Wisdom vs. Wickedness: Proverbs 4:10-19

Text

Proverbs 4:10–19 ESV

10 Hear, my son, and accept my words, that the years of your life may be many. 11 I have taught you the way of wisdom; I have led you in the paths of uprightness. 12 When you walk, your step will not be hampered, and if you run, you will not stumble. 13 Keep hold of instruction; do not let go; guard her, for she is your life. 14 Do not enter the path of the wicked, and do not walk in the way of the evil. 15 Avoid it; do not go on it; turn away from it and pass on. 16 For they cannot sleep unless they have done wrong; they are robbed of sleep unless they have made someone stumble. 17 For they eat the bread of wickedness and drink the wine of violence. 18 But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, which shines brighter and brighter until full day. 19 The way of the wicked is like deep darkness; they do not know over what they stumble.

Introduction

Brothers, sisters, and friends, there are only two roads. One leads to life and the other to death. Our text presents to us a father speaking with his son. The father has insight into these two roads. He knows what is along the ways and at the end of both. He pleads with his son to choose the right way and forsake the wrong way. The choices the father sets before his son are between Wisdom and wickedness. As Solomon speaks to his biological son and the subjects of his kingdom, so our heavenly Father speaks to us who are His spiritual children and members of His heavenly kingdom. Therefore, in our time today we will consider the two roads God sets before us in this passage and the destinations at the end of each.

Body

Explanation

To begin with, if you walk with Wisdom, you will experience long life (Proverbs 4:10-13). If you walk with Wisdom, you will experience long life

Look at verse 10:

Proverbs 4:10 ESV

10 Hear, my son, and accept my words, that the years of your life may be many.

Now read verse 13:

Proverbs 4:13 ESV

13 Keep hold of instruction; do not let go; guard her, for she is your life.

Solomon gives his son and God through Solomon gives us a series of commands and hints of blessings that act as the buns of a sandwich. The meat of that sandwich are the truths of verses 11 and 12. Before we get to those truths, consider the commands. The child of God is to hear, accept, keep hold of, and guard Wisdom as He is proclaimed by Solomon.

When I was going to propose to Lauren, the scene was beautiful, the letter I had written was ready, and the photographer hidden behind a hill was set. As we set out to the place where I would in fact propose, I placed the ring in my pocket and buttoned it shut. Why would I do that? Isn’t it obvious? What good would it be for me to have recieved the ring when I bought it to only loose it before the proposal happened. I took precautions and exerted the effort necessary to ensure that I had the ring at the right moment to slide it on Lauren’s ring finger when she said yes. Now, what was at the end of that proposal was a blessing that was of infinitely greater valuable than the ring I needed to keep safe, namely a faithful and godly wife.

Similarly, the one who receives Wisdom by faith must hold onto Him by faith each day all the way unto the end. One must believe and do what Wisdom says in order to partake of the blessings that are found in Him. The child of God must accept, hold onto, and guard the deposit of faith that he has been given. For with it comes the blessing of long life, and by that I mean eternal life. As Solomon says, the one who accepts his words will have many years added to their life and the one who keeps hold of and guards his instruction will find that Wisdom is his life. This long life includes at least two blessings mentioned in verses 11 and 12.

1. This long life includes spirituality (Proverbs 4:11). This long life includes spirituality.

Read verse 11:

Proverbs 4:11 ESV

11 I have taught you the way of wisdom; I have led you in the paths of uprightness.

Spirituality is that knowledge of God that is experienced in the soul and reflected in one’s way of life. Solomon and God through Him teaches the child of God the ways of Christ and leads us in the paths of righteousness. He directs the child in the ways that are pleasing to God and gives us the only way by which the child of God can walk in those ways, namely God’s Son Jesus.

In other words, the one who comes to Christ by faith will not only gain eternal life in the future but will be made progressively holy in the present life until eternity.

