IF . . . FOR . . . THEN
By
Jerry Falwell
INTRODUCTION
This sermon on Proverbs 2 is divided into three points; each point comes from the first word of the new section. “IF” (verse 1) is conditional, including conditional challenges, similar to those a parent might say to a child. “If you finish your vegetables, you can watch television.”
“FOR” (verse 6) is a term of reason. This word “FOR” is similar to “BECAUSE” or “WHAT.” The second part of my outline deals with “what the Lord will do for those who keep His conditions.”
“THEN” is the third word. It deals with results or is a summary term. First, we must keep the conditions; second, here are the reasons God wants us to obey; third, deals with results. This is what will happen to us.
I. FIRST SECTION
A. WHY A FATHER USES “IF” WITH HIS SON.
God treats his believers similar to the way a father treats his son: both want the son to obey from the heart. Both want the son to learn lessons. God does not force us to obey; we have a will and God wants us to love and obey Him from the heart. If God forced us to love and worship Him, it would not be love, nor would the worship mean anything.
B. THREE STEPS TO WILLING OBEDIENCE.
1. FIRST STEP - SURRENDER:
“Receive My words” (verse 1). This (“receive My words”) means we must “yield” and submit to our Father/God. We must first surrender our selfish way and learn to deny our selfish inclination. When a soldier surrenders, he stops fighting. Remember, Jesus said, “Deny self” (Luke 9:23).
In the wars between Athens and Sparta, Athens always had the larger number of soldiers, and Sparta always had well-trained soldiers. We get the word “Spartan” from those who are disciplined, devoted and deny self. When the Athenians had them surrounded, they sent a note, asking for their surrender. “If we capture your city, we will burn your homes, rape your women, and destroy everyone of you.”
The captain of the Spartans got the note and read it to his men. It was the best prep talk for soldiers to make them fight. Then the captain of the Spartans sent back another note to the Athenians with just one word . . . “IF.” God sends us a note, “IF you will receive my words . . .”
2. SECOND STEP - MOVE TOWARD GOD:
“Apply thine heart to understanding” (verse 2). This word “apply” means to “point.” It is not enough to receive God’s Word, we must turn towards God’s Word. When someone speaks to you, do you keep walking, or do you stop and face them? It is the polite thing to turn and face the person that’s talking to you. After you take STEP 1 to receive God’s Word, you must take STEP 2 and face God’s Word and listen to it.
3. THIRD STEP - APPLY GOD’S WORD (verse 2):
The Hebrew word apply means “to bend.” Today, many people bend the Word of God to their lifestyle, but the opposite must happen. We must bend our lifestyle to the Word of God.
Evan Roberts, the one humanly responsible for the great revival in Wales at the beginning of this century, was told by his mentor that to have revival, he must bend his life to God. Evan Roberts tried to do it, but nothing happened. His repentance was of the flesh, i.e., self-reformation. In a crucial point in a revival meeting, he stood and began praying aloud, over and over, “bend me . . . bend me . . . bend me . . .” that’s when the revival broke. Because Evan Roberts allowed God to bend him, that revival influenced all of Wales and ultimately the world.
II. SECTION TWO
“Then shalt thou understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge of God. For the LORD giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding. He layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous: he is a buckler to them that walk uprightly. He keepeth the paths of judgment, and preserveth the way of his saints. Then shalt thou understand righteousness, and judgment, and equity; yea, every good path” (Pro. 2:5-9).
A. FIRST REASON: WE WILL GET UNDERSTANDING
After we meet God’s conditions, we will get “understanding,” “knowledge,” and “wisdom.” There are many great things that happen to a new Christian: his sins are forgiven, he goes to Heaven, he gets a new nature, etc. but in this proverb, God promises to give the new believer wisdom on how to live. Some of you have messed up your life; get saved now and God will make you smart if you listen to him. God will tell you how to live.
“He laith up sound wisdom.” The words “to lay up” in verse 7 is the same word to hide in verse 4. In verse 4 God hides His wisdom. He doesn’t force it upon anyone. However, those who seek His wisdom, will find it” (verse 7).
If two students sit in the same class and hear the same lectures, and read the same assignments, but one learns more than the other . . . why? The one who wants to learn is the one who benefits most from school. When a student is made to sit in class, and made to read the assignment, but doesn’t want to learn; that student won’t learn.
