Sanam Doctrinam

Sheol and Abaddon lie open before the LORD,
How much more the hearts of men!
Proverbs 15:11

Have you ever gone through an inspection? It may have been your bunk during military service, your college dorm room at semester’s end, your possessions by a TSA agent at the airport, or your company’s files during an audit, but most of us have experience with inspections.

Inspections can be nerve-wracking. Everything has to be ready to be scrutinized under the watchful eye of the person who will perform the examination. And we wonder if we’ll pass.

Today’s proverb tells us of an inspection of sorts. The inspector is God Himself. The object of inspection is our hearts. Today we’ll see that while the heart may be an impenetrable fortress to us, it is most certainly not so to God.

Solomon begins by writing of two mysterious places—Sheol and Abaddon. These are unfamiliar words to our ears, but ancient Hebrews would have understood their meaning clearly.

Sheol was the place of the dead, sometimes referred to as “the grave.” It is in some ways synonymous with the concept embodied in our English phrase, “passed on.”

Similarly, but more negatively, Abaddon is a place of destruction and ruin. Abaddon is actually derived from a Hebrew word meaning “to perish,” or, “to be destroyed.”

Sheol and Abaddon both refer to the afterlife in Hebrew thought. While in the New Testament our picture of the afterlife is brought into sharper focus, in the Old Testament the afterlife was a good bit more shadowy and unknown. It was a place of mystery and obscurity, a place which was concealed by virtue of the fact that none of the living had ever journeyed there.

Solomon says that both mysterious places were open and fully familiar to God. There are no mysteries or secret aspects of the afterlife to Him.

Then, Solomon makes an argument from the lesser to the greater. He says that if the most mysterious place known to man is familiar territory to Yahweh, the human heart is something of which He is easily and completely aware.

What does this mean for us?

A couple things come to mind.

First, this proverb calls us to recognize the fact that God knows our hearts, and so we should guard them against impurity (4:23). I don’t know if it’s an “official” stanza of the children’s song, “Oh, Be Careful Little Eyes,” but it’s an appropriate one: “Oh be careful little mind what you think.”

A little later in the chapter we read that an evil person’s thoughts are an abomination to the Lord. He takes note of what is in our hearts. No one may know the sinful thoughts and attitudes that inhabit our hearts, but He does. And in holy reverential fear of Him, it falls to us to keep our hearts clean.

Conversely, God knows when are hearts are right before Him. While people may jump to conclusions about the contents of our hearts, God evaluates based on facts. He will eventually vindicate us, even if human heart inspectors judge wrongly.

A second application of this proverb to our lives is that God evaluates the hearts of others. We may question people’s motives and purposes, but God is the only one in position to make a right judgment. We can be sure that if unjust purposes are being perpetrated from evil-intentioned hearts, God knows this and will deal with it—in perfect justice.

The Inspector is always in. His searching eyes see our hearts, and the hearts of those around us. Nothing is secret to Him. Consequently, let’s keep our hearts pure. And let’s trust Him to deal with the hearts of others.

As a last in my series on theology for the common man, I wanted to tackle the idea of “practical” theology. Remember the goal of this is to take theology out of the realm of the “ivory tower” and help us see that theology is knowing more about God, Whom we say we love.

My first observation would be that the term practical theology is redundant, because there is no such thing as an orthodox theology that is impractical. What I mean by that is this; every aspect of theology has an impact on the way we understand God (even the ones where we, at the end of the day, are left not fully grasping), and as we understand God more it impacts the way we live our lives as well.

It is really our fault that we have had to come up with such a term as practical theology. How did it become anything less? I believe it really has to do more with perception then reality. I believe it has to do with the very subject we have tried to tackle in this series, and that is that theology is something only for the mind, rather than the life of a Christian. Let’s shake it up a bit. I can know a whole lot about Hinduism. I can know their festivals, their gods, their practices, their prayers, their rituals, etc. In other words i can know Hinduism inside and out, but that does not mean I believe and practice Hinduism. The same can be said of Biblical Christianity. I can know all about it (and many do), but not believe and live it.

Now I understand as most Evangelical Seminaries use the term, they are trying to convey the use of what has been learned in practical ways. I am not disregarding the need for this, I am lauding it. The truth is we need to take it to the pews and show the non-seminary, non-pastor, non-professor, that everyday life is theological and that the living out of that theology is what Peter is calling us to when he proclaims, “Keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles, so that in the thing in which they slander you as evildoers, they may because of your good deeds, as they observe them, glorify God in the day of visitation.” 1 Peter 2:12 (NASB95) Read the entire chapter (1 Peter 2) in its context and you get the idea that what Peter is conveying is living out what we know about God.

