Proverbs 11: Wisdom For Society

Okay, we're continuing along in our series on the book of Proverbs, and the topic for this morning is wisdom for society. We already know that the book of Proverbs, well the scriptures as a whole, cover every aspect of life, and today we're looking at wisdom for society.

Just by way of introduction and review, remember what we're doing, we're working our way systematically through the book of Proverbs. We're pausing at each theme, we're just going through chronologically, and then when we come to a theme, then we'll stop and explore that theme, and then look at all the other verses in Proverbs that address the same subject matter.

Proverbs 11 and the State of the Union

Our opening text is Proverbs 11, verses 10 and 11. When it goes well with the righteous, the city rejoices, and when the wicked perish, there is joyful shouting. By the blessing of the upright, a city is exalted, but by the mouth of the wicked, it is torn down.

And that's our opening verses, and looking at this topic, it reminded me of our own nation and our government here, knowing that in each year in January, the president gives the State of the Union address, okay?

And the address is the time for our chief executive, he addresses the people, and he's supposed to give an account on the state of our republic. It's also a time to offer solutions to problems that have arisen.

Now, I'm not going to give a State of the Union address, but I am going to address the State of the Union, and then we'll look at the cause of the State of the Union, and then we'll look at the cure for the present state.

That's our outline for this morning. So, what is the State of the Union? Well, firstly, we live in a society without integrity. Honesty has become a meaningless word. Lying is accepted as long as you don't get caught.

It's presumed that politicians are not truthful, and you can tell when their lips are moving that they're lying. It's expected that defendants lie in court proceedings, and they're not even punished. I can't remember the last time a defendant lied on the witness stand and was punished for perjury.

They just don't do it. It's expected that people lie in court. We also live in a society without honor. Honor and respect are ridiculed today. The flag of our nation is routinely disrespected. Crude language is used routinely regardless of who's listening.

There's a lack of respect even in little things, and I know these are nitpicky things, but it just shows the state. It used to be when you entered a building, a man would always take his hat off when he entered the building.

It was just a sign of respect. Holding the door for women and the elderly. My older brother, who was suffering from Alzheimer's just in the last two weeks, held a door open for a woman, and she berated him for being sexist, and how dare he hold a door open for her?

We live in a society without fidelity, without loyalty. Marriage is probably the best example. It's presumed that most marriages won't last. That's why there's a proliferation of prenuptial agreements.

They're commonplace now because it's presumed. In fact, a lot of the vows don't even include till death do us part anymore. Cheating on one's spouse is virtually accepted as normal. Contracts are made to be broken.

The contract is honored until it becomes inconvenient, and then they hire high-priced lawyers to get you out of the contract that you willingly signed. So there's no fidelity, no loyalty. We live in a society without shame.

Premarital sex is presumed as the normal thing now. Beach attire is nothing less than pornographic. In fact, the sexually explicit content of movies and television, which would have been banned by liberals even a few years ago, it's enough to make even a sailor blush.

My apologies to sailors. I'm not trying to disparage them, but you get the idea. It's difficult to find a show that one doesn't have a homosexual couple that is prominent in it. So we live in a society without shame.

We live in a society without love for one another. Our society fosters the me-first mentality. Then it's you. The idea of doing good for most people must be mandated. I'm not an advocate of our welfare system in this country, but if it wasn't for our welfare system, there would be a large percentage of the population that would literally starve to death.

Hate speech has become norm in our society, and I don't mean what the politically correct hate speech is talking about. Not what progressives call hate speech, but real hate speech. Biblical love is denigrated and substituted by counterfeit love, which is not really love at all.

We live in a society without confidence. What I mean by that is just look at the psychological status of the society that we live in. Psychoanalysis and therapy, huge, huge, billion-dollar businesses.

The psychotropic drug industry is worth billions. You can find a pill for virtually anything, and if you can't find it in the drugstore, there's always the illegal drug market. We live in a society without security.

