that's not at all good. But you see, hearing it is not nearly enough. Hearing it just begins the process of transformation and reformation. We need to heed the rebuke and the instruction, the correction we receive. And if we do, we are a wise son that can hear a father's instruction, but those who scoff, they don't hear a rebuke. The ability to heed correction, I think this verse suggests, begins at home. It's a wise son that hears a father's instruction or correction. And when that ability to take correction is not seen in the home, when it's not displayed first and foremost in our relationship to our parents, then we are very likely on the road that will lead to being an insufferable fool in all other social circles. You show me someone who at work, wherever it may be, you show me someone who at work cannot be corrected by his superiors. You show me someone who cannot take encouragement and instruction that would correct his ways from a fellow worker. And I dare say you, you're going to find someone who was not willing to listen to his parents at home either. See, we don't, as much as we may think we do. We don't draw those category distinctions very practically and sharply. That, well, home is one thing, work is another, school is another, church is another. Because, you see, what you take into the home and into work and into church is the same heart. And when you have a heart that is not humble enough to receive instruction, that's the heart that we see at home first and foremost, I think, and everywhere else as well. A wise son listens to a father's instruction. And when you cannot display that wisdom there, then I suggest that you are on the road to being a scoffer, one who just cannot hear a rebuke. If you go down a few verses in Proverbs 13 to the 8th, you will see something of the irony in God's way of conducting our affairs in history, the irony in the way that shame and honor are distributed in this life. If we did not read something like Proverbs 13:8, we would probably imagine the person who does not need to be corrected. He's the honorable man. He's the one who's going to get praise. The one who is going to be shamed is the one who's made mistakes, the one who has to be corrected. That's our natural way of thinking. But God, you see, often, often counters our natural ways of thought. And there's a strange, ironic twist in this. In Proverbs 13:8, we read the ransom. Well, that isn't the verse I want, is it? It's 18. Pardon me if any of you have read 8 and said, now what's he talking about? The 18th verse. Poverty and shame shall be to him that refuses correction. But he that regardeth reproof shall be honored. You see, we've got it backwards. We think when a man's done something wrong and he needs to be corrected, then shame will be upon him. The man who doesn't have to be corrected, then he'll be honored. Wrong. The man who listens to reproof, having been in the wrong position, having done the wrong thing, said the wrong thing, the man who hears that and is willing to be corrected, that's the honorable man. That's the man people respect. That's the man who has integrity, the one who will not receive that, who refuses correction because he thinks if he is going to be corrected, that it will bring him down. As a matter of fact, he's already brought himself down. And so poverty and shame will be upon him. And so, would you be honored? Be humble? Would you be honored? Admit you make mistakes. Would you be honored? Be willing to be corrected and to confess your sin. If you want shame, then think that you're above it. Refuse it. Defend yourself at all costs. Rationalize, avoid, do anything you can so that you don't have to admit that you've made any kind of a mistake. Proverbs 15:5. A fool despises his father's correction, but he that regards reproof gets prudence. When reproof comes from someone in authority over you, do you regard it or do you despise it? Proverbs says that the answer to that question is going to determine whether you are a prudent person or whether you're a fool. A fool will not even hear his father's correction. But he that regards reproof will get prudence. Sometimes we may be all the more resistant to criticism from those who are over us in this world. Maybe we think a lot more rides on it. Maybe we're all the more adamant to maintain our reputation. I don't know exactly or in general terms why that is. But sometimes a friend comes to us, a peer, if you will, someone on our same level. We might listen. But when someone who is above us starts asserting that authority, then we resist. Our sinful nature is there. We don't like that imposition, and we aren't very prudent people. It's the fool who despises his father's correction and not regarding it will never reach a position of prudence. Proverbs 15:12. A scoffer loves not to be reproved. He will not go unto the wise. Boy, what a stinging verse. You know someone that's got the goods on you? You know someone that you're embarrassed to face because he's seen you or knows you or heard you and you're wrong, then you avoid him. We just make sure we're not in the same room or we have to end up talking to that person. A very good example of this very thing is found in the case of King Ahab of Israel. I think I've told you about Ahab's story before. It's one of my favorites. In the Old Testament, Ahab was king of Israel, Jehoshaphat, king of Judah. Ahab decided he wanted to go up to Ramoth, Gilead, and to recover it for the people of God. He asked Jehoshaphat to go with him into this battle. Jehoshaphat, however, was, for the most part, one of the godly kings of Judah. Ahab was the most wicked king of Israel. In fact, so wicked that later, if you read on in God's word, you're going to see how God wipes out Ahab's entire family. And not a person will be left alive, lest the people of God continue to suffer under the