Proverbs 22:6

Proverbs are principles not promises.

Anyone who thinks that just because one applies the principles in Proverbs will always live a long life is deceived.

One who walks with God may have his head chopped off for walking with God especially in countries who are against Christians. Those who believe that nothing evil will happpen to godly peole have not read 1 Peter and are deceived into thinking the health-wealth gospel of the TV preachers is correct.

They have also forgotten about what happened to many of the prophets of the OT.

Proverbs 3:1,2 “My son, do not forget my teaching, but let your heart keep my commandments; For length of days and years of life and peace they will add to you."

 

Proverbs is one of the books of God's Word. God's Word is Truth.

Any time in the book of Proverbs it is said that something will happen as a result of an action, that is a promise. And one better believe if God's Word says it will happen, it most definitely will happen.

 

God's word is truth, but the implication there is that you first must correctly understand/interpret it. Interpreting proverbs as promises will not lead you to truth God's truth.

 

Disregarding Proverbs, just dismissing them as principles and not promises will lead one to great disappointments.

 

Explain this "promise" then SFIC.

Pro 18:20 With the fruit of a man's mouth his stomach will be satisfied; He will be satisfied with the product of his lips. Pro 18:21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue, And those who love it will eat its fruit.

 

Anyone who does not interpret scripture in light of its historical context is deceived.

Anyone who interprets Proverbs as promises find themself with some strange problems such as questioning the truth of scripture as the world does.

Anyone who does not interpret Proverbs as wisdom literature soon finds themself in a category of questioning the Bible.

 

If you are to be intellectually honest in this discussion, lets not use words like "disregarding" and "dismissing". No one has suggested that.

Your statement could have easily read, "just dismissing them as proverbs and not promises." So, is it your belief that God erred in calling them proverbs? Should He have said "promises" instead?

 

Don't want to take a stab at the promise I posted SFIC?

 

Tell ya what...

If you don't believe that when God says something will happen as a result of certain actions as promised in Proverbs, then by all means, live contrary to Proverbs and see what the end results are.

Where God says use wisdom and He will bless, act foolishly. Where He says lean not to your understanding and to acknowledge Him in all your ways, seek your own and forget Him.

You will find that His promises throughout the Proverbs are true and He will perform that which His Word says He will do.

 

So....... what you really mean is that you can't answer the last 2 post? (#25 and #27):thumbs:

 

A man who does good or evil will have to take the consequences for his words.

 

Did not Jesus train Judas and yet Judas betrayed him? I would assume the training and example Jesus gave to Judas was far superior to any instruction and example a parent could possibly give to their children. Jesus was God. Did Jesus fail or did Judas fail.

If I were to use your methodology of interpreting scripture then could you explain how one would interpret the following verse disregarding the historical context as you have done with Proverbs.

In 1 John 1:10, "If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us.

How does one make God a liar? God does not lie. He is truth.

 

Sigh... Like many things on this board this is like beating a dead horse. Clearly some refuse to accept the fact that the Proverbs are general truths not specific promises.

I know parents who did all they could to see their children turn out right and follow Christ but alas their children remained "children of disobedience". Sad, but true, it happens sometimes. To fault parents for the bad actions of their children is not only arrogant, but those who are quick to condemn are putting themselves on the same level of God as Judge.

 

My parents were not Christians and a person from college led me to Christ. I was the first to become a Christian in my family. Most of my family are Christians today. Someone should explain that in terms of Proverbs 22:6.

 

Some do not believe that Proverbs 22:6 is a promise, but we don't understand how it can be anything but a promise, and it is an encouraging one to parents who take their task of child training seriously. But what about those parents that raise their children in the Bible but they rebel completely and go out into the world permanently and never have anything further to do with Christ? We all probably know of such cases. Doesn't that mean that Proverbs 22:6 is not an actual promise? My answer to this challenge is that there are many ways that parents can fail grievously even when it appears to outsiders that they are raising their children properly, and those grievous failures can ruin the effects of the training. Lack of love and carnality and hypocrisy and sparing the rod are four major things that can "spoil the vine" so that the fruit of that home is bitter rather than sweet. - David Cloud; Way of Life Advanced Bible Studies Course on the book of Proverbs

 

Encouragements are not promises or guarantees by God. Promises are statements that are 100% true all of the time. Promises are not principles.

To call things promises that are not, is like claiming Jesus a failure. Judas never believed and he was with Jesus constantly. In fact he betrayed Jesus. Who is a better example than Christ? Certainly not me.

There are also examples in the Bible where a child did not walk with God and the parents and granchildren did.

 

The Word of God says 'Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old. he WILL NOT depart from it

That is a promise. It does not say he may not depart, but that he will not depart.

As Brother Cloud's article states, the parent did not train the child properly.

This day and age, proper training is near impossible if one follows the state's guidelines and withholds the rod of correction. Without the rod of correction, foolishness will be bound to the heart of the child, hindering proper training.

The wills and will nots that are in the Word of God are there for a reason. You can choose to believe they will not come to pass, but I will believe the Word of God is true and not one will, not one will not, not one shall, and not one shall not will fall to the ground and die.

God's Word will not return to Him void. He says that the child properly trained will not depart from it, I believe it.

 

The principle is 'Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old. he WILL NOT depart from it." No person is perfect so do you blame a parent when a child leaves the faith? What about the parent who has four children and one leaves the faith while the other three walk closely with God? Is that parent 1/4 failure and 3/4 successful? Do you congratulate a non-Christian parent who does not follow Christ but his child does? Do you condemn Jesus because of Judas' failure to obey God? Do you blame Jesus for the faults of His followers? He is 100% God. Where do you place personal responsibility such as what Romans 1 declares where everyone is without excuse? Would you say that Romans 1 is the parent who is without excuse and the child has no responsibility? When does a child become responsible or does that happen when both parents are dead. What about the child whose parents died before the child could remember or know them. How do you explain the issue of adopted children?

So if it is the parent who is solely responsible then why declare God's word because you have done away with the personal aspect of receiving Christ. If training is solely the responsibility of the parent then God is not needed. Why pray for children if the decision to walk with God or not is placed on the parent? Shouldn't the prayers be exclusively for the parrent and the child be made a robot.

What do you do with those children who walk with God and the parents do not?

 

God's Word says, "he will not," not "he might."

That is a promise whether you want to accept it or not.