Practical Principles from Proverbs

Trevor S. Ferguson

June 30, 2012

Proverbs 1:10 (KJV)

My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not.

Proverbs 3:5-10 (KJV)
⁵ Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
⁶ In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
⁷ Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil.
⁸ It shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones.
⁹ Honour the LORD with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase:
¹⁰ So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine.

INTRODUCTION

The Christian walk is quite challenging. Many persons start on the journey but falter somewhere along the way. Indeed if all the persons who came to the kingdom remained in the church, the church today would be many times its current size.

What are the reasons for this attrition?

Many falter because when faced with difficult circumstances they fail to trust God and end up losing out on their faith. Some have been deceived by other persons who led them into error. Still others came up on hard times and in desperation gave up on God.

Today I want to share three principles from the book of Proverbs that if we adhere to, will help to cement our faith and keep us strong in the kingdom of God

PRINCIPLE #1: PUT ALL YOUR TRUST IN GOD – PROVERBS 3:5-6

What does it mean to trust God? According to the NIV Bible Commentary trust in this context means to rely on someone for security. The person on whom we should rely is God. This of course is difficult for many.  We cannot see God, we cannot touch him; how then can we rely on Him as our security? This requires faith! The writer of the book of Hebrews reminds us that without faith it is impossible to please God. He that comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those that diligently seek Him (Hebrews 11:6). This therefore says to us that in all our doings we must practice faith. Although it is not always easy, it is a necessity. Let us pray like the disciples: Lord, Increase or Faith! (Luke 17:5). If we trust in God, He will lead us all the way to heaven!

PRINCIPLE #2: GIVE TO GOD ALL THAT WHICH IS DUE UNTO HIM – PROVERBS 3:9-10

Many of us fail to trust God when it comes to our finances. Although the church has established the biblical principle of tithing and giving as the means of supporting the ministry, many people hold back. In this however we fail to realize that we are in fact holding back on our own blessing. I am not a proponent of a give to get policy because I believe this is flawed in principle. We however give when we believe that the cause to which we give is just. We should note however that when we give with the right perspective, God will certainly bless us. The principle outlined by Solomon here is that we should honour the Lord with our substance and the first fruits of our increase. This essentially means that we should give willingly to God from our possessions and also set aside the first portion of our income or profits as a gift to God.  The promise given in verse 10 is that when we do this we will have full barns (i.e. adequate possessions) and our winepresses will burst with new wine suggesting that we will have in abundance. Let us give willingly to God. He will richly bless us.   

PRINICIPLE #3: DO NOT FOLLOW OTHER PEOPLE INTO ERROR – PROVERBS 1:10

This verse gives a strong and direct instruction that if we consistently follow, we would avoid huge amounts of trouble. How many of us have followed others and ended up on the wrong side? Children, particularly teenagers are often influenced by peers. Most of these pressures involve doing things and getting things.

One of the most pervasive challenges facing the church today is premarital and extra-marital sexual activity. If we apply this principle however we could keep ourselves out of mountains of trouble. If someone entices you, just say no. No discussion, no argument, no negotiation, no rationalization. No at the start, no at the end! Do not underestimate the power of self will and personal decisions. The bible tells us: Resist the devil and he will flee from you! (James 4:7)

There are several others areas where we must resist pressure from others to get involved in things that are not acceptable to God. These include areas of worldliness such as how we dress, the types of movies we watch, or sites we visit on the internet, the types of songs that we sing and the places we go for entertainment. Let’s reiterate the principle of Proverbs 1:10. My sons (and by extension, daughters, brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers), If sinners entice you, Do not give in to them!

Another area that is often overlooked is in the area of our business arrangements. Many times we are lured by others to get into shady, ‘under the counter’ or ‘back door deals’. Others are lured into white collar fraudulent transactions. Again brothers and sisters, if sinners entice you, consent thou not!

CONCLUSION

Today we have highlighted three principles:  

1. Put all your trust in God
2. Give to God all that which is due unto him
3.  Do not follow other people into error

I firmly believe that if we put these principles into practice we will live more fruitful Christian lives and fewer persons will fall by the way. Let us therefore put them into practice!