Proverbs 5:1-23

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Go ahead and turn with me in your Bibles to Proverbs 6. We are “Fearing Deity & Defying Stupidity” in the book of Proverbs. And the title of the message today is “Three Stupid Things.” That sermon title is pretty self-explanatory. 

Last week we dealt with what you might call “stupid sex” in Proverbs 5. We dealt with stupid sex, but we also dealt with un-stupid sex. We explored what the Bible puts forth as God-honoring sex. Today we deal with three other stupid things in this world. And so without further ado, let’s get into it. 

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The first of these “stupid things” that Solomon warns his son about is the least of these three evils. But the damage that is caused by this unwise action can still be severe. 

Solomon says in verse 1,

1 My son, if you have put up security for your neighbor, have given your pledge for a stranger, 

2 if you are snared in the words of your mouth, caught in the words of your mouth,

 3 then do this, my son, and save yourself, for you have come into the hand of your neighbor: go, hasten, and plead urgently with your neighbor. 

Here’s a one word summary of this first point:

1. Surety – becoming legally liable for the debt, default, or failure in duty of another (6:1–5)

Now what Solomon is talking about here is more than just taking on debt. The book of Proverbs has more to say about debt and managing your finances. We’ll get to all that. But this particular verse isn’t about taking on debt yourself, it’s about becoming a guarantor for someone else’s debt. The way we do this today is by cosigning for a debt. This makes yourself financially liable for the actions of another person. That’s what Solomon warns his son about here. Martin Luther wrote that there’s an old German proverb that goes like this: “To the gallows with guarantors!”

Supposedly it was fairly common for people to put up financial security for another person’s debt in the ancient world. You would, in a sense, underwrite another person’s debt. And the issue here isn’t just underwriting another person’s debt, it’s underwriting a “stranger” for his debts. That’s the issue. 

The Hebrew word for “stranger” at the end of verse 1 is זָר meaning “foreign” or “strange.” And it’s the same word that’s used of the foreign woman in the previous passage. And that’s the connection point for these two passages. Don’t have sex with a foreign person, a stranger. And while we’re on the subject, don’t become surety for a stranger either! 

Unlike the two other stupid things in this passage, this is something that a person can get himself or herself into without any wicked motive or action. People can actually get trapped by their own good intentions and misplaced charity. So notice what Solomon advises for those who made a bad decision in this regard. 

1 My son, if you have put up security for your neighbor, have given your pledge [literally “clasped hands”] for a stranger, 

2 if you are snared in the words of your mouth, caught in the words of your mouth, 

In the Hebrew world, they didn’t have written contracts for daily commerce. They had gestures like the clasping of hands, and the exchanging of sandals (as we see in the book of Ruth). Or you would declare an oath before a reputable group of people, e.g. the elders of the city. So the spoken word and a gesture would seal the obligation, just like we would sign our name on a contract. This would make a person liable for another man’s debt and punishable if that person defaults. 

The “neighbor” and the “stranger” in verse one are parallel. This is an acquaintance or a member of the Israelite community. He’s a neighbor, but he’s not a close family member or a close friend or a business partner. I’ll talk more in a minute about the wisdom of financial obligations involving family, business partners, etc. The text itself is talking about surety with an acquaintance. 

Solomon is saying, “If you have done this, son. If you have put yourself in a vulnerable position with an untested or disreputable or unsavory person…” then… look at verse 3.

3 then do this, my son, and save yourself, for you have come into the hand of your neighbor: go, hasten [The Hebrew word for hasten has the idea of “trampling mud” which is figurative for humiliating yourself before that person], and plead urgently with your neighbor. 

The word for neighbor in verse 3 is actually plural. “Go, hasten, and plead urgently with your [neighbors]…” And there’s enough ambiguity in the text to suggest that your plea should be directed to both your neighbor who is the debtor, whose loan you have secured, and your other neighbor who is the creditor. Maybe he will release you from your obligation. In other words, go to all the members of the arrangement and do whatever you can to free yourself from that obligation. Gather the elders of the village again, if you have to, and get out of that bad deal. 

4 Give your eyes no sleep and your eyelids no slumber; 

5 save yourself like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter, like a bird from the hand of the fowler. 

