Living in Freedom

Ecclesiastes   •  Sermon  •  Submitted   •  Presented   •  46:46
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7:15-25, 29
Last week, Jacob walked us through the extended proverb section of Ecclesiastes, and helped understand how God can use adversity to develop wisdom within us and, with that, more Christlikeness as we grow in Humility, Patience, Gentleness, Self-Control, Contentment.
The teacher continues that development following verse 14, where he says, “In the day of prosperity be joyful, but in the day of adversity, consider: God has made the one as well as the other, so that no one can discover anything that will come after him.”
Ecclesiastes 7:14 CSB
14 In the day of prosperity be joyful, but in the day of adversity, consider: God has made the one as well as the other, so that no one can discover anything that will come after him.
The teacher then says, (15) In my futile life I have seen everything: someone righteous perishes in spite of his righteousness, and someone wicked lives long in spite of his evil.
Ecclesiastes 7:15 CSB
15 In my futile life I have seen everything: someone righteous perishes in spite of his righteousness, and someone wicked lives long in spite of his evil.
We can understand how God uses adversity to grow us, but I think we still have a problem with this one:
Righteous people die, while evil are like Dr. Spock and live long and prosper.
Sounds like a Billy Joel song:
“I’d rather laugh with the sinners than cry with saints – the sinners are much more fun. You know that only the good die young.”
Shouldn’t correct theology, good morality/uprightness, and dedication to God lead to a long, blessed life, while an immoral, unrighteous atheist should have a miserable, short life? Could we vote for that??
It doesn’t happen that way, though. What is confusing in all of this is when bad things happen to really humble, authentic people that just don’t seem to need that kind of lesson.
History is littered with evil people who died old and rich, while so many promising, deeply committed, humble, godly young men and women flamed out way too soon.
ILLUS: One that hit really close to home: Tim Challies is one of the few long-time bloggers and authors who just strikes me as a wonderful father, husband, and pastor: humble, godly, firmly dedicated to Christ.
In 2020, Tim’s son, Nick, 20 years old (same age as Jacob), engaged to be married, was out playing in a field close to Southern Seminary where he was studying for ministry at Boyce College, suddenly collapsed and died. Heart just stopped beating.
Nick had committed his life to the Lord, had determined to give up possibility of wealth in order to serve in ministry, had chosen to live a life of purity with his fiancé until they were married, who was also a student at Boyce – only to miss out on all of it.
Had he known his life would be so short, would he have done anything different? Would he have chosen not to remain pure? Would he have become angry that his life would be so short? Of what I’ve heard about him and his family, I don’t think he would have.
What do you do with that? He was a good kid! How do you deal with something like that? What category do you put it into? “That’s just life?” Is that really the best we can do?
Why would God allow something so deeply horrible to happen to someone so committed to Himself?
Obviously, all that the teacher told us in 1-14 applies to Nick’s family: No matter how godly someone seems, there’s always more wisdom, more holiness, humility, and all of it that can be gained.
But I don’t think that’s the whole of it because so many times it just plain doesn’t make sense! There’s no apparent meaning to the tragedies we see sometimes. Why does someone like Nick have to die?
I believe that may be the thing the teacher is getting at here. It doesn’t really make sense to us. He makes an observation, but he doesn’t ask the same question – He takes it as fact without a giving or asking for a satisfying answer.
Sometimes we can’t point to anything good in a situation and, if we’re honest, we just have to say, “I DON’T KNOW why that happened.
We have to process these things differently. We have to go back to what we know about life under the sun — a world that’s broken, though God originally made us upright (29), but we sinned — that’s what the teacher will tell us, and that affects everything. When we sinned, all bets were off. God owed us nothing more.
So, when we’re asking why do bad things happen to good people and good things happen to bad, we’re asking the wrong question: It’s not why do bad things happen to good people, but why do good things happen to anyone?
If we are joyful in prosperity because we think we deserve it while angry or despondent in adversity, we’re out of touch with the reality of sin and brokenness in the world. At the same time, anger at those who receive the common grace of God in good things reveals more about our sinful character than the holy character of God.
The teacher’s counsel, in light of his observation, admittedly sounds a bit strange at first, but when we unpack it, I believe it’s just what we need to hear:
Ecclesiastes 7:16–17 CSB
16 Don’t be excessively righteous, and don’t be overly wise. Why should you destroy yourself? 17 Don’t be excessively wicked, and don’t be foolish. Why should you die before your time?
(16-17) 16 Don’t be excessively righteous, and don’t be overly wise. Why should you destroy yourself? 17 Don’t be excessively wicked, and don’t be foolish. Why should you die before your time?