scourge of the wickedness of that family. But Ahab's a wicked man wanting to go to war. Jehoshaphat, a godly man, saying, why is he in league with Ahab? That's probably not so good. But Jehoshaphat nevertheless shows his own heart. He says, ahab, don't you think before we go up to war we should inquire of the Lord? Ahab says, oh, yeah, we can do that. I got plenty of prophets bring them in. And he brings in the court prophets and the court prophets, you know, they start doing their little dance. You know, they put their iron bars up and they say, you're going to be like a bull who pushes, you know, your enemies around and so forth. And, oh, yeah, Ahab, go up. The battle is yours. Joshua watches this, you know, and he says, I don't know, Ahab. You got any more prophets have anything else to say? Ahab says, oh, yeah? Well, there's one more. This Micaiah. I can't stand Micaiah. He never says anything good about me. Well, where's Micaiah? Why put him in prison? I don't want that guy running around saying bad things. Joshua says, why don't we ask Micaiah to come here, see what he has to say. Micaiah, he knows how to play this situation. You know, he doesn't walk in there and he's. And just overlook what's going on. Micaiah comes in and puts on a real, real stilted act. He goes, oh, of course, Ahab. Go up and fight. You're going to win. Hasn't everyone said so? It's got to be true. And Ahab himself says, you're not telling me the truth. You're putting on an act. Micaiah says, you want to know what the word of the Lord is? You're going to die in battle. You've made a real mistake, Ahab, for what the Lord tells me. That I must say. You see, that's why Micaiah was not liked, because Micaiah would tell the truth. Micaiah would criticize. And there was plenty to criticize in Ahab's life. And so Ahab made sure he'd never run into him. Just as our verse before us tells us, a scoffer loves not to be reproved. He will not go to the wise, wise Micaiah, he'll throw in prison rather than have to listen to that. And you know what? Congregations act like that sometimes, too. It's not just Ahab who wants to pick and choose which prophets are going to come talk to him so that he makes sure he hears what he wants. Congregations of the Christian church do precisely the same thing very often in second Timothy, the fourth chapter, verses three and four. I think you need to notice what Paul says to Timothy about this tendency. Second Timothy 4, 3, 4. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but having itching ears, will heap to themselves teachers after their own lust, and will turn away their ears from the truth, and turn aside unto fables. Paul says, timothy, you need to realize there are going to be those who want to heap up to themselves teachers after their own desires. There are going to be congregations that want to go window shopping for a preacher who will say the right things. The same way that they choose their clothing to fit their lust or desires, so they'll choose a preacher to fit their desires. They want someone who's not going to get into touchy areas. They want someone who's not going to step on toes. They're going to want someone who is not going to preach controversial doctrine. They cannot endure that. And so they'll heap up to themselves a preacher, preachers and teachers that are after their own desires. In Galatians 4:16, you may remember, Paul has been rebuking the congregation at Galatia. And Paul must know their spirit. He must know the kind of people they are. He says in verse 16 of chapter 4, so then am I become your enemy by telling you the truth. Paul says, I worry that you're going to respond that way, that if I come to you and I say, hey, this is wrong, this is soul damning, you're in trouble, change, repent, turn around, be reformed, that you're going to consider me an enemy. Paul says, but I'm not your enemy by telling you the truth. You see, it's your enemy who wants to lie to you. It's your enemy who wants you to keep going down the wrong road. It's a friend that stands in the way and says, no, don't do this anymore. A scoffer doesn't love to be reproved. He won't go to the wise. He won't ask for a counselor that will tell him the truth. He doesn't want a preacher who's going to step on toes like Ahab of old. He'll say, I'll just choose the prophecies I want to hear. Thank you. You know the interesting thing? Micaiah told him what was going to take place, and Ahab went up to battle anyway. Talk about being brutish and insensitive. Talk about being stupid in the literal sense of the word stupid. Ahab says, well, I don't want to hear this, because this prophet of God always says these bad things. And once he hears what's going to happen, he goes up to battle anyway. Well, Proverbs 15:31,33 continues to instruct us in this area. The ear that hearkens to the reproof of life shall abide among the wise. He that refuses correction despises his own soul. But he that hearkens to reproof gets understanding. The fear of Jehovah is the instruction of wisdom. And before honor goes humility. To gain understanding and to abide among the wise, you must hearken to reproof. And if you will not do that, Proverbs says, you know, you really hate yourself. I just want to give my own word of testimony as a counselor about that. I think that's very true. I find it's a correlation that you can almost count on that when you talk to someone who is really unwilling to be corrected, you'll find they also don't like themselves very much. Ironic, isn't it? I guess it's because they don't like themselves very much. They don't want others to participate in the same. They don't want to be criticized. So they defend themselves to the hilt, rationalize and just will not receive counsel. Well, whether they show that in a psychological sense or not, the Bible says they really do hate their souls. They