PROVERBS 12
Wisdom of Solomon verse 1- 28
Whoso loves instruction loves knowledge verse 1
BUT he that hates reproof is brutish
– TEACHING
A GOOD man obtains favor of the LORD verse 2
BUT a man of WICKED devices will HE condemn
– WICKED & RIGHTEOUS
A man shall not be established by wickedness verse 3
BUT the ROOT of the RIGHTEOUS shall not be moved
– WICKED & RIGHTEOUS
A VIRTUOUS WOMAN is a crown to her husband verse 4
BUT she that makes ashamed is as rottenness in his bones
– MARRIAGE
The thought of the RIGHTEOUS are right verse 5
BUT the counsels of the WICKED are deceit
– WICKED & RIGHTEOUS
The words of the WICKED are to lie in wait for blood verse 6
BUT the mouth of the UPRIGHT shall deliver them
– MOUTH & WICKED & RIGHTEOUS
The WICKED are overthrown and are not verse 7
BUT the house of the RIGHTEOUS shall stand
– WICKED & RIGHTEOUS
A man shall be commended according to his wisdom verse 8
BUT He that is of a PERVERSE heart shall be despised
– RIGHTEOUS & WICKED
He that is despised and has a servant verse 9
is better than he that honors himself and lacks bread
– MONEY
A RIGHTEOUS man regards the life of his beast verse 10
BUT the tender mercies of the WICKED are cruel
– RIGHTEOUS & WICKED
He that tills his land shall be satisfied with bread verse 11
BUT he that follows VAIN persons is void of understanding
– WORK ETHIC
The WICKED desires the net of EVIL men verse 12
BUT the ROOT of the RIGHTEOUS yields fruit
– WORK ETHIC
The WICKED is snared
by the transgressions of his lips verse 13
BUT the JUST shall come out of trouble
– MOUTH & WICKED & RIGHTEOUS
A man shall be satisfied with good
by the fruit of his mouth verse 14
AND the recompense of a man’s hands shall be rendered unto him
– MOUTH & WORK ETHIC
The way of a FOOL is right in his own eyes verse 15
BUT he that hearkens unto counsel is WISE
– WICKED & RIGHTEOUS
A FOOL’S wrath is presently known verse 16
BUT a PRUDENT man covers shame
– WICKED & RIGHTEOUS
He that speaks truth shows forth righteousness verse 17
BUT a false witness deceit
– RIGHTEOUS & WICKED
There is that speaks like the piercings of a sword verse 18
BUT the tongue of the WISE is health
– TONGUE
The lip of TRUTH shall be established for ever verse 19
BUT a LYING tongue is but for a moment
– TONGUE
Deceit is in the heart of them that imagine EVIL verse 20
BUT to the counselors of PEACE is joy
– WICKED & RIGHTEOUS
There shall no EVIL happen to the JUST verse 21
BUT the WICKED shall be filled with mischief
– WICKED & RIGHTEOUS
LYING lips are abomination to the LORD verse 22
BUT they that deal TRULY are HIS delight
– TONGUE
A PRUDENT man conceals knowledge verse 23
BUT the heart of FOOLS proclaims foolishness
– WICKED & RIGHTEOUS
The hand of the DILIGENT shall bear rule verse 24
BUT the SLOTHFUL shall be under tribute
– LAZINESS & WORK ETHIC
Heaviness in the heart of man makes it stoop verse 25
BUT a GOOD WORD makes it GLAD
– MOUTH
The RIGHTEOUS is more excellent than his neighbor verse 26
BUT the way of the WICKED seduces them
– WICKED & RIGHTEOUS
The SLOTHFUL man roasts not that which he took
in hunting verse 27
BUT the substance of a DILIGENT man is PRECIOUS
– LAZINESS & WORK ETHIC
In the way of RIGHTEOUSNESS is LIFE verse 28
AND in the pathway thereof there is no death
– RIGHTEOUS
DAILY SPIRITUAL BREAKFAST: Young Believers
: 1 Whoso loves instruction loves knowledge: but he that hates reproof is brutish. (1198 “brutish” [ba’ar] means stupidity, foolish, stubborn or senseless.)
DEVOTION: One of the facts of life is that some people are not teachable. It is not in their nature to listen to anyone. They are always right. They know everything.
