D. Scott Meadows

An Exposition of Proverbs 22.3

Introducing Hell

While denouncing some religious hypocrites, Jesus once asked them point blank, “Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?” (Matt 23.33). A paraphrase goes like this. “You snakes and children of snakes! How do you expect to escape from being condemned to hell?” Isn’t that the most important and practical question for us all?

Sinner that you are, do you know how to escape hell? Many think they do but they could not be more wrong. Scripture says, “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death” (Prov 14.12). Some don’t believe in hell and think that makes them safe. As it is said, “denial ain’t just a river in Egypt.” Some think their own supposed goodness is their “hell insurance,” but no amount of good we can do will wipe away our sins and guilt before God. Countless other people are counting on their momentary decision to accept Jesus as their personal Savior, as if that were enough, when Jesus says that many will call Him “Lord, Lord,” and then go to hell anyway. Some think that as long as they are Roman Catholic, or Baptist, or Presbyterian, or identify with some other Christian denomination, or perhaps boast in being “nondenominational,” that they are in the clear. None of these groups officially say such a thing, much less Scripture. You can be baptized, catechized, confirmed, and even ordained to the gospel ministry as a pastor, and still perish after all! Even if there were seven sacraments, they would not be enough to save you.

No one wants to go to hell, at least not anyone who realizes hell is real and utterly horrifying. The Bible insists on the reality of hell. It says that on Judgment Day, God will take revenge in flaming fire on those who do not know Him, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. It says that these people shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power, when He comes in that Day (2 Thess 1.8–10). You can believe the Bible and in hell, or sadly, you can disbelieve both. But if you truly look to God’s Word for your religious beliefs and trust what it says, you will most certainly affirm the terrors of hell.

No one speaks more soberly or plainly about hell than our Lord Jesus Christ. He says far less about heaven. He urges His disciples to fear God more than human beings because they can only kill the body and not the soul. But, Jesus says, God is “able to destroy both soul and body in hell” (Matt 10.28). Warning about the sin of sexual lust, Jesus says, “and if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell” (Matt 5.29). Beloved, He says what He says, and there is no getting around it.

Surveys show that most people believe in some kind of hell in the afterlife, but they commonly imagine it is reserved only for a few especially bad people like Hitler, and not them. My dear friends, to say that is to argue with Jesus Christ! We all deserve to go to hell on account of our sins. If you disagree, it only proves your pride and exposes your wicked unbelief. We all have lusted, and loathed, and lied—all things that God strictly forbids. Scripture says that “all liars shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death” (Rev 21.8). Jesus says that the great majority of people are going to hell, not heaven. Let me quote Him again. “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it” (Matt 7.13, 14). Many are going to destruction! Few find the way of life! We know this because Jesus says so. I am not giving you my opinion, or the questionable teaching of some denomination. This is the unvarnished truth right from the lips of Jesus, the same Lord who will judge each of us on Judgment Day, like it or not.

But I have good news! Jesus says that some few people actually do find the way that leads to life. By the grace of God, they come through the narrow gate, persist in the difficult way, and are blessed at last. I want to explain in very plain language how to escape the hell you deserve for your sins. There is only one way, an unpopular way, but, thank God, there is a way!

Initial Observations of Proverbs 22.3

This week I came across a golden text in the Old Testament book of Proverbs. It contrasts one person who escapes hell with others who don’t. The rest of this sermon will open up this verse with its implications. Proverbs 22.3 says,

A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself:
But the simple pass on, and are punished.

Notice this inspired proverb has two lines, parallel in thought, with three elements each. They set up an obvious contrast. In both lines, the three elements hold together and cannot be mixed up. A certain kind of person thinks and acts in a certain way and enjoys or suffers consequences that are the direct result of the kind of person he is and what he has done or failed to do. “A prudent man” is the opposite kind of person from “the simple” ones. “Foreseeing the evil and hiding himself” is the opposite of “passing on.” Not suffering the misery of being punished, implied in line one, is the opposite of being “punished” in line two. This proverb is forceful because it states the correlation so clearly and forthrightly, and because it places the only two possibilities beside one another in stark contrast.

We can easily see that this proverb is a truism, something that most people understand and apply in many mundane ways. You look both ways before you cross the street so you won’t get hit by a car. You lock your doors at night to keep out intruders. You buy life insurance to provide for your loved ones in the event of your death. You know for sure that you can’t wait until the car runs over you to look both ways, until the burglar is in your bedroom to lock the doors, and until you die to get some insurance. You must have some foresight about bad things that just might happen, and then take adequate precautions beforehand.

I’m sure we all understand and agree with this principle when it comes to everyday matters like these. And some of us are more prudent than others, carrying out reasonable plans, and saving ourselves much trouble, while others take a chance, make excuses, and enjoy being carefree for those fleeting moments before disaster finally strikes. Which kind of person are you —prudent, or simple-minded? I hope you are prudent, but Proverbs 22.3 is not mainly about earthly things. The truth illustrated in the less important things of this life has a vastly more important counterpart in the eternal and spiritual realm.

