Sermon: Like A Good Neighbor, Wisdom Is There

Wisdom as Neighbor-Love in Proverbs 3

Test test good. Well, good afternoon brothers and sisters. It's always an honor to be with you always an honor to have this pulpit. It's an honor to be here in worship with you today. Hopefully the title of today's message got you right in your state farm jingles.

Let's see if we can keep pastor Jeff and pastor Luke awake for a little bit longer. Shall we? We're gonna be in. Proverbs chapter 3. Proverbs chapter 3. We'll start our reading from verse 21. These are the words of the living and the true God.

Proverbs 3 verse 21. My son do not lose sight of these. Keep sound wisdom and discretion. And they will be life for your soul and adornment for your neck. Then you will walk on your way securely and. And your foot will not stumble.

If you lie down you will not be afraid. When you lie down your sleep will be sweet. Do not be afraid of sudden terror or of the ruin of the wicked when it comes.

For the Lord.

Will be your confidence and will keep your foot from being caught. Do not withhold good From those to whom it is due When it is in your power to do it. Do not say to your neighbor go and come again. Tomorrow I will give it When you have it with you.

Do not plan evil against your neighbor who dwells trustingly beside you. Do not contend with a man For no reason when he has done you no harm thus far as the reading of God's Word. Joel, please join me in prayer.

Lord we come before you today as your people. Longing to hear from you my prayer this week and preparing for this message Lord has been That this would be a word from you That your people need to hear today.

And so we come together Gathered on the Lord's Day with great expectation with triumphant faith. Knowing that in the pages of your word Lord God lies the instruction edification and Correction that we need to be wise sons and daughters of the Most High God we know that apart from your mercy and your grace We don't deserve to be called your people to have this Treasure in front of us Lord from which to draw Whose wells are exceptionally deep?

So would you please God by your spirit as you dwell among us today open our eyes to see. Open our ears to hear open our hearts to understand Lord. So that we may see Christ in these pages and in seeing him.

We may be transformed evermore into his likeness. I Pray Lord that when it comes to the preacher today You would get me out of the way. You would get me out of my head Lord. You would use me as nothing more than a tool as a vessel.

For your glory.

Please speak through me today and allow me to say Your word God allow me to proclaim your truth, and I pray that those are the words That stay with your people today. I pray that that word that sure and certain foundation is.

What remains with us Lord God when we leave here today? And go back into the world. We thank you that as sons and daughters of new creation You are doing a work in us God, and we thank you father that you're not done with us.

We thank you that we are all works in progress, and you are teaching us in your son to be more wise. We love you Lord we worship you and we praise you now, and it's in Christ's name. We ask these things amen so far We've seen in this chapter.

It's really quite unique in that it uses the covenant name of God.

Yahweh.

More so than anywhere else really in the book of Proverbs and There is explicit instruction that comes to us in the context of a relationship. Which is really the focus of our text today?

This.

Focus on how wisdom makes us good neighbors and That having a right vertical relationship with God through Jesus Actually affects the way that we interact with our neighbors. It affects the way our social relationships are to function.

The very instruction that the father if you will is giving to his son comes in that very context of a household relationship. And As we've touched on already in this chapter that is where wisdom's instruction begins is in the home amongst families fathers sons mothers daughters.

And.

Even when the situation is lacking in that regard God supplies those figures to instruct us in the form of his shepherds the shepherds of our soul. So far in this chapter We've seen that wisdom really teaches us to trust in the Lord.

To not lean on our own understanding but to in all of our ways acknowledge God and he will make all of our paths pleasing to him That were to humble ourselves under his loving and fatherly.

Correction.

Submitting to the way that he made the world. There's a certain rhythm in the cosmos that God has created the way in. The world in such a way is so that we are to search that out. We are to observe his word and we are to so internalize His testimonies and his statutes and his principles of living that we flow with the grain of how he has made the cosmos how he is directing the course of creation.

In The last message of our series we saw The father exhorting his son to exalt wisdom. Remember, there's just this holding up of wisdom. Is this thing to be praised?

