The Strand Study Bible

PROVERBS

990

PROVERBS

THE ADAGE IS TRUE: The poor tyrannizing the poor is like rain washing away crops instead of watering them 28:4 It is the duty of those who love the Word of God to “take their stand” ( contend ) against those who do not ( Prov 29:2 ). 28:9 The Adage Is True: If you won’t listen to God ( He that turneth away his ear from hearing the law ), God won’t listen to you ( even his prayer shall be abomination ). 28:9 THE ADAGE IS TRUE: If you won’t listen to God (He that turneth away his ear from hearing the law), God won’t listen to you (even his prayer shall be abomination) 28:13 THE ADAGE IS TRUE: You cannot correct what you refuse to confront ( He that covereth his sins shall not prosper ) 28:20 THE ADAGE IS TRUE: Faith is like money –your deposits (faith) determine your withdrawals (blessings) 28:23 It is always better to be corrected than complimented. Lessons are always more valuable (shall find more favour) than likable things people say to you or about you. 29:2 Edmund Burke (1729-1797), a British Parliamentary figure who affected the course of English affairs in his day, perhaps more than any other man, once noted: The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing. 1 Although “good” is a relative term to the secular humanist, the “good” Edmund Burke referred to dealt with the difference between right and wrong pointed out within the Scriptures. Boldly pious in an age of skepticism, Edmund Burke held to Christian theology and morality. Burke’s answer to the evils within society was reverence towards God. According to Burke, there were only two kinds of evil in the world: (1) those who did evil and (2) those who stood around and allowed evil to continue . Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the Lutheran pastor whose passion for truth drove him to confront Adolf Hitler, once noted: Silence in the face of evil is itself evil. God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act. 2 Albert Einstein, a contemporary of Dietrich Bonhoeffer agrees. He noted: The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing. 3 Dante in The Inferno agrees. He noted: The hottest places in hell are reserved for those who, in a time of moral crisis, maintain their neutrality. 4 Thinking people should never support any political party that fails to uphold the Moral Laws of God. Derek Prince in Shaping History Through Fasting & Prayer notes:

Unfortunately Christians… often allow themselves to be more influenced by party sentiments or affiliations, than by divine requirements. God does not promise blessing to a government upon the condition that it carry a particular party label–whether that label be Republican or Democrat … God promises blessing to a government whose officers fulfill two great basic moral requirements. He demands that they be “just” and “God-fearing.” Wherever possible, Christians who respect God’s requirements should make it a principle not to vote for any man who is not just and God-fearing, no matter what party label he may wear. If Christians ignore God’s requirements and vote for men who are morally unworthy, they are actually inviting God to make those men, if elected, agents of His judgment against the very people who voted them into office. In the United States particularly, the proportion of committed Christians within the total community is large enough to permit them to exercise a powerful influence over the type of men put forward as candidates for office. This was originally pointed out early in the nineteenth century by the great evangelist Charles Finney. Christians of all political backgrounds should agree upon one basic principle: to withhold their votes from any candidates who do not fulfill the moral requirements established by Scripture . If this principle were clearly established, and firmly adhered to, each of the major political parties would be under pressure to put forward as their candidates only such men as fulfilled these requirements. The result would be to raise the standards of political conduct and government throughout the whole nation. 5

The Moral Laws (crimes against God – I Sam 2:25 ) were written to showman his relationship to a Holy God. These laws revealed God’s standard of righteousness. The Moral Laws were written so that people could live at peace with God. To violate these laws is to offend a Holy God and bring down His wrath upon that nation. Whereas the violation of the Civil Laws is a crime against people (such as, adultery, murder, abortion, theft, lying, covetousness, kidnapping, rape, direct disobedience to civil authorities, etc. – Rom 13:1-9), the violation of the Moral Laws is a crime against God Himself . True believers should vote their spiritual conviction, not their political connection. According to the Bible, it is a crime against God: (1) to live the alternative lifestyle ( Gen 9:20-25 & 13:13 &19:1-29, Lev 18:22 & 20:13 and Deut 23:17) If God is the Great Designer (and He is), then you don’t need a degree in physiology to realize that the human body was never designed for homosexual or lesbian relationships. God is a God of order, and common sense says that a man and a woman match up, not a man and a man or a woman and a woman. It is the ultimate insult to the Designer when the design does not live according to its design (Rom 1:18-28 and I Cor 6:9). In a recent article ( Catholic University Criticized for Class That Deems Homosexuality “Deviant Behavior” ) a Catholic academic institution inOhio (FranciscanUniversity of Steubenville) came under fire for having a class inwhichhomosexuality was declared a “deviant behavior” alongside things like murder, rape, drug use and prostitution. Bill Donohue, president of the Catholic League, told the Christian Post that the statements of some psychologists that homosexuality is normal are recent and political rather than scientific. He went on to say: There is an entire group of distinguished psychiatrists and psychologists who think it is normal for adult men to