My dear readers,

Wisdom Brings Discernment

Proverbs 13:14: “The law of the wise is a fountain of life, to depart from the snares of death.”

Many today foolishly believe or think that they are right with God as long as they have God’s Word in their heads. They memorise the Bible with great gusto and are proud to recite word perfect a few hundred verses of the Bible. Others have the fetish of gaining a string of theological degrees from well-known seminaries or Bible Colleges. They believe that with these paper qualifications, they must be right with God as a spiritual leader knowledgeable in God’s Word, and many would look up to them for advice. The worst, perhaps, are those who have written books and articles and are preachers and teachers of God's Word. They delude themselves into thinking that they are children of God through their good Christian works that have blessed many. They write sound literature defending biblical doctrines and explain them clearly and have successfully defended quite a few. All these widely recognised and highly praised leaders of churches must think that God is very pleased with them. Since many men, women and children look up to them, they think God must be happy with what they have done. Sadly and tragically, this is the pharisaical thinking that Christ repudiated and rejected in His days; those who belong to the above will not depart from the snares of death.

Who then can depart from the snares of death?

The wiseones – The wise ones are born-again believers. They are called wise by God because they acknowledge their sins before God and sincerely receive His offer of salvation in Christ. They Christ is their sin-offering, burnt-offering, peace-offering and thank-offering. When they offer these offerings according to the Holy Scriptures, they did so by faith. Through Christ’s death, they experience sanctification (sin-offering), the atonement of sin (burnt-offering), peace with God (peace-offering) and a thankful heart that praises the LORD (thank-offering). They live according to God’s Word. God’s Word is their law to live by. They study it diligently with heartfelt obedience. They make decisions based on the Word of God. Their priorities in life are Bible-based, for they know that glorifying God is more than just a desire and a feeling. It is a practical expression lived out with the love of God constraining them and the peace of God guarding their hearts from unnecessary worry and crippling fear. Forgiving and being forgiven characterise their lives when they have fellowship with loved ones, friends and family. They are kind, considerate, patient, gentle and long-suffering as they face difficult people and challenging circumstances. Their words are seasoned with salt, i.e. to help others be more Christ-like, like salt in contact with meat to prevent decay.

Others who interact with them are blessed by their presence and counsel. For example, sinners see Christ in their lives and hear biblical words that help them become believers. Their holy lives speak louder than words. They share the gospel with lips and lives that have lived out the gospel. In this manner, their lives evidence the law of the wise and is a fountain of life to the sinner. To fellow believers, their lives bring the sanctifying power of the powerful Word of God, encouraging them to live for Christ. The same God who empowered them can also empower all believers. They have the same indwelling of the Holy Spirit experience. Their lives demonstrate what having been blessed with the mind of Christ is like in reality. The sacrificial considerations they show to their brothers and sisters-in-Christ make the love of God tangible in their midst. God’s love is felt and manifested clearly by all who come into contact with them. Their lives show the meaning of the definition of God’s love in concrete terms.

Such a life keeps them safe from the snares of death. Wisdom protects them. With God-given discernment, they take every precaution to abstain from all appearances of evil. Whenever they sin, they repent immediately. They apologise when they hurt others. They do not wish to play hide-and-seek with sin, for they know that sin will find them out and that Christ’s holy image in their lives will be marred, sometimes irreparably. They protect their holy witness for Christ at all costs. They will sacrifice all their personal preferences, likes and dislikes for the sake of Christ in order not to stumble anyone.

The snares of death – The snares of death can be understood in a few ways. The first is spiritual death. All of us are born in sin. Therefore, everyone is spiritually dead until one is born again. He who is snared by the false gospel through the false teacher remains spiritually dead, but he thinks he is no longer so. If he is not delivered from the snare of the false gospel, God will cast him into hell when he dies.

The second is the death of a holy witness. When a child of God lives a godly life, his testimony for Christ will bless many. His life brings glory to God through his years of serving Him faithfully. This holy witness can come crashing down if he is snared by sin. For example, King David did his best to ensure that his testimony was beyond reproach when he became the king of Israel. He succeeded very well and gained a good reputation for God, especially in the eyes of his people who struggled with him in his fugitive years. He commanded them to not touch the LORD’s anointed, for anyone who did so would not be guiltless. They obeyed him regardless of their hostile environment, having to hide and run with their wives and young children, and to make ends meet. They endured. However, when David succumbed to the lust of the flesh and committed adultery with Bathsheba, his holy witness was shattered. After he repented and God forgave him, his holy witness for Christ was irreparably damaged. He would continue to be remembered as an adulterer.

The third is the death of relationships. In every relationship, misunderstandings will always exist and both parties will hurt each other. There is no escaping this reality since neither party is perfect. No matter how hard they try to avoid such an eventuality, they will fail. God knows this well and so He blesses all His children with the mind of Christ and the love of God in their hearts to overcome and forgive every time they are hurt, no matter how deep the hurt. If any party refuses to forgive, the consequence will be severe. The child of God must not fall into the snare of the evil one and allow pride to stop him. His inability or refusal to forgive reveals the reality of his salvation. Matthew 6:14-15: “¹⁴For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: ¹⁵But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” In this case, the snare is the pride of life in man. The law of the wise allows the Word of God and the convicting power of the Holy Spirit to humble the child of God to seek forgiveness and to forgive others.

Be the wise one that all true believers are. Let the Word of God be the law that guides your life, and the snares that lead to death will depart.