Proverbs 29:18

I have been wanting to bring up this topic for a while now, but have been hesitant, because this is a very controversial post – in that it will likely offend some people. I make no apologies, however, as the truth must be made known, no matter how offensive it may be. What I want to talk about is one of the most abused and misinterpreted passages in Scripture. The passage I am referring to is Proverbs 29:18. Out of the KJV, the passage reads as follows: “Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.” Upon this single verse, entire sermons have been preached, and even entire books written. In and of itself, this would not be a problem, but it is often done at the neglect of the gospel. Furthermore, the passage is almost always taken out of context to say nothing more than: “ Where there is no vision, the people perish.” Taking verses out of context is bad enough, but to not even quote an entire verse is a terrible misuse of God's word – and in doing so, completely distorts the meaning of the whole passage.

If one, maybe two pastors had misused this verse in a sermon, I would not be making this a big issue. But I hear this passage misused time and time again, by pastor after pastor in sermon after sermon. And the interpretation is always the same. “Where there is no vision, the people perish,” the pastor says. And then he, without fail, goes on to say that this means we all must have a “vision”, a “dream” that we must have for our lives. In other words, we must all have a plan for our lives – a vision for our lives that God has “downloaded” into us. And such a message is often preached without a single mention of Christ, the cross, the atonement, salvation, grace or anything else that would have hope of saving sinners. We are in no danger of hell because we have no plan for our lives, or because we lack vision, or because we aren't dreaming dreams. We are in danger of hell because by nature we are wretched sinners who have transgressed God's holy law and are now under His wrath. Yet, while we were still sinners, Christ died for us (See Romans Ch. 3 and Ch. 5).

So much is made about man and what he can do in these sermons. It's all about man and what he can imagine. Pastors will encourage people to “dream big dreams”, as though imagination was the key to eternal life and the key to evangelism, rather than Christ and Him crucified along with knowledge of the Scriptures. To preach such trivial and pointless garbage at the expense of the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ is nothing short of heresy; not only that, but a betrayal of Christ, an abuse of teaching position and mockery of those who have suffered and died preaching the gospel to the lost.

Worse still, congregations are often asked about “how big is your God”. Such things are idolatry of the worst sort. What is really being said is “how big is your idol that you call 'God'”. God is not one to be imagined, but one who is clearly revealed in Scripture. It is not about how big we believe God to be, but rather that we believe what Scripture testifies about Him – the unimaginable Deity who can only be revealed by faith and knowledge of the Scriptures. To put measure on any of God's attributes is only to detract from the revelation of God's limitless glory.

Having said this, now let us return to Proverbs 29:18. Note the second part of the verse: “but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.” Why is this always left out? Perhaps because it would detract from what those who are making a perversion of this verse are trying to say? One very important thing to note is that this verse, when misused, is always taken from the KJV, even in churches that would normally use a text like the NIV and would never even touch the KJV otherwise. Why is this? If we look at the NIV, the verse is rendered: “Where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint; but blessed is he who keeps the law.” In the ESV, it reads: “Where there is no prophetic vision the people cast off restraint, but blessed is he who keeps the law.” Even in the NKJV, it reads: “Where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint; But happy is he who keeps the law.” Now things begin to look suspicious. What does this verse really mean?

In order to better understand this verse, we must note few things. First, the KJV is 400 years old, and words used then sometimes do not have the same exact meaning that they do in contemporary English. Secondly, the Hebrew word hazôn, which is rendered as “vision” in the KJV, has multiple meanings. Take a look at this excerpt by Dr. Claude Mariottini of Northern Baptist Seminary:

The primary reason for this misuse of Proverbs 29:18 is because of the translation of this verse as it appears in the King James Version of the Bible. The KJV translates Proverbs 29:18 as follows:

“Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he” (Proverbs 29:18 KJV).

Now, compare the KJV with the translation that appears in the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV): “Where there is no prophecy, the people cast off restraint, but happy are those who keep the law.”

The reason for this difference is that the Hebrew word for vision, hazôn, is generally used to designate the revelation of God’s will to prophets. The word hazôn is used to describe the visions of Isaiah (Isaiah 1:1) and of Nahum (Nahum 1:1).

