Proverbs (Part 065) - Pro 6:17

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17. Pro 6:17 - "A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood," A. A proud look, i. The first thing in this list that the LORD hates is a proud look. ii. Proud adj. - I. 1. a. Having or cherishing a high or lofty opinion of oneself; valuing oneself highly on account of one's position, rank, attainments, possessions, etc.; Usually in a bad sense: Disposed to take an attitude of superiority to and contempt for others; arrogant, haughty, overweening, supercilious. iii. Proud people think they are holier and better than others (Isa 65:5). iv. A proud man can often be identified by the look on his face (Psa 10:4). a. Countenance n. - I. 1. Bearing, demeanour, comportment; behaviour, conduct; sometimes spec. behaviour of two persons towards each other. Obs. 2. Appearance, aspect, look (obs. exc. as transf. from 4); also, a show or semblance of anything. 4. The look or expression of a person's face. (In early use often not easily distinguished from 1, 2, and in later use difficult to separate from 5.) b. The countenance usually refers to the face in scripture (Mat 6:16). (i) A proud look can sometimes take the form a smug look. (ii) Other times it can be conveyed by a smirk or a condescending gaze. (iii) Proud people don't like to be shown that they are wrong, so when they are corrected or contradicted, the look on their face will reveal their proud heart. c. The way one walks or stands can also reveal the pride in his heart. d. A proud look is often hard to describe, but it is usually easy to perceive. v. God hates pride (Pro 8:13; Pro 16:5). a. We should likewise hate pride, especially in ourselves. b. Pride was the sin that brought down Lucifer (Isa 14:12-15 & Eze 28:17 c/w 1Ti 3:6). c. Pride was the first sin that led to many more for the sinners of Sodom and Gomorrah (Eze 16:49). d. "Gay pride" is nothing new (Isa 3:9). vi. Not only does God hate the sin of pride, He also hates the look on one's face. vii. The next time you have a thought of how intelligent, educated (not the same as intelligent), knowledgeable, pretty, handsome, talented, wealthy, charismatic, popular, or high ranking you are, just remember that God hates pride and proud looks. viii. So repent of your high opinion of yourself, and wipe that proud look off your face before the Lord does so for you. B. a lying tongue, i. The second thing in this list that the LORD hates is a lying tongue. ii. God not only hates the sin of lying, He also hates the tongue and the lips that lie (Pro 12:22). a. Notice that God's hatred of sin has moved from the appearance (the look) of a man to a body part itself (the tongue). (i) This is understandable. (ii) If someone punched you in the face, you would not only hate the act of punching, but you would also hate the fist that broke your nose. b. As we move down the list, we will see that God's hatred extends beyond body parts which are used to commit sin to the sinner himself. iii. God hates lying and lies (Zec 8:17), and so should we (Psa 119:163; Pro 13:5). a. Lying can be committed by stating something false, by omitting necessary information to mislead, or by carefully crafting what we say to make someone think that we mean something different that we do. b. All of these forms of lying are abominable. iv. Why does God hate lying? a. God is the truth (Joh 14:6), and God's word is truth (Joh 17:17). b. A lying tongue is therefore contrary to the nature of God and His revelation to man. v. Lying is a wicked sin that we must abstain from (Eph 4:25). a. Lying is deceitful and injurious to others (Pro 26:24). b. Lying to someone is evidence that you hate him (Pro 26:28; Pro 10:18). c. Lying is harmful to relationships because it destroys trust. d. Liars go to the lake of fire (Rev 21:8). vi. We should pray that God would deliver us from lying lips, both our own and others' (Psa 119:29; Psa 120:2). C. and hands that shed innocent blood, i. The third thing in this list that the LORD hates are hands that shed innocent blood. a. Shedding blood is killing (Lev 17:3-4; Pro 1:16, 19). b. Shedding innocent blood is murder. c. God not only hates the sin of murder, He also hates the hands that murder. ii. Why does God hate hands that murder? a. Men are made after the similitude of God (Jam 3:9) and are owned by God (Rom 9:20-21), so to kill another man is to destroy God's creation and possession. b. God's law forbids murder (Mat 19:18), so to shed the blood of the innocent is to break God's law which is sin which God hates. iii. Murder is such as serious sin that the LORD made it a capital crime after the flood (Gen 9:6). iv. Most people have never murdered anyone, but if you've hated someone in your heart you are guilty of murder in God's eyes (1Jo 3:15). v. We must put away hatred for one another out of our hearts before it comes out in our actions. vi. Murderers have their part in the lake of fire (Rev 21:8). D. A proud look [American Pride], a lying tongue [lying us into the Iraq war and others], and hands that shed innocent blood [wars of aggression] is a good description of the US government and American Exceptionalism.