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Please turn with me in your Bibles 
to the book of Proverbs. We're in chapter 29. Proverbs 
chapter 29. Proverbs 29, verse 27, an unjust 
man is an abomination to the righteous, and he who is upright 
in the way is an abomination to the wicked. Well, let us ask 
God's help as we look to this passage. Father, we thank you 
for the written word. We thank You for this book of 
Proverbs and the great wisdom it presents to us. Help us tonight 
to see Solomon's teaching here, not only in this place, but other 
places in Scripture, and cause us to reflect upon these realities. 
Lord God, we praise You for including us in the plan of God, for giving 
us that righteousness of Jesus Christ, received by faith alone, 
a faith that You gave to us. God, certainly we're not righteous 
and upright or good in our own strength, but it's certainly 
because of what you've done for us in the gospel of our salvation. May we never forget this, may 
this always humble us, and may it always evoke from us praise 
and worship unto our great God. Again, fill us now with your 
Holy Spirit, and we pray through Jesus Christ our Lord, amen. 
Well, this morning we had two instances where the wicked saw 
the righteous as abominations. We saw in our scripture reading 
in John chapter 12 where the religious leaders, the Pharisees 
specifically, wanted to kill Lazarus. They wanted to murder 
Lazarus. Remember, Lazarus had been raised 
from the dead by the Lord Jesus Christ. But to try to neutralize 
the threat of Christ, they wanted to destroy Lazarus. Because as 
long as Lazarus was alive, he would no doubt tell people that 
I was dead and now I'm alive. I mean, if that happened in your 
life, you would probably go from person to person to tell them. 
If somebody said, what's new in your life? Or what's been 
happening with you recently? You would no doubt say, well, 
I was dead, and then the Lord Jesus called me forth from the 
grave. So in order to try and silence them or keep persons 
from hearing about the power of Jesus Christ, it says that 
they wanted to kill Lazarus. And then, of course, in our studies 
in Acts chapter 7, we actually see them kill Stephen, a godly 
man, a man full of the Holy Spirit, a man who knew their scriptures 
better than them, a man who does refute the false charges, shows 
that they were the ones that were wrong, And in all of this 
is actually calling upon them to repent and believe the gospel. 
Well, they gnash at him with their teeth, they close up their 
ears, they chase him out of the city, and they ultimately stone 
him to death. And what we find in this particular passage, in 
this verse, is what some have called the antithesis. There 
is an antithesis between the upright and the wicked. An antithesis 
simply means opposition or contrast. Solomon says in verse 27, an 
unjust man is an abomination to the righteous. And he who 
is upright in the way is an abomination to the wicked. So the righteous 
looks at the wicked as an abomination, but the wicked look at the righteous 
as an abomination. How do we explain that? How do 
we account for that? And what ought we to think of 
that? That's the subject of our message this evening. In the 
first place, I want to consider the origin of this antithesis. And then secondly, this affirmation 
by Solomon concerning this antithesis. But in terms of the origin, we 
need to turn back to the book of Genesis. Genesis chapter 3, 
we see the origin of the antithesis between the upright and the wicked. Again, antithesis simply means 
the opposition or contrast, two parties on the opposite side 
of a particular thing. Notice the origin, Genesis chapter 
3 at verse 15. The Lord God has come to deal 
with His creatures that have rebelled against Him. Remember, 
God gave a prohibition to Adam and Eve. They were forbidden 
from eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil 
in that theological construct called the covenant of works. 
They were promised life if they obeyed. They were promised death 
if they disobeyed. Of course, they disobey and then 
they run and they try to hide from God. God then seeks after 
them. It's simply not the case that 
man in sin seeks after God. The reality is that God seeks 
after man, and that is precisely what we find here in Genesis 
3. We'll see it later in Genesis chapter 12, in the call of Abraham. That's the divine corrective 
to the tower builders at Babel. And then, of course, the coming 
of the Son of Man. He himself says to Zacchaeus, or in the 
hearing of Zacchaeus, the Son of Man came to seek and to save 
that which was lost. So God comes to deal graciously 
with Adam and Eve. But before He gets into atoning 
for their sin, He gives this curse pronounced upon the serpent, 
and then He speaks to the woman, and then He speaks to the man. 
But notice with reference to the serpent in verse 14. It says, 
So the Lord God said to the serpent, Because you have done this, you 
have cursed more than all cattle and more than every beast of 
the field. On your belly you shall go and you shall eat dust 
all the days of your life. Now here's the antithesis. God 
says, I will put enmity between you and the woman and between 
your seed and her seed. He shall bruise your head and 
you shall bruise his heel. So that's the program for the 
rest of redemptive history. That sets out in a large swath 
what the rest of the Bible is going to flesh out in detail. 
The rest of the Bible indicates or demonstrates how it is that 
this seed of the woman bruises the head of this serpent, or 
bruises the head of the devil. But specifically notice that 
God puts this enmity between you and the woman. There is divine 
initiative here. There are two seeds operative. It's picked up already in Genesis 
chapter 4, between Cain and Abel, and then it's carried on in Genesis 
chapters 5 and 6. There's the godly Sethites and 
there's the ungodly Cainites. Now, some have taught that this 
operates according to racial or ethnic lines. That's not what's 
happening. It is not racial. It is not ethnicity. It is rather those associated 
with the seed of the woman and those associated with the devil 
himself. Those are the two lines. Those 
are the two seeds. Again, it's not mystical. It's 
not esoteric. There's been a lot of weird things 
developed over the years concerning this seed theology. It's simply 
an identification of the people of Jesus Christ and then the 
people of the devil. That is the contour given to 
us here in Genesis chapter three at verse 15. So it's a God-wrought 
enmity, and then it's continuous. Notice, I will put enmity between 
you and the woman and between your seed and her seed. He shall 
bruise your head and you shall bruise his heel. Now there is 
an individual seed here, the Lord Jesus Christ, the seed of 
the woman, but there's also that collective body of people identified 
with that seed, the Lord Christ. So as long as there is human 
history, there will be this antithesis. As long as there are those who 
are identified with the Messiah and those who are identified 
with the devil, there's going to be this opposition. There's going to be this contrast. 