I think we can understand 17 pretty well: do foolish things, die fast.
What about 16, though? Excessive righteousness and too much wisdom can be self-destructive?
Can you be too righteous? Can you be too wise?
Couple of clues to what I think the teacher is getting at:
Proverbs 3:7a : Don’t be wise in your own eyes
Proverbs 3:7a CSB
7 Don’t be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and turn away from evil.
In other words, don’t be self-righteous. This is tied to legalism:
the idea that we can somehow generate within ourselves a righteousness that will be acceptable to God. Legalism is the belief that we have to be good enough and earn or at least maintain our good standing with God.
The other way we can be “too wise” is the belief that we’ve got it all figured out – like we know God so well, we understand His ways; we know how He works. The danger is that we can come to satisfying conclusions that God never intended. We can provide trite answers to a complex work God is doing in someone and lead them the wrong way.
Put this together with the verse 17 and we can find one of two places we can land when things get tough:
1. Try harder, as if being hyper-righteous will impress God and benefit others.
2. Give up and foolishly live a life of godlessness.
Quite often, the one who attempts to live in the first category, end up in the second one.
Left unchecked, we can unsuspectedly drift towards an imitation righteousness comparable to the pharisees, which Jesus didn’t approve of.
Matthew 23:25–28 CSB
25 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. 26 Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup, so that the outside of it may also become clean. 27 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which appear beautiful on the outside, but inside are full of the bones of the dead and every kind of impurity. 28 In the same way, on the outside you seem righteous to people, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.
25 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed[j] and self-indulgence. 26 Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup,[k] so that the outside of it[l] may also become clean.
27 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which appear beautiful on the outside, but inside are full of the bones of the dead and every kind of impurity. 28 In the same way, on the outside you seem righteous to people, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.
The teacher is concerned about this because he knows that being hyper-righteous like the pharisees isn’t righteousness at all and, in the end, is just as destructive as excessive evil.
Is there a better way? Is there freedom from legalism and godlessness? Is there a way to take off the suffocating mask of moralism; of the struggle to be good enough to please God before giving up and deconstructing your faith into lawlessness?
Yes! There is hope:
Ecclesiastes 7:18 CSB
18 It is good that you grasp the one and do not let the other slip from your hand. For the one who fears God will end up with both of them.
(18) It is good that you grasp the one and do not let the other slip from your hand. For the one who fears God will end up with both of them.
18a: “grasp them both” – excessive righteousness and excessive evil.
What does he mean by grasping both?
Put together the two truths of (19-20):
Ecclesiastes 7:19–20 CSB
19 Wisdom makes the wise person stronger than ten rulers of a city. 20 There is certainly no one righteous on the earth who does good and never sins.
Wisdom makes the wise person stronger than ten rulers of a city. 20 There is certainly no one righteous on the earth who does good and never sins.
Wisdom is valuable and gives greater strength than ten rulers, but even the wisest person is still a sinner. That’s the key. No matter how strong, smart, or powerful you think you are, you’re still a sinner.
So, as the teacher encouraged us to pursue wisdom which is of great value, it’s not enough – we’re still broken sinners by nature and choice, and that sin destroys us.
The teacher illustrates: (21)
Ecclesiastes 7:21–22 CSB
21 Don’t pay attention to everything people say, or you may hear your servant cursing you, 22 for in your heart you know that many times you yourself have cursed others.
Don’t pay attention to everything people say, or you may hear your servant cursing you, 22 for in your heart you know that many times you yourself have cursed others.
He’s right, isn’t he? You’ve heard how someone talked about you behind your back and then turned around and griped to you best friend about what was said about you!
We are all hypocrites! What do we do about it?
Solomon admonishes his son over and over in Proverbs 4 to “get wisdom”. How do we do that?
The teacher tried: (23-25).
Ecclesiastes 7:23–25 CSB
23 I have tested all this by wisdom. I resolved, “I will be wise,” but it was beyond me. 24 What exists is beyond reach and very deep. Who can discover it? 25 I turned my thoughts to know, explore, and examine wisdom and an explanation for things, and to know that wickedness is stupidity and folly is madness.
I have tested all this by wisdom. I resolved, “I will be wise,” but it was beyond me. 24 What exists is beyond reach and very deep. Who can discover it? 25 I turned my thoughts to know, explore, and examine wisdom and an explanation for things, and to know that wickedness is stupidity and folly is madness.”
What’s he saying? I couldn’t attain wisdom. In other words, when it comes to the ways of God, I DON’T KNOW.
