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We live in an insulting culture. Social media is full of people sniping at one another from anonymous accounts. Politicians hurl invective after invective at one another. Even the news media is quick to insult or to publish insults. And the atrocity that is daytime television has thrived for decades on letting people watch foolish people snap at each other.

 

But what is a wise response to the insult-driven culture we live in? How are we to react? It is not hard to understand.

 

Proverbs 12:16

 

The vexation of a fool is known at once,

but the prudent ignores an insult.

 

It’s not hard to understand, but it is hard to do. A fool shows his or her annoyance at an insult at once. Anger flairs. A retort flies. But the word of God tells us that the wise course is not to allow offense at the first moment of insult. Instead, wisdom is what people’s moms used to tell them all the time: Just ignore it.

 

The wise person lets an insult go. Why? There is nothing to be gained for us by jumping into the fray. When we are insulted, what do we think to accomplish by engaging the insult? Do we think we will give back a better insult? That is not honoring to the Lord or helpful in society. Do we think we will show the one insulting us the error of their ways? If we are angry or offended, our response will not be effective. Do we think we are going to call those nasty anonymous Twitter folks to account? If they cared about righteousness, they would not be tweeting insults from behind the safe cover of a keyboard and a fake screen name.

 

In truth, we respond to insults most often because of personal pride. How dare you say that about me? How dare you not see me as great as I see myself? How dare you besmirch my reputation? But the truth is, we have no reason to let this be an issue. Insulting words are just that, words. To allow words to stoke a fire in you that requires you to react is a mistake on your part. It is unwise. It is damaging. The far more mature response is to see the insulting words of many as the hollow things they are.

 

Now, I understand that there may be times when you face the wounds of someone who is a friend. In those situations, you may have to go to them, talk it through, and come to a point of reconciliation. That makes sense. There is nothing wrong with sitting down with a friend and telling them, “I was hurt by what you said.” Maybe you will find they meant it a different way. Maybe you will find that there are real things in your life you need to work on. Maybe you will find that they simply got carried away. Maybe you will find that they are not as close a friend as you think.

 

But sitting down with a friend and calmly talking through how their words affected you is not nearly the same as showing your vexation from the beginning. Nor is it the same as screaming out a demand for an apology or trying to return insult for insult. May we be wise enough to know that jumping into the insult game will make us look foolish. Learning to ignore words that do not matter used to be a part of growing up in a mature society. Perhaps our culture has not learned this lesson, but we who know the Lord should learn it for ourselves.  

The way of salvation is counterintuitive. When we look at certain people who perform certain actions, we are likely to assume salvation. Most people in the world believe that salvation, being right with God, is something that comes to those who do the right religious things. But that is not God’s way, nor has it ever been.

 

Acts 10:1-2 – 1 At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion of what was known as the Italian Cohort, 2 a devout man who feared God with all his household, gave alms generously to the people, and prayed continually to God.

 

Cornelius looks saved. He believes in God. He prays and gives. By all measures that any person would come up with, Cornelius looks like he is in.

 

But if you read this chapter of Acts, you find that God tells Cornelius  to fetch the apostle Peter to his house. Peter comes and preaches, and that preaching, the message Peter brings, is what opens the door for the family to actually be saved. It is not their belief in God, prayers, or social kindness that leads them to salvation. It is something else.

 

What does Peter preach that God uses to give Cornelius and his household the faith needed for salvation?

 

Acts 10:39-43 – 39 And we are witnesses of all that he did both in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They put him to death by hanging him on a tree, 40 but God raised him on the third day and made him to appear, 41 not to all the people but to us who had been chosen by God as witnesses, who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. 42 And he commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one appointed by God to be judge of the living and the dead. 43 To him all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”

 

Peter comes and preaches Jesus. And only after the people hear the message of the sacrifice and resurrection of Jesus, only after they hear of salvation by God’s grace through faith alone, do we see Cornelius  and his family actually saved.