There's going to be what Solomon says in Proverbs 29, 27. As far 
as the righteous are concerned, the wicked are an abomination 
to them. But as far as the wicked are concerned, the upright are 
an abomination to them. In fact, on Proverbs 29.27, both 
Bridges and Henry identify Genesis 3.15. Charles Bridges says here 
is the oldest, the most rooted, the most universal quarrel in 
the world. It was the first fruit of the 
fall, Genesis 3.15. Again, That's his comment on 
Proverbs 29.27. Matthew Henry says this, Proverbs 
29.27, expresses not only the innate contrariety that there 
is between virtue and vice, as between light and darkness, fire 
and water, but the old enmity that has always been between 
the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent, Genesis 
3.15. So when you come to Proverbs 29, 27, as we have tonight, you 
need to realize that it ought not to be interpreted out of 
context. There is an antithesis. There 
is opposing parties. There is a real warfare going 
on. There is genuine enmity between 
the upright and the wicked. Now, I'll argue in the course 
of the sermon that both of these parties engage in that enmity, 
or they express that enmity, in two differing ways. Typically, 
the ungodly, as we see in the situation with Stephen and with 
Lazarus, want to kill people. The righteous may be full of 
indignation, the righteous may be full of disgust, but the righteous 
ultimately want those persons to come out of darkness into 
marvelous light. The righteous realize that if 
God is able to save us, he's certainly able to save them. 
And while those things may be an abomination to us, it hopefully 
will promote in our hearts and provoke in our conduct prayers 
for them that the God of heaven and earth would open their eyes 
and open their hearts the way that he did with us, that he 
would show them grace, that he would show them mercy, that we 
would echo Stephen's prayer in Acts chapter 7 at verse 60. Lord, 
do not charge them with this sin. No doubt the actions of 
his tormentors were an abomination to Stephen. But in terms of the 
persons, he wanted them to engage in that forgiveness. He wanted 
them to understand the joy of being found in Jesus Christ. 
He wanted them to come from the camp of the ungodly into the 
camp of the upright. So the opposition, the antithesis, 
this contrast does exist. And this is what Solomon highlights. 
Proverbs 29, 27. An unjust man is an abomination 
to the righteous, and he who is upright in the way is an abomination 
to the wicked. Now, I want to look at the reasons 
for this as we sort of tease out what Solomon is saying here. 
Why is this the case? Why is it that, say, for instance, 
the unjust or the unrighteous would be abominable to the righteous? Turn one chapter over into Proverbs 
chapter 30. Proverbs chapter 30. Now this, 
just in a compendium or summary version, gives us four reasons 
why the unjust are an abomination to the righteous. And in the 
first place, look at Proverbs 30 at verse 11. There is a generation 
that curses its father and does not bless its mother. There is 
a generation that is pure in its own eyes, yet is not washed 
from its filthiness. There is a generation, oh, how 
lofty are their eyes and their eyelids are lifted up. There 
is a generation whose teeth are like swords and whose fangs are 
like knives to devour the poor from off the earth and the needy 
from among men. In the first place, they are 
rebellious. This is why the ungodly are an abomination to the righteous, 
is because they are rebellious. They reject God-ordained authority, 
and it is most vividly on display in their family structure. Notice where Solomon begins. He begins in the family at verse 
11. In fact, structurally, verse 
11 and verse 14 in this small subset in Proverbs chapter 30, 
11 and 14 are outward actions, one in the family and one in 
society. Verses 12 and 13 describe attitudes, describes dispositions, 
describes the internal state of these particular persons. 
And when he speaks of this generation, or there is a generation, it's 
every generation. Any generation that is peopled 
with sinners is going to display characteristics consistent with 
what Solomon says here in Proverbs 30, verses 11 to 14. But as I 
said, notice they are rebellious. They're rebellious to their parents. 
There is a generation that curses its father and does not bless 
its mother. I mean, that's just horrific, 
isn't it? The Lord God Most High, in His commandments, in the Decalogue, 
in the Ten Commandments, gives as a foundational statement the 
Fifth Commandment. Honor your father and your mother. Exodus chapter 20, Deuteronomy 
chapter 5, and Leviticus chapter 19 highlights this reality that 
persons are supposed to be subject to their parents. They're supposed 
to honor them, they're supposed to obey them. This is a command 
given by Yahweh Himself for the good of people. As well, when 
we consider the seriousness of this particular commandment, 
we ought to consider the punishment involved in its violation. In 
fact, in the book of Proverbs, He highlights what happens to 
those who consistently rebel against their parents. Notice 
in Proverbs 20 at verse 20. Proverbs chapter 20 at verse 
20. Again, just sketching now the characteristics of the unrighteous, 
the characteristics of the ungodly, and why it is the case they are 
abominable to the just or upright. The penalty involved in dishonoring 
parents is very clearly stated here in Proverbs. Notice in chapter 
20 at verse 20. Whoever curses his father or 
his mother, his lamp will be put out in deep darkness. And 
then back in Proverbs chapter 30 at verse 17. Proverbs 30 verse 
17, the eye that mocks his father and scorns obedience to his mother, 
the ravens of the valley will pick it out and the young eagles 
will eat it. Now, perhaps it was a scare tactic on my part, 
but we used to visit this particular proverb when our children were 
young. We used to tell them these are the sorts of things God says 
with reference to those who disobey their parents. It is a grievous 
and horrific thing. The abominable, the unrighteous, 
the unjust make a habit of that. They curse father and they do 
not bless mother in direct contradiction of the law of God Most High. 
