WWUTT 1629 He Who Trusts in His Own Heart is a Fool (Proverbs 28:21-28)

The world's idea of peace can be conflict, the world's idea of kindness can be cruel, the world's idea of contentment can leave us feeling empty, but true peace, contentment and kindness, we find it only in Christ when we understand the text.

This is when we understand the text, studying God's word to reach all the riches of full assurance in Christ.

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Pastor Gabe Hughes. Thank you, Becky. Well, I've been playing some catch up lately on the podcast.

I got behind a couple of episodes. So I'm going to do a little shorter lesson today. I still need to finish up Proverbs 28.

We didn't get all the way through the chapter last week. I've got 21 to 28, the last few verses to finish up here.

So let's go ahead and do that. We'll do a shorter lesson today and look at these few proverbs. This is

Proverbs 28, 21. To show partiality is not good.

Even for a piece of bread, a man will transgress. So partiality is the term that the

Bible would use for racism, right? You don't see racism in the

Bible. That's a made up word. It's a made up construct. It's not a biblical idea.

You can be partial toward a person for a number of different reasons. You can show partiality to the poor or to the rich.

That's really more the example that the Bible gives with regards to partiality.

It might also be Jew or Gentile. It could be old or young. It might be native or sojourner.

Those are some other categories where you might see partiality applied, but you don't see racism in the

Bible because it's not a biblical category. That is a modern cultural construct. It isn't in the

Bible. But where we have instructions in Scripture to not show partiality, you could read in the same way, don't discriminate against somebody because of the color of their skin.

So when we read here in verse 21, to show partiality is not good, this has the law in mind.

Consider this law out of Deuteronomy 16, 19. You shall not pervert justice.

You shall not show partiality. And you shall not accept a bribe, for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise and subverts the cause of the righteous.

So if you're accepting a bribe, you're being partial. You're judging unfairly. I'm judging this person this way because I received a bribe for it.

And if you are willing to accept a bribe, and you are willing to discriminate against this person in order to benefit yourself, then you would be willing to bend for anything.

It doesn't even have to be a great amount. It could be something small. And that's what this proverb is getting at.

To show partiality is not good, even for a piece of bread, a man will transgress.

So if you have a heart that's going to be prejudiced toward this group and against another, then you would be willing to discriminate for something tiny, even for a piece of bread.

So don't show partiality. Or you become a lawbreaker and the judgment of God will come upon you.

Let's continue on. Verse 22, a man with an evil eye hurries after wealth and does not know that want will come upon him.

And we've seen this several times throughout the Proverbs, not to go hastily after wealth.

An evil man, a person who craves things, material possessions, gain in this world, he's going to hurry after wealth.

He'll gain it by whatever means necessary. And he does not realize that want will come upon him.

Even if he gains all the wealth that he wanted, it still won't be enough. And there will still be a yearning and an unsatisfied desire in his heart.

So we need to be fully satisfied in God and what he has provided and given to us, especially when it comes to the gift of his son,

Christ is sufficient. We need nothing else but Christ, the greatest gift that the father could ever give us.

Verse 23, he who reproves a man will afterward find more favor than he who flatters with the tongue.

So we've seen this before, that the wounds of a friend are more faithful than the kisses of an enemy.

Right. That was a previous proverb. So if you are willing to correct a person that they may walk in righteousness, there is more favor for you than the person who flatters with his tongue, just tells people what it is that they want to hear, wants everybody to like them.

So I'm just going to tell everybody what they want to hear. That's not a good friend. A good friend is going to correct you and tell you the right way that you should go.

And I appreciate friends like that. That will tell me that that will call me to correction, that will correct my behavior.

Tell me that I'm not being Christ like now. That doesn't mean I'll take that kind of correction from anybody.

No, it's my friends who I know for sure are not just trying to criticize me, but they care about me and they want me to go the right way.

They want to grow me in Christ likeness and godliness. That's what we should be doing for one another as brothers and sisters in the

Lord. Verse 24, he who robs his father or his mother and says it is not a transgression is the companion of a man who destroys.

I've had very sadly my own blood brothers and sisters who have done this. I've watched them rob from my parents and think to themselves, that's not robbery.

I'm not robbing from anybody. They're my parents. So what's theirs is mine. And yet they're the companions of those who destroy those same siblings.