It has.

Inestimable value it is beyond that which material value Can meet. And we're given a little bit of insight into why? Remember in verses 18 through 22 wisdom itself reflects the creative Governing nature of Yahweh himself.

Who.

Subdues chaos.

Who.

Establishes stability brings order gives life and.

Makes beautiful.

You remember that kind of Language. There the Lord by wisdom founded the earth. He established the heavens. By his knowledge the deeps broke open the clouds dropped down the dew. Wisdom has this capacity to allow sons of wisdom.

To reflect the very nature of their father in building and bringing order in governing bringing order to chaos Making the world's beautiful beautifying creation all essential things.

For healthy households.

Communities and societies. The youth is told that keeping his eyes fixed on acquiring wisdom is what will bring happiness. Make him attractive and as we saw last week, it's what will keep him safe. Wisdom keeping sound.

Knowledge and discretion before our eyes that is keeping our eyes on the fear of the Lord. That is what will guard our paths and the Lord will watch over the course of our life and direct the way of our steps and guard us.

He guards the one who walks in integrity. This is why the wise person need not be afraid of sudden calamity. He can be the kind of person that sleeps soundly without anxiety or guilt. Without fretting about the future because his trust his stability is rooted in Yahweh's faithfulness.

Which brings an open heart? Ready to love others and render joyfully that which God says belongs to them. Wisdom builds something. It creates and it creates a culture of life when we're in right relationship with God.

Walking in faithfulness and obedience to him. We are transformed into better neighbors. Maybe you didn't perhaps see that as a mark of godly wisdom before so far. We've been talking about the blessings of wisdom the benefits of wisdom the rewards of godly wisdom.

How wisdom is to be praised exalted? She should just be gazed upon and looked at as this thing of value that is supposed to capture the heart of the youth but the mark. That godly wisdom is seeping into if you will the heart is that one's Relationships begin to be at peace there begins to be harmony there you can't have or Measure, I should say a preacher in the pulpit by his adherence to the Bible reading plan or by his vertical relationship with God alone.

Pastor meditates on scripture all the time. He's man of prayer. He's a man of the word. But if you want to understand if he is the man of God if he has so internalized these concepts that they've changed him.

How are his relationships? How does he act not in the pulpit? But in his prayer closet. How does he act behind the walls of his home? Where no one else can see his family members. And the Lord himself can see don't ever judge a teacher of God's Word on the streets doing ministry.

It's somewhat easy to be faithful out there in a lot of ways the hard part is Looking where no one else can see. How are those relationships? How do we treat? Those who are a family our friends. How do we interact with them?

How do we love them? How do we speak of them? That is the test. That is the mark of godly wisdom. Social relationships this peace with God that were given it brings peace among men and This is really the purpose of wisdom.

Not just to give us principles to obey for the sake of obeying. It's not about that. It's not about this rigid adherence to a strict set of principles or code it's about as pastor Jeff has alluded to already walking with the Lord in this relationship and We find that as we do that as we are faithful to God as we are obedient to him as we demonstrate Trust in him in our lives every day.

That we are being changed into a particular kind of people and that is a people That is blessed by God. God is making us into a particular kind of people and here's really the idea of the message today.

Wisdom shows us the way to love our neighbor like God in Christ loves us. Wisdom shows us the way to love our neighbor like God in Christ loves us. So in our text today in verses 27 starting there. We see two principles there about how we're to not only guard against Committing sin against our neighbor but omitting what it God says is due to them.

There's those two ways of sinning against our neighbor and The two principles here are this we are to promptly make whole our needy neighbors. That's number one we are to promptly make whole our needy neighbor and number two we are to protect our innocent neighbor.

If you'll recall Jesus summarizes the law as The two greatest commandments, what are they? Love the Lord your God and love your neighbor as yourself. This is the summary of the law. Biblical love is very different than the way that the world has Redefined it to be right not this sticky ooey-gooey sentimentality this Conjuring up of good feelings that we are to have towards our neighbor.

