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Proverbs 15:24            The Upward Way                    
Rev. Tim Muse       
(BPC 1-13-02)

Prov 15:24 “The path of life leads upward for the wise to keep him from going down to the grave.”
This Ends our Reading for today… from the Book of Life. May God add His blessing to our reading and understanding, that by his word we might have life … and life eternal.

Prayer
Gracious Father, you have given the wisdom of your Word, & especially the wisdom of Proverbs, that your people might attain wisdom and discipline, and that we might acquire a disciplined and godly life, doing what is right and just and good. Grant us today spiritual ears that we might listen and learn. Enable us not only to accept the truth of your word, but to walk in your ways, for the waywardness of the simple will kill them, and the complacency of fools will destroy them, but whoever listens to you will live. This prayer we offer, in the name of the him, who is wisdom as well as life itself, Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

Sermon
I found the subject of this morning’s sermon to be so significant, that as I labored trying to carefully craft the words of my opening comments, I found there were no words to do it justice, no word adequate to describe it.

So, I will begin by saying: the text deals with a serious and widespread problem, … one that you and I need to understand on several levels. It is a problem that (1) is found throughout the Church and Christianity as a whole; (2) impacts the life and ministry of the Local Church & Denomination; and (3) affects (or can affect) You and Me as Individual Believers on a Daily Basis.

Before I Label the problem, I’d like to Illustrate it for you. Suppose you were working for a fast food restaurant and a customer came in once a month, or perhaps two or three times a month, and stood in line perusing the menu above your head and perhaps even appearing to be mentally making a selection prior to your taking their order….but when asked “May I help you?” always responded: “No, no thank you. I don’t need anything. Thank you.” And then went on their way. Wouldn’t you think there was something strange about that?

Well, the same absurdity is lived out in the practice and lifestyles of professing believers everyday across the globe. For example, new members, who make vows to the Lord to support the worship and work of the local church, but whose attendance in worship is at best sporadic or random. How about long standing members who sit and hear God’s word on a weekly or daily basis, but it fails to have a life transforming impact on their lives?

The PROBLEM is not new. It’s been written about by many authors. It’s called NOMINAL CHRISTIANITY… but just because it is not a new problem doesn’t mean it’s not Epidemically Destructive and robbing people like you and me, the church, and the world of the life and blessing God has for us.

Richard Halverson, a former chaplain of the U.S. Senate put it this way: “Nominal Christianity hasn’t got what it takes! It’s one big reason for the failure of the church to be a redeeming force in America’s social structure. Nominal Christianity is nothing more than the veneer of Christian custom and culture passed down generation by generation in increasingly ineffective doses. Authentic Christianity is not domestication, it is regeneration. It is not reformation, it is transformation. It is not the result of legal or social pressure; it is the supernatural work of the Spirit of God. It is literally new birth-new life. Nothing less can properly be called Christian!”

I agree with him, but believe his term “new life” can be expanded upon. Regeneration and transformation ought to result in reformation, reformation of our own lives and wills to God’s word, reformation of our families, of our church, of our communities and of culture. This means that you and I are not to realize the emptiness, corruption, and waywardness of our lives and lifestyles so that we come to Christ and profess his name only to return and go back to living our lives the way we were before our profession. Rather, we are to realize and act based on the fact and faith that (1) Our own way of life (our course in life – incl. the orientation of our lives, the way we think, the attitudes we possess, and the practices we participate in) are not pleasing before God nor holy or righteous and becoming for us; (2) God provides a life altogether different and of a much higher caliber than we live on our own; (3) We are to constantly seek that life, try to understand it better and better, submit to it, and attempt to live in (by his grace and Spirit) each and every day.