I have met individuals who say they want help but they don’t listen to counsel and do their own thing. They come back for more counsel but then again do their own thing. Many counselors will tell you that they will never learn.
Here Solomon is instructing his son not to be one who doesn’t want correction. All of us need correction at one time or another in our life. All of us have areas that we are weak in whether it is in book knowledge or practical knowledge.
Correction is part of the Christian life. All Christians are called to a ministry of reconciliation. Every Christian sins. Every Christian needs to confess their sin and God is faithful and just to forgive their sins. Once an individual is a genuine believer the sin question is answered but the fellowship question is ongoing.
Remember as Paul states that those who don’t examine themselves will have sickness, weakness and premature death as a consequence. The Apostle John tells us in I John that there is a sin unto death for a believer. Our responsibility is to learn all we can and apply what we learn and tell others. We have to be lovers of truth. We have to be willing to be corrected. We cannot be stubborn or foolish.
CHALLENGE: We are to be students/teachers who are hearing the voice of God daily. Then applying it to our life and finally sharing what we learn with others.)
DAILY SPIRITUAL LUNCH: Transitional Believers
: 2 A good man obtains favor of the LORD: but a man of wicked devices will HE condemn. (2896 “good” [towb] means desirable, efficient, pleasant, agreeable, better, excellent, better (comparative), a person who is good to other people or usable.)
DEVOTION: If most people are asked “Are you good?” would answer that they are good. However, our understanding of good and God’s understanding of good are two different things.
One who is good in the sight of the LORD are those who try to honor HIM in all they say and do. It is their goal each morning to go out of their house to help those who need help and especially to help others to come to know the LORD in a genuine way that will cause them to serve HIM while they are on this earth and will spend eternity in heaven will all those who are genuine believers in Jesus Christ.
So when we read good it doesn’t mean that we are sinless but that we are keeping short accounts with the LORD and asking HIM for help each day of our lives to give honor and glory to HIM.
We all fail at times but then we confess our sins and ask for forgiveness and move forward with an attitude of service to HIM. We understand that we will never be perfect but we will be forgiven. With that in mind we try each day to look to HIM for guidance and when we fail we confess and move on with the knowledge that HE loves us and will help us to be more consistent in our growth in HIM.
Those who fall into the category of “wicked” are those who have no desire in serving the LORD or confessing their sins to HIM because they see no need of doing that and they see no need to be good to others but to get what they can from others while they are alive.
God knows our attitude toward HIM and HE disciplines those who are trying to follow HIM for the purpose of our growth in our Christian life.
CHALLENGE: God knows our hearts and actions. Our goal needs to honor HIM every moment of every day or confess our sin and ask for HIS forgiveness and guidance from that point on.
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: 3 A man shall not be established by wickedness: but the root of the righteous shall not be moved. (8328 “root” [sheresh] means bottom, source, deep, heel, family, firmness, or permanence.
DEVOTION: This chapter is a continuation of Solomon’s instructions to his son. He continues to deal with the difference between the wicked and the righteous. He deals with the use of the tongue. He deals with their work ethic. He deals with the use of money.
This verse gives us an illustration of the importance of family. The wicked don’t have a firm foundation to stand on. Wickedness does not prepare those who live by it for life. Their life is never stable.
However, those who are in the family of God have a firm foundation under them. Their family tree has a good source of nourishment. With the proper nourishment the tree grows strong and can face any weather that comes its way. Each generation is a new generation either for good or for evil. Godly parents have the responsibility to train their children the best they can even if they didn’t have a godly parent. Then those who train their children properly in the ways of the LORD need to help their children train their grandchildren in the ways of the LORD. If we can reach a third generation with the way of the LORD it is even greater. Start with your generation and move forward for the glory of the LORD.
This is also true of those who receive their nourishment from the LORD. When the storms of life come, they can stand firm. We know that there are two kinds of foundations talked about in Scripture.
There is a wise man who built his house upon a rock and there is a foolish man who built his house upon the sand. This verse is connected to verse twelve. Both verses talk about a firmness of the righteous. This firmness is only found in Jesus Christ. All other types of foundation are sinking sand.