hate themselves when they will not take correction. So remember that the life of wisdom that we're supposed to be praying for, the life of wisdom that we're supposed to choose above all else. That life of wisdom is not a flattering life, and it's not a convenient life. It's not an easy life. It can be an arduous life. And of all things, humiliating. Before honor goes humility. If you're unwilling to be brought low and abased, if you're unwilling to be criticized, if you're unwilling to make correction, you'll never abide with the wise. Proverbs 17:10. A rebuke enters deeper into one that has understanding than a hundred stripes into a fool. An understanding person receives a rebuke deep within himself. Our idiom, I think, would be he takes it to heart. It really sinks in. But now with a fool, you can beat a fool over and over again and won't get anywhere past his body. Proverbs 18:1. He that separateth himself seeks pretext and rages against all sound wisdom. There's a textual variant here, and so some of your translations may not have that. Having studied it, I do believe that the Septuagint tradition here is the correct one, although the verse is striking either way. Proverbs 18:1 tells us that the person who separates himself is a person who's always seeking pretext for what he's doing. You know, a person who does that, who always wants to give you a different pretext for what he's done, always put it in the best light, always cover for himself. That's the person you can count on that when criticism comes that he can't avoid, he'll separate himself. Now, that stands for reason. You can all understand that, can't you? A person who is seeking pretext is trying to cover himself, and so when he can't, then he's going to take off. And sadly, our session would testify that that often is what takes place. We have people who can come up with excuse after excuse after excuse, pretext after pretext after pretext. But once you have tracked them down and there's no more excuses and the evidence is so dead set against them, then all of a sudden they don't want to be a member of your church anymore. They don't want you to come out and talk to them. They don't want to deal with these issues anymore. And it's not just people who leave the church and want to despise authority. We're all like that we want to separate ourselves, as we said earlier. We don't want to go to someone who has the goods on us. This sort of person rages against all sound wisdom we read. He'd rather break a friendship, rather break an association, than have to submit to correction. Proverbs 19:20 Hear counsel and receive instruction, that thou mayest be wise in thy latter end. That's a rather straightforward moral imperative from God. God says right out commands you to hear counsel. He commands you to receive instruction. God commands us to be open to counseling and correction. And we're reminded that's the only genuine way to attain wisdom at the latter end. Well, we live in a world of instant things, don't we? Instant pudding and instant coffee. An instant relief if you take the right medication. But there isn't any instant wisdom available. Wisdom is something that you attain. It's something that comes at your latter end. And if you're ever going to reach that, if you're ever going to get to the point of having gained the wisdom that we say we want, you're going to have to be willing to hear counsel and correction. Proverbs 19:25 27 Smite a scoffer, and the simple will learn prudence. Reprove one that has understanding, and he will understand knowledge. Cease, my son, to hear instruction, only to err from the words of knowledge. Ask yourself which category you fall into here. Do you have a closed mind, an empty mind, or an open mind? Verse 25 Smite a scoffer, someone with a closed mind, and even the person with an empty mind. The simple going to learn something from it. Reprove one that has understanding, has an open mind, and he will understand knowledge. Don't minimize the consequence of ceasing to hear instruction. Don't think, well, that's just one more of those many good moral points that the pastor calls us to. And I guess if I haven't got it, that's really too bad. And you know, what can you make of that? Well, here's what we can make of it. You haven't got prudence, you haven't got an open heart, and you aren't right with God. This is not to be trifled with. If you show forth the traits of unteachability. Proverbs 21:11. When the scoffer is punished, the simple is made wise. And when the wise is instructed, he receives knowledge. The simpleton, you see, needs to be startled into wisdom by the punishment of a bad spirited fool. There are people, you see, who won't wake up who won't pay attention until the punishment comes down. They go, oh, boy, this is really serious. I guess I'd better start thinking about this. But wise people don't need that. A simple word to the wise will instruct them. What's it take to get your attention? When do you start paying attention to the reproofs of God's word? When you see someone disciplined in church, finally you see someone lose his job because of things that he's doing wrong. What's it take? Are you the sort of person that someone can come and give just a passing piece of advice and instruction, and you take it to heart? Proverbs 29:19. A servant will not be corrected by words, for though he understand, he will not give heed. I think what we're being told in this last passage is that the slave mentality is characterized by irresponsibility. If you don't pay heed when you're given instruction, you're acting like a slave. You have a mentality of someone who won't think for himself, who won't be corrected, has to be beaten with rods to get him to do the right thing. Well, so Proverbs I say, to repeat my point, persistently makes teachability a mark of wisdom. Over and over and over