Romans: Justification, Faith, and Imputed Righteousness: Sola Fide And Justification

Where We Are and How We Got Here in 2023

Transcript: AI Transcript

Professor: John Weaver

Subject: New Testament Studies

Genre: Sermon

Dictation Name:

Date: 2023-02-12

Synopsis: John Weaver examines Proverbs 28:4 to diagnose America's moral and social decay, arguing that forsaking God's law leads to praising wickedness, while keeping God's law compels believers to contend against evil. He illustrates the nation's descent into insanity with examples of transgenderism, trans-species identification, lenient sentencing for sex crimes, and child trafficking. The sermon calls for men to rise up, obey God's law, and actively oppose wickedness.

[John Weaver] Alright, let's open our Bibles to the book of Proverbs chapter 28 and verse 4. Proverbs 28 in verse 4. The title of the message is where we are and how we got here in 2023. I think you'll see the title will be very appropriate momentarily. Proverbs chapter 28 in verse 4. Very simple verse, very straightforward. The Bible says they that forsake the law praise the wicked, but such as keep the law contend with them.

[John Weaver] It is no secret that we're in desperate straits in America, and the truth is that all the world is in a mess. In all probability, Europe is worse off than America. When you look around, you will notice that immorality is raging. Perversion is accepted. Transgenderism is looked upon benevolently. And when you go so far as to believe that men can have periods and produce babies, then you've fallen into absolute insanity.

[John Weaver] No matter how many drugs you take, how many surgeries you endure, and how many psychiatrists counsel you, you're still the gender in which you were born. You may change your appearance, but you cannot change your gender. The fact remains that there are only two genders, male and female. And I have often said, if you do not believe that there are only two genders, male and female, just try milking a bull and see how far you get with that. It just simply will not work.

[John Weaver] Now, insanity is reaching even farther because now it's not just transgenders, it is now trans-species. There are adults and even children who are now identifying themselves as animals. I want you to listen to a couple of news clips that I picked up this week that's going to demonstrate Proverbs chapter 28 and verse 4. The first one is, Kentucky School District, students are dressing and acting like cats. Meade County, Kentucky. The Meade County School District is dealing with an unusual situation. A group of high school students attending school is acting like and dressing as cats. The superintendent tells WLKY the situation is being addressed, but according to a concerned grandparent, it's an ongoing problem and has many students on edge.

[John Weaver] Apparently, from what I understand, they're called furries, the grandmother said, who asked to remain anonymous. They identify with animals. These people will hiss at you and scratch at you if they don't like something that you're doing. She said, this is not a new problem. Wow. Ned, the truth is that there are people today that are even identifying as deer. as wolves and as other animals. In fact, I glanced the headline. I did not take time to read the article where one man who was dressed as a deer was shot. That's very dangerous during deer season to dress as a deer, but he was identifying as a deer and he got shot as a deer as well. But here is one that might really surprise you. Listen to this headline.

[John Weaver] Killer now identifies as an infant who wears nappies and demands baby food in prison. Sophie Eastwood, who was named Daniel at the time of their sentencing, is serving a lifetime at Polmont Prison in Brighton, Scotland, for using shoelaces to strangle a cellmate to death in 2004. Sophie Eastwood now identifies as an infant A killer who transitioned from male to female while in prison has demanded guards hold her hand while outside her cell because she identifies as an infant. Sophie Eastwood, 36, who was named Daniel when she was jailed for life in 2004 after using shoelaces as a garret to strangle her cellmate, Eastwood, who has lived as a woman in Her Majesty's prison for the past four years, has been described as an attention-seeking and manipulative individual by sources inside the jail. The murderer has now told chiefs at Pullmott Prison in Brighton, Scotland, that she identifies as a tot and should be allowed to wear diapers and have her meals pureed like baby food. She is also demanded guards hold her hand while she is escorted to and from her cell.

[John Weaver] Prison bosses are taking Eastwood's request seriously and have already supplied her with a dummy, I guess a baby, as sources tell the Daily Record. Now, I understand a prisoner milking the system and getting the best of prison life while at the same time mocking and ridiculing those who are in authority over him. But what I cannot understand is the ignorance, the stupidity, and the senselessness of bureaucrats that go along with such drivel and such wicked stupidity and actually either go along with and or making believe that they're going along with.

[John Weaver] And when you stop and think about prisons, you have to ask this question, where are the chain gangs? Where are the chain gangs? Where are the prisoners out? working on the roads. Now, occasionally you see some, but not in chain gangs like they used to. We've come a long way since the days of Cool Hand Luke. You remember Paul Newman back in that movie back in the 50s? And even as a boy, I saw chain gangs. I saw prisoners working alongside the road. That was 75 years ago, but they were there back then.

[John Weaver] Now, I understand that prisons basically are an unbiblical form of punishment. But the truth of the matter is, if you're going to use a prison as punishment, why not make it so absolutely miserable and so absolutely difficult that once you get out, you never want to go back? But now today they have color TV, they have workout rooms, they have tennis, they have everything they can imagine in these prisons. Years ago, I had a friend who had to go into a federal prison for nine months because he had taken a stand against abortion. And of course, they came against him for taking that stand.

[John Weaver] And I remember him showing me the letter. In fact, I read the letter to our church at that time where they were telling him to report to prison and they were informing him that they did not supply tennis rackets or golf clubs. And if he wanted any of those, he needed to bring them with him for nine months. That was a federal prison. I'm just simply asking. where we are and how in the world we got where we are in this day and time.

[John Weaver] Moreover, you will see that crime has increased, the penalties for crime has decreased, and when you look at cities like Chicago or the state of California or New York or Portland, Oregon or Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, These places now are nothing more than hell holes where criminals basically have a free reign and free run, and they attack at their will and at their pleasure. And very seldom are they ever punished. I just read where in California, three men, I'm going to read some of it to you, but three men who were involved in sex trafficking, a hundred women, when they were captured were given sentences of three years each. Listen to this. And three men, Nery Naharo Rodriguez, 42, George Perez Hernandez, 37, and Luis Mata, 30, were sentenced for running a prostitution ring in Northern California. comprised mostly of undocumented women from Mexico who were sold for sex to as many as 20 clients in a single day. Each man received just three years for his involvement in the ring.

[John Weaver] In comparison, now hang on, in comparison, many cases involving growing or selling weed, marijuana, get much longer sentences. In recent months, this California man, there was a picture with his name, was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison, this Oregon man to 15, and this Iowa man to 20 years, all for growing or distributing marijuana. Those cases are all on long end for marijuana-related sentences. The average time served for drug-related offenses is about 2.2 years. But they help illustrate just how desperately or how comparatively short sentences for pimping can be. Can you imagine trafficking over 100 women and only getting three years?

[John Weaver] Here's one that takes the prize. This is from Fox News, Elizabeth Pritchett reported. This was Sunday, February the 5th, 2023. Our former Arizona State Trooper will spend five years in prison after he pleaded guilty to multiple sex-related charges stemming from his actions during traffic stops, according to Fox 10 in Phoenix. Tremaine Jackson who was a 13-year veteran of the Arizona Department of Public Safety, at the time of his arrest, was initially charged, are you listening? With 61 counts of sex-related kidnapping and fraud charges, according to the Arizona Department of Public Safety website. So here's a man that is charged with 61 felonies. Felonies! And he gets five years. Which means he'll probably be out in two years, just like these men who traffic these women will probably be out in a year, year and a half, something like that, since they only got three years.

[John Weaver] What in the world has happened to America? What has happened? It seems like everything is totally out of control. Let me give you one more that's just actually worse. This is the top. This is reported by John Whitehead and his wife, Nisha. John Whitehead is a constitutional attorney. He's the head of the Rutherford Institute, and I'm just taking a short paragraph or so out of the article that I read, and he's talking about the trafficking of children in America.

[John Weaver] He said, consider this, every two minutes, A child is bought and sold for sex. Hundreds of young girls and boys, some as young as nine years old, are being bought and sold for sex as many as 20 times per day. Adults purchase children for sex at least 2.5 million times a year in the United States alone. In Georgia alone, it is estimated that 7,200 men, half of them in their 30s, seek to purchase sex with adolescent girls each month, averaging roughly 300 a day. On the average, a child might be raped by 6,000 men during a five-year period. It is estimated that at least 100,000 to 500,000 children, girls and boys, are bought and sold for sex in the United States every year, with as many as 300,000 children in danger of being trafficked each year. Some of these children are forcibly abducted, others are runaways, and still others are sold into the system by relatives and acquaintances. Child rape has become big business in America. This is America now.

[John Weaver] We've become a nation that is absolutely teeming with predators. So let me just tie this together by saying this. Lies, wickedness, bribery, injustice, tyranny are seemingly prevailing. We've lost our minds. We've lost our courage. We've lost our character. We've lost our common sense. And so you have to ask this question, what has happened and why has it happened? And how far down this road have we gotten?

[John Weaver] And how much farther will we go? Well, I believe the Bible has the answer, and I think the answer is very plain in Proverbs 28, verse 4. If you look at that verse again, the Bible says, they that forsake the law praise the wicked. but such as keep the law, contend with them." Now, the very first question I believe that must be asked and answered in our verse is, whose law or what law was Solomon referring to when he wrote this passage? Clearly, I believe, and obviously this has to be the law of God, simply because we've already seen that man's law is extremely humanistic and unjust, In fact, man's law is in competition with and in opposition to the law of God. I want you to hold Proverbs 28, but look in your Bibles, if you would please, to 1 Samuel 8. I've preached on this passage a number of times in times past, but I want you to see it in light of what I'm teaching today. There was one message I preached many years ago, which I entitled, Trading God for a Man.

[John Weaver] And that is exactly what is happening in 1 Samuel chapter 8. Because Israel is now demanding a man as king when, of course, God was the king. And so when they asked Samuel to give them a king, it displeased him. And he went and prayed to the Lord. And notice, if you would, what the Lord said in verse 7. First Samuel 8 in verse 7, And the Lord said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people, and all that they say unto thee. For they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them. In other words, they were trading God for a man. They no longer wanted God to be their king. They wanted a man to be their king.

[John Weaver] Now, here's the important thing. I want you to skip down to verse 9. Because God says, I want you to give them that king that they want, but I want you to show them the difference between my rule and his rule. Show them what man's rule will be like. So in verse nine, God says, now, therefore, hearken unto their voice, howbeit yet protest solemnly unto them, and show them the manner of the king that shall reign over them. And Samuel told all the words of the Lord unto the people that asked of him a king. And he said, this will be the manner of the king that shall reign over you.

[John Weaver] He will take your sons and appoint them for himself. for his chariots, and of his horsemen, and some shall run before his chariots. And he will appoint him captains over thousands, and captains over fifties, and will set them to ear his ground, and to reap his harvest, and to make his instruments of war, and instruments of his chariots. And he will take your daughters to be confectionaries, and to be cooks, and to be bakers. And he will take your fields, and your vineyards, and your olive yards, and the best of them, and give them to his service. And he will take the tenth of your seed, and of your vineyards, and give to his officers, and to his servants. And he will take your men's servants, and your maidservants, and your village young men, and your asses, and put them to his work. And he will take the tenth of your sheep, and you will be his servants, or slaves.

[John Weaver] And you shall cry out in that day, because of your king which you have chosen you, and the Lord will not hear you in that day." Now, if you will turn right over to 1 Samuel chapter 12 and verse 12, You'll see Samuel repeating the same truth that they have rejected God as their king. So he says in verse 12, 1 Samuel 12, And when you saw that Nahash, the king of the children of Ammon, came against you, you said unto me, Nay, but a king shall reign over us, when the Lord your God was your king. Now, the only way that you can really understand 1 Samuel chapter 8 is to view it as a transition from one law structure to another law structure. I've told you this repeatedly in times past, that a king rules by his law. That is certainly true of God. That is true of any king. That is true of any ruler, whether it's a king or not. Whether you agreed with Trump or not is immaterial.

[John Weaver] Let me ask you this question. Is there a difference between the administration of Trump and the administration of Biden? And of course there is. And whoever is elected next, there will be a difference in the administration again. Why? Because everyone has their own agenda and everyone has their own principles from which they're going to run things. So clearly what you have in 1 Samuel chapter 8, you have A transition from God's law to man's law.

[John Weaver] Now, if you look back in your Bibles to Proverbs chapter 28 in verse 4, let me emphasize this. The Bible says, they that forsake the law. And I'm already pointing out this is God's law. It is not man's law, because man's law, again, is in opposition to God's law. It is distinct from God's law. But however, the word law is the Hebrew word Torah, which not only means law, it refers to God's law. In fact, the word Torah actually means authoritative instruction or authoritative direction. You will remember that the first five books of the Bible written by Moses are referred to as the Torah because they're the books of the law. However, here's something else I want to point out. All of God's Word is Torah, because all of God's Word is authoritative direction and authoritative instruction.

[John Weaver] And interestingly, you'll find this over and over in the New Testament, even by our Lord, where He is referring to the entire Old Testament as the Law and the Prophets. Now, normally, When we divide the Old Testament books, we think about, here's the books of the law, here are history books, here are poetical books, here are major prophets, here are minor prophets. But in the New Testament, our Lord just refers to everything as the Law and the Prophets. So even the poetical books, the historical books, are labeled as Law.

[John Weaver] Look in your Bibles, whole Proverbs 28, but turn, if you would, to Matthew chapter 5, and let me show you a few of these passages. Matthew chapter 5, and let's begin looking there at verse 17. Matthew chapter 5 and verse 17. Look at it. Matthew 5 verse 17, our Lord said, think not that I'm come to destroy the law or the prophets. I'm not coming to destroy, but to fulfill. So now he's referring to the Old Testament as the law or the prophets. All right. Notice, if you would. Matthew 7 and verse 12. Matthew 7 verse 12. Our Lord says, therefore, all things whatsoever you would do that men should do to you, do you even unto them. That's the golden rule for this is the law and the prophets. So once again, it is the law and the prophets. Look at Matthew 11 and verse 13, Matthew 11 and verse 13. Our Lord says for all the prophets and the law prophesied until John. There it is. Then if you look in Matthew chapter 22 and verse 40.

[John Weaver] Matthew 22 and verse 40. Notice clearly what our Lord says here. Matthew 22 verse 40. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. all the law and the prophets then one more passage if you look in Luke 16 and verse 16 Luke 16 and verse 16 notice what our Lord says here Luke 16 and verse 16 the law and the prophets were until John Since that time, the kingdom of God is preached, and every man presseth into it. The Law and the Prophets were until John." Now, there are other scriptures, but I think you're beginning to see the truth that this phrase, the Law and the Prophets, really refers to the entirety of the Old Testament. And yet, it can also be applied to the entirety of the Word of God, since all of God's Word is authoritative instruction and direction. Now, so when you look at Proverbs 28 and verse 4, when he says, they that forsake the law, we're talking about God's law.

[John Weaver] Now, here's the question that you must ask in light of this. He said, when they that forsake the law praise the wicked, So what happens when the law of God is forsaken? And by the way, the word forsaken refers to that which is denied, that which is left, that which is forgotten, that which is walked away from. So he said, they that forsake the law. So what happens when the law of God is forsaken?

[John Weaver] And the truth is that a number of things happen and a number of things transpire. For instance, You will remember the question that is asked in Psalm 11 and verse 3, where it is asked, if the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do? So we have witnessed and are witnessing in this country the destruction of the foundation of law, of justice, of economics, of family, of education, of work, of government, of welfare, and a host of other things that are turned upside down and thus become destroyed for all practical purposes. Just think of all the monies that are thrown away on humanistic welfare.