You go back to the Old Testament, to the law of God, you see the 
incorrigible son, Deuteronomy chapter 21. What happens to the 
adult rebel son that has not been able to be tamed or restrained 
by parental authority? He's delivered up to the elders 
of the city and he is stoned to death. So the seriousness 
of the offense underscores, or the seriousness of the penalty 
underscores the seriousness of the offense. Bridges, again in 
his commentary, makes the observation. He speaks of a man by the name 
of Solon. Solon was an Athenian statesman 
and lawmaker. He was born in 640 BC. You've 
heard of Athens and the Athenians and all that. Well, Solon was 
a lawmaker. And when Solon was asked why 
he had made no law against parasites. Parasites are persons who kill 
their parents. Parasites are persons that murder 
their parents. Fratricide is the murder of a 
brother. Patricide, the murder of a parent. 
Parasites are those who murder parents. He was asked why he 
had made no law against parasites. He replied that he could not 
conceive of anyone so impious and cruel. It was inconceivable 
to Solon, the Athenian statesman and lawmaker, that there would 
ever be a blot on creation so bad, so impious and cruel, that 
they would ever take up arms against parents. Bridges goes 
on to say the divine lawgiver knew his creature better, that 
his heart was capable of wickedness beyond conception. God speaks 
to this particular calamity because the creature actually expresses 
it. Matthew Poole's comment on these 
persons in Proverbs 30, verse 11, he describes them as ungrateful 
and unnatural monsters. So why are the wicked an abomination 
to the upright? Because we see them engaged in 
this sort of rebellion. This sort of contradiction of 
the Word and Law of God, raising their fist at their Maker, and 
disregarding the very persons that God has put in their life 
for their safety, security, and their blessing. Notice, secondly, 
in terms of these characteristics. They are self-righteous. They 
are self-righteous. Notice in verse 12. There is 
a generation that is pure in its own eyes, yet is not washed 
from its filthiness. Doesn't self-righteousness bug 
you? It should. Yours should, too. Not just everybody else's. Oh, 
I hate that self-righteousness that that guy. We don't always 
see it in ourselves. But just for a moment, this mindset, 
for instance, of one particular political party in the States, 
where they're lecturing persons on morality, and they're pro-infanticide. You're not the person to be lecturing 
on morality. When you murder babies, not only 
in their mother's wombs, which is reprehensible and abominable 
in and of itself, a millisecond old baby conceived to murder 
it is criminal. It's disgusting. It's vile. It's 
wretched. They've already been practicing 
that. Now babies come out, and they're open game for this particular 
party. And yet, they'll shake the finger 
at the rest of us, telling us how to be moral people. It's 
self-righteousness, isn't it? And note the hypocrisy that even 
Solomon points out. Not even Solomon, like he stumbled 
on this, but it's very consistent with what we see. Verse 12, there 
is a generation that is pure in its own eyes, yet is not washed 
from its own excrement. It's not washed from its own 
filthiness. They're vile and wretched and 
disgusting, and yet wagging the finger at us in their self-righteousness. From this, we glean that man 
has a delusion that he is actually righteous. Go back to 16.2 for 
a moment. Proverbs 16 and verse 2. All 
the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes, but Yahweh weighs 
the spirits. All the ways of a man are pure 
in his own eyes. Now, brethren, we ought to be 
very thankful. The last point of application 
tonight is going to be gratitude to God for having delivered us 
from this godless generation. Because this is us apart from 
Jesus Christ. And this man actually thinks 
that he's pure. This man actually thinks that 
he's okay. Perhaps you've witnessed, you've 
taught or talked to people about the gospel, and you've said things 
like, you're a sinner and you stand in need of Christ. Well, 
I'm not a sinner. I'm not a bad guy. I've never 
killed anyone. I've never committed adultery. 
I've only ever done what's right. I've only tried my best. Isn't 
that an expression of what Solomon says here in 16? All the ways 
of a man are pure in his own eyes. If any of us had but a 
glimpse of how wicked we really were, we would probably explode. We would probably disintegrate. 
being mindful or conscious of just how far short we have fallen, 
it would be disastrous for us. But back to chapter 30 and verse 
12, they are self-righteous, they delude themselves that everything 
is good. Bridges says, for everywhere 
it is the great work of Satan to delude the sinner into a good 
opinion of himself. See, the devil is all about self-righteousness. This is why I think, brethren, 
I can't prove this chapter and verse, though I think there's 
some implications in the gospel narratives, where the harlots 
and the tax collectors and the wretches were closer to the kingdom 
of God than were the scribes and the Pharisees. In fact, Jesus 
says that. He says that the harlots and 
the Pharisees, or the harlots and the tax collectors, they 
enter in. But the Pharisees, those who are right in their 
own eyes, those who are pure in their own eyes, those who 
do not see their need for the Savior. Christ said the Son of 
Man didn't come to call sinners righteous, but sinners to repentance. And this is a detrimental thing 
to the life of a man is when he sees himself pure. Waltke 
says, anyone who thinks that he is pure apart from God's divine 
cleansing conceals an unsuspected depth of depravity. Jesus condemned 
the self-righteous Pharisees of murder and of belonging to 
this generation. So he says in verse 12, there 
is a generation that is pure in its own eyes, yet is not washed 
from its own filthiness. Go back to chapter 20 at verse 
9 to see Solomon's emphases here on total depravity. Proverbs chapter 20 at verse 
9. Who can say, I have made my heart clean, I am pure from my 
sin. Who can say that? Well, the obvious 
answer is none, no one. Solomon's not actually looking 
for any taker to this bet. He's not actually thinking there's 
somebody out there that says, well, it's me. I'm pure. I'm 
clean. I'm good. I'm right. No. Self-righteousness 
is characteristic of the wicked. Self-righteousness is an abomination 
to those justified freely by God's grace. Those who see how 
far short man falls recognize and realize that there is not 
a one of us who can attain to God in our own strength, in our 
own merit, in our own virtue. It is an offense to the people 
of God to see self-righteousness. Thirdly, back to the generation. Proverbs 13, verse 13. They are 
arrogant. So they're not only self-righteous, 
but they're arrogant. This is consistent with what 
Jesus teaches in Luke's gospel in Luke 18. Remember those two 
men that went to the temple to pray? One was a Pharisee, and 
one was a tax collector. And the Pharisee prayed, and 
prayed thus with himself, Thank you, God, that I'm not like other 
men. Thank you, God, that I'm a great guy. Thank you, God, 
that I'm so wonderful. Thank you, God. That's how the 
man actually prays. Thank you, God, that I'm not 
like this tax collector. I mean, could you imagine that? 