again, all these passages we've looked at, and I want to add to that now, that openness to rebuke is a serious matter. It's a serious matter of life and death. Proverbs 29:1. He that being often reproved, hardeneth his neck shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy. This is a very serious matter. The Bible says, when you become incorrigible under correction, you know what an incorrigible person is. It's very well described person who hardens his neck. Here's someone who you lay the rod of reproof upon his back, and he hardens up, and he hardens up, and he hardens up. And he's not going to take it. And so he doesn't get corrected, he won't be turned around, and he can't be reformed. He is incorrigible. And when you become like that, what hope can there be for you? When the corrections of this life will not turn you around, what will? Is there any hope for a person? No. He will suddenly be destroyed. Without remedy. People can harden their hearts to the point that it cannot be changed. The only thing left for God to do is to break their heart, and he will. You see how serious this is? Destruction is unavoidable in a Moral universe. When you harden your neck against instruction, God will destroy those who cannot be corrected. Proverbs 15:10. This is a matter of life and death, friends. There is grievous correction for him that forsakes the way, and he that hates reproof shall die. Those who forsake the right way will find correction grievous, a burden that's just too much to bear, and thus their condition threatens to harden into what is being described in the second half of this verse. In the second half of this verse, we read that to be unteachable is to ask for death. We live in a moral universe, and when our character is not such that we will be reformed when proper correction comes to us. In a moral universe, you are asking for death, not life. God will not reward your incorrigibility. God will not look down and say, well, of course to err is human. I've got to let him by. God will say, he who hardens his neck shall be destroyed. You're asking for death if you're unteachable. Those who most need criticism seem to be the least patient in receiving it. That's a dangerous, dangerous condition to fall into. When you get to the point that you don't want that criticism, you'd better worry that perhaps your heart is being hardened to the point where you will never receive criticism, you will never be humbled, and never have a place with God. And so then, finally, at the end of this exhortation, we come to our text for this morning with all of this as background. The persistence of the message of Proverbs that wisdom is marked by teachability and the fact that this is a serious matter of life and death. Proverbs the tenth chapter, verse 17, says, he is in the way of life that heeds correction, but he that forsakes reproof earth. It's a grave mistake to forsake correction, refusing to heed a rebuke that you have coming. Because when you refuse to heed the rebuke that you have coming, you have taken yourself out of the way which leads to life again. The irony of God. You want to be honored? Humble yourself. Take criticism. You want life. Be willing to be corrected, Generally to the kind of personality that we have. What kind of person are you? How are you known to people? And I want to expand this beyond the church, although the Church's judgment and your Christian friend's judgment is far more important. But, I mean, how about those outside the faith, too? How does the unbelieving world see you? Do they see you as someone who's just so self centered or so proud that you cannot be corrected. Or are you seen as someone who is humble and is willing to be shown the right way and knows that you're going to be making mistakes and thanks people for correcting you? What kind of general personality do you have? This applies within the family too. I want to speak to you sons and daughters. What kinds of sons and daughters are you? Do you listen to your parents? Are you willing to heed their instruction? Do you acknowledge that you do make mistakes? Do you stop making excuses for what you do and say, thank you mom and dad for loving me enough to show me the right way, for not letting me get away with those things that are damaging to my soul and spirit? Is that your outlook on parental discipline? If it isn't, I tell you, you've got a bad life ahead for you. Because if you can't receive instruction in the home, as I've said earlier, you will not receive it outside the home either. And this applies within the church too. Do you hear the rebuke of your shepherds? I want to tell you it's not fun to be a shepherd. It's not fun to have to go and talk to people about what's going wrong in our session. And I believe any true and godly session anywhere, you're going to find. We much rather interview people for church membership and go out and help them solve their problems and see the kingdom grow and do works of mercy and evangelism. All that's positive and good. But being ashamed shepherd involves not simply those sorts of things, but involves that little rounded end of the shepherd's crook as well, where you take someone by the neck and pull them back into the right way. A good shepherd does that to the sheep. But you know where sheep are animals and may not think about it and they have to put up with it. People who are supposed to be more sheep like, I guess they don't act like that. They often harden their neck and they don't want you to do that sort of thing. I just want you to think of the progressive deterioration that we see in cases of church discipline. Not always God by his grace, sometimes breaks people and humbles them and brings them around by church discipline. But often church discipline is exactly the test that shows the mettle of a person spiritually. And when you go to a