When a follower of God is described, he is said to have a good foundation. Our roots need to go deep. Are we building good teaching on our foundation of Jesus Christ? The church today is wandering into the world more than into the Word of God. Don’t follow a church that is wandering away from the Word of God. There is nothing new under the sun.
The established doctrines of the church need to be followed as long as they are based on the Word of God. We don’t need to start over again from scratch like some seem to teach. This devotional lists the basic doctrines of the faith. Once the Bible is covered you will have a Biblical Theology that you can turn into a Systemic Theology.
CHALLENGE: Don’t just learn theology to look smart. Learn it to be Godly. Good doctrine/theology helps us to know the LORD better.
DAILY SPIRITUAL SUPPER: Mature Believers
: 16 A fool’s wrath is presently known: but a prudent man covers shame. (7036 “shame” [qalown] means confusion, dishonor, ignominy, reproach, or a state of dishonor.
DEVOTION: How do you react when someone says something against you? Do you respond quickly or wait to make sure that you are going to reply in a Biblical manner? Many of the Old Testament saints were falsely accused of something. Even Jesus was falsely accused of things by the Pharisees of HIS day.
How does God want us to respond to those who say something against us? Here we find Solomon under the ministry of the Holy Spirit writes what advice he would give his son if something like this happens.
Those who are not followers of the LORD gets mad and says things he might regret later but says them anyways because he doesn’t think before he talks. The believer is supposed to be someone who thinks before he reacts and even if it is false will wait to reply or just look to see if there is any basis for the comments made to him.
The fool gets made and says things he shouldn’t and uses words he shouldn’t. The man who is trying to honor the LORD will always watch his reaction and his words according to this verse.
It is not easy to allow people to say things that are not true about us but it going to happen and the LORD wants us to respond as HIS Son did while HE was on this earth. HE truly knew how to turn the other cheek.
CHALLENGE: Have we learned to turn the other cheek when someone says something about us whether it is true or false? This is a lesson we need to learn graciously.
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DISCIPLINES OF THE FAITH:
BODY
Chastity (Purity in living)
Fasting (Time alone with LORD without eating or drinking)
Sacrifice (Giving up something we want to serve the LORD)
Submission (Willing to listen to others and LORD)
Solitude (Going to a quiet place without anyone)
SOUL
Fellowship (Gathering together around the Word of God)
Frugality (wise use of resources)
Journalizing (Writing down what you have learned from the LORD)
Study and Meditation (Thinking through your study in the Word)
Secrecy (Doing your good deeds without others knowing but God)
SPIRIT
Celebration (Gathering around a special occasion to worship LORD)
Confession (Tell the LORD we are sorry for our sins on a daily basis)
Prayer (Conversation with God on a personal level)
Silence (Letting the LORD deal with some problems and needs)
Worship (Time to praise the LORD alone or in a group)
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DOCTRINES OF THE FAITH:
Scripture (66 inerrant books of the Bible)
God the Father (First person of the Godhead)
LORD – Jehovah (Covenant keeping, Personal) verse 2, 22
Favor of the LORD verse 2
Delights in those that deal truly verse 22
God the Son (Second person of the Godhead –God/man, Messiah)
God the Holy Spirit (Third person of the Godhead – our comforter)
Trinity (Three persons of the Godhead who are co-equal = ONE God)
Angels (Created before the foundation of the world – Good and Evil)
Man (Created on the sixth twenty-four hour period of creation)
Man verse 2, 3, 8, 10, 12,
14, 23, 25
Woman verse 4
Husband verse 4
Despised man verse 8, 9
Servant verse 9
Neighbor verse 26
Sin (Missing the mark set by God on man and angels)
Hates reproof verse 1
Brutish verse 1
Man of WICKED devices verse 2
Wickedness verse 3
Wife that makes ashamed verse 4
Counsels of the wicked verse 5
Wicked verse 5- 7, 10, 12, 13, 21
Deceit verse 5, 6, 17, 20
Lie in wait for blood verse 6
Perverse heart verse 8
Cruel verse 10
Follow vain persons verse 11
Void of understanding verse 11
Evil men verse 12, 20, 21
Transgression of lips verse 13
Way of a fool verse 15, 23
Fool not listen to counsel of wise verse 15
Fool’s wrath verse 16
False witness verse 17