There's a sense of aimlessness. We're a nation without hope. We put our security in the strength of our military. We look for security in our finances. The general attitude, however, is eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow you die.

There's no security. We don't even feel secure in our borders any longer. We live in a society without religious commitment. Sunday is no longer the Lord's Day in our society. This is a recent poll, too.

Only 30 of Americans attend church at all that's ever attended. Only 11 attend church on a monthly basis, and I didn't have stats on how many people would attend every Sunday. Church hopping has become a standard.

It's the norm, and in fact, I don't know if you've heard about this, but in Colorado, especially Colorado Springs, there are so many evangelical churches that has become a hub for evangelical Christianity in their organizations.

They actually publish a list on Saturday of churches and who's the guest speaker, who's the guest singing group, and all, so that people wake up Sunday morning and say, well, let's see, where should we go to church this morning?

It's based upon who's preaching or what singing group they've hired. In essence, then, you can say that we live in a disintegrating society, and all the historical indicators are there. America is on a downward spiral.

The question is why, and akin to that is, is there a solution? This is a quotation from Alexis de Tocqueville called Democracy in America, and this was written by him about 170 years ago, and this is what he says, I sought for the greatness and genius of America in her commodious harbors and her ample rivers.

It was not there. In her fertile fields and boundless forests, it was not there. In her rich minds and her vast world commerce, and it was not there. In her democratic congress and her matchless constitution, and it was not there.

Not until I went into the churches of America and heard her pulpits flame with righteousness that I understand the secret of her genius and power. America is great because she is good, and if America ever ceases to be good, she will cease to be great.

That is about 170 years ago. So let's look at what is the cause. Proverbs has the answer to those questions that we asked earlier, starting right with our text, Proverbs 11 verses 10 and 11. When it goes well with the righteous, the city rejoices, and when the wicked perish, there is glad shouting.

By the blessing of the upright, a city is exalted, but by the mouth of the wicked, it is torn down. That is such an apt description of what has taken place in our society, especially in the political arena.

The text says there is a way to have a happy and joyful society. It depends upon the righteous. In other words, it depends upon the church of Jesus Christ. So what we're saying is what is the cause? What is the cause of our society?

Well, let's look at what did Jesus say in the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 5. You are the salt of the earth, but if the salt has become tasteless, how will it be made salty again? It is good for nothing anymore except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.

You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden, nor do men light a lamp and put it under the peck measure, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. So let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven.

The United States is declining and having less positive influence in the world, and the military might of this nation will not save us if it falls apart economically. We only have to look at the Soviet Union to see how that worked out.

They had one of the mightiest nations, mightiest militaries in the history of mankind, and where are they today? How long have they been fighting that tiny country of Ukraine, and they can't secure a victory.

So the reason for the decline is not that Satan is too strong. It's not that the ungodly influence is too great. The problem is the salt has lost its flavor. The light is being hidden under a bushel. In other words, the church is not doing its job.

That's the reason. That's the cause. The condition of society, according to Proverbs that we've seen so far, is dependent upon the righteous. It's not dependent upon the wicked. If the righteous flourish, so does society.

If the wicked prosper, the society falls. So America is in decline because the righteous are not doing their job. In several ways, the church has underestimated the humanist worldview. Humanists present themselves as being tolerant.

They claim to respect everyone while accusing Christians of being naive and narrow-minded. That's a lie. The humanist view seeks to destroy all opposing views. The Christian worldview and the humanist worldview are opposites, diametric opposites.

And if your worldview doesn't threaten theirs, then you're okay. If you're preaching from the pulpit and it doesn't offend anybody, they'll leave you alone. But if it does, then watch out how their tolerance responds.

And we've seen that over and over again. And just as a note of historical reference, early Christians weren't persecuted for believing Jesus is Lord. They were persecuted for not believing that Caesar was Lord.

And they refused to say that and use that as a confession. So the church has failed in its mission to protect its members from this worldview. And I can see that over my span now approaching 80 years old.