That is the way that the world defines love, but biblical love has an objective content there is actually Content that God's Word prescribes for us. I'm reminded of the Christmas hymn. Truly he taught us to love one another.

His law is Love and his gospel is peace. That is his law is what is loving. If you want to know what love looks like God has outlined it for us in his law. That's what love looks like. It's not that he has no law but love as if that's just some sort of nebulous concept out here undefined.

There is an objective content to the love that we are to give to our neighbors. And this is the relationship between love and justice love. If you want a definition of love love is treating our neighbor lawfully from the heart.

I Believe that was Doug Wilson who gave that definition a very good one. Love is treating our neighbor lawfully from the heart. Justice is Giving our neighbor what God says is their do according to his law.

See the relationship between the two. Love is treating our neighbor lawfully from the heart. Justice is giving our neighbor what God says is their do what he says they're owed. That is justice. Which leads us to verse 27 do not withhold good from those to whom it is due.

When it is in your power to do it so here we see an admonition that People of wisdom will call them Christians. Are to be people who pay their bills. There to be people who pay their debts. To give what is owed to pay what they owe to pay on time and to give when they can.

This is the case both in matters of justice and charity whether we're talking about paying what is owed in terms of a contractual arrangement a contract or Benevolence to the needy. We're talking about giving our neighbor what they are owed what God says they are owed.

We're to honor our contracts and always to use the goods that we have to help those in need and good here. It's a very earthy book. Isn't it Proverbs very earthy terminology? It has to do with physical tangible material good.

That's what good is. We're to use that good those goods that we have received from God that he's placed in our hands to supply those in need and To make sure that we pay our debts to pay what is owed to our neighbor to not deny them these things to not Hold it back when we have them not to say to our neighbor.

Go.

Come again tomorrow and I'll give it and put them off. The phrase here from those to whom it is due is translated as the owners of that good the lords of that good Do not withhold good from the owners of it those to whom it belongs if we owe something a.

Debt a.

Possession of our neighbors that we need to return. We pay it back we give it back and we knit. We make our needy neighbors whole. If we say we'll do something by a certain time. We do it not. Incredibly profound, right?

Very practical if we say that we're going to do something by a certain time. If we've given our word. If we've made agreement in the form of a contract. If we've made a Promise we should keep it. We should make good on our word.

Christians should be people that love truth and that means fulfilling your commitment. If you said you'd be somewhere and if you said you'd be somewhere at a certain time, you should be there. At that time as far as it depends upon you.

Some of you are like well, there's a lot of room to drive a truck through that one as far as it depends on me but the principle remains. If you say you're going to do something. If you make a promise to honor.

If you owe something you pay it back. If we have the means to help someone that is put in our path. We help as we are able. If we're indebted to a lender. Someone that we've borrowed money from. Then we should strive to free ourselves, right?

Paul says don't owe anyone anything except to love them. Right, so we should use every.

Legal.

Lawful available means at our disposal to avail ourselves of any kind of slavery.

Why?

Because we're the bondservants of Christ. We've been bought with a price by God and so we should make Painstaking measures to make sure that we are only Indebted to all our neighbors. Love. Oh, and what's love?

It's to give them their due according to the law. See the relationship between law and love. I know I'm hammering that point now, but there is a Fundamental distortion and perversion of the way that we view law and love in the modern evangelical context.

We couldn't see them as more far apart in some ways. But God's Word will not allow us to drive some type of artificial wedge between the two concepts. Oh, yes, there is a distinction. There is definitely something to be said for being opposites when it comes to works and grace.

Works and grace but when it comes to love and justice. The two concepts are intimately related with each other. Love is treating your neighbor.

Lawfully.

John's epistle defines sin as what? Lawlessness. Sin is law. Less so when we are loving our neighbor, what are we doing? We're fulfilling The law we're treating our neighbor in terms of what the law demands that he be Recompensed that he be given because he's the owner of it.

