Sample Bible Studies | Knowable Word

How to Resist Sexual Immorality

August 14, 2026 By Peter Krol

Christian Mayrhofer (2009), Creative Commons

We know easy sex will keep us from being wise. We know it will beat us down and knock us out. We know it can’t deliver what it promises.

So why do we still struggle with it? Could it be because we’re prone to get the order of things all wrong? In the moment of temptation, don’t we set aside the true God and bow to the god of self? Don’t we live for our comfort, our pleasure, our escape, and our desire?

In those moments, we think truth becomes relative. Righteousness becomes undesirable. God appears absent. Self-actualization is everything.

Thus, Solomon’s counsel for resisting immorality doesn’t land where we usually land. We want to know what is the best internet filtering software. We want to find others who will hold us accountable.

But Solomon gets radical. He shows us how to restore things to their proper order, so we might bow to none but him who is all in all. What would it look like for you to live for such a gracious Master?

1. Guard the Commands

My son, keep your father’s commandment,
and forsake not your mother’s teaching. (Prov 6:20)

The word “keep” involves not only obeying but also guarding. Keep room in your life for time with Christ in his word. Participate actively in opportunities to hear the word and be known by others who will speak the word to you.

You will protect and defend what is most important to you. If your pleasure is most important, you’ll always find a way to gratify it. But if the Lord’s pleasure is most important, you’ll find ways to bask in it.

And when you’re alone at night, after a stressful day, you’ll face that tantalizing choice—the choice that is always a choice, because you’re not an innocent victim. You don’t have to be a slave to what will kill you.

By the power of God’s Holy Spirit, you can choose one thing and not another. You can guard the commands, dive into the Scripture, and drown yourself in its glory. You can set aside your self-love.

2. Memorize the Word

Bind them on your heart always;
tie them around your neck. (Prov 6:21)

In the heat of temptation, God’s grace may lead you to remember that “He who commits adultery lacks sense; he who does it destroys himself. He will get wounds and dishonor, and his disgrace will not be wiped away” (Prov 6:32-33). With the truth readily available to you, would it be easier to fight the lies?

And at just the right moments, the Lord might remind you to “Let your fountain be blessed, and rejoice in the wife of your youth” (Prov 5:18).

3. Serve the Lord

When you walk, they will lead you;
when you lie down, they will watch over you;
and when you awake, they will talk with you. (Prov 6:22)

We all serve something. We walk, lie down, and awake with our master’s will on our minds. As much as we like to think of ourselves as masters, we’re created to be servants.

Why not serve the best, most gracious Master? God promises you life, and he’s the only God who can actually give it. Idols can never give us what they promise.

You don’t need sex to make you happy. Whether you’re single, widowed, married to someone disobedient to the word, or married to a mature believer, you can bow to the lover of your soul and lay down your life for others as he did for you.

4. Annihilate the Folly

For the commandment is a lamp and the teaching a light,
and the reproofs of discipline are the way of life. (Prov 6:23)

Wisdom reproves you. Hear the rebuke and stop doing what you’re doing. You always have a choice.

Stop (Prov 1:22)! Turn (Prov 1:23)! I’ll give you my spirit (Prov 1:23)! Listen (Prov 2:1-2)! Call out (Prov 2:3-4)! Don’t forget (Prov 3:1)! Receive life (Prov 6:23)!

I have not lived as purely as I ought. Time and again, I fail to do what is right. What hope is there for struggling sinners like me?

“The reproofs of discipline are the way of life.” Do you want life? God delights to give it, so come to him and get your fill.

This post was first published in 2014 and is part of a series walking through Proverbs 1-9.

Context Matters: Apart From Me You Can Do Nothing

August 10, 2026 By Ryan Higginbottom

Perhaps you’ve heard that no one can do anything apart from Jesus. You may have been told this saying refers to our complete reliance upon God. Or, you may have read this phrase during leadership or evangelism training, urging your frequent communication with Jesus.

Context matters. When we learn to read the Bible in context—not just as a collection of memorable phrases—we’ll find that some familiar verses take on richer and deeper meanings.