How terrible it was for that tax collector to hear that? And 
the tax collector doesn't even look up into heaven, but he beats 
his breast and he prays, God, be merciful to me, the sinner. Jesus says it's that man who 
goes to his house justified rather than the other. But what is the 
occasion for that parable? Jesus taught this parable because 
there were some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, 
and they despised others. See, these things go hand in 
hand. When you are feeling peculiarly 
self-righteous, I guarantee you, you're also condemnatory to others. When you are feeling particularly 
lofty, you are looking down on others. Those eyelids that are 
vaulted, those eyelids that sore, those eyelids that go over everybody 
else. This is what he says in verse 
13. There is a generation. Oh, how 
lofty are their eyes and their eyelids are lifted up. There is an arrogance about them. Go back to chapter four for just 
a moment to see the direction of the eyes as an indicator of 
the inner man. Proverbs 4.25, let your eyes 
look straight ahead and your eyelids look right before you. Proverbs 6, verse 17, a proud 
look, a lying tongue. Proverbs chapter 30, this whole 
idea of eyes lifted up, this whole idea of loftiness, this 
is looking over others. So the sort of twin vice with 
reference to self-righteousness is this arrogance. It is this 
disdain of others. It is to despise them. It is 
to somehow think that they've arrived and everybody else is 
miserable and wretched and destitute. That's what's characteristic 
of this generation. Brethren, I would argue that 
what Solomon says here is absolutely appropriate to understanding 
the sorts of things we're dealing with. Rebels who are self-righteous 
and arrogant, and then notice it goes on finally to speak of 
their oppressiveness. Verse 14, there is a generation 
whose teeth are like swords and whose fangs are like knives to 
devour the poor from off the earth and the needy from among 
men. This is a grotesque description, 
isn't it? I mean, this is the language 
of the ability to tear people apart. And notice that it's not 
wolf against wolf, it's wolf against sheep. It's the poor. It is the destitute. It is the 
lowly that fall victim and prey to this kind of a generation. 
The sort of generation that rebels against parents. The sort of 
generation that touts its own self-righteousness. The sort 
of generation that is filled with arrogance. It's that generation 
that capitalizes off the backs of the downtrodden and poor. 
That's what Solomon says. It wasn't only unique to Israel 
in this context, it is something operative throughout the history 
of man. And this is why it's an abomination to the upright, 
because as upright men and women, those saved by sovereign grace, 
those given the righteousness of Jesus Christ, we are hopefully 
not being conformed to the world, but rather we're being transformed 
by the renewing of our mind, such that rebelliousness now 
looks vile to us. such that self-righteousness 
now looks vile to us, such that arrogance looks vile to us, and 
this oppressive spirit where the downtrodden and poor are 
walked all over by those with stuff, those with prestige, those 
with power and position. This is why the unjust are an 
abomination to the upright. They're disgusting. They're vile. 
They're wicked. And for the people of God, they 
want no truck with that. And that is precisely the situation 
that we find ourselves in. Now notice, in terms of the righteous, 
going back to 29-27, Solomon doesn't stop. He says an unjust 
man is an abomination to the righteous. Why? Well, Proverbs 
30, verses 11-14 at least sketches that for us. We're not thrilled 
with these sorts of people. Which, before we continue, this 
really ought to promote in us a desire to kill these things 
in our own hearts. These things may not reign in us, but they 
probably remain in us. There's that rebel spirit, if 
not toward parents, toward civil authority. If not toward civil 
authority, toward others in our lives, bosses or spouses or persons 
that we are supposed to be subject to. If there's a rebel spirit 
in our hearts, we ought to seek by grace to mortify it. If there 
is self-righteousness in our hearts, we ought to seek by grace 
to mortify that. There ought to be no self-righteousness 
on the part of God's elect. There ought to be no self-righteousness 
on the part of people who sing, my hope is built on nothing less 
than Jesus' blood and righteousness. I dare not trust the sweetest 
frame, but wholly lean on Jesus' name. There should be no self-righteousness. There shouldn't be arrogance. Read the New Testament epistles. 
