9 Mar 2024
“To give prudence to the simple, knowledge and discretion to the youth – Let the wise hear and increase in learning and the one who understands obtain guidance” (Proverbs 1:4-5)
This is in fact the introductory verses in Chapter 1 of Proverbs:
Notice that the various groups of people are covered – the simple, the youth, the wise and the one who understands. That means it covers all of us.
The mind must be instructed and enlightened before faith and obedience become possible.
The well known Puritan, Richard Baxter wrote: “Ignorance is almost every error” and his favourite maxim about preaching was “first light – then heat”. What he was saying is that ignorance is not an excuse and ignorance would invariably lead to error in most cases (hence we cannot excuse ourselves that we are ignorant of what God desires and what He reveals in Scripture).
With regards to preaching, he meant that heat without light – pulpit passion without pedagogic precision (i.e. accurate exegesis and interpretation) would be no use to anyone. Unwillingness on the part of church attendees to learn the faith and accept instruction from sermons was a sure sign of insincerity. Light dismisses the darkness, and it is not incidental that Jesus is declared to be the Light of the world, and the Scripture has been described as a lamp to our feet and a light to our path.
Perhaps this explains why not too few churches in the current context, in many countries, are still given ‘teachings veiled in darkness” and the light just does come through, and even if proper teaching and preaching are given, those sitting in the pews are not interested.
Once, I happened to attend a ‘Chinese congregation’ and I was sitting at the back of the church. While the pastor was preaching, I was stunned to hear some elderly ladies complaining in dialect that the pastor was long-winded and they hoped he would end soon so that they would not be late for marketing. Perhaps the younger people today may not respond in like manner, but many probably have ‘other things’ in their minds and learning the faith and instruction from sermons are far remote in their thoughts.
No matter who we are and in what age group, if we think we may be excused from knowledge, we may as well think that we may be excused from love and from all obedience, for there can be none of this without knowledge.
When men felt and obeyed the truth they knew, it was the work of the Spirit of God but when they were swayed by feeling without knowledge, it was a sure sign that the Devil was at work, for feeling divorced from knowledge and urgings to action in darkness of mind were both as ruinous to the soul as was knowledge without obedience.
Let the Light shine in and dismiss the darkness!