The Vine and the Branches

The phrase “apart from me you can do nothing” is just a portion of John 15:5. This is part of a long conversation Jesus has with his disciples on the evening of the Last Supper, after Judas departs (John 13:30). Jesus tells them he is the vine and his father is the vinedresser (John 15:1); God takes away branches that do not bear fruit, and he prunes every fruit-bearing branch (John 15:2).

Because of their parallel nature, we need to read John 15:4 and John 15:5 together.

Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. (John 15:4–5)

In the immediate context, “you can do nothing” is related to “bear[ing] fruit” and “apart from me” stands opposite to “abide in me and I in him.” We cannot know Jesus’s full meaning in John 15:5 without understanding “abiding” and “bearing fruit.”

Abiding

In one way, the metaphor of the vine and branches makes clear the meaning of “abide.” Branches draw nourishment and life from the vine; without that connection, they die.

Abiding in Jesus is not an extra level of discipleship—it is essential! He is life itself; anyone who does not abide in Jesus is thrown away like a branch from the vine and burned (John 15:6).

Abiding in Jesus is also connected to both Jesus’s words and his love. If anyone abides in Jesus, his words abide in them, and their prayers will be answered (John 15:7). Jesus tells the disciples not just to abide in him but to abide in his love (John 15:9). He then explains what this means—if the disciples keep Jesus’s commandments, they will abide in his love (John 15:10). Jesus teaches this not as a burdensome duty but so their joy will be full (John 15:11).

We should also notice the similarity between the words “abide” and “abode,” or dwelling. Unfortunately, some translations obscure this link. Jesus is going to prepare a place for his disciples in his father’s house (dwelling); he wants them to be where he is (John 14:2–3). He speaks of his connection with the father as “the father abiding in me” (John 14:10, NASB). Throughout this discourse, Jesus’s relationship with his disciples shares many features of his relationship with his father.

Any disciple that wants to bear fruit must abide in Jesus and Jesus must abide in them (John 15:5). This mutual abiding, along with the other context summarized above, points to a unity, knowledge, obedience, and love that is life-sustaining and supernatural.

Bearing Fruit

As with abiding, bearing fruit goes hand-in-hand with following Jesus. Jesus says that bearing fruit is the way a person proves to be a disciple (John 15:8). In the metaphor of the vine and branches, bearing fruit is what normal, healthy branches do.

If anyone loves Jesus, they will keep his commandments (John 14:15), and thus we see a connection between bearing fruit and keeping Jesus’s commands. Jesus knows that we need help in this calling, which is why he promises to send “another helper”—the Holy Spirit (John 14:16). The Spirit abides with the disciples and will be in them (John 14:17, NASB).

We see this essential link between love, obedience, and the presence of God in John 14:23.

Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him.” (John 14:23, NASB)

So bearing fruit is a Spirit-powered yet normal part of being a disciple of Jesus. And it happens as we abide in, love, and obey Jesus.

Abide in Him

Apart from Jesus we can do nothing. When we read this verse in context we see that Jesus is not primarily warning against self-reliance nor dismissing the contributions of non-Christians. Yes, he is drawing a sharp line between those who follow him and those who do not. But this is a call to life.

Those connected to the vine are animated by the life-giving Spirit, and they are fruit-bearing by nature. Apart from the vine, there is no nutrition, no life, no fruit.

Context matters.

This was originally published in 2020.

For more examples of why context matters, click here.

10 Reasons to Choose Sexual Immorality

August 7, 2026 By Peter Krol

Though Solomon gives 10 solid reasons to avoid sexual immorality in Prov 6:24-35, we still do it. Why would we do such a dumb thing?

Because in our folly, don’t we believe what is not true? Don’t we lose sight of what really matters? We turn inward to focus on ourselves, and we set aside the fear of the Lord. We allow immorality’s smooth promises to woo us.

Have you capitulated to any of the following lies, in opposition to the corresponding truth from Proverbs?

1. It’s not that bad

To preserve you from the evil woman,
from the smooth tongue of the adulteress. (Prov 6:24)

Perhaps sexual immorality is a mistake—even one that will leave me feeling guilty for days. But “evil”? Let’s try not to use such inflammatory language.

2. I’m free in Christ

Do not desire her beauty in your heart,
and do not let her capture you with her eyelashes. (Prov 6:25)

I’m saved by grace, so I’m free in Christ (to sin, that is). Of course, I don’t want to commit immorality; it’s just a besetting sin. I’m not truly captive to it; I’ll just have to struggle with it for the rest of my life.

