Proverbs 17 Select Verses NASB1995

4 An evildoer listens to wicked lips;
A liar pays attention to a destructive tongue.
10 A rebuke goes deeper into one who has understanding
Than a hundred blows into a fool.
11 A rebellious man seeks only evil,
So a cruel messenger will be sent against him.
13 He who returns evil for good,
Evil will not depart from his house.
15 He who justifies the wicked and he who condemns the righteous,
Both of them alike are an abomination to the Lord.
20 He who has a crooked mind finds no good,
And he who is perverted in his language falls into evil.
23 A wicked man receives a bribe from the bosom
To pervert the ways of justice.

There are many people today who are in positions of influence who profess faith in Jesus Christ with their lips, but whose hearts are far from God. For they are the wicked, the adulterous, the idolatrous, the liars, the thieves, the murderers, the evildoers, the foolish, the rebellious, and those who return evil for good. They are also some people, such as pastors, elders, deacons, missionaries, and evangelists, who are people of enormous influence who justify the wicked and the evildoers, and who condemn the righteous who are living according to the will of God. For they teach lies to the people.

They sit in positions of authority and rule and influence, portending to be of God and to speak the words of God to the people, but while they speak lies, instead. For they purposefully and willfully teach the Scriptures out of context to make them say what they do not say if taught in the appropriate context. And the purpose is to deceive and to lead people to follow after the lies and not the truth. Some of them may do so out of ignorance, but when confronted with the truth will refuse the truth and will embrace the lies. So that is not a sign of people who are seekers of truth and righteousness.

There are also people in positions of rule and authority within human governments who profess faith in Jesus Christ but who are teaching lies to the people. And the lies are not just about what the Bible teaches, but they lie about who they are and what they are doing or not doing. And they have tremendous followings of people who are fooled by them. Yet they are evildoers disguising themselves as servants of God but whose goal it is to deceive and to mislead and to turn people away from the truth of God’s word to follow after the lies, instead. For they are “wolves in sheep’s clothing.”

And many people who profess faith in Jesus Christ are following after these liars and deceivers because they prefer the lies over the truth, or because they have been fooled by them. Yet many people who follow these liars are not willing to test these spirits to see if they are truly of God, or not. And so they hold on tight to their idols, expecting their idols to deliver as they said they would, not realizing that they have been duped by master manipulators whose goal it is to steal, to kill, and to destroy, and not to save. So don’t let yourselves be duped by them. Test the spirits to see who is of God or not.

For Jesus Christ taught that to come to him we must deny self, take up our cross daily (die daily to sin), and follow (obey) him. For if we hold on to living in sin and for self, we will lose our lives for eternity. But if we deny self, die daily to sin, by the Spirit, and we walk in obedience to our Lord and to his commands, in his power, then we have eternal life with God. For not everyone who calls him “Lord” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one DOING (obeying) the will of God (see Luke 9:23-26; Matthew 7:21-23).

We are no longer to permit sin to reign in our mortal bodies to make us obey its desires. For if sin is what we obey, it results in death. But if obedience to God is what we obey, it results in sanctification, and its end is eternal life with God (see Romans 6:1-23). For God’s grace, which is bringing us salvation, is training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives while we wait for Jesus’ return (see Titus 2:11-14). So, deny self, die to sin, and obey God always.

[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; Galatians 5:16-24; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32; Ephesians 5:3-6; Titus 2:11-14; 1 John 1:1-10; 1 John 2:1-6; 1 John 3:4-10; Acts 26:18]

Seven Woes

Based off Matthew 23
An Original Work / May 31, 2012
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

Woe to you, teachers of the law;
Hypocrites, you keep men from God.
You refuse to obey the truth,
Nor will you permit others to.
You travel o’er land and sea
To win a single convert to you.
When he becomes one
You make him twice as much
A “son of hell” as you are.

Woe to you, blind guides of mankind.
You distort the words of your God.
By your practices you declare
Your oaths mean nothing, though you swear.
You give a tenth of your spices,
But you neglect justice, mercy.
When you focus your
Time and talents on
What is external, you miss out.

Woe to you, who appear so clean,
When inside you are crass and mean.
You work hard to look so upright,
While you hide all your sins inside.
You deceive yourselves when you think
You would not have done what others
Did to God’s messengers
And prophets of old,
For you will do much the same.
You’re to blame.

They Who Justify The Wicked
An Original Work / February 20, 2026
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love