 

Now wait, is Scripture really saying that Cornelius was not saved before this encounter? Is Scripture really saying that a man who believed in God, prayed all the time, and gave to the poor was outside of the kingdom? Look at Peter’s words as he explains to others what God had told Cornelius.

 

Acts 11:13-14 – 13 And he told us how he had seen the angel stand in his house and say, ‘Send to Joppa and bring Simon who is called Peter; 14 he will declare to you a message by which you will be saved, you and all your household.’

 

Peter is absolutely clear that God told Cornelius that the message Peter would bring to his house is the message by which they would be saved. They were not already saved, but needed additional light. God was moving Peter to bring Cornelius what he needed to be saved. And what Cornelius needed was the message of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. What Cornelius needed was the gospel of salvation by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone.

 

Wait a moment. Cornelius believed in God. Is that not saving faith? No, it is not. To believe that there is a God is a good thing, for sure. To see that we are created by God is right. To pray to God is good. To give to the poor is good. But that is not enough to save you. We are saved, not by believing in God in general, but by faith in Jesus Christ and his finished work. We are saved when we believe that Jesus came to earth to save us, died as a sacrifice to pay for our sins, and rose from the grave to complete the process. WE are saved when we put all of our trust for all of our eternity in the work of Jesus alone to bring about our forgiveness. We are saved when we let go of a belief that we can lead our own lives and we surrender all authority over our lives to Jesus and his word.

 

That story is counterintuitive to many people. Many people think that doing good should make you OK with God. Many people think that doing religious things should make you OK with God. Many people think that people are just automatically OK with God. But the word of God shows us that we are only made right when we place our faith and our lives in the care of Jesus Christ and his finished work through his life, death, and resurrection.

How do you respond to hardships? Do you hide from them? Do you complain about them? Do they break your spirit?

 

Think about the pains that the disciples of Jesus faced in the early days of the church. After Christ’s resurrection and ascension, the disciples were in a weird spot. God’s Spirit came and empowered them. But they were still a huge minority in Jerusalem. The Jewish leaders still hated them. It was a matter of just months earlier that the Jewish leaders had put Jesus to death. And the men who told others about Jesus faced legitimate persecution.

 

Acts 5:40-42 – 40 and when they had called in the apostles, they beat them and charged them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. 41 Then they left the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name. 42 And every day, in the temple and from house to house, they did not cease teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ.

 

This story always amazes me. The disciples took a beating. This is no small thing. They were hit hard. They were left bloody and bruised. There is just no way this was nice at all.

 

But what did they do? The disciples rejoiced. They praised God. They celebrated. Why did they celebrate? Did they celebrate because God gave them riches and ease? No way. They celebrated because God had counted them as worthy to suffer for the name of Jesus.

 

We could learn from this, Christian friends. It is an honor to suffer for the name of Jesus. We should not wine and complain when somebody looks down on us. We should not moan and lose courage if someone calls us names on social media, mocks us on a campus, or even tries to change laws to make our lives difficult. Of course we will try to protect the rights of Christians in our nation so that the gospel can be easily spread. But the truth is, we need to stop grumbling if life gets hard. If God allows us to suffer, then we are privileged believers who have been honored to suffer for the name of Jesus. If we do not suffer, we should thank God for his mercy on us.

 

What suffering have you faced for the gospel? If you are in the U.S., you have not had your house burned down or your family arrested for gospel causes. If you are an American, you probably have not once felt any physical pain, any at all, because you communicated the gospel. I’m pretty sure that the worst things that have ever happened to me for my faith in this country is that I have had a drink thrown on me on the street and been made fun of by family for my commitment to Christ. But neither of those is anything compared to the single beating the disciples took.

 

Let us be bold. Let us embrace the fact that we might suffer for the gospel. Let us see that, if the Lord allows us to suffer for his name, he is counting us as special. Let us be so confident in the resurrection of Jesus that we willingly face hardships in the here and now for the joys of eternity. May we love the lost enough to keep witnessing. May we love the Lord enough to spread his fame even if it is costly.