3. It won’t cost much

For the price of a prostitute is only a loaf of bread,
but a married woman hunts down a precious life. (Prov 6:26)

I can afford a loaf of bread. A second look never hurt anybody. Anyway, Jesus already paid my debts.

4. I can handle it

Can a man carry fire next to his chest
and his clothes not be burned?
Or can one walk on hot coals
and his feet not be scorched?
So is he who goes in to his neighbor’s wife;
none who touches her will go unpunished. (Prov 6:27-29)

Christians need to play with fire; it’s how they learn discernment. Plus, these pictures and sex scenes don’t tempt me as much as they used to.

5. It won’t hurt anybody

People do not despise a thief if he steals
to satisfy his appetite when he is hungry,
but if he is caught, he will pay sevenfold;
he will give all the goods of his house…
[A jealous husband] will accept no compensation;
he will refuse though you multiply gifts. (Prov 6:30-31, 35)

God gave me this hunger, so what else was I supposed to do with it? At least I’m not hurting anybody. This is just between me and God.

6. I can relate with people who struggle with this issue

He who commits adultery lacks sense. (Prov 6:32a)

Pornography and masturbation are so common today. I’m happy to be a wise counselor for others who struggle with it the way I do.

7. I can’t live without it

He who does it destroys himself. (Prov 6:32b)

Jesus, please don’t come back too quickly. At least not until I get to experience great sex. My singleness is such a burden. Or my marriage isn’t fulfilling me as I had hoped. I won’t be happy unless I get to look and touch again tonight. And tomorrow night. And the next.

8. It will make the pain go away

He will get wounds… (Prov 6:33)

Life is so hard. I’ve got deadlines I don’t think I can meet. There’s unresolved conflict so intense it makes me feel sick. My parents (or children, spouse, roommate) won’t stop nagging me. I failed my exam. My life is spinning out of control. I just need to get away from it all.

9. I’ll confess it to my accountability group

He will get wounds and dishonor,
and his disgrace will not be wiped away. (Prov 6:33)

It’s a normal part of life. Everyone struggles with sexual sin. I’ll never be able to change it, but at least I keep it in the light by confessing it to others who will respect my transparency. And I don’t judge them, either. There’s nothing to be ashamed of here.

10. It will be worth it

For jealousy makes a man furious,
and he will not spare when he takes revenge. (Prov 6:34)

What I am feeling at this moment is more important than anything else. Feel, look, touch; don’t think. My assistant or supervisor makes me feel so much more loved than my spouse does. My fantasies should override my misgivings. Nobody will know about it.

—–

Of course, these lies are foolish, but that doesn’t stop us from believing them in the midst of temptation. The one who fears the Lord will identify the lies, replace them with the truth, and act accordingly. As we heed the reproofs of discipline, we find the way of life (Prov 6:23) in the one who died to give us life (John 15:12-14).

Which lies are you most likely to believe? Are there others you would add to the list?

This post was first published in 2014 and is part of a series walking through Proverbs 1-9.

10 Reasons to Avoid Sexual Immorality

July 31, 2026 By Peter Krol

Easy sex will keep you from being wise.

To make this point, Solomon lists ten consequences of sexual immorality in Proverbs 6:24-35. Before reading my list, I urge you to read the passage yourself and see how many consequences you can observe. Perhaps making your own list will help you to remember these things when you face temptation.

1. You’ll participate in evil

To preserve you from the evil woman,
from the smooth tongue of the adulteress. (Prov 6:24)

Immorality is evil, and temptation is an invitation to do evil. But wisdom preserves the wise from evil. When you believe the smooth and deceitful promises of immorality, you choose guilt by association: You are now evil as well.

2. Your desire will take you captive

Do not desire her beauty in your heart,
and do not let her capture you with her eyelashes. (Prov 6:25)

It was for freedom that Christ has set you free, but immorality seeks to enslave you. Capitulation will become easier and easier. Resistance will become more and more difficult. Far better for you to rid your heart of these fantasies while you can.