B. SECOND REASON: GOD WILL KEEP YOU SAFE
“God preserves the way of His saints” (verse 8). The word saint in the New Testament means “Holy One,” those who are set apart to God as holy, because God has given them His nature and imputed to them His righteousness. But in the Old Testament, this word saint means “Favored One.” When you were a saint in the Old Testament, God looked after you, blessed you in the land of Israel and showered His favors upon you. The message is clear, if you obey the words of God, you become His favored one and He will shower His blessings on you.
III. SECTION THREE
THEN . . . WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO US (verses 9-22).
“Then shalt thou understand righteousness, and judgment, and equity; yea, every good path. When wisdom entereth into thine heart, and knowledge is pleasant unto thy soul; discretion shall preserve thee, understanding shall keep thee: To deliver thee from the way of the evil man, from the man that speaketh froward things; Who leave the paths of uprightness, to walk in the ways of darkness; Who rejoice to do evil, and delight in the frowardness of the wicked; Whose ways are crooked, and they froward in their paths: to deliver thee from the strange woman, even from the stranger which flattereth with her words; Which forsaketh the guide of her youth, and forgetteth the covenant of her God. For her house inclineth unto death, and her paths unto the dead. None that go unto her return again, neither take they hold of the paths of life.”
A. WHAT HAPPENS?: YOUR LIGHT GOES ON; “THEN SHALT THOU UNDERSTAND RIGHTEOUSNESS AND JUDGMENT” (verse 9).
I heard one of our professors say at the University, that “Christianity is rational;” by that he meant that God begins with the mind, God wants His people to understand why they are obeying. Most foreign religions only want wooden obedience. They only want people to bow before an idol or give their money, or obey the false religion without knowing why they are doing it or understanding what they are doing.
Remember, Christian conversion involves the total person. First, God wants you to KNOW that He is God, to KNOW that they are sinners, to KNOW that Christ has died for them. Knowledge is not enough to save you, but you can’t get saved without knowledge. Second, Christian conversion involves FEELING. We must FEEL guilt for our sin, we must FEEL sorrow for our sin, and we must FEEL love for God. Emotions never saved anyone but you can’t get saved without emotions. Third, Christian conversion involves the WILL. You must say “yes” to God, you must receive Jesus Christ. Dr. Towns says he is going to write a book, “Life is Choice;” I would agree with him and say that Christianity is choice. Note that people are made in the image of God, intellect, emotion and will and so Christian conversion involves all three, knowing, feeling and willingly accepting Christ as your Savior.
B. WHAT HAPPENS: YOU ARE DELIVERED FROM EVIL MEN.
“To deliver thee from the evil man” (verse 12). Those who follow God’s conditions, are delivered from evil men who do five things: (1) speak froward things, (2) leave the paths of righteousness, (3) walk in the ways of darkness, (4) delight in wickedness, and (5) their ways are crooked. We see a picture of a modern day man who refuses to drive on the highway, he chooses to drive on the lawns of homes; like teenagers, they get a thrill of tearing up mailboxes, and they destroy other people’s property.
When the Bible calls these “crooked,” it is the word we use to describe “they are crooks.” A crook is someone who steals from you, i.e., it is someone who is not straight. Have you ever noticed how rebellious teenagers say about you or church members, “don’t be straight-laced.” They call us “straight” because they are “crooked.”
C. WHAT HAPPENS: YOU ARE DELIVERED FROM THE “IMMORAL WOMAN.”
The King James calls this woman, “a strange woman,” the NIV calls her “the adulteress,” but I like the term the Living Bible uses, “immoral.”