Lying tongue verse 19, 22
Imagine evil verse 20
Mischief verse 21
Abomination verse 22
Heart of fool verse 23
Proclaiming foolishness verse 23
Slothful verse 24, 27
Way of the wicked seduces verse 26
Salvation (Provided by Christ’s death on the cross for our sins)
Loves instruction verse 1
Loves knowledge verse 1
Good man verse 2
Root of the RIGHTEOUS verse 3, 12
Thoughts of the RIGHTEOUS are right verse 5
Mouth of the UPRIGHT shall deliver them verse 6, 17
House of the RIGHTEOUS verse 7
Wisdom verse 8
Righteous verse 10, 12, 26
Kind to animals verse 10
Good work ethic verse 11
Just verse 13, 21
Hearkens to counsel of wise verse 15
Prudent verse 16, 23
Speaks truth verse 17
Righteous verse 17
Tongue of the wise is health verse 18
Lip of truth verse 19
Counselors of peace verse 20
Joy verse 20
No evil verse 21
Deal truly verse 22
Prudent man conceal knowledge verse 23
Diligent verse 24, 27
Good word verse 25
Way of Righteousness verse 28
Israel (Old Testament people of God)
Solomon verse 1- 28
Virtuous woman is a crown to her husband
House of the righteous shall stand
Man shall be commended according
to his wisdom
Tender mercies of the wicked are cruel
Wicked are overthrown
Man shall be commended according to his
wisdom
Man with a perverse heart despised
Righteous man regards life of his beast
Root of righteous yields fruit
Just shall come out of trouble
Man shall be satisfied with good by the
fruit of his mouth
Recompense of a man’s hands shall be
rendered to him
Heaviness of the heart of man makes
it stoop but a good word makes
it glad
Church (New Testament people of God)
Last Things (Future Events)
Condemn verse 2
Wicked are overthrown and are not verse 7
No death verse 28
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QUOTES regarding passage
12:2. Proverbs uses many words to describe the righteous and the wise, such as upright (11:3, 11), blameless (11:5), a man of understanding (11:12), trustworthy (11:13), kind (11:17), generous (11:25), prudent (12:16, 23), truthful (v. 22). In verse 2 good is another characteristic. Such a person is blessed with God’s favor (rāṣôn, “acceptance”; see comments on 8:35). But a person who is crafty (cf. 14:17) or deceptively shrewd not only is not favored by God; he is also condemned (“declared guilty”; cf. Ex. 22:9) by God. (Buzzell, S. S. (1985). Proverbs. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 1, p. 930). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)
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2024a קָלוֹן (qālôn) shame, disgrace.
This root signifies the lowering of another’s social position; cf. qālal (q.v.). Our root frequently occurs as the opposite of glory and honor (kābēd). It occurs twenty-three times. Distinguish qālâ I “parched, roasted.”
God orders his people not to punish a man who starts a pugilistic duel with more than forty stripes lest he be degraded (put in an unwarranted social position) in their sight, because he is a brother Israelite (Deut 25:3). In view of his material and social inferiority (cf. rûš), David declined becoming the king’s son-in-law because this would have degraded that position (I Sam 18:23). Fulfilling Saul’s request he advanced his social position. Isaiah describes the ungodly chaos of his day wherein covenantal relationships were reversed. Brother oppresses brother, and the young exalt themselves over the aged (cf. Lev 19:32, qûm, q.v.), and the base (those who do not deserve honor) against those who are worthy of honor (Isa 3:5).
The Psalmist beseeches God to show his proud enemies their place (Ps 83:16 [H 17]). Knowledge of one’s true stance before God is required of all who are to seek God. God says that he will change Israel’s self-acclaimed glory into their rightful social position—dishonor (Hos 4:7). He will expose their true state for all to see (Jer 13:26). Man’s sinful heart leads him to self-exaltation, claiming credit for the blessings graciously bestowed by God. But God thrusts his creations into an objective state more clearly reflecting reality and thus engenders repentance (Deut 9:5).
קָלוֹן (qālôn). Shame, disgrace, abuse, dishonor. This noun represents the effect on the object(s) of the action exercised in the verb. It denotes a state wherein its referent is as if he were in a lower social position than he in fact occupies. This noun occurs exclusively in poetical contexts, but is not a late word. Cf. Ugaritic qlt (UT 19: no. 2231). L.J.C. (Coppes, L. J. (1999). 2024 קָלָה. R. L. Harris, G. L. Archer Jr., & B. K. Waltke (Eds.), Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament (electronic ed., p. 799). Chicago: Moody Press.)
