Proverbs 3:13

Date: June 22, 2025

Title: Finding Wisdom

Passage: Proverbs 3:13-18

Practical aspects of the Christian life

Several topics to look at over the next few weeks.

Today = Wisdom

Character quality we need to acquire and lay hold of

At the end of the book of Romans, as Paul brought his magnum opus of a letter to a close, he ended it in climatic fashion, saying, “to the only wise God be glory forevermore through Jesus Christ! Amen.”

God, is the only wise God, and if we’re going to reflect the character of God, we’re going to need to obtain wisdom.

I want to talk to you about how we can find wisdom.

What better place to turn to than the book of Proverbs!?

INTRODUCTION

Wisdom, in the book of Proverbs is something that has a life of its own. It has agency. In fact, wisdom is even personified as a woman, which means we’re not to think of wisdom a mere abstract idea that’s hidden in the shadows and dark places of this world, but rather we’re to view it as a person who makes herself publicly available to all those who heed her call.

If you turn back just a page to look at Proverbs 1:20–21, we’re, there, told that: “Wisdom cries aloud in the street, in the markets she raises her voice; at the head of the noisy streets she cries out; at the entrance of the city gates she speaks.”

Wisdom has a voice, and when she speaks, she makes her voice heard in the streets, the marketplaces, and even at the entrance of the city gates, all of which suggests that wisdom is looking to be found.

And the reason for that is because in the ancient world, the city gate was one of the primary places for social interaction; the streets were the places where people would constantly cross paths, and the markets were, of course, the places where business was transacted… and so the point of all this is to say that wisdom lifts her voice in the most public of places.

It’s not that she’s hard to find, it’s just that she’s sometimes hard to hear!

The noise of the city, the commotion of the people, the confusion of politics, the buisyness of life, and the constant pulls and tugs of this fallen world system that would have us waste our time on vanity upon vanities: all of these things can so deafen our ears, so much so, that even though the voice of wisdom is crying out right in front of us, we’re still not hearing a thing!

To illustrate this, my wife told me about a situation when she was at the Metro station in Montreal. There was a elderly lady lying on the floor. She was hurt. Thankfully my wife was able to help her out, but it had probably been a while she was there. Even though there were thousands upon thousands of people there, busy transferring from subway to subway to get to where they needed to be, no one was able to hear the cries of this poor old lady because in effect her voice was silenced by the louder voices of life they were more inclined to listen to.

This is something we need to take to heart: if we do not have ears to ear, then the voice of wisdom will be crowded out by the voice of the world.

I begin my sermon this way, because I want you to understand that as I speak to you about what it takes to find wisdom, I want you to understand that it’s not like wisdom is something that can only be obtained by a select few. It’s not hiding in a bush somewhere. It’s not on a remote island. It’s right in front of us.

Lady Wisdom makes herself publicly available to us all, and she’s looking to be found. She longs to be our friend, our sister, and our closest companion. The question is, will we really listen to her? Will we walk with her? And will we allow her to walk with us?

Now, turning back to our text in Proverbs 3, there are many things about wisdom that Solomon highlights. He speaks about the beautitude of wisdom, the beauty of wisdom, the benefits of wisdom: wisdom is undoubtedly a glorious quality to possess. I mean he even goes so far as to say that wisdom “is a tree of life to those who lay hold of her; [and] those who hold her fast are called blessed (V. 18).”

Wisdom is a source of life. It generates life. It enriches life. It enhances life. This is how valuebale wisdom is! It’s worth giving everything up for. In the pursuit of wisdom, it would be worth giving up all your material assets to gain, because it’s not something you can put a price on! Wisdom is more valuebale than the finest luxuaries of life; indeed she is more profitible than gold, more precious than jewels, and nothing can compare with her!

Well, knowing the inestimable value of wisdom, then, how much do you think this should insentivize us to to seek it? A lot! Seeking the wisdom of God should be one of our top priorities, and thankfully the Bible provides us with some guidance over how we should go about this, too.

But before we consider that, and look at some of the biblical principles we should be fostering in our lives in the pursuit of wisdom, it’s first important for us to understand what wisdom is. So, what is it?