Christians ought to be people that pay what they owe and on time. You see this principle in Scripture in Deuteronomy 24 verse 14. Deuteronomy 24 verse 14. You shall not oppress a hired worker who is poor and needy.

Whether he is one of your brothers or one of the sojourners who are in your land within your towns. You shall give him his wages on the same day before the Sun sets. For he is poor and counts on it. Lest he cry against you to the Lord and this is this is you got to feel this.

Lest he cry against you to the Lord and you be guilty of sin. If you have agreed to pay someone on a certain day and especially back in this time They were counting on it. You were paid at sundown because if you didn't have the money you needed you couldn't feed your family.

It was that important to be paid on time. Something we tend to have more trouble Realizing in our day with all of our conveniences but if you withheld that if you kept it back from your needy neighbor who is depending upon it if You delayed it when you said you would give it.

You're incurring sin. You're guilty of sin. God says To withhold from the worker what he is do when he is do it is to oppress and rob him. Your neighbor needs to eat. He's relying on it if our brother or sister does work for us.

Then we should pay them and we should pay them promptly. We shouldn't say You're a brother in the Lord. How about the hookup? How about the homie hookup, right? It's we're good, right? This is just you know, you're doing doing me a solid in Jesus.

I you know, we're good on the payment thing, right? No, you should pay your brother or sister for doing the work and because they're a Christian you should take every effort to make sure that they're paid on time and It wouldn't even hurt to give them above and beyond what they're owed as a measure of thankfulness to your brother or sister.

Not to just say hey do me a favor if they offer to do it as a blessing to you. That's one thing, of course but if you are just arrogantly presuming on a handout from them. You're not loving your neighbor.

You're not loving your neighbor if you Borrow something from someone you should return it as soon as you're able. If you borrow something from someone you should return it as soon as you're able. I feel like I feel like these are so Elementary in some ways, right.

But think about the practical nature of the instruction here. If you borrow someone's stuff and keep it longer than you said you agreed to keep it. It's tantamount to stealing it. If you borrow something and then say well, you know what?

I actually you know, I actually need one of these and You know, he doesn't need it like before service I borrowed Isaac's iPad charger. And I made sure I won't see him. But I made sure to give it to Carmen because he will see him before me because I promised to give it up to Isaac and he's not here.

So Sorry, Isaac. But if you borrow something from someone and you say you'll give it back at a certain time. You give it back when you say you give it back. It shouldn't take your neighbor. Coming to ask for it, you know what they don't really need it.

So I'll just hold on to it and maybe you know, maybe maybe they'll forget about it. Maybe I got myself a brand new toy. Maybe I got this got myself a brand new tool. Maybe they'll just forget about it.

It's not loving your neighbor. We're not to say I'll give it tomorrow. Hoping the person will forget about it. Just hoping to get rid of them. Just putting them off. Right, what is that all that does is create strife and friction between brothers and sisters, doesn't it?

Because now they're wondering he said he was going to give it back and you know. He said he was going to do this thing for me, but he's not doing it. Should I should I go to him and you know what? Why isn't he giving that back to me?

That's my thing. He said he would give it back on time and he's not giving it back.

You see.

How it creates friction between brothers and sisters. Verse 28. Do not say to your neighbor go and come again tomorrow. I will give it when you have it with you. And literally it's when you have it at hand.

It's with you. You have it with you. You're able to give it but you're choosing not to you're choosing to withhold it. And note here the demand to give what is required on time. Don't withhold good and don't say to your neighbor come back tomorrow and I'll make you whole when you have it with you.

God's Word says we are not to delay. Whether it be out of apathy laziness Selfishness or capriciousness, you're just being arbitrary. I don't. I don't feel like giving it back today. I'll get it back tomorrow next week manana.

No one should have to chase us down to get back. What's theirs? Keeping your neighbor in suspense about whether or not you're going to return his stuff is not loving. You turn with me here quickly to Leviticus.

Leviticus isn't that we're all Bible reading programs go to die. If you only knew the treasure. Look at Leviticus 19. Leviticus 19 is called the love chapter in the Bible. Isn't that interesting? Isn't it interesting?

