151. A Way Which Seems Right (Proverbs 16:25)

11/5/2023

Turn with me to Proverbs 16:25-30. These are our verses to begin studying and memorizing this week.

Proverbs 16:25-30 There is a way which seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death. 26 A worker’s appetite works for him, For his hunger urges him on. 27 A worthless man digs up evil, While his words are like scorching fire. 28 A perverse man spreads strife, And a slanderer separates intimate friends. 29 A man of violence entices his neighbor And leads him in a way that is not good. 30 He who winks his eyes does so to devise perverse things; He who compresses his lips brings evil to pass.

Introduction

In the larger section of proverbs surrounding these ones we are looking at wisdom for living on the highway of the righteous. Verses 16-19 gave us the introduction. It declared the all-surpassing value of wisdom, the key behavior of departing from evil, and the essential characteristic of humility for those on this highway.

As we endeavor to keep that right focus in mind the verses we are coming to now give us warnings about the wrong way of life and the wrong kinds of words. These kinds of uses of the tongue, in ourselves or in others, will lead us astray down dangerous paths.

Let’s begin now by taking a look at the warning in verse 25.

25 There is a way which seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death.

Appearances can be very deceiving. A way of life can seem quite good but still be unavoidably destructive.

Word for word this proverb is found both here and in Proverbs 14:12. There it was part of the center of a chiasm which went from Proverbs 14:8-15. In that passage the focus was on looking at various aspects of life which either build up our homes in the fear of the Lord, or tear them down in foolishness.

Here we once again find it at the center of a contrasting section of verses: Proverb 16:20-30. However, in these verses we are looking at wisdom for our mouth and words. The first 5 verses look at the good kind of words that people on the highway of the upright pursue and have. The middle verse, verse 25, then warns that there is a way of life which can seem right when in reality it is “the way of death.” After that the last 5 verses picture the evil mouths of people on that “way of death.”

Thus this verse is a hinge verse which transitions from the right use of words to the wrong use of them. This contrast should help us see the importance of making God’s Word the basis for our life and words rather than pursuing and living by the dangerous, deceptive words of the world or our own hearts.

All to often our hearts will lie to us. Our reasoning will persuade us of what we want to believe. Our feelings will push us to avoid what is hard and pursue what is immediately pleasurable. In our context of living on the highway of the upright where we are to be pursuing and having the right kind of words this warning should grab our attention. Not everything that sounds good is worth pursuing. People will claim to have wisdom, experience, and good advice for us. But it will not always be the case. Because of that we must follow the wisdom given to us in verse 20. It started off that mini section on good words telling us that “He who gives attention to the word will find good.”

We must compare all of the advice that we are given to the infallible wisdom of what God’s Word says. We must compare what we read in books, papers, and on the internet with what God’s Word says. We must compare what we see on the TV, internet, or in our everyday lives with what God’s Word says. We must compare what we learn at school or work with what God says. So many things are presented in ways that may look and sound reasonable at face value. Yet underneath they conceal destructive lies that move us away from the truth. We must not be naïve. People often have ulterior motives. They have bias’s—whether known or unknown—which predispose them to particular perspectives or slants on things. On top of that, we all have our own sin natures which push us to view things from a way that exalts ourselves and minimizes God. We must not be duped by all of these wrong ways of thinking and living. They will eventually only lead to death, to eternal separation from God, to judgment for our sin, and to pain, sorrow, and destruction.

How can we keep ourselves from being deceived or following such a pathway? God has given us His Word. It is His perfect, true, infallible revelation of truth. It tells us what is right, and what is wrong. It tells us why God made us and what our purpose in life is. It tells us about our deadly sin problem. It tells us of the only way that we can be freed from our slavery to sin and rescued from the judgment that it deserves: in Jesus Christ. It tells us of His willingly going to the cross to pay the penalty for our sin and to give us His righteousness so that all who repent and believe in Him will be reborn and eternally saved. It warns us of dangers and temptations along the way of life. It guides us to God for His strength to be able to live in holiness. It encourages us daily with true hope in Jesus Christ for His return, for His judgment of this world, and for His re-creation of it. God’s Word gives us the truth that sets us free and protects us from ways which may seem and feel right, but which in actuality lead to death.

The only way then that we can keep ourselves from being deceived is if we continually immerse ourselves in and carefully follow the truths of God’s Word. How well are you doing that? Is it your daily food and drink sustaining and guiding you?

