Wise, Foolish or Wicked?

The book of Proverbs teaches us that are three different types of people found with the nation of Israel and also, can be found within the Church today, the Wise, the Foolish and the Wicked.

Let’s begin our discussion about a Wise Person by turning to Proverbs 9:10, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.” A wise person has been born-again and is on the path of genuine wisdom, demonstrated by his humility and teachability. Look at Proverbs 9:8b, “Reprove a wise man and he will love you.” A wise person values correction and appreciates the person who is correcting him so he may continue to walk with God. The other benefit of being reproved is the person grows in the knowledge of God. This is clearly stated in Proverbs 9:9, “Give instruction to a wise man and he will increase in learning.” A wise man believes the TRUTH.

Now the Fool, Proverbs 18:7, “A fool’s mouth is his ruin.” and Proverbs 19:1b, “…one who is crooked in speech is a fool.” The first aspect of a fool is his speech, but it doesn’t begin there, it begins much earlier in life, Proverbs 17:25, “A foolish son is a grief to his father and bitterness to his mother.” A foolish person lives only for instant gratification and has no thought of the pain inflicted on others. In Proverbs 18:2, “A fool takes no pleasure in understanding, but only in expressing his opinion.” Have you been around a know-it-all? They will give you an opinion when you don’t even ask, and often think their education gives them authority over you. But there is hope for the fool, if he repents and turns to Christ, he will begin to walk the path of genuine wisdom and true knowledge.

Unfortunately, there is no help for the wicked, they have seared their conscience so thoroughly that they never repent or submit to the Lordship of Christ.

The Wicked are in the Church and this is what to look for. Solomon describes the wicked person in three ways, a scoffer, an evil man and of course, a wicked man. Proverbs 17:11, “An evil man seeks only rebellion.” This kind of person has no interest in unity or peace, because they think they know best and will use any means at their disposal to get their way. You cannot correct an evil man, Proverbs 9:7, “Whoever corrects a scoffer gets himself abused, and he who reproves a wicked man incurs injury.” Not only are you opening yourself up to abuse but hatred! Proverbs 9:8a, “Do not reprove a scoffer, or he will hate you!” Therefore, if you begin to see the traces of arrogance, unteachableness, a know-it-all attitude, or one that doesn’t take advice, you just might have a scoffer in your church. He could be in a leadership position or in the pews and they are dangerous for they believe the LIE.

Don’t worry about the evil person, for Peter tells us in 2 Peter 2:9, “The Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials (trials brought on by the wicked) and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the Day of judgement.” Jesus said in Revelation 22:11-13, “Let the evildoer still do evil, and the filthy still be filthy, and the righteous still do right, and the holy still be holy. Behold, I am coming quickly, …to repay everyone for what he has done. I AM the Alpha and Omega, the first and the last.“

Blessed are those who are saved from His coming judgement!

John