That Jesus himself in order to summarize the entirety of the law quotes from the book of Leviticus. Shall love your neighbor as you love yourself, right? That's the fulfillment of the law. Leviticus 19 verse 17 you shall not hate your brother in your heart.

But you shall reason frankly with your neighbor lest you incur sin because of him. You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people. But you shall love your neighbor as yourself.

I am the Lord.

There it is.

Leviticus 19 The love chapter and read this when you get a chance. I'm not going to go through the whole thing today, but read it and see how many different categories of neighbor there are present. There's a lot of practical injunctions about loving God about giving God what he's owed.

But listen to just some. I'm just going to take a couple examples here about the audience. Leviticus 19 9 When you reap the harvest of your land. You shall not reap your field right up to its edge. Neither shall you gather the gleanings after your harvest and you shall not strip your vineyard bare.

Neither shall you gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard? You shall leave them for the poor and for the sojourner. I am the Lord your God. There's a provision in God's law that says. Don't work your fields right up to the edge and go back and meticulously and scrupulously pick up every single thing leave it for the poor.

God's law makes provision to care for the poor. How about this one? Verse 11. You shall not steal. How do you love your neighbor? You don't steal from him. You shall not deal falsely. You shall not lie to one another.

Don't lie to your neighbor. You shall not swear by my name falsely and so preferring the name of the Lord your God. I am the Lord 1913. You shall not oppress your neighbor or robbed him. The wages of a hired worker shall not remain with you all night until the morning.

There's the worker. We have poor we have sojourner. We have worker. You shall not curse verse 14 the deaf or put a stumbling block before the blind. How are you to regard These types of people that have disabilities, how are you to regard your needy neighbors in that way?

You're not to curse them. You're not to make fun of them. You're not to talk down to them. You're not to belittle them because they're different than you. That is what your needy neighbor. Who is disabled?

Blind death. That's what they're owed From you. That's what God's law. That's the provision of love that God gives them. Leviticus 1915 you shall do no injustice in courts. So now we're in the legal context now.

We're in process of litigation now. We're in a court of law. You should not be partial to the poor or defer to the great. You shouldn't work justice in favor of the good old boy and Pollute the standard of justice for him or you shouldn't do with the social justice warrior today does and make the victim everything and pervert.

Justice in terms of the who you think is the victim. There's to be one standard given in God's law for justice across the board. Don't defer to the poor or to the great. We've already read verse 17. Jumping down here.

Look at verse 32. You shall stand up before the gray head and honor the face of an old man. How are we to regard the aged? To make fun of them as archaic to say that their way of life is just passing away.

They don't understand our problems right. Young people tend to do this more often than not. How are we how are God's people in love to treat the elderly according to his law. When a stranger sojourns with you in your land verse 33, you shall not do him wrong.

You shall treat the stranger who sojourns with you as the native among you and you shall love him as yourself. How are you to treat the foreigner among you? How are you to treat the outsider? You're to love him as you love yourself because that's how God and Christ loved you when you were far off from him.

You are to show him hospitality. You are to welcome him as one of your own in.

Christ.

Verse 35 you shall do no wrong in judgment and measures of length or weight or quantity. Ah. Now we come to the economic sphere. How does God's law say that I should love my neighbor in the sphere of economics.

Well, I shouldn't rob him oppress him through unjust unequal weights and measures. Right. I shouldn't try to devalue his currency by introducing a bunch of fiat money into the economy. That means nothing that cheapens the value of his hard-earned dollar.

I Shouldn't try to do that. Why. Because it's not loving my neighbor. It's not treating him according to what God says is due to him. It's not taking from someone else and giving it to this other person over here.

Who didn't earn it? It doesn't belong to them. That's not who God says it belongs to. Is that an amazing. How God's law gives us the content in which we are to love our neighbors. It tells us how to love it tells us who's worthy of what?

It's incredible. Whether it be laborers in need of pay those pleading for justice or the poor and needy requiring material help because that's what's in view here also charity benevolence. Welfare what you might call social righteousness right not social justice too much negative connotation with that.