Our current proverb warns us of the dangerous reality in which we all live. Not everything that glitters is gold. Man’s wisdom for life will not lead to glory. It led us into deadly sin in the garden of Eden, and it continues to lead people directly towards ruin. For the unbeliever who will not repent it leads directly towards the eternal punishment of the lake of fire. Following man’s way of life instead of God’s will eventually have drastic consequences.

Scriptural Example: In Scripture we see an example of this ruination and death in Exodus 32. There the people of Israel were in the wilderness at Mount Sinai. In chapter 24 we learn that Moses had read the law to them and they had committed to following it. Then Moses went up the mountain and had a meal with 70 elders before the Lord. After that the Lord had Moses come up farther by himself to give him the stone tablets with the law. The elders were instructed to wait for Moses’ return and the people were to bring any legal matters to Aaron and Hur. Moses was gone for 40 days. Then the events of chapter 32 take place.

Exodus 32:1-8 Now when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, the people assembled about Aaron and said to him, “Come, make us a god who will go before us; as for this Moses, the man who brought us up from the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.” 2 Aaron said to them, “Tear off the gold rings which are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.” 3 Then all the people tore off the gold rings which were in their ears and brought them to Aaron. 4 He took this from their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool and made it into a molten calf; and they said, “This is your god, O Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt.” 5 Now when Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made a proclamation and said, “Tomorrow shall be a feast to the LORD.” 6 So the next day they rose early and offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play.
7 Then the LORD spoke to Moses, “Go down at once, for your people, whom you brought up from the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves. 8 “They have quickly turned aside from the way which I commanded them. They have made for themselves a molten calf, and have worshiped it and have sacrificed to it and said, ‘This is your god, O Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt!’”

The people had followed their hearts. They did what seemed good and right to them. They followed their own wisdom instead of God’s Word. They turned aside from God’s righteous way of life that they had just committed to less than two months before. Even Aaron was swept away by their evil words. He followed their wicked plans and made them an idol that they called Yahweh. They camouflaged their sinful behavior by saying they were following God. They twisted and perverted the worship of the Lord. That is what following their hearts led them to do. Then the consequences came.

After God sent Moses back down the mountain to deal with things He had Moses direct the Levites to take their swords and go through the camp killing the immoral idolaters. According to Exodus 32:27-28 three thousand men died that day. The end of the chapter also notes that the Lord Himself also struck down others (Exodus 32:35). All defiance of God, our perfect and good creator, will earn its just reward when His judgment time comes. Sometimes sin does not have such an immediate punishment. Sometimes God does give time for repentance. But we must not mistake His patience and grace for the lack of consequences. It may be sooner, or it may be later. But it will come.

Proverb in Comparison: When we compare this verse with the rest of Scripture we see that this dangerous “way which seems right” to people is pictured quite graphically in a parable that Jesus taught in Luke 20:9-16.

Luke 20:9-16a And He began to tell the people this parable: “A man planted a vineyard and rented it out to vine-growers, and went on a journey for a long time. 10 “At the harvest time he sent a slave to the vine-growers, so that they would give him some of the produce of the vineyard; but the vine-growers beat him and sent him away empty-handed. 11 “And he proceeded to send another slave; and they beat him also and treated him shamefully and sent him away empty-handed. 12 “And he proceeded to send a third; and this one also they wounded and cast out. 13 “The owner of the vineyard said, ‘What shall I do? I will send my beloved son; perhaps they will respect him.’ 14 “But when the vine-growers saw him, they reasoned with one another, saying, ‘This is the heir; let us kill him so that the inheritance will be ours.’ 15 “So they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. What, then, will the owner of the vineyard do to them? 16a “He will come and destroy these vine-growers and will give the vineyard to others.”

In the context, this parable refers to the religious leaders and their treatment of God, of His stewardship given to them, and of His son sent to them. They were living apart from God’s purposes for them. They were ignoring His Word and His calls to repentance. They did not render to God what was rightfully His. They took the praise that God deserved, exploited the people, and lived according to their own way of life. They had perverted the worship of God and made it a money making enterprise. They twisted God’s Word and made it say what they wanted it to say in order to justify their behavior. They used God’s Word as a cloak of righteousness while living out their own sinful desires. The result of that would be their utter destruction. And that is what happened to Israel in 70 A.D. when the Romans destroyed Jerusalem.