What the wiseman is trying to communicate to his audience is that without prophetic revelation and without the preaching of the prophets calling the people into a faithful relationship with God and obedience to his word, people lose restraint and abandon God’s law.

Source 

Furthermore, the Amplified Bible states it this way: “Where there is no vision [no redemptive revelation of God], the people perish; but he who keeps the law [of God, which includes that of man]--blessed (happy, fortunate, and enviable) is he.” In the 1599 Geneva Bible, it states: “Where there is no vision [where there are no faithful ministers of the word of God], the people decay; but he that keepeth the law is blessed.” It can clearly be seen by studying the context and the original language that the writer of Proverbs 29 in no way intended it say that we must dream dreams and have visions. Rather, it speaks of the prophetic revelation of God and His word. The Scriptures, the written Word, contain the prophetic revelation of God in its fullest. In other words, where God's word is not revealed (and preached), the people perish. Which is exactly what these pastors are failing to do. As they neglect God's word, the people under them perish in their sin. Yet those who hear God's word and are saved by grace, these are found to be in keeping with God's law, having been declared righteous by the merit and shed blood of Jesus Christ. For them:

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 5:3-10)

Lastly, let me say this, and I do not say this lightly. If anyone preaches a perversion of Proverbs 29:18 and does so at the expense of Christ and his glorious death on the cross, they are preaching a different gospel. Let the Bible itself be a warning to those who preach something other than Christ and Him crucified:

I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned! As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned! (Galatians 1:6-9)

A harsh warning, yes. But not without hope. Repent and believe the gospel, the one true gospel, and you shall be saved. May God have mercy on those who have so distorted the gospel and bring them to repentance and saving faith.

Amen.

We are not victims

I often hear it said that if there was a God, He would not allow bad things to happen to good people. Surely, if God were real, He would not allow all this injustice to occur, right? Right from the start, though, there is a major error in perspective. We must look at this in the right context. We must see clearly our true identity. For none are righteous (Romans 3:9-19) and we have fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). No one is good, but God alone (Mark 10:18). It is made clear in the Bible that we are transgressors of the law; guilty criminals condemned to die (Romans 6:23).

From what we see written in Scripture, the question is not why do bad things happen to good people, but why have we done everything wrong against a good God. We stand justly condemned before a holy, righteous and just God. We are not innocent victims of tragedy, but instead receive what we justly deserve. When one man sins against another, he adds to his own guilt, but the other has not received any sort of injustice. One guilty criminal acts against another. The offense is not against his fellow man, but against God and His justice. That is why David says that he sinned against God only (Psalm 51:4). Does that in some way reduce our guilt, if the other party received what was ultimately deserved? By no means! In fact, since our offense is solely against God, our guilt is even greater.

In light of this, we must not perceive ourselves as victims. The only victim of our injustice is God alone, and He will see that justice is carried out. So, when we sin against our neighbor, it is not our neighbor who we are actually sinning against; rather we are sinning against God Himself. In this, the whole world sins against God, and so is justly condemned. We get what we deserve, but God has never done anything wrong. All of mankind has sought to rob God of His glory – following in the footsteps of the devil, seeking to establish our own personal throne above God (Isaiah 14:13-14). And we dare say that God is unjust in His condemnation of mankind? By all means, humanity as a whole justly deserves the eternal fires of hell. God is right in His judgments, and there is nothing we can say against them.

Yet, while God is the victim of our transgressions, He is also victor over them in Christ Jesus. For while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8). It was Christ who was pierced for our transgressions and crushed for our iniquity (Isaiah 53:5). Upon Him the wrath of God was poured; the wrath that was due our sin (Isaiah 53:10). Jesus Christ is the propitiation of our sin; in Him the wrath of God is satisfied. Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those in Christ (Romans 8:1). For on that cross, our sin was borne; and all injustice is brought to an end.

