- Proverbs 13:6-10
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- Prov 13:6 (KJB)
- Righteousness keepeth him that is upright in the way: but
wickedness overthroweth the sinner.
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- Righteousness - Preserves or guards
- Overthroweth - Perverts
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- Here we have the person who has become saved. The righteousness of
Christ which is imputed to the believer has the ability to keep or guard the
Christian from going astray, that is, to walk in sinful ways.
(1 Pet 1:5 KJV) Who are kept by the power of
God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
1 Peter 1:5 states that we are kept or preserved by the
power of God. The indwelling Holy Spirit will make us sensitive to
situations which can be detrimental to us. On the other hand, the sinner,
that is the unsaved, will be perverted by the sin they walk in. Their life
is steeped in the sinful way and it will result in them being overthrown on
Judgment Day. A sinful life will never go on for a long time because the sin
will eventually be exposed, whether here on earth or on Judgment Day. No one
sins in secret. (Isa 29:15 KJV) Woe unto
them that seek deep to hide their counsel from the LORD, and their works are
in the dark, and they say, Who seeth us? and who knoweth us?
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- Prov 13:7 (KJB)
- There is that maketh himself rich, yet hath nothing: there is
that maketh himself poor, yet hath great riches.
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- Here is a verse which teaches the difference between the prideful and
the humble. The prideful person attempts to make people think they are
something or have some great gifts but in reality these people are
spiritually bankrupt. The unsaved are spiritually dead and even though they
may project that they are some great spiritual leader or possess some great
spiritual gift, in essence they have nothing. On the other hand, there is
the humble Christian who may not have the world’s largest ministry or be the
most verbal person and yet, even though they are meek or humble, they have
great riches. Those riches are the salvation that they possess. They may
seem poor in material goods and they may always seem to be last but in the
eyes of God, they are no different than any other Christian as all stand on
equal footing. The loud unbeliever may boast to be something, but because of
the salvation given by God the humble person is something. Therein lies the
difference.
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- Prov 13:8 (KJB)
- The ransom of a man's life are his riches: but the poor
heareth not rebuke.
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- Ransom - Redemption
- Heareth - Listen, understand, or obey
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- Here is a comparison between the rich man and the poor man concerning
physical wealth. A rich man will have the ability to get himself out of
situations which the poor man lacks the resources to do. The rich can get
the best health care and the best of everything this world has to offer but
with wealth comes some snares. One of them is that there will be people who
will try and get their wealth by sinister methods but the poor man does not
hear those types of rebukes because he does not have the wealth the rich man
has and therefore is not susceptible to those types of life threatening
situations. There is also a spiritual application to this verse. The man who
has riches are those who are redeemed. The riches in view would be the
riches of the Gospel.
(2 Cor 4:7 KJV)
But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the
power may be of God, and not of us. Earthly riches
cannot redeem anyone but the Lord Jesus Christ and the true Gospel can.
Those who are poor lack the Gospel and therefore they cannot hear the
rebukes of Judgment and that they must be saved so they will not face it.
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- Prov 13:9 (KJB)
- The light of the righteous rejoiceth: but the lamp of the wicked shall
be put out.
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- The light of the righteous shines like the sun because of them being
saved. The light in them progresses outward and tends to bring light to
whomever they speak to. It is the light of the Gospel which causes the
righteous to rejoice because rejoicing is the outward expression of joy.
(1 John 1:7 KJV) But if we walk in the
light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the
blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.
On the other hand, the wicked do not have that light of
the Gospel within themselves so they have to carry a lamp which is external.
The only light they bring is an artificial light which soon will be
extinguished as all the wicked will be judged and sentenced to hell but the
light of the true believer will go on forever.
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- Prov 13:10 (KJB)
- Only by pride cometh contention: but with the well advised is
wisdom.
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- Contention - Strife or debate
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- If the pride of man was removed from all debates or strife, there would
be total peace on earth. The problem is that a person’s pride seems to
dictate many situations and discussions. Those discussions always lead to
strife among people because sinful pride, by both parties, will never allow
themselves to be viewed as wrong in the sight of others. Pride is the basis
for almost every sin imaginable. Pride dictates that a person will not get
caught. Pride dictates that whatever a person says is the truth and everyone
else is wrong. Pride is at the heart of contention but on the other hand,
those who are well advised, that is, those who learn from many counselors
will grow in wisdom. The more a person learns humbly, the greater in wisdom
they grow. The more a person engages in contentions, the greater in pride
they grow which only has detrimental effects on a person’s life.
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