Disappointed, just a dusting of snow ⛄ Abominable...

Proverbs 29:27

An unjust man is abominable to the righteous, and he who is upright in the way is abominable to the wicked.

It is easy to see that the godly and the ungodly take very different paths.

But what we often do not see is not only are these paths different, they are also disgusting to each other.

The word that is used in today's proverb describing the view that they have of each other is "abominable."

In Hebrew the word used means something that’s offensive or what is an abomination to someone else. The word is also used to describe those who depart from His Law and is used for more heinous sins, like idolatry, child sacrifice.

What God is saying to us is that there is a radical and serious difference between those who desire to live godly and those who do not.

Now the first thing I want to point out is that the life of the upright can never be lived out by our own effort or striving.

Righteousness and upright living are attained by grace, not by our works.

God MAKES us upright by an act of His mercy and grace.

That comes through the gospel and only through the gospel.

That is how God addressed sin, that Jesus is the only way, truth, and life and the only way to the Father is through the Son. But the world finds this exceedingly offensive and narrow minded.

And second, is that as we live and walk in obedience, God is working within us.

We are called to obedience and we seek the Lord’s power to enable us walk in His obedience.

As Philippians 2:13, tells us, for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.

You see, living a godly life involves tension in our lives. We are to do it and He is to do it within us.

We cannot think we do it on our own and we cannot think that He will do it for us without our cooperation.

But the wicked find this whole scenario ridiculous and as our verse says: an abomination.

To them it is ridiculous because if they do believe in a god, it is a god that agrees with them.

The word "wicked" in our verse, means to be guilty, a wrong-doer or a transgressor.

The reason the wicked hate the upright, and find their way abominable is because they do not want anyone telling them they are wrong. If they’re wrong then they’d have to change.

There will always be a radical distinction between the righteous and the wicked. There will also be a hostility to the way the godly & the ungodly choose to live.

And that is the wisdom that God is seeking to impart to us through today's proverb.

And why it is ridiculous for Christians to try to make the gospel inoffensive.

Yes, we can be gracious and kind in how we communicate the gospel, but to make it inoffensive to the wicked is impossible. and honestly, it’s nothing more than a fool’s pursuit.

There will always be the offense of the cross of Christ.

There will always be the offense of God asserting that He is God and that He is absolutely and always right.

We would be wise to simply live godly before the lost.

Loving them from our heart and doing all that we can to share the message of the gospel with them.

Not because we think we are superior, but we do it because we've received grace and desire for them to receive it as well. 

To be made righteous by grace.

All to the glory of God!