Be forewarned, though, that our justification is in Christ alone; there is no other name by which we are saved (John 14:6, Acts 4:12). For whoever refuses to believe in Christ stands condemned already (John 3:18). Whoever rejects Christ rejects the blood that was shed for him; upon him now is not only the guilt for his own deeds, but also must he bear responsibility for Christ's death – a charge of terrible consequence. Therefore, believe on the lord Jesus Christ and be saved (Acts 16:31). For it is by grace we are saved, through faith, given of God; that we may believe and be saved, not by our own works, but by the merit of Christ and His death upon the cross (Ephesians 2:8).

A Life of Sacrifice

I once came across a scenario that an atheist had presented as an attack against Christianity. In it, he claimed that atheists do not have to face moral dilemmas as Christians would. The scenario went something like this:

“Suppose you were in Germany during WWII and you had hidden some Jews in your house. If you were questioned about this by Nazi soldiers, lying would be against your conscience as a Christian. However, an atheist can justify lying here as it protects the people you are hiding.”

It would seem that this atheist has a point. However, such an argument presents an extraneous situation that any truly professing Christian should not find himself in. Any Christian who holds to real faith in Christ would openly oppose Nazism and put his own self at great peril. Such a man would not be fit for hiding Jews in his house, as he himself would be a target of the government. This is our calling: To go and make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:19) and to expose the deeds of darkness (Ephesians 5:11). Those who did so during the Nazi regime put there lives in great danger, and were intensely and brutally persecuted, often with methods more barbaric than what the Jews faced. Lutheran students Sophie and Hans Scholl were arrested for distributing leaflets. The faced a short trial and were quickly sentenced to beheading by guillotine. Pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer was hanged naked by wire and was slowly strangled to death. Likewise, many more Christians were persecuted for opposition to the government and faced all sorts of persecution. Many were interned in concentration camps and died alongside their fellow Jewish countrymen in the gas chambers.

It should be clear then, that there is no moral dilemma in following Christ. Any such that we encounter is a result of our own doing, and not from obedience to Christ. Any situation which would present itself as a moral dilemma is not one that we should find ourselves in. Any atheist will doubtlessly deal with a number of moral dilemmas, as the morals of that person are not inextricably bound to the righteousness of Christ. The situation presented here is indeed extraneous, as no one who is bound to Christ will find himself in it. Rather, anyone who finds himself under such an oppressive regime and holds unswervingly to Christ in all things, will find his own self in greater danger than even the danger faced by the Jews during that time. For the true Christian to hide Jews during that time would only put them in greater danger – such a man would be incapable of hiding them. While I am grateful that people did save many the lives of many Jews by concealing them, Christians, by nature, are called to a life of persecution and suffering. Jesus speaks of this: “Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me” (Matthew 24:9). Remember what you are called to. Not to an easy life, but to one of hardship, persecution, suffering and death. As Christ suffered, so we must suffer for His sake and for the sake of the gospel. But take hope, because it also written, “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us” (Romans 8:18).

Here, we can see then, that truth triumphs over false reasoning. There is no justification ever for sin, even to tell a lie. We should never find ourselves in any situation were sin would be justified. But we see our true calling – to uphold truth and hold to righteousness, even if we must suffer for it. For in that is Christ glorified. This is why we must offer our lives as living sacrifices (Romans 12:1). There is no truer form of worship than this, and no way of life more pleasing to God. Let us remember this and live it out in our daily lives.

The Tragedy of Abortion

I write this because today marks the anniversary of Roe V. Wade, which was decided on January 22, 1973. The implication of this decision allowed for abortion on demand, for any reason. A woman could terminate a pregnancy for no other reason than she felt it was “inconvenient” to have the child. The unfortunate reality of this has been a considerable devaluation of human life, with millions of unborn children being taken by abortion. All this for the convenience of the mother. So many will stand up for the rights of the mother while completely neglecting the basic human rights of the unborn child. Such hypocrisy has resulted in a terrifying number of deaths, a number unprecedented in any time of human history.

