INFLUENCES Of INIQUITY? Or INTEGRITY?
INTRODUCTION: All lives matter. And they matter because they have the potential to be an influence in this world, potentially, good influencers, especially if they commit their lives to the LORD. You are an influencer in your home, your job, your neighborhood, among your family and friends.
Our lives preach a message – and we want to be sure that we come under the influence of GOD and His Word, so that we preach a godly message and have a godly influence in this darkening, broken world.
PROVERBS 28:15-17
15 Like a roaring lion and a charging bear Is a wicked ruler over poor people. 16 A ruler who lacks understanding is a great oppressor, but he who hates covetousness will prolong his days. 17 A man burdened with bloodshed will flee into a pit; Let no one help him.
Lions and bears are predators; they kill prey – it’s in their nature. Wicked rulers that oppress their citizens likewise conduct themselves according to their sin nature. Everyone, including leaders has a sin nature. The issue is whether or not they’ll allow that sin nature to deal wickedly with those under them. The wicked lack understanding and wisdom in their ignorance that whether they want to or not, whether they believe it or not, they will one day answer to GOD the RULER of rulers for their wicked ways. Ignorance of that truth is what leads the wicked into thinking that they can do whatever they want without consequences, with impunity.
The Bible documents the deeds of all kinds of wicked rulers: from Nimrod that many see as the first type of antichrist, to Pharaoh, to Manasseh, Herod and so many others – today we have the General Secretary of North Korea, Kim Jong Un and the late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei of Iran and at the top of that historical hellish heap is Satan himself.
1 PETER 5:8bIt’s wise as Christians to acknowledge GOD in all of our ways, for He will then direct our paths (PROV 3:6), keeping us on the narrow path that leads to life! But if we don’t acknowledge GOD, if we don’t recognize that the LORD of heaven is mindful of everything we say and do, this can get us into trouble as well in this life. That is something that is seriously, sadly lacking in the church today: the fear of the LORD.
…your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.
ISAIAH 3:11-12
11 Woe to the wicked! It shall be ill with him, for the reward of his hands shall be given him. 12 As for My people, children are their oppressors, and women rule over them. O My people! Those who lead you cause you to err and destroy the way of your paths.
ECCLESIASTES 5:2Vs. 16 “…he (a leader) who hates covetousness… (greediness)”, has the wisdom to understand to be content with their position of power, not to oppress the poor to line their own pockets, and to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly before GOD (MIC 6:8).
Do not be rash with your mouth and let not your heart utter anything hastily before God. For God is in heaven, and you on earth; Therefore let your words be few.
Vs. 17 “…burdened with bloodshed… let no one help him”. Murderers – like Cain who had a perpetual mark upon him, will not escape. GOD demands justice on such people as a matter of civil duty and societal stability. This is capital punishment.
GENESIS 9:6Incidentally, Cain is often cited as the first recorded murder in the Bible. As far as humanity is concerned, yes – but truly the first murderer is identified by the LORD Jesus Christ Himself:
"Whoever sheds man's blood, by man his blood shall be shed; for in the image of God He made man.
JOHN 8:44aIt was because he lured Adam and seduced Eve that he essentially murdered – spiritually speaking – the entire human race!
You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning…
PROVERBS 28:18
18 Whoever walks blamelessly will be saved, but he who is perverse in his ways will suddenly fall.
On the surface, this sounds like clean living will ensure salvation, and while the fruit of repentance (mentioned in MATT 3:8) does in fact show a person who is willing to change their ways and puts forth some effort to show they are turning from a life of sin to Christ – that repentance leads to salvation (2 COR 7:10).
What this verse actually implies is that living a life guiltless of deceit, who lives in honesty and integrity will be “saved” from a lot of trouble, avoiding the result of lawless or criminal consequences – “saved” in that sense.
PROVERBS 10:9,25Or as it states earlier in our chapter here in:
He who walks with integrity walks securely, But he who perverts his ways will become known.
25 When the whirlwind passes by, the wicked is no more, But the righteous has an everlasting foundation.
PROVERBS 28:6PROVERBS 28:18-20,28
Better is the poor who walks in his integrity than one perverse in his ways, though he is rich.