[John Weaver] And the Scripture has the answer. When God said, if anyone will not work, neither should he eat. All I'm trying to say is today people are paid to stay home and not to work and not to do anything. Look at our judicial system. Look at our economic system. Look at our educational system. In fact, I'll show you a good example. If you look in your Bibles, the Psalm 82. Psalm 82 is a psalm written for judges and magistrates. It is a psalm of the judicial system. Look in verse 1, Psalm 82, God standeth in the congregation of the mighty, he judgeth among the gods, and of course our Lord in John chapter 10 tells us that this refers to judges and magistrates and rulers, the term gods there. And to show you that in the context, look at verse 2. He asked these judges and magistrates, how long will you judge unjustly and accept the persons of the wicked? Now, here's what judges and magistrates are supposed to be doing.

[John Weaver] Defend the poor and the fatherless, do justice to the afflicted and needy, deliver the poor and needy, rid them out of the hand of the wicked. But they're not doing that in their ignorance. Look what he says in verse five. They know not that is their ignorant of justice. Neither will they understand. They don't want to listen. They walk on in darkness. Now look what happens. All the foundations of the earth are out of course. In other words, by their acts of ignorance, insanity, injustice, they turn everything upside down. The foundations are being destroyed.

[John Weaver] Now, there is absolutely no individual No family, no church, no community, no state or nation that can exist without law. Everyone must have a law system. So the question is not whether or not you will have a law system. The question would be whose law will you have? Will it be God's law or will it be man's law? So the issue really comes down to what is known as theonomy versus autonomy. Theonomy is made up of two Greek words, theos, God, nomos, law. So theonomy just refers to God's law. Autonomy is made up of two Greek words, autos, which is self, and nomos, which is law. So you want to have God's law or you have man's law or self law. So when you and I refuse the law of God and the rule of God, we then condemn ourselves to be ruled by man. So you're going to say, well, I don't want God to rule over me, and I'm certainly not going to let man rule over me. I'll just rule over myself.

[John Weaver] Really? That is still man's law. That is still man's rule. You remember two times in the book of Judges, Judges 17 in verse 6 and Judges 21 and verse 21, the Bible says, In those days there was no king in Israel, but every man did that which was right in his own eyes. In other words, it was self-law. Now, I want you to turn, if you would, to the book of Proverbs, chapter 12, and look at verse 15.

[John Weaver] Someone who's going to say, well, I'll tell you what I'm going to do. I will just do the very best that I can. Really? You reject God's law and do the very best that you can. And here's what the Word of God says. The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but he that hearkeneth to the counsel is wise. So the man's going to do his own thing. God refers to as a fool.

[John Weaver] Now, I've asked this question. The Bible said when the wicked forsake When they forsake the law, they praise the wicked. Now, think about this. How in the world do we forsake the law? Well, there are different ways that the law of God can be forsaken. One way is to deny its validity or to deny its authority, as Pharaoh did in Exodus chapter 5 and verse 2. You remember in that passage, Moses and Aaron came to Pharaoh And they said, thus saith the Lord God of Israel, let my people go that they may serve me. Straightforward, clear, plain. But Pharaoh responded and asked this, who is the Lord that I should let Israel go? I know not the Lord, neither will I let Israel go. So what Pharaoh was saying is this, I don't recognize God as sovereign. I don't recognize God as God. I don't even recognize His authority. He has no right to even address me and command me to let Israel go. I deny that He is God. Of course, Pharaoh claimed to be a god himself.

[John Weaver] Thus, Pharaoh then denounced God, he denied God, and he despised God, and he defied God. Now, I know that there are some people who are as brazen and as rebellious as Pharaoh, but very few. Most people are not going to come out and say something so asinine and so plainly as, who is the Lord? I know not the Lord, neither will I obey Him. Most people are not going to say that. So you could just forsake God's law by taking that kind of attitude, but here's what most people are going to do. Most people are just simply going to treat God contemptuously. They're going to pretend like God does not exist. They're going to pretend like He has not spoken. They're going to live as if God has no authority to tell them what to do, to direct their lives, or to tell them how to live. In fact, some of them are going to go so far as to think that they have an absolute right to transgress God's law because they are a God unto themselves.

[John Weaver] And unhappily, there are people who profess to be Christians. Who take this attitude? Because they may acknowledge God, but they ignore his word. They don't read, they don't study, they don't listen, and they certainly do not obey. So clearly then, most people just treat God with contempt.

[John Weaver] Now, there's another reason some forsake the law of God, and that is because of misinterpretation and misunderstanding. So if you will look in your Bibles very quickly to the book of Romans chapter 6, and just look at verse 14, because there are several passages like this in the Bible, but you always have to take things in context. And when you look in Romans chapter 6 and verse 14, and note if you would what the Bible says. Romans 6 verse 14, the Apostle Paul writing says, for sin shall not have dominion over you, for you're not under the law, but under grace.

[John Weaver] So people say there it is. We're not under the law. We're under grace. And they think that God's law somehow has been nullified, negated and set aside. Well, They never consider the context, nor even the immediate context or the remote context. The interesting thing is, the Apostle Paul started an argument in Romans chapter 3, teaching justification by faith alone, and that argument runs all the way through the end of Romans chapter 8. And so actually what you're seeing in Romans chapter 6, I'll show you just for a moment, when he said in verse 14, for sin shall not have dominion over you. Why? For you're not under the law but under grace. What he's saying is you're not under the law as a standard for justification. You're under the law. No, you're not under the law as a standard for justification. You're under grace as your standard for justification. Now, although the law is not our standard for justification, it is our standard for sanctification. If you look in Romans chapter 7, watch it if you would please, at verse 12.

[John Weaver] Romans 7 and verse 12. The Apostle Paul says, wherefore the law is holy. and the commandment holy and just and good. And he's defending the law of God and he's showing that God's law was used to convict him of sin. He did not even know what sin was apart from the law of God. And that's what the Bible says very clearly in Romans 3 in verse 20, for by the law is the knowledge of sin. You don't even know what sin is apart from the law of God. Then if you will look back in your Bibles very quickly to Romans chapter 3, notice if you would please verse 31, but before we read there, let's go back and look at verse 24.

[John Weaver] He says,"...being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus." So Paul begins this argument for justification by faith in Romans chapter 3. And then if you skip down to verse 31, he makes this statement. Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid that is perish the thought. Don't even let that enter in your mind. Yea, he said, we establish the law. So any preaching of justification by faith alone, any preaching of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ that negates and nullifies the law is heresy. He said it is only through faith that we establish the law.

[John Weaver] Now, if you have forgotten some of these truths, I would suggest that you go back and listen to that 23-message series I did on the promises of the law. If you've never heard it, I encourage you to hear it. If you've forgotten it, re-listen again. But please understand this, it's impossible to be sanctified and to be holy without obedience to God's law. Would you count a serial murderer as a holy sanctified man? Would you count a serial rapist as a holy sanctified man? Would you count a serial thief as a holy sanctified man? And of course not. Of course not.

[John Weaver] In fact, when you get to 1 Thessalonians chapter 4, he tells you very plainly, for this is the will of God, even your sanctification that you abstain from fornication. Sanctification is involved in obedience to the law of God.

[John Weaver] Now, I want you to note something. Go back and look, if you would please, at Proverbs chapter 28 in verse 4. Look at this. He says, they that forsake the law praise the wicked. Now, I want you to think about this for a moment. Meditate upon this. In forsaking, in leaving, in forgetting, yea, even in denying the law of God, we praise the wicked. We praise that which God condemns. We side against Him. We call that which is detestable and abominable It's something that is praiseworthy, something that is glorious. In fact, if you look at verse 4, they that forsake the law praise. The word praise is the Hebrew word halal and refers to that which is to be praised, that which is glorious, that which is to be celebrated, that which is to be commended. So in forsaking the law of God, what we do is we commend that which God condemns. In other words, you end up finding yourself not only on the wrong side of history, but also on the wrong side of God.

[John Weaver] So as they did forsake the law, praise the wicked. I hope you're seeing where we are today and how we got here. Because the law of God, has been forsaken. Even when you read legal dictionaries, most of them refer to Sir Edward Coke, Coke's commentaries on the law. All of these had nothing but Bible in them, because law originally was based upon the Word of God. So consequently, if we're going to forsake the law of God, we're going to end up praising and glorifying and commending that which is wicked and wrong and ungodly.

[John Weaver] But now we should look at the second half of this verse. He says, They that forsake the law praise and celebrate and glorify the wicked, but such as keep the law, contend with them. Wow.

[John Weaver] Now, the latter part of this verse is equally true and equally applicable today. So, first of all, I want you to consider the word keep. He said, for such as keep the law. Now, we understand that none of us can keep the law of God perfectly. The law of God, as I've pointed out before, demands three things of every individual, a personal, a perfect, and a perpetual obedience. None of us can give that to the law, as only the Lord Jesus Christ did that. But there is a sense in the way that we keep the law. He said, but such as keep the law, contend with them. The word keep is the Hebrew word shamar, which literally means to keep, to guard, to observe, to give heed to, to watch, to protect, as well as to celebrate and obey. Now, here's the importance of that word.

[John Weaver] You remember in the book of Genesis chapter two, God put Adam in the garden and he gave him some commands and he told Adam that he was to dress and to keep the garden. You remember that? Guess what? The word keep is the word shamar. Adam not only had to dress the garden, that is, make it productive. He had to keep it. He had to guard it.

[John Weaver] He had to protect it. And of course, he failed to do that when he allowed the serpent in. I hope you remember also that God gave a charge to Aaron and his sons that they were to keep the charge of the tabernacle. The word keep means to guard and protect. It's the same word shemar. And then the Levites, who were given to Aaron and his sons to help them, God gave them the charge of Aaron and his sons, as well then as the tabernacle, to keep. Once again, it's the word shemar, which means to guard, to obey and protect. That's why if any stranger came into the tabernacle, who was not supposed to be there. The Levites were responsible to take his life. Because they were guardians, they were protectors of Aaron and his sons and of the tabernacle and everything around it. Now, so he says, they that forsake the law praise the wicked, but such as keep, guard, protect, observe. Yeah. Such as keep the law, contend with them. Now, what about the word contend?

[John Weaver] The Hebrew word is the word garah, and it means to fight, to contend with, to engage in strife, to wage war, and to stir oneself up or to excite oneself in defense. So he is saying it's only those that obey God and believe God that are going to fight for God's law, and in fighting, they're going to be fighting against the wicked, and they're going to be fighting for that which is good, just, and holy. In other words, those that keep the law are siding with God against the wicked who forsake and violate the law.

[John Weaver] Let me point something out. It is time that Christians did indeed stir themselves up and get excited. It is time that we stirred ourselves up and get excited for defense of the faith and defense of the gospel and defense of the Word of God and defense of the Lord Jesus Christ. It's time that we recognize that the enemy is making war upon us and trying to exterminate us. I hope some of you read, even this week, where the FBI was trying to criminalize Christians. Yeah. And did you read about the fact that they were going to investigate the conservatives in the Roman Catholic Church? Of course. We are at war, and we don't even realize that we are at war.

[John Weaver] Most people have not even come to the realization that those four lepers came to in 2nd Genes chapter 7. I don't know if you remember this, but they were at the gates of Samaria, and a leper, of course, could not go inside. The Syrians had compassed Samaria roundabout, and there was a famine inside the city. The lepers actually existed from garbage and scraps that were thrown over the wall. Well, there was nothing being thrown over the wall because everyone was starving to death in the city of Samaria. And finally, one of those lepers looked at the others and said, why sit we here until we die? Come, let us fall to the Syrians.

[John Weaver] It may be that they will save us a life. But if they kill us, we will but be dead. In other words, here is the rationale. If we sit here, we're dead. If we go in the city, we're dead. Let's go fall to the Syrians. There's a slight possibility they may save us a life. But if they kill us, we're not going to be any more dead there than we're going to be here.

[John Weaver] The point being, why in the world are we sitting still? Why are we sitting here until we die? You remember that verse in Isaiah 58 in verse 1, where God said, cry aloud, spare not, lift up my voice like a trumpet, and show my people their transgression and the house of Jacob their sin. Do you realize that's exactly what we're supposed to be doing? Crying out, lifting up our voices.

[John Weaver] And you look around at the pedophiles and the sodomites that are in control of everything and trying to steal all of our children and to push transgenderism upon them even in kindergarten. I'm just simply asking, why in the world are we sitting still? Do you realize this is where we are And 2023, this is how we got here, because as a nation, as a people, as churches, we have forsaken the law of God. We've not upheld God's law. We've not defended God's law. We've not. We've not exposed wickedness, we've not exposed sins. We've sat still.

[John Weaver] And allowed death to come our way. Let me try to tie this together for you. Proverbs 28 verse 4, they that forsake the law praise the wicked, but such as keep the law contend with them. First of all, here's my first application. Number one, God is looking for men that will stand up and rise up against the wicked, expose their sins, expose their wickedness and declare his righteousness. I want you to turn in your Bibles to Psalm 94 and look at verse 16. I could quote this verse, but I want you to see it. Look, if you would, at what God asks. Psalm 94 and verse 16. Here it is. Psalm 94, verse 16. God asks, Who will rise up for me against the evildoers? Or who will stand up for me against the workers of iniquity? Look at that. Who will rise up? Who will stand for me? It's true that once you rise up and once you stand, you're not going to be the most popular man in the county. You're not going to be the most popular man in the state.

[John Weaver] In fact, you'll probably be persecuted, may even be prosecuted. But the truth of the matter is, God will be with you and on your side. God is asking for men to rise up. God is asking for men to stand against the workers of iniquity and against the evildoers. That's what Psalm 94, 16 is all about. That's really what Proverbs 28 in verse 4 is all about. But I want you to go ahead and turn in your Bibles to the book of Ezekiel, chapter 22.

[John Weaver] And get ready, if you would please, for the second application. I want you to watch this. The first application is this, that God is looking for men. Men who will rise up, men who will stand. Here's the second application. Here's the sad and unhappy truth concerning most communities, churches, states and nations. And that is that there is a lack, a dearth of real men. So let me show you in Ezekiel chapter 22.

[John Weaver] And let's begin reading with verse 25. God is condemning Judah and Jerusalem. And look how he starts, verse 25. There is a conspiracy of her prophets in the midst thereof, like a roaring lion ravening the prey. They have devoured souls. They have taken the treasure and precious things and have made her many widows in the midst thereof. So the prophets are worthless. They're false prophets. They're prophets for profit, P-R-O-F-I-T. But notice it's not just the prophets. Look in verse 26,"...her priests have violated my law, and have profaned mine holy things, and have put no difference between the holy and profane, neither have they showed difference between the unclean and the clean." They have hid their eyes from my sabbaths, and I am profaned among them." God says, my prophets are no good, the priests are no good. Ah, look at verse 27. Her princes, now the rulers, her princes in the midst thereof are like wolves, ravening the prey to shed blood and to destroy souls to get dishonest gain.

[John Weaver] That's a good description of Congress. It is. The princes, the rulers. Note, if you would, God has dealt with the prophets, God has dealt with the priests, God has dealt with the princes. He mentions the prophets again in verse 28. And her prophets have daubed them with untempered mortar, seeing vanity and divining lies unto them, saying, Thus saith the Lord God, when the Lord hath not spoken. Now look at verse 29.

[John Weaver] The people of the land, have used oppression, and exercised robbery, and have vexed the poor and needy. Yea, they have oppressed the stranger wrongfully."