            Two Thoughts on Wise Communicatione we hit Proverbs 10, we run into that cool section of the book where most of the verses are two related lines. Very often, the lines are antithetical parallels, they offer opposites that are related. These are helpful for us to show us the difference between right and wrong.

 

As I was looking at Proverbs 10, two verses stood out to me. Both of them relate to how we communicate. Both of them reminded me of specific people I have known. And both of them are a challenge for any of us to be wiser as we speak.

Proverbs 10:8 – 

 

The wise of heart will receive commandments,

but a babbling fool will come to ruin.

 

This verse compares the wise to a fool. And the contrast in the verse is how each listens, really listens, when others are speaking. One major flaw that we want to avoid in communication is being the person who, as others speak, does not attend to them enough to actually understand what they are saying. Perhaps we are thinking about what we want to say next. Perhaps we are simply focusing on other things. But it is a huge mistake to let your life become marked by being a person who does not listen.

 

And, yes, I have a couple of people I know in mind here. [And, no, I will not name them for you.] The people I am thinking of are good people, sweet people, people you want in your church or circle of friends. But the most frustrating thing about talking to these folks, I have noticed, is that it is easy to tell that they are just not listening, not really. They will nod or give you a “uh huh” in the conversation, but they are not taking in the content of what you say. So, at the end, when the conversation is over, you feel like you have just talked to yourself and they have missed whatever it is that you wanted to tell them.

 

Let me simply suggest, Christians, don’t be like that. Check yourself. Look to see if you are a listener, or if you wander when you are being spoken to. Are you the kind of person, when a conversation is not focused on you, looks for a way to change that? Be real here. Do you actually not value other people and their thoughts? Wise people receive commandments, they listen. Babbling fools, those who can’t stop themselves from talking, come to ruin.

 

Proverbs 10:12

 

Hatred stirs up strife,

but love covers all offenses.

 

Now we see the difference between being loving and hateful, at least one difference. Hateful people stir strife. Loving people cover offenses.

 

We have to be careful with this one. Solomon is not here telling us to let big, dangerous problems go. He is not suggesting we turn a blind eye to sin. But, if you are honest, I doubt you thought that was behind this verse to begin with.

 

A little common sense here would tell you that this verse is again about communication and relationship issues. This time, it is the difference between a person who takes a small conflict and blows it up and a person who is gracious and lets it go.

 

Again, I know people here. I know people who simply cannot look at others with grace. If they offend others, these people expect the benefit of the doubt—“Obviously I didn’t mean it that way; you should know that.” At the same time, these people cannot look at others with that same favor. They must take everything as a deep, personal insult. Every time they are slighted, every time something is said in a way they do not like, they bristle and have to bring it out.

 

It is wise and loving to give others the benefit of the doubt in the area of personal offense. It is wise, very wise, to let small offenses go, to cover them up, and to not make them bigger by stirring up strife. In the end, building conflict when it is over small, personal issues or personality conflicts is damaging to friendship, to families, and to churches. Wise and loving people will develop the character and class to learn to just let certain things, small things, go.

 

And let me say, as an honest confession, that I know I have been the wrong person in both of these issues. I can think of times when I have been in conversations and then looked back, remembered how they went, and know that I interrupted others while speaking, I focused on my own agenda, and I simply did not listen. And there are times when I have taken a small offense and spread it, sharing with others what I should have covered. So I know I’m not coming at this from a position of perfection. But the Proverbs are not about us flaunting our own wisdom. The Proverbs are about us learning to live in a way that is wise, that honors God, and that works best in the real world. So may we learn from these verses to listen well and to avoid spreading strife on unimportant issues.

One of the greatest proofs of the claims of Christianity is the unbelievable change in the courage of the disciples. Consider that, on the night of Jesus’ arrest, the disciples ran and scattered. They were not ready to stand and die with Jesus as they had claimed in the upper room at the last supper. But then consider how the disciples behaved just a month-and-a-half later.