Read the apostle Paul in Romans chapter 12. Don't be high-minded. Don't be looking down on your 
fellow churchmen. Philippians chapter 2, what does 
Paul say? Esteem others as better than 
yourselves. There ought not to be these sorts 
of things rampant in the elect or in the people of God. We ought 
to be seeking to crush that. And then this oppressive spirit 
wherein we attack and we viciously destroy the downtrodden and poor, 
the weaker brother, the whoever. These things are vile, they're 
abominable. If they're an abomination to 
the upright, they're certainly an abomination to God, who is 
most upright. And for us to have these remaining, 
we ought to pray by God's or pursue God's grace to put these 
things to death by the power of the Holy Spirit. Now, why 
are the upright an abomination to the wicked? I hope it's not 
because we're irritating. I hope it's not because we're 
meddlesome. I hope it's not because we're busy bodies. I hope it's 
not because we're, you know, the sorts of people that just 
get under people's skin. In fact, there's an illustration 
of this in 1 Peter chapter 4. You can turn there before we 
get to why the upright are an abomination to the wicked. 1 Peter chapter 4. A little bit of a different context, 
but I think you'll see the point. 1 Peter chapter 4, attitudes 
for persecution. How ought we to deal with persecution? First of all, we ought to expect 
it. Secondly, we ought to exult in it. Thirdly, we ought to evaluate 
its cause. In other words, if we're being 
persecuted, we ought to ask the question, why? This just seems 
like such a basic, fundamental piece of data that the people 
of God should get. But for some reason, they don't 
always get it. I'm being persecuted because 
I'm a Christian. No, you're being persecuted because 
you're a pain. You're irritating. You're not 
nice. We don't entertain that. We never, 
for a moment, ever think people don't like me because I'm not 
likable. It's them. It's persecution for the cause 
of Jesus. Not always. And that's what Peter 
says. Look at 1 Peter 4.12. See? You're 
supposed to expect persecution. As a believer, expect it. Make 
your peace with it. you're going to have troubles 
in the world. Verse 13, exalt in it. Not exalt it, but exalt 
means to rejoice in something. But rejoice, verse 13, to the 
extent that you partake of Christ's sufferings, that when His glory 
is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy. And 
now verse 14, if you are reproached for the name of Christ, I'm sorry, 
not this one, but we'll keep reading. Blessed are you for 
the spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. On their party 
is blaspheme, but on your party is glorified. Now here's the 
evaluate its cause, verse 15. But let none of you suffer as 
a murderer, a thief, an evildoer, or as a busybody in other people's 
matters. See, if you're a busybody in 
other people's matters and you're being persecuted, it's not because 
you're a Christian. It's because you're a busybody 
in other people's matters. You all see that? Because this 
happens, right? Oh, they hate me because I'm 
a believer. That might be the case, but they 
might also hate you because you're really irritating. And you're 
really not nice and you're really unkind and you're not the kind 
of person that Jesus was. Jesus was winsome. There are 
the instances where he throws tables over and he drives out 
money changers. There are instances where he 
reproves the. the scribes and the Pharisees, 
and he says, woe to you. He calls them bags of snakes, 
and he calls them hypocrites. There are certainly those instances, 
but for the most part, Jesus didn't wander around Galilee 
or the streets of Jerusalem just needlessly irritating people. 
He just didn't do that. That was not his MO. That was 
not how he conducted himself. That was not the way he rolled. 
And so Peter tells us we need to evaluate the cause. So brethren, 
you may be persecuted because you're a believer, but you may 
also be persecuted because you're a busybody in other people's 
matters. Yet if anyone suffers, verse 16, as a Christian, let 
him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in this matter. And then the final thing, just 
if you want to round that out, it's entrust yourself to God. 
So expect it, exult in it, evaluate its cause, and entrust yourself 
to God. Verse 19, therefore let those who suffer, notice this, 
according to the will of God, commit their souls to Him in 
doing good, as to a faithful creator. Why do you suffer? It's according to the will of 
God. Why do you suffer? It's according to the will of 
God. That's the reality of Reformed theology. That's the reality 
of a Psalm 115 theology. Our God is in the heavens. He 
does whatever He pleases. And there are times and instances 
where what He pleases is affliction for you so that you'll be further 
conformed unto the image of your beloved Savior. Now back to Solomon. He says, an unjust man is an 
abomination to the righteous. He answers why in Proverbs 30, 
verses 11 to 14. But he goes on to say, he who 
is upright in the way is an abomination to the wicked. Why? Well, first 
of all, they are saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, 
not a self-righteousness. This is offensive to people. 
This bothers people, especially people that know you well. When 
you say something like, I'm going to go to heaven, and they actually 
know who you are and how you are. It is very perplexing and 
at times very puzzling. And at times it provokes them 
to anger. Well, why would you get to go 
to heaven? Because my hope is built on nothing less than Jesus' 
blood and righteousness. What's the typical response from 
the unconverted when they hear of the way of salvation? Well, 
that's not fair. You have to be good. You have 
to be upright. You have to be pure. They don't understand the 
reality that there is no one good, no one upright, no one 
pure. There's only the Lord Christ, and those by grace who believe 
are saved. That's offensive, and that's 
why the unjust hate the upright. Secondly, they are sanctified 
by the Spirit, and they seek by God's grace to follow Jesus. Now, they don't do it perfectly, 
as you and I well know. They don't do it consistently, 
as you and I well know. But they do try. They want to 
not rebel against parents. They want to not engage in self-righteousness 
or arrogance. And they certainly don't want 
to oppress people. Well, that bothers sinners. Sinners 
like it when people sin together. It's the whole point of Romans 
1.32. They not only practice those 
things, they also rejoice in those who do the same. What's 
Jesus teach in John chapter 3 with reference to the wicked coming 
to the light? They don't like to come to the 
light. Why? Because when they come to the 
light, their evil deeds are exposed. If you are at least to some degree 
consistent as a believer, your unbelieving friends may feel 
uncomfortable around you. They may not like you. They may 
find you to be abominable because you seek by grace to follow the 
Master. And then as well, they are believers 
in Christ. They identify with Jesus. And as Jesus was treated, so 
they'll be treated. You can turn to John's gospel, 
John chapter 15. Jesus certainly endorses the 
concept of the antithesis. Jesus certainly receives the 
teaching of Proverbs 29, 27. In John 15 at verse 18, Christ 
said, if the world hates you, you know that it hated me before 
it hated you. If you were of the world, the 
world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the 
world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world 
hates you. Remember the word that I said to you, a servant 
is not greater than his master. If they persecuted me, they will 
also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will 
keep yours also. But all these things they will 
do to you for my name's sake, because they do not know Him 
who sent me. If I had not come and spoken 
to them, they would have no sin. But now they have no excuse for 
their sin. He who hates Me hates My Father also. If I had not 
done among them the works which no one else did, they would have 
no sin. But now they have seen and also hated both Me and My 
Father. But this happened, that the word 
might be fulfilled which is written in their law, they hated Me without 
a cause." Turn over to John's first epistle, 1 John chapter 
3. 1 John 3, he speaks concerning 
the antithesis and even includes Cain's enmity toward Abel. Notice in 1 John 3, beginning 
in verse 10. In this, the children of God 
and the children of the devil are manifest. Whoever does not 
practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not 
love his brother. For this is the message that 
you heard from the beginning, that we should love one another, 
not as Cain, who was of the wicked one and murdered his brother. 
