There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.There is a way which seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, But the end thereof are the ways of death.
10 sermons cite this verse
… The my way highway is often precisely the wrong way. There is a way that seems right to a man. But its end is the way to death. There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death. it seemed right to the son of the prodigal to turn away from home it seemed right to dismiss his inheritance it just seemed right to ignore his father waste his father's assets on folly it seemed right and with us There's a new guy in your office. he asks you a lot of questions he really seems to admire and appreciate your opinion of course you've been there a while you know the company policies and even the company politics he just has a way of kind of drifting down to your cubicle and asking for your advice which feels good because that guy to whom you're married liquide. things have gotten a little dry, a little stale, a little dicey, a little icy. …
… that phrase. He walked into the night. You know, Judas's life could be summed up in that phrase, Proverbs 14, 12, there is a way that seems right to a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death. Now there's one other little vignette in this chapter. We won't really get into it because our time is up. But let me just paraphrase it because something else happened. Judas betrays Jesus. And he walks out. So Simon Peter, good old Simon Peter, thought this would be a great time to boast of his love for the Lord. And he said, you know what? Even if all deny you, I will never deny you. Like yeah, Judas, he's a loser. I always knew he was a loser. But you can count on me, Simon Peter, who by the way you nicknamed The Rock. And I am The Rock, Lord. And Jesus said, well Rock, let me tell you something. Before the roosters crowed twice, you will deny three times that you knew me. Oh, no way. They'll all deny you. I will never deny you. No, you'll do it, Peter. In fact, you won't do it once. You won't do it twice. You'll do it three times. Well, what happened? You know the rest of the story. We'll get to it later in John, but that's exactly what Peter did. So they both walked into the night. One betrayed Jesus. One denied Jesus. But here's where there's a difference. One came to his senses, Simon Peter, and wept …
… Number six, the way of Cain leads to eternal death rather than eternal life. Proverbs 14 verse 12 says, there is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death. You know, we naturally, ladies and gentlemen, rebel against this idea of exclusivity, that there's only one way to approach God. And I think one reason we naturally reject this is not only because of pride, but it's our feeling that somehow spiritual matters are less exacting than that which we can see with our own eyes. There's something about the invisible world of spirituality that is less exacting than the laws that govern the world that we can see around us. but if you ever make that conclusion you're in real danger because there are laws that govern the invisible invisible world just like there are laws that govern the visible world I was thinking about that truth yesterday afternoon as our airplane was making its approach through the rain and the thunderstorms into DFW airport I thought about the date of August the 2nd 1985, when another airliner, Delta Flight 191, was making its final approach onto runway 17 left at DFW Airport. As the captain looked at the end of the runway, he saw a little thunderstorm cloud at the end of the runway. At first he thought, well, I'll go around that and approach from the other direction. And then he thought to himself, why should I do that? I have hundreds of thousands …
… You might say, I made those two coins all myself. God gave you the ability to make those two coins. The Bible tells us in Proverbs 14 verse 12, there is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death. Jesus said that there's a way that leads to eternal life and few people find it, but broad and many people are on the way that leads to eternal destruction. And the disciples struggled with this. Jesus said it's easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. He didn't say it's impossible. he said it's easier to stuff a camel through a hole of a needle. Meaning it's difficult, it's hard because things attach onto us. We begin to care about them. Look, you know this is true. If you've ever had anything new, you protect it at all costs for about a week, a month. Have you noticed? Let's be honest. Did you get a new shirt and it's like, oh, it's so nice. I love it. I just love it. And then eventually you got spaghetti sauce on it and you like fluff it off. …
… he's got the wrong man in mind but it's true Bildad's right there is a way that seems right to the man but the end thereof are the ways of death you and I know people who do not know the Lord Jesus and we try every gracious way we know to present to them hope and reassurance and forgiveness and a reason to go on and we weave into it words regarding their coming to Christ and they blink and look at us and they say, no, we make it on our own. Well, that's what you get when you try to make it on your own. And the horror is it, this is the place of him who does not know God. But you see, Bildad has no right to say this to a fellow believer. Now let's notice Job's reply. Job heard his opening words, verse 2 of chapter 18. Look at Job's opening words. Verse 2 of chapter 19. How long will you torment me and crush me with words? …
… when you say the gate is small. But what you forget is that there is a way that seems right to a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death. Proverbs 14, 12, and don't you forget it. how many groups, discussion groups, there are all around our world that come together for the purpose of just discussing various ways. Now, nobody come to any conclusions. We're all just in a discussion together. That's the way it is in this class. That is not the way Jesus taught. at the risk of being overly simplistic, may I define the way and the gate? Turn from the gospel by Matthew to the one by John. Three books later in the New Testament, you'll find the gospel of John. Locate the 10th chapter, and I'll read for you one verse, different writer, different setting, same speaker, Jesus. John 10, verse 9. Don't miss the definite article. I am the door. Remember when you were in grade school, just learning to read? …
… It's the opinion of people that brought us to where we are today. Proverbs 14 says, there is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death. Isaiah 5 says, woe to those who are wise in their own eyes and prudent in their own sight. Colossians 2 says, beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit according to the tradition of men. According to basic principle of the world and not according to Christ. 1 Corinthians 1 says, because the foolishness of God is wiser than men and the weakness of God is stronger than men. Now, I want to bring it all back to the return of Jesus and of Israel. Two different things, but they are so tightly connected. Zechariah 12 says that He will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the spirit of grace and supplication. Jesus will come to a nation that still doesn't get it. And He will pour upon them the spirit of grace and supplication. …
… the Bible should always be the commentary on the Bible Proverbs 14 12 says there is a way that seems right to a man but its end is the way of death you know we can get out there and start doing the what we think is the right thing to do with the best intentions. And it's the way of death. I pray for our nation as you are praying. Have you forgotten we're at war? Hundreds of thousands of our young people are in harm's way. And we don't know how this is going to go. Now, right now, I would imagine I'd get pushback from people who are saying, that's ridiculous. We're the most strongest army on the face of the earth. That's the problem. we claim to believe in God, but if we trust in our own strength, the God who we claim to believe in, listen, if we do believe in him, will humble us. There's nothing wrong with having the greatest military might on the face of the earth, but if we go into military activity without God's blessing, it will end in demise. …
… but here's what he writes. He says, there is a way which seems right, looks right, feels right in the moment. There is a way that seems right to a man or to a woman or to a high school senior or to newlyweds or to, hey, this is how we think we should raise our children. There is a way that, There's always a way that seems right, that feels right, that makes perfect sense to us. And because it makes perfect sense to us, we choose it, we embrace it, we commit ourselves to it. And we've all done this, every single one of us. We didn't think of it in these terms, but we've all chosen a way. We've chosen a way to live. If you're dating, you've chosen a way to date. You have chosen a way to entertain yourself. You've chosen the schedule. You've chosen the way that you play. You've chosen the way you spend your money. You've chosen the way that you parent. …
… That scares me. There's a passage of scripture that's in Proverbs twice in two different places and it says, there is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death. That scares me. I don't want to be wrong, but I can handle being wrong if I know I'm wrong because I have the opportunity to be right. I can fix it if I know I'm wrong. But if I am wrong and I think it's right, I'm in trouble. Are you tracking with me? That scares me. So to the question, so what do I do to ensure that my heart is healthy? What disciplines do I employ to give myself the best shot of having a pure heart? First of all, I ask the Lord for it. David said in the word, create within me a clean heart. Renew a right spirit within me, which means that the key to a healthy heart begins with humility. Come on and talk to us a little bit. …