Maybe you’ll have to pay a penalty for getting yourself out of that arrangement? Maybe you’ll have to work off some part of the debt? So what! Do it! Get out of that trap unless something worse happens to you.

Solomon loves using animal metaphors. He was an acclaimed zoologist and naturalist (1 Kgs 4:33). Remember the deer and mountain goat imagery from last week (5:19). Well, Solomon speaks here about another creature, the gazelle. This would be a vivid illustration for the Israelites, many of whom had hunted gazelles. What ancient hunters would do is chase a gazelle into a ravine or a niche in the countryside that was surrounded on all sides except for a narrow entrance. And once that gazelle was trapped, they were easier to kill. And the gazelle knowing that he was trapped would panic and do everything in its power to escape that trap. 

Likewise you see the reference in verse 5 to the bird ensnared in a fowler’s trap. Solomon is saying here, “Son, if you are trapped, do everything in your power… bite your leg off if you have to… to escape this trap. Do not allow yourself to be ruined financially or have your reputation destroyed by an impetuous offer of surety to a stranger. Maybe you felt sorry for the guy, and so you thought you were doing a good deed. Whatever the case, extract yourself from that situation.”

Obviously the better course of action for the gazelle would be to avoid the trap in the first place. Stay away from three-sided ravines with narrow entrances. The better course of action for the bird is to stay away completely from the fowler’s trap. The better course of action for Solomon’s son, and this is probably Solomon’s point in all of this, is to not get ensnared in the first place. In other words, Don’t ever become legally liable for a stranger’s or a neighbor’s debt.

Now I think that’s clear enough. But let me say a few other things about this before we move on to stupid thing #2. Let me give you three broader implications from the text:

We need to also be careful about securing debts even for non-strangers. In other words, be careful of making yourself liable for close friends, business partners, and family members. Be careful! I’m not saying don’t do it. Proverbs 6 speaks of strangers not close friends or family. But I’ve seen enough bad financial arrangements between family members and friends to offer you a caution in this regard. I’ve seen college students use their college loans, that their parents cosigned, to purchase engagement rings. I’ve heard of individuals who ran up debt with their LLC and then declared bankruptcy which wreaked havoc on the reputation and the financial stability of their business partners. So be careful. The fact of the matter is even our close friends and family members can be unwise with their money. That’s a fact. So don’t let your affection for them confuse the issue. If they want debt, let them get debt. They don’t need to lasso you into that arrangement. Don’t be guilty of enabling them.   

Proverbs 6 is not a prohibition on generosity. The Bible doesn’t affirm stinginess. In fact, the Bible encourages us to give liberally and generously and cheerfully. If you know someone who has a need, someone who is down on their luck who is a trustworthy person, don’t cosign their loan. Help them. Bless them. Give it away without any strings attached. 

Parents, if you want to bless your children with a down payment for their house, great! Give it. Do that instead of cosigning for their $300,000 home. If your kid wants to go to college, then help them if you can. Save up some money and give it to them for that. But don’t cosign their student loan that gives them $100,000 for a degree in “gender studies” at Mediocre University. That’s not wise. Instead save up some money, if you can, and designate it for college for your kids. And if your son or daughter decides not to go to college, then take that money and go to Fiji. It’s a win-win. 

Debt, in all its forms (surety or otherwise), has the power to suffocate you. Proverbs 22:7 says, “The borrower is the slave of the lender.” I pray that the U.S. Government figures that out before it’s too late. But they probably won’t. We’ll get into this later, but I don’t believe that the Bible disallows debt. Usury, yes. Usury is the lending of money at exorbitant interest rates. 

But let’s be clear even if you agree that the Bible allows for debt in some circumstances—debt has the power to suffocate you. Not a few Christian marriages have been driven to the breaking point by debt. So handle debt with extreme care. If you make $30,000 a year, you probably shouldn’t buy a house that costs $400,000. I’m just saying! 

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Here’s the second “stupid thing” from our text.

2. Slothfulness – a disinclination towards labor and action (6:6-11)

Slothfulness is a disinclination… not an inclination but a disinclination… towards labor and action. This is a reluctance towards or an aversion for work. 