To live the righteous life, one must be united to the person of Wisdom. They must come to the one says of Himself that:

John 14:6 (ESV)

6 “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

Jesus, the eternal Son of God incarnate, is the only way anyone enjoys eternal life and communion with God. He is Wisdom and without Wisdom one cannot be spiritual, nor have life.

The long life that Wisdom leads to includes spirituality.

2. This long life includes stability (Proverbs 4:12). This long life includes stability.

Follow along in verse 12:

Proverbs 4:12 ESV

12 When you walk, your step will not be hampered, and if you run, you will not stumble.

God instructs us that the long life that Wisdom leads to includes not only spirituality, but also stability. Wisdom will help the child of God walk the path to life, preventing him from being hampered by or stumbling over the temptations of the evil one, invitations of the wicked, and base desires of the sinful flesh.

Without Wisdom, one attempts to run the race of life without the proper nutrition or equipment. A cross country runner would not race well on a diet of candy and sweets. The marathon runner would not run well in flip flops or cowboy boots. Nor shall the man run life’s race with only the shoes and nutrition that the world and wickedness provides. He needs Wisdom.

Wisdom gives the tools and energy that the child of God needs to run the race that God has set before him. Without Wisdom only failure and loss will take place.

Who will you walk with, Wisdom or wickedness?

In verses 10-13, you learned that if you walk with Wisdom, then you will experience long life, including spirituality and stability.

In contrast, if you walk with wickedness, you will experience large losses (Proverbs 4:14-19).

Please read verses 14 and 15 with me:

Proverbs 4:14–15 ESV

14 Do not enter the path of the wicked, and do not walk in the way of the evil. 15 Avoid it; do not go on it; turn away from it and pass on.

God through Solomon had given a positive call to walk with Wisdom in verses 10-13. Now in verses 14-18, God gives a negative command to not walk with wickedness. In verse 14, he gives a general command in two forms, the gist is don’t enter or walk on the path of the wicked or in the way of the wicked.

Verse 15 gives a fourfold strategy that the child of God should use to fight off wickedness.

First, the child of God must avoid temptation. If temptation or wickedness were a person, the child of God must not make eye contact with him or cross to the other side of the street when he sees him.

Second, the child of God must not pass by temptation. Though some temptations are outside of the child of God’s control, others he knows and can control. It is the latter that he must not even pass by. Each day must be planned in such a way that these known temptations remain as far away as possible.

Third, the child of God must turn away from temptation. When temptation is neither avoided or passed by it must be turned away from. The child of God must willfully turn away from wickedness and toward Wisdom. He must not linger. Like a cat thrown into a bath, the child of God must turn, jump away from, and claw out of temptation quickly.

Fourth, the child of God must pass on from temptation. Once he has turned from the calls of wickedness, he must keep walking away from them. Consider the cat again. Once he escapes the bath he does not remain in the bathroom. He runs quickly and urgently from the room. So the child of God should treat temptations.

In summary, the child of God should avoid temptation, structure his day to eliminate possible temptations, turn from those temptations that arise, and hightail it in the opposite direction of temptations.

As with the point I made earlier from verses 10 through 13, God gives the child of God reasons to do what He is calling them to. In the case of not walking with wickedness, the overall reason given is that it leads to large losses. At least two things are lost in walking with wickedness and they will be familiar to you.

1. These large losses include a loss of spirituality (Proverbs 4:16-17).

Look at verses 16-17 with me:

Proverbs 4:16–17 ESV

16 For they cannot sleep unless they have done wrong; they are robbed of sleep unless they have made someone stumble. 17 For they eat the bread of wickedness and drink the wine of violence.

Solomon wants his son and God through Solomon wants everyone one of his children to be disgusted by the cravings and lack of spirituality of those who walk with wickedness. The wicked cannot rest without doing wrong. They cannot sleep unless they make another person stumble and participate in their wickedness. The food they delight in is not holiness, but sin which is vile to God. Their choice drink is not ordinary wine from the grape. No, they desire to be intoxicated on the blood of victims through violence.