3. You’ll lose everything

For the price of a prostitute is only a loaf of bread,
but a married woman hunts down a precious life. (Prov 6:26)

The cost begins low: only a loaf of bread. But with diminishing returns, you’ll need to give more and more until your very life is forfeit. Immorality hooks you while it’s cheap. A glance here, a touch there. But before you know it, you can’t sleep without sexual release. You simply can’t keep your hands off, and you’ll lose everything in the process.

4. Your punishment is inevitable

Can a man carry fire next to his chest
and his clothes not be burned?
Or can one walk on hot coals
and his feet not be scorched?
So is he who goes in to his neighbor’s wife;
none who touches her will go unpunished. (Prov 6:27-29)

You can’t tinker with immorality and hope to escape. You may be able to cover it up for a time, but you will eventually be found out. God sees everything, and he is a consuming fire.

5. You can’t repay what you’ve stolen

People do not despise a thief if he steals
to satisfy his appetite when he is hungry,
but if he is caught, he will pay sevenfold;
he will give all the goods of his house…
[A jealous husband] will accept no compensation;
he will refuse though you multiply gifts. (Prov 6:30-31, 35)

The point is not to justify theft, but to condemn sexual immorality. People can understand a thief’s motives, though they still make him repay what he stole. How much less will they understand you when they find you out?

Perhaps you rob your present or future spouse of your best love and attention. Maybe you steal someone’s innocence. Or perhaps you continue supporting the horrific porn industry, which destroys young women and holds them captive. Pictures are never harmless; we must not lie to ourselves.

6. You’ll lack sense

He who commits adultery lacks sense. (Prov 6:32a)

There goes wisdom and, along with it, life and peace and satisfaction and joy.

7. You’ll destroy yourself

He who does it destroys himself. (Prov 6:32b)

We do it because it feels good. But, like an alcoholic who destroys his liver, or a smoker who disregards his lungs, we kill ourselves with good feelings. Easy sex is all about self-gratification, but Jesus said that he who loves himself loses himself. Wisdom pierces these feelings to find the truth.

8. You’ll create your own wounds

He will get wounds… (Prov 6:33)

It’s like touching a hot stove. Or using credit cards to spend money you don’t have. Or picking a scab. Or playing hopscotch on the interstate. You’ll hurt for it later, and you’ll have brought the hurt on yourself.

9. You’ll find dishonor and disgrace

He will get wounds and dishonor,
and his disgrace will not be wiped away. (Prov 6:33)

You set yourself up for constant reproach and a bad name. You’ll always be that guy who ran off with the girl and ruined a good thing (family, ministry, career, etc.).

10. You’ll lose every time

For jealousy makes a man furious,
and he will not spare when he takes revenge. (Prov 6:34)

Sexual immorality rightly infuriates. Jealous husbands will not spare on the day of revenge.

But what if your immorality doesn’t involve seducing a married person? Then there’s no jealousy to fear, right? Wrong: “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord” (Rom 12:19). Remember that God, the Great Husband, has a special place in his heart for those with no human protectors. Can you watch your back when it comes to him?

If, like me, you have already failed in the sexual realm, take heart and remember there’s always hope in Christ. He provides a way out. This list is not to consign you forever to guilt and punishment, but to warn you from future folly. So please don’t make the fatal mistake of presuming his past grace enables your continued self-destruction.

This post was first published in 2014 and is part of a series walking through Proverbs 1-9.

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Context Matters: Taste and See That the Lord is Good

July 27, 2026 By Ryan Higginbottom

Priscilla Du Preez (2017), public domain

Perhaps you’ve heard that Christians need to taste and see that the Lord is good, that God’s blessings extend to all of our senses. Maybe you’ve been given this encouragement in the context of celebrating the Lord’s Supper or as a reminder that God cares for your body. You may even have been told that “taste and see” means that God wants you to have all of the material blessings you can name.

Context matters. When we learn to read the Bible as a whole—not as a collection of disjointed sentences and phrases ready for posters and sermon titles—we’ll find that some familiar expressions have deeper meanings than we thought.

The Immediate Context

The phrase “taste and see that the Lord is good” comes from the middle of Psalm 34.

Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good!
Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!
Oh, fear the Lord, you his saints,
for those who fear him have no lack!
The young lions suffer want and hunger;
but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing. (Psalm 34:8–10)

In the immediate context, tasting and seeing God’s goodness is tied to taking refuge in him; this is the path to blessedness (Ps. 34:8). Saints who fear the Lord will lack no good thing (Ps. 34:9–10).