[John Weaver] Now note if you would, God has dealt with the prophets, He's dealt with the princes, He's dealt with the priests, He's dealt with the people, and now look at verse 30. And I sought for a man among them, out of all these groups, I sought for a man among them that should make up the hedge and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it, but I found none. Therefore have I poured out mine indignation upon them." Out of all the prophets, out of all the priests, out of all the princes, out of all the people, God could not find one man. Not one. Not one.

[John Weaver] There is a dearth of real men. Bishop Hall. He's been dead for a long, long, long time. But here's one thing he said that we need to learn, he said, It is fearful to sin. It is more fearful to delight in sin. And even worse, to defend sin. And when we forsake the law of God, that is exactly what we end up doing. We end up defending sin. And if we do not lift up our voices and cry out, if we do not hear, heed, obey, and keep the law of God, protect it, we deserve all the judgment He's going to send upon us. And He will send it. We must never defend sin.

[John Weaver] Now, let me point something out. When we hear a message like this, Usually it rings a bell in our mind, but I cannot control the president. I cannot control the executive office. I know that. You can't. But one thing you can do by the grace of God is keep the law of God, obey it yourself. Well, I can't control Congress. I know that. But one thing you can do is obey God and keep the law of God yourself. Well, I can't change the judicial system. I know that. But one thing you can do is obey God and keep the law of God yourself and proclaim that law and say what is wicked and what is righteous.

[John Weaver] The truth of the matter is this. God calls upon us to keep his law, and in keeping his law, we're fighting against the wicked. Every one of us Every child of God should desire to be as holy and as obedient and as godly as he can be by the grace of God. Because in keeping that law, we're fighting against the wicked. We need to be obedient, to keep the law of God, and to fight against the wicked.

[John Weaver] Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we bow to Thee. We thank You for Your Word. We thank You for Your truth. And Lord, we do pray that You will give us men, real men, men that will stand. We pray, Lord, that You would change the course of this nation. We pray, Lord, that You would open our eyes. Turn us, O Lord, and we shall be turned. Quicken us and we shall call upon Thy name. Enable us, Lord. Enable us. Empower us to keep and obey Thy Word. to bring our lives in conformity unto it, and to honor Thee and to glorify Thee. Teach us, we pray, Lord. Build us up. Give us Your grace and Your mercy, courage and strength. In the name of Jesus Christ, we ask and pray. Amen.

Where We Are and How We Got Here in 2023

John Weaver | SermonAudio

Lecture Metadata	Details
Speaker	John Weaver
Source	SermonAudio
Media ID	21923817401825
Subject	New Testament Studies
Course	Romans: Justification, Faith, and Imputed Righteousness: Sola Fide And Justification
Genre	Sermon
Date	2023-02-12
Dictation Name
Book	Book 131: Romans: Justification, Faith, and Imputed Righteousness — Chapter 6
Source Timed Segments	65

Formatted Transcript

Introduction and Text

Weaver introduces Proverbs 28:4 and states the message title, setting the stage for a diagnosis of America's condition.

Alright, let's open our Bibles to the book of Proverbs chapter 28 and verse 4. Proverbs 28 and verse 4. The title of the message is "Where We Are and How We Got Here in 2023." I think you'll see the title will be very appropriate momentarily. Proverbs chapter 28 and verse 4. Very simple verse, very straightforward. The Bible says,

Scripture Reading — Proverbs 28:4

"They that forsake the law praise the wicked, but such as keep the law contend with them."

Evidence of National Insanity

Weaver presents news clips and statistics on transgenderism, trans-species identification, and a murderer identifying as an infant to illustrate societal insanity.

It is no secret that we're in desperate straits in America, and the truth is that all the world is in a mess. In all probability, Europe is worse off than America. When you look around, you will notice that immorality is raging. Perversion is accepted. Transgenderism is looked upon benevolently. And when you go so far as to believe that men can have periods and produce babies, then you've fallen into absolute insanity. No matter how many drugs you take, how many surgeries you endure, and how many psychiatrists counsel you, you're still the gender in which you were born. You may change your appearance, but you cannot change your gender. The fact remains that there are only two genders, male and female. And I have often said, if you do not believe that there are only two genders, male and female, just try milking a bull and see how far you get with that. It just simply will not work.

Now, insanity is reaching even farther because now it's not just transgenders, it is now trans-species. There are adults and even children who are now identifying themselves as animals. I want you to listen to a couple of news clips that I picked up this week that's going to demonstrate Proverbs chapter 28 and verse 4. The first one is, "Kentucky School District, students are dressing and acting like cats. Meade County, Kentucky. The Meade County School District is dealing with an unusual situation. A group of high school students attending school is acting like and dressing as cats. The superintendent tells WLKY the situation is being addressed, but according to a concerned grandparent, it's an ongoing problem and has many students on edge."

"Apparently, from what I understand, they're called furries," the grandmother said, who asked to remain anonymous. "They identify with animals. These people will hiss at you and scratch at you if they don't like something that you're doing." She said, "This is not a new problem." Wow. Now, the truth is that there are people today that are even identifying as deer, as wolves, and as other animals. In fact, I glanced the headline. I did not take time to read the article where one man who was dressed as a deer was shot. That's very dangerous during deer season to dress as a deer, but he was identifying as a deer and he got shot as a deer as well. But here is one that might really surprise you. Listen to this headline.

"Killer now identifies as an infant who wears nappies and demands baby food in prison. Sophie Eastwood, who was named Daniel at the time of their sentencing, is serving a lifetime at Polmont Prison in Brighton, Scotland, for using shoelaces to strangle a cellmate to death in 2004. Sophie Eastwood now identifies as an infant. A killer who transitioned from male to female while in prison has demanded guards hold her hand while outside her cell because she identifies as an infant. Sophie Eastwood, 36, who was named Daniel when she was jailed for life in 2004 after using shoelaces as a garrote to strangle her cellmate, Eastwood, who has lived as a woman in Her Majesty's prison for the past four years, has been described as an attention-seeking and manipulative individual by sources inside the jail. The murderer has now told chiefs at Polmont Prison in Brighton, Scotland, that she identifies as a tot and should be allowed to wear diapers and have her meals pureed like baby food. She has also demanded guards hold her hand while she is escorted to and from her cell."

Prison bosses are taking Eastwood's request seriously and have already supplied her with a dummy, I guess a baby, as sources tell the Daily Record. Now, I understand a prisoner milking the system and getting the best of prison life while at the same time mocking and ridiculing those who are in authority over him. But what I cannot understand is the ignorance, the stupidity, and the senselessness of bureaucrats that go along with such drivel and such wicked stupidity and actually either go along with and/or making believe that they're going along with. And when you stop and think about prisons, you have to ask this question, where are the chain gangs? Where are the chain gangs? Where are the prisoners out working on the roads? Now, occasionally you see some, but not in chain gangs like they used to. We've come a long way since the days of Cool Hand Luke. You remember Paul Newman back in that movie back in the 50s? And even as a boy, I saw chain gangs. I saw prisoners working alongside the road. That was 75 years ago, but they were there back then.

Now, I understand that prisons basically are an unbiblical form of punishment. But the truth of the matter is, if you're going to use a prison as punishment, why not make it so absolutely miserable and so absolutely difficult that once you get out, you never want to go back? But now today they have color TV, they have workout rooms, they have tennis, they have everything they can imagine in these prisons. Years ago, I had a friend who had to go into a federal prison for nine months because he had taken a stand against abortion. And of course, they came against him for taking that stand. And I remember him showing me the letter. In fact, I read the letter to our church at that time where they were telling him to report to prison and they were informing him that they did not supply tennis rackets or golf clubs. And if he wanted any of those, he needed to bring them with him for nine months. That was a federal prison. I'm just simply asking, where we are and how in the world we got where we are in this day and time.

Moreover, you will see that crime has increased, the penalties for crime have decreased, and when you look at cities like Chicago or the state of California or New York or Portland, Oregon or Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, these places now are nothing more than hell holes where criminals basically have a free reign and free run, and they attack at their will and at their pleasure. And very seldom are they ever punished. I just read where in California, three men—I'm going to read some of it to you—but three men who were involved in sex trafficking a hundred women, when they were captured were given sentences of three years each. Listen to this: "And three men, Nery Naharo Rodriguez, 42, George Perez Hernandez, 37, and Luis Mata, 30, were sentenced for running a prostitution ring in Northern California, comprised mostly of undocumented women from Mexico who were sold for sex to as many as 20 clients in a single day. Each man received just three years for his involvement in the ring."

Crime, Punishment, and Injustice

Examples of lenient sentences for sex trafficking and a trooper's crimes are contrasted with harsher penalties for marijuana offenses, highlighting judicial corruption.

In comparison—now hang on—in comparison, many cases involving growing or selling weed, marijuana, get much longer sentences. In recent months, this California man—there was a picture with his name—was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison, this Oregon man to 15, and this Iowa man to 20 years, all for growing or distributing marijuana. Those cases are all on the long end for marijuana-related sentences. The average time served for drug-related offenses is about 2.2 years. But they help illustrate just how desperately or how comparatively short sentences for pimping can be. Can you imagine trafficking over 100 women and only getting three years? Here's one that takes the prize. This is from Fox News, Elizabeth Pritchett reported. This was Sunday, February the 5th, 2023. "A former Arizona State Trooper will spend five years in prison after he pleaded guilty to multiple sex-related charges stemming from his actions during traffic stops, according to Fox 10 in Phoenix. Tremaine Jackson, who was a 13-year veteran of the Arizona Department of Public Safety at the time of his arrest, was initially charged—are you listening?—with 61 counts of sex-related kidnapping and fraud charges, according to the Arizona Department of Public Safety website." So here's a man that is charged with 61 felonies. Felonies! And he gets five years. Which means he'll probably be out in two years, just like these men who traffic these women will probably be out in a year, year and a half, something like that, since they only got three years.

What in the world has happened to America? What has happened? It seems like everything is totally out of control. Let me give you one more that's just actually worse. This is the top. This is reported by John Whitehead and his wife, Nisha. John Whitehead is a constitutional attorney. He's the head of the Rutherford Institute, and I'm just taking a short paragraph or so out of the article that I read, and he's talking about the trafficking of children in America.

Child Trafficking Epidemic

Statistics from John Whitehead reveal the massive scale of child sex trafficking in America, emphasizing the nation's predatory nature.

He said, "Consider this, every two minutes, a child is bought and sold for sex. Hundreds of young girls and boys, some as young as nine years old, are being bought and sold for sex as many as 20 times per day. Adults purchase children for sex at least 2.5 million times a year in the United States alone. In Georgia alone, it is estimated that 7,200 men, half of them in their 30s, seek to purchase sex with adolescent girls each month, averaging roughly 300 a day. On the average, a child might be raped by 6,000 men during a five-year period. It is estimated that at least 100,000 to 500,000 children, girls and boys, are bought and sold for sex in the United States every year, with as many as 300,000 children in danger of being trafficked each year. Some of these children are forcibly abducted, others are runaways, and still others are sold into the system by relatives and acquaintances. Child rape has become big business in America." This is America now.

We've become a nation that is absolutely teeming with predators. So let me just tie this together by saying this. Lies, wickedness, bribery, injustice, tyranny are seemingly prevailing. We've lost our minds. We've lost our courage. We've lost our character. We've lost our common sense. And so you have to ask this question, what has happened and why has it happened? And how far down this road have we gotten?

The Root Cause: Forsaking God's Law

Weaver argues that the root of societal decay is the rejection of God's law, as stated in Proverbs 28:4, and defines 'law' as God's authoritative instruction.

And how much farther will we go? Well, I believe the Bible has the answer, and I think the answer is very plain in Proverbs 28, verse 4. If you look at that verse again, the Bible says, "They that forsake the law praise the wicked, but such as keep the law contend with them." Now, the very first question I believe that must be asked and answered in our verse is, whose law or what law was Solomon referring to when he wrote this passage? Clearly, I believe, and obviously this has to be the law of God, simply because we've already seen that man's law is extremely humanistic and unjust. In fact, man's law is in competition with and in opposition to the law of God. I want you to hold Proverbs 28, but look in your Bibles, if you would please, to 1 Samuel 8. I've preached on this passage a number of times in times past, but I want you to see it in light of what I'm teaching today. There was one message I preached many years ago, which I entitled, "Trading God for a Man."

And that is exactly what is happening in 1 Samuel chapter 8. Because Israel is now demanding a man as king when, of course, God was the king. And so when they asked Samuel to give them a king, it displeased him. And he went and prayed to the Lord. And notice, if you would, what the Lord said in verse 7. 1 Samuel 8 and verse 7,

Scripture Reading — 1 Samuel 8:7-9

"And the Lord said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people, and all that they say unto thee. For they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them."

In other words, they were trading God for a man. They no longer wanted God to be their king. They wanted a man to be their king.

Now, here's the important thing. I want you to skip down to verse 9. Because God says, "I want you to give them that king that they want, but I want you to show them the difference between my rule and his rule. Show them what man's rule will be like." So in verse nine, God says, "Now, therefore, hearken unto their voice, howbeit yet protest solemnly unto them, and show them the manner of the king that shall reign over them." And Samuel told all the words of the Lord unto the people that asked of him a king. And he said, "This will be the manner of the king that shall reign over you." "He will take your sons and appoint them for himself, for his chariots, and of his horsemen, and some shall run before his chariots. And he will appoint him captains over thousands, and captains over fifties, and will set them to ear his ground, and to reap his harvest, and to make his instruments of war, and instruments of his chariots. And he will take your daughters to be confectionaries, and to be cooks, and to be bakers. And he will take your fields, and your vineyards, and your olive yards, and the best of them, and give them to his service. And he will take the tenth of your seed, and of your vineyards, and give to his officers, and to his servants. And he will take your men's servants, and your maidservants, and your village young men, and your asses, and put them to his work. And he will take the tenth of your sheep, and you will be his servants," or slaves.

"And you shall cry out in that day, because of your king which you have chosen you, and the Lord will not hear you in that day." Now, if you will turn right over to 1 Samuel chapter 12 and verse 12, you'll see Samuel repeating the same truth that they have rejected God as their king. So he says in verse 12, 1 Samuel 12,

Scripture Reading — 1 Samuel 12:12

"And when you saw that Nahash, the king of the children of Ammon, came against you, you said unto me, Nay, but a king shall reign over us, when the Lord your God was your king."

Now, the only way that you can really understand 1 Samuel chapter 8 is to view it as a transition from one law structure to another law structure. I've told you this repeatedly in times past, that a king rules by his law. That is certainly true of God. That is true of any king. That is true of any ruler, whether it's a king or not. Whether you agreed with Trump or not is immaterial.

Let me ask you this question. Is there a difference between the administration of Trump and the administration of Biden? And of course there is. And whoever is elected next, there will be a difference in the administration again. Why? Because everyone has their own agenda and everyone has their own principles from which they're going to run things. So clearly what you have in 1 Samuel chapter 8, you have a transition from God's law to man's law.

Now, if you look back in your Bibles to Proverbs chapter 28 in verse 4, let me emphasize this. The Bible says, "they that forsake the law." And I'm already pointing out this is God's law. It is not man's law, because man's law, again, is in opposition to God's law. It is distinct from God's law. But however, the word "law" is the Hebrew word Torah, which not only means law, it refers to God's law. In fact, the word Torah actually means authoritative instruction or authoritative direction. You will remember that the first five books of the Bible written by Moses are referred to as the Torah because they're the books of the law. However, here's something else I want to point out. All of God's Word is Torah, because all of God's Word is authoritative direction and authoritative instruction.

