Wisdom, Righteousness, and God's Grace
Ecclesiastes: Wisdom for the Weary • Sermon • Submitted
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Intro
Intro
- Illustration- Sisyphus- Punished by Zeus and is forced to roll a large boulder up a hill for all eternity. Every time he nears the top of the hill, the boulder rolls to the bottom.
o It is often used as an illustration of futility, something Solomon talks a lot about
o Obviously this is an unlikely scenario, so lets modernize it so we all can relate a little bit more- it’s like trying to keep your car clean when you have kids
- This is a theme we keep returning to in this book- the futility of life apart from God
o In one breath it seems like Solomon is encouraging us to pursue things like wisdom, or pleasure, or even righteousness, and in the next breath he says that ultimately, they are all meaningless- how do we make sense of this?
- We can get lost in our pursuit of things that will satisfy us, even good things.
- It is crucial that we understand how we, as people in general and specifically as Christians, relate to things like the pursuit of wisdom and righteousness
o We would all admit that these are noble pursuits, but only when we truly understand who we are and what God has done for us.
o It’s my goal for us this morning to connect some of those dots, do make sense of some of the doom and gloom we see here in Ecclesiastes, and to point us to the truth of the Gospel so that we leave here with a deeper understanding of and appreciation for God’s transformational grace in our lives
- Read Ecc. 7:13-29
Wisdom strengthens and guides, but it cannot satisfy
Wisdom strengthens and guides, but it cannot satisfy
A. Wisdom brings order to our otherwise broken world (19)
1. It shows the superiority of wisdom over military strength
2. We live in a sinful world, it doesn’t take much digging to see that
a. Corrupt politicians and rulers, wicked people in society, crime, destruction…
b. Some try to maintain control by sheer force, by making others bend to their will (look at the example of Putin in Russia and many others in the world in history)
c. But wisdom is much more valuable than brute strength when it comes to leadership
3. Wherever God has placed you as a leader, lead with wisdom, God’s wisdom
B. Wisdom guides us on the right path (v.25)
1. It reveals two things- Wickedness is stupidity and folly is madness
a. There are two ways to learn this- through experience and through wisdom that has been passed down to us
2. Folly will trap us (26)
a. Recklessness, foolhardiness- if we live this way there will be consequences
b. But obedience to God, following the wisdom that he has laid out for us, will guard us from falling into sin's snares
3. We can’t know everything, but God HAS revealed many things to us in his word- they are there for all to see
a. When we follow the way he has called us to live, we will save ourselves a lot of pain and heartache in this life
b. Illustration- know it all- sometimes you need to admit that you don't know it all and rely on someone who does
- But for all the benefit it brings in this life…
C. The pursuit of wisdom will leave us coming up short (23-24)
1. With my finite mind I cannot grasp all that there is to know- I can’t make sense of things
2. If I spend my life trying to gain wisdom, I will never find satisfaction
3. The more I learn, the more I will realize it is out of my reach. Who can know it?
a. school illustration- just shows us how much we don’t know
- Transition- so while wisdom most assuredly benefits our lives, in the end it only leaves us more aware of our inadequacy and the futility of this life
o So let us turn to righteousness. Surely righteousness is a noble pursuit that leads to satisfaction!
Righteousness shows us the way, but is ultimately unattainable
Righteousness shows us the way, but is ultimately unattainable
A. There is no set prosperity formula in life (15)
1. In a world full of anecdotal stories where wrong actions bring negative consequences, we have conditioned ourselves to think, "Righteous living brings prosperity. Wickedness brings destruction."
a. We teach it to our kids. It motivates us to do right. It’s the "I told you so" we say to those around us. And It's just fair! It makes sense! In fact, we have even gone so far to place this expectation of "fairness" on God.
b. But what happens when this theory falls apart right in front of us? In our own lives. In the lives of those close to us.
c. It is obvious that this is not true, but we still want to believe it- prosperity gospel
2. When we pursue God, we will have times of prosperity and times of adversity- v. 14
a. But there is a time for all things, and we must realize that God is sovereign over all circumstances in our lives
3. So, my pursuit of righteousness cannot be motivated by a desire for prosperity
a. 16- Don't be excessively righteous- like the pharisees- seeking prosperity and favor with God through strict observation of religious and moral principles
b. We must guard against this because this isn’t the way the world works!