By the way, the level of stupidity increases as we move from stupid thing #1 to #2 to #3. Wisdom and the fear of God decrease, and stupidity increases as we move along in this text. And it’s not just that stupidity increases, it’s also that wickedness increases. The person who is guilty of surety is not very wicked at all. If there is any wickedness there, it is the wickedness of enablement. The sloth is more wicked than the person guilty of surety. And then stupid thing #3 is pure wickedness. We’ll get there in a second.   

But first let’s talk about slothfulness. I would use the word laziness or indolence, but it’s slightly more subtle than that. This person says, “a little more sleep” and “a little more slumber.” He slowly gets desensitized to hard work. He gradually becomes inoculated against labor and activity. And that’s why he needs a wakeup call from Solomon.

Solomon says in verse 6: 

6 Go to the ant, O sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise.

Solomon is saying, “Wake up, sloth. Wake up, sluggard.” The word for “sluggard” is the Hebrew word עָצֵל. It’s a word that is used fourteen times in the Hebrew Bible, and all fourteen occurrences are in Proverbs. I like the way one lexicon translates עָצֵל; it translates the term “lazy bones.” “Wake up, lazy bones! Observe the industriousness of the ant.” 

Here’s the animal imagery again. These are more than likely the black harvester ants that are found in Israel (messor semirufus). Here’s a picture of these lovely creatures. 

They are actually docile creatures, unlike the fire ants that have infested us here. These black harvester ants work hard during the summer harvest and then they hibernate for the winter. In the ancient world they were the epitome of industriousness because they’re always moving and they’re always working. 

6 Go to the ant, O sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise. 

7 Without having any chief, officer, or ruler, 

8 she prepares her bread in summer and gathers her food in harvest.

Now I know ant colonies have queens, but the queen isn’t exactly out there cracking a whip and forcing all the ants to do their tasks. It’s not like the queen excoriates her subjects to get to work. Maybe she does do that in “ant language” but I don’t think so. 

No, these ants are self-motivated. They do what they need to do to provide for their community. The ant is not a drag on her family. She is not a liability; she’s an asset.

Ray Ortlund writes three things in his commentary that we can learn from the ant: 

The Ant Has Inner Motivation. The sluggard has to be motivated to do his work. If you leave him alone for a second, he’ll waste time. Not so, the ant. She motivates herself. The Bible says, “Like vinegar to the teeth and smoke to the eyes, so is the sluggard [עָצֵל] to those who send him” (Prov 10:26). One of my pet-peeves is Christians who defame the name of Christ with their poor work ethic. Let that not be true of us. Colossians 3:23-24 says, “Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.” By the way, we are inheritors of what some have called “The Protestant Work Ethic.” That’s part of our heritage as Bible-believing Christians. Let us be worthy of that designation.

The Ant Works Hard Without Complaining. They do their job. They get the job done. And they don’t mind inconveniencing a few picnickers along the way. 

The Ant Prepares for the Future. She gathers her food during harvest and then she hibernates. Ants know when to work, and they know when to rest. If they don’t work now, they don’t rest in the future. Actually if they don’t work now, they starve in the future. So they prepare themselves well in the future, so that they can rest.

I’ve noticed that in the Evangelical Christian world there are people who need to learn how to work and there are people that need to learn how to rest. There’s a spectrum there, and you need to know where you are on that spectrum, so that you can gravitate towards the middle. Some in this room need to be encouraged to rest. God set a precedent for that in creation when he rested on the seventh day (Gen 2:1-3; Exod 20:11). Why did God do that? Does God need to rest? No, he did that as an example for us. We need our rest. Some of you out there need to take a day off and spend time with family. Parents, plan family vacations and get away for a while.

Some need encouragement to rest; others need encouragement to work. Let me say this as clearly and compassionately as I can—slothfulness is not acceptable for Christian men and women. It’s not okay. 

Men, let me talk to you for just a minute. Maybe your wife will work; maybe she won’t. You figure that out. But men, you don’t have that choice. You have to work to provide for your family. If you’re down on your luck or struggling through a season of joblessness, than struggle and labor and work to find work. Don’t put an excessive burden on your family or your church or the government to provide for your family. 

