Be a Good Boy

(Proverbs 12:2 KJV)  A good man obtaineth favour of the LORD: but a man of wicked devices will he condemn.

This is a place where we need to set aside all the sermons we have heard on being unworthy and being totally depraved.  Those are true statements if your theology is sound and complete but they seem to go against this simple statement.

If God’s blessing has nothing to do with how we live, what is Solomon talking about?  It could be, if you want to twist it a bit, that he is talking about those who are already saved, decide to live like they are saved and God smiles on them.  It could be, but it doesn’t really fit the rest of the verse.

Think about some New Testament examples.  Zacharias and Elizabeth were to become the parents of John the Baptist.  The Bible says this about them.

(Luke 1:6 KJV)  And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless.

Jesus had not been born yet.  The cross was still in the future.  The Holy Spirit had not come, yet they were labeled as righteous and blameless.

Or take Mary, the mother of Jesus.

(Luke 1:28 KJV)  And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.

So?  The Holy Spirit is at work in the lives of everyone.  He is leading and nudging.  If you have not taken the step of faith, at least listen to that voice.  It won’t get you to heaven.  That requires a faith in Jesus, but it might bring some blessings.