Bentley, Tom: Often Reproved ~ Prov 29:1

Now I have one verse for you, please, from the Old Testament, very near to where our brother read in the Word of God. The verses found in the Book of Proverbs and chapter twenty nine. Book of Proverbs and chapter twenty nine, Verse number one. Just one verse. He that being often reproved, hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy. Now that's a very solemn verse, and when preachers of old read it in my hearing when I was unsaved, I can tell you it made me tremble, and I trust God will use it tonight to bless your soul with salvation. As I've said, this is a very solemn verse, and a verse that preachers very, very thoughtfully and very prayerfully present to their audience from time to time. And I want to bring this verse, I trust, very vividly before you, and, uh, try to deal with the five great issues that are in the surface of this passage. I want to begin exactly where our brother ended. For he ended on that glorious gospel gladsome note of a great redeemer. While he was preaching, I thought of the first man in the Bible to use the word redeem, and that was Jacob. And you know, Jacob knew something of this, and upon the lips of a frail mortal, unworthy though Jacob proved to be, he could use the word redeem. And it's lovely, dear friend, to be able to use that word and to speak of the Lord Jesus in such a personal way and in such a real way as my redeemer. For if you know Christ as your redeemer, then of course you know his redemption. And if you know his redemption, what you have really done is you have accepted God's remedy for sin. God's remedy for sin. And thank God that while this is a very solemn verse, and while this is a very searching verse, the last word in it tells us that there is a remedy. There is a remedy. The fullness of this remedy is beyond me to exhaust and even to express in the gospel, but it is something that is very real and very precious, and I would tonight that you would listen and hear the message through this lovely word. There is always in the word of God a remedy. And as we look through the scriptures, we find that God is ever willing, under every circumstance, to provide it. You remember when the waters of Mara proved so bitter? In the history of God's people through the wilderness, you remember God provided a remedy. That tree that was cut down, when it was put into the waters, the waters were healed, and the bitterness was removed. And you know, dear friend, tonight, whether you face it or whether you like it, there is nothing as bitter as sin. And with all its bitterness, thank God, God has provided a remedy. And that remedy is in the person of the Lord Jesus that suffered and bled and died upon the tree. And if you were to come to Calvary tonight as a lost sinner and accept the remedy provided in the uplifted Christ, you would find it absolutely effective and gloriously blessed in your soul. Remember the other evening we spoke again of Israel at another station in their life in the wilderness, and they had sinned. And the poison of the serpents were in their very being. And many were dying because of the serpent's bite. And you know, dear friend, God provided a remedy. It was a simple remedy. It was an all glo- It was a simple remedy. It was an all glorious remedy. For it was lifted for all to see, and it was so pictorial and so explicit that it becomes an illustration used by the blessed Savior to tell a man one evening of the remedy that God has provided in the uplifted Son of Man upon the cross. As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up. And you know, dear friend, in the dreadfulness of sin, with all its consequences, God has provided a remedy in his beloved Son, that if you look to Christ tonight, you will be made whole. On occasion in the Bible, there were men gathered round a seething pot, and they were making what we would call in our own language stew, something of that nature, and inadvertently something very poisonous was put into the pot, and it was discovered, and it was called out to those sitting round about to absorb from that, from that boiling, uh, from that boiling pot. They were about to absorb, and it said, there's death in the pot. Oh, dear friend, if only you knew. If only you could feel tonight, as our brother reminded you, of the consequences of your sin. There's death in the pot, and you know, as you partake even of the casual pleasures of sin, remember the Bible calls them pleasures of sin, and they only last for a season because there's death in the pot. And you could night, you tonight, dear friend, must face the reality of life, which is death. Thank God there was a remedy. Thank God there was a remedy. And we can go right through the word of God, and I think of a passage that's so applicable, I would love to read it to you tonight. Tells me about frightened patients. Ever see patients frightened? We heard about them already. And did you ever, did you ever hear of a false prescription? I remember one time in Malaysia, not far from Malacca, where Roland and I lived for many years. Out there in Asahan, there was a, a medical center, and a young Indian friend was responsible for administering and compounding the, uh, prescriptions that were advanced over the table, over the counter. And inadvertently, friend, he