I was talking to a woman once who said she felt guilty for staying home with her kids and letting her husband work to support them. And I told her, “Don’t feel guilty about that. Send him off to work with joy. Kiss him goodbye with a clear conscience. Pack him a lunch if it makes you feel better. It’s good for him to work.” 

And let me say this too. Moms, let me affirm you for a second. If you’ve made a decision to stay home with your children, you are not being slothful. In fact that is a wonderful investment. Now you can be slothful in the mothering of your children. Some mothers are. So don’t be. Be industrious as a stay at home mom. But your decision to stay home is not evidence of slothfulness. So with a clear conscience labor at home, moms, at the raising of your children.

Men, we have to work. Unless you’re the king of England or unless you are independently wealthy, you have to work. Unless you are retired military or retired law enforcement, you have to work. By the way, I have several students at Moody who have retired early in military or law enforcement and now they are taking classes at Moody to prepare for a career in ministry. And good for them. They’ve served their country, and now they are financially freed up to serve the church. 

Some men don’t have to work because they made a lot of money early in life. I read an article a few years back that the patent for Lipitor, the cholesterol-lowering drug, was one of the most profitable patents in history. Before the patent expired, the revenues were something like $100 Billion. If you owned that patent, and you’re here at our church, then you don’t have to work. Actually if that’s you, you’ve got other responsibilities. You’ve got to learn how to use that wealth to honor the Lord.

But if that’s not you… if you are not independently wealthy… you’ve got to work. Dads, we’ve got to work. Single moms, likewise, you’ve got to work. You’ve got to make it work. And as we struggle through that, God gives us grace.

Now Solomon compares the ant, this creature that is worthy of imitation because of his incredible work-ethic, to the sluggard.

9 How long will you lie there, O Sluggard [lazy bones]? When will you arise from your sleep? 

10 A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest, 

The idea here is “a little bit more.” A little bit more sleep. A little bit more slumber. A few more minutes which turns into a few more hours which turns into a few more days and gradually you move from negligence to idleness to sinful laziness. It’s a slow fade. It’s the curse of the snooze button!

10 A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest, 

11 and poverty will come upon you like a robber, and want like an armed man. 

This “poverty” is not something that has come about through hard times or injustice. That happens sometimes. This is poverty that has come about because of idleness. 

There are a lot of people nowadays that like to romanticize poverty or volunteer themselves for a life of poverty because they think it’s spiritual or because they think it’s a cure for materialism. It’s neither. Poverty can be crippling. Just go travel to a country that struggles with crippling poverty… nobody romanticizes it there. 

And that’s not to shame someone who is in a place of poverty. There’s nothing shameful about someone who works hard, but through no fault of his own struggles to make ends meet. But poverty brought on by slothfulness is shameful. It’s something that we should try to avoid at all costs through hard work, diligence, and responsible use of our finances. 

Men, God will not hold you responsible for poverty that has come about through hard times or joblessness or disability. But he will hold your responsible for poverty that has come through idleness. Paul says in 1 Thessalonians, “we urge you, brothers… to aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we instructed you, so that you may walk properly before outsiders and be dependent on no one” (1 Thess 4:11-12).

And let me say one more thing. Slothfulness can be manifested at home or at the workplace and that’s not right. Don’t let that happen. But slothfulness can also be manifested spiritually. Don’t let that happen either. Labor to study God’s Word. Labor in prayer over your family. And also, don’t forget this—labor to serve the body of Christ with the spiritual gifts that God has given you. 

You might say, “I don’t know what my gifts are.” Well, find out. Sometimes gifts are discovered through trial and error. You might say, “I don’t know what I should be doing.” Well, ask an elder. Ask one of our ministry leads here at church. They’ll point you in a certain direction. 

You might say, “Well, I’m too busy.” Yeah, that is a problem. Let me say this: “Don’t let the busyness of your life excuse slothfulness in serving the Lord.” Okay? Let me say that again, “Don’t let the busyness of your life excuse slothfulness in serving the Lord.” 

It’s quite common for pastors to joke about 10% of their people doing 90% of the work in the church. They say that like it’s the punchline for a joke. My question is, “Why is that funny?” Is God not worthy of our service? Has he not vested each of us with a spiritual gift and a command to edify the body of Christ with our gifts (Eph 4:12). Let’s work for Christ. It’s important. 