Sadly, most people the world over continue to do this exact same thing. We all live in God’s world that He created. Yet how often do people turn what He created for good into something evil? They ignore their responsibility to God. They ignore what He says in His Word. They ignore His calls to repentance and to true holiness. They ignore His way of salvation in Jesus Christ alone. They ignore His righteous redeemed way of life. They twist what He says in His Word to fit their sinful desires. They make their own way and ignore His.

The fact is, though, that no matter how much we ignore the truth and twist it around to say what we want it to say we will not be able to ignore the consequences of our actions. When we choose a way that seems good to us but is actually in defiance of God and His Word it is a pathway of death. What happened to Israel at Mount Sinai, and what happened to the religious leaders of Israel in A.D. 70 will happen to all of us if we too reject God’s way of wisdom and embrace sinful paths of man’s wisdom.

But thanks be to God there is a better way. It does not have to turn out like this today for any of us. There is hope for Jew and Gentile alike in God’s plan of redemption and life in Jesus Christ. We must turn to Him.

Truth in Connection: Once we have trusted in Jesus, though, the dangers this verse warns of do not cease. We need to continually compare our own thoughts to God’s Word. We need to compare the words and teachings that we experience throughout life to God’s Word. That means we need to know it better than we know anything else. It means we need to continually learn from it, submit to it, and follow its wisdom. Otherwise we will end up buying into the destructive lies of our flesh, the world, or the devil.

It is not enough to simply read the Bible here and there. We must study it and meditate on it. We need to understand what it honestly means and then faithfully apply it to our lives. If we just quickly read a chapter and then forget about it as we go about the rest of our day, will it really benefit us much more than that comic strips in the newspaper that we read to give ourselves a momentary dose of humor? No! We need to find something in it to think about, pray about, and apply to our lives. We need to let it drive us to exalting God and trusting Him. We need to let its truths be the guidance for our lives. We need to let God’s purpose for life become our purpose for every aspect of our lives.

As we do that, then when our culture or our own flesh presents its “way of wisdom” we will already know what the truth of God’s Wisdom has to say about it. Or, at the very least, we will take that new idea and compare it to what God’s Word says before we adopt it as the path to follow.

For instances, think about this example. Our culture promotes following one’s own heart as an ideal goal in life. In their view this means it is okay and right to do whatever we want as long as it does not hurt other people. Even that, though, is relative, as babies in the womb are re-defined as not yet people, and the long term “hurt” of many behaviors are overlooked in light of immediate pleasures—like in the case of drug and alcohol use, pornography, sex outside of marriage, homosexuality, transgender behavior, no-fault divorce, binge shopping, binge eating, binge movie or sport watching, binge gaming sprees, etc. Through it all we are taught that we should pursue whatever makes us happy. We are taught that is what is good. Just about any relationship—for however long it continues to bring one happiness—is encouraged. In this way God’s created design for family, commitment, morality, and life are all cast aside. Immorality and selfishness are justified and individuals become their own standard of right and wrong. God’s standard, the one who made us, is ignored.

But what does God’s Word say about all that? It says that our hearts are desperately wicked (Jer. 17:9). It says that our righteousness is as filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6). It says that we are all made in the image of God (Gen. 1:26) and that He fashions us in the womb (Ps. 139:13). It says that we are to be filled with and controlled by the Holy Spirit, not alcohol (Eph. 5:18). It says that lusting in the heart is sin (Matt. 5:28). It says that all fornication is sin (1 Cor. 6:18). It says that the God designed marriage between one man and one woman is the one good, right, and honorable place for intimate relations to occur (Matt. 19:4-6, Heb. 13:5). It says that homosexuality is wrong (1 Cor. 6:9-11). It says that God hates divorce and limits it to adultery or an unsaved spouse leaving (Mal. 2:16, Matt. 5:32, 1 Cor. 7:10-15). It says that God’s way of living is right and best. It tells us that our purpose in life is not to go out and find our own purpose through some kind of individualized, unique, self-expression. No. It tells us that God made us each with the gifts and abilities that He wanted so that we could glorify, honor, and enjoy Him. Life is not about serving ourselves. It is about serving God and others (1 Corinthians 10:31, Colossians 3:14).

