This week we looked at the statement in the Apostles’ Creed ‘I believe in the holy catholic church, the communion of saints’. The statement doesn’t involve any denominational doctrine; ‘catholic’ simply means ‘universal’ and ‘orthodox’, so any Christian can affirm this statement. God is working His purposes out through the church – we are not just a ragamuffin band of disparate people, but are His body and bride!

The church is often perceived as the stumbling-block to many on the road to faith, but ‘holy’ does not mean ‘perfect’. We are the ‘called-out ones’, called to be holy (Rom 1:7, Eph 1:1, 1 Pet 1:15-16). That holiness is imparted to us from God and is not an intrinsic virtue we possess. We see a picture of what God is creating in Eph 5: “Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.” (Eph 5:25-27) We may not see the church like this yet, but that day is coming!

The church is universal: God is calling people from every tongue, tribe, nation and language (Rev 7:9) Jesus entrusted to ordinary people the task of making disciples from all nations (Matt 28:18-20) and to guard sound doctrine. There is no Plan B. We have been given great responsibility!

One of the main images of the church in the New Testament is of a body, with Christ as its Head (see Rom 12, 1 Cor 12, Eph 1). We are all needed, all important. We cannot pick and choose the people with whom we worship; God does that! It’s all part of the ‘building with bananas’ which is God’s purpose. He is making something more beautiful than we have ever known, from imperfect, sinful people who are washed in the blood of the Lamb! The church is called to grow in maturity, so that “the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.” (Eph 4:12-13)

The contrast between the righteous and wicked continues in Proverbs 29. “When the righteous thrive, the people rejoice; when the wicked rule, the people groan.” (Prov 29:2) “The righteous care about justice for the poor, but the wicked have no such concern.” (Prov 29:7) “When the wicked thrive, so does sin, but the righteous will see their downfall.” (Prov 29:16) “Good people can’t stand the sight of deliberate evil; the wicked can’t stand the sight of well-chosen goodness.” (Prov 29:27) All of these verses remind us, starkly, unequivocally, that we can’t afford to sit on the fence when it comes to spiritual things. Jesus, the Light of the World (John 9:5), called us the light of the world (Matt 5:14). We have a responsibility to live as Christ lived, to be His ambassadors (2 Cor 5:20), to shine in the darkness (Phil 2:15).

We live in an age which does not believe in absolutes. Relativism is everything. Relativism is the concept that points of view have no absolute truth or validity, having only relative, subjective value according to differences in perception and consideration. It has seeped into every aspect of our society and if you contradict it, you are labelled a bigot (‘person obstinately or intolerantly devoted to his or her own opinions and prejudices, especially one exhibiting intolerance, and animosity toward those of differing beliefs.’) The Bible is adamant, however, that there is such a thing as absolute truth and that God is truth. Moreover, Jesus said that the truth will set us free (John 8:32).

Because we swim against the tide when we hold to absolute truths, we need constantly to be reminded of them. Swimming against the tide is hard work. Proverbs does not give us long rhetoric, complicated arguments or difficult-to-understand sentences. It gives us short, sharp aphorisms which startle us by their starkness and laconic style. One which has helped me more often than most comes towards the end of this chapter: “Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the LORD is kept safe.” (Prov 29:25) The Message version translates this verse “The fear of human opinion disables; trusting in God protects you from that.” If you’re a people-pleaser like me, this verse anchors you to truth and helps you to stand when others disagree. Bigotry, incidentally, is not what we are called to. We do not have to exhibit intolerance or animosity to those of differing beliefs. We are called to love. But that does not mean we bow down to the prevailing views and attitudes around us when these are in conflict with what God says. Like Daniel, like Nehemiah, like Esther, like Obadiah, we stand firm and trust God rather than man. Like David, we can say, “The LORD is with me; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?” (Ps 118:6)

Proverbs constantly shows us that life is not as complicated as we often make out; rather it is comprised of two categories of people: the wise and the foolish, the righteous and the wicked. As Jesus reminded us, “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on them.” (John 3:36)

Righteousness is not our own; we are made righteous through the sacrifice of Christ. But it is outworked through how we live and has an impact on society: “when the righteous triumph, there is great elation, but when the wicked rise to power, men go into hiding.” (Prov 28:12)