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The characteristics of fools described in this text are that (a) they react thoughtlessly to real or imagined insults and hurt others with careless words (vv. 16–18), (b) they are liars but will last only a short time and incur the wrath of God (vv. 17, 19,22), and (c) they scheme and deceive but only bring trouble on their own heads (vv. 20–21). The wise, however, (a) react with patience in the face of insults and heal others with their words (vv. 16, 18), (b) are honest and gain long life and divine favor (vv. 17, 19, 22), and (c) seek the well-being of others and obtain the same for themselves (vv. 20–21). The text stresses the importance of the right use of the power of words (i.e., the benefit of all concerned). ([1] Garrett, D. A. (1993). Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of songs (Vol. 14, pp. 132–133). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.)
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16 Those who are mature are able to handle criticism without responding instinctively and irrationally. McKane says that the fool’s reaction is “like an injured animal and so his opponent knows that he has been wounded” (p. 442). The wise man does not give the enemy that satisfaction. It is not so much that the wise man represses anger or feelings but that he is more shrewd in dealing with it. (Ross, A. P. (1991). Proverbs. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs (Vol. 5, p. 971). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.)
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Two things are here stated as being characteristic of the man who is denominated a fool; that is, one who lacks divine wisdom. He is proud and self-confident, refusing to brook correction: on the other hand, he is intolerant of others’ faults, manifesting his indignation readily, and making worse the wound in place of binding up. The wise and prudent man is in every way the contrast to all this. He is hardest on himself; consequently readily accepts counsel, willingly owning that others may be wiser than he; and he is ever ready to cover the shame of another, rather than to tell it abroad. It is the same contrast that existed in the days of Noah, when Ham unblushingly related the tale of his father’s shame, as though himself superior to his sire; while Shem and Japheth went backwards to cover their dishonored parent (Gen. 9). (Ironside, H. A. (1908). Notes on the Book of Proverbs (p. 137). Neptune, NJ: Loizeaux Bros.)
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12:15–16. Two marks of a fool and of a wise man are given in these verses: the fool (’ěwîl, “a hardened, thickheaded fool”) thinks his way is right (cf. 21:2), which explains why he will not receive instruction (cf. 1:7); when he is annoyed (perhaps by an insult) he immediately shows it. A wise (prudent; see comments on 12:23) man, in contrast, is open to advice (cf. 10:17; 11:14; 12:1), and is not annoyed by insults. Overlooks means not that he ignores the insult but that he controls his response to it or forgives it. The same verb (kāsâh) in 10:12 is translated “covers.” “Insult” is rendered “disgrace” in 11:2. (Buzzell, S. S. (1985). Proverbs. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 1, p. 931). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)
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16. The “fool” cannot restrain his wrath; it rushes on “presently” (as in the margin, on the same day), however uselessly. The prudent man knows that to utter his indignation at reproach and shame will but lead to a fresh attack, and takes refuge in reticence. (Barnes, A. (1879). Notes on the Old Testament: Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon, Jeremiah, Lamentations & Ezekiel. (F. C. Cook & J. M. Fuller, Eds.) (p. 40). London: John Murray.)
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16. A fool’s wrath is presently (in that day, Marg.) known: but a prudent man covereth shame.
Let the tongue be ever under discipline. An unbridled tongue is the proof of an unrenewed heart. But specially never let it be loose in a moment of wrath. How readily is the fool known by his wrath! He has no command of himself. On the first rising, he bursts out with an ungovernable impulse. Truly is wrath called shame. For is it not a shame, that unruly passions should as it were trample reason under foot, disfigure even the countenance, and subjugate the whole man to a temporary madness? What else were Saul’s unseemly sallies against David and Jonathan;10 Jezebel’s boiling rage against Elijah; Nebuchadnezzar’s unreasonable decree to kill his wise men, because they could not interpret his vision?12
Yet far more painful is the sight of the fool’s wrath in the children of God; in Moses, the meekest of men; in David, “the man after God’s own heart;”14 in “Asa, whose heart was perfect with God all his days.” Nothing more excites the scoff of the ungodly, than the sight of these gross ebullitions, which Divine grace ought to restrain. But what is “man in his best estate,” if left to himself! animated with the spirit of a wild beast! in that day he becomes an object of shame.