And I can tell you, I've seen the difference in the churches, drastic difference. In fact, the church has adopted principles from the humanist worldview. We've opened the door and invited the humanists into our pulpit.

We can see that church government follows business models, not biblical elders and deacons. Church growth is marketed now by Madison Avenue firms. There's books published in Christian bookstores, how to grow your church.

Worship services have been made more user-friendly. Truth is considered relative even within many churches. And sin is rarely mentioned if ever at all. The church has also failed apologetically. The church has failed to prepare its members for the opposition that they will face in the world.

Most Christians are biblically illiterate. Most Christians do not know how to defend their faith. And most churches rely on scientific and critical evidence in their apologetic method rather than on the truth of God's word.

And there's nothing wrong with science and critical evidence, but our reliance is not on those to prove any of our tenets of the faith, but God's word. Most churches buy into the myth of neutrality that we can stand somewhere in the middle between opposing views and we'll be fine.

That too is a lie. The church has failed to adequately present the biblical worldview. Church has failed to teach the meaning and purpose of God's creation. If you talk to a majority of Christians, they don't understand the account in Genesis, why it's there, and why it's important that we understand that that is a historical fact.

It's not just a parable. In fact, the Genesis account of creation is being abandoned even in many churches. And without the foundation of Genesis, then redemption loses its meaning. Eschatology is viewed either as a taboo doctrine by some, they don't want to touch it at all, and an all-consuming doctrine by others.

In other words, there's no biblical balance. Therefore, there's no complete picture of the meaning and purpose of life. There's no complete picture on how God's providence is working out his plan and purpose in history.

Christianity is cut up and fragmented and only applied to certain areas of life, just like Time Magazine has a world news section, a local news section, entertainment section. Oh yes, and then there's a religious segment, and that's the way a lot of churches view Christianity.

In other words, Christianity is only one slice of the pie. So what's the cure? The status of any nation depends on whether or not it keeps God's word. Proverbs 14, 34, righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people.

Proverbs 16, 12, it is an abomination for kings to commit wickedness, for a throne is established on righteousness. If you're not promoting the biblical standard in this country, then you're accepting a non-biblical one.

There's just no two ways about it. So a proper diagnosis is the first step to an effective cure, and unfortunately much of the church has bought the lie that it can remain neutral in these areas. Neutrality is a myth of humanism and cannot be sustained by the church.

The Bible says you can't. Proverbs 28, 12, when the righteous triumph, there is great glory. When the wicked rise, men hide themselves. Proverbs 28, 28, when the wicked rise, men hide themselves, but when they perish, the righteous increase.

29, 2, when the righteous increase, the people rejoice, but when a wicked man rules, people groan. This proverb's spot on in in its description of what happens. I mean, have you been groaning lately? If the righteous aren't ruling, the wicked are.

Again, there's no middle ground. So it's time for the church to come out of hiding and take its God-ordained position in society. That statement would be rejected by the vast majority of evangelical churches today.

They think we have no place in politics. The church and state are two separate institutions. I just put that in there so that we understand that I'm not talking about merging the responsibility of church and state together.

We do believe in the separation of those powers, but each one must do what God has ordained for it, and one must not usurp the other's authority. That's where people go amiss. So what is the responsibility of the local church?

First and foremost, to preach and teach the whole counsel of God. Right there, we can see how many churches are failing. They don't preach and teach the whole counsel of God. They pick and choose, and they want to tickle the ears of their people instead of preaching the whole counsel of God.

Proverbs 29, 18, where there is no vision, the people are unrestrained, but happy is he who keeps the law. King James Version of that says, where there is no vision, the people run amuck. By the way, the vision that's referred to by implication in the text refers to the prophetic word.

Where there is no prophetic word, where there is no biblical teaching, you could translate that, the people run amuck. The gospel must be preached to keep society in order, and the church must clearly articulate the myth of neutrality, which is deadly to the life of any church or any nation.

