What Kind of Wisdom

What kind of wisdom do those who reject the word of the Lord have?

Text: Jeremiah 8:9

Proposition: What kind of wisdom do those who reject the word of the Lord have?

Introduction

The people of Judah had rejected the word of the Lord. They went after idols. They were immoral and greedy. Those who reject the word of the Lord have man’s wisdom.

I. Earthly wisdom is

A. Jealous (Bitter Jealousy) – a state of fear, suspicion or envy caused by a real or imagined threat or challenge to one’s possessive instincts.

1. It produces bitter jealousy and every evil thing

2. Selfish ambition

a. Ambition – eagerness to attain success, honor, power, fame etc.

b. Selfish – concerned only to satisfy one’s own desires and prepared to sacrifice the feelings and needs of others in order to do so.

c. Jeremiah 8:10

d. They were all greedy. They didn’t care about anyone else, but themselves.

3. You will do anything to destroy what you fear and are eager to satisfy your desires at any expense.

4. This makes people destructive, evil and sometimes murderers.

a. Matthew 27:18

b. They were envious and jealous of Jesus. They wanted him dead.

c. John 7:25, 32

d. John 11:47-53, 12:10 – 11

e. The Pharisees and priests were full of jealousy and selfish-ambition

f. We need to be careful we do not have jealousy and selfish ambition in our hearts.

B. It is earthly

1. It is a wisdom without God’s wisdom

a. I Corinthians 1:20, 21; 2:6,7

b. Evolution – takes God out of the universe

c. Abortion – they are helping to end unwanted pregnancies

d. Homosexuals – A long lasting relationship between two people, two men together or two women together, who love each other is a good thing.

e. All you have to do is believe in Jesus and you will be saved.

2. I John 2:15-17 – lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, and the boastful pride of life is from the world not from God.

C. It is natural (unspiritual)

1. The natural way is the easy way. It requires no discipline, no self-control, and no love. All it requires is lust, hate, and bitterness.

2. If you don’t cultivate, irrigate, spray for bugs, spray for weeds and let what is natural happen you won’t have a crop.

3. If you don’t maintain power lines, what happens?

4. If you don’t vacuum, dust, wash and put things away in your house, what happens?

5. Natural wisdom will accomplish the same result. It will bring disorder (a mess), and every evil thing.

6. II Peter 2:12-16 – King James uses natural instead of instinct

D. Demonic

1. Idolatry is demonic wisdom

2. I Corinthians 10:16-21

a. We are not to have anything to do with demons

b. We shouldn’t want this wisdom that produces disorder and every evil thing

c. The people in Jerusalem worshipped idols.

d. Jeremiah 8:19

3. Colossians 3:5, A covetous man is an idolater.

II. A wisdom that heals superficially (What is wisdom that heals superficially?)

A. A wisdom that says nothing about sin or says everybody does it.

1. If a doctor says, “You have three blocked arteries in your heart we are going to have to cut you open and do a triple bypass surgery. After that you are on a strict diet. You need to lose 100 lbs. No more bacon, no more Twinkies and no more T-bone steak. You have to eat broccoli, cauliflower, lean meats, whole grains, beans and rice. You aren’t going home you are going to have surgery tomorrow morning.” You don’t say, “You are a mean, uncaring, and rude doctor. I don’t have to put up with this. I am going to find another doctor who tells me nicer things and doesn’t restrict my freedom.”

2. A doctor who tells you that you are healthy when you can have a heart attack any minute is not the kind of doctor you want.

3. Jeremiah was a good doctor. He told the people what there problem was and they didn’t like it. They beat him. They locked him up. They threatened to kill him. They threw him in a miry pit.

4. Sin is a wound that needs to be healed. Sometimes it hurts to get it out. People don’t want to change their bad habits. They like pornography. They like to watch soap operas (novelas). They like to be bitter and cause strife. They like to hold grudges. They like to gossip.

5. Sin needs to be spoken against, and confronted. It isn’t pleasant. Sometimes the preaching may seem uncaring. Jeremiah said a lot of things about his people that they didn’t like, but he was not uncaring. He mourned over the people

6. Jeremiah 9:1

B. A wisdom that claims peace when there is no peace

1. Jeremiah 28:1-14

2. Hananiah was a prophet who said, “Peace, Peace, when there was no peace.”

3. We don’t need someone to tell us there will be peace when God says the enemy is going to spread human bones all over the place and the living will wish they were dead.

4. Jeremiah 8:1-3

III. There is no wisdom without the word of God

A. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.

1. Psalms 111:10

2. Many in our nation have rejected the word of the Lord

3. They have left the wisdom of God

B. Fools despise wisdom and instruction

1. Proverbs 1:22-28

2. Proverbs 1:7

Conclusion

I am glad we have such easy access to the word of God. Bibles are inexpensive and easy to obtain. You can usually find one for free. God’s wisdom is easier for us to know even than in Jeremiah’s day. When he was a young man the book of the law had been lost and then it was found when Josiah cleaned out the temple. There was great reform when Josiah was king. When Josiah died the people went back to idolatry and they rejected the word of the Lord. They had no wisdom. They were immoral. They were greedy. And they wanted someone to tell them everything was all right. They didn’t need to change anything. The wisdom of man leads to death. “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death,” Proverbs 14:12.