God’s Word tells us that we are all sinners, and that we deserve God’s judgment for that sin (Rom. 3:23, 6:23). But God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life (John 3:16). God calls us to repent and believe in Him (Mark 1:14-15, Acts 20:21). When we truly know and trust God’s love it begins to transform us from selfish, self-lovers to selfless God-lovers (John 13:34-35, 15:8-17). All of that is what God’s Word says. When we know God’s Word and trust it as true and best, then we will be protected from all of these lies which put one on a pathway of death.

The world’s way of thinking, though, does not stop with wrong behavior. It is much more devious than that. It comes up with ways of thinking which try to justify, excuse, and make reasonable that way of behavior. This way of living is actually the natural outworking of the humanistic philosophy which undergirds much of modern western civilization. God and the supernatural are by default ruled out as impossible. Then all of life is built on the presumption of humanity’s preeminence and wisdom. People exalt themselves as being the pinnacle of existence who have the ability to determine what is right and wrong and what is best for themselves and this world.

When that is one’s foundational view of life it becomes natural to make up one’s own rules of life and disregard God in everything. But it does not stop there. In light of their humanistic philosophy they come up with other ideologies to bolster that way of thinking. They continue to develop theories of evolution so that they can try to explain all the otherwise unexplainable realities of this creation without having to acknowledge a God that they are responsible to. They theorize and proclaim as fact that if enough time and energy exist they can somehow make the impossibilities of specific, ordered, complex life come out of non-life. Essentially, something comes out of nothing in their view. They say this with complex mental gymnastics despite the reality that it contradicts foundational, basic rules of science like life only comes from life and the entropy described in the second law of thermodynamics.¹

Like “flat earther’s” they deny the obvious and try to convince themselves of their own so-called “wisdom.” In both cases if one simply traveled in a straight line all the way around the globe—with one’s eyes open and without a sin-closed mind—it would dispel the foolishness of those proposals. One would see the amazing complexities of creation, the natural deterioration that occurs, and the reality that the only way to come back to one’s same starting point by constantly traveling in one direction is to be on a globe of some kind. But, alas, when one’s mind is made up that man is the center of existence there is no room for the consistent application of scientific observation in ways that would contradict that assumption.

Yet, the sad reality is that even if all that denial of God’s existence is too much for their rational mind, then there are many other “ways that seem right to a man” which can just as easily be followed that lead to the same result. There are plenty of man-made religions to choose from which still allow us to hold on to our pride and our human focused and self-exalting way of living. All religions other than Biblical Christianity hold so some form of works—personally achievable “righteous” ways of living—that are to be done in order to bring about or participate in our ultimate salvation. There is something which we can do to fix things ourselves. There is something we can boast about. There is something that we can take some credit for in earning our right to salvation from sin or in gaining eternal bliss beyond this life. Man’s wisdom is often followed by these paths. Excuses or allowances for pet sinful behaviors can still be made. After all, we can make up the wrong some other way. It will all balance out in the end. A few extra years in purgatory will take care of it, or a few other good works or prayers can be made. Or an extra cycle of reincarnation, or some jihad, or pilgrimage, or monetary donation, etc. will fix things.

But what does God’s Word say about all that? It says that is not how it works in God’s world. We do not get to make up the rules. Man’s way somehow always manages to exalt mankind’s desires and wants over God’s standards of right and wrong. We like to become the standard of right and wrong so that we can blur the lines where we find it convenient to do so. But that does not work. Why? God’s Word says that He made all things (Gen. 1-2). He sovereignly created everything that exists. He ordered the rules by which creation runs. He made the stars and the orbits and gravity and the seas and the dry ground and the molecules that hold everything together precisely like they do. He set the earth the perfect distance from the sun. He made the air in perfect proportion to sustain all the different kinds of life that exist. He made the moon at the right distance for the tides. He spun the earth to give us day and night. He made everything to work together the way that it does. He made all the animals and plants and trees. Then He made us to steward this creation under His authority. He made man and woman. He gave us intelligence and a soul and made us in His image. He gave us the capacity to think and love and feel and make things out of what He had created. He set the standards of right and wrong. He gave us our purpose and meaning for life. We do not get to decide all of that. We are His creation. We are responsible to Him. In His goodness He perfectly made this world and everything in it. That is what God’s Word says.

When we messed up God’s world with our sin we do not get to turn around and dictate to Him how He must take us back and continue to sustain our lives and bless us. No, we suffer the consequences of our actions and deserve His eternal judgment. There is nothing that we can do to earn His favor or fix what we have ruined. We are not powerful enough, and nothing good that we could do could ever undo our transgressions against Him. If we could, then we could make this world perfect again. But we utterly fail at that. Sin, misery, and death continue to rule the day wherever we go.

