Proverbs
11:4 KJV
Riches
profit not in the day of wrath: but righteousness delivereth from death.
I want to
begin by saying first that the Bible does not condemn the possession of riches.
· Abraham
· David
· Solomon even
· Job
Would have
all been considered wealthy in their day.
· The problem is not with what you possess.
· The problem is with what possesses you
I. PRIORITIES
When we
believe the Word of God, that there will be a day of judgment and wrath, then
it makes perfect sense to pursue righteousness and not riches in our lives.
Just as when
a man faces serious illness and no amount of money is able to spare his life,
so when the Lord pours out His wrath against all those who hold the truth of
God in unrighteousness, there will be no amount of money that can alleviate the
wrath.
A. God is no respecter of persons.
He does not
hold up one higher than another because he is:
· Wealthy,
· Popular or has earthly
· Power
In that day
when God calls the birds to the great supper of God, they will,
Rev 19:18
.... eat the
flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the
flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both
free and bond, both small and great.(KJV)
On the other
hand
B. The one who seeks righteousness in Jesus
Christ is delivered from death
Gill says:
· "from the curse of a corporeal death;
· from the power of a spiritual one; and
· from dying the second or an eternal one."
Proverbs
11:4 (KJV)
Riches
profit not in the day of wrath: but righteousness delivereth from death.
II. IT IS ASSUMED THAT THERE WILL BE A DAY OF
WRATH
The Bible,
and every thinking person, understands that such a day is coming.
We do not
know when but:
A. We have experienced many precursor days
Noah’s
Flood, is an evidence that judgment happens.
No one but a handful of people, and they, of the same family,
believed that God would judge the world with a flood.
Can’t you
hear the mockers laugh at Noah as he
· Built the Ark and
· Preached righteousness to them
Can’t you
imagine the educated
Preaching that is was scientifically impossible for the world to
be flooded?
Can’t you
see in your mind’s eye, the elite and powerful
Pointing out that the majority was on the side against Noah?
But it did happen, didn’t it?
B. We have the prophecies of the Bible
In the Old Testament and in the New
By prophets, by preachers and by Jesus
Christ Himself, we are told that,
2 Peter 3:12 (KJV)
Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the
day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements
shall melt with fervent heat?
· Paul
· Jude
· Peter and
· John
All warn of coming judgment.
C. We have the witness of the conscience
There is something in all of us that senses some sort of impending
doom.
· Atheists have their doomsday clock.
· The 50’s-60’s people lived in terror of nuclear
devastation
· Environmentalists are now preoccupied with
global warming and endangered species.
Just this week someone showed me a dramatization of what they
think would happen if human life became extinct today.
It showed:
· Skyscrapers crumbling to dust being replaced
with trees
· Junkyards filling with water and teaming with
birds and fish
My thought was, if humans were extinct,
· I would not have to put up with numbskulls creating
silly videos like that one
D. There is, for every human being, our own
day of wrath.
Hebrews 9:27
(KJV)
And as it is
appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:
As true as
this coming day of wrath is,
III. THE REST OF THE VERSE IS EQUALLY TRUE
“Riches
profit not … But righteousness deliverereth from death."
When this
day comes no one will be glad they devoted themselves to gain.
Everyone who
has dedicated himself to righteousness will be very glad they did.
[1] Amos 4:12 (KJV)
Therefore thus will I do
unto thee, O Israel: and because I will do this unto thee, prepare to meet thy
God, O Israel.
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