And why did he murder him? Because his works were evil and 
his brothers righteous. Do not marvel, my brethren, if 
the world hates you. We know that we have passed from 
death to life because we love the brethren. He who does not 
love his brother abides in death. Whoever hates his brother is 
a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life 
abiding in him. Notice what he says in verse 
13. Do not marvel, my brethren, if the world hates you. There 
is this reality that not only do the unjust provide occasion 
to be an abomination to the righteous, but the righteous or the upright 
are an abomination to the wicked. There's an antithesis. There's 
a God-wrought enmity. There is opposition, and we see 
it fleshed out in history. Now, quickly and finally, the 
manifestation of it. the manifestation of it. How 
does this come to be? In other words, if the righteous 
are an abomination to the wicked, what do the wicked typically 
tend toward with the righteous? Well, as we see in the case of 
John 12, they want to kill Lazarus because Lazarus is living proof 
that Jesus Christ is Messiah. We see in Acts chapter 7 that 
they want to kill Stephen. They want to murder him. They 
want to stone him to death because they perceive that he is a blasphemer 
of the highest sort. They reject his interpretation 
of the scripture. As far as they are concerned, 
Stephen is an abomination to them, and they must drive him 
out of the city, and they must stone him to death. That's the 
same way they treated the Master, the same way they treated the 
Lord Jesus Christ. Now, I'm not suggesting that 
everyone described in Proverbs 30, verses 11 to 14 will always 
murder every righteous person. I'm not suggesting that at all, 
but I am suggesting that with this kind of a disposition, with 
this kind of, I was gonna point up there, but it should be down 
here, that kind of a master, that sort of violence, that sort 
of expression of enmity is really what the history of martyrdom 
is all about. It is the antithesis that explains 
or gives the rationale for the murder of Stephen, for the murder 
of Thomas Hawkes, for the murder of Chrysostom, for the murder 
of all those who named the name of Jesus Christ. The enmity looms 
large in the hearts of the ungodly, and at times they take it into 
their own hands to destroy the righteous. It's a terrifying 
prospect and one that ought to cause us to exercise a great 
deal of concern. If we are increasingly growing 
in secularism in the Western world, if Christianity is continually 
being marginalized as we see that it is, There may be terrible 
persecution for us, our children, and our grandchildren. I'm not 
a dispensationalist. I'm not a doomsayer. I'm not 
somebody who has the prophetic gift, but I am somebody who sees 
what Paul says in 2 Timothy chapter 3. All who desire to live godly 
in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution. Brethren, in an increasingly 
secular state, in an increasingly secularized version of heaven 
on earth, when Christianity is marginalized, when it is actually 
driven out, we need to be aware of the realities that face us 
as God's people. I mean, according to Proverbs 
30, verses 11 to 14, we're dealing with the sorts of people who 
have knives for teeth. We're dealing with the sorts 
of people that have butcher knives in their mouths and they're not 
afraid to use them. We need to be on our guard. I'm 
not suggesting we don't speak of Jesus. On the contrary, we 
speak of Jesus. We preach Christ and Him crucified. We don't shrink back with reference 
to the fear of man, but rather we need to be aware of the sort 
of situation that we are facing. Bridges makes the observation, 
gladly would the wicked were not their enmity restrained, 
root them out of the face of the earth as they never rested 
till they had nailed the son of God to the tree. He goes on 
to say here, however, is the main difference. The enmity of 
the just. the righteous, is against the 
sins, not the persons of the wicked. You've heard that before. 
God loves the sinner, but he hates the sin. That's not altogether 
accurate. According to Psalm 55, God hates 
the sinner and the sin. But with reference to us, we 
are called not to inflict violence on the unjust. We're never, ever 
called to take up arms against the ungodly and do horrible things 
to them unless they convert. Now, I think that Bridge's distinction 
here is a necessary one for us to appreciate. The enmity of 
the just is against the sins, not the persons of the wicked. He goes on to say, the enmity 
of the wicked is against the persons, the ways of the upright, 
all that belongs to them. There's no ability to disagree 
on religion or theology or politics without a despising and a hating 
and a wanting to silence them. Brethren, we shouldn't conduct 
ourselves that way. The truth has nothing to fear. 
