Proverbs 3:27-35

Order of Service

• Call to Worship — Psalm 93
• Prayer of Invocation
• Pastoral Prayer
• Scripture Reading — Proverbs 3:27-35
• Sermon
• Benediction

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Sermon Title: The Value of Wisdom for the Neighbor

Scripture: Proverbs 3:27-35

I. What a Good Neighbor Looks Like (Proverbs 3:27-30)

A. A good neighbor gives to the needy (Proverbs 3:27)

1. Giving is not indiscriminate — it is directed to those to whom it is due, those in genuine need
2. Proverbs 30:15 warns against giving to the "leech" who always demands more
3. 2 Thessalonians 3:10-12 distinguishes genuine need from willful idleness

B. A good neighbor does not delay help (Proverbs 3:28)

1. Do not offer help with no intention of following through
2. If you have the means and your neighbor is in need, help immediately — do not put it off

C. A good neighbor is not quarrelsome (Proverbs 3:29-30)

1. Verse 29 addresses covert evil — plotting against a neighbor who trusts you, reflecting the 10th commandment against coveting
2. Coveting often manifests not in theft but in planting seeds of suspicion and ill will in others' minds
3. Verse 30 addresses open contention — picking fights and making baseless accusations
4. The second table of the law (Exodus 20:12-17) implies not only negative prohibitions but positive obligations: the neighbor has rights to our kindness, care, and generosity

II. What a Bad Neighbor Looks Like (Proverbs 3:31-35)

A. The bad neighbor is violent and his character is multi-dimensional (Proverbs 3:31)

B. His mind is corrupt — he is devious (Proverbs 3:32)

1. Crafty, deceptive, and a stirrer of strife

C. His heart is corrupt — he is wicked (Proverbs 3:33)

1. He is set against God and all his ways at his core

D. His social life is corrupt — he is a scorner (Proverbs 3:34)

1. He does not speak directly to others, treating them as beneath him
2. He dismisses and demeans rather than engaging with respect

E. He is a fool (Proverbs 3:35)

1. He despises wisdom and fills his mind and conversation with worthless things

F. The positive contrasts

1. Devious ↔ Upright — straight and honest, not crafty
2. Wicked ↔ Righteous — loves God and his law in the heart
3. Scorner ↔ Humble — speaks directly and respectfully to all
4. Fool ↔ Wise — loves knowledge and substantive, God-centered conversation

III. The Rewards for the Good and Bad Neighbor (Proverbs 3:32-35)

A. God is the one who distributes the rewards — this is the central distinction

B. The upright receive God's friendship (Proverbs 3:32)

1. The devious are an abomination to the Lord — utterly repugnant to him
2. The upright are in his confidence — the language of intimate friendship; the holy God stoops to befriend his servant

C. The righteous household is blessed (Proverbs 3:33)

1. The curse on the wicked and the blessing on the righteous are both corporate and covenantal — they extend to the whole household
2. Psalm 128:3-4 illustrates this: the man who fears the Lord sees his wife and children flourish

D. The humble receive grace; the scorner receives scorn (Proverbs 3:34)

1. God mirrors back to the scorner his own contempt
2. To the humble, God pours out his grace and favor

E. The wise inherit honor; fools receive disgrace (Proverbs 3:35)

F. The core difference: who is your rewarder?

1. Hebrews 11:6 — faith requires believing both that God exists and that he rewards those who seek him; the wicked reject the second part
2. Matthew 6:1-4 — those who practice righteousness for human praise have already received their reward; those who act in secret receive reward from the Father
3. The wicked do get their earthly rewards — fame, power, praise — but these are temporary, subject to moth and rust
4. Christians must not envy the rewards the godless pursue; those rewards have no God in them
5. The Christian life comes down to one question: is God himself your reward and rewarder, or are you serving the perishable things of this world?