Proverbs 14:12,14,16,18 NASB1995
Proverbs 14:12: “There is a way which seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.”
A way that seems right to someone does not necessarily have to be a way that they believe is right, just, and moral. It just means that they are content with the way that they are living, and either they do not care that the Bible says they will end up in hell, if that is how they choose to live, or they rationalize their way around that so that they convince themselves that God will not judge them for their sinful lifestyles (practices).
Proverbs 14:14: “The backslider in heart will have his fill of his own ways, but a good man will be satisfied with his.”
What or who is a backslider? They who backslide are those who renounce and abandon both what they previously professed as truth and the one they claimed to follow. They once professed faith in Jesus Christ, acknowledged their sin, and asked for forgiveness, and began to do the kinds of things that Christians should normally do. But then they turned away and returned to their vomit, and went back to living in sin, and no longer live to please God.
And now they live for self and for self-pleasure, and not for God, and not in accord with the teachings of the Scriptures. For their desire is for their sin and not for God, because sin now has mastery over their lives. And if that is where they remain, and they do not repent and turn back to God, and they do not renounce their sin and now obey God and his commands, then they will not have salvation from sin nor eternal life with God, God’s word says.
[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; Galatians 5:16-24; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32; Ephesians 5:3-6; Titus 2:11-14; 1 John 1:1-10; 1 John 2:1-6; 1 John 3:4-10; Acts 26:18]
Proverbs 14:16,18: “A wise man is cautious and turns away from evil, but a fool is arrogant and careless.” “The naive inherit foolishness, but the sensible are crowned with knowledge.”
The ones who have made a way for themselves, which is not the way of righteousness, holiness, and obedience to God, and who have turned away from the Lord after professing to believe in Jesus Christ, and who are foolish and arrogant and careless in how they conduct their lives, are the opposite of the wise, the cautious, and the sensible who turn away from evil to follow Jesus Christ in walks of surrender to him in obedience to his commands.
For the wise who follow Jesus in obedience understand what the Scriptures teach. And they believe God. And they take God and his Word seriously to obey them. For they love God, and they want to obey him. They want to live for him. And they believe that if we go the way of our own flesh, doing what our own hearts desire, and if God’s word is not what we obey, that we will not have salvation from sin, and we will not have eternal life with God.
[John 10:27-30; Romans 2:5-10; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10,19-20; 2 Corinthians 5:10,15,21; Galatians 6:7-8; Colossians 1:21-23; Colossians 3:1-17; Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 4:1-13; Hebrews 10:19-39; 1 Peter 2:24]
So, be wise, and obey God, and be not foolish and end up in hell.
As the Deer
By Martin J. Nystrom
Based off Psalm 42:1
As the deer panteth for the water
So my soul longeth after You
You alone are my heart’s desire
And I long to worship You
You alone are my strength, my shield
To You alone may my spirit yield
You alone are my heart’s desire
And I long to worship You
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Be Wise. Don’t Be Foolish.
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