Have you ever had a Jehovah's Witness show up at your door 
and want to hand you his literature, and you say, okay, but I want 
you to read this. Oh, no, I can't take that. I'll take your stuff, because 
the truth has nothing to fear. You see, those who are engaged 
in falsehood, deceit, and lies live in constant fear, so they 
have to silence the opposition. And they do it by not only murder, 
not only by physical violence, character assassination, destroying 
reputations, doing things that ruin the lives of their opponents. 
We shouldn't do that. We ought to be able to argue 
against heresy, against false doctrine, against bad political 
theory, without wanting to burn people's houses to the ground. 
Come on! Who's actually right in that 
scenario? It's the people who have the 
truth. They're not about murdering those who disagree. This is increasingly 
happening. I don't know if you all see this, 
but it's happening. The political machinations out 
there want to silence anything that isn't lockstep with it. And more often than not, Christians 
are not lockstep with it because they want to murder people, babies. 
They want to murder old people. They want to murder sick people. 
They want to engage in that kind of immorality. Of course, we 
don't continue lockstep with that. Of course, we voice our 
opposition. Of course, we voice our concern. 
Well, we shouldn't have our lives ruined and our houses burned 
down and our livelihoods taken from us. I think that distinction 
is noteworthy, and I think we ought to appreciate it. The enmity 
of the wicked is against the persons, the ways of the upright, 
all that belongs to them. However, the enmity of the just 
is against the sins, not the persons of the wicked. Now, in 
terms of the righteous expression of this abomination that the 
ungodly evokes from him, that was actually an accurate statement. You probably didn't get it, but 
that's actually what I meant to say. the expression of the 
righteousness or the righteous one of the upright ones, abomination 
to the wicked. Go back to chapter 11 for just 
a moment in Proverbs. I think there's some misunderstanding 
on this stuff as well. We may not burn down the house 
of those who engage in wickedness, But God, in his judgment, may 
bring them to an end. And according to Solomon in Proverbs 
11, 10, he says, when it goes well with the righteous, the 
city rejoices. And when the wicked perish, there 
is jubilation. In other words, when there's 
a wicked man taken out under God, through his providence, 
however he may choose to exercise that, there is and ought to be 
jubilation in the heart of God's people. It's a good thing. It's 
a good thing when somebody will no longer continue to murder 
babies or murder old people or murder, you know, infirm people 
or continue with legislation that is absolutely atrocious. 
Now, one other passage that I think helps believers with reference 
to their sort of attitude toward the unbeliever is in Psalm 119. 
I have preached this material specifically long ago, but I 
think it needs to be revisited here with reference to Proverbs 
29, 27, and how the righteous navigates in a world filled with 
unrighteousness. We don't burn their houses down. 
We don't destroy their reputations. We don't firebomb their children. 
We don't do that sort of thing. But what ought to be our attitude 
when it is the case that the unrighteous are an abomination 
to us? Notice in Psalm 119 at verse 
53. Psalm 119 at verse 53. Indignation has taken hold of 
me because of the wicked who forsake your law. That's a legit 
expression from the people of God toward the abominations of 
the God bless. Indignation, anger, you're upset 
about something. We're not, you know, in nirvana. We're not, you know, some Eastern 
mystic that's able to just, find or achieve this absolute position 
no there's unrighteousness in this world and and Indignation 
will fill the hearts of God's people when they hear the sorts 
of things that they hear that that's a reality And you ought 
not to say well, I just that's terrible. I shouldn't be upset 
about that. Why not you image God? God is angry with the wicked 
every day according to Psalm 7 and It's not unrighteous for 
you to image God in that particular way and be angry with the wicked. Notice as well Psalm 119 verse 
158. Psalm 119 verse 158. He says, I see the treacherous 
and am disgusted because they do not keep your word. That's 
a reality too, isn't it? It's a disgusting thing to see 
the sorts of things that are happening. It evokes from the 
hearts of God's people from the upright, a spirit of disgust 
when they see the abominations of the ungodly. But now there's 
one other passage in Psalm 119 that we ought to consider. And 
that's found in verse 136. I refer to this as the attitude 
of the psalmist with reference to the wicked. And some might 
say, well, how do we do this? I'm not here to tell you how. 
I'm simply here to tell you that these are the realities. How 
you balance this, how you pursue this, how you capture this in 
your life is probably going to be a lifelong endeavor. But indignation, 
disgust, those aren't untoward in the blood-bought children 
of God. Those are legit expressions toward the wicked. What's David 
say in Psalm 139? Do I not hate those who hate 
thee, O Lord? David says that. David in the 
imprecatory Psalms, I mean, read the imprecatory Psalms sometime, 
brethren. See how David treats the enemies, 
not of David, but of God. It's good to sing the imprecatory 
Psalm. That's the way, a means by which 
we give way to or place to the wrath of God. But notice in Psalm 
136, we've got indignation, we've got disgust, but we've got this 
as well. Rivers of water run down from 
my eyes because men do not keep your law. Rivers of water run 
down from my eyes because men do not keep your law." There 
has to be that element that tempers the indignation and the disgust. There has to be that in the people 
of God, wherein we legitimately express anger over the sorts 
of abominations that occur regularly. But it also ought to affect us 
in such a way that we genuinely want people to be saved. We want 
them to move from that darkness into marvelous light. That's 
what was indicative of Stephen this morning. Well, it was a 
couple thousand years ago, but in our study this morning. Stephen 
wasn't simply name-calling. You stiff-necked, uncircumcised 
of heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. The fact 
that he prays, Lord, do not charge them with this sin, shows his 
disposition toward them. He wants them saved. He wants 
them converted. He wants them to come to a saving 
knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. And if that means having to rebuke 
them and tell them hard things so that they'll be convicted 
and seek out God's mercy, that's precisely what Stephen will do. 