person, let me give you an illustration. If you go to a person over two or three years exhortation, cautiously, humbly, charitably, but consistently exhort to Stop doing a certain thing to start looking at the way this person is coming across to others or how he or she is affecting the congregation. And over and over again look for some change. And then finally it gets to the point where you say, well, if you're not going to change, we must now start warning you, we must rebuke you. We must say that eventually it's going to have to come to charges against you. And you see that person continue, if not immediately go right back to that kind of behavior. And then you have a trial of that person and the merits of the case are laid out. And you can even have people outside the church, other objective presbyters and shepherds, come in and show this person this is wrong. It just cannot proceed in this way. And that person will not hear a rebuke that I'm telling you that the excommunication that comes is absolutely necessary because that person shows that he or she does not have a heart that is right with God because it is not right with God's people, as Jesus says. And if he will not hear the church, let him be unto you a heathen and a tax gatherer. You see how important it is to have a teachable spirit. If you don't, when your shepherds come, you may be on that road as well. And of course, this applies to those in authority as well. You know, sometimes we aren't always at the bottom of the heap. God brings us up and gives us a little authority in life. It may be at work, it may be at school, it may be in the church. You may actually rise to a position of ordained office in the church. You too, though you have people under your authority, you are under authority, and you are never going to be in a position where you're not. I think of the case of a session that wants to put itself in a position where it never has to answer to anybody else, never has to be told it's wrong, never have to say, okay, let's go back and do it, because we didn't do this in the correct way. And what happens is, I've seen it in my own experience, is that session hardens itself to the point where it is no longer, no longer to be deemed a true church of Christ, because Christ doesn't have shepherds who act like that. Oh, this is a serious matter. And it applies throughout life, to our personalities in general, to our family life, to our church life, to when we get positions of authority. And of course, finally, I think it applies most seriously to our eternal destiny. If you Started out down the wrong path in any of the ways that I've spoken of above. Now, what can your ultimate destination prove to be, do you think? You see, you're not in the way of life. Proverbs says unteachability is finally a reflection of your attitude toward and your standing with God. Christian faith is impossible for a person who will not take correction. And you know why that is? If I can close this out this morning, it's because Christian faith begins with that very simple concept that's called confession. If there's no confession, there's no true faith. That's why our confession of faith tells us that the preaching of repentance is absolutely necessary. If people will not repent, they don't truly have faith in Jesus Christ. What does that faith in Jesus mean, if you will not admit that you're wrong? It means, hey, I'm going along pretty well. God, I'm glad to take a little boost spiritually from Jesus. What does it mean to have faith in Jesus? If that faith doesn't begin with repentance, does it mean? Well, Jesus is a good moral instructor and I'm glad to listen to him. No, Jesus is a savior. A savior of whom? Sinners. And not just any sinner. Because Jesus said, of course there are those who are so self righteous they don't think they need a physician. And you know what? He doesn't heal those who don't see their need for healing. And so Christian faith begins with confession. The word in Greek for confession means to say the same thing. You know, when we confess our sins. This may surprise some of you. When we confess our sins, we're not giving any information to God. We're not telling him anything he doesn't know. So get that idea of confession out of your mind. We don't go to God and say, God, you probably didn't see this, but I told a lie today and I'm real sorry about it. No, when you confess your sin, you're confessing what God already knows and confessing it to be what he says it is. And you confess that it's sin, that it's unclean, and that it alienates you from God. And if you cannot humble yourself to take that criticism, then you're not on the road to life. If you will not repent and will not confess, the Christian faith is not for you. Let's pray. Father, break our hearts this morning so that you won't have to break our necks. Help us to see ourselves honestly. Help us, Father, not right now. To start making excuses for the things that we know are wrong in our lives. Help us not to excuse our unteachability. Help us not to look at someone else in this congregation or in our families or among our associates and say, boy, that sermon applied to them, God, apply it to us. Drive it home to our hearts, make our hearts pliable that we might cry out confessing to you, you're right, we're wrong, God, we're sinful. And our only hope is in the provision you've given us in your son, Jesus Christ. And were it not for that mercy, we would be humbled to the point of despair. But instead, now, this morning, we can be humbled to the point of joy to know that if we will confess our sins, you are faithful and just, to forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Give us that cleansing we pray for we trust not in any goodness in ourselves, but trust only in the merits and in the mercy of our Savior Jesus Christ, in whose name we pray. Amen.