Well, I think we all understand that wisdom is different than knowledge. Someone can know a great deal about something and yet still act very unwisely. So, we don’t want to reduce wisdom to knowledge, even though it should be said that we’re usually a lot less likely to make wise decisions without any knowledge.

That’s why the proverb says, “Blessed is the one who finds wisdom, and the one who gets understanding.”

Wisdom and understanding usually work together in tandem. To give you an example of this coming together, it’s been well said that, “Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit; wisdom is knowing not to put it in a fruit salad.” 

That’s a little bit of a humurous way of putting it, but it does get the basic point across: while wisdom cannot be reduced to knowledge, it is the rightful application of knowledge; it is the ability to discern what godly behaviour requires of you in any given set of circumstances; and let me tell you that in real life circumstances, sometimes bridging that gap is straightforward and obvious whereas in other instances it’s not so obvious at all!

We need to be dependent upon the Lord.

We need supernatural God-sent wisdom to guide us in how we should act and how we should respond in the various situations of life we find ourselves in.

To give you an example of this, turn to Proverbs 26:4-5. In these verses, it appears as if they almost contradict each other, but when you come to understand the purpose and function of a proverb, you realize just how much sense it makes.

Remember, proverbs are not unconditional promises. Proverbs, rather, are principles of life, or wise sayings that convey true information about the way things generally work.

But you got to make sure that you read proverbs as proverbs, otherwise you’ll run into some problems, and Prov 26:4-5 is a good case in point:

“Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest you be like him yourself.   Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own eyes.”

When you read this, it makes you wonder: well, which is it? Do I answer a fool according to his folly or do I not? V. 4 says, No! V. 5 says, Yes! So what is it? Do I answer or do I not answer? Answer: yes, no, maybe so. It depends.

In life, there will be situations when Lady Wisdom will tell you to open your mouth and rebuke that man in his foolishness, lest he think more highly of himself than he should. ‘Don’t just let this guy spew all this nonsense out of his mouth. Intervene! Speak up.’

But at other times, Lady Wisdom will tell you the exact opposite… she will tell you to ‘hush—it’s not worth it—don’t enter this battle—don’t say a word—keep your mouth shut, lest you participate in a foolish unfruitful game.’

The point is that it takes wisdom to know how to respond.

Charles Bridges, in his influential and renowned commentary on the book of Proverbs, makes the following comments on this passage:

“We are forbidden, yet commanded—to answer a fool. The reason however attached to each rule explains the apparent contradiction. Both together are a wise directory for the treatment of the fool, according to the difference of character, time, or circumstance.”

“But what may be at one time our duty to restrain, at another time, and under different circumstances, it may be no less our duty to do. Silence may sometimes be mistaken for defeat. Unanswered words may be deemed unanswerable, and the fool becomes arrogant, more and more wise in his own conceit. An answer therefore may be called for; yet not in folly, but to folly; ‘not in his foolish manner, but in the manner which his foolishness required; not according to his folly, but according to thine own wisdom.

He would go on to say, “Oh! for wisdom to govern the tongue; to discover “the time to keep silence, and the time to speak.”

Again, the point is that we need wisdom from God in order to know how to respond in wisdom in the many situations we are confronted with in life.

This shows us that walking with God is deeply experiential! It’s not static; it’s not a mere formality; it’s not just about going through the motions; it’s not just a matter of checking a list do’s and dont’s. We need to be depending on God, and trusting God, and acknowledging God, and walking with God, everyday of our lives so that our paths would be made straight!

These are things we always need to keep in mind as we seek to glorify God. Never forget that: 1) True wisdom is rooted in a life lived in fellowship with God. 2) Wisdom is made freely available to everyone who desires it. 3) Wisdom is marked by godliness, that is, applying what we know to be true in real life situations.

Now, with all of that as a backdrop, we still need to do a little more digging here, because we haven’t yet explored where we are to look in our efforts to find wisdom. Now we know it’s out there, right? We’ve already established that: Lady Wisdom is crying out on the streets, so she can be found; she’s there… but at the same time, we have to be on guard because the truth is, there are many other counterfeit voices crying out on the streets, claiming to be wise as well.

But not all voices are to gain our attention.

There is an earthly, demonic, unspiritual wisdom we need to silence at every turn!