19 He who tills his land will have plenty of bread, but he who follows frivolity will have poverty enough! 20 A faithful man will abound with blessings, but he who hastens to be rich will not go unpunished.
22 A man with an evil eye hastens after riches and does not consider that poverty will come upon him.
A spiritual principle – “you reap what you sow”. You get out of life what you put in. “Sow to the Spirit and reap life; sow to the flesh and reap corruption” (GAL 6:7-8).
Till the land and as a result you’ll have “plenty of bread”. Doing the hard work: faithful, disciplined, consistent and by wisdom and perseverance this will bring the results of blessings, provision and even at times prosperity.
“…[those] who follow frivolity” – one translation says, “he who follows vain [or empty] persons”, another very modern translation says, “one who chases fantasies”. Those who “hasten to be rich” – You have these financial saviors, also known as lottery tickets! Or sweepstakes or gambling and other venues where for a few bucks, you just might win big. Then you have these “get rich quick” schemes that are loaded with promises but come up short on delivery. I’ve met people who tried to sell me on some of these gimmicks, and I never bought them.
What does the Bible say about those who lust for money, whether to have an easy lifestyle or become filthy rich?
1 TIMOTHY 6:9-10For myself, I just kept my nose to the grindstone, did the work, kept my lifestyle simple and thrifty, and made sure that I honored GOD by tithes and offerings. My bank accounts were always stable, my refrigerator and cupboards never bare, all my needs met. That’s all thanks to my Good Shepherd! And while technically I am closer to the poverty level than many others, I’m perfectly content, because I have the LORD, and He has me – and that makes me the richest man on the planet – as well as all of you who know JESUS personally!
9 But those who are determined to be rich fall into a temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful lusts, such as drown men in ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some have been led astray from the faith in their greed and have pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
PROVERBS 28:21 To show partiality is not good, because for a piece of bread a man will transgress.
PROVERBS 18:5 To be partial to the faces of the wicked is not good, nor to deprive the innocent of justice.If we were to see the corrupt heart of our entire American Judicial System, I think we would be sick. Corruption is rank. Justice comes at the highest bidder. The weak and vulnerable are victimized; predators are set free to victimize more innocents!
PSALM 82:1-5
1 God presides in the great assembly. He judges among the gods [“Eloheim” which can refer to God, to angels but also refers to judges because they held the power of life and death in their judicial sentencing, thus having god-like power]. 2 "How long will you judge unjustly, and show partiality to the wicked?" Selah. 3 "Defend the weak, the poor, and the fatherless. Maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed. 4 Rescue the weak and needy. Deliver them out of the hand of the wicked." 5 They don't know, neither do they understand. They walk back and forth in darkness. All the foundations of the earth are shaken.
ISAIAH 10:1-3PROVERBS 28:23
1 Woe to those who decree unrighteous decrees, and to the writers [legislators] who write oppressive decrees [Nick Shirely Act]; 2 to deprive the needy from justice, and to rob the poor among my people of their rights, that widows may be their spoil, and that they may make the fatherless their prey! 3 What will you do in the day of visitation, and in the desolation which will come from afar? To whom will you flee for help? Where will you leave your wealth?
He who rebukes a man will find more favor afterward than he who flatters with the tongue.
A flatterer will tell you what you want to hear, if all you want to hear is them agreeing with you, whether you’re right or wrong. A flatterer rarely has your best interest at heart but wants something from you in payment of their flattery – even if it’s just your approval of them personally.
But someone who really loves and cares about you – they will tell you the hard truth, even if it hurts:
PROVERBS 27:6I don’t know where this expression originated, but I’ve often quoted it, even right here from this pulpit:
Faithful are the wounds of a friend, although the kisses of an enemy are profuse.
“An enemy will stab you in the back, all the while laughing at you, whereas a friend – they will stab you in the front, all the while with tears in their eyes.”
There have been times in my life when I wasn’t just wrong, but way wrong! And one of my faithful friends would approach me and give me the hard truth. In the initial knee-jerk reaction I sometimes would be angry, until the Holy Spirit confirmed the truth of what my friend rebuked me about. And then I was humbled and thankful to them and honored them.
PROVERBS 28: 24
Whoever robs his father or his mother, And says, "It is no transgression," the same is companion to a destroyer.