Just after these verses, David (the psalm’s author) mentions one of these “good things.”

What man is there who desires life
and loves many days, that he may see good? (Ps. 34:12)

This is what seeking the Lord must look like for anyone who wants a long life.

Keep your tongue from evil
and your lips from speaking deceit.
Turn away from evil and do good;
seek peace and pursue it. (Ps. 34:13–14)

The Bigger Picture

Just as we must not ignore the immediate context of Psalm 34:8, we also must not ignore the larger picture. When we read the entire psalm, we see the Lord’s goodness everywhere.

God answers us and delivers us from all our fears (Ps. 34:4)
Those who look to God are radiant and will not be ashamed (Ps. 34:5)
God hears and saves us out of all trouble (Ps. 34:6)
God delivers those who fear him (Ps. 34:7, 17, 19)
The Lord is near and he saves (Ps. 34:18)
The Lord redeems life, none of those who take refuge in him will be condemned (Ps. 34:22)

We often spiritualize the psalms, reasoning that the psalmist was facing military and physical threat while our dangers are moral or spiritual. But David wrote “taste and see” in the middle of this psalm for a reason.

David experienced the Lord’s goodness with his senses, in real life. God’s nearness, his deliverance, his salvation, his redemption, his hearing and answering—and consequently David’s crying out, looking to God, seeking God, and taking refuge in him—were just as real as honey on David’s tongue or the altar in front of David’s face.

And the goodness of the Lord is just as available to us as it was to King David.

Not an Easy Life

If we’re honest, we’d like the Lord’s goodness to eliminate all sickness, hardship, and want. But that is not reality in Psalm 34.

We have fears (Ps. 34:4) and troubles (Ps. 34:6)
We need deliverance (Ps. 34:7, 17)
We need to cry for help (Ps. 34:17)
We are brokenhearted and crushed in spirit (Ps. 34:18)

We see both from this psalm and from David’s life that turning to God does not ensure a life of trouble-free blessing thereafter. Psalm 34 is written to/for “saints of the Lord” (Ps. 34:9), so all the difficulties mentioned above come to God’s people. This is highlighted in the psalm itself: “Many are the afflictions of the righteous” (Ps. 34:19).

David, even as the anointed of the Lord, faced enormous hardship and threats to his life. In the introduction to Psalm 34 he references 1 Samuel 21:10–15. As David fled from Saul, he went to the king of Gath. But news of David’s military success preceded him, so he faked madness to save his life. And it worked! David cried for help, and the Lord heard him and delivered him (Ps. 34.17).

How to “Taste and See”

I had two questions before digging into this psalm: What does it mean that the Lord is good? How do we experience the Lord’s goodness?

The answers to both questions, from a detailed look at this psalm, are clear. When we seek God in humility, he answers and delivers us.

Seeking God in humility is difficult. It means admitting that we are poor (Ps. 34:6) and that we have fears and troubles beyond our ability (Ps. 34:17). Taking refuge in God and learning the fear of the Lord also have dramatic implications for our lives: we boast in the Lord (Ps. 34:2) and bless him at all times (Ps. 34:1), we keep our tongues from evil (Ps. 34:13), and we turn from evil and pursue peace (Ps. 34:14).

But the reward is far greater than the cost. “None of those who take refuge in him will be condemned.” Given what we deserve and what we are promised, this is the best news in the world! Even in the middle of this Old Testament book of prayers and songs, we see the work of Jesus—condemned in the place of his people.

So, while “taste and see” has no contextual reference to the Lord’s Supper, and no promise of material blessings, this psalm teaches that God’s people experience his deliverance with their senses. In our actual bodies, God delivers us, he saves us, he hears us, and he is near to us.

Context matters.

This was originally posted in 2020.

For more examples of why context matters, click here.

Easy Sex Will Keep You from Being Wise

July 24, 2026 By Peter Krol

A student newspaper at my alma mater once published a set of ABC’s for first-year students as something of “a 26-step instructional guide on how to get the most out of higher education.”

