Proverbs: Wisdom That Works (Preaching the Word) - Hardcover

Ortlund Jr, Raymond C.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1581348835 ISBN 13: 9781581348835

Verlag: CROSSWAY BOOKS, 2012

Inhaltsangabe

How exactly does one become wise? With the overwhelming flood of information and opinion in our times--much of it a mixture of spin, sound bites, and trivialities--it is crucial we turn back to the Bible and pay close attention to the deep insights that have stood the test of time.

Proverbs 1:20 tells us that "Wisdom cries aloud in the street, in the markets she raises her voice." The wisdom of God does not stand aloof, but instead graciously moves toward us, into the world where we live and struggle day by day--offering us her very best, if we will only listen.

Pastor and teacher Ray Ortlund unpacks the book of Proverbs in twenty-one straightforward sermons, providing a biblical worldview on everything from money, sex, and power to that of the daily routines of an average life. Drawing relevant parallels from ancient culture to present day, he helps us understand how the book of Proverbs is practical help for ordinary people going through everyday life.

Most importantly, Ortlund shows how the Proverbs point to Jesus and his counsel for the perplexed, his strength for the defeated, his warning to the proud, his mercy for the broken. With careful treatment of the Scriptures and uncomplicated language, Proverbs: Wisdom that Works bridges the gap between real-life experience and the scholarly depth of many commentaries.

Part of the Preaching the Word series.

Über diesen Titel

Über die Autorinnen und Autoren

Ray Ortlund is the president of Renewal Ministries, the pastor to pastors at Immanuel Church in Nashville, and a canon theologian with the Anglican Church in North America. He is the author of several books, including Marriage and the Mystery of the Gospel; The Death of Porn; and the Preaching the Word commentaries on Isaiah and Proverbs. He is also a contributor to the ESV Study Bible. Ray and his wife, Jani, have been married for fifty years.

R. Kent Hughes (DMin, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School) is senior pastor emeritus of College Church in Wheaton, Illinois, and former professor of practical theology at Westminster Theological Seminary in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Hughes is also a founder of the Charles Simeon Trust, which conducts expository preaching conferences throughout North America and worldwide. He serves as the series editor for the Preaching the Word commentary series and is the author or coauthor of many books. He and his wife, Barbara, live in Spokane, Washington, and have four children and an ever-increasing number of grandchildren.

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Proverbs

Wisdom that Works

By Raymond C. Ortlund Jr.

Good News Publishers

Copyright © 2012 Raymond C. Ortlund Jr.
All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-1-58134-883-5

Contents

A Word to Those Who Preach the Word, 
Preface, 
1 Why the Book of Proverbs Matters, 
2 Let's Begin (1:1–7), 
3 Violence !(1:8–19), 
4 A Storm Is Coming (1:20–33), 
5 How We Can Grow (2:1–22), 
6 The Wisdom That Helps Us (3:1–8), 
7 Wisdom at the Extremes of Life (3:9–12), 
8 Why Wisdom Matters, What Wisdom Creates (3:13–35), 
9 The Only Path into Life (4:1–27), 
10 Bitter Honey and Sweet Water (5:1–23), 
11 Responsibility, Opportunity, Unity (6:1–19), 
12 Why Our Sexuality Matters to God (6:20 — 7:27), 
13 The Worldview of Wisdom (8:1–36), 
14 It's Decision Time (9:1–18), 
15 The Tongue (18:21), 
16 Humility (22:4), 
17 Family (22:6), 
18 Emotions (15:30), 
19 Friendship (18:24), 
20 Money (10:22), 
21 Life and Death (12:28), 
Notes, 

CHAPTER 1

Why the Book of Proverbs Matters

"Whoever is simple, let him turn in here!"

PROVERBS 9:4, 16

EVERYONE IS ON A PATH. Everyone is going somewhere. When we feel stuck, even when we feel trapped, the truth is, we are still in motion. Life is a journey, and the end of it all is not just a place but also a condition. We are becoming the end of our journey, wise or foolish, and every moment takes us closer there.

God cares about that. "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:16). The Bible is the voice of God inviting us into his eternal life. During the Old Testament era God standardized his speaking to us in three ways. The priests taught his law, the prophets declared his word, and the sages or wise men gave his counsel (Jeremiah 18:18). Both the commands of the Law and the thunderings of the prophets spread out before us the gigantic truths of God, the metanarrative that makes sense of everything. But we need more. We live day by day in a world where "there are details of character small enough to escape the mesh of the law and the broadsides of the prophets, and yet decisive in personal dealings." So God gave us more than the Law and the prophets. He also gave us wise counsel.