MARK 7:10-13How many false teachers and crooked televangelists have conned people of their money, even poor widows living off of a paltry Social Security check. They pull the same stunt as these Pharisees in their greed, which the LORD rebuked them for in MATT 23:14, “devouring widows' houses, and making long [phony] prayers”). GOD wants us to take care of our children as well for children to honor our aging parents, even before our giving to the LORD in our financial gifts.
10 For Moses said, 'Honor your father and your mother;' and, 'He who speaks evil of father or mother, let him be put to death.' 11 But you say, 'If a man tells his father or his mother, "Whatever profit you might have received from me is Corban, that is to say, given to God;"' 12 then you no longer allow him to do anything for his father or his mother, 13 making void the word of God by your tradition, which you have handed down. You do many things like this."
PROVERBS 28:25-26
25 He, who is of a proud heart, stirs up strife, But he who trusts in the LORD will be prospered. 26 He who trusts in his own heart is a fool, but whoever walks wisely will be delivered.
Pride will bring discord, offense of the wrong kind, selfish ambition at the expense of others – all kinds of strife. Pride never brings harmony, cooperation, or goodwill towards others. Pride turned a holy angel into a devil, who then appealed to Eve, tempting her to succumb to pride. Pride is egocentric and self-serving. Pride is sin and only fools who think they know better than GOD will fall into ruin.
Yet those who trust in the LORD have declared, “not I, but Christ”! They have surrendered their ego, letting GOD rule their hearts and lives, and are led according to His love, His grace and truth, His wisdom and knowledge. How can you not prosper (at the very least, spiritually) and find deliverance, if you’re surrendered to our GOD Who governs according to His virtues??
I believe Scripture teaches that those who are born again are given new hearts – clean and pure, a suitable habitation for the Holy Spirit to live in. Nevertheless we have our minds to deal with, that to one degree or another is still governed by the flesh, by sinful desires. So we don’t want to govern our lives according to our own thoughts – that would be foolish. Rather, we want to walk wisely in the counsels of Scripture – the only safe avenues of truth and wisdom.
PROVERBS 28:27
He who gives to the poor will not lack, But he who hides his eyes will have many curses.
In my round about travels here in Tucson, I had a number of conversations with our communities’ homeless people. I was astounded to discover that about 60% of them are out on the street by their own choice! They’re tired of the rat race, piling mounds of bills and the daily grind (any of us any different?). They don’t want to go to shelters because they don’t allow alcohol. So should we support these kinds of people? I don’t want to fund the irresponsible. What about the other 40% who have had a series of tragedies and misfortunes without a sufficient safety net? I’d say yes to these sort.
This is why whenever I’m addressed by someone who is “homeless” (and not all who claim to be really are) and I’m asked for money, I go instantly into prayer, seeking GOD’s guidance and discernment. If I can tell that they’re under the influence of drugs or alcohol, I won’t give them money but offer to buy them food and drink.
Incidentally, I’m opposed to Socialism, whereby through taxation I support the lazy, the illegal, the ones who are most proficient at milking the system – like what we’ve been seeing in Minnesota and California with all the fraud going on to the tune of billions of dollars.
Jesus was not a Socialist, though Socialists like to claim Him as one – anywhere our LORD instructed us in helping the poor, it was never an admonition to depend on the government to do these things through taxation, but rather, it’s the responsibility of the church to help the needy directly without a political middleman.
PROVERBS 28:28 When the wicked arise, men hide themselves; But when they perish, the righteous increase. Or as it says here:
PROVERBS 22:3What we saw earlier in this chapter as taught by pastor Vance, here in vs. 12:
A prudent man sees danger and hides himself; but the simple pass on and suffer for it.
PROVERBS 28:12
When the righteous rejoice, there is great glory; But when the wicked arise, men hide themselves.
When the righteous let their lives SHINE BRIGHT and allow the truth of GOD to sting the consciences of the unrepented sinner, that’s being salt and light (MATT 5:13-14). That’s being a godly influence in an ungodly society, making a difference and perhaps leading some lost souls out of their darkness and into the light of the LORD’s salvation.
The opposite is also true:
MATTHEW 24:12
Because iniquity will be multiplied, the love of many will grow cold.
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