took the wrong bottle and administered a false prescription, and that dear individual died. You know, tonight, dear friend, I have to tell you, if you are trusting on anyone, on anything outside the person of the Lord Jesus, it's a false prescription. And you will someday suffer the awful consequences of accepting what is false. It may bring momentary alleviation. I'm thinking of Jeremiah ah eight as I stand before you now, and lest you, you think I'm compounding it. And these are the words. They have healed the heart of my do- of the daughter of my people slightly. Slightly. You see, the devil is able to give you enough that will deaden your conscience. That will enable you to sleep at night without thinking about eternity. And he heals your heart slightly. Slightly. And you know, friend, that's a tragic situation. Are you in the meeting tonight and you have no concern about eternity? And you have no thought about God? And you have no serious concern about your precious soul? What's happening? You have peace. But it's only a temporary peace. It's like what Jeremiah is speaking about in this great eighth chapter. It's a false prescription. And some have to take the pint. And some have to take the pin. And it heals the hurt slightly. But listen to Jeremiah. He said, is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there? Oh, there was, friend. There was plenty of balm in Gilead. That's where it was all found. And there were physicians in Gilead. That's where they all lived. Then he said, why is the hurt of my daughter, the daughter of my people, why is it not healed? Simply because, friend, they refused the remedy. Not that there wasn't a remedy provided. I have given you four illustrations from God's word, and I've given you them from the scriptures so you can read them yourself, to show that whatever aspect of sin you may consider, in detail or in total, God provides a remedy. And tonight, friend, that remedy is in his son. That remedy is in the work of Calvary that you've heard about tonight. There is a remedy. Thank God for the remedy, the ransom, the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. But there's something else. It says, shall suddenly be destroyed. Those are solemn words, friend. That shows there is a retribution. A retribution. The fearsomeness of which I could scarcely unfold. Shall suddenly be destroyed. You know, dear friend, I can come to my Bible, and it's been mentioned several nights. The Lord Jesus said it, and he brought people like you, and he brought people like me to face a very, very solemn and yet a very sudden situation. And he is able to describe it, for he knew it perfectly, and he knows it perfectly. And he said, speaking of those people that mocked the preacher Noah and made light of the patience of God and refused the provision that God made. You're listening, friend. They knew not until the flood came and took them all away. Suddenly destroyed. A few years ago, I was in Belfast, my native city. A sight filled my eye one afternoon that I never wished to have repeated in all my day. There was great pomp and glory. All the heads of the forces were present. Detachments of the various forces as well. The coffin wrapped in the Union Jack, all the regalia of men swirling round the procession, tremendous crowds. Friend, I had my eye on a brother I knew very well. No language of mine could describe that man's condition as he approached that building that afternoon. Why his distress? His son came to get married. The day came when that marriage took place, and we remember it well because the auntie of this dear man, young man, one of our greatest friends and who and her husband. They had come all the way from the south of England to be at the wedding. And at the reception dinner, the father of this young man that I'm telling you about tonight, friend, had something to say. Maybe not the most appropriate time or place to use a verse. But you know what he said to his son at the wedding reception? He says, son, he that being often reproved hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy. And of course, the son didn't like it. And he reprimanded his father for using such a verse. And he said to his father with all the pride of his young heart, he says, Father, time enough yet. Three weeks from that very dinner, that young man's body's been carried into the building that I'm talking about now. Fever. He was driving or riding in a car, just a short distance from where Margaret lived, used to live, right here. My brother Sam showed me the very place. The IRA put a bomb across the road, and as they saw the car coming, they released. And that young man was in eternity, three weeks after Father said, suddenly destroyed. I mean it. That's why that man was broken that day. That's why I don't want to see a face like that in my life again. I tried to comfort Willie Hamilton, or Hugh Hamilton. And no words of mine could do it. All that that dear man said to me that day as I put my arms around him and tied him, suddenly destroyed. Prayed for? Yeah. Pleaded with? Yeah. Preached to? Yeah. Warned? How could a father be so faithful? Surely, friend, you g- must do business tonight with God. Listen to the words again, he that being often reproved hardeneth his neck. Now, there can only be one of two attitudes tonight in