Spiritual Reflections on Proverbs 22.3

When it comes to the deep, spiritual implications of this proverb, we all tend to get stupid. We suppress thoughts of death and Judgment Day. We’re tempted to doubt that hell even exists. We act like right now does not count forever. We hope that God grades on a curve, we’ll be in the upper half of humanity, and that will be good enough for Him, surely. I want to help us all get more serious about being adequately prepared to meet the Lord.

Let’s reflect together on the implications of this particular verse in the light of the overall biblical teaching on salvation. Listen to the text again with very focused attention.

A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself:
But the simple pass on, and are punished.

We have three pairs of things in these two parallel lines. To make them easier to remember, I am calling them two characters, two courses, and two consequences. I will take them up in that order.

1. Two Characters: Prudent and Simple

This holy proverb praises prudence, foresight, and planning accordingly as excellent qualities and shrewd actions associated with being blessed in some way in the future. The “prudent” person is one who is smart, sensible, and has sound judgment in decision making (LBSL), especially in moral and spiritual matters. The term is related to the very positive virtue of wisdom, so highly praised in Scripture. It is teaching us to be spiritually wise with assurance of a blessed future.

On the other hand, in the real world, many people are not like that. The masses are either blissfully unaware of danger or choose to ignore it. This proverb says that they will suffer the awful consequences in the end. When they are completely ruined, it will become very obvious to everyone that they were not “prudent,” but rather, “simple” people. To be called “simple” here is humiliating. The original Hebrew refers to those lacking intelligence or common sense (LBSL), who are naive like young and inexperienced people (BYBHV), even silly, those who are easily persuaded and led astray (GHCLOT). They have not developed a discriminating judgment as to what is right or wrong (TWOT), and so they are bound to suffer for it.

What does the whole Bible teach us to think about these two kinds of people, the prudent and the simple? For one thing, you certainly are one or the other. I will admit that even the most wise have too much remaining folly, and the most foolish may seem wise once in a while, but fundamentally, God views each of us as either wise or foolish, in one category or the other. This is just another way of distinguishing the righteous from the wicked, the saved from the lost, and the true Christian from all others, religious or not. We all start out as lost sinners, and some of us are changed by God’s grace into Christian believers. I do not know for sure which you are, but I do know for sure that you are one or the other, and so am I. You are spiritually prudent by the grace of God, or you have never been converted to Jesus Christ and remain spiritually simple-minded, senseless, and gullible. The sooner you come to grips with this, the sooner you might be recovered.

Now consider the contrast of two mutually-exclusive courses taken by the prudent and the simple.

2. Two Courses: Hiding and Passing On

“A prudent man foreseeth the evil [or trouble], and hideth himself.” A prudent man senses the danger he faces. He anticipates the catastrophe that will come upon him if he does nothing to avert it. And he takes effective action to “hide himself” from the impending disaster, and so escapes it. To hide oneself is a biblical idiom for precautionary measures that work. To use an illustration from London during World War II, it is like sheltering in an underground bunker before the German bombing starts because you do not want to be blown to bits, and staying there until it is safe to come out again.

So this verse, with the rest of the Bible’s teaching, is encouraging us to believe that there is something we can do now, in this life, that will make the greatest difference for us in the next. We can believe God’s warning and foresee the eternal death due to us on account of our sins and guilt. We can take seriously the dreadful sentence that will be pronounced by Christ against millions and millions of wretched human beings on that Last Day, and upon us if we are not careful. And when this horrible destiny is deeply impressed on our souls, we can get into the spiritual shelter God provides for sinners like us. By faith, we can hide ourselves from hell in God’s way and finally experience the full blessing of eternal life.

The fools in this verse, here called the “simple” ones, do not hide themselves. They ignore the big sign with flashing lights that says, “Bridge Out,” and just keep on driving until they plunge into the dark, cold river and drown. The proverb puts it this way: “the simple pass on,” or you could translate, “go on.” It is the opposite of seeing the danger in line one. These people do not appreciate how dangerous their situation is, they take no countermeasures, and they “walk straight into” the horrific consequences.

Do you know what the Bible teaches we have to do to go to hell when we die? Absolutely nothing. Just pass on, go on as you began in this world. If you simply continue the status quo of your daily existence, with no radical change of heart, no noticeable change in your way of life, and no serious commitment to the Lord Jesus Christ, you will certainly be tormented in hell forever. You would be one of those who had never been made a new creation in Christ and forgiven your sins. Hell is definitely where you’re going unless you truly repent and believe the gospel of Jesus Christ, sheltering in Him and His finished work upon the cross for sinners, and then, in gratitude for such grace, following the Savior you love with all your heart. You may have helped little old ladies across the street and volunteered for many worthy causes, but as long as you continue impenitent toward God and faithless toward our Lord Jesus Christ, then your case is absolutely hopeless.

Sinners who “pass on” include everyone who has never been afraid of hell or done anything about it, as well as everyone who attempts to escape hell in any other way than the gospel way that God prescribes in His Word, the Bible.

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