If someone gives into the temptations of wickedness, He will not have sound knowledge of God or a life that pleases Him. He will not reflect God’s image in which they were made. He will become a brute and an animal. He will dehumanize himself and become the most vicious of beasts in this world.

Consider the mythical wolf man. He becomes a beast at full moon with an uncontrollable thirst for violence. He cannot even withhold violence from those he loves. It is a curse. Yet, the one who chooses wickedness willfully becomes such a beast. He curses himself. He becomes something worse than the imaginary wolf man. He becomes a real monster. The child of God should desire to be more truly human, reflecting God’s image rightly and becoming less of a beast. Thus, the potential to become brutal and beastial is good reason to avoid the way of the wicked.

If you walk with wisdom, you will experience large losses including a loss of spirituality.

2. These large losses include a loss of stability (Proverbs 4:18-19).

Follow along in verses 18 and 19:

Proverbs 4:18–19 ESV

18 But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, which shines brighter and brighter until full day. 19 The way of the wicked is like deep darkness; they do not know over what they stumble.

In these two verses, we have a summary of what is being taught in verses 10-17. We also are given a direct contrast of the path of the wise with the path of the wicked. In this direct contrast, we see that the wicked do not have the stability that the wise have.

On the one hand, the wise have light. This light shines dimly early in their walk with Wisdom, but brightens progressively until it is nearly blinding at the last day. They become more like, more greatly reflect, and grow in the knowledge of Wisdom incarnate, Jesus Christ. They have a sure and joyous destination.

On the other hand, the wicked walk in deep darkness. They cannot even see those things over which they stumble. They may have pleasure along their path to destruction, but that pleasure works against them and blinds them further to what awaits them. When their lives fall apart they will not know where they went wrong, nor will they know where to turn for relief. When their life ends, they will come into judgment confused, only to be cast into eternal judgment. They reject Christ and His ways and they reap a reward fit for the devil, namely the eternal death.

In a word, the wicked have no stability, only darkness.

In verses 10-13, you learned that if you walk with Wisdom, you will experience long life, including spirituality and stability. In verses 14-19, you learned that if you walk with wickedness, you will experience large losses, including the loss of spirituality and stability.

Who will you walk with, Wisdom or wickedness? Who should you walk with? I shall answer that question and apply the answer for the remainder of our time.

The Answer is walk with Wisdom, not wickedness.

This is the big idea of our text and of my sermon. I repeat it for your sake: Walk with Wisdom, not wickedness.

Child of God (and believer in Christ that is you), this charge applies to you directly. You must continue to choose Wisdom over wickedness. You must see, desire for, and grow in the spirituality and stability that Solomon speaks of in our text. You must want and grow in practical wisdom, meaning the applied knowledge of the truth. You must know and live in light of the truth as God reveales it preimminently in His Word and also in His world.

Therefore, surround yourself with others who pursue Wisdom personified, Jesus Christ, and who seek to live out practical wisdom each day.

Formally join achurch, and if you already have, gather with and serve in that local church.

Prioritize your growth in the knowledge and imitation of Christ. How do you spend your time and money? Does your expenditure of such things show that Christ is your greatest priority? Do you tithe, giving ten percent, or at least sacrifically to the institution founded by your Lord? Do you gather with your church family unless providentially hindered? When you hear of a need among your church family, do you do what is in your power to meet it? Let’s say you do all these things consistently. I commend you. Keep up the good work. Let’s say you do not do all these things. I do not shame you. Living the Christian life is hard. Walking with Wisdom is tough. I charge you to start small by forming God honoring habits. Read one verse a day at a specific time. Block out the hours each week when your church meets and gather with them every week unless something phyically keeps you from gathering. Figure out your income. Set aside a consistent amount to give to the life and ministry of your local church. Join a Sunday School class, so you can build deeper relationships with your church family. Strive to be at fellowship meals and even evening services to 1) grow in the knowledg of Christ and 2) be among your fellow brothers and sisters even more.