So yeah, indignation, disgust, the rivers of water run down 
from my eyes because men do not keep your law. In Psalm, we ought 
to be like Jesus. Jesus shows anger when he goes 
into the temple and he drives out the money changers. Jesus 
shows compassion when He weeps over the very city that's going 
to crucify Him. When He laments and He says, 
O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, how many times I wanted to gather you 
the way that a hen gathers her chicks. So he had that anger, 
he cleanses the temple, but it's also seasoned with this compassionate 
spirit that is determined to seek good come as a result. So how you capture all that, 
I don't have five ways to do it, but if you get it, please 
send me an email and tell me how you mastered it. In conclusion, 
we ought to recognize this antithesis and we ought to respond accordingly. Going back to Proverbs 30 for 
just a quick moment, we ought to respond accordingly to a godless 
generation. Just three things real quick 
here with reference to the remedy for a godless generation. In 
the spirit of full disclosure, I was going to preach just Proverbs 
30, verses 11 to 14, but I thought it sounded a bit too close to 
home to at least certain political parties. And I didn't want this 
to be a political sermon, not suggesting that persons in the 
other parties can't manifest or demonstrate these sorts of 
attitudes. I thought, let's address the 
antithesis, the whole contrast that does obtain between the 
righteous and the unrighteous. But in terms of Proverbs chapter 
30, brethren, we ought to exercise parental authority. over our 
children. I don't think it's accidental 
the way that Solomon constructs this particular subset concerning 
a generation that is wicked. It starts in the nursery. It 
starts in the home. The mess out there can be directly 
traced back to the messes in homes where parents do not take 
their God-given authority and exercise it responsibly. We need to do that as parents, 
as grandparents. You younger folks with younger 
kids, read Proverbs, read Scripture, learn how to deal with your kids. If you do not, you may be bringing 
them up into this generation that is further described. He 
starts in the home. He ends in the society, but in 
between he describes their internal disposition. I do not think it's 
accidental whatsoever that verse 11 heads the list. Rebelliousness 
to parents, men who curse fathers, men who do not bless their mothers 
are the sorts of people that go out and rob banks. They go 
out and sell fentanyl. They go out and murder people. 
They go out and advocate for abortion. They engage in that 
sort of godlessness because they were never taught by their parents. I've often thought and often 
said, if you hand a monkey a gun and the monkey shoots somebody, 
you don't blame the monkey, you blame the person that handed 
it the gun. Parents, are you handing guns 
to your children in that sort of an analogy? If you are not 
responsibly parenting them, if you are not seeking to govern 
them, to rule over them, and to restrain their godless passions, 
then you are contributing to the very problem that we face 
in society. Solomon is right on when he begins 
here. bridges, says once and again, 
let us remember before it be too late, discipline, wise, tender, 
early discipline, prayer, pleading, patient, believing prayer, diligence, 
active, direct, prudently applied. We have to take this seriously. There's no more noble calling 
than to raise human beings. And God has called us and given 
us a mandate on how to raise human beings. If we reject that 
information, If we do not deal with our children the way that 
God says, we're going to promote a bunch of self-righteous, arrogant, 
oppressive wretches that are going to be an abomination to 
every righteous person they ever meet in their future. As well, 
the remedy for a godless generation, preaching the law of God as a 
restraint. Carl F.H. Henry said, even where 
there is no saving faith, the law serves to restrain sin and 
to preserve the order of creation by proclaiming the will of God, 
by its judgments and its threats of condemnation and punishment. 
The written law, along with the law of conscience, hinders sin 
among the unregenerate. It has the role of a magistrate 
who is a terror to evildoers. It fulfills a political function, 
therefore, by its constraining influence in the unregenerate 
world. We would refer to this as the 
first use of the law, the political or civil use, wherein the law 
of God serves to restrain the lawlessness of man. Pulpits need 
to preach God's law. We are not antinomians. We are 
not those who disregard the Old Testament, but rather these things 
ought to be proclaimed. They ought to be heralded. The 
people of God ought to know the law of God and sinners that come 
in among us ought to know that law as well, because God not 
only uses it to exercise restraint, but he uses it as uses it as 
a child tutor to provoke them to come. unto the Lord Jesus. And of course, the preaching 
of the gospel of Christ as the means of salvation. That's what 
this generation desperately needs, doesn't it? What's going to free 
them? What's going to liberate them? 
What's going to deliver them from this rebellious, self-righteous, 
arrogant, and oppressive attitude? It isn't more politics. It isn't 
money. It isn't, you know, some sort 
of secular education. It is the cross of Jesus Christ, 
our Lord. And as those who have been saved, 
we ought to thank the Lord God Most High that He freed us from 
this nightmare. Such were some of you, Paul says 
in 1 Corinthians 6. But you were washed, you were 
justified, you were sanctified, you were delivered by the power 
of the Christian gospel. And in that, we ought to rejoice. Well, let us close in a word 
of prayer. Our Father, we thank you for the Scriptures. We thank 
you for Solomon's school of wisdom, the book of Proverbs, and all 
the good things that it teaches us about life in this world. 
We do pray for the ministry of the Holy Spirit in our hearts, 
in our lives. We pray that we'd have wisdom 
to navigate according to your law, according to your will, 
according to the things revealed to us in the Scriptures in this 
world. Help us as individuals, help 
us as families, help us as a church, help us to function properly 
in society. And God, we do long for and we 
pray to you concerning our children and our young people. Our heart's 
desire is what the preacher says in Ecclesiastes, that children 
would remember their Creator in their youth. May you do this 
for your glory, may you do this for their well-being. Go with 
us now, help us to have a good week, to bring glory and honor 
and praise unto you, and we ask through Jesus Christ our Lord. 
Amen.