 

Acts 4:5-12

 

5 On the next day their rulers and elders and scribes gathered together in Jerusalem, 6 with Annas the high priest and Caiaphas and John and Alexander, and all who were of the high-priestly family. 7 And when they had set them in the midst, they inquired, “By what power or by what name did you do this?” 8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders, 9 if we are being examined today concerning a good deed done to a crippled man, by what means this man has been healed, 10 let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead—by him this man is standing before you well. 11 This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. 12 And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

 

Set the stage for this conversation in your mind if you really want to get it. The disciples, the men who had been hiding in the upper room, are pulled into a meeting of the Jewish rulers. Annas and Caiaphas, the two main Jewish rulers who had Jesus put to death, are right there leading this inquest. If ever the disciples should have been utterly scared speechless, it is now. They are facing the men who had Jesus beaten, who took him to Pilate, and who scoffed at the Savior on the cross.

 

With that kind of terror in mind, look at Peter’s response. There is no hint of fear in Peter. There is only boldness, only confidence. Peter speaks like a person taking a test who has been given the answer key.

 

What gives Peter all this confidence. I think it is the simple truth that Peter knows that Jesus has been raised from the dead. Peter points out the fact that, yes, you leaders crucified Jesus. But God raised him. Jesus is alive. And now that Peter knows Jesus is alive, he does not fear the Jews. He does not fear a trial. He does not fear death.

 

Peter has enough confidence, in fact, to make the glorious declaration in verse 12 that there is no other way to salvation other than Jesus. There is no other name under heaven whereby men can be saved. It is only the name of the risen Jesus, because of the finished work of Jesus, that can lead us to true salvation. The death and resurrection of Jesus has changed the world, and Peter and the other disciples are willing to stand strong.

 

How does a man who ran and hid on Good Friday suddenly stand so strong before the priests? The only way that this makes sense is if Jesus really is alive. But if Jesus really is alive, nothing else would make sense for them to do other than to honestly, boldly, gloriously proclaim the gospel.

 

Friends, Jesus is alive. Yes, he died. But God raised him from the dead. He walked out of the tomb and showed himself to the disciples and to crowds of hundreds. His resurrection appearance convinced the disciples to give up their lives for the sake of the gospel. And his resurrection is our hope too.

 

Because Jesus is alive, we can have confidence that his sacrifice was enough to pay for our sins. Because Jesus is alive, we can have confidence that all who have trusted in him have eternal life. Because Jesus is alive, we can have confidence to stand and share the gospel in a world that thinks we are nuts. Because Jesus is alive, we have eternal life, and that life is all we really need.

In Proverbs 9, the lady wisdom and the lady folly both call out to passers-by. Each lady cries to the simple, the ones in need of guidance, and they invite them to come to them. And the calls are strikingly similar.

 

I think that the Lord, in this passage, is showing us that, when you live in the fallen world, it is often difficult to distinguish between wisdom and folly. In society, the cries of either woman may sound alike. We who are simple and needy folks have no hope, on our own, of figuring out what is the difference. That is, if God does not give us his word, we would have no hope.

 

In Proverbs 9, lady wisdom tells us the difference between herself and lady folly.

 

Proverbs 9:10

 

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,

and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.

 

Do you want wisdom? Fear god. That is the beginning of wisdom. Do you want insight, yield to God and his word. If not, you will not know when you are headed for right or wrong thinking.

 

One thing that I am seeing much of in the world right now is the way that so many of us think that we can figure out the ways of God. Many of us think we can sit in judgment over the decisions and the commands of god. We act as though we could, in our wisdom, get things right where God has gotten them wrong in his ways of salvation or of providential care of the world.

 

God is infinite in his perfection. He is holy. He is omniscient. He is omnipotent. He is omnipresent. He is always, absolutely always, right in all of his ways. And when we do not understand his ways, we should not dare to raise ourselves up and demand his answers, or even worse, accuse him of wrong.