Prov 28:7 reminds us that “he who keeps the law is a discerning son, but a companion of gluttons disgraces his father.” The chapter reminds us that rebuke is better than false flattery (Prov 28:21) and that relying on one’s own resources is not wise: “he who trusts in himself is a fool, but he who walks in wisdom is kept safe.” (Prov 28:26). It’s a very human tendency to put our trust in wealth, but ultimately wealth is not the criterion by which we will be judged: “a rich man may be wise in his own eyes, but a poor man who has discernment sees through him.” (Prov 28:11)

The contrast between the two kinds of people is shown right at the start of the chapter:
“The wicked flee though no one pursues, but the righteous are as bold as a lion.” (Prov 28:1) Sometimes we have a picture of the wicked as all-powerful, with the righteous timid and fearful. This view was sometimes propagated in the hymns sung in churches: ‘Hold the fort, for I am coming’, William Sherman’s hymn says, ‘See the mighty host advancing, Satan leading on/ Mighty ones around us falling, courage almost gone!’ This is not the picture that the Bible paints of God’s people. Rather, it is the righteous that are as bold as a lion and the wicked who flee, though no one pursues.

How can this be? If we feel isolated in our Christian walk, perhaps the only Christian in our family or in our workplace, how can we have a right view of who we are in Christ? We need to soak ourselves in the truths of God’s Word so that we see the invisible and understand the majesty and power of the Almighty God. Throughout Proverbs, we are assured of God’s care and protection (‘he who walks in wisdom is kept safe’ Prov 28:26) as well as of His forgiveness and mercy (‘whoever conceals their sins does not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy” Prov 28:13)

Matt Redman says about his song ‘We Could Change the World’:
“A big view of God is a cure for so many of the things in life that would stand in our way or slow us down in ministry. When we really grasp the heights of who He is, and the depths of His heart for us, and the strength of His power in us, we can live a whole different kind of life. The way we view God will radically affect how our lives operate… We must see and believe Him as big enough, kind enough, real enough and strong enough to move in power in our everyday lives – no matter what we’re facing. The first step for a worshipper is to confidently get to grips with just how magnificent and mighty He is. The next step is to let that confidence in God seep into the very depths of our hearts and minds, forming a holy confidence on the inside of us. When that truly happens, we will dream bigger dreams and live brighter lives.”

That’s why I believe it’s so important to guard what we watch and what we listen to and sing, why we must soak ourselves in the Bible each day to find out what God says about our everyday situations and His almighty power, so that we can become those bold lions, confident in our God and Saviour!

For the first time in our studies on Romans, we actually completed looking through a whole chapter last night!

Romans 14 continues Paul’s discussions on practical Christian living, how to ‘worship’ in every aspect of our lives. “Accept the one whose faith is weak, without quarrelling over disputable matters.” (Romans 14:1) Paul goes on to give examples of what this looks like in everyday living. So easily, we find things to argue about. There is a fridge magnet that says ‘Everyone is entitled to my opinion’, and often we live as though that were the case. We have opinions on everything (the examples in the chapter are eating meat that had been sacrificed to idols or treating certain days as more sacred than others) and if someone else has a different opinion, well, they are the ones that are wrong and it’s our job to make sure they know it! ‘Putting down’, ‘condemning’, ‘treating with contempt‘ are all verbs used in this chapter to describe our attitudes towards others; all these attitudes are condemned by Paul, who says we should “stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in the way of a brother or sister.” (Rom 14:13) and “Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification. Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food.” (Rom 14:19-20)

The fact that Paul spends so much time discussing what was obviously a problem in the early church shows us how easily we put our own interests before those of others, which is completely the opposite of what worship lived out actually looks like. There are, of course, key issues in the faith for which we must contend. But so often, there are grey areas: issues which may be interesting to debate, but which should never be used to browbeat others. Wearing make-up, what clothes to wear in church, eating halal meat, the length of hair acceptable for men… all of these issues can be ‘hot potatoes’ for us. But are they worth “destroying someone for whom Christ died”? (Rom 14:15) Paul reminds us that we do not live to ourselves alone (Rom 14:7). There has to be consideration and love in the way we live, even when debating fundamental truths. We will not agree with everyone in our own churches, let alone in other denominations or in the world. But we should remember that “the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and receives human approval” (Rom 14:17-18) and treat others as those for whom Christ died, just as much as we are grateful for the fact that He died for us.

Reiteration (repetition) is a strategy we all use to emphasise something. The word itself is from the Latin ‘to do again’, with the prefix re- used to emphasise the idea of repetition in many English words. Proverbs 27 starts with two familiar ideas couched in very similar language to previous chapters: “do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring” (see James 4:13-17) and “let someone else praise you, and not your own mouth; an outsider, and not your own lips.” As a teacher, repetition is something I get rather tired of; I often wish pupils would listen the first time and take in what I am saying! But we all tend to need to hear things more than once before the truths of what we hear sink in.

