Proverbs 26:11 ¶ As a dog returneth to his vomit, so a fool
returneth to his folly.
In this unpleasant remark we have a great truth
about fools. They keep doing the same thing over and over and expecting
different results. Again and again, the fool makes the same mistake, the same
error, commits the same sin over and over. Each time he or she faces
catastrophe, hurts people that love them, disillusions friends and associates,
and each time they are bound to do the same thing.
This is one reason why you should never assume
that a fool has learned his lesson and that he’ll never make the same mistake
twice. That’s what a fool does.
Peter alludes to this verse at the end of his
chapter on false teachers.
2 Peter 2:22 But it is happened unto them
according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and
the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire.
You can ask a person in the world how many times
have they filed bankruptcy, how many abortions they’ve had, how many arrests
for DUI, how many times they’ve been married, how often they’ve been fired from
a job, how many times a doctor has told them they just have to give something
up and they’ve ignored him as their health got worse, or how many times they’ve
felt empty and without a purpose or a point to their lives and, on occasion,
you’ll be shocked and surprised at the answers. The fool just doesn’t get it,
and won’t. It’s not in his or her nature.
But, the Holy Spirit can reach anyone. All the
fool needs is to submit himself to Christ and to the word of God. The fool
won’t change his human nature. But, God can change him. The Holy Spirit will
make him a new creature, give him hope, and lead him, just as long as he stops
trying to do it himself. All the fool can do is to trust in Christ, read His
word, unite with His people regularly for worship, and wait on the Lord. Don’t
jump ahead. You’ll just repeat the same mistakes. Let the Lord lead you even if
people start complaining about your indecisiveness. The Lord’s timing is
perfect even if His ways seem tedious to you. Don’t trust yourself ever again.
Trust the Lord. No self help course or guru will change what you are.
This is an important point. We often tell people
to repent of their sins. But, what we need to repent of is the fact that we are
sinners; we are all fools. Come to Christ. Admit you’re a sinner and be sorry
for it. Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and trust in His righteousness, not
your own, to get to heaven, and then confess that faith before men.
Proverbs 26:12 ¶ Seest thou a man wise in his own conceit?
there is more hope of a fool than of him.
We’ve now come to the one thing worse than a
fool. Perhaps he is a kind of super fool. John Gill laments the conceited,
proud, and haughty person who professes faith in Christ but isn’t worth, as Dr.
Ruckman says, “the shot and powder it would take to blow him into the lake of
fire.”
Gill doubts the salvation of such a conceited
ass, an arrogant, pompous, and continually angry so called Christian who
doesn’t display anything remotely like the fruit of the Spirit named in
Galatians, chapter 5. This person is not submitted to Christ and his behavior
and speech shows it. Is this man or woman saved? Who can say but Christ? But
you certainly wouldn’t know it by their behavior and what they value.
Matthew Henry calls it a spiritual disease; self-conceit.
Some of our most famous “men of God” were infected with it. Henry claims that
they believe their spiritual state to be very good, when it is very bad in
fact. This man or woman might attend church with Bible tucked under their arm,
never missing a moment to grace the assembly with their presence, or they might
feel themselves too good and spiritual to attend church at all, although often
they will permit their wives and children to go.
Paul makes this interesting statement for our
consideration about the wisdom of the world;
1Corinthians 3:18 Let no man deceive himself.
If any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world, let him become a fool,
that he may be wise.
How sad is it when a Christian comes across as
conceited and arrogant. How almost laughable if he or she weren’t doing so much
damage to the cause of Christ to get people saved from the natural destination
of all mankind.
We are commanded within the church;
Philippians 2:3 Let nothing be done through
strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than
themselves.
And given this admonition;
Romans 12:3 For I say, through the grace
given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more
highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath
dealt to every man the measure of faith.
From reading the Bible and from personal experience, I’d like
to point out to the man or woman who claims personal knowledge of Christ and
yet is wise in their own conceit that God can take something very precious from
you, like a child, to get you to look up and to stop worshipping yourself.
Beware of your vanity and arrogance. It is not only not pleasing to God. It
makes your life a tragic comedy of the worst sort. No one really takes you
seriously. They just try to avoid you at all costs. It is a sad thing when
there is more hope for a fool than for you.
No comments:
Post a Comment