I know I’m preaching to the choir here this morning. We’re not a “10% doing 90%” kind of church. Nevertheless slothfulness is an ever present danger. It’s a slow fade. It slowly creeps in. A little compromise here a little compromise there, before you know it, you’re just filling a seat on Sunday morning. If that’s the case for you this morning, “Go to the ant…”   

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Write this down as #3. Surety, that’s bad. Slothfulness, that’s bad too. Guard against those things. And here’s the final thing to guard against.

3. Factiousness – a pervasive desire for strife, disharmony, and discord (6:12-19)

There is something more sinister about this last characteristic than the previous two. There is an aspect of innocent gullibility in the first error—surety. There is less innocence with slothfulness, but you’re not dealing with somebody who is intentionally harming others. But there is nothing innocent about this last characteristic—factiousness. It involves premeditated actions of evil that cause harm to another person.

The seriousness of this offence is clear in the first verse, verse 12.

12 A worthless person, a wicked man, goes about with crooked speech, 

The terminology here at the beginning of verse 12 is אָדָ֣ם בְּ֭לִיַּעַל, that is “a worthless אָדָ֣ם.” The Hebrew word for “worthless” here is בְּלִיַּעַל. It’s the word that’s transliterated “Belial” in the NT. Paul uses that word for “Satan” in 2 Corinthians 6:15 in order to describe the ridiculous incongruity of a Christian yoked to an unbeliever. “What accord has Christ with Belial?” 

In Proverbs, Solomon uses this term בְּלִיַּעַל to describe a person who is contemptible and sinister in his actions and speech! You might call this person a “diabolical person.”

12 A [diabolical] person, a wicked man, goes about with crooked speech, 

13 winks with his eyes, signals with his feet, points with his finger, 

These gestures mean something different in the Hebrew world than they do in ours. The winking of the eyes, or more literally the squinting of the eyes, is a gesture used by a crook to deceive. He’s got shifty eyes and shifty feet. These are the actions of a con-artist meant to deceive. 

Here’s the kicker in verse 14.

14 with perverted heart devises evil, continually sowing discord; 

All of the descriptors in verse 12 (“worthless” and “wicked” and “crooked”), and the gestures of verse 13, are caused by what we see in verse 14, namely “a perverted heart.” Remember, the heart (Hebrew: לֵב) is the source of a man’s mind, emotions, and will. And this man’s heart is bent on sowing discord. This is a factious person. He loves division. He loves discord. 

It took me a while to figure this out as a pastor, but some people are just addicted to conflict. They love drama. And they thrive on discord. Several years ago there was a movie that came out called, “The Hurt Locker,” that displayed how soldiers can get addicted to the adrenaline rush that comes with aspects of war and chaos. Many people thought that movie was overly sensationalized. I’ve wondered at times if people similarly view their families or their workplaces or their churches as their own personal “hurt locker,” where chaos is king, and discord is an addiction. 

The Bible has a lot to say about this subject. Romans 12:18 says, “If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.” Hebrews 12:14 says, “Make every effort to live in peace with all men.” Colossians 3:14–15 says, “And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts…” Psalm 133:1 says, “Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity!”

The Bible has some stuff to say about the factious man too. Titus 3:10-11 says, “As for a person who stirs up division, after warning him once and then twice, have nothing more to do with him, knowing that such a person is warped and sinful; he is self-condemned.” Proverbs 22:10 says, “Drive out a scoffer, and strife will go out, and quarreling and abuse will cease.” Romans 16:17 says, “I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them.”

Even in cases where a factious person gets away with his or her actions on earth, there is assurance that the Lord will bring judgment. Look at verse 15.

15 therefore calamity will come upon him suddenly; in a moment he will be broken beyond healing. 

And part of this calamity involves the Lord’s contempt for factious people. I know that might sound harsh but look at verses 16–19. God’s contempt for factiousness is more pronounced than you might think. 

16 There are six things that the Lord hates, seven that are an abomination to him: 

17 haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, 

18 a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that make haste to run to evil, 

19 a false witness who breathes out lies, and one who sows discord among brothers.