Self-control, that covers the shame, and represses the rising fermentation, is true Christian prudence. Even as a matter of policy, it is most commendable.18 But as a gracious principle, it is indeed a victory more honorable than the martial triumph; not only subduing our own spirit, but melting the hardness of our adversary.20
Do we feel our temper at any time ready to rise? Cry instantly to Him who quiets the storm. Keep before our eyes his blessed example, “who, being reviled, reviled not again;”22 and be what we behold. (Bridges, C. (1865). An Exposition of the Book of Proverbs (p. 124). New York: Robert Carter & Brothers.)
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FROM MY READING:
(Remember the only author that I totally agree with is the HOLY SPIRIT in the inerrant WORD OF GOD called THE BIBLE! All other I try to gleam what I can to help me grow in the LORD!!)
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Nothing Has Changed — The Supreme Court Legalizes Same-Sex Marriage
By Dr. Albert Mohler
Everything has changed and nothing has changed. The Supreme Court’s decision yesterday is a central assault upon marriage as the conjugal union of a man and a woman and in a five to four decision the nation’s highest court has now imposed its mandate redefining marriage on all fifty states.
As Chief Justice Roberts said in his dissent, “The majority’s decision is an act of will, not a legal judgment.”
The majority’s argument, expressed by Justice Kennedy, is that the right of same-sex couples to marry is based in individual autonomy as related to sexuality, in marriage as a fundamental right, in marriage as a privileged context for raising children, and in upholding marriage as central to civilization. But at every one of these points, the majority had to reinvent marriage in order to make its case. The Court has not merely ordered that same-sex couples be allowed to marry – it has fundamentally redefined marriage itself.
The inventive legal argument set forth by the majority is clearly traceable in Justice Kennedy’s previous decisions including Lawrence (2003) andWindsor (2013), and he cites his own decisions as legal precedent. As the Chief Justice makes clear, Justice Kennedy and his fellow justices in the majority wanted to legalize same-sex marriage and they invented a constitutional theory to achieve their purpose. It was indeed an act of will disguised as a legal judgment.
Justice Kennedy declared that “the right to marry is a fundamental right inherent in the liberty of the person, and under the Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment couples of the same-sex cannot be deprived of that right and that liberty.” But marriage is nowhere to be found in the Constitution. As the Chief Justice asserted in his dissent, the majority opinion did not really make any serious constitutional argument at all. It was, as the Chief Justice insisted, an argument based in philosophy rather than in law.
The Supreme Court’s over-reach in this case is more astounding as the decision is reviewed in full, and as the dissenting justices voiced their own urgent concerns. The Chief Justice accused the majority of “judicial policymaking” that endangers our democratic form of government. “The Court today not only overlooks our country’s entire history and tradition but actively repudiates it, preferring to live only in the heady days of the here and now,” he asserted. Further: “Over and over, the majority exalts the role of the judiciary in delivering social change.”
“The majority,” he made clear, “lays out a tantalizing vision for the future for Members of this Court. If an unvarying social institution enduring over all of recorded history cannot inhibit judicial policymaking, what can?”
That is a haunting question. This Chief Justice’s point is an urgent warning: If the Supreme Court will arrogate to itself the right to redefine marriage, there is no restraint on the judiciary whatsoever.
Justice Antonin Scalia offered a stinging rebuke to the majority. “This is a naked judicial claim to legislative–indeed super-legislative–power; a claim fundamentally at odds with our system of government,” he stated. Justice Scalia then offered these stunning words of judgment: “A system of government that makes the people subordinate to a committee of nine unelected lawyers does not deserve to be called a democracy.”
The Chief Justice also pointed to another very telling aspect of the majority opinion. The Kennedy opinion opens wide a door that basically invites looming demands for the legalization of polygamy and polyamory. As Chief Justice Roberts observed: “It is striking how much of the majority’s reasoning would apply with equal force to the claim of a fundamental right to plural marriage.” Striking, indeed. What is perhaps even more striking is that the majority did not even appear concerned about the extension of its logic to polygamy.
