Proverbs 23:23. Buy the truth, and sell it not, Evangelical truth, the word of truth, the Gospel of salvation, which comes from the God of truth; has Christ, who is the truth, for the stem and substance of it; men are directed and led into it by the Spirit of truth; the whole matter of it is truth, Truth, in opposition to the law, that was typical and shadowy; to the errors of false teachers . Wise children bring joy to their parents. The father of the righteous will greatly rejoice, And he who begets a wise child will delight . This chapter continues the listing of 30 Sayings on the troubles of excessive drinking. Also wisdom and instruction and understanding: Proverbs often uses these terms to mean the same thing. Truth, instruction, and understanding in this context are all ways of describing wisdom.
Yet there is hope in Jesus for the drunkard and drug addict. “Is anything too hard for the Lord? May his name be praised for a full deliverance from the enslavement to sin—to all sins and to every individual sin—and even from the chains of this giant sin. The drunkard becomes sober, the unclean holy, the glutton temperate. The love of Christ overpowers the love of sin.” Too many people use religion to condemn, but they forget that God is a path to forgiveness and absolution from our sins. Jesus and drug addiction do not need to be at odds with one another. Although you may be feeling down and out, now is the time to rely on your faith. Jesus and Drug Addiction, there are many kinds of addictions that is a sin, not just drugs: Jesus frees you from being bonded by shackles and self dying, to freedom or eternity. What Would Jesus Say? Jesus is our savior and a powerful symbol of Christianity. He died for our sins and is a guiding light to the way we should live our lives. Amen!
Proverbs Chapter 23:1-35
When thou sits to eat with a ruler, consider diligently what is before thee: And put a knife to thy throat, if thou be a man given to appetite. Be not desirous of his dainties: for they are deceitful meat. Labor not to be rich: cease from thine own wisdom. Wilt thou set thine eyes upon that which is not? for riches certainly make themselves wings; they fly away as an eagle toward heaven. Eat thou not the bread of him that hath an evil eye, neither desire thou his dainty meats: For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he: Eat and drink, says he to thee; but his heart is not with thee. The morsel which thou hast eaten shalt thou vomit up, and lose thy sweet words. Speak not in the ears of a fool: for he will despise the wisdom of thy words. Remove not the old landmark; and enter not into the fields of the fatherless: For their redeemer is mighty; he shall plead their cause with thee. Apply thine heart unto instruction, and thine ears to the words of knowledge. Withhold not correction from the child: for if thou beats him with the rod, he shall not die. Thou shalt beat him with the rod, and shalt deliver his soul from hell. My son, if thine heart be wise, my heart shall rejoice, even mine. Yea, my reins shall rejoice, when thy lips speak right things. Let not thine heart envy sinners: but be thou in the fear of the LORD all the day long. For surely there is an end; and thine expectation shall not be cut off. Hear thou, my son, and be wise, and guide thine heart in the way. Be not among winebibbers; among riotous eaters of flesh: For the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty: and drowsiness shall clothe a man with rags. Hearken unto thy father that begat thee, and despise not thy mother when she is old. Buy the truth, and sell it not; also wisdom, and instruction, and understanding. The father of the righteous shall greatly rejoice: and he that begetteth a wise child shall have joy of him. Thy father and thy mother shall be glad, and she that bare thee shall rejoice. My son, give me thine heart, and let thine eyes observe my ways. For a whore is a deep ditch; and a strange woman is a narrow pit. She also lies in wait as for a prey, and increases the transgressors among men. Who hath woe? who hath sorrow? who hath contentions? who hath babbling? who hath wounds without cause? who hath redness of eyes? They that tarry long at the wine; they that go to seek mixed wine. Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth his color in the cup, when it moves itself aright. At the last it bites like a serpent, and stings like an adder. Thine eyes shall behold strange women, and thine heart shall utter perverse things. Yea, thou shalt be as he that lies down in the midst of the sea, or as he that lies upon the top of a mast. They have stricken me, shalt thou say, and I was not sick; they have beaten me, and I felt it not: when shall I awake? I will seek it yet again.
{Let’s Pray}
Father God, I thank You and praise You for the words of wisdom in this book of Proverbs ch. 23 and for the warning to be cautious of hypocritical people who put on a show or generosity, but are wolves in sheep’s clothing. Give me wisdom and discernment as I travel through life, so that I am prevented from falling into a trap, knowing that as a man thinks, so is he. Purify my thoughts and feelings I am believing. Let the words of my mouth and the thoughts of my heart and mind reflect the grace, forgiveness, mercy and truth of Christ Jesus, in His Precious Name Amen.
{Power Verse}
Apply thine heart unto instruction, and thine ears to the words of knowledge.
Proverbs 23:12
"Only Life Changes" 