12/18/25 – Day 215 – Proverbs 14 – 15- “Good works, as they are called in sinners are nothing but splendid sins.” Augustine
“The quote in the title connects with 15:8: “The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord, But the prayer of the upright is his His delight.”
My Evidence Bible footnote for that verse reads: When sinners think they are righteous because they give money, attend church, or live what they consider to be a virtous life, it is an “abomination to the Lord.” Even their thoughts are an abomination to Him (v26). This is because they stand guilty before Him. Their good works are provoked by a guilty conscience. Like a despicable criminal trying to pervert justice by offering the judge a bribe, they think their good deeds will outweight their sins. (See Hebrews 9:14)
Question: How many times is fear of the Lord, or three close variants like Fear of God mentioned in the Bible? Answer : 490 times. I underlined four times in just the two chapters we read here in Proverbs, and my guess is I missed some. So, how many times can you recall the same phrase being mentioned in the pulpit, if ever? Can you recall just one sermon topic on “fear of the Lord”? We had one in our church in Dallas that I would call a sermon topic this past year and it was sadly a new experience.
At the end of chapter 15, the spiritual benefits of heeding rebukes from brothers and sisters within the body of Christ is mentioned twice. We covered it often in our weekly lunch bible studies at work. Bottom line: If you don’t have a “best friend” / Christian brother that will rebuke you and tell you exactly what you don’t want to hear at the time, then find one as soon as possible. Pray for such a Brother that loves you enough to be there for you!
Always connected by His grace and through prayer!