As the decision approached, those of us who have warned that the redefinition of marriage will not stop with same-sex unions were told that we were offering a fallacious slippery-slope argument. Now, the Chief Justice of the United States verifies that these concerns were fully valid. You can count on the fact that advocates for legalized polygamy found great encouragement in this decision.
The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the land, and its decisions cannot be appealed to a higher court of law. But the Supreme Court, like every human institution and individual, will eventually face two higher courts. The first is the court of history, which will render a judgment that I believe will embarrass this court and reveal its dangerous trajectory. The precedents and arguments set forth in this decision cannot be limited to the right of same-sex couples to marry. If individual autonomy and equal protection mean that same-sex couples cannot be denied what is now defined as a fundamental right of marriage, then others will arrive to make the same argument. This Court will find itself in a trap of its own making, and one that will bring great harm to this nation and its families. The second court we all must face is the court of divine judgment. For centuries, marriage ceremonies in the English-speaking world have included the admonition that what God has put together, no human being – or human court – should tear asunder. That is exactly what the Supreme Court of the United States has now done.
The threat to religious liberty represented by this decision is clear, present, and inevitable. Assurances to the contrary, the majority in this decision has placed every religious institution in legal jeopardy if that institution intends to uphold its theological convictions limiting marriage to the union of a man and a woman. This threat is extended to every religious citizen or congregation that would uphold the convictions held by believers for millennia. Justice Clarence Thomas warned in his dissent of “ruinous consequences for religious liberty.”
One of the most dangerous dimensions of this decision is evident in what can only be described as the majority’s vilification of those who hold to a traditional view of marriage as exclusively the union of a man and a woman. Justice Samuel Alito stated bluntly that the decision “will be used to vilify Americans who are unwilling to assent to the new orthodoxy.” According to the argument offered by the majority, any opposition to same-sex marriage is rooted in moral animus against homosexuals. In offering this argument the majority slanders any defender of traditional marriage and openly rejects and vilifies those who, on the grounds of theological conviction, cannot affirm same-sex marriage.
In a very real sense, everything has now changed. The highest court of the land has redefined marriage. Those who cannot accept this redefinition of marriage as a matter of morality and ultimate truth, must acknowledge that the laws of this nation concerning marriage will indeed be defined against our will. We must acknowledge the authority of the Supreme Court in matters of law. Christians must be committed to be good citizens and good neighbors, even as we cannot accept this redefinition of marriage in our churches and in our lives.
We must contend for marriage as God’s gift to humanity – a gift central and essential to human flourishing and a gift that is limited to the conjugal union of a man and a woman. We must contend for religious liberty for all, and focus our energies on protecting the rights of Christian citizens and Christian institutions to teach and operate on the basis of Christian conviction.
We cannot be silent, and we cannot join the moral revolution that stands in direct opposition to what we believe the Creator has designed, given, and intended for us. We cannot be silent, and we cannot fail to contend for marriage as the union of a man and a woman.
In one sense, everything has changed. And yet, nothing has changed. The cultural and legal landscape has changed, as we believe this will lead to very real harms to our neighbors. But our Christian responsibility has not changed. We are charged to uphold marriage as the union of a man and a woman and to speak the truth in love. We are also commanded to uphold the truth about marriage in our own lives, in our own marriages, in our own families, and in our own churches.
We are called to be the people of the truth, even when the truth is not popular and even when the truth is denied by the culture around us. Christians have found themselves in this position before, and we will again. God’s truth has not changed. The Holy Scriptures have not changed. The Gospel of Jesus Christ has not changed. The church’s mission has not changed. Jesus Christ is the same, yesterday, today, and forever.
