The Teacher has seen both the righteous perishing in their righteousnessand the wicked living long in their wickedness. - P109
Do not be overrighteous oroverwicked-whoever fears God will avoid all extremes. - P109
There is no one onearth who is righteous and never sins. God created man upright, but they havegone in search of many schemes. - P109
Life can be cruel: sometimes the righteous perish while the wickedflourish in their wickedness. - P110
In this broken and unjust world, how areChristians to live? Scripture calls us to careful self-examination, to takea good look at our hearts to understand the depths of our sin and realizethat the only reason we can stand before God is by His grace. - P110
Wheneverwe compare ourselves to others or catch ourselves acting as judges overwho deserves what, we would do well to remember that the only reasonwe are accepted by God is due to the amazing grace that He has shownthrough the cross of Christ. This should always lead us to humility andthanksgiving. - P110
Scripture does not hide how adultery and having too many wives andconcubines wreaked havoc in the lives of Israel‘s most powerful kings. - P110
Perhaps this is one reason the Teacher shares his wisdom about howsexual immorality is a snare that brings ruin not only to one‘s characterbut also to one‘s devotion to God. - P110
The reality is that the fallen natureof our hearts causes us to be inclined toward wayward living that oftenexpresses itself in sexual immorality. - P110
As the old hymn expresses, we areprone to leave the God we love. But Christ has made it possible for usto return to God, so we can seek His forgiveness and ask Him to purifyour hearts. - P110
|