Proverbs 11:8 (Mini Sermon)

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8. Pro 11:8 – "The righteous is delivered out of trouble, and the wicked cometh in his stead." A. The righteous is delivered out of trouble, i. Definitions a. Righteous adj. – 1. a. Of persons: Just, upright, virtuous; guiltless, sinless; conforming to the standard of the divine or the moral law; acting rightly or justly. b. Deliver v. – I. 1. trans. To set free, liberate, release, rescue, save. b. Now esp. To set free from restraint, imminent danger, annoyance, trouble, or evil generally. c. Trouble n. – 1. Disturbance of mind or feelings; worry, vexation; affliction; grief; perplexity; distress. b. With a and pl. An instance of this; a misfortune, calamity; a distressing or vexatious circumstance, occurrence, or experience. d. In other words, just, upright, and virtuous people who conform their lives to the standard of God's law will be saved and set free from disturbance of mind, worry, affliction, grief, perplexity, distress, misfortune, and calamity. ii. Man is born unto trouble (Job 5:7; Job 14:1). iii. There are two ways in which the righteous are delivered out of trouble. a. God directly delivers the righteous because He loves them and blesses their obedience. (i) Many are the afflictions (troubles) of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all (Psa 34:19; Job 5:19-26). (ii) The righteous will be afflicted many a time but the Lord will not allow the wicked to prevail against them (Psa 129:1-2). (iii) Hezekiah faced "a day of trouble" when he was besieged by the king of Assyria (2Ki 19:3), and the LORD delivered him miraculously (2Ki 19:35). (iv) God is a refuge (Psa 9:9; Psa 27:5; Psa 32:7) and a very present help in time of trouble (Psa 46:1). (v) God saves the righteous in the time of trouble (Psa 37:39-40; Psa 41:1). (vi) The LORD will deliver the righteous out of all trouble (Psa 54:7). b. The righteous are indirectly delivered from trouble through the good decisions they make based on counsel from the word of God. (i) They save themselves from financial trouble by making good financial decisions, saving money, not taking on debt, and not buying things they don't need. (ii) They save themselves from (excessive) marital trouble (1Co 7:28) by making wise choices concerning who to date and marry. (iii) They save themselves from health trouble by making wise decisions concerning eating, such as being moderate in their consumption of food and drink, eating healthy food, and avoiding junk food. (iv) They save themselves from legal trouble by making wise decisions concerning the company they keep and the activities they participate in. (v) They save themselves from mental and emotional trouble by making good decisions regarding relationships they enter into or maintain. (vi) They save themselves from spiritual trouble by making good decisions regarding what teaching they listen to and what church they join. B. and the wicked cometh in his stead. i. Definitions a. Wicked adj. – 1. Bad in moral character, disposition, or conduct; inclined or addicted to wilful wrong-doing; practising or disposed to practise evil; morally depraved. (A term of wide application, but always of strong reprobation, implying a high degree of evil quality.) b. Stead n. – 12. The place, 'room', 'lieu', or function (of a person or thing) as held by a substitute or a successor. d. in his stead (or with any other possessive): (a) as a successor in his room; (b) as his deputy or representative ; (c) as a substitute in the place occupied by him; (d) instead of him. c. In other words, he who is bad in moral character and conduct and who practices evil will be substituted in the place of the righteous to inherit the trouble that would have befell him. ii. The wicked will be a ransom for the righteous (Pro 21:18). a. Ransom n. – 1. The action of procuring the release of a prisoner or captive by paying a certain sum, or of obtaining one's own freedom in this way; the fact or possibility of being set free on this condition; the paying of money to this end. b. God gave Egypt for a ransom to deliver Israel (Isa 43:3). c. Israel was delivered out of trouble (slavery, oppression, facing death at the Red Sea), and Egypt came in their stead and inherited trouble (plagues, being drowned in the Red Sea). d. God fed those who oppressed Israel with their own flesh (Isa 49:26). iii. Examples of the righteous were delivered out of trouble and the wicked came into it in their stead. a. Mordecai was delivered from the gallows, and his wicked oppressor Haman came in his stead (Est 7:9-10). b. Daniel was delivered from the lions' den, and the wicked who tried to orchestrate his death came in his stead (Dan 6:22-24).