But the question is, how do we do it? How do we discern the true from the false?

Well, let me give you a few guidelines. If we are going to grow in wisdom, stature, and in favor with God and man, then there are three basic things that’ll help to direct our steps, the first of which is scripture.

1 - Scripture

Apart from the divine revelation of God, revealed in scripture, it is impossible to grow in all spiritual wisdom and understanding. The Bible is the foundation of wisdom!

Psa 19:7, “The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple.”

The “simple” (psalms and proverbs) represent those who lack understanding.

There’s a gullibility there—a lack of perception and discernment that needs to be reshaped by the truth of the Word of God, and according to the psalmist that’s what the Law of the LORD does for such a person.

For those who take heed to the law of the LORD, which is the perfect standard of truth, it will result in making people wiser in every aspect of true spirituality, including salvation itself.

This is something Paul spoke to in his letter to Timothy, and I want to show it to you. Turn to 2 Tim 3:14-15.

So often when we think of what Paul says about scripture in 2 Tim 3, we think about it’s divine inspiration and how profitable it is to the believer, which is all absolutely true.

Scripture is breathed out by God.

It’s profitable for teaching, reproof, correction, and training in righteousness.

It’s sufficient to equip us for every good work.

But before Paul says that, he reminds Timothy about the positive effect scripture had on his own life, growing up.

2 Timothy 3:14–15, “But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings [scripture], which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.”

Scripture is able to make us wise unto salvation!

This is the effect it had on Timothy.

As he grew up under the teaching and tutlege of his mother and grandmother, he was given the wonderful experience of growing up under the instruction of God’s Word, through which he was able to learn about who God is, what it looks like to follow God, and what it means to be saved.

And from childhood, he grew up believing everything he had learned from his Mom. To all you mothers out there, let this be an encouragement to you. As you take the time out of your busy schedules to read Bible stories to your children, to talk to them about God, to teach them about the way of salvation; know that all of these things are making an incredible impact on them. Never underestimate how powerfully God can use you to impress upon your children their need for God!

Whether they believe it from childhood or they come to believe it later on in life, know that exposing them to the truth of the Bible is their greatest need. So, get into the Bible with them. Don’t think they don’t need it because it’s too deep to understand or something like that: trust in the power of the Word of God, because as Paul says, it is able to make us wise unto salvation.

This is the kind of power invested in the Word of God: it exposes the folly of our sin, it rebukes the folly of our unbelief; it crushes our pride; it enlightens the mind of our understanding; it helps us to view the world through a proper lense, and it highlights the wisdom of God in the foolishness of what we preach! And given that this is the effect scripture has on us, then trust in its ability to instill wisdom in your own life, including the lives of those whom we teach it to.

Scripture is the foundation of wisdom. If we build our lives on any other foundation, then we will be like that foolish man Jesus talked about, who built his house on the sand so that when the winds and rain came and beat against it, it fell with a great crash.

Our houses need to be built on the rock. They need to be founded on the inspired, inherent, and infallible Word of holy scripture. Full stop!

The Bible is the standard of wisdom from which we are to base our decisions in life. We are not to think that we can improve upon the wisdom of the Word by leaning on our own understanding.

We’re not to be like Abraham, who thought it would be wise to try bringing about God’s plan by taking things into his own hands: ‘God, if you’re not going to provide a son as you said, don’t worry… I can’t take care of this. I’ll just sleep with my wife’s maidservant.’

You see, the problem with Abraham is that although he sincerely wanted to see God’s will fulfilled, he rejected God’s way to get there. Rather than trusting and patiently waiting for God to fulfill His word of promise, he took things into his own hands and made a mess of everything!

We can be guilty of doing the same thing when we try to take things in our own hands, too. Like Abraham, we can get so frustrated with things not seeming to go our way that we end up adopting worldly pragmatic practices in the hopes that that’ll help fix the problem.

But such a path is one that God despises. He hates it. And moreover, it’s also a path that is not without consequences. This is something we got to be on guard for! The Bible says, “there is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.”

Not every way that seems right is right. There is a counterfeit wisdom, seeking to creep through the crevices of our hearts that we need to reject on a daily basis.