I've watched go off the path of righteousness and go their own way. You know, this comes back again to verse 21.

Do not show partiality. The way you would treat one person must be the way that you treat another, that you deal with each other fairly.

You would not rob from your neighbor. Well, your parents are your neighbor. Don't rob from them either.

Verse 25, an arrogant man stirs up strife, but he who trusts in Yahweh will be enriched.

An arrogant man, somebody who's puffed up with himself is only after what interests him.

Well, he stirs up strife among people. You know, this is who we were before we came to Christ. We were hated by others and hating one another.

That's what it says in Titus three, three. So before we came to Christ, we had no people.

It was just every man for himself. We were arrogant. We were full of ourselves. But when we come to trust in Yahweh, we are enriched.

We're not by ourselves anymore. We're made a family. We're made a people included with the people of God and with God as our companion.

What could be more enriching than that? Verse 26, he who trusts in his own heart is a fool, but he who walks wisely will escape.

Keep this in mind whenever you hear the culture say, follow your heart. Whoever trusts in his own heart is a fool.

How do we know how to walk wisely? Well, we walk according to the word of God. Verse 27, he who gives to the poor will never want, but he who shuts his eyes will have many curses.

So the concept here is that we recognize that the things that we have came from God.

You're kind of seeing a theme throughout these Proverbs that we've read of being content with that which

God has given to us. And we have such contentment with it, knowing that it's not really ours.

Ultimately, it all belongs to God. He's given it to us. He's entrust us with it. But if we know it doesn't belong to us, if we know that our treasure and our reward is great in heaven, then we will not cling so tightly to those things that we have in this world.

We will be generous with it. We will be willing to give it away. And so that's what's being exemplified here in this proverb in verse 27.

He who gives to the poor will never want because he's satisfied with everything that he has in God.

Therefore, I can be generous with what it is that I have toward those who are in need.

And that person will never lack. But he who shuts his eyes will have many curses.

He doesn't consider others. Well, then he is not obeying God for love is the fulfilling of the law.

As Paul said in Galatians and in Romans 13, verse 28, as we finish up this chapter, when the wicked rise, men hide themselves.

But when they perish, righteous increase. We see a lot of conflict going on in the world right now.

What happens when these wicked men rise? People run away and hide. They try to get away from those wicked rulers.

But when they perish, when the wicked rulers, when those wicked leaders perish, the righteous increase, not being persecuted by those wicked men anymore.

Even in the midst of the turmoil that we see happening in the world right now, we must entrust ourselves fully to the

Lord and he will sustain us and he will lift us up in these times of need.

A little bit shorter lesson today, but we're finishing up the rest of Proverbs 28. So let's conclude there.

And then next week, God willing, we will we'll pick up in chapter 29.

Pretty close to finishing up our study in the book of Proverbs, which we've been doing here for. I think it's been a little more than a year, hasn't it?

Let's finish with prayer. Heavenly Father, we thank you for taking good care of us, for watching out for us.

You've given us the greatest thing that we could ever ask for. And that is your son, Jesus Christ, who died for us, who rose again so that all who believe in him, our sins are forgiven and we have the promise of everlasting life.

We may not have any great years here on earth. In fact, many of us may go through the rest of our lives in suffering, and yet we rejoice in knowing that no matter what we go through in this world, it's only temporary.

This is a light momentary affliction, as Paul called it in 2 Corinthians chapter four, as we look forward to that eternal weight of glory that we have in Christ Jesus, the wonderful treasure and reward we have been promised as fellow heirs of Christ.

And so I pray that these promises are on our hearts, that we remember them in times of plenty so that they may sustain us even in times of want.

For times of trouble are coming, and there are even people who are listening to my voice right now who are in a day of trouble.

May we not depend upon things, upon material possessions to make us feel better about our circumstances.

We trust in Christ. Even if our days on earth never improve, we know the promise that we have of eternal reward in Christ in heaven above.

Help us to seek the things that are above where Christ is. And when Christ who is our life appears, then we will also appear with him in glory.

Colossians chapter three, verses one through four. Heavenly Father, I pray for my listeners, and I pray that each and every one of these persons who hears my voice knows the

Savior, knows Christ, and rejoices in him, is happy with him, delighted to be friends with the

Savior, because they know Jesus, the greatest friend we could ever have, has forgiven our sins, and has promised us life forevermore with him in glory.