What I want you to see and go away with this morning is not that you are to “do this or that”, but I want you to see and understand that (1) God’s way is different, and (2) Nominal Christianity affects so many people, … affects so much of what we do, say, and think, … affects so much in our community and culture, from the curse words that are being considered acceptable on prime time T.V. , to the filed marriages, broken homes, and children forced to live as if it is normal to be uprooted to live in homes with new moms and dads, and half-brothers and sisters… It even affects you and me (those of us who consider ourselves to be more dedicated Christians) as our thoughts and ultimate motivations and goals in life are not in places significantly different than of those around us.

Think about this perspective – Jesus’ disciples (11 not counting Judas, plus one added later, then Paul – an apostle abnormally born) 13 apostles … whose ministry is ultimately going to touch the entire world. Consider then the churches today with 100, 200, 500, 1000, 10,000, 100,000 members, yet where’s the impact? That’s not to be a doomsday preacher, because the church, and individuals within the church, is reaching people and making an impact. But consider the comparison to the impact you see being made in American culture, western culture, the world today. Why? Why is that? Answer – Nominal Christianity versus Dedicated Disciples! (… and in that statement you find both the problem as well as the solution!)

Let’s look now at the Scripture.

Ch 1-9 General Teaching and Appeal to Wisdom
Ch 10-24 Practical Wisdom and Proverbs of Solomon
Ch 25-29 More Proverbs of Solomon
Ch 30 Sayings of Agur
Ch 31 Saying of King Lemuel

In chapters 1-9, you find each chapter deals with more or less one issue. It’s simple. To summarize the teaching of those chapters (oversimplified), you find: (1) God’s wisdom calls out, literally CRIES OUT out for people like you and me to listen! (2) You and I, if we are wise, will not just listen, but PAY ATTENTION. (3) If in listening, you find yourself caught, or trapped (living otherwise), then don’t put it off, but remedy it and live according to wisdom.

To support this, listen to the following verses:

Prov 2:1ff “My son, if you accept my words and store up my commands within you, [not if you come to church once a month, and go on living uneducated, rebellious, and simply socially but not spiritually acceptable lifestyles] turning your ear to wisdom and applying your heart to understanding …then you will understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God. For the LORD gives wisdom, and from his mouth come knowledge and understanding. He holds victory in store for the upright, he is a shield to those whose walk is blameless…” [We can’t live OUR way, we must come TO HIM for this!]

Prov 5:1ff “My son, pay attention to my wisdom, listen well to my words of insight, that you may maintain discretion and your lips may preserve knowledge…Now then, my sons, listen to me; do not turn aside from what I say.”

Prov 6:1ff “My son, if you have put up security for your neighbor, if you have struck hands in pledge for another, if you have been trapped by what you said, ensnared by the words of your mouth, then do this, my son, to free yourself, since you have fallen into your neighbor’s hands: Go and humble yourself; press your plea with your neighbor!”

 Note – each verse begins with “My son…” We read more about this in the following verses:

Prov 1:8-9 “Listen, my son, to your father’s instruction and do not forsake your mother’s teaching. They will be a garland to grace your head and a chain to adorn your neck.
Prov 4:1 “Listen, my sons, to a father’s instruction; pay attention and gain understanding.”

The point is – The instructions of Scripture are no more difficult than the instructions a parent gives a child… but the question is – Does the child listen, respond, follow the instruction, and benefit from the counsel, or (like I did in high school and college) Does the child shake his head “yes”, but in the end live as though he or she has the answers, live not all that different from others, live failing to achieve the higher life and the blessing that comes through it. You see, it is no different from “know it all children” when you and I listen to God’s word, but deceive ourselves and fail to do what it says. (James 1:22) What is the Heavenly Father’s Practical Counsel given us in Proverbs 15:24?

Prov 15:24 “The path of life leads upward for the wise to keep him from going down to the grave.” The Hebrew says “A path of life upward for the wise that he might avoid sheol beneath.”