And interestingly, you'll find this over and over in the New Testament, even by our Lord, where He is referring to the entire Old Testament as the Law and the Prophets. Now, normally, when we divide the Old Testament books, we think about, here's the books of the law, here are history books, here are poetical books, here are major prophets, here are minor prophets. But in the New Testament, our Lord just refers to everything as the Law and the Prophets. So even the poetical books, the historical books, are labeled as Law. Look in your Bibles, hold Proverbs 28, but turn, if you would, to Matthew chapter 5, and let me show you a few of these passages. Matthew chapter 5, and let's begin looking there at verse 17. Matthew chapter 5 and verse 17. Look at it. Matthew 5 verse 17, our Lord said,

Scripture Reading — Matthew 5:17

"Think not that I'm come to destroy the law or the prophets. I'm not coming to destroy, but to fulfill."

So now He's referring to the Old Testament as the law or the prophets. All right. Notice, if you would, Matthew 7 and verse 12. Matthew 7 verse 12. Our Lord says, "Therefore, all things whatsoever you would do that men should do to you, do you even unto them." That's the golden rule, "for this is the law and the prophets." So once again, it is the law and the prophets. Look at Matthew 11 and verse 13, Matthew 11 and verse 13. Our Lord says, "For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John." There it is. Then if you look in Matthew chapter 22 and verse 40.

Matthew 22 and verse 40. Notice clearly what our Lord says here. Matthew 22 verse 40.

Scripture Reading — Matthew 22:40

"On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets."

All the law and the prophets. Then one more passage, if you look in Luke 16 and verse 16. Luke 16 and verse 16. Notice what our Lord says here. Luke 16 and verse 16,

Scripture Reading — Matthew 22:40

"The law and the prophets were until John. Since that time, the kingdom of God is preached, and every man presseth into it. The Law and the Prophets were until John."

Now, there are other scriptures, but I think you're beginning to see the truth that this phrase,

Scripture Reading — Matthew 22:40

"the Law and the Prophets,"

really refers to the entirety of the Old Testament. And yet, it can also be applied to the entirety of the Word of God, since all of God's Word is authoritative instruction and direction. Now, so when you look at Proverbs 28 and verse 4, when he says, "they that forsake the law," we're talking about God's law.

Now, here's the question that you must ask in light of this. He said, "when they that forsake the law praise the wicked." So what happens when the law of God is forsaken? And by the way, the word "forsaken" refers to that which is denied, that which is left, that which is forgotten, that which is walked away from. So he said, "they that forsake the law." So what happens when the law of God is forsaken?

Consequences of Forsaking the Law

Forsaking God's law leads to the destruction of foundations (Psalm 11:3; Psalm 82) and results in praising wickedness, commending what God condemns.

And the truth is that a number of things happen and a number of things transpire. For instance, you will remember the question that is asked in Psalm 11 and verse 3, where it is asked,

Scripture Reading — Psalm 11:3

"If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?"

So we have witnessed and are witnessing in this country the destruction of the foundation of law, of justice, of economics, of family, of education, of work, of government, of welfare, and a host of other things that are turned upside down and thus become destroyed for all practical purposes. Just think of all the monies that are thrown away on humanistic welfare. And the Scripture has the answer. When God said, "If anyone will not work, neither should he eat." All I'm trying to say is today people are paid to stay home and not to work and not to do anything. Look at our judicial system. Look at our economic system. Look at our educational system. In fact, I'll show you a good example. If you look in your Bibles, the Psalm 82. Psalm 82 is a psalm written for judges and magistrates. It is a psalm of the judicial system. Look in verse 1, Psalm 82, "God standeth in the congregation of the mighty, he judgeth among the gods," and of course our Lord in John chapter 10 tells us that this refers to judges and magistrates and rulers, the term "gods" there. And to show you that in the context, look at verse 2. He asked these judges and magistrates, "How long will you judge unjustly and accept the persons of the wicked?" Now, here's what judges and magistrates are supposed to be doing.

"Defend the poor and the fatherless, do justice to the afflicted and needy, deliver the poor and needy, rid them out of the hand of the wicked." But they're not doing that in their ignorance. Look what he says in verse five. "They know not," that is they're ignorant of justice. "Neither will they understand." They don't want to listen. "They walk on in darkness." Now look what happens. "All the foundations of the earth are out of course." In other words, by their acts of ignorance, insanity, injustice, they turn everything upside down. The foundations are being destroyed.

Now, there is absolutely no individual, no family, no church, no community, no state or nation that can exist without law. Everyone must have a law system. So the question is not whether or not you will have a law system. The question would be whose law will you have? Will it be God's law or will it be man's law? So the issue really comes down to what is known as theonomy versus autonomy. Theonomy is made up of two Greek words, theos, God, nomos, law. So theonomy just refers to God's law. Autonomy is made up of two Greek words, autos, which is self, and nomos, which is law. So you want to have God's law or you have man's law or self law. So when you and I refuse the law of God and the rule of God, we then condemn ourselves to be ruled by man. So you're going to say, "Well, I don't want God to rule over me, and I'm certainly not going to let man rule over me. I'll just rule over myself."

Really? That is still man's law. That is still man's rule. You remember two times in the book of Judges, Judges 17 in verse 6 and Judges 21 and verse 21, the Bible says,

Scripture Reading — Judges 17:6; 21:25

"In those days there was no king in Israel, but every man did that which was right in his own eyes."

In other words, it was self-law. Now, I want you to turn, if you would, to the book of Proverbs, chapter 12, and look at verse 15. Someone who's going to say, "Well, I'll tell you what I'm going to do. I will just do the very best that I can." Really? You reject God's law and do the very best that you can. And here's what the Word of God says.

Scripture Reading — Judges 17:6; 21:25

"The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but he that hearkeneth to the counsel is wise."

So the man's going to do his own thing, God refers to as a fool.

Now, I've asked this question. The Bible said when the wicked forsake—when they forsake the law, they praise the wicked. Now, think about this. How in the world do we forsake the law? Well, there are different ways that the law of God can be forsaken. One way is to deny its validity or to deny its authority, as Pharaoh did in Exodus chapter 5 and verse 2. You remember in that passage, Moses and Aaron came to Pharaoh and they said, "Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, let my people go that they may serve me." Straightforward, clear, plain. But Pharaoh responded and asked this, "Who is the Lord that I should let Israel go? I know not the Lord, neither will I let Israel go." So what Pharaoh was saying is this, "I don't recognize God as sovereign. I don't recognize God as God. I don't even recognize His authority. He has no right to even address me and command me to let Israel go. I deny that He is God." Of course, Pharaoh claimed to be a god himself.

Thus, Pharaoh then denounced God, he denied God, and he despised God, and he defied God. Now, I know that there are some people who are as brazen and as rebellious as Pharaoh, but very few. Most people are not going to come out and say something so asinine and so plainly as, "Who is the Lord? I know not the Lord, neither will I obey Him." Most people are not going to say that. So you could just forsake God's law by taking that kind of attitude, but here's what most people are going to do. Most people are just simply going to treat God contemptuously. They're going to pretend like God does not exist. They're going to pretend like He has not spoken. They're going to live as if God has no authority to tell them what to do, to direct their lives, or to tell them how to live. In fact, some of them are going to go so far as to think that they have an absolute right to transgress God's law because they are a God unto themselves.

And unhappily, there are people who profess to be Christians who take this attitude, because they may acknowledge God, but they ignore His word. They don't read, they don't study, they don't listen, and they certainly do not obey. So clearly then, most people just treat God with contempt. Now, there's another reason some forsake the law of God, and that is because of misinterpretation and misunderstanding. So if you will look in your Bibles very quickly to the book of Romans chapter 6, and just look at verse 14, because there are several passages like this in the Bible, but you always have to take things in context. And when you look in Romans chapter 6 and verse 14, and note if you would what the Bible says. Romans 6 verse 14, the Apostle Paul writing says, "For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you're not under the law, but under grace."

So people say,

Scripture Reading — Romans 6:14

"There it is. We're not under the law. We're under grace."

And they think that God's law somehow has been nullified, negated and set aside. Well, they never consider the context, nor even the immediate context or the remote context. The interesting thing is, the Apostle Paul started an argument in Romans chapter 3, teaching justification by faith alone, and that argument runs all the way through the end of Romans chapter 8. And so actually what you're seeing in Romans chapter 6, I'll show you just for a moment, when he said in verse 14,

Scripture Reading — Romans 6:14

"for sin shall not have dominion over you. Why? For you're not under the law but under grace."

What he's saying is you're not under the law as a standard for justification. You're under the law—no, you're not under the law as a standard for justification. You're under grace as your standard for justification. Now, although the law is not our standard for justification, it is our standard for sanctification. If you look in Romans chapter 7, watch it if you would please, at verse 12.

Romans 7 and verse 12. The Apostle Paul says,

Scripture Reading — Romans 7:12

"Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy and just and good."

And he's defending the law of God and he's showing that God's law was used to convict him of sin. He did not even know what sin was apart from the law of God. And that's what the Bible says very clearly in Romans 3 in verse 20, "for by the law is the knowledge of sin." You don't even know what sin is apart from the law of God. Then if you will look back in your Bibles very quickly to Romans chapter 3, notice if you would please verse 31, but before we read there, let's go back and look at verse 24. He says, "...being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus." So Paul begins this argument for justification by faith in Romans chapter 3. And then if you skip down to verse 31, he makes this statement. "Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid," that is perish the thought. Don't even let that enter in your mind. "Yea," he said, "we establish the law." So any preaching of justification by faith alone, any preaching of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ that negates and nullifies the law is heresy. He said it is only through faith that we establish the law.

Now, if you have forgotten some of these truths, I would suggest that you go back and listen to that 23-message series I did on the promises of the law. If you've never heard it, I encourage you to hear it. If you've forgotten it, re-listen again. But please understand this, it's impossible to be sanctified and to be holy without obedience to God's law. Would you count a serial murderer as a holy sanctified man? Would you count a serial rapist as a holy sanctified man? Would you count a serial thief as a holy sanctified man? And of course not. Of course not.

In fact, when you get to 1 Thessalonians chapter 4, he tells you very plainly, "for this is the will of God, even your sanctification that you abstain from fornication." Sanctification is involved in obedience to the law of God. Now, I want you to note something. Go back and look, if you would please, at Proverbs chapter 28 in verse 4. Look at this. He says, "They that forsake the law praise the wicked." Now, I want you to think about this for a moment. Meditate upon this. In forsaking, in leaving, in forgetting, yea, even in denying the law of God, we praise the wicked. We praise that which God condemns. We side against Him. We call that which is detestable and abominable something that is praiseworthy, something that is glorious. In fact, if you look at verse 4, "they that forsake the law praise." The word "praise" is the Hebrew word halal and refers to that which is to be praised, that which is glorious, that which is to be celebrated, that which is to be commended. So in forsaking the law of God, what we do is we commend that which God condemns. In other words, you end up finding yourself not only on the wrong side of history, but also on the wrong side of God.

So as they did forsake the law, praise the wicked. I hope you're seeing where we are today and how we got here. Because the law of God has been forsaken. Even when you read legal dictionaries, most of them refer to Sir Edward Coke, Coke's commentaries on the law. All of these had nothing but Bible in them, because law originally was based upon the Word of God. So consequently, if we're going to forsake the law of God, we're going to end up praising and glorifying and commending that which is wicked and wrong and ungodly.

But now we should look at the second half of this verse. He says, "They that forsake the law praise and celebrate and glorify the wicked, but such as keep the law, contend with them." Wow.

The Call to Keep the Law and Contend

Those who keep (guard, obey) God's law are called to contend (fight, wage war) against the wicked, stirring themselves in defense of righteousness.

Now, the latter part of this verse is equally true and equally applicable today. So, first of all, I want you to consider the word "keep." He said, "for such as keep the law." Now, we understand that none of us can keep the law of God perfectly. The law of God, as I've pointed out before, demands three things of every individual, a personal, a perfect, and a perpetual obedience. None of us can give that to the law, as only the Lord Jesus Christ did that. But there is a sense in the way that we keep the law. He said, "but such as keep the law, contend with them." The word "keep" is the Hebrew word shamar, which literally means to keep, to guard, to observe, to give heed to, to watch, to protect, as well as to celebrate and obey. Now, here's the importance of that word.

You remember in the book of Genesis chapter two, God put Adam in the garden and he gave him some commands and he told Adam that he was to dress and to keep the garden. You remember that? Guess what? The word "keep" is the word shamar. Adam not only had to dress the garden, that is, make it productive. He had to keep it. He had to guard it.

He had to protect it. And of course, he failed to do that when he allowed the serpent in. I hope you remember also that God gave a charge to Aaron and his sons that they were to keep the charge of the tabernacle. The word "keep" means to guard and protect. It's the same word shamar. And then the Levites, who were given to Aaron and his sons to help them, God gave them the charge of Aaron and his sons, as well then as the tabernacle, to keep. Once again, it's the word shamar, which means to guard, to obey and protect. That's why if any stranger came into the tabernacle, who was not supposed to be there, the Levites were responsible to take his life. Because they were guardians, they were protectors of Aaron and his sons and of the tabernacle and everything around it. Now, so he says, "they that forsake the law praise the wicked, but such as keep, guard, protect, observe, yea, such as keep the law, contend with them." Now, what about the word "contend"?

The Hebrew word is the word garah, and it means to fight, to contend with, to engage in strife, to wage war, and to stir oneself up or to excite oneself in defense. So he is saying it's only those that obey God and believe God that are going to fight for God's law, and in fighting, they're going to be fighting against the wicked, and they're going to be fighting for that which is good, just, and holy. In other words, those that keep the law are siding with God against the wicked who forsake and violate the law. Let me point something out. It is time that Christians did indeed stir themselves up and get excited. It is time that we stirred ourselves up and get excited for defense of the faith and defense of the gospel and defense of the Word of God and defense of the Lord Jesus Christ. It's time that we recognize that the enemy is making war upon us and trying to exterminate us. I hope some of you read, even this week, where the FBI was trying to criminalize Christians. Yeah. And did you read about the fact that they were going to investigate the conservatives in the Roman Catholic Church? Of course. We are at war, and we don't even realize that we are at war.

Most people have not even come to the realization that those four lepers came to in 2 Kings chapter 7. I don't know if you remember this, but they were at the gates of Samaria, and a leper, of course, could not go inside. The Syrians had compassed Samaria roundabout, and there was a famine inside the city. The lepers actually existed from garbage and scraps that were thrown over the wall. Well, there was nothing being thrown over the wall because everyone was starving to death in the city of Samaria. And finally, one of those lepers looked at the others and said, "Why sit we here until we die? Come, let us fall to the Syrians."

Applications: Rise Up and Stand

Weaver applies the text by calling for men to rise up against evildoers (Psalm 94:16) and laments the lack of such men (Ezekiel 22:30), urging personal obedience and proclamation.

And you look around at the pedophiles and the sodomites that are in control of everything and trying to steal all of our children and to push transgenderism upon them even in kindergarten. I'm just simply asking, why in the world are we sitting still? Do you realize this is where we are in 2023, this is how we got here, because as a nation, as a people, as churches, we have forsaken the law of God. We've not upheld God's law. We've not defended God's law. We've not. We've not exposed wickedness, we've not exposed sins. We've sat still.