This “six, yea seven!” statement is an ancient stylistic device called a numbered parallelism or a numerical ladder. It’s used to emphasize the last thing in the list. So the idea here is that God hates everything on this list, but there is one thing that especially gets his dander up. There is one thing on this list, the last thing that is especially odious to him. It’s the last thing: “the one who sows discord among the brothers.”

You might say, “Well, I’m a divisive person, but it’s not like I killed somebody.” Actually, that’s not something to congratulate yourself on. 

You might say, “How can factiousness be more odious than the shedding of innocent blood? Isn’t a false witness or murder more heinous than factiousness?” Well I would answer that question in one of two ways. These are two possibilities: 

1) The sowing of discord is more odious to the Lord because it involves divisiveness among brothers, or more particularly divisiveness amongst God’s people. Instead of some random act of violence by a misfit or outsider, this involves rancor among God’s people. In the NT era this would involve discord in the church, the bride of Christ! In other words, people who are supposed to make God look good are embarrassing him with their dysfunction in the church. That’s one possibility. 

2) The other option is that Solomon is hyperbolizing here. He’s exaggerating to make a point. God hates the sowing of discord. It’s an abomination to him. People might say, “Yeah, so what! I can’t get along with people in church. At least I didn’t kill anybody!” No, listen. God hates discord in the church. It’s an abomination to him. 

People might say, “O yeah, the church is dysfunctional. No biggie! God still loves us.” No! God hates division in his church. And people who facilitate division within the church with their devious, malevolent actions infuriate the Lord. Don’t water this down. Don’t take the sting or the conviction out of this statement. Let it hit you, so that you might go and do differently. Ephesians 4:31-32 says, “Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.”

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Surety… slothfulness… factiousness. Three stupid things for us to steer clear of. Surety. Slothfulness. Factiousness. These are things that we need to guard against as followers of Christ. 

And let me close today by asking a big question of us. This is a question that I’ve pondered a lot throughout our series in Proverbs. It’s a question that I personally spend a lot of time deliberating over as I think about the implications of the OT Scriptures in this NT era. Here’s the question: “How is our interpretation and application of Proverbs 6 impacted by the gospel of Jesus Christ? How is our approach to Proverbs 6 altered by the cross?” 

Here’s another way to approach that question. How is our reading of Proverbs different for us than say a modern day Jew or a Muslim or even a good person who wants to apply these principles into his or her life? 

I think the answer to that question is that we read the OT with gospel lenses. We read the OT Christologically. Anyone can read Proverbs 6 and discern good ethics for life. You can even experience a greater degree of common grace by applying these ethics. But we as Christians aren’t looking for “good ethics” … we’re looking for “gospel ethics.”

I’ve used that terminology before to differentiate between good parenting and gospel parenting. We don’t want to just be “good parents.” We want to be “gospel parents.” I want to use similar nomenclature for our approach to ethics as well. 

So what’s the difference between “good ethics” and “gospel ethics?” Here are three things:

1) “Gospel Ethics” glorify God and not us

Gospel ethics are theocentric not anthropocentric. We don’t read and apply Proverbs in order to magnify ourselves. We embrace these proverbs and these principles in order to delight God and delight in God. If you can capture that in your approach to Proverbs, you will avoid the trap of moralism and Pharisaism that is the bugaboo of so many Christians. 

2) “Gospel Ethics” start at the cross and not inside ourselves

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of ethics. We read the OT with deep humility. We read the OT with a good and healthy inferiority complex, because we are not worthy of his salvation. I mentioned the church father Augustine last week. Augustine did everything he could to better himself. He embraced multiple religious systems in order to please God and pacify his sinful nature. But it wasn’t until he came to the cross and embraced Christ that he truly felt clean. He felt forgiven. He felt alive for the first time. 

3) “Gospel Ethics” are powered by God and not us

Please don’t hear these sermons on Proverbs and think to yourself, “Yes, I’m going to conquer these things. I’m going to be the man of Proverbs that Solomon himself couldn’t even be.” No, that’s foolish. The true and better Solomon, Jesus Christ came to die for our sins. And he sent his Holy Spirit to empower us. And “Gospel Ethics” begin and end with grace. They begin and end with power not our own. Access that power. 

Taught by Tony Caffey

Senior Pastor of Verse By Verse Fellowship

Proverbs