I make no apologies, therefore, for the repetition of certain themes which we find in Proverbs 27. Relationships are again crucial: “a spoken rebuke is better than approval that’s never expressed.” (Prov 27:5) . This reminds me of the poem by Dorothy Law Note which I read daily in the staff room where I work:
“If children live with criticism, they learn to condemn.
If children live with hostility, they learn to fight.
If children live with fear, they learn to be apprehensive.
If children live with pity, they learn to feel sorry for themselves.
If children live with ridicule, they learn to feel shy.
If children live with jealousy, they learn to feel envy.
If children live with shame, they learn to feel guilty.
If children live with encouragement, they learn confidence.
If children live with tolerance, they learn patience.
If children live with praise, they learn appreciation.
If children live with acceptance, they learn to love.
If children live with approval, they learn to like themselves.
If children live with recognition, they learn it is good to have a goal.
If children live with sharing, they learn generosity.
If children live with honesty, they learn truthfulness.
If children live with fairness, they learn justice.
If children live with kindness and consideration, they learn respect.
If children live with security, they learn to have faith in themselves and in those about them.
If children live with friendliness, they learn the world is a nice place in which to live.”
Copyright © 1972 by Dorothy Law Nolte

Jealousy, fury and anger are all negative emotions which Proverbs warns against (Prov 27:4). Relationships help us to grow, however difficult we find them: “as iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.” (Prov 27:17) . We often wonder why God put us in our family, our church, our place of work, our neighbourhood and feel we’d be a much better Christian if we lived somewhere else! The grass always looks greener on the other side, but Proverbs reminds us that those ‘awkward people’ who antagonise us and rub us up the wrong way are actually God’s tool for sharpening and refining us. Refining is another theme repeated in this chapter. “The purity of silver and gold is tested by putting them in the fire; the purity of human hearts is tested by giving them a little fame.” (Prov 27:21) In other words, praise can go to our heads at times and we need to learn how to be gracious in all situations.

As we read Proverbs and listen to its down-to-earth similes (eg “A quarrelsome wife is like the dripping of a leaky roof in a rainstorm” Prov 27:15), we begin to grasp that God is there in the ordinariness of our lives. Whether we’re feeling buoyant and excited or worn down by nagging or the frustrations of failure, it has something for every situation. It anchors us in the security and trustworthiness of God and constantly peels back the layers in our own hearts.

Reality TV shows and celebrity culture are prevalent in today’s society. Virtually every newspaper – even ‘reputable’ ones – have gossip columns and pages devoted to the antics of celebrities. Nowadays it seems you can become famous even for achieving very little. The paparazzi then follow you around and your every action can become front page news. It’s a question of style over substance and young people in particular slavishly follow the news, often aping these celebrities in how they look, dress and act.

Proverbs has quite a caustic view of this kind of society, calling this kind of behaviour foolish. “We no more give honours to fools than pray for snow in summer or rain during harvest” (Prov 26:1) . Sadly, today, it seems we fail to heed this approach, elevating people with foolish opinions and lifestyles for all kinds of reasons.

Proverbs advises us “Don’t respond to the stupidity of a fool; you’ll only look foolish yourself.” (Prov 26:4) . It tells us “a proverb quoted by fools is limp as a wet noodle.” (Prov 26:7) .. It tells us “putting a fool in a place of honour is like setting a mud brick on a marble column.” (Prov 26:9) . No matter the wealth, appearance, fashion sense or style of a celebrity, we need to look at the substance of their lives before we ever think they are worth elevating.

Proverbs is blunt about the trouble a wrong understanding of folly can lead us into: “hire a fool or a drunk and you shoot yourself in the foot.” (Prov 26:10). “As a dog eats its own vomit, so fools recycle silliness.” (Prov 26:11) . Quite why we continue to read about the drunken habits and sexual promiscuity of TV and film stars baffles me!

The characteristics of folly are listed in this chapter:
1) butting in on other people’s quarrels (Prov 26:17)
2) having a quarrelsome nature (Prov 26:21-22)
3) being two-faced (Prov 26:18, 24-26)
4) gossip (Prov 26:20)

One of the most striking images in the chapter is “smooth talk from an evil heart is like glaze on cracked pottery.” (Prov 26:23) . We can try to cover over the cracks, but in the end, foolishness is seen by its actions. Let’s not be fools!