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THE DEVIL LIVES IN OUR PHONES (Friday Church News Notes, November 9, 2018, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) – The following is excerpted from “A Dark Consensus about Screens,” New York Times, Oct. 26, 2018: “Technologists know how phones really work, and many have decided they don’t want their own children anywhere near them. A wariness that has been slowly brewing is turning into a regionwide consensus: The benefits of screens as a learning tool are overblown, and the risks for addiction and stunting development seem high. The debate in Silicon Valley now is about how much exposure to phones is O.K. ‘Doing no screen time is almost easier than doing a little,’ said Kristin Stecher, a former social computing researcher married to a Facebook engineer. ‘If my kids do get it at all, they just want it more.’ Ms. Stecher, 37, and her husband, Rushabh Doshi, researched screen time and came to a simple conclusion: they wanted almost none of it in their house. Their daughters, ages 5 and 3, have no screen time ‘budget,’ no regular hours they are allowed to be on screens. … Athena Chavarria, who worked as an executive assistant at Facebook … said: ‘I am convinced the devil lives in our phones and is wreaking havoc on our children.’ Ms. Chavarria did not let her children have cellphones until high school, and even now bans phone use in the car and severely limits it at home. She said she lives by the mantra that the last child in the class to get a phone wins. … For longtime tech leaders, watching how the tools they built affect their children has felt like a reckoning on their life and work. Among those is Chris Anderson, the former editor of Wired and now the chief executive of a robotics and drone company. … ‘On the scale between candy and crack cocaine, it’s closer to crack cocaine,’ Mr. Anderson said of screens. … ‘We thought we could control it. And this is beyond our power to control. This is going straight to the pleasure centers of the developing brain. This is beyond our capacity as regular parents to understand.’ He has five children and 12 tech rules. They include: no phones until the summer before high school, no screens in bedrooms, network-level content blocking, no social media until age 13, no iPads at all and screen time schedules enforced by Google Wifi that he controls from his phone. Bad behavior? The child goes offline for 24 hours. I didn’t know what we were doing to their brains until I started to observe the symptoms and the consequences.’” CONCLUDING NOTE FROM D. CLOUD: These people are exercising more wisdom in this matter than the average parent in a Bible-believing church. Pastors must take the lead in this and inform and warn and exhort the people about how to protect the children and youth from the great spiritual danger of modern communications technology. We have been publishing material on this subject since 1998, including The Mobile Phone and the Christian Home and Church.
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Beware of false teachers who may lead you or others astray.
INSIGHT
Lack of integrity is fast becoming a sign of our age. Once highly respected, many professionals are falling into disrepute: lawyers, doctors, journalists, and, most unfortunate of all, ministers. Whereas we once could invest considerable trust in these people, we now must exercise caution and discernment. With the proliferation of books, radio, television, and magazines, the opportunity for unscrupulous or inadequate ministers to foist themselves upon the public increases. Anything we hear being taught must carefully be compared with the Bible and other Bible teachers whom we know to be credible. We must take care not to be led astray by false teaching. (QuietWalk)
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Exalting the Anointed One
“The adversaries of the Lord shall be broken to pieces; out of heaven shall he thunder upon them: the Lord shall judge the ends of the earth; and he shall give strength unto his king, and exalt the horn of his anointed.” (1 Samuel 2:10)
This is a remarkable prayer, uttered under divine inspiration by Hannah, thanking God for the miraculous birth of Samuel. It contains the first explicit reference in the Bible to the Messiah (“anointed,” in the Hebrew, is Messiah, equivalent to the Greek “Christ”). Hannah’s prophetic prayer predicts the ultimate exaltation of Messiah over all the adversaries of the Lord to the very ends of the earth.
Hannah also prophesied the coming of the Lord’s great King. Yet this was during the time of the judges, long before the people of Israel even began to request a king.
In fact, the entire prophecy is the first of many similar prophecies throughout the Bible that look forward to the return of the Lord “out of heaven” to judge all nations, to destroy His enemies, and to establish His anointed one as King of the earth.
There is nothing comparable to this prophecy in the earlier books of the Bible, but it is a theme often emphasized in the psalms and in the books of prophecy, as well as in the New Testament. For example, note David’s great prophecy: “The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his anointed. . . . Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath. . . . Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion. . . . and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession” (Psalm 2:2, 5-6, 8).
There are many similar later prophecies, but it is significant that the first one also contains the first mention of Messiah, and that was from the lips of a humble, but devout, mother. (HMM, The Institute for Creation Research)
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Thanks Steve: Poster found in a Church in France — (translated)
“When you enter this church it may be possible that you hear “The call of God.” However, it is unlikely that He will call you on your mobile. Thank you for turning off your phones. If you want to talk to God, eter, choose a quiet place and talk to Him. If you want to see Him, send Him a text while driving.”
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