18-04-12 Prov 2 12 The Way of The Evil Man CLICK TITLE FOR AUDIO

In Proverbs, there are numerous references to “the way.”  Some of these references are negative, like the way of the evil man, the way of the wicked, the way of a fool and so forth. And some of the references are positive, like the way of good men, the way of his saints, the way of wisdom and so forth.  

In this broadcast, we are going to cover the negative ways.  They are:

The way of the evil man – Prov 2:12 – Wisdom, knowledge, discretion, and understanding are to deliver thee from the way of the evil man.  His way is broad and most people follow that way.  So, you and I need wisdom to discern his way and to keep from it.  Here are some things to consider about this way:

• Prov 4:19 – the way of the wicked is as darkness.  See Jn 3:19-20.  Most of their wickedness is done in the dark and in dark places.  Thus, they can’t see the danger they’re in or the harm they are causing.
• Prov 15:9 – the way of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord. The fact that the Lord finds this way so abominable should be good reason for us to stay away from it.
• Prov 12:26 – the way of the wicked seduceth them.  The reality is that a righteous man is easily tempted by the way of the wicked because it is so seductive.  They seem to be having all the fun.
• Prov 4:14-15 – go not in the way of evil men.  This simple admonition can keep you out of a lot of trouble.  “Avoid it, pass not by it, turn from it, and pass away.”  Following Solomon’s advice will keep you out of this way.

The way of a fool – Prov 12:15 – the way of a fool is right in his own eyes.  This reminds us of the time of the judges in Israel when every man did that which was right in his own eyes.  The problem with fools is that they think what they are doing is right because they thought of it.  They will not seek counsel from others to see if they are wrong.

The way of transgressors – Prov 13:15 – the way of transgressors is hard.  Today, I can look back over my transgressions and tell you that Solomon is absolutely right.  Life was extremely hard then.  I can think of a number of young men who chose to transgress the Lord and, today, their lives are very hard.  They have a tremendous amount of work in front of them to dig their way out of the trouble they are in.  And they may not get out of all of the trouble.

The way of the slothful – Prov 15:19 – the way of the slothful man is an hedge of thorns.  He is too lazy to maintain his path.  So, it gets overgrown with thorns and then he has a terrible time doing anything.  If you won’t take care of yourself and your business when things are easy, what makes you think you are going to be able to deal with all of this stuff when things are hard.  When you get behind because of laziness, you stay behind.

The way of the froward – Prov 22:5 – thorns and snares are in the way of the froward.  The froward are habitually disposed to disobedience and opposition.  They are always fighting against authority.  Thus, they are ensnared in legal trouble and hampered by the problems they create for themselves.

The ways of death – Prov 14:12 – the end thereof are the ways of death [Prov 16:25].  The way that SEEMS right to a man is among all the ways of death chosen by other men.  There is only one way to heaven; that’s Jesus Christ [Jn 14:6].  To believe the lie that all religions lead to heaven because “we are all trying to get to the same place,” is damnation.  All those ways only  lead to hell.  You must trust Jesus Christ, “the way,” if you want to go to heaven.