Utilize the fourfold strategy against tempation.

Avoid it.

Structure your day to eliminate possible temptations.

Turn from those temptations that arise.

Hightail it in the opposite direction of temptations.

Remember the spirituality and stability Jesus, who is Wisdom incarnate, provides you. Know that you are united to Christ. Thus, you have the forgiveness of sins, eternal life, communion with God, and the indwelling and empowering of the Holy Spirit. You will grow in holiness. You will enter the eternal promised land. Preach these truths to yourself. Pray that these truths would be experienced in your life each day.

Parents, imitate Solomon. Be an example and a teacher to your children. Read and teach Biblical truth to them. The way you spend your time and money will convey to your children what you most value and what they should value. Therefore, take care how you think and walk before your children.

Church, not only should we care how we walk as individuals, but we should also care about how we walk together. As a church made up of professing believers in Christ, we should walk with Wisdom together. Our worship services, ministries, and meetings must be regulated by the Word of God. All things not commanded or postively illustrated in the New Testament should be avoided in our corperate worship and church government. We should ask, “Does the New Testament command this?” And do it if it does and stop doing it if it doesn’t. TeamKid, Youth, VBS, the Christmas Play, the fall festival, and Sunday School must all be done in a way that does not violate what find in the Scriptures and the goal of each of these ministries must be the proclaimation of and formation in gospel truth and the glory of our good God.

Unbeliever, you walk with wickedness and not Wisdom. You live in unstability and you are unspiritual. You follow the evil one and if you remain on the path you presently walk you will walk straight into the eternal destruction that awaits him. By rejecting Christ, you live in a beastial fashion and do not reflect the image of God in which you were made. You are devoid of real hope and have little understanding of yourself and the world around you. You are in darkness. You are an enemy of God and His people. However, as I say each week, you need not remain in your current state. There is a way to be saved. There is a light that shines through the deep darkness in which you live. His name is Jesus—a name you have likely heard. He is God’s eternal Son. He became man and is the savior that God promised. He is Wisdom incarnate and walked perfectly on the path of wisdom that leads to eternal life. He committed no sin and did all that His heavenly Father commanded Him. He even willingly represented sinners like you and me as He did all things to please His Father. He not only reprsented sinners like us in His holy life, but also in His death, resurrection, and ascention to and session at His Father’s right hand. This means that all, including you, who trust in His person and work that I have described may have the forgiveness of sins, communion with God, adoption into God’s family, progressive growth in holiness, and eternal life, or more simply put, salvation. I offer this salvation to you this morning. Admit your sinfulness to God. Trust in Christ for salvation. Confess publically your trust in Christ and allegiance to Him. If you do, you shall be saved, being immediately forgiven, progressively transformed, and eternally glorified. If you don’t, you will continue on a path that only leads to death, destruction, and damnation.

Who or what will you walk with? Wisdom or wickedness. Who or what should you walk with? The answer of Scripture, particuarlly our text, is walk with Wisdom, not wickedness.

Conclusion

Today I have charged you to walk with Wisdom, who is Jesus Christ, and not wickedness. I gave this charge because we observed two truths from our passage:

1) If you walk with Wisdom, you will experience long life.

2) If you walk with wickedness, you will experience large losses.

The road of Wisdom and the road of wickedness stand before us all. Which road will you walk upon? Which way will you turn?

Christian, will you continue to trust in and follow Jesus who is the way that leads to life and Wisdom incarnate?

Church, will we continue to follow Christ wherever He would have us go, no matter the cost?

Unbeliever, will you continue on the road of wickedness that leads to eternal destruction?

God through Solomon invites us all to trust in and follow His Son Jesus Christ, Wisdom incarnate and the way unto eternal life. May each of us by His grace do so. Let’s pray.