And allowed death to come our way. Let me try to tie this together for you. Proverbs 28 verse 4, "They that forsake the law praise the wicked, but such as keep the law contend with them." First of all, here's my first application. Number one, God is looking for men that will stand up and rise up against the wicked, expose their sins, expose their wickedness and declare His righteousness. I want you to turn in your Bibles to Psalm 94 and look at verse 16. I could quote this verse, but I want you to see it. Look, if you would, at what God asks. Psalm 94 and verse 16. Here it is. Psalm 94, verse 16. God asks,

Scripture Reading — Psalm 94:16

"Who will rise up for me against the evildoers? Or who will stand up for me against the workers of iniquity?"

Look at that. Who will rise up? Who will stand for me? It's true that once you rise up and once you stand, you're not going to be the most popular man in the county. You're not going to be the most popular man in the state.

In fact, you'll probably be persecuted, may even be prosecuted. But the truth of the matter is, God will be with you and on your side. God is asking for men to rise up. God is asking for men to stand against the workers of iniquity and against the evildoers. That's what Psalm 94, 16 is all about. That's really what Proverbs 28 in verse 4 is all about. But I want you to go ahead and turn in your Bibles to the book of Ezekiel, chapter 22.

And get ready, if you would please, for the second application. I want you to watch this. The first application is this, that God is looking for men. Men who will rise up, men who will stand. Here's the second application. Here's the sad and unhappy truth concerning most communities, churches, states and nations. And that is that there is a lack, a dearth of real men. So let me show you in Ezekiel chapter 22.

And let's begin reading with verse 25. God is condemning Judah and Jerusalem. And look how he starts, verse 25. "There is a conspiracy of her prophets in the midst thereof, like a roaring lion ravening the prey. They have devoured souls. They have taken the treasure and precious things and have made her many widows in the midst thereof." So the prophets are worthless. They're false prophets. They're prophets for profit, P-R-O-F-I-T. But notice it's not just the prophets. Look in verse 26, "Her priests have violated my law, and have profaned mine holy things, and have put no difference between the holy and profane, neither have they showed difference between the unclean and the clean. They have hid their eyes from my sabbaths, and I am profaned among them." God says, my prophets are no good, the priests are no good. Ah, look at verse 27. "Her princes," now the rulers, "her princes in the midst thereof are like wolves, ravening the prey to shed blood and to destroy souls to get dishonest gain."

That's a good description of Congress. It is. The princes, the rulers. Note, if you would, God has dealt with the prophets, God has dealt with the priests, God has dealt with the princes. He mentions the prophets again in verse 28. "And her prophets have daubed them with untempered mortar, seeing vanity and divining lies unto them, saying, Thus saith the Lord God, when the Lord hath not spoken." Now look at verse 29. "The people of the land have used oppression, and exercised robbery, and have vexed the poor and needy. Yea, they have oppressed the stranger wrongfully."

Now note if you would, God has dealt with the prophets, He's dealt with the princes, He's dealt with the priests, He's dealt with the people, and now look at verse 30. "And I sought for a man among them, out of all these groups, I sought for a man among them that should make up the hedge and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it, but I found none. Therefore have I poured out mine indignation upon them." Out of all the prophets, out of all the priests, out of all the princes, out of all the people, God could not find one man. Not one. Not one.

There is a dearth of real men. Bishop Hall—he's been dead for a long, long, long time—but here's one thing he said that we need to learn, he said, "It is fearful to sin. It is more fearful to delight in sin. And even worse, to defend sin." And when we forsake the law of God, that is exactly what we end up doing. We end up defending sin. And if we do not lift up our voices and cry out, if we do not hear, heed, obey, and keep the law of God, protect it, we deserve all the judgment He's going to send upon us. And He will send it. We must never defend sin.

Now, let me point something out. When we hear a message like this, usually it rings a bell in our mind, but I cannot control the president. I cannot control the executive office. I know that. You can't. But one thing you can do by the grace of God is keep the law of God, obey it yourself. Well, I can't control Congress. I know that. But one thing you can do is obey God and keep the law of God yourself. Well, I can't change the judicial system. I know that. But one thing you can do is obey God and keep the law of God yourself and proclaim that law and say what is wicked and what is righteous.

The truth of the matter is this. God calls upon us to keep His law, and in keeping His law, we're fighting against the wicked. Every one of us, every child of God should desire to be as holy and as obedient and as godly as he can be by the grace of God. Because in keeping that law, we're fighting against the wicked. We need to be obedient, to keep the law of God, and to fight against the wicked. Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we bow to Thee. We thank You for Your Word. We thank You for Your truth. And Lord, we do pray that You will give us men, real men, men that will stand. We pray, Lord, that You would change the course of this nation. We pray, Lord, that You would open our eyes. Turn us, O Lord, and we shall be turned. Quicken us and we shall call upon Thy name. Enable us, Lord. Enable us. Empower us to keep and obey Thy Word, to bring our lives in conformity unto it, and to honor Thee and to glorify Thee. Teach us, we pray, Lord. Build us up. Give us Your grace and Your mercy, courage and strength. In the name of Jesus Christ, we ask and pray. Amen.

Study Guide

Major Themes

Forsaking God's Law Leads to Praising Wickedness

Summary: When a society rejects God's law, it inevitably commends and celebrates what God condemns, leading to moral inversion.

Evidence: Proverbs 28:4 is the central text: 'They that forsake the law praise the wicked.' Weaver explains that 'praise' means to celebrate and glorify, so forsaking the law results in commending wickedness.

Societal Decay and Insanity

Summary: America is in a state of moral insanity, evidenced by acceptance of transgenderism, trans-species identification, and lenient treatment of heinous crimes.

Evidence: Weaver cites news clips about students identifying as cats, a murderer identifying as an infant, and statistics on child trafficking, stating 'we've lost our minds.'

The Necessity of God's Law as Foundation

Summary: God's law is the only stable foundation for justice, family, and society; rejecting it leads to destruction of all foundations.

Evidence: Weaver references Psalm 11:3 ('If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?') and Psalm 82 to show that unjust judges cause foundations to be out of course.

The Call to Contend for Righteousness

Summary: Believers are commanded to actively fight against wickedness by keeping and defending God's law, not remaining passive.

Evidence: Proverbs 28:4b: 'but such as keep the law contend with them.' Weaver explains 'contend' means to fight, wage war, and stir oneself in defense.

The Dearth of Godly Men

Summary: There is a critical shortage of men willing to stand for God and oppose evil, leading to national judgment.

Evidence: Ezekiel 22:30: 'I sought for a man among them... but I found none.' Weaver applies this to the present lack of courageous leadership.

Key Arguments

Rejection of God's law causes societal collapse

Summary: Weaver argues that America's moral chaos is a direct result of forsaking God's law, as Proverbs 28:4 states, leading to the praise of wickedness.

Evidence: He connects the verse to current events: 'Lies, wickedness, bribery, injustice, tyranny are seemingly prevailing. We've lost our minds... And so you have to ask this question, what has happened and why has it happened? ... I believe the Bible has the answer, and I think the answer is very plain in Proverbs 28, verse 4.'

God's law is the only legitimate standard

Summary: The 'law' in Proverbs 28:4 refers to God's Torah, His authoritative instruction, not man's law, which is in opposition to God's.

Evidence: Weaver states: 'Clearly, I believe, and obviously this has to be the law of God, simply because we've already seen that man's law is extremely humanistic and unjust. In fact, man's law is in competition with and in opposition to the law of God.'

Forsaking the law means denying its authority or treating God with contempt

Summary: People forsake God's law either by openly denying it like Pharaoh or by living as if God has no authority, ignoring His Word.

Evidence: Weaver explains: 'Most people are just simply going to treat God contemptuously. They're going to pretend like God does not exist... They're going to live as if God has no authority to tell them what to do.'

Keeping the law involves guarding and obeying it, leading to conflict with the wicked

Summary: The Hebrew word 'keep' (shamar) means to guard and protect, and 'contend' (garah) means to fight; thus, obedience to God's law necessarily involves active opposition to evil.

Evidence: Weaver defines the terms: 'The word "keep" is the Hebrew word shamar, which literally means to keep, to guard, to observe, to give heed to... The Hebrew word [contend] is the word garah, and it means to fight, to contend with, to engage in strife, to wage war.'

Christians must not be passive but actively contend

Summary: Believers are at war and must stir themselves to defend the faith, expose sin, and proclaim righteousness, rather than sitting still.

Evidence: Weaver exhorts: 'It is time that Christians did indeed stir themselves up and get excited... We are at war, and we don't even realize that we are at war.' He references the lepers' rationale: 'Why sit we here until we die?'

Scripture References

Proverbs 28:4

Context: The central text of the sermon: 'They that forsake the law praise the wicked, but such as keep the law contend with them.'

1 Samuel 8:7-9

Context: Israel rejects God as king, trading God's rule for man's rule, illustrating the transition from God's law to man's law.

1 Samuel 8:11-18

Context: Samuel warns of the oppressive nature of human kingship, showing the consequences of rejecting God's law.

1 Samuel 12:12

Context: Samuel reiterates that Israel rejected God as their king when they demanded a human king.

Matthew 5:17

Context: Jesus says He came not to destroy the Law or the Prophets but to fulfill, showing the enduring validity of God's law.

Matthew 7:12

Context: The Golden Rule is identified as the Law and the Prophets, indicating the broad scope of God's law.

Matthew 11:13

Context: Jesus states that all the prophets and the law prophesied until John, referring to the Old Testament as law.

Matthew 22:40

Context: Jesus says all the Law and the Prophets hang on the two great commandments, again equating the Old Testament with law.

Luke 16:16

Context: The Law and the Prophets were until John, indicating the Old Testament era of God's authoritative instruction.

Psalm 11:3

Context: If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do? Used to illustrate the destruction of societal foundations when God's law is forsaken.

Psalm 82:1-5

Context: God judges unjust judges who cause the foundations of the earth to be out of course, showing the impact of forsaking God's law.

Judges 17:6; 21:25

Context: In those days there was no king in Israel; every man did that which was right in his own eyes, illustrating autonomy or self-law.

Proverbs 12:15

Context: The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but he who hearkens to counsel is wise, contrasting self-law with God's wisdom.

Exodus 5:2

Context: Pharaoh's denial of God's authority: 'Who is the Lord that I should obey His voice?' as an example of forsaking the law.

Romans 6:14

Context: You are not under the law but under grace, often misinterpreted to mean God's law is nullified; Weaver clarifies it refers to justification, not sanctification.

Romans 7:12

Context: The law is holy, and the commandment holy, just, and good, affirming the goodness of God's law.

Romans 3:20, 24, 31

Context: By the law is the knowledge of sin; justification is by grace through faith; faith establishes the law, not voids it.

1 Thessalonians 4:3

Context: This is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from fornication, showing sanctification involves obedience to God's law.

Psalm 94:16

Context: Who will rise up for me against the evildoers? Or who will stand up for me against the workers of iniquity? God's call for men to contend.

Ezekiel 22:25-30

Context: God sought for a man to stand in the gap but found none, illustrating the dearth of righteous men and resulting judgment.

Historical References

Cool Hand Luke (movie)

Context: Weaver references the 1967 film to contrast past prison chain gangs with modern lenient prison conditions.

Sir Edward Coke

Context: Weaver mentions Coke's commentaries on law, which were based on the Bible, to show that law originally was founded on God's Word.

Bishop Hall

Context: Weaver quotes Bishop Hall (likely Joseph Hall, 1574–1656): 'It is fearful to sin. It is more fearful to delight in sin. And even worse, to defend sin.'

Important Quotes

They that forsake the law praise the wicked, but such as keep the law contend with them.

Significance: The central Scripture text of the sermon, establishing the thesis that rejecting God's law leads to commending evil, while obedience leads to conflict with wickedness.

No matter how many drugs you take, how many surgeries you endure, and how many psychiatrists counsel you, you're still the gender in which you were born.

Significance: A blunt statement against transgender ideology, emphasizing the immutability of biological sex as part of the sermon's critique of societal insanity.

Lies, wickedness, bribery, injustice, tyranny are seemingly prevailing. We've lost our minds. We've lost our courage. We've lost our character. We've lost our common sense.

Significance: Summarizes the preacher's diagnosis of America's moral collapse, setting up the need to return to God's law.

They that forsake the law praise the wicked. Now, I want you to think about this for a moment. Meditate upon this. In forsaking, in leaving, in forgetting, yea, even in denying the law of God, we praise the wicked. We praise that which God condemns. We side against Him.

Significance: Explains the practical outworking of Proverbs 28:4, showing that abandoning God's law aligns one with evil.

It is time that Christians did indeed stir themselves up and get excited. It is time that we stirred ourselves up and get excited for defense of the faith and defense of the gospel and defense of the Word of God and defense of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Significance: A direct call to action, urging believers to actively contend for their faith in a hostile culture.

Who will rise up for me against the evildoers? Or who will stand up for me against the workers of iniquity?

Significance: Quoting Psalm 94:16, Weaver uses this as God's challenge for men to take a stand against wickedness.

It is fearful to sin. It is more fearful to delight in sin. And even worse, to defend sin.

Significance: A quote from Bishop Hall that reinforces the sermon's warning against not only committing sin but also defending it, which happens when God's law is forsaken.

Discussion Questions

In what ways have we as a society 'forsaken the law' of God, and how has that led to praising wickedness in our culture?

Context: Based on Proverbs 28:4 and the examples given (transgenderism, lenient sentencing, child trafficking), how do we see this principle at work today?

What does it mean to 'keep' God's law in the sense of guarding and protecting it, and how can we do that in our personal lives and communities?

Context: Weaver explains the Hebrew word 'shamar' as to guard, protect, and obey. How can we practically guard God's law in our families, churches, and nation?

Why is there a 'dearth of real men' who will stand for righteousness, and what can we do to raise up such men?

Context: Ezekiel 22:30 shows God seeking a man to stand in the gap but finding none. What are the obstacles to courageous leadership, and how can we encourage it?

How should Christians balance grace and law in their lives, avoiding the error of thinking that grace nullifies God's moral commands?

Context: Weaver addresses the misinterpretation of Romans 6:14, clarifying that we are not under law for justification but still under it for sanctification. How do we live this out?

What are practical ways we can 'contend' with the wicked without becoming hateful or compromising the gospel?

Context: The Hebrew word 'garah' means to fight or wage war. How can we engage in spiritual warfare against evil while maintaining love and truth?

How does the example of the lepers in 2 Kings 7 ('Why sit we here until we die?') challenge our passivity in the face of cultural decay?

Context: Weaver uses this story to urge action. In what areas of life are we sitting still when we should be moving?

Applications

Personal Obedience to God's Law

Summary: Believers must personally keep and obey God's law as a way of contending against wickedness, even if they cannot change the whole system.

Evidence: Weaver states: 'But one thing you can do by the grace of God is keep the law of God, obey it yourself... proclaim that law and say what is wicked and what is righteous.'

Rise Up and Stand Against Evil

Summary: God is looking for men who will rise up and stand against evildoers, exposing sin and declaring righteousness, even at personal cost.

Evidence: Psalm 94:16 is quoted: 'Who will rise up for me against the evildoers?' Weaver applies: 'God is asking for men to rise up. God is asking for men to stand against the workers of iniquity.'

Stir Ourselves to Action

Summary: Christians must not be passive but actively stir themselves up for the defense of the faith, recognizing that we are in a spiritual war.

Evidence: Weaver exhorts: 'It is time that Christians did indeed stir themselves up and get excited... We are at war, and we don't even realize that we are at war.'

Guard and Protect God's Law

Summary: Keeping the law involves guarding it from corruption and attack, much like Adam was to guard the garden and the Levites the tabernacle.

Evidence: Weaver explains 'shamar' means to guard and protect, and applies: 'It's only those that obey God and believe God that are going to fight for God's law.'

