Chris R. Quinlan

The teachings of the Bible reveal to us that marriage was designed by God to be a “picture” of the relationship between Jesus and His “church” (his true followers.) He did this to show His love and devotion, and to illustrate His role as “head”. Those of us that embrace the Bible see marriage as one of the most important institutions created by God. Therefore we cannot and should not try to redefine it. To do so would distort God’s purpose in creating it. Marriage is one of the most explicitly described concepts in the bible. It only has one meaning. Ephesians 5:31-32 , which quotes Genesis 2:24 Opponents of same-sex marriage are often described as bible-thumping bigots that hate people who have embraced the homosexual lifestyle. This is a fallacy that attempts to paint an opponent with negative stereotypes in order to discredit them. While there may be a few people out there that can be described in this way, most are not. There are good reasons to oppose the homosexual agenda,...

I have learned as an adult, that very few of the warnings we give to children are simply embraced as truth. Children always want to find out for themselves. You tell a child, “That’s hot…don’t touch it or you’ll get burned.” What’s the first thing they want to do? Reach out and touch that thing to see for themselves. We are all very stubborn when it comes to listening to the wisdom of others. As we grow into adulthood, we can’t understand why young people won’t listen to us and heed the warnings we give. As adults, we forget that when we are young, we have very little appreciation for the wisdom that comes from age and experience. Once we get to the age of about 13, we think we must be as smart as any other human being on the planet, and at least in my case, thought I could handle just about any situation that came my way without any help. Of course, in my own life this describes my 6 year old perfectly. So, is it worth pouring wisdom into the life of a young person, knowing ...

Proverbs 2:12-15 ESV Wisdom will save you from the ways of wicked men, from men whose words are perverse, who leave the straight paths to walk in dark ways, who delight in doing wrong and rejoice in the perverseness of evil, whose paths are crooked and who are devious in their ways. There are two main ideas presented here. One is that there are wicked men . The other is that they have bad ways that we need to be saved from. Wisdom , in these proverbs, is the personification of God. But more specifically, I would say that wisdom is a person's conscience that has been filled up with the truth of God, so that when temptations come along, decisions can be made that will keep us from falling into the traps of Satan. Since wicked men are often the tools Satan uses to try to tempt us, these verses tell us how to identify these men. Of course, this doesn't exclude women. In this post, I'm just going to take a close look at the first bit of advice we ...

(J. R. Miller, "The Lesson of Love" 1903) 2 Corinthians 12:7 So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. 8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. 9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong. We often think we could do better--if we were directing the affairs of our own lives. We think, “if things were in my hands I could get more happiness and greater good out of life” -- We would at once eliminate everything that is painful and unpleasant in our lives. We would have only p...

(This is an excerpt from a letter from Legh Richmond to one of his children. Legh was a contemporary of William Wilberforce and lived in the late 18th and early 19th century.) My dear child, May my you be preserved from the defilements of a vain , dangerous , and destroying world. You know not, and I wish you never may know--its snares and corruptions! I send you the following applications of my sermon on Ephesians 5:15-16, Be very careful, then, how you live--not as unwise but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. On circumspection of walk, redemption of time, and general sincerity of character: 1. Adhere most scrupulously to Scriptural truth; and strive to preserve the strictest integrity, simplicity, and sincerity. 2. Engage in no pursuit in which you cannot look up unto God, and say, 'Bless me in this, my Father!' 3. Strive to be as kind, forbearing , and forgiving as you can--both to friends and foes. Never speak evil of anyone. ...

Proverbs 3:1-2 My son, do not forget my teaching,        but keep my commands in your heart, for they will prolong your life many years        and bring you prosperity. Solomon's teachings, in this case, are God's teachings, for all scripture is "breathed-out" and inspired by God. We see in this proverb that if we remember and keep these commands (the proverbs of Solomon), then we will be healthy and wealthy. Well, that's one way to see it. Unfortunately, many have been taught this way of thinking and have been set up to be deceived by the charlatans lurking on the television claiming to be Christian ministries. If it's not health and wealth, than what is it? Simply put, it is the blessing of God in all areas of one's life. In this passage, the blessings of long life and success in one's ventures are mentioned.  Two things very much on the minds of a young son of Solomon, and very likely, you! Once again, t...

Proverbs 2:20-22 So you will walk in the way of good men          And keep to the paths of the righteous. 21 For the upright will live in the land          And the blameless will remain in it; 22 But the wicked will be cut off from the land          And the treacherous will be uprooted from it. A simple word of wisdom with a peculiar promise. The statements in verses 21 and 22 are such that I would imagine the modern reader having a bit of trouble relating to. To Solomon's sons, their land was their home; A blessing given to them by God and a place of protection. To be "uprooted" or plucked out from their land, was to be removed from the blessings of God and left, without protection, exposed to the perils of the enemies of God. Shall we risk banishment from God's blessing and protection, by associating with those that are not "k...

Proverbs 2:16-19 (Wisdom) will save you also from the adulteress, from the wayward wife with her seductive words, who has left the partner of her youth and ignored the covenant she made before God. For her house leads down to death and her paths to the spirits of the dead. None who go to her return or attain the paths of life. Remember that this section of the proverbs is directed to Solomon’s young sons. This wisdom applies universally to both men and women. There are certain sins that the bible gives the warning of death. I recall the first sin that mankind committed. Eating a piece of fruit on a certain tree. The penalty for this sin was death. There are some other attitudes and actions that lead to death that are mentioned in the proverbs. These are: - hating correction (Proverbs 18:10) - pursuing evil (Prov. 11:19) - doing what is right in your own eyes    (Prov. 16:25; 14:12) - careless conduct (Prov. 19:16) - laziness (Prov. 21:25) ...

