I have a lot of friends who run in conservative political
and theological circles, including one man who describes himself as “right of
Genghis Khan”. Back in the 1990s he was
speaking to a large crowd of conservative Christians and he was saying how
angry the exploits of President Clinton had made him. As soon as he said it the audience erupted in
applause. “No, no,” he said. “You don’t understand. I’m not talking about Monica. The thing that really bothers me about the President
is the way he has given so many Christians the opportunity to be
self-righteous. We had a great
opportunity to say, ‘Given the right opportunity and that much power, it could
have been me. I’m just like the President
– seriously needy and sinful. But let me
tell you about Someone who loves me anyway.
In fact, He loves me because of my failures and failings. He came to save me because of all my
junk. And the good news is that he came
to save you for the same reason.’ You
see, we blew a wonderful opportunity big time!”
The truth is, it doesn’t take much for any of us to move in
the direction of self-righteousness. And
it’s against self-righteousness that Jesus railed time and time again. The
reason is plain – there’s always a choice – will I trust in His righteousness
or my own?
For weeks this summer we have been exploring the implications
of Jesus’ post-resurrection Bible study; it’s the one in which He said, “All
the Scriptures speak of me.” And we’ve
seen Him in the story of David and
Goliath and in the story of Joseph and his brothers. We’ve seen how the words of the law and the
prophets speak of Him. But what about
the writings in the Book of Proverbs?
For most, they are simply a compendium of moral statements and axioms. How do we see Jesus in all the Proverbs?
This week we’ll focus on Proverbs 17:15, “He who justifies
the wicked and he who condemns the righteous are both alike an abomination to
the Lord.” If I had to guess I’d say
that everyone who reads those words immediately has the same thought – “It’s
talking about the crooked scoundrels who call evil good and good evil. It’s talking about what we see all around us
today – defining deviance down. Anything
goes these days.”
But to see only that is to miss Jesus. In fact, when you take this proverb and place
it against Luke 18, you suddenly
discover that the words of the proverb are the best good news you’ve ever
heard! It’s just as Jack Miller
said! It’s just as Bill Clinton
proved. And this Sunday we’re going to
talk about it.
In preparation for Sunday’s message and the Lord’s Table,
you may wish to consider the following:
1. How
do you measure the purity of a church?
2. What
are the links between the two parables Jesus tells at the beginning of Luke 18?
3. Why
does the judge finally relent to the widow’s demands? (Luke 18:4-5)
4. What
does the Bible tell us about our responsibility to widows, orphans, immigrants,
and the poor?
5. What
is the connection between the Pharisee in parable # 2 and the judge?
6. How
does the Pharisee display self-righteousness?
7. How
does the tax collector display a lack of self-righteousness?
8. How
is the tax collector justified?
9. What
do you think is a bigger problem in the church today – cheap grace or cheap
law?
10. How
does the cross demonstrate the truth of Proverbs 17:15?
See you at the table this Sunday!