It doesn’t matter where it’s coming from… how well respected someone is or how many degrees someone has is irrelevant: if someone is suggesting we believe something or do something that is running up against the plain teaching of scripture, then we are to reject it!

Because if we allow unbiblical idealogies and worldly beliefs to find acceptance in our hearts; first of all, God will not be pleased with that, but secondly, we will not be blessed with wisdom. We will not grow in wisdom, nor will we mature in wisdom.

So, that’s the first thing we need to make sure of: scripture must occupy a central place in our lives, otherwise we will never be able to advance or make spiritual progress in the school of wisdom.

Now aside from scripture, something else we can do to find wisdom is to commit ourselves to prayer.

2 - Prayer

This is an important one.

If scripture is the foundation of wisdom; then prayer, you might say, is the fountain of wisdom. It is the means through which we receive direction from the divine source of life. What the apostle James says about this is definitely worth considering—it’s a verse you’re probably all familiar with. In James 1:5, “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.”

This verse couldn’t be anymore clear: God gives copious amounts of wisdom to those who ask for it in prayer, which shows us how essential prayer is in the pursuit of wisdom.

So, both scripture and prayer, then, are heavily needed to live a life that reflects the wisdom of God, because on the one hand, we recognize that God distributes wisdom through His Word, but on the other hand, we also recognize that He distributes wisdom through prayer.

Think about it this way, prayer is like the means by which God causes His Word to become activated in our lives. And when you grasp that, you begin to realize that it’s not enough to simply read and study the Bible. Now obviously that’s good, and it will help. In fact, it’s even needful. However if your commitment to the Bible is not coated in prayer, than when it actually comes time to deal with real life situations, you might be great at reflecting the mind of God, but maybe not so great at reflecting the heart of God.

You see, prayer has a way of pruning off the rough, crusty edges in our lives. Through prayer, our human inclinations, which by nature are foolish, are replaced with supernatural inclinations that reflect the kind of wisdom that only God can provide.

To go back to the personification of wisdom for a moment—to show you how it relates to prayer, just think about it in these terms: prayer is like the instrument that tunes our ears to be sensitive to the voice of Lady Wisdom, so that when she begins to cry out on the streets, we hear her voice clearly and we follow her leading.

So, prayer is absolutely essential!

Through prayer, we grow in grace, we grow in meekness, we grow in Christlikeness, we grow in the fear of the Lord, we grow stronger in our convictions, we grow in our relationship with God, and we grow in our ability to apply the Word of God to life.

CONCLUSION

So, if you’ve come to a massive crossroads in your life and you’re wondering what God would have you do... or to put it more mildly, let’s just say that it’s more of a small-scale issue where you’re simply looking for some further direction and guidance… Look, whatever the nature of the situation might be, here is the biblical course of action we all must take: # 1, read and study the Bible to figure out what His will is and then obey it, and # 2, make sure to ask God for wisdom through prayer.

And by the way, when you pray for wisdom, really believe that God will give you wisdom.

Don’t just pay lip service to this because it’s the Christian thing to do.

When you pray, believe that God will actually supply you with an abundance of wisdom in fulfillment of His promise.

Brothers and sisters, wisdom is not out of our reach; it’s within our grasp. If we would simply take heed to the foundation of wisdom, not to mention give our attention to seek the one and only true God who is the fountain of all wisdom, it’s amazing how much we’ll be able to grow in wisdom.

And so, given everything we’ve considered this morning, friends, I would submit to you that if you seek to know God through His Word and seek to be led by God through prayer, this is the path on which you will find wisdom… and not only will you find wisdom, but better yet you will find youself enjoying living fellowship with the person who is the embodiment of wisdom itself.

And this is the ultimate goal of wisdom! It’s not so that we would know more life skills, though that’s a good thing too! But the goal of growing in wisdom is to grow closer to the Christ who became unto us wisdom from God.

And so, as we think about finding wisdom, I really do feel like I would be doing a great diservice to you if you left this place, thinking that your greatest need is to simply learn another principle; you’re greatest need is a person. You need wisdom, but you need wisdom incarnate! You need Christ!

Without the Christ of wisdom, the principles of wisdom and the point of wisdom will be lost.