Proverbs 19:27
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Cease, my son, to hear the instruction that causeth to err from the words of knowledge.
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Stop listening to fools! Turn the television off! Get out of that false church! Cut off those foolish friends! End that hopeless relationship! Turn that radio station off! Get rid of those CDs! Don't listen to their jokes! Do not read those books and magazines! Don't listen to that preacher! Avoid those compromisers! Quit school! Ask for a job transfer!
Wisdom requires censorship and isolation. Free speech, as perverted by this generation, is from hell. Speech is only free as long as it agrees with God's infallible Word. Any other speech should be punished severely. David said, "I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes: I hate the work of them that turn aside; it shall not cleave to me. A froward heart shall depart from me: I will not know a wicked person" (Ps 101:3-4). Read Deut 13:6-18.
Consider freedom and liberty. God gave freedom of eating to Adam and Eve - they were free to eat of every tree of the Garden, except the one He forbad (Gen 2:16-17)! Of course, our sick society would say they had their rights to that tree as well! Satan is still alive and kicking before His eternal judgment! God gave liberty of marriage to His children - they are at liberty to marry whom they will, only in the Lord (I Cor 7:39)! So we see God has defined freedom and liberty as your choice within His revealed will!
Our evil generation believes that a proper education means being exposed to all the false ideas of pagan religions and perverse philosophers. What a waste of time and money! And what a dangerous experiment! What do we have to show for it? A bunch of highly educated people without the knowledge or understanding of a child! From evolution to abortion, divorce to sodomy, and animal protection to euthanasia, they have erred from the knowledge that every illiterate farmer had just 100 years ago. Let God be true!
"Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners" (I Cor 15:33), as Paul warned very soberly. Solomon taught, "He that walketh with wise men shall be wise: but a companion of fools shall be destroyed" (13:20). See the comments on 13:20 and 25:5. False instruction will eventually cause you to err from the words of knowledge. Discretion and prudence demand that you stay away from vain ideas and lies, to avoid the risk of having your true and correct understanding corrupted by foolish thinking.
There is no option for agreeing to disagree. These are the idiotic and lying words of compromisers. If God's word addressed a matter, every man is required to agree totally with Him and hate every different idea (Ps 119:113,128). If God has not addressed a matter, then it is purely personal preference; there is no need for any agreement. As soon as you detect a man is a fool, get away from that man, to the saving of your soul (14:7).
Our proverb does not forbid being corrupted by false instruction. Our proverb forbids even listening to false instruction. Consider the force of the prohibition! As Paul warned, it is self-deception to think you can listen to false ideas and not let them corrupt your manners. The issue at stake is refusing to even listen to erroneous instruction. It is not enough to say, I will not let television corrupt me. The LORD says to stop watching it!
A southern expression says, "Eat the chicken, and throw away the bones." But that is a dangerous game, and contrary to Scripture. You will easily be deceived into thinking some of the bones are chicken, and you will choke on them! It is much better to eat only pure filets of boneless chicken breast, cut carefully and only from the Word of God!
Fathers, note here the address of this proverb from Solomon to his son. It is your duty as a father to keep your son (and daughter) from instruction that causes him to err from the truth. Use whatever means you need - keep the instructional inputs in his life noble and true. And every young man should understand the sober necessity of this restriction.
How exclusive should saints be? John denied even wishing god speed to heretics (II John 1:10-11). Paul cursed any preaching different from his own, even if done by an angel (Gal 1:6-9). If any men could handle a few false ideas, it would be Christ's ministers; but Paul told Timothy to turn away and withdraw from them (I Tim 6:3-5,20; II Tim 3:5). Which is the very same advice he gave to all saints (Rom 16:17-18; II Thess 3:6).
How uncompromising should saints be? Moses required the death penalty for false prophets, even if they could do miracles (Deut 13:1-5)! Paul told the saints to hold apostolic tradition very secure, without wavering (II Thess 2:15). They are to measure all ideas by the Word of God, and reject anything that does not match perfectly (Is 8:20; I Thess 5:21; I John 4:1-6). For we are charged to earnestly contend for the faith once delivered to the saints (Jude 1:3). Pastors and teachers were given to keep the saints from being tossed to and fro with every wind of doctrine (Eph 4:14).
Wisdom and knowledge are precious commodities (4:7; 23:23), and erroneous instruction will corrupt and steal your assets. Get away from the thief and pervert, who steal truth and replace it with error. The manmade traditions of the Roman church are certainly in this category, and so are the grandly presented ecumenical instructions of Billy Graham, Bill Gothard, James Dobson, Bill McCartney, and other similar compromisers.
Jesus is the Good Shepherd, for He protects His sheep from the thieves and robbers that come to destroy them (John 10:1-18). He is the Way; He is the Truth; He is the Life (John 14:6). His whole Sermon on the Mount was to show the erroneous instruction of the Pharisees, which had caused many to err from God's law. He restored it to the LORD's original intent with dogmatic authority, and the people marveled (Matt 7:28-29).
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