Along with A for Alcohol, E for Energy drinks, and Q for Questions, came the following:

H is for House Party Weekend. Three parts live music, four parts indiscriminate alcohol abuse, two parts non-prejudicial fornicating. Mix well; serve warm. That’s House Party Weekend.

S is for Sexually transmitted diseases. See letter H.

W is for Walk of shame. Alternatively known as the “stride of pride.” That long walk home wearing the same thing you went out in last night, which inevitably followed a very awkward introduction earlier that morning. When you see the steady stream at 10 a.m., just remember, “Let he who has not woken up spooning a stranger cast the first stone.”[1]

There’s a reason “higher education” and “wisdom” aren’t synonymous.

Lots of Sex

As our ongoing study hits Proverbs 6:20-35, we ought to notice that Solomon has said a lot about sex already, and he’s not yet finished with the topic. Foolish and ungodly sexual activity was common long before universities developed such a strong reputation for it.

But what makes Proverbs 6:20-35 unique? What does Solomon say here that he hasn’t covered elsewhere? Though many ideas overlap, we can observe a primary focus for each of the “sex sections” of Proverbs 1-9:

Prov 2:16-19 explains how easy sex hinders wisdom.
Prov 5:1-23 unveils God’s surprisingly intoxicating alternative.
Prov 6:20-35 enumerates immorality’s terrible consequences.
Prov 7:1-27 unmasks immorality’s seductive tactics.

We must hear wisdom on these matters, so we can find life (Prov 6:23) and avoid death (Prov 5:23). In keeping you from being wise, easy sex holds nothing for you but pain and destruction. But there was one who endured pain and destruction to give us wisdom. So there’s always hope.

The Plan

Over the next few weeks, I’ll tackle this passage somewhat out of order. First, I’ll explain ten terrible consequences of easy sex (Prov 6:24-35). Then, I’ll go back to offer four steps for fighting it (Prov 6:20-23).

Question: How do you see easy sex hindering wisdom in our day?

This post was first published in 2014 and is part of a series walking through Proverbs 1-9.

——————————-

[1] Scott Gosnell, “The BU ABC’s,” The Counterweight, Volume 7, Issue 1, August 24, 2007, pp.8-9.

Connecting the 3 Fools

July 17, 2026 By Peter Krol

For a few weeks, I’ve been examining three kinds of fool from Prov 6:1-19: the Savior, the Sluggard, and the Sower of Discord. To help you avoid them in the new year, I’d like to consider how they’re all connected.

Most foreign aid has done great harm to the Third World. Rather than helping the poor to have a better life, it has created a culture of dependence where people realize they don’t actually have to work hard to improve their communities. They just have to find a Western official who will give them a handout. So we put Band-Aids on cancerous tumors and perpetuate the injustice, instead of supporting useful organizations that educate people and train them in beneficial skills. We rescue hurting people in the name of world peace.

Coincidentally, we can do the same thing at home. How many relationships consist of the “Savior” who shields the “Sluggard” from his choices? Parents allow their perfectly healthy sons to live with them into their late 20s or early 30s. Teachers adjust the curve so no student will be left behind. Managers perpetuate the status quo rather than dealing with problem people on the team; it might be too awkward to confront them, after all. Church leaders dedicate most of their time to procedural minutiae or unteachable committee members, while turning a blind eye to the rampant gossip and slander ripping apart the community of God’s children.

And if someone has the courage to deal with such problems biblically, “Sowers of Discord” come out of the woodwork with their “concerns” at such an “unloving” approach. So godly people run in fear and perpetuate the evil.

We get into tidy patterns of behavior that reinforce our folly, and then we mistake our comfort for success in serving Christ.

Every once in a while, however, a ray of light from God’s word pierces the cycle and exposes the issues. It feels like things get worse, because all the patterns we were used to stop working. It’s easy to see such moments as disruptive or even harmful to our lives. But I challenge you to see those moments for what they are: the opportunity for new life. Before resurrection, there must be death. Put the fool in you to death, and live anew in Christ every day.

Sometimes we think we’re on the right path as long as we avoid the big areas of folly, like easy money and easy sex. But God cares about the details, and could some of those details be more destructive than you realize? Don’t we all have pieces of the Savior, the Sluggard, and the Sower of Discord residing in us? Part of wisdom is learning how to discern the folly so we can turn to Christ, set the folly aside, and avoid its consequences.

