Read More Proverbs

The cure for theological minimalism

Originally published on Focus+

In an attempt to forge a broad unity, leading voices have urged that we remain above the fray by avoiding specifics and just preaching the Gospel.

(Curiously, every socio-political issue that matters to these folks is somehow a “Gospel matter” and everything else isn’t, but that’s for another article.)

But it’s this “just preach the Gospel” mentality that has left us cultureless. It is the primary culprit behind the sacred/secular divide under which so many Christians live (also known as compartmentalization).

In this approach, Christianity is for the spiritual concerns of your life, but in the day to day you’re free to chart your own path.

Disciples who hunger and thirst for righteousness are left wanting, looking for direction and being given none.

Customers who want to put in the bare minimum and be convinced it’s good enough are given such comfort.

In other words, “just preach the Gospel” incentivizes the lowest-common-denominator faith that makes us so feckless.

The answer is to preach the whole Bible. But in particular I want to highlight the usefulness of Proverbs.

There is no way to read the Proverbs and come away thinking God has granted us the right to choose our paths for ourselves.

We’ve relegated Proverbs to a book of pithy quips to be tacked on topically, but they warrant much deeper study for their prescriptions over all of life.

The book is largely from a father (Solomon) to his son, teaching him wise living in the fear of the Lord.

Typologically, Jesus is that wise Son who chose His Father’s instruction in all things and spurned temptation. And, we are to follow His footsteps.

That’s why “just preach the Gospel” isn’t giving us the full Gospel. The true Gospel doesn’t merely justify us - it sanctifies us, too. It makes us obedient like Jesus.

How? In the nitty gritty, real life stuff. Where the rest of the Bible discusses some of these hands on topics in bits and spurts, Proverbs dives deeply into the importance of things like:

Hard work (6:10-12, 13:4, 14:23, 21:5)

Honesty (11:1, 12:17, 12:22)

Temptation (chapter 7)

Service and giving (3:27, 11:25, 22:9)

Priorities (1:7, 3:5-7, 4:7-9)

Politics (11:10-11, 14:34, 20:28, 28:16, 29:2, 29:14)

Money (10:4, 13:11, 14:23, 22:7, 22:26-27)

Marriage (5:15-19, 12:4, 18:22, 21:19)

Masculinity (chapters 1-7, 12:16, 24:5-6, 31:2-3)

Femininity (11:22, 12:4, 19:13-14, 31:10-31)

Parenting (13:24, 19:18, 20:7, 22:6)

It's dangerously easy to get into over-spiritualizing our Christianity, but reading and meditating on these truths grounds us in the real world. God cares about this life. In the Proverbs, He has shown us how to walk in the day-to-day, mundane matters.

This is not out of a maniacal desire to control and micro-manage, but to give the people He loves the wisdom needed to live life in a way that will bring them fulfillment and happiness. Why would we not want to drink deeply of that well?

Read more Proverbs. You'll be glad you did. 

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For more, check out our Proverbs episode of the Who Let the Dogma Out? podcast