Do Not Defend Sin

Summary: Forsaking God's law leads to defending sin; believers must never defend sin but rather expose it and call for repentance.

Evidence: Quoting Bishop Hall: 'It is fearful to sin. It is more fearful to delight in sin. And even worse, to defend sin.' Weaver adds: 'We must never defend sin.'

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-05T15:56:14Z

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | weaver_study | 2026-06-06T06:03:22Z

Clean Transcript

Where We Are and How We Got Here in 2023

Clean readable transcript. This view follows the Commentary.net cleaned segment text while preserving timestamps for audio follow-along.

Alright, let's open our Bibles to the book of Proverbs chapter 28 and verse 4. Proverbs 28 and verse 4. The title of the message is "Where We Are and How We Got Here in 2023." I think you'll see the title will be very appropriate momentarily. Proverbs chapter 28 and verse 4. Very simple verse, very straightforward. The Bible says, "They that forsake the law praise the wicked, but such as keep the law contend with them."
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It is no secret that we're in desperate straits in America, and the truth is that all the world is in a mess. In all probability, Europe is worse off than America. When you look around, you will notice that immorality is raging. Perversion is accepted. Transgenderism is looked upon benevolently. And when you go so far as to believe that men can have periods and produce babies, then you've fallen into absolute insanity.
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No matter how many drugs you take, how many surgeries you endure, and how many psychiatrists counsel you, you're still the gender in which you were born. You may change your appearance, but you cannot change your gender. The fact remains that there are only two genders, male and female. And I have often said, if you do not believe that there are only two genders, male and female, just try milking a bull and see how far you get with that. It just simply will not work.
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Now, insanity is reaching even farther because now it's not just transgenders, it is now trans-species. There are adults and even children who are now identifying themselves as animals. I want you to listen to a couple of news clips that I picked up this week that's going to demonstrate Proverbs chapter 28 and verse 4. The first one is, "Kentucky School District, students are dressing and acting like cats. Meade County, Kentucky. The Meade County School District is dealing with an unusual situation. A group of high school students attending school is acting like and dressing as cats. The superintendent tells WLKY the situation is being addressed, but according to a concerned grandparent, it's an ongoing problem and has many students on edge."
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"Apparently, from what I understand, they're called furries," the grandmother said, who asked to remain anonymous. "They identify with animals. These people will hiss at you and scratch at you if they don't like something that you're doing." She said, "This is not a new problem." Wow. Now, the truth is that there are people today that are even identifying as deer, as wolves, and as other animals. In fact, I glanced the headline. I did not take time to read the article where one man who was dressed as a deer was shot. That's very dangerous during deer season to dress as a deer, but he was identifying as a deer and he got shot as a deer as well. But here is one that might really surprise you. Listen to this headline.
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"Killer now identifies as an infant who wears nappies and demands baby food in prison. Sophie Eastwood, who was named Daniel at the time of their sentencing, is serving a lifetime at Polmont Prison in Brighton, Scotland, for using shoelaces to strangle a cellmate to death in 2004. Sophie Eastwood now identifies as an infant. A killer who transitioned from male to female while in prison has demanded guards hold her hand while outside her cell because she identifies as an infant. Sophie Eastwood, 36, who was named Daniel when she was jailed for life in 2004 after using shoelaces as a garrote to strangle her cellmate, Eastwood, who has lived as a woman in Her Majesty's prison for the past four years, has been described as an attention-seeking and manipulative individual by sources inside the jail. The murderer has now told chiefs at Polmont Prison in Brighton, Scotland, that she identifies as a tot and should be allowed to wear diapers and have her meals pureed like baby food. She has also demanded guards hold her hand while she is escorted to and from her cell."
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Prison bosses are taking Eastwood's request seriously and have already supplied her with a dummy, I guess a baby, as sources tell the Daily Record. Now, I understand a prisoner milking the system and getting the best of prison life while at the same time mocking and ridiculing those who are in authority over him. But what I cannot understand is the ignorance, the stupidity, and the senselessness of bureaucrats that go along with such drivel and such wicked stupidity and actually either go along with and/or making believe that they're going along with.
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And when you stop and think about prisons, you have to ask this question, where are the chain gangs? Where are the chain gangs? Where are the prisoners out working on the roads? Now, occasionally you see some, but not in chain gangs like they used to. We've come a long way since the days of Cool Hand Luke. You remember Paul Newman back in that movie back in the 50s? And even as a boy, I saw chain gangs. I saw prisoners working alongside the road. That was 75 years ago, but they were there back then.
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Now, I understand that prisons basically are an unbiblical form of punishment. But the truth of the matter is, if you're going to use a prison as punishment, why not make it so absolutely miserable and so absolutely difficult that once you get out, you never want to go back? But now today they have color TV, they have workout rooms, they have tennis, they have everything they can imagine in these prisons. Years ago, I had a friend who had to go into a federal prison for nine months because he had taken a stand against abortion. And of course, they came against him for taking that stand.
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And I remember him showing me the letter. In fact, I read the letter to our church at that time where they were telling him to report to prison and they were informing him that they did not supply tennis rackets or golf clubs. And if he wanted any of those, he needed to bring them with him for nine months. That was a federal prison. I'm just simply asking, where we are and how in the world we got where we are in this day and time.
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Moreover, you will see that crime has increased, the penalties for crime have decreased, and when you look at cities like Chicago or the state of California or New York or Portland, Oregon or Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, these places now are nothing more than hell holes where criminals basically have a free reign and free run, and they attack at their will and at their pleasure. And very seldom are they ever punished. I just read where in California, three men—I'm going to read some of it to you—but three men who were involved in sex trafficking a hundred women, when they were captured were given sentences of three years each. Listen to this: "And three men, Nery Naharo Rodriguez, 42, George Perez Hernandez, 37, and Luis Mata, 30, were sentenced for running a prostitution ring in Northern California, comprised mostly of undocumented women from Mexico who were sold for sex to as many as 20 clients in a single day. Each man received just three years for his involvement in the ring."
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In comparison—now hang on—in comparison, many cases involving growing or selling weed, marijuana, get much longer sentences. In recent months, this California man—there was a picture with his name—was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison, this Oregon man to 15, and this Iowa man to 20 years, all for growing or distributing marijuana. Those cases are all on the long end for marijuana-related sentences. The average time served for drug-related offenses is about 2.2 years. But they help illustrate just how desperately or how comparatively short sentences for pimping can be. Can you imagine trafficking over 100 women and only getting three years?
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Here's one that takes the prize. This is from Fox News, Elizabeth Pritchett reported. This was Sunday, February the 5th, 2023. "A former Arizona State Trooper will spend five years in prison after he pleaded guilty to multiple sex-related charges stemming from his actions during traffic stops, according to Fox 10 in Phoenix. Tremaine Jackson, who was a 13-year veteran of the Arizona Department of Public Safety at the time of his arrest, was initially charged—are you listening?—with 61 counts of sex-related kidnapping and fraud charges, according to the Arizona Department of Public Safety website." So here's a man that is charged with 61 felonies. Felonies! And he gets five years. Which means he'll probably be out in two years, just like these men who traffic these women will probably be out in a year, year and a half, something like that, since they only got three years.
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What in the world has happened to America? What has happened? It seems like everything is totally out of control. Let me give you one more that's just actually worse. This is the top. This is reported by John Whitehead and his wife, Nisha. John Whitehead is a constitutional attorney. He's the head of the Rutherford Institute, and I'm just taking a short paragraph or so out of the article that I read, and he's talking about the trafficking of children in America.
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He said, "Consider this, every two minutes, a child is bought and sold for sex. Hundreds of young girls and boys, some as young as nine years old, are being bought and sold for sex as many as 20 times per day. Adults purchase children for sex at least 2.5 million times a year in the United States alone. In Georgia alone, it is estimated that 7,200 men, half of them in their 30s, seek to purchase sex with adolescent girls each month, averaging roughly 300 a day. On the average, a child might be raped by 6,000 men during a five-year period. It is estimated that at least 100,000 to 500,000 children, girls and boys, are bought and sold for sex in the United States every year, with as many as 300,000 children in danger of being trafficked each year. Some of these children are forcibly abducted, others are runaways, and still others are sold into the system by relatives and acquaintances. Child rape has become big business in America." This is America now.
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We've become a nation that is absolutely teeming with predators. So let me just tie this together by saying this. Lies, wickedness, bribery, injustice, tyranny are seemingly prevailing. We've lost our minds. We've lost our courage. We've lost our character. We've lost our common sense. And so you have to ask this question, what has happened and why has it happened? And how far down this road have we gotten?
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And how much farther will we go? Well, I believe the Bible has the answer, and I think the answer is very plain in Proverbs 28, verse 4. If you look at that verse again, the Bible says, "They that forsake the law praise the wicked, but such as keep the law contend with them." Now, the very first question I believe that must be asked and answered in our verse is, whose law or what law was Solomon referring to when he wrote this passage? Clearly, I believe, and obviously this has to be the law of God, simply because we've already seen that man's law is extremely humanistic and unjust. In fact, man's law is in competition with and in opposition to the law of God. I want you to hold Proverbs 28, but look in your Bibles, if you would please, to 1 Samuel 8. I've preached on this passage a number of times in times past, but I want you to see it in light of what I'm teaching today. There was one message I preached many years ago, which I entitled, "Trading God for a Man."
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And that is exactly what is happening in 1 Samuel chapter 8. Because Israel is now demanding a man as king when, of course, God was the king. And so when they asked Samuel to give them a king, it displeased him. And he went and prayed to the Lord. And notice, if you would, what the Lord said in verse 7. 1 Samuel 8 and verse 7, "And the Lord said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people, and all that they say unto thee. For they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them." In other words, they were trading God for a man. They no longer wanted God to be their king. They wanted a man to be their king.
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Now, here's the important thing. I want you to skip down to verse 9. Because God says, "I want you to give them that king that they want, but I want you to show them the difference between my rule and his rule. Show them what man's rule will be like." So in verse nine, God says, "Now, therefore, hearken unto their voice, howbeit yet protest solemnly unto them, and show them the manner of the king that shall reign over them." And Samuel told all the words of the Lord unto the people that asked of him a king. And he said, "This will be the manner of the king that shall reign over you."
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"He will take your sons and appoint them for himself, for his chariots, and of his horsemen, and some shall run before his chariots. And he will appoint him captains over thousands, and captains over fifties, and will set them to ear his ground, and to reap his harvest, and to make his instruments of war, and instruments of his chariots. And he will take your daughters to be confectionaries, and to be cooks, and to be bakers. And he will take your fields, and your vineyards, and your olive yards, and the best of them, and give them to his service. And he will take the tenth of your seed, and of your vineyards, and give to his officers, and to his servants. And he will take your men's servants, and your maidservants, and your village young men, and your asses, and put them to his work. And he will take the tenth of your sheep, and you will be his servants," or slaves.
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"And you shall cry out in that day, because of your king which you have chosen you, and the Lord will not hear you in that day." Now, if you will turn right over to 1 Samuel chapter 12 and verse 12, you'll see Samuel repeating the same truth that they have rejected God as their king. So he says in verse 12, 1 Samuel 12, "And when you saw that Nahash, the king of the children of Ammon, came against you, you said unto me, Nay, but a king shall reign over us, when the Lord your God was your king." Now, the only way that you can really understand 1 Samuel chapter 8 is to view it as a transition from one law structure to another law structure. I've told you this repeatedly in times past, that a king rules by his law. That is certainly true of God. That is true of any king. That is true of any ruler, whether it's a king or not. Whether you agreed with Trump or not is immaterial.
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Let me ask you this question. Is there a difference between the administration of Trump and the administration of Biden? And of course there is. And whoever is elected next, there will be a difference in the administration again. Why? Because everyone has their own agenda and everyone has their own principles from which they're going to run things. So clearly what you have in 1 Samuel chapter 8, you have a transition from God's law to man's law.
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Now, if you look back in your Bibles to Proverbs chapter 28 in verse 4, let me emphasize this. The Bible says, "they that forsake the law." And I'm already pointing out this is God's law. It is not man's law, because man's law, again, is in opposition to God's law. It is distinct from God's law. But however, the word "law" is the Hebrew word Torah, which not only means law, it refers to God's law. In fact, the word Torah actually means authoritative instruction or authoritative direction. You will remember that the first five books of the Bible written by Moses are referred to as the Torah because they're the books of the law. However, here's something else I want to point out. All of God's Word is Torah, because all of God's Word is authoritative direction and authoritative instruction.
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And interestingly, you'll find this over and over in the New Testament, even by our Lord, where He is referring to the entire Old Testament as the Law and the Prophets. Now, normally, when we divide the Old Testament books, we think about, here's the books of the law, here are history books, here are poetical books, here are major prophets, here are minor prophets. But in the New Testament, our Lord just refers to everything as the Law and the Prophets. So even the poetical books, the historical books, are labeled as Law.
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Look in your Bibles, hold Proverbs 28, but turn, if you would, to Matthew chapter 5, and let me show you a few of these passages. Matthew chapter 5, and let's begin looking there at verse 17. Matthew chapter 5 and verse 17. Look at it. Matthew 5 verse 17, our Lord said, "Think not that I'm come to destroy the law or the prophets. I'm not coming to destroy, but to fulfill." So now He's referring to the Old Testament as the law or the prophets. All right. Notice, if you would, Matthew 7 and verse 12. Matthew 7 verse 12. Our Lord says, "Therefore, all things whatsoever you would do that men should do to you, do you even unto them." That's the golden rule, "for this is the law and the prophets." So once again, it is the law and the prophets. Look at Matthew 11 and verse 13, Matthew 11 and verse 13. Our Lord says, "For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John." There it is. Then if you look in Matthew chapter 22 and verse 40.
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Matthew 22 and verse 40. Notice clearly what our Lord says here. Matthew 22 verse 40. "On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets." All the law and the prophets. Then one more passage, if you look in Luke 16 and verse 16. Luke 16 and verse 16. Notice what our Lord says here. Luke 16 and verse 16, "The law and the prophets were until John. Since that time, the kingdom of God is preached, and every man presseth into it. The Law and the Prophets were until John." Now, there are other scriptures, but I think you're beginning to see the truth that this phrase, "the Law and the Prophets," really refers to the entirety of the Old Testament. And yet, it can also be applied to the entirety of the Word of God, since all of God's Word is authoritative instruction and direction. Now, so when you look at Proverbs 28 and verse 4, when he says, "they that forsake the law," we're talking about God's law.
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Now, here's the question that you must ask in light of this. He said, "when they that forsake the law praise the wicked." So what happens when the law of God is forsaken? And by the way, the word "forsaken" refers to that which is denied, that which is left, that which is forgotten, that which is walked away from. So he said, "they that forsake the law." So what happens when the law of God is forsaken?
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And the truth is that a number of things happen and a number of things transpire. For instance, you will remember the question that is asked in Psalm 11 and verse 3, where it is asked, "If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?" So we have witnessed and are witnessing in this country the destruction of the foundation of law, of justice, of economics, of family, of education, of work, of government, of welfare, and a host of other things that are turned upside down and thus become destroyed for all practical purposes. Just think of all the monies that are thrown away on humanistic welfare.
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And the Scripture has the answer. When God said, "If anyone will not work, neither should he eat." All I'm trying to say is today people are paid to stay home and not to work and not to do anything. Look at our judicial system. Look at our economic system. Look at our educational system. In fact, I'll show you a good example. If you look in your Bibles, the Psalm 82. Psalm 82 is a psalm written for judges and magistrates. It is a psalm of the judicial system. Look in verse 1, Psalm 82, "God standeth in the congregation of the mighty, he judgeth among the gods," and of course our Lord in John chapter 10 tells us that this refers to judges and magistrates and rulers, the term "gods" there. And to show you that in the context, look at verse 2. He asked these judges and magistrates, "How long will you judge unjustly and accept the persons of the wicked?" Now, here's what judges and magistrates are supposed to be doing.
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"Defend the poor and the fatherless, do justice to the afflicted and needy, deliver the poor and needy, rid them out of the hand of the wicked." But they're not doing that in their ignorance. Look what he says in verse five. "They know not," that is they're ignorant of justice. "Neither will they understand." They don't want to listen. "They walk on in darkness." Now look what happens. "All the foundations of the earth are out of course." In other words, by their acts of ignorance, insanity, injustice, they turn everything upside down. The foundations are being destroyed.