Proverbs 2:12-15 Wisdom will save you from the ways of wicked men, from men whose words are perverse, who leave the straight paths to walk in dark ways, who delight in doing wrong and rejoice in the perverseness of evil, whose paths are crooked and who are devious in their ways. Click here to read my commentary on these verses.

It has been somewhat challenging for me to decide how divide up the proverbs into short passages for study. The other challenge is working through the context of wisdom styled literature. My interpretive tendencies push me to accept the words of scripture as literal. However, I know that the proverbs are written in a style that should not always be interpreted in a literal fashion. This may trouble some readers, but the nature of wisdom literature requires the reader to accept that the truths in the proverbs are not necessarily literal promises, but truisms or generalized truth statements. Understanding this can greatly help the reader understand the wisdom of the proverbs and keep them from becoming unnecessarily frustrated. This is especially when we look around at our circumstances and wonder why a certain proverb doesn't seem to be accurate or truthful. For example, the proverb that immediately comes to mind is Prov. 22:6, which states, "Train up a child in the way he ...

Proverbs 2:6-8 6 For the Lord grants wisdom! From his mouth come knowledge and understanding. 7 He grants a treasure of common sense to the honest. He is a shield to those who walk with integrity. 8 He guards the paths of the just and protects those who are faithful to him How does it help us to know that God grants (or gives) wisdom? For one thing, it helps us to realize that we cannot gain true wisd om by simply growing older and discovering knowledge on our own, through education or experience. Even the sharpest minds of our day can study for years and come up with the most absurd things. All you have to do is flip on the television and tune into your local PBS station to find examples of this. "The Power of Intention", where all you need to do to be happy and successful is to somehow tune into the secret Source, and then simply "expect" things to happen and your mind will create mystical vibrations in the universe that will then draw those things ...

PROVERBS 2: 1-5 (NIV) 1 My son, if you accept my words and store up my commands within you, 2 turning your ear to wisdom and applying your heart to understanding, 3 and if you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding, 4 and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, 5 then you will understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God. Lets examine the elements of this proverbial equation: Personally choose to embrace and internalize the commands of the proverbs (v.1) + Exhibit behavior and make choices that reflect an embrace of Godly wisdom (v.2) + Plead with God and actively seek out His wisdom (v.3) + Understand the value of wisdom and seek it out as if it's the most precious thing there is (v.4) = You will understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God. It occurred to me as I was thinking about what it means to "understand the fear of the LORD", that this might be talking about how we ...

...that the sum of all of God’s wisdom were personified as a human. She would most likely be standing out in a public place, pleading with people as they passed by… shouting at them, begging them to listen to her. She’d be saying… “You foolish people! How long are you going stay shallow minded? You just love to laugh and mock at everything. You can’t stand to learn about what is true. Please, please, you need to listen to what I have to say. I so desire to impart to you all that I know. I have called out to you so many times and you just won’t stop and listen. You just continually reject any and all correction.” She would continue… “You know what? If your life comes crashing down around you, I’m just going to shrug my shoulders and chuckle. I might even throw in a sarcastic joke to rub it in.” And when you start crying out for help, you won’t be able to get my attention. For why should I help now when you rejected my advice all this time?” She’d say, “So, now that you’re in tro...

My child, if sinners entice you,
turn your back on them! 
They may say, “Come and join us.
 … Think of the great things we’ll get!
… Come, throw in your lot with us”;
… My child, don’t go along with them!
Stay far away from their paths. 
They rush to commit evil deeds. 
They hurry to commit murder. 
If a bird sees a trap being set, 
it knows to stay away. 
But these people set an ambush for themselves; 
they are trying to get themselves killed. 
Such is the fate of all who are greedy for money; 
it robs them of life. So, to summarize: Stay away from people who entice you into sin; stay away from places they go, and specifically, if someone asks you to join him or her in sin, reject their offer and walk away. I think the most important line in the section is,  “Stay far from their paths.”  In other words, “don’t even get close to the places where these types of people hang around!” The wisdom here is that if you stay away from the places that sinful people go, you wo...

Proverbs 1:8-9 "Listen, my son, to your father's instruction and do not forsake your mother's teaching.They will be a garland to grace your head and a chain to adorn your neck." I'll admit that this proverb, while straightforward, is difficult to put into practice. I've noticed that when we are young we tend to feel like our parents don't really understand what we are going through or are slightly or completely out of touch with our culture; and therefore can't really offer us any wisdom or advice. As I've grown older, I can now better understand the true wisdom of this very famous proverb.  There is a certain wisdom that you receive simply by staying alive and paying attention to the things that go on around you. I call it, "the wisdom of age" or "the wisdom of experience". We are all collecting this wisdom as we grow older and experience more of life. I believe this type of wisdom to be very powerful and shoul...

I haven't written in a while even though I certainly enjoy it. In some part, I've been waiting until I've felt like I had a subject that I could enjoy and something that would be interesting and beneficial for anyone who might find this and read it.  My intention is to go through selected proverbs, explore their meaning, and simply pass along my own personal study, while trying not to sound "teachy" or condescending. My hope is that this journey through proverbs, will help me live a life pleasing to God, and remind me of the things that God would want me to teach my children. Here we go. Chapter 1:1-7   ( NLT) These are the proverbs of Solomon, David’s son, king of Israel. Their purpose is to teach people wisdom and discipline,
to help them understand the insights of the wise.
 Their purpose is to teach people to live disciplined and successful lives, to help them do what is  right, just, and fair. These proverbs will give insight to the simple...