{"id":11571,"date":"2016-08-17T01:29:19","date_gmt":"2016-08-17T06:29:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/mental-and-moral-purposes\/"},"modified":"2016-08-17T01:29:19","modified_gmt":"2016-08-17T06:29:19","slug":"mental-and-moral-purposes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/mental-and-moral-purposes\/","title":{"rendered":"MENTAL AND MORAL PURPOSES"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=MsoNormal align=center style='margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt; text-align:center;line-height:normal'><b>PROVERBS 1:1\u20136<\/b><\/p>\n<p class=MsoNormal align=center style='margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt; text-align:center;line-height:normal'><i>Let the wise listen and add to their learning, and let the discerning get guidance<\/i><\/p>\n<p class=MsoNormal align=center style='margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt; text-align:center;line-height:normal'><i>(Proverbs 1:5)<\/i>.<\/p>\n<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent: 18.0pt;line-height:normal'>Do you actually read prologues or prefaces? They are usually where authors thank family or friends for their patience, or secretaries or editors for their help. Because of this, readers frequently jump right to the \u201creal content\u201d of a book. But an author often also uses the prologue to explain a book\u2019s purpose or origin, or to tell readers what to expect from it\u2014often giving exactly what we need to know in order to understand or properly use what we read.<\/p>\n<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent: 18.0pt;line-height:normal'>A few of the biblical authors explain why they wrote, not necessarily doing so at the beginning of the book (for example, Deuteronomy 30:15\u201320; Luke 1:1\u20134; John 20:30\u201331; 1 Peter 5:12; 1 John 5:13; Jude 3; Revelation 1:1).<\/p>\n<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent: 18.0pt;line-height:normal'>Solomon also helps us understand why he wrote his book by giving us the book\u2019s two main purposes in Proverbs 1:2\u20136. The first is an intellectual or <i>mental purpose<\/i> that we continually grow in our understanding of the Lord, life, and even of the proverbs themselves. This growth will be demonstrated by our knowledge and insight. The second is a <i>moral purpose,<\/i> that we become increasingly wise and able to apply the proverbs to our lives. This wisdom and ability to apply proverbs will be exhibited in our growing prudence, discretion, and righteousness.<\/p>\n<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent: 18.0pt;line-height:normal'>Neither purpose is short-term. We need to guard against becoming discouraged when we can\u2019t make sense of a particular proverb, or figure out how it applies to our situation. They are, after all, called \u201criddles\u201d (1:6). Nor is either purpose ever finally achieved, since even the wise will increase their learning as they continue to study this book (1:5).<\/p>\n<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent: 18.0pt;line-height:normal'>Because there is so much material, and because it is not organized logically or topically, it is often tempting to read the proverbs mechanically and without much thought (\u201ca chapter a day keeps folly away\u201d). But rather than skim them looking for a particular verse, or hoping for one to strike our fancy, we must study them systematically, seeking wisdom and understanding.<\/p>\n<p class=MsoNormal align=center style='margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;   text-align:center;line-height:normal'><b>CORAM DEO<\/b><\/p>\n<p class=MsoNormal align=center style='margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;   text-align:center;line-height:normal'>Jeremiah 5\u20136<\/p>\n<p class=MsoNormal align=center style='margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;   text-align:center;line-height:normal'>2 Thessalonians 3<\/p>\n<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:   18.0pt;line-height:normal'>The proverbs demand <i>study<\/i> if we are to   benefit from them as Solomon intended. We need to think about what a proverb   says about the world and our lives, how God would have us respond to the   situation that it describes, and then evaluate our response when we actually   face that circumstance. Apply this \u201cthink, respond, and evaluate\u201d model as   you study the Proverbs.<\/p>\n<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:   normal'><i>For   further study: Joshua 1:8 \u2022 Ezekiel 3:1\u20133 \u2022 2 Timothy 2:15; 3:16<\/i><\/p>\n<p class=MsoNormal align=center style='margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt; text-align:center;line-height:normal'>tuesday<\/p>\n<p class=MsoNormal align=center style='margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt; text-align:center;line-height:normal'>october<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>PROVERBS 1:1\u20136 Let the wise listen and add to their learning, and let the discerning get guidance (Proverbs 1:5). Do you actually read prologues or prefaces? They are usually where authors thank family or friends for their patience, or secretaries or editors for their help. Because of this, readers frequently jump right to the \u201creal &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/mental-and-moral-purposes\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;MENTAL AND MORAL PURPOSES&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11571","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sermons"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11571","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11571"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11571\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11571"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11571"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11571"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}