Fearing God (Part 2)

Continuing from the previous note:

Proverbs 15:33 also states that fear of the Lord is instruction in wisdom. This means not only instruction which you find yourself in the bible, but also that of godly leaders in the faith. (And their instruction should proceed directly from the bible as well. In fact, this is exactly what I mean by godly leader.)

If you aren’t already, you should make an effort to come under the preaching of a godly preacher, ie. one who preaches the truth. In addition, if you aren’t already, you should become associated with friends who do truly fear God. If none of your friends do, then make an effort together. In fact, in this case, you really need to, because the Bible says not to join with those who do not fear the Lord, because disaster will come to them (Proverbs 24:21-22). What I think this means, is that if you and your group of friends do not have a faith based on fear of the Lord, which is weak in wisdom and sound doctrine, it will be easier to “fall from the faith” once a disaster arrives, because it is not built on a strong foundation. Once temptation comes, once tragedy strikes, if you don’t have a firm understanding of God or fear the Lord, it will lead to ruin, sin, falling by the wayside, and (if you or one of your friends aren’t truly saved) eternal torture.

Proverbs 13:20 says that if you associate with wise people, you will become wise. In fact, the more godly leaders you have in your life, the better. The bible says that in an abundance of counselors there is victory (Proverbs 24:6). You need to listen to the words of the wise (whether wise friend, wise preacher, or other godly figure in your life) and apply your heart to it (Proverbs 22:17-18, 8:33). This means not just hearing it and accepting it (which in some cases is half the battle, ie. being humiliated), it also means taking heed to it and applying it to your life.

In addition to hearing words from the wise, we need to also be disciplined, and accept advice and instruction from our godly leaders (Proverbs 19:20), because mere words will not discipline us (Proverbs 29:19). In fact, the Bible says that those who love discipline love knowledge (Proverbs 12:1). This, I believe, is saying that those who are wise, love discipline. This is because a wise person will always seek to be increasing in knowledge, wisdom, and righteousness, and one way to obtain that is from discipline. Proverbs 9:8 says that if you reprove a wise man, he will love you. So, if someone rebukes something you say or believe because it’s wrong, and their belief is correct (ie. of the truth), then you ought to love them for telling you that, so you can know what is true, which will increase your wisdom.

Unfortunately, for those weaker in faith and with less wisdom, reproof and discipline usually comes as an attack. I feel like in our culture, we generally despise reproof and discipline. We hate giving it, and we hate getting it. Kids these days are brought up with barely any discipline at all from their parents, because our culture tells us that it’s cruel to discipline them like they ought to be (I’m talking about spankings here). Criminals are being let off with barely any sentence, because people are more concerned about the rights of the criminals than the crime they committed. It actually sickens me, but that’s another post. And by the way, the bible does say it’s ok to discipline children by spankings (in the bible it says using a rod – same thing) (Proverbs 23:13). It’s not child abuse – child abuse is something much worse, and is obviously wrong.

So basically, if you are willing to gain wisdom, then at first, when you may despise discipline, it will be humiliating and painful. But, you will eventually learn to love it, and you will be honored as it will lead to peaceful fruit of righteousness for those who have been trained by it (Hebrews 12:11). In fact, the bible says in Hebrews 12:8 that if we don't have discipline, then we are illegitimate sons (Christians), so it is an essential part of the Christian faith.

Personally, I’m still probably in the “despising” stage, I know I’m not a huge fan of discipline or reproof, but I do understand its usefulness and importance. I guess I need to pray about this. I need to take heed to Proverbs 3:11-12 and understand that God reproofs those whom he loves. I need to take heed to Hebrews 12:10 and understand that it is for my good.