Another responsibility of the local church is to recognize the function of the church to be salt and light. I mean, that is so clearly articulated by our Savior, and yet what we find is many churches reject that.

They teach us that we need to withdraw from the culture instead of impacting the culture. Church's responsibility is to storm the gates of hell. Again, even in Matthew 16, 18, where Jesus says, I say to you that you are Peter upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overpower it.

The best translation of that, shall not prevail against it. In other words, and that's a defensive posture. In other words, we are told to storm the gates of hell and overpower the enemies of the church.

Proverbs 29, 16, when the wicked increase, transgression increases, but the righteous will see their fall. Notice the wording, the righteous will see their fall. The responsibility of the local church is to call evil, evil, and call good, good, and not to equivocate on that.

Proverbs 24, verse 23, these also are sayings of the wise. To show partiality in judgment is not good. He who says to the wicked, you are righteous, peoples will curse him, nations will abhor him. Is that a description of our justice system in America today?

I mean, we have seen it over and over again. To show partiality in judgment is not, still under the responsibility of the local church, is to put Christ's enemies under his feet. You see that clearly in the book of Hebrews, quoting the Old Testament.

Hebrews 10, verse 11, and every priest stands daily ministering and offering time after time the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But he, having offered one sacrifice for all time, sat down at the right hand of God, waiting from that time onward until his enemies be made a footstool for his feet.

That is clearly one verse, section of scripture that teaches that the church will prevail, and yet we are told constantly, what do we have? Doom and gloom. The church cannot compromise on the principles of God, and we see constantly in our society those principles being compromised.

We were just talking about it this morning, how many churches will not preach against abortion. The church must not underestimate the social and cultural effects of evangelism. The church has adopted this mentality of separation of society and the church.

Preaching the word of God, preaching the gospel, has an effect on society. When the gospel, when missionaries started going out in the 17th, the 18th, 19th century, and going to unreached places, when the gospel came, those cultures changed dramatically, and we've seen, and that's the power of the gospel.

And the church sometimes underestimates what the power of evangelism can do. It's not the job of the church to form political action committees. I'm not talking about individuals. Now, this is the church as a body.

It's the job of the church to promote evangelism, and history has shown that when large numbers of sinners are converted, that culture will change. It's of necessity. We've seen it even in smaller sections.

Back in the 1950s, the Billy Graham crusade came to Madison Square Garden and went on for weeks, and I think even a couple months. Bars started to close down because people stopped going to bars during this evangelism explosion.

History has shown us that converts will change the culture. All right, what about individual Christians? What is their responsibility? To return the priority of the biblical family. We have seen the biblical family falling apart.

To be immersed in the word of God. To walk in practical obedience and pursue holiness. To propagate and promote biblical principles in all of society. There's not an aspect of society that the Bible doesn't touch, and that includes government, education, entertainment, the arts, etc.

To campaign for righteousness and leadership. It's a travesty how many of our leaders are being indicted on fraud and all kinds of mishandling of money and sexual exploits, and we need righteousness and leadership.

What about the methodology of our warfare? I'm going to just briefly touch on this because we've addressed this in other lessons quite extensively. Remember our weapons are not carnal but spiritual. We need the armor of God in prayer, and Pastor Anthony just went through a series on the importance of the armor of God.

We don't overcome evil with evil. It's very gratifying on the short run, though, isn't it? We overcome evil with good. We need to understand the greater is he that is in us than he that is in the world, and as the Lord said, not by might nor by power, but by my spirit, says the Lord.

Hope Through the Church's Faithfulness

In conclusion, this is a message of hope from hope. For too long the nation has been getting nothing but doom and gloom from the evangelical church. The Bible teaches us that the spiritual victories of the church will affect the daily life of the nation.

That is a guarantee. So how do you have a happy society? Back to Proverbs 11 10. When it goes well with the righteous, the city rejoices, and when the wicked perish, there is glad shouting. Now that's some good wisdom for any society.

Any questions? Okay, maybe, Jerry, maybe you could close us in a word of prayer.