The wisdom he had could only help him realize that wisdom is limited. It showed him that wickedness and folly is deeply foolish, but all else was beyond Him. Wisdom couldn’t deal with his sin.
Where do we go?
Back to (Ecclesiastes 7:18 ):
Ecclesiastes 7:18 CSB
18 It is good that you grasp the one and do not let the other slip from your hand. For the one who fears God will end up with both of them.
It is good that you grasp the one and do not let the other slip from your hand. For the one who fears God will end up with both of them.
The one who thinks he can be righteous enough to earn God’s favor or has God all figured out has a very low view of God’s holiness and the complexity of His ways and means.
When we fear God – we understand He can send us to hell, but we also know He’s merciful to those who trust Him.
The one who fears God grasps both: They do not think of themselves too highly or give in to a life of hopeless sin.
They understand the teacher’s words that there is no one righteous and so they look to God.
In Romans 3:10 , Paul references the teacher’s statement that there is no one righteous and then in 20-24, he tells us how to deal with our sin-problem:
Romans 3:10 CSB
10 as it is written: There is no one righteous, not even one.
Romans 3:20–24 CSB
20 For no one will be justified in his sight by the works of the law, because the knowledge of sin comes through the law. 21 But now, apart from the law, the righteousness of God has been revealed, attested by the Law and the Prophets. 22 The righteousness of God is through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe, since there is no distinction. 23 For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; 24 they are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.
In Christ, we find rest for our sin-ravaged souls. We are free from the legalism that pushes us towards always trying to be better, to act better, to live up to a standard we can never attain – but it also frees us from the sin nature that rules over us, driving us to do its bidding.
This leads us to quiet trust in God – where we don’t have all the answers, but to know that God is good and He’s in control. Beyond that, I don’t have to know why He causes or allows what He does. He has it under control, and He’s doing it for a very good reason. And whatever good He’s doing, we don’t deserve it because, as Ecclesiastes 7:29 (29)
Ecclesiastes 7:29 CSB
29 Only see this: I have discovered that God made people upright, but they pursued many schemes.”
Though God made us upright in the Garden, we pursued many schemes to live life on our own, according to our own self-righteousness. But God in His mercy, sent Jesus as our only hope for salvation.
In this is freedom. There is rest.
“Jesus drank the cup of wrath without mercy, so that we could drink the cup of mercy without wrath.”
This week, the Lord led me to Psalm 131 :
Psalm 131 CSB
A song of ascents. Of David. 1 Lord, my heart is not proud; my eyes are not haughty. I do not get involved with things too great or too wondrous for me. 2 Instead, I have calmed and quieted my soul like a weaned child with its mother; my soul is like a weaned child. 3 Israel, put your hope in the Lord, both now and forever.
Lord, my heart is not proud; my eyes are not haughty.
I do not get involved with things too great or too wondrous for me.
What kinds of things?
Same language David used in Psalm 139: 6 - This wondrous knowledge is beyond me. It is lofty; I am unable to reach it.
[Psalm 139:1-6
Psalm 139:1–6 CSB
1 Lord, you have searched me and known me. 2 You know when I sit down and when I stand up; you understand my thoughts from far away. 3 You observe my travels and my rest; you are aware of all my ways. 4 Before a word is on my tongue, you know all about it, Lord. 5 You have encircled me; you have placed your hand on me. 6 This wondrous knowledge is beyond me. It is lofty; I am unable to reach it.
Lord, you have searched me and known me. 2 You know when I sit down and when I stand up; you understand my thoughts from far away. 3 You observe my travels and my rest; you are aware of all my ways. 4 Before a word is on my tongue, you know all about it, Lord. 5 You have encircled me; you have placed your hand on me. 6 This wondrous knowledge is beyond me. It is lofty; I am unable to reach it.]
2 Instead, I have calmed and quieted my soul like a weaned child with its mother; my soul is like a weaned child.
3 Israel, put your hope in the Lord, both now and forever.
A weaned child is not longer fighting to get something from it’s mother. He can now rest in her protective, loving arms and enjoy her presence.
Also “stumbled” over this:
Be still, my soul: the Lord is on thy side;
bear patiently the cross of grief or pain;
leave to thy God to order and provide;
in ev'ry change He faithful will remain.
Be still, my soul: thy God doth undertake
to guide the future as He has the past.
Thy hope, thy confidence let nothing shake;
all now mysterious shall be bright at last.
Be still, my soul: the hour is hast'ning on
when we shall be forever with the Lord,
when disappointment, grief, and fear are gone,
sorrow forgot, love's purest joys restored.
Be still, my soul: when change and tears are past,
all safe and blessed we shall meet at last.
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