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Now, there is absolutely no individual, no family, no church, no community, no state or nation that can exist without law. Everyone must have a law system. So the question is not whether or not you will have a law system. The question would be whose law will you have? Will it be God's law or will it be man's law? So the issue really comes down to what is known as theonomy versus autonomy. Theonomy is made up of two Greek words, theos, God, nomos, law. So theonomy just refers to God's law. Autonomy is made up of two Greek words, autos, which is self, and nomos, which is law. So you want to have God's law or you have man's law or self law. So when you and I refuse the law of God and the rule of God, we then condemn ourselves to be ruled by man. So you're going to say, "Well, I don't want God to rule over me, and I'm certainly not going to let man rule over me. I'll just rule over myself."
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Really? That is still man's law. That is still man's rule. You remember two times in the book of Judges, Judges 17 in verse 6 and Judges 21 and verse 21, the Bible says, "In those days there was no king in Israel, but every man did that which was right in his own eyes." In other words, it was self-law. Now, I want you to turn, if you would, to the book of Proverbs, chapter 12, and look at verse 15.
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Someone who's going to say, "Well, I'll tell you what I'm going to do. I will just do the very best that I can." Really? You reject God's law and do the very best that you can. And here's what the Word of God says. "The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but he that hearkeneth to the counsel is wise." So the man's going to do his own thing, God refers to as a fool.
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Now, I've asked this question. The Bible said when the wicked forsake—when they forsake the law, they praise the wicked. Now, think about this. How in the world do we forsake the law? Well, there are different ways that the law of God can be forsaken. One way is to deny its validity or to deny its authority, as Pharaoh did in Exodus chapter 5 and verse 2. You remember in that passage, Moses and Aaron came to Pharaoh and they said, "Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, let my people go that they may serve me." Straightforward, clear, plain. But Pharaoh responded and asked this, "Who is the Lord that I should let Israel go? I know not the Lord, neither will I let Israel go." So what Pharaoh was saying is this, "I don't recognize God as sovereign. I don't recognize God as God. I don't even recognize His authority. He has no right to even address me and command me to let Israel go. I deny that He is God." Of course, Pharaoh claimed to be a god himself.
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Thus, Pharaoh then denounced God, he denied God, and he despised God, and he defied God. Now, I know that there are some people who are as brazen and as rebellious as Pharaoh, but very few. Most people are not going to come out and say something so asinine and so plainly as, "Who is the Lord? I know not the Lord, neither will I obey Him." Most people are not going to say that. So you could just forsake God's law by taking that kind of attitude, but here's what most people are going to do. Most people are just simply going to treat God contemptuously. They're going to pretend like God does not exist. They're going to pretend like He has not spoken. They're going to live as if God has no authority to tell them what to do, to direct their lives, or to tell them how to live. In fact, some of them are going to go so far as to think that they have an absolute right to transgress God's law because they are a God unto themselves.
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And unhappily, there are people who profess to be Christians who take this attitude, because they may acknowledge God, but they ignore His word. They don't read, they don't study, they don't listen, and they certainly do not obey. So clearly then, most people just treat God with contempt.
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Now, there's another reason some forsake the law of God, and that is because of misinterpretation and misunderstanding. So if you will look in your Bibles very quickly to the book of Romans chapter 6, and just look at verse 14, because there are several passages like this in the Bible, but you always have to take things in context. And when you look in Romans chapter 6 and verse 14, and note if you would what the Bible says. Romans 6 verse 14, the Apostle Paul writing says, "For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you're not under the law, but under grace."
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So people say, "There it is. We're not under the law. We're under grace." And they think that God's law somehow has been nullified, negated and set aside. Well, they never consider the context, nor even the immediate context or the remote context. The interesting thing is, the Apostle Paul started an argument in Romans chapter 3, teaching justification by faith alone, and that argument runs all the way through the end of Romans chapter 8. And so actually what you're seeing in Romans chapter 6, I'll show you just for a moment, when he said in verse 14, "for sin shall not have dominion over you. Why? For you're not under the law but under grace." What he's saying is you're not under the law as a standard for justification. You're under the law—no, you're not under the law as a standard for justification. You're under grace as your standard for justification. Now, although the law is not our standard for justification, it is our standard for sanctification. If you look in Romans chapter 7, watch it if you would please, at verse 12.
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Romans 7 and verse 12. The Apostle Paul says, "Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy and just and good." And he's defending the law of God and he's showing that God's law was used to convict him of sin. He did not even know what sin was apart from the law of God. And that's what the Bible says very clearly in Romans 3 in verse 20, "for by the law is the knowledge of sin." You don't even know what sin is apart from the law of God. Then if you will look back in your Bibles very quickly to Romans chapter 3, notice if you would please verse 31, but before we read there, let's go back and look at verse 24.
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He says, "...being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus." So Paul begins this argument for justification by faith in Romans chapter 3. And then if you skip down to verse 31, he makes this statement. "Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid," that is perish the thought. Don't even let that enter in your mind. "Yea," he said, "we establish the law." So any preaching of justification by faith alone, any preaching of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ that negates and nullifies the law is heresy. He said it is only through faith that we establish the law.
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Now, if you have forgotten some of these truths, I would suggest that you go back and listen to that 23-message series I did on the promises of the law. If you've never heard it, I encourage you to hear it. If you've forgotten it, re-listen again. But please understand this, it's impossible to be sanctified and to be holy without obedience to God's law. Would you count a serial murderer as a holy sanctified man? Would you count a serial rapist as a holy sanctified man? Would you count a serial thief as a holy sanctified man? And of course not. Of course not.
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In fact, when you get to 1 Thessalonians chapter 4, he tells you very plainly, "for this is the will of God, even your sanctification that you abstain from fornication." Sanctification is involved in obedience to the law of God.
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Now, I want you to note something. Go back and look, if you would please, at Proverbs chapter 28 in verse 4. Look at this. He says, "They that forsake the law praise the wicked." Now, I want you to think about this for a moment. Meditate upon this. In forsaking, in leaving, in forgetting, yea, even in denying the law of God, we praise the wicked. We praise that which God condemns. We side against Him. We call that which is detestable and abominable something that is praiseworthy, something that is glorious. In fact, if you look at verse 4, "they that forsake the law praise." The word "praise" is the Hebrew word halal and refers to that which is to be praised, that which is glorious, that which is to be celebrated, that which is to be commended. So in forsaking the law of God, what we do is we commend that which God condemns. In other words, you end up finding yourself not only on the wrong side of history, but also on the wrong side of God.
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So as they did forsake the law, praise the wicked. I hope you're seeing where we are today and how we got here. Because the law of God has been forsaken. Even when you read legal dictionaries, most of them refer to Sir Edward Coke, Coke's commentaries on the law. All of these had nothing but Bible in them, because law originally was based upon the Word of God. So consequently, if we're going to forsake the law of God, we're going to end up praising and glorifying and commending that which is wicked and wrong and ungodly.
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But now we should look at the second half of this verse. He says, "They that forsake the law praise and celebrate and glorify the wicked, but such as keep the law, contend with them." Wow.
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Now, the latter part of this verse is equally true and equally applicable today. So, first of all, I want you to consider the word "keep." He said, "for such as keep the law." Now, we understand that none of us can keep the law of God perfectly. The law of God, as I've pointed out before, demands three things of every individual, a personal, a perfect, and a perpetual obedience. None of us can give that to the law, as only the Lord Jesus Christ did that. But there is a sense in the way that we keep the law. He said, "but such as keep the law, contend with them." The word "keep" is the Hebrew word shamar, which literally means to keep, to guard, to observe, to give heed to, to watch, to protect, as well as to celebrate and obey. Now, here's the importance of that word.
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You remember in the book of Genesis chapter two, God put Adam in the garden and he gave him some commands and he told Adam that he was to dress and to keep the garden. You remember that? Guess what? The word "keep" is the word shamar. Adam not only had to dress the garden, that is, make it productive. He had to keep it. He had to guard it.
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He had to protect it. And of course, he failed to do that when he allowed the serpent in. I hope you remember also that God gave a charge to Aaron and his sons that they were to keep the charge of the tabernacle. The word "keep" means to guard and protect. It's the same word shamar. And then the Levites, who were given to Aaron and his sons to help them, God gave them the charge of Aaron and his sons, as well then as the tabernacle, to keep. Once again, it's the word shamar, which means to guard, to obey and protect. That's why if any stranger came into the tabernacle, who was not supposed to be there, the Levites were responsible to take his life. Because they were guardians, they were protectors of Aaron and his sons and of the tabernacle and everything around it. Now, so he says, "they that forsake the law praise the wicked, but such as keep, guard, protect, observe, yea, such as keep the law, contend with them." Now, what about the word "contend"?
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The Hebrew word is the word garah, and it means to fight, to contend with, to engage in strife, to wage war, and to stir oneself up or to excite oneself in defense. So he is saying it's only those that obey God and believe God that are going to fight for God's law, and in fighting, they're going to be fighting against the wicked, and they're going to be fighting for that which is good, just, and holy. In other words, those that keep the law are siding with God against the wicked who forsake and violate the law.
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Let me point something out. It is time that Christians did indeed stir themselves up and get excited. It is time that we stirred ourselves up and get excited for defense of the faith and defense of the gospel and defense of the Word of God and defense of the Lord Jesus Christ. It's time that we recognize that the enemy is making war upon us and trying to exterminate us. I hope some of you read, even this week, where the FBI was trying to criminalize Christians. Yeah. And did you read about the fact that they were going to investigate the conservatives in the Roman Catholic Church? Of course. We are at war, and we don't even realize that we are at war.
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Most people have not even come to the realization that those four lepers came to in 2 Kings chapter 7. I don't know if you remember this, but they were at the gates of Samaria, and a leper, of course, could not go inside. The Syrians had compassed Samaria roundabout, and there was a famine inside the city. The lepers actually existed from garbage and scraps that were thrown over the wall. Well, there was nothing being thrown over the wall because everyone was starving to death in the city of Samaria. And finally, one of those lepers looked at the others and said, "Why sit we here until we die? Come, let us fall to the Syrians."
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"It may be that they will save us a life. But if they kill us, we will but be dead." In other words, here is the rationale. If we sit here, we're dead. If we go in the city, we're dead. Let's go fall to the Syrians. There's a slight possibility they may save us a life. But if they kill us, we're not going to be any more dead there than we're going to be here.
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The point being, why in the world are we sitting still? Why are we sitting here until we die? You remember that verse in Isaiah 58 in verse 1, where God said, "Cry aloud, spare not, lift up my voice like a trumpet, and show my people their transgression and the house of Jacob their sin." Do you realize that's exactly what we're supposed to be doing? Crying out, lifting up our voices.
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And you look around at the pedophiles and the sodomites that are in control of everything and trying to steal all of our children and to push transgenderism upon them even in kindergarten. I'm just simply asking, why in the world are we sitting still? Do you realize this is where we are in 2023, this is how we got here, because as a nation, as a people, as churches, we have forsaken the law of God. We've not upheld God's law. We've not defended God's law. We've not. We've not exposed wickedness, we've not exposed sins. We've sat still.
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And allowed death to come our way. Let me try to tie this together for you. Proverbs 28 verse 4, "They that forsake the law praise the wicked, but such as keep the law contend with them." First of all, here's my first application. Number one, God is looking for men that will stand up and rise up against the wicked, expose their sins, expose their wickedness and declare His righteousness. I want you to turn in your Bibles to Psalm 94 and look at verse 16. I could quote this verse, but I want you to see it. Look, if you would, at what God asks. Psalm 94 and verse 16. Here it is. Psalm 94, verse 16. God asks, "Who will rise up for me against the evildoers? Or who will stand up for me against the workers of iniquity?" Look at that. Who will rise up? Who will stand for me? It's true that once you rise up and once you stand, you're not going to be the most popular man in the county. You're not going to be the most popular man in the state.
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In fact, you'll probably be persecuted, may even be prosecuted. But the truth of the matter is, God will be with you and on your side. God is asking for men to rise up. God is asking for men to stand against the workers of iniquity and against the evildoers. That's what Psalm 94, 16 is all about. That's really what Proverbs 28 in verse 4 is all about. But I want you to go ahead and turn in your Bibles to the book of Ezekiel, chapter 22.
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And get ready, if you would please, for the second application. I want you to watch this. The first application is this, that God is looking for men. Men who will rise up, men who will stand. Here's the second application. Here's the sad and unhappy truth concerning most communities, churches, states and nations. And that is that there is a lack, a dearth of real men. So let me show you in Ezekiel chapter 22.
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And let's begin reading with verse 25. God is condemning Judah and Jerusalem. And look how he starts, verse 25. "There is a conspiracy of her prophets in the midst thereof, like a roaring lion ravening the prey. They have devoured souls. They have taken the treasure and precious things and have made her many widows in the midst thereof." So the prophets are worthless. They're false prophets. They're prophets for profit, P-R-O-F-I-T. But notice it's not just the prophets. Look in verse 26, "Her priests have violated my law, and have profaned mine holy things, and have put no difference between the holy and profane, neither have they showed difference between the unclean and the clean. They have hid their eyes from my sabbaths, and I am profaned among them." God says, my prophets are no good, the priests are no good. Ah, look at verse 27. "Her princes," now the rulers, "her princes in the midst thereof are like wolves, ravening the prey to shed blood and to destroy souls to get dishonest gain."
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That's a good description of Congress. It is. The princes, the rulers. Note, if you would, God has dealt with the prophets, God has dealt with the priests, God has dealt with the princes. He mentions the prophets again in verse 28. "And her prophets have daubed them with untempered mortar, seeing vanity and divining lies unto them, saying, Thus saith the Lord God, when the Lord hath not spoken." Now look at verse 29.
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"The people of the land have used oppression, and exercised robbery, and have vexed the poor and needy. Yea, they have oppressed the stranger wrongfully."
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Now note if you would, God has dealt with the prophets, He's dealt with the princes, He's dealt with the priests, He's dealt with the people, and now look at verse 30. "And I sought for a man among them, out of all these groups, I sought for a man among them that should make up the hedge and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it, but I found none. Therefore have I poured out mine indignation upon them." Out of all the prophets, out of all the priests, out of all the princes, out of all the people, God could not find one man. Not one. Not one.
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There is a dearth of real men. Bishop Hall—he's been dead for a long, long, long time—but here's one thing he said that we need to learn, he said, "It is fearful to sin. It is more fearful to delight in sin. And even worse, to defend sin." And when we forsake the law of God, that is exactly what we end up doing. We end up defending sin. And if we do not lift up our voices and cry out, if we do not hear, heed, obey, and keep the law of God, protect it, we deserve all the judgment He's going to send upon us. And He will send it. We must never defend sin.
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Now, let me point something out. When we hear a message like this, usually it rings a bell in our mind, but I cannot control the president. I cannot control the executive office. I know that. You can't. But one thing you can do by the grace of God is keep the law of God, obey it yourself. Well, I can't control Congress. I know that. But one thing you can do is obey God and keep the law of God yourself. Well, I can't change the judicial system. I know that. But one thing you can do is obey God and keep the law of God yourself and proclaim that law and say what is wicked and what is righteous.
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The truth of the matter is this. God calls upon us to keep His law, and in keeping His law, we're fighting against the wicked. Every one of us, every child of God should desire to be as holy and as obedient and as godly as he can be by the grace of God. Because in keeping that law, we're fighting against the wicked. We need to be obedient, to keep the law of God, and to fight against the wicked.
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Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we bow to Thee. We thank You for Your Word. We thank You for Your truth. And Lord, we do pray that You will give us men, real men, men that will stand. We pray, Lord, that You would change the course of this nation. We pray, Lord, that You would open our eyes. Turn us, O Lord, and we shall be turned. Quicken us and we shall call upon Thy name. Enable us, Lord. Enable us. Empower us to keep and obey Thy Word, to bring our lives in conformity unto it, and to honor Thee and to glorify Thee. Teach us, we pray, Lord. Build us up. Give us Your grace and Your mercy, courage and strength. In the name of Jesus Christ, we ask and pray. Amen.
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deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-05T15:56:14Z

Where We Are and How We Got Here in 2023

John Weaver | Freedom Ministries

John Weaver examines Proverbs 28:4 to diagnose America's moral and social decay, arguing that forsaking God's law leads to praising wickedness, while keeping God's law compels believers to contend against evil. He illustrates the nation's descent into insanity with examples of transgenderism, trans-species identification, lenient sentencing for sex crimes, and child trafficking. The sermon calls for men to rise up, obey God's law, and actively oppose wickedness.