this meeting. Either, friend, you're anxious to trust Christ before the meeting's ended, or you're hardening your neck. You're resisting the voice of the Spirit of God. Either one or the other. There can be no in between, dear friend. Either you accept the Lord Jesus Christ gladly, personally, with all the reality of a convicted soul in the gospel meeting tonight, or else you resist. Chapter twenty one speaks of a hardened face. Chapter twenty eight speaks of a hardened heart. Chapter twenty nine verse one speaks of a hardened neck. And you know, friend, this is serious. If you resist, and you continue to resist. It's very possible that when the time comes when you might even think of something different, it may be impossible. It may be impossible to change. I don't want you to say in the gospel meeting tonight what many have said, I'll be saved when I like. Friend, God never leaves that within your power. God says today is the day of salvation, and this is God's moment for you tonight. Don't you sit in the meeting and resist the gospel by saying, some other day, some other moment. Well, friend, that may never come. And if you resist, harden your neck, harden your heart, harden your face. Remember, the Bible says today, if you will hear his voice, harden not your heart. You remember in the Bible we have a man called Pharaoh. And you know, dear friend, that that man received the messengers of God and their message, and he adopted an attitude in which he resisted and continued to resist. And then the moment came when he told the servant of God, don't let me see your face again. Now, you might say that to the preacher, and I'll graciously include my brother. And that really, friend, would hurt us, but it doesn't really matter how you resist or how you respond to us. But listen, friend, you're dealing with God tonight. And the moment came when he told Moses, the next time that I see your face, you'll die. Well, you know, friend, he did see Moses' face again. And Moses didn't die. As a matter of fact, Pharaoh had something to ask. Among many things, he asked for a blessing the next time he met Moses. But it was too late. It was too late. Moses had no blessing for him. You know, there are people in India, and they take a vow to raise their hand and keep it up for a period of time. And so strong is their vow that if you offered them a diamond, they wouldn't even bring it down to take it. They feel so devoted in their vow, they keep their arm up. And when the vow's finished, they decide, well, it's time to bring it down, and they find they can't. It's love. My dear friend, tonight I want you to think of that. If you harden your heart and resist the gospel and refuse the Lord Jesus, and your heart's hardened and your neck is hardened, that is, you're resisting the gospel. Well be, friend, that when you decide to trust Christ, you'll not be able. There is a resistance, and then there is a reproof. He that being often reproved. How many times have you heard the gospel? How many times, friend, has God spoken to you in his word through events, through circumstances that have caused you to realize this is not just a human voice, this is the voice of God to my soul. It could be described in these words, often reproof. The final thought is this, friend, there is a removal, and that without remedy. That's why I mentioned Pharaoh. Pharaoh said, who is the Lord that I should obey him? Pharaoh resisted the overture of God to his heart. And friend, he was removed. He was removed. I read of a young man called Absalom that resisted, that rebelled, that refused the overtures that were made to him in the moments of his great and grievous rebellion. But then he was removed without remedy. There was a praying father. There was a pleading king. There were words spoken to deal gently with the lie. But friend, he was removed without remedy. And can it be, friend, that some in the meeting know the way of salvation and know that there has been a glorious remedy provided in the person and work of the Lord Jesus. And you mock the messengers of God. And as the word says, you despise his words. Until the wrath of the Lord arises against you. And it says, till there is no remedy. My dear friend, why not bow tonight in simple faith and just put your weary arms of rebellion down and repent of your sin and bow at the feet of one that loves you and died that you might be saved. And go out tonight, safe and secure in the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, lest he take thee away with a stroke, and the great ransom, ransom cannot deliver thee. Shall we pray? Our God and our Father, we bow before thee tonight with thy solemn words upon our hearts. We thank thee for the great redeemer. How blessed to be able to list that word tonight and lay our heads on our pillows, if such be the opportunity, and quietly rest in that glorious word, Redeem. But Lord, there are many in our meeting tonight, and they're not saved, and they're not ready, and they're resisting the strivings of the Spirit of God. We pray, Lord, that thy mercy will be manifested. Thou wilt keep breath in their body until they trust the Lord Jesus. We claim thy promise. We ask thee to hear our cry and use thy word to the conviction of souls so precious that Christ may be glorified. We ask in his worthy name. Amen.