Take a look at the statistics:

In the United States: [1]

• Approximately 50* million children have been aborted** since Roe V. Wade was first decided.
• Approximately 1.3 million abortions are performed every year.
• This amounts to around 3500 abortions performed per day.
• About every 24 seconds, a child is aborted.
• By the time you read this posting, more than 12 children will have been aborted in the US.
  * Value is estimated, was reported at 46 million in 2005
  ** Numbers are for legal abortions. Illegal procedures may count for a greater number
  
  
  Around the world: [2,3]
  
  
• 57 million people die every year.
• Abortions contribute to an additional 42 million deaths.
• Including abortions, close to 100 million people die every year worldwide.
• Around 115,000 abortions are performed daily.
• This amounts to more than 1 child being killed per second.
• By the time you read this posting, 400 children will have been aborted around the world.

The numbers for the US alone are staggering, but are truly horifying for the entire world. Official statistics state around 57 million deaths a year, but those do not include numbers from abortion procedures. It is estimated that 42 million abortion procedures are performed yearly around the world, and that number could be greater. That is 42,000,000 people – about 14% of the US population, killed in abortions. Percentage wise, abortions account for more than 42% of deaths. That's more than deaths due to lack of clean water, starvation, disease, and AIDS combined [4]. This is truly alarming, because it means that a vast majority of people in recent history have not died of natural causes, but have died at the hands of their fellow man; in other words, murdered. As a comparison, 6 million Jews were killed during the Holocaust. This occurred over the six years of WWII. As you can see, that number is already dwarfed by the annual number of abortions worldwide. Going by current abortion rates, that would mean that around 250,000,000 abortions occur in the same time frame. If rates stay the same, that means a billion children will be aborted in the next 24 years. By no means do I intend to detract from the horrors that occurred during the Holocaust; rather I hope to illustrate the horror in the extermination of any human life.

The great problem here is that we have exalted women's rights to a point where they transcend human rights, which should never be. The rights to life transcend anyone's personal rights. Feminism has created an ideology that a unborn child is somehow part of a woman's body and she can do as she pleases with it. There is no logical basis for this, as an unborn child is not physically attached to the mother (the uterus and placenta are separated by a barrier of fluid) and the child is genetically unique compared to the mother. Being inside of a barn does not make me cow, nor does being inside of a house make me part of that property. If I came under the ownership of whosoever property I was on or in, I would be a slave. Since slavery is outlawed, why do we use the same rhetoric to apply to an unborn child? I am not a part of the house I live in, nor a part of the car I drive in; so why is a fetus considered a part of a woman's body? It is not a scientifically valid claim, it is not a philosophically valid claim, nor is it an ethically valid claim. Yet people still continue to use this claim, which is ironically prevalent in the “intellectual” community.

We all must see that no person is entitled to any right whatsoever if it costs another person's life in order to uphold that right. To say otherwise is defying all logic and demonstrates a contempt for human life. What is especially unsettling is that a great number of people who consider themselves to be Christians are supporters of abortion. This, however, is completely contradictory to Scripture. It is written: “From birth I was cast upon you; from my mother’s womb you have been my God” (Psalm 22:10). God is also the God of the unborn, as much as He is for those outside the womb. Again, it is written: “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb” (Psalm 139:13). Who are we to destroy the work of the Lord's hands? Do we dare consider ourselves above Him? Most certainly not! We can find more still: “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations” (Jeremiah 1:5). Should we destroy the ones whom the Lord knows? Again, most certainly not! Furthermore, when John the Baptist was still in the womb, he leaped for joy upon hearing the voice of Mary (Luke 1:41). This shows someone very much human and not just a lump of tissue. To further exemplify the significance of the unborn, when Rebekah was pregnant with Jacob and Esau, the Lord said to her, “Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you will be separated; one people will be stronger than the other, and the older will serve the younger” (Genesis 25:23). Not only was Rebekah pregnant with two children, but from those children would descend two nations. And from Jacob, came the nation of Israel and the line of Christ's human ancestry. Were they but lumps of flesh that Rebekah could do with as she pleased? Or were they the fathers of nations, through one of which Christ would come? I implore you, do not ever think so lowly of human life.

[1] http://prolifeaction.org/faq/abortion.php

[2] http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview/id/476831.html

[3] http://www.abortionno.org/Resources/fastfacts.html

[4] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_causes_of_death_by_rate