Introduction and Text

Weaver introduces Proverbs 28:4 and states the message title, setting the stage for a diagnosis of America's condition.

Scripture Reading — Proverbs 28:4

"They that forsake the law praise the wicked, but such as keep the law contend with them."

Evidence of National Insanity

Weaver presents news clips and statistics on transgenderism, trans-species identification, and a murderer identifying as an infant to illustrate societal insanity.

Crime, Punishment, and Injustice

Examples of lenient sentences for sex trafficking and a trooper's crimes are contrasted with harsher penalties for marijuana offenses, highlighting judicial corruption.

Child Trafficking Epidemic

Statistics from John Whitehead reveal the massive scale of child sex trafficking in America, emphasizing the nation's predatory nature.

The Root Cause: Forsaking God's Law

Weaver argues that the root of societal decay is the rejection of God's law, as stated in Proverbs 28:4, and defines 'law' as God's authoritative instruction.

Scripture Reading — 1 Samuel 8:7-9

"And the Lord said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people, and all that they say unto thee. For they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them."

In other words, they were trading God for a man. They no longer wanted God to be their king. They wanted a man to be their king.

Scripture Reading — 1 Samuel 12:12

"And when you saw that Nahash, the king of the children of Ammon, came against you, you said unto me, Nay, but a king shall reign over us, when the Lord your God was your king."

Scripture Reading — Matthew 5:17

"Think not that I'm come to destroy the law or the prophets. I'm not coming to destroy, but to fulfill."

Matthew 22 and verse 40. Notice clearly what our Lord says here. Matthew 22 verse 40.

Scripture Reading — Matthew 22:40

"On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets."

All the law and the prophets. Then one more passage, if you look in Luke 16 and verse 16. Luke 16 and verse 16. Notice what our Lord says here. Luke 16 and verse 16,

Scripture Reading — Matthew 22:40

"The law and the prophets were until John. Since that time, the kingdom of God is preached, and every man presseth into it. The Law and the Prophets were until John."

Now, there are other scriptures, but I think you're beginning to see the truth that this phrase,

Scripture Reading — Matthew 22:40

"the Law and the Prophets,"

Consequences of Forsaking the Law

Forsaking God's law leads to the destruction of foundations (Psalm 11:3; Psalm 82) and results in praising wickedness, commending what God condemns.

And the truth is that a number of things happen and a number of things transpire. For instance, you will remember the question that is asked in Psalm 11 and verse 3, where it is asked,

Scripture Reading — Psalm 11:3

"If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?"

Really? That is still man's law. That is still man's rule. You remember two times in the book of Judges, Judges 17 in verse 6 and Judges 21 and verse 21, the Bible says,

Scripture Reading — Judges 17:6; 21:25

"In those days there was no king in Israel, but every man did that which was right in his own eyes."

Scripture Reading — Judges 17:6; 21:25

"The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but he that hearkeneth to the counsel is wise."

So the man's going to do his own thing, God refers to as a fool.

So people say,

Scripture Reading — Romans 6:14

"There it is. We're not under the law. We're under grace."

Scripture Reading — Romans 6:14

"for sin shall not have dominion over you. Why? For you're not under the law but under grace."

Romans 7 and verse 12. The Apostle Paul says,

Scripture Reading — Romans 7:12

"Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy and just and good."

But now we should look at the second half of this verse. He says, "They that forsake the law praise and celebrate and glorify the wicked, but such as keep the law, contend with them." Wow.

The Call to Keep the Law and Contend

Those who keep (guard, obey) God's law are called to contend (fight, wage war) against the wicked, stirring themselves in defense of righteousness.

Applications: Rise Up and Stand

Weaver applies the text by calling for men to rise up against evildoers (Psalm 94:16) and laments the lack of such men (Ezekiel 22:30), urging personal obedience and proclamation.

Scripture Reading — Psalm 94:16

"Who will rise up for me against the evildoers? Or who will stand up for me against the workers of iniquity?"

Where We Are and How We Got Here in 2023

John Weaver | SermonAudio

Lecture Metadata	Details
Speaker	John Weaver
Source	SermonAudio
Media ID	21923817401825
Subject	New Testament Studies
Course	Romans: Justification, Faith, and Imputed Righteousness: Sola Fide And Justification
Genre	Sermon
Date	2023-02-12
Dictation Name
Book	Book 131: Romans: Justification, Faith, and Imputed Righteousness — Chapter 6
Source Timed Segments	65

Lecture Guide

Outline

Introduction and Text: Weaver introduces Proverbs 28:4 and states the message title, setting the stage for a diagnosis of America's condition.
Evidence of National Insanity: Weaver presents news clips and statistics on transgenderism, trans-species identification, and a murderer identifying as an infant to illustrate societal insanity.
Crime, Punishment, and Injustice: Examples of lenient sentences for sex trafficking and a trooper's crimes are contrasted with harsher penalties for marijuana offenses, highlighting judicial corruption.
Child Trafficking Epidemic: Statistics from John Whitehead reveal the massive scale of child sex trafficking in America, emphasizing the nation's predatory nature.
The Root Cause: Forsaking God's Law: Weaver argues that the root of societal decay is the rejection of God's law, as stated in Proverbs 28:4, and defines 'law' as God's authoritative instruction.
Consequences of Forsaking the Law: Forsaking God's law leads to the destruction of foundations (Psalm 11:3; Psalm 82) and results in praising wickedness, commending what God condemns.
The Call to Keep the Law and Contend: Those who keep (guard, obey) God's law are called to contend (fight, wage war) against the wicked, stirring themselves in defense of righteousness.
Applications: Rise Up and Stand: Weaver applies the text by calling for men to rise up against evildoers (Psalm 94:16) and laments the lack of such men (Ezekiel 22:30), urging personal obedience and proclamation.

Major Themes

Key Arguments

Rejection of God's law causes societal collapse

Weaver argues that America's moral chaos is a direct result of forsaking God's law, as Proverbs 28:4 states, leading to the praise of wickedness.

He connects the verse to current events: 'Lies, wickedness, bribery, injustice, tyranny are seemingly prevailing. We've lost our minds... And so you have to ask this question, what has happened and why has it happened? ... I believe the Bible has the answer, and I think the answer is very plain in Proverbs 28, verse 4.'

God's law is the only legitimate standard

The 'law' in Proverbs 28:4 refers to God's Torah, His authoritative instruction, not man's law, which is in opposition to God's.

Weaver states: 'Clearly, I believe, and obviously this has to be the law of God, simply because we've already seen that man's law is extremely humanistic and unjust. In fact, man's law is in competition with and in opposition to the law of God.'

Forsaking the law means denying its authority or treating God with contempt

People forsake God's law either by openly denying it like Pharaoh or by living as if God has no authority, ignoring His Word.

Weaver explains: 'Most people are just simply going to treat God contemptuously. They're going to pretend like God does not exist... They're going to live as if God has no authority to tell them what to do.'

Keeping the law involves guarding and obeying it, leading to conflict with the wicked

The Hebrew word 'keep' (shamar) means to guard and protect, and 'contend' (garah) means to fight; thus, obedience to God's law necessarily involves active opposition to evil.

Weaver defines the terms: 'The word "keep" is the Hebrew word shamar, which literally means to keep, to guard, to observe, to give heed to... The Hebrew word [contend] is the word garah, and it means to fight, to contend with, to engage in strife, to wage war.'

Christians must not be passive but actively contend

Believers are at war and must stir themselves to defend the faith, expose sin, and proclaim righteousness, rather than sitting still.

Weaver exhorts: 'It is time that Christians did indeed stir themselves up and get excited... We are at war, and we don't even realize that we are at war.' He references the lepers' rationale: 'Why sit we here until we die?'

Scripture References

Proverbs 28:4: The central text of the sermon: 'They that forsake the law praise the wicked, but such as keep the law contend with them.'
1 Samuel 8:7-9: Israel rejects God as king, trading God's rule for man's rule, illustrating the transition from God's law to man's law.
1 Samuel 8:11-18: Samuel warns of the oppressive nature of human kingship, showing the consequences of rejecting God's law.
1 Samuel 12:12: Samuel reiterates that Israel rejected God as their king when they demanded a human king.
Matthew 5:17: Jesus says He came not to destroy the Law or the Prophets but to fulfill, showing the enduring validity of God's law.
Matthew 7:12: The Golden Rule is identified as the Law and the Prophets, indicating the broad scope of God's law.
Matthew 11:13: Jesus states that all the prophets and the law prophesied until John, referring to the Old Testament as law.
Matthew 22:40: Jesus says all the Law and the Prophets hang on the two great commandments, again equating the Old Testament with law.
Luke 16:16: The Law and the Prophets were until John, indicating the Old Testament era of God's authoritative instruction.
Psalm 11:3: If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do? Used to illustrate the destruction of societal foundations when God's law is forsaken.
Psalm 82:1-5: God judges unjust judges who cause the foundations of the earth to be out of course, showing the impact of forsaking God's law.
Judges 17:6; 21:25: In those days there was no king in Israel; every man did that which was right in his own eyes, illustrating autonomy or self-law.
Proverbs 12:15: The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but he who hearkens to counsel is wise, contrasting self-law with God's wisdom.
Exodus 5:2: Pharaoh's denial of God's authority: 'Who is the Lord that I should obey His voice?' as an example of forsaking the law.
Romans 6:14: You are not under the law but under grace, often misinterpreted to mean God's law is nullified; Weaver clarifies it refers to justification, not sanctification.
Romans 7:12: The law is holy, and the commandment holy, just, and good, affirming the goodness of God's law.
Romans 3:20, 24, 31: By the law is the knowledge of sin; justification is by grace through faith; faith establishes the law, not voids it.
1 Thessalonians 4:3: This is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from fornication, showing sanctification involves obedience to God's law.
Psalm 94:16: Who will rise up for me against the evildoers? Or who will stand up for me against the workers of iniquity? God's call for men to contend.
Ezekiel 22:25-30: God sought for a man to stand in the gap but found none, illustrating the dearth of righteous men and resulting judgment.

Historical References

Cool Hand Luke (movie): Weaver references the 1967 film to contrast past prison chain gangs with modern lenient prison conditions.
Sir Edward Coke: Weaver mentions Coke's commentaries on law, which were based on the Bible, to show that law originally was founded on God's Word.
Bishop Hall: Weaver quotes Bishop Hall (likely Joseph Hall, 1574–1656): 'It is fearful to sin. It is more fearful to delight in sin. And even worse, to defend sin.'

Important Quotes

They that forsake the law praise the wicked, but such as keep the law contend with them.

The central Scripture text of the sermon, establishing the thesis that rejecting God's law leads to commending evil, while obedience leads to conflict with wickedness.

No matter how many drugs you take, how many surgeries you endure, and how many psychiatrists counsel you, you're still the gender in which you were born.

A blunt statement against transgender ideology, emphasizing the immutability of biological sex as part of the sermon's critique of societal insanity.

Lies, wickedness, bribery, injustice, tyranny are seemingly prevailing. We've lost our minds. We've lost our courage. We've lost our character. We've lost our common sense.

Summarizes the preacher's diagnosis of America's moral collapse, setting up the need to return to God's law.

They that forsake the law praise the wicked. Now, I want you to think about this for a moment. Meditate upon this. In forsaking, in leaving, in forgetting, yea, even in denying the law of God, we praise the wicked. We praise that which God condemns. We side against Him.

Explains the practical outworking of Proverbs 28:4, showing that abandoning God's law aligns one with evil.

It is time that Christians did indeed stir themselves up and get excited. It is time that we stirred ourselves up and get excited for defense of the faith and defense of the gospel and defense of the Word of God and defense of the Lord Jesus Christ.

A direct call to action, urging believers to actively contend for their faith in a hostile culture.

Who will rise up for me against the evildoers? Or who will stand up for me against the workers of iniquity?

Quoting Psalm 94:16, Weaver uses this as God's challenge for men to take a stand against wickedness.

It is fearful to sin. It is more fearful to delight in sin. And even worse, to defend sin.

A quote from Bishop Hall that reinforces the sermon's warning against not only committing sin but also defending it, which happens when God's law is forsaken.

Discussion Questions

[Question]

In what ways have we as a society 'forsaken the law' of God, and how has that led to praising wickedness in our culture?

[Context]

Based on Proverbs 28:4 and the examples given (transgenderism, lenient sentencing, child trafficking), how do we see this principle at work today?

[Question]

What does it mean to 'keep' God's law in the sense of guarding and protecting it, and how can we do that in our personal lives and communities?

[Context]

Weaver explains the Hebrew word 'shamar' as to guard, protect, and obey. How can we practically guard God's law in our families, churches, and nation?

[Question]

Why is there a 'dearth of real men' who will stand for righteousness, and what can we do to raise up such men?

[Context]

Ezekiel 22:30 shows God seeking a man to stand in the gap but finding none. What are the obstacles to courageous leadership, and how can we encourage it?

[Question]

How should Christians balance grace and law in their lives, avoiding the error of thinking that grace nullifies God's moral commands?

[Context]

Weaver addresses the misinterpretation of Romans 6:14, clarifying that we are not under law for justification but still under it for sanctification. How do we live this out?

[Question]

What are practical ways we can 'contend' with the wicked without becoming hateful or compromising the gospel?

[Context]

The Hebrew word 'garah' means to fight or wage war. How can we engage in spiritual warfare against evil while maintaining love and truth?

[Question]

How does the example of the lepers in 2 Kings 7 ('Why sit we here until we die?') challenge our passivity in the face of cultural decay?

[Context]

Weaver uses this story to urge action. In what areas of life are we sitting still when we should be moving?

Applications

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deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | weaver_study | 2026-06-06T06:03:22Z