Question: How do you see the three fools in your own heart?

This post was first published in 2013 and is part of a series walking through Proverbs 1-9.

Context Matters: Jesus Came to Give Abundant Life

July 13, 2026 By Ryan Higginbottom

Perhaps you’ve heard that Jesus didn’t just come to give life, he came to give abundant life. You may have seen teachers urge that Christians should not be poor, should not be sad, should not be sick, should not be lacking in any blessings God can give. After all, how does a less than existence match up with an abundant life?

When we learn to read the Bible properly—not as a series of isolated words and phrases—we find that some familiar phrases take on entirely new meanings.

The Audience

Jesus uses the “abundant life” phrase to a group of Pharisees in John 10. Importantly, these Pharisees gathered after a controversy surrounding Jesus’s healing of a blind man.

In John 9:1–7, Jesus comes across a man born blind. He anoints the man’s eyes with mud, tells him to go wash in the pool of Siloam, and the man comes back with sight. This starts several rounds of questioning from the Pharisees directed at both this man and his parents. No one wants to proclaim Jesus as the Messiah for fear of the Jews (John 9:22).

However, the man’s life has been changed so dramatically, he cannot help himself. He tells the Pharisees that this man is clearly from God, and the Pharisees cast him out (John 9:33–34). Jesus seeks out the man again, and he confesses Jesus as Lord (John 9:38). The purpose of the healing is realized; the miracle points back to Jesus.

Jesus, the Good Shepherd

Jesus launches into an extended figure of speech that leaves the Pharisees confused.

Jesus first tells the Pharisees about the shepherd of the sheep. The sheep will follow the shepherd, because they know his voice. But they will not follow a stranger with a strange voice (John 10:1–6).

Since this first use of a sheep/shepherd metaphor is confusing, Jesus reloads. He uses different metaphors.

So Jesus again said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.” (John 10:7–9)

And then we arrive at the verse in question.

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. (John 10:10)

It’s quite natural, after hearing this, to ask: What does it look like to have life abundantly? John (and Jesus) anticipates this question, because the answer comes quickly.

I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. (John 10:11–15)

Having an abundant life means having a good shepherd!

Plenty of employees can perform simple tasks for the sheep, but they don’t care for the sheep at all. They will save their own skin when the wolf howls. But Jesus is so, so different. He is the good shepherd. He knows his sheep, and he lays down his life for his sheep.

Notice that nowhere in this passage do we see a discussion of money, large houses, swimming pools, or everlasting youth. The way Jesus uses this phrase has nothing to do with material possessions or anything doctors or therapists can offer. He intends something much better.

The Greatest Treasure

Jesus came to give himself for his sheep. He calls his sheep, and they perk up their ears and follow him because they recognize his voice. With the good shepherd the sheep will find pasture, shelter, and safety.

Jesus is quite comfortable at the center of this metaphor. Both his healings and his figures of speech point people back to him.

Many sheep are used to thieves and wolves in the field. But with a good shepherd, the sheep have a guide and friend who loves them. He knows them, and they know him. And this—this is abundant life.

Context matters.

For more examples of why context matters, click here.

This was originally posted in 2020.

Don’t Mess with God’s Wife

July 10, 2026 By Peter Krol

The Sower of Discord is the third of Solomon’s three fools in Prov 6:1-19. The first poem (Prov 6:12-15) addressed this fool’s characteristics and fate. The second poem (Prov 6:16-19) focuses on God’s attitude toward this fool. This week I’ll tackle the second poem.

There are six things that the Lord hates,
Seven that are an abomination to him:
Haughty eyes, a lying tongue,
And hands that shed innocent blood,
A heart that devises wicked plans,
Feet that make haste to run to evil,
A false witness who breathes out lies,
And one who sows discord among brothers. (Prov 6:16-19)

In this second poem, Solomon reinforces the characteristics of the Sower of Discord (Prov 6:17-19) so we’ll learn how to recognize them. But his chief concern is to reveal God’s opinion of such fools. God hates the person who sows discord among brothers. “Abomination” is the strongest possible word for God’s loathing; there is no way to downplay this hatred.

