Words of Wisdom 2

EcclesiastesMarch 7 - May 23

Week nine

“words of wisdom

part ii”

Ecclesiastes 7: 15 - 29“words of wisdom part ii”

Statistics from “UnChristian”

Nearly 9/10 outsiders (87 %) said the term judgmental accurately describes present day Christianity.

More than half (53%) of young Christians between the ages of 16 to 29 said the label judgmental accurately describes Christianity


85% of people outside of the church surveyed concluded that present-day Christianity is hypocritical. 47% of young churchgoers believed that Christians are hypocrites. Any one who says one thing and seems do another is subjected to that label.


In this meaningless life of mine I have seen both of these: a righteous man perishing in his righteousness, and a wicked man living long in his wickedness.


16 Do not be overrighteous, either be overwise— why destroy yourself?

17 Do not be overwicked, and do not be a fool— why die before your time?


9To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable: 10"Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself:'God, I thank you that I am not like other men—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. 12I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.‘


13"But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, 'God, have mercy on me, a sinner.'14"I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God.For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."


18It is good to grasp the one and not let go of the other. The man who fears God will avoid all extremes.


19Wisdom makes one wise man more powerful than ten rulers in a city.


20There is not a righteous man on earth who does what is right and never sins.

21Do not pay attention to every word people say, or you may hear your servant cursing you-

22for you know in your heart that many times you yourself have cursed others.


23All this I tested by wisdom and I said, "I am determined to be wise"—but this was beyond me.

24Whatever wisdom may be, it is far off and most profound— who can discover it?


25So I turned my mind to understand, to investigate and to search out wisdom and the scheme of things and to understand the stupidity of wickedness and the madness of folly.

26I find more bitter than death the woman who is a snare, whose heart is a trap and whose hands are chains. The man who pleases God will escape her, but the sinner she will ensnare.


27"Look," says the Teacher, "this is what I have discovered: "Adding one thing to another to discover the scheme of things-

28while I was still searching but not finding— I found one upright man among a thousand, but not one upright woman among them all.

29This only have I found: God mademankind upright, but men have gone in search of many schemes."


17Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! 18All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.


20We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God. 21God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.


Spiritual

Words of Wisdom 2