We are completely at the perfect discretion of God’s sovereign will and justice. But thanks be to God, in Jesus Christ there is mercy. It is not at all something that we can earn. It is by God’s grace, His undeserved favor. It is not something that we have any right to boast in, as Ephesians 2:8-9 reminds us. No, our salvation from our sin is completely the work of God. Jesus came, added on humanity to His deity, lived a perfect life, and bore our punishment upon Himself on the cross. He took the death that we deserve. He rose from the dead, conquering sin and death and gives His righteousness to all those who trust in Him (2 Corinthians 5:21). He justifies us. He redeems us. He forgives us. He adopts us as His children. He gives us life. He does it all.

Even the faith to believe is a gift from God. He opens our eyes to our need for Him and to see the reality of His love. It is not like one website that I saw comparing all religions. It seemed to indicate that Christians were saved if their faith were strong enough. The truth is that our trust must not be in our own faith or its strength. If it were, then even there we would have something to boast in. “I had a strong faith! I held on to Him and so I was saved!” No, our trust must be completely and only in the all sufficient work of what Jesus has done on our behalf in our place. We cannot add in any works of our own to this grace of God. If we pridefully attempt to, then we are making up our own religion and our own way of life “which seems right to man.” If we do that we will reap the consequences of it at the end: death, eternal separation from God.

God’s way of salvation in Jesus Christ alone is the only way of salvation. If we pervert it or twist it then it is no longer God’s way of salvation. It is just another man-made path to death. That is what the “Jehovah’s Witnesses” religion is. That is what Mormonism is. That is what Roman Catholicism is. That is what Rabbinic Judaism is. That is what Islam is. That is what Buddhism, Sikhism, and all the other religions are. They are all some deviation away from the truth of salvation in Jesus Christ alone. Remember what Jesus said in John 14:6.

John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.

Remember also what God had recorded for us in Acts 4:12.

Acts 4:12 “And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.”

Titus 3:3-7 encapsulates well God’s way of salvation in contrast to all our ways leading to death.

Titus 3:3-7 For we also once were foolish ourselves, disobedient, deceived, enslaved to various lusts and pleasures, spending our life in malice and envy, hateful, hating one another. 4 But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared, 5 He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, 6 whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 so that being justified by His grace we would be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

There are indeed many ways which seem right to man. But they will all lead to death. The only way of life is found in God’s Word. There God’s wisdom and God’s works are recorded. They tell us of the truth of what Jesus did on the cross. They tell us the truth of our condition of life before God with all the ugliness of our sin. They tell us of the one and only hope that there is in Jesus Christ. Trust Him today as your Lord and Savior. Turn from your sin and pride. Trust in Jesus.

Then, as you understand God’s amazing, overwhelming, undeserved love for you personally, as He opens your eyes to your utter need for Him, and as you begin to behold Him and He transforms your life you will want to know Him more. You will want to be protected from the lies of the world, the flesh, and the devil. You will want to make God’s Word your guide for all of life. You will not have the power to perfectly live this life and be protected from deceptions. But the difference now is that Jesus is with you. He will strengthen and enable you as you come to Him humbly. Day by day we are to walk by faith trusting Him and going to Him for the wisdom of what is right and best. Treasure that Word of God. Make it the wisdom that you go to for everything in life. Make sure that you compare all that you hear, and all that you allow your heart to desire with the truth of God’s Word. Know it so well that it is a part of you. Dwell with the Lord by abiding in its truths.

If you are here this morning, and there is some area of life where you are becoming aware that you may have allowed yourself to fall into wrong thinking or living, then run to God’s Word for its wisdom. Humbly listen to what it says. Turn from any sin. Confess it to the Lord. Trust God in every area of your life that His way is truly best and right. Then change your habits of living so that you again dwell in the wisdom of God’s Word. Then you will be protected from those ways of life which can at face value seem so right to us, but yet really are traps leading to death.

Conclusion

If you have any questions on any of this, or if you need help on what God’s Word says about a specific situation, or if you want help in coming to know Jesus as your Lord and Savior please come talk with us. We are available. Let’s pray.

© 2023, Kevin A. Dodge, All rights reserved.

Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations taken from the New American Standard Bible^® (NASB),Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. www.Lockman.org