Yesterday was an interesting day for me. After spending the majority of the day in a couple of meetings that focused on the vision / direction of our church -we continue to be in an evaluative mode as our new leadership assumes the reins – I had two separate interactions with young men who are former students in my high school ministry.

The first was a desperate phone call from “Dave” asking for a chance to get together. I haven’t spoken to “Dave” in years, but I knew that he had gotten married and moved out of the area. I asked when he would be in town and he said that he was just down the street at a gas station and that he could be in my office in five minutes. When he arrived he immediately began to share how his life was unravelling around him. His job wasn’t what he wanted it to be, marriage was more difficult than he expected, etc. I asked him why he thought to give me a call and he said, “I don’t know God at all anymore. I was discipled in high school. I believed in the things the church taught me. I was serious about life. But now, I have tried to do life my way and I can see that it is getting me nowhere – the problem is that I don’t know where to go from here.” It is interesting how our sin catches up with us isn’t it? We had a good talk together, prayed together, and I challenged him to make some difficult leadership type decisions in his home. Of course I will follow up with “Dave”, but I tell his story because of the contrast that followed.

Part of my responsibilities at Redwood include oversight of the 20s-40s LifeStage. This includes the college ministry whose midweek meeting is currently being taught by another former student, Aaron. Last night Aaron delivered an incredibly thoughtful and thought-provoking lesson on the importance of the bodily resurrection of Christ and its implications on those who believe in him. It was great – he demonstrated command of the Scriptures, an understanding of historical orthodoxy, a commitment to what is essential and an admission that we should not be divided over non-essentials. Though I take no credit for Aaron’s ability there was a part of me that was so proud of the man he has become.

As a pastor, how do I reconcile the fact that “Dave” and Aaron have very much the same background, sat in the same youth group, heard my same sermons? I realize, again, how little it is about me, and how much it is about God. May we, as followers of Christ, be faithful to the calling that we have received, and may we entrust the soul of every person to Christ – praying earnestly that he will be glorified in the way that they live.

A gentle answer turns away wrath,
But a harsh word stirs up anger.

Proverbs 15:1

Have you ever got a gadget that quickly becomes indispensable? Along those lines, I think of my letter opener. A gift from an insurance agent, I never open the mail without it. It sits, ever accessible, in the upper right-hand drawer of my desk.

I have found today’s proverb similarly useful. It is a truth that I have found myself able to use nearly every day.

We all interact with people who “rub us the wrong way.” Sometimes, people have personality traits that are simply annoying. Other times, we become irritated with people for no reason other than our own irritability. In either instance, Proverbs 15:1 is apropos.

How will we respond when someone says something we consider wrathful or anger-filled? Today’s proverb provides some solid instruction in these instances.

This proverb brings to my mind two biblical stories that illustrate the truth of this proverb. One demonstrates the result when the principle of this proverb is violated. The other demonstrates the result of it being followed.

The first story is one of a king who chose to use harsh words and reaped the bitter consequence. It’s the story of Rehoboam, and it’s found in 1 Kings 12. You may recall the story. Rehoboam sought counsel from two groups as to how he should answer the people’s request that their burden be lightened. The seasoned servants of Rehoboam’s father Solomon said he should consent to the people’s request. The young men with whom the king had grown up counseled him to answer them harshly. Rehoboam foolishly accepted the advice of the inexperienced counselors, and as a result, his kingdom divided. A harsh word, Rehoboam discovered, stirs up anger.

If Rehoboam illustrates the dark side of this proverb, Abigail illustrates the positive aspect. King David sought the help of a wealthy rancher named Nabal in 1 Samuel 25, sending men to request some provisions for his troops. In response, Nabal sent David’s men back to him, empty handed. David, finding he had been scorned, immediately commanded his men to put on their swords and prepare to do battle against Nabal.

Enter wise Abigail, Nabal’s wife. With a gentle answer, she mitigated the inevitable conflict and saved David from committing an act of violence. A gentle answer turned away wrath.

We will be confronted with anger and wrath. Our world is filled with it. It may come from a spouse, a friend, a fellow congregation member, or a neighbor. It is precisely at that point we have to make a decision how to respond. Will we give a gentle answer or a harsh word? Will we stir up anger or will we turn away wrath? It’s up to us.

Found this article by Piper today and found it encouraging. So I thought I would share it with all of you.