 

This passage addresses one’s course (path) in life. It refers to one’s orientation in life, one’s lifestyle, pursuits, practices, things we set our affections on, etc. It refers not just to the path of life (any ol’ life), but to the path of “LIFE” (Spiritual wholeness & health & vitality & happiness, etc)

It says “A path of the wise UPWARD” Contrast with “to keep him from going down to the grave” (that he might avoid sheol) Sheol refers to Hell (where men descend at death), but also to deadness, and “degradation in or into sin”. It refers to the lower earthly life (even if lived by a socially elite/polished person). It is a life oriented toward that which is other than God, to a life carried out in the wisdom, strength and power of the flesh as opposed to the spirit, to the life Christ came to save/rescue us from.

It says that if you and I are to be wise, and if you and I want to be delivered from this type life, which is really death, then the attitude, direction, orientation, pursuits, the whole as well as the end result of our lives must be UPWARD.

What do I mean by upward? (1) God oriented vs. man centered; (2) Not Horizontal (living our lives daily in accord with the world around us as if there were no God, there was no heavenly counsel for us concerning life, there was no ultimate accountability, but just temporal consequences. J. H. Evans says “by this we understand the place to which they go, the way by which they go to it, and their mode of walking in it. ‘Above’ is applicable as well to the end of the way (which is life) and the way to it (which is Christ) and their mode of walking in it (which is by faith). (3) Never tapers off/cools off (Elderly people who coast, who fail to seek the living God) (4) Not Just the “higher life” but a Continuously Higher Directed Life seeking to go higher (In the navy, my favorite takeoff was an “unrestricted climb”. Light the afterburners, get as much velocity as you can, point the nose up, and climb, … as if never to fall off that attitude!!!)

As believers, we are NOT to be NOMINAL CHRISTIANS. Rather, we are to CONSTANTLY be doing all we can to (1) Grow in our relationship with the Lord; (2) Make Gains in our personal wisdom, knowledge, and righteousness (3) Get our lives in order so that our service before the Lord and to others is increasing in scope, responsibility, effectiveness, efficiency => Fruitfulness!!!

Warning of Scripture – If you and I do not possess this vision and practice, then we will find ourselves participating in the life of the flesh and of the world.

That’s why we find people – misinformed concerning issues of life when the could be informed and conformed to Christ; missing the mark instead of putting gems in the crown; missing out and not even realizing it when they could be fellowshipping with those who could help them realize it and even more; the membership of churches with so many problems that pastors can’t shake a stick at it when they could be helping the neighbor with the splinter in their eyes. That’s why many are not giving consideration to their path; many are on the wrong path; many who don’t know one’s path really matters; many failing to progress on the path; many churches and individuals whose relationship with the Lord is stagnant when it could be fulfilling.

The direction and focus of our lives affects everything! (our lives, our church, our communities, our culture) In order to possess such a life, we must first look upward (in faith); turn from the lower (repent of it/cast it off); and continue in the upward way!

But, you and I cannot and will not do this on our own (look at past) … we need Christ! We need God to give us a new heart, to give us an upward focus and desire. Look to him for this! Then, the details you can work out for yourself as you live in his spirit.

Two applications as we close:

(1) Church – In April, we will begin a new class following our new members class called “The Upward Way”. This class is designed to teach new believers and transferring members this foundational focus of the Christian life along with the disciplines that go along with it. (Prayer, Bible Study, Fellowship, etc.) It will also help assimilate them into the church and into the Christian walk,.

(2) Individual – v. 24 “The path of life leads upward for the wise [that HE] may not go down to the grave.” Regardless of what the rest of the world does, the wise person will direct his life upward that he might avoid sheol. For example, there are times when the rest of the workgroup, family, closest friend, even spouse, wants to take a lunch break at the cafeteria with the rest of the group, when it might be more productive for you to pack a lunch and spend time with the Lord.

There is an eternal death, including a premature death.

Paul says (Col 3:1) “Since then you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things, for you died… and your life … is now hidden with Christ in God.”

 Closing Prayer

Our Father, cause us to be mesmerized and motivated with Christ rather than with the world. This we pray in the power and according to the Lord. Amen.

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