Let's talk about social righteousness. Let's talk about how to treat our needy neighbors according to the law of God. First John 3 17. But if anyone has the world's goods if God has blessed you if God has put something in your hand and he has put something in your hand He has he's given you treasure.

He's given you time. He's given you talent. He's given you something. He's put it in your hand. If you have the world's good and you see your brother in need yet close your heart against him. How does God's love abide in him?

How do we know that the love of God abides in you. How do we know that by the way you treat your needy neighbor? By the way, you help a brother in need. Those in genuine need of our mercy and compassion.

That's what this is. That's what mercy care is. That's what compassion care is those in genuine need of that. Have a moral right to our time. To our gifts into our resources. We have the legal right to it.

They God's Word says have the moral right to it. We owe it to them if we are able if we can meet the need if we can fulfill if we can bless. We ought to do it and do it on time. Not say I'll give all help when it's convenient for me.

Frequently the need have you noticed how the needs come? It's usually not convenient. It's usually not at the most opportune time to help is it and Yet Jesus defines our neighbor as the very one that's thrown out on our path.

Just thrown in front of us if we can help we ought to.

Now.

This does not mean that another person or entity can coerce us into giving. Right when the government says you must give or I'm going to take all your stuff. All they've done is rob people of being able to give freely.

We'll say it again because there was one amen back there. When the government says you must give or I'm going to take all your stuff. What they've done all they've done is rob people from being able to give freely.

Refusing to be generous to the poor is a sin, but it's not a crime. It's a sin between you and God. Maybe even between you and your family you and your pastor you and your church. But it is not a crime.

So that's not what we're talking about here. We're not talking about coercion manipulation forcing you. Neither does it mean that someone can just work their way into your home all of a sudden help themselves out of your refrigerator and say Hey, I have a right to this.

The Bible is clear that we have no obligation to be generous to the sluggard the leech or the pampered servant. Those are all biblical categories. And it takes wisdom, of course to identify that it takes time.

But the Word of God says to them. You shall not steal the Word of God says to you. You shall not withhold as you are able. You shall not steal. But you shall not withhold. We're not to give beyond what we have.

But give according to what we do have. We are not to give of course at the expense of being able to feed our children at the breakfast table. We have priorities in terms of the responsibilities the jurisdictions that God has given us priority to make sure that we are committed To those relationships first and foremost and to take care of those in proximity to us.

But listen to this. Just principles here Deuteronomy 15 7 if among you. One of your brothers should become poor in any of your towns within your land that the Lord your God is giving you you shall not Harden your heart or shut your hand.

Listen to the connection. You shall not harden your heart or shut your hand Against your poor brother, but you shall open your hand to him and lend him sufficient for his need. Whatever it may be. Notice the context here.

There's some practical guidance about the one that you can see the one that is put in front of you the needy neighbor that you cross paths with the one that you See the one that you are able to help the one that you are able to watch over the one that you can see.

There is a sense of a priority in that. But there is a connection here between the hardening of the heart and the tightening of the hand. Hardening of the heart and the tightening of the hand. All of us have something in our hands to give.

We have more than we think we do. Whether it's to the members of our own family church family those next door or to the total stranger we have means a gift a skill and a time that the Lord demands of us to be generous with and We are to use these things to go above and beyond to meet the need.

Turn with me quickly here to Luke 10 25. You might recognize this section. Luke 10 25 a lawyer once asked Jesus Who is my neighbor. Jesus replied by telling the parable of the good Samaritan and he explicitly defined neighbor as anyone We encounter is need of help.

We have to understand something here. Neighbor is not just like next-door neighbor the way we perceive of it in terms of our modern context your neighbor. Can be anyone from? Your closest companion. To a casual acquaintance.

To a complete stranger to an explicit enemy. That's how broad the command is and so if you look here in chapter 10 verse 25. And behold a lawyer stood up to put him to the test saying teacher What shall I do to inherit eternal life?