 

Folly and wisdom both cry out to us. They both call us to their sides. And the difference, the beginning of the difference, is the fear of the Lord. May we fear god rightly so as to walk in his wisdom.

When I grew up, four-letter words were those bad words that would get a kid in trouble and which a polite and civilized adult would avoid saying most of the time. We now live in a world where hate is considered more of a four-letter word than any expletive that would have gotten a kid’s mouth washed out with soap. As far as many in our society is concerned, hate is the ultimate sin.

 

How does God’s word speak of hate? Does God tell Christians, above all, not to hate anything at any time in any way?

 

Consider the words of personified wisdom in Proverbs 8. Tell me if you feel something counter-cultural.

 

Proverbs 8:13

The fear of the LORD is hatred of evil.

Pride and arrogance and the way of evil

and perverted speech I hate. 

 

Notice that godly wisdom declares to us that the fear of the Lord—the beginning of knowledge in Proverbs 1:7—is also the hatred of evil. God’s word is clear, and it has always been clear, that the people of God are to hate evil. Hate, therefore, is actually part of what it means to love righteousness.

 

There, of course, is a difference in being a person full of hate, of anger, of cruelty, and of malice. That is not what God calls his people to be or to do. We are not to be nasty, violent, militaristic and conquering people. We are to be kind, gracious, loving, gentle, poor in spirit, peacemakers, and all the rest. We are to model the grace and love of Jesus.

 

The problem is when we allow society to tell us that all things that sound like hate, anger, or condemnation are wrong. The problem is when we allow our society to tell us that any speech that condemns sin as sin is somehow more sinful than the sin condemned. If we give in to that kind of talk, we will miss what the Proverb here says is the fear of the Lord.

 

To love God includes hating evil. To love God is to hate sin. We cannot get around that. God hates evil. God hates sin. God hates the things he calls abominations. And we have no right as a people, or as a society, or as local churches, or as denominations to say that God is wrong for hating what God says is evil.

 

Think about some of the things that have made the headlines in the past year or so. We have seen mass shootings at concerts and school buildings. We have seen terrorists do incredible violence in the world. We have seen people attacked simply for the color of their skin. We have heard the gut-wrenching testimonies of young girls who were sexually abused by a doctor they trusted. If we remove hate from our vocabulary, if we remove hate from our religion, we have no proper word to express how the righteous should feel toward these things. We hate what has been done. We hate the sin. And we dare to call the sin evil, because evil is what it is.

 

At this point, most would amen the thought. But now we have to go further. You see, god has not limited the definition of evil to the things that our society agrees is evil. Yes, all those things I mentioned in the previous paragraph are evil. But so too is it evil when a husband watches porn, when a wife walks out of her home and into the arms of another man, when a person shakes his fist at God and declares God to be either not there or not righteous. Evil is that which opposes the holiness of God. Evil is that which God declares to be evil. Thus, evil is the sin in my heart and life. And evil is the sin that you commit. We must recognize that the beginning of wisdom, the fear of the Lord, is to know God and to thus hate that which opposes God.

 

What would it look like in your life if you stopped excusing your sin with a flippant, “Nobody’s perfect,” and instead asked God to help you hate it? How would it be different if the people of God were willing to hate evil enough to call it evil, even if that caused our churches to shrink some or our standing in our communities to be weakened? How would our world change if we were honest enough to call evil something hateful instead of using softened terms to make sin socially acceptable?

 

No, dear friends, hate is not evil. No, do not be a hateful, cruel, prejudiced person. Do not be nasty. Treat others with love and respect as people created in the image of God. But do not shrink back from what the word of God says. God says he hates evil. God says that hating evil is the fear of the Lord. And so you and I are to love God and hate evil. And you and I must know that evil is that which opposes the Lord. We do not enact personal judgments—the Lord has told us that he is the one who will judge. But we do rightly, honestly hate that which God says is evil.