For example, Proverbs 27:14 in the NLT says, "A loud and cheerful greeting early in the morning will be taken as a curse!" We don't find that in the Ten Commandments or in Isaiah or Jeremiah. But a well-intentioned but ill-timed greeting can backfire, and that's worth knowing! God thinks so. He cares about our understanding of the massive truths of our existence. But he also cares about the nuances that make a difference in our relationships and experiences every day. Even if we do seek the holiness of the Law, and we do, even if we are inspired by the visions of the prophets, and we are, we can still make a mess of our lives, our families, our churches, our workplaces, our communities if we are unwise. We need God's help moment by moment, down at the level where there are no hard and fast rules to go by. What kind of woman or man should I marry? Which career path should I take? How can I endure this suffering I can't escape? How should I spend my money? Through the book of Proverbs, God coaches us in the wisdom we need throughout the long and complicated path of our everyday lives.

It's the practicality of the book of Proverbs that some people underestimate. This book is indeed practical, but it is not simplistic or moralistic. What God is going after through this book is change deep inside our hearts. His wisdom sinks in as we mull over these Biblical proverbs slowly and thoughtfully. We need multiple exposures over time. This book is not a quick fix. It is ancient wisdom from long human experience endorsed by God himself. If we'll pay close attention, God will graciously make us into profound people.

The book of Proverbs is a gospel book, because it is part of the Bible. That means the book of Proverbs is good news for bad people. It is about grace for sinners. It is about hope for failures. It is about wisdom for idiots. This book is Jesus himself coming to us as our counselor, as our sage, as our life coach. The Lord Jesus Christ is a competent thinker for all times and all cultures. He is a genius. And he freely offers us, even us, his unique wisdom. Do you remember how he concluded his Sermon on the Mount? He defined the gospel as a call to wisdom: "Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. ... And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will belike a foolish man who built his house on the sand" (Matthew 7:24, 26). Jesus is our priest and our prophet, but in the book of Proverbs we encounter Jesus as our mentor. Do you see him that way? You can have him that way — the universe's greatest expert on you. He alone is qualified to have that kind of say in your life.

Let's not patronize Jesus Christ as a nice man who gives us warm religious fuzzies while we turn to the "experts" (whoever they are), the seriously qualified people, for the challenges of real life. Jesus Christ is the shrewdest man who ever lived. No one ever outthought him. No one ever surprised him or cornered him in debate. He was always out ahead of everyone, both his friends and his enemies. Jesus Christ is the best counselor for all people in all seasons of life. The Old Testament prophesied that the Messiah would be anointed with the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, so that he would not judge by what his eyes see or decide disputes by what his ears hear (Isaiah 11:2, 3). In other words, our Messiah is not fooled by appearances or swayed by hearsay, like other leaders, even brilliant leaders. No one will ever pull the wool over his eyes. The Bible says that Jesus has eyes like a flame of fire, seeing through everything (Revelation 1:14). And God has given this super-smart expert to us as his best gift of amazing grace. The gospel says that Jesus is wisdom from God (1 Corinthians 1:30). It's why he surprises us. When he taught in his hometown synagogue, his neighbors were astonished and said, "Where did this man get this wisdom?" (Matthew 13:54). Solomon had been the wisest man in history. But when the Pharisees tested Jesus and he reminded them that the Queen of Sheba came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, she was so eager to learn, Jesus said to them, "Behold, something greater than Solomon is here" (Matthew 12:42). They didn't have to travel any distance. Wisdom incarnate was standing right there. But they were too sure of themselves to listen.

Let's not underrate what we have here in the book of Proverbs. Biblical wisdom is more than what we find in a fortune cookie. It is more than an optional add-on for people who want to upgrade their lives from, say, 4 to 7 on a scale of 1 to 10. This wisdom from Christ is a matter of life and death: "The teaching of the wise is a fountain of life, that one may turn away from the snares of death" (Proverbs 13:14). What if we have many advantages in our lives but not wisdom? If we have love but not wisdom, we will harm people with the best of intentions. If we have courage but not wisdom, we will blunder boldly. If we have truth but not wisdom, we will make the gospel ugly to other people. If we have technology but not wisdom, we will use the best communications ever invented to broadcast...

Details zur Ausgabe

• Verlag: CROSSWAY BOOKS
• Erscheinungsdatum: 2012
• Sprache: Englisch
• ISBN 10: 1581348835
• ISBN 13: 9781581348835
• Einband: Gebundene Ausgabe
• Anzahl der Seiten: 224
• Herausgeber: Hughes R. Kent
• Kontakt zum Hersteller: Crossway; https://www.crossway.org/books/o-sacred-head-now-wounded-cob/; ; 1300 Crescent St.; Wheaton; IL; 60187; USA
• Verantwortliche Person: Nicht verfügbar