What about the woman who tempts a man to adultery? Some people say she is just selfish or satisfying the flesh. The Hebrew word zur means she is an apostate. When she tempts a man, she is denying her love for God, and she is denying her obedient walk with God. The King James says she is a “strange woman,” which means she is a stranger to God. I want to tell that if you are having an affair or committing adultery; when you do that in the face of God’s commandment, “thou shalt not commit adultery,” you are making yourself a stranger to God. When you commit adultery, you sin three ways:
First, you sin against yourself and your character because you sin against the vow you made on your wedding day. Second, you sin against your spouse by breaking the bond where God made you “one flesh.” You’ve done what Paul has prohibited. “Know ye not that your bodies are the members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ, and make them the members of an harlot? God forbid. What? Know ye not that he which is joined to a harlot is one body? For two, saith he, shall be one flesh . . . flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that commiteth fornication sinneth against his own body” (I Cor. 6:15-18). Third, you sin against a child that you might conceive. When you conceive a child out of wedlock, you deny your child a legitimate father and mother relationship of love. You deny that child a home where he/she can be raised to the glory of God. You deny that child a legitimate heritage and grant an uncertain future.
Notice what the Bible says about the strange/apostate woman. First, she has forsaken the “guide of her youth.” This is translated in the NIV, “who has left the partner of her youth.” She has denied her marriage vows.
Second, she “forgetteth the covenant of her God” which is the promise she made at salvation.
D. WHAT HAPPENS IF YOU GO INTO THE HOUSE OF THE ADULTERESS/HARLOT? (verse 18)
First, the Bible says, “Her house inclineth unto death and her paths unto the dead.” Notice what the NIV says: “For her house leads down to death.” The Living Bible is even more plain: “Her house leads to death and it is the road to Hell.” If you are looking for a signpost to guide your life, don’t choose one that points to death and Hell. Rather, follow a sign that points to life and happiness.
E. WHAT HAPPENS: NO HOPE (verse 19).
“None that go unto her return again, neither take they hold of the path of life” (2:19).
This is a tough verse, because it says there is no hope to “return again.” I was interested in what that verse means, none . . . “return again,” I know it doesn’t mean lose your salvation. I know it doesn’t mean the adulterer can’t get saved in the future because many people who have committed adultery later get saved. Many people who have fallen into a life of sexual immorality, including homosexuality, can have their life turned around. I believe that at any moment, a person can turn to God and be changed. So, I studied the word “return” and it means “rooted out.” Here’s what I think it means: if you are caught up in the sin of sexual immorality or homosexuality, you can be converted but you will have to “root out” the root of rebellion and selfish lusts. Some will have a difficult time rooting it out, they will need counseling help from a gracious Christian mentor who will help them deal with the issue. Today, counselors deal with “sexual addiction.” People are addicted to an affair, people are addicted to pornography, people are addicted to homosexuality. It’s hard to break that addiction. But you can get victory over the addiction to sex. Whatever your sin, it can be “rooted out” by the power of God.
May I say to young people today, don’t be “rooted in sexual addiction” but rather be “rooted in Christ.” Listen to what the Bible says, “As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in Him; rooted and built up in Him, and established in the faith as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving” (Col. 2:6,7).
CONCLUSION
“That thou mayest walk in the way of good men, and keep the paths of the righteous. For the upright shall dwell in the land, and the perfect shall remain in it. But the wicked shall be cut off from the earth, and the transgressors shall be rooted out of it” (Prov. 2:20-22).
A. DWELL IN THE LAND.
This was the greatest hope of Israel, to live in peace in the land that God had given to them. Our greatest hope is to live in Christ, and upon death, we can “be absent with the body and be present with the Lord.”
B. THE WICKED SHALL BE CUT OFF (verse 22).
The word wicked here is the word, lawless. Most people who refuse to live by God’s principles or God’s standards, they shall be cut off . . .
If you have never really accepted Jesus as your personal Savior, would you do it right now? Do not delay or put it off. If you would like to receive Christ by faith, pray this simple prayer in your heart:
Dear Lord, I acknowledge that I am a sinner. I believe Jesus died for my sins on the cross, and rose again the third day. I repent of my sins. By faith I receive the Lord Jesus as my Savior. You promised to save me, and I believe You, because You are God and cannot lie. I believe right now that the Lord Jesus is my personal Savior, and that all my sins are forgiven through His precious blood. I thank You, dear Lord, for saving me. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
If you prayed that prayer, God heard you and saved you. I personally want to welcome you to the family of God. Contact us and ask for a copy of The How To Book or use The How To Book Online (Falwell.com). It is a booklet that will answer many of the questions you are sure to have about living the Christian life. And when you contact us, tell us about your salvation experience so that we can rejoice with you.