Also, let’s not make the mistake of thinking God hates the sin but loves the sinner. Not in this case. “There are six things that the Lord hates…[including] one who sows discord among brothers.”

The church is Christ’s body (Eph 5:23), his household (Eph 2:19, 1 Tim 3:14-15). That means that both those who sow discord and those who support the sowing of discord are murderers and home wreckers. We listen to sowers of discord because it feels like indulging in our favorite desserts (Prov 18:8), but really it’s like swallowing razor blades. It’s like wearing a “suck it up” t-shirt in a military hospital. We might as well paint targets on our chests and think happy thoughts, because the Lord is a crack shot. He is a jealous, avenging husband, who will not stand idle while fools screw with his wife.

Remember that Jesus’ body was broken once before to pay for the sin of the world (Luke 22:19). He won’t suffer it to be broken again. “Do you not know that you [plural in the Greek; referring to a community, not an individual] are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple” (1 Cor 3:16-17).

But for those who set aside the sowing of discord, hope flows from the body once broken.

Jesus died for sowers of discord so he could reunite them with his father. His disciples had their fair share of disputing and jockeying for position. But Jesus paid their debts, gripped their hearts, and gave them a vision for community based not on position or prestige but on mutual service. He gave them an effective method for resolving conflict and offense (Matt 18:15-20), but their motivation to follow through on it wouldn’t come from inside themselves. They had to remember how Jesus loved them and died for them so he could forgive them and heal them.

This is how we do it as well. We remember Jesus’ sacrificial love for us, and we can’t help but to forgive others and speak well of them:

Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you (Eph 4:29-32).

Question: How have you seen Jesus heal his body from discord?

This post was first published in 2013 and is part of a series walking through Proverbs 1-9.

How to Recognize Sowers of Discord

July 3, 2026 By Peter Krol

There is no foolproof formula for recognizing sowers of discord, but Solomon wants to train us to be discerning.

A worthless person, a wicked man,
Goes about with crooked speech,
Winks with his eyes, signals with his feet,
Points with his finger,
With perverted heart devises evil,
Continually sowing discord;
Therefore calamity will come upon him suddenly;
In a moment he will be broken beyond healing (Prov 6:12-15).

1. Take note of crooked speech (Prov 6:12b)

Do they twist words to win sympathy? Do they label their complaints as “concerns,” their anger as “frustration,” or their bitterness as “misunderstanding”? Have they failed to forgive? Do they always have questions but never any answers?

2. Consider body language (Prov 6:13a)

When around people who offend them, do they roll their eyes, grimace, or shake their heads? Do they make eye contact with you when the other person turns away? Does their posture communicate disrespect or defensiveness?

3. Refuse to join the gang (Prov 6:13b).

The Sower of Discord “points with his finger” in an effort to persuade others to join his team. He’s a sneaky communicator, and his destructive power lies in his ability to recruit. Whenever someone has a complaint against another person, your best response is, “did you talk to that person about it?”

Sowing discord is one of the most prevalent and most disregarded sins in the church today. We think of gossip as something that happens on daytime talk shows, and we ignore it in the fellowship hall. We think slander deserves discipline only if it’s intentionally and overtly false. Perhaps we’ll confront those who purposefully spread untrue reports about others, but Proverbs is just as concerned to confront those who endorse those reports by giving them a hearing (Prov 26:20-28).

This passage convicts me thoroughly. I am as guilty as anyone of speaking ill, sowing discord, and fighting unity. I have shared details I didn’t need to share. I have discussed the failings of my supervisors with my subordinates. I have asked for the low down on specific people, and I have entertained conversations that went in the wrong direction. I have asked Jesus to change me, and I wrestle my self-importance daily.

If you are broken by this text, there is much hope for your repentance and healing. You can act as glue to reunite the shards of your once-vibrant community. You can unleash Christ’s redemptive glory in your church, and he can restore his body to full and proper functioning. Learn to recognize the characteristics of the Sower of Discord, and exterminate them from your heart and your church.

But if you find yourself still making excuses for sowing discord (or for aiding and abetting others to sow discord), you’ll be ruined before you know what hits you (Prov 6:15). God doesn’t like it when people mess with his wife.

Question: What else helps you to recognize sowers of discord?

This post was first published in 2013 and is part of a series walking through Proverbs 1-9.