B. We pursue righteousness, right living, living according to God’s standards, not my own, because it is right! Profound, I know.
1. We do it to please God- to bring a smile to his face
2. If this is our motivation rather than prosperity, then I’m going to pursue righteousness even when no one is watching, even when it seems like it will cause more hardship in my life, even when it hurts my bank account, even when it alienates people from me
3. You see, in this world where truth and what is right is undefined, we need a church that is committed to righteousness- to doing what is right- because despite what the world tells us, we CAN know what is right and moral and good, because God defines it.
4. We need Christians with a backbone that care more about truth than their comfortable way of living
5. Pursuing righteousness will bring with it adversity. We should not abandon what we know is true when things get difficult, otherwise we expose the shallowness of our faith
- All this talk about righteousness, but our passage reminds us of a sober reality
C. There is not one righteous person in this world (20)
1. As hard as we try, as many good things as we do, we are still sinners
2. God’s standard is complete righteousness, and we fall far short
3. Illustration- Landon with a few cents wanting to buy a new toy
- Transition- So we've established that true wisdom is beyond us, who can discover it? And that although man was created righteous, we chose to pursue our own way (29), and as a result "There is none righteous, no not one"
o So what's the point? Why try to live wisely and pursue what is right if those two paths will never lead us to true satisfaction and a right relationship with God?
o Why at the end of v. 18 does Solomon say- For the one who fears God will end up with both of them. (righteousness and wisdom)
God’s grace, through the person of Jesus, offers us both wisdom and righteousness
God’s grace, through the person of Jesus, offers us both wisdom and righteousness
A. Wisdom is a gift of God’s grace
1. 1 Cor. 2:10-16 Now God has revealed these things to us by the Spirit, since the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. 11 For who knows a person’s thoughts except his spirit within him? In the same way, no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. 12 Now we have not received the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who comes from God, so that we may understand what has been freely given to us by God. 13 We also speak these things, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual things to spiritual people. 14 But the person without the Spirit does not receive what comes from God’s Spirit, because it is foolishness to him; he is not able to understand it since it is evaluated spiritually. 15 The spiritual person, however, can evaluate everything, and yet he himself cannot be evaluated by anyone. 16 For who has known the Lord’s mind, that he may instruct him?,But we have the mind of Christ.
B. Righteousness is a gift of God’s grace
1. 2 Cor. 5:21- He made the one who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
2. Rom. 4:5- But to the one who does not work, but believes on him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited for righteousness.
3. Rom. 5:17- If by the one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive the overflow of grace and the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ.
4. Phil. 3:9- and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own from the law, but one that is through faith in Christ—the righteousness from God based on faith.
5. 1 Cor. 1:30-31 It is from him that you are in Christ Jesus, who became wisdom from God for us—our righteousness, sanctification, and redemption 31 —in order that, as it is written: Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.,
Conclusion
Conclusion
- You see, on our own, the pursuit of wisdom and righteousness comes up short, it ends in failure, it cannot satisfy. But because of God's amazing gift of grace through the sacrifice of his son Jesus, we can know wisdom and be declared righteous before God- not because we are wise or good, but because He is.
- And church, we must understand how truly undeserving we are of these great gifts.
- If you are not blown away by what God has done for you, then perhaps you do not have a right understanding of what has taken place
- We were dead in our sins with no hope of salvation. Even the pursuit of good things like wisdom and righteousness only served to expose our sinfulness and infinite chasm that lay between us and God
o But God, in his mercy and grace poured out his love on us, while we were still lost in our sin, actively rebelling against him, and sent his son to die for us, because he knew that was the only way
o And in his death and resurrection, Christ’s righteousness was imputed, accredited, to our account. Our filthy rags were exchanged for his righteous robes, and if we have placed our faith in Jesus, God now sees us as wholly righteous
o And it doesn’t stop there- God has given us the Spirit to live in us and to reveal truth so that we can know the wisdom of God instead of being lost in the darkness of this world
- It is my prayer that you know this grace, that you have experienced this salvation- it is only through faith in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross