SURETISHIP
Posted by: preacher30673 <preacher30673@...>
SURETISHIP
Proverbs 6:1-5
One of the important lessons that Solomon wanted to teach his son was that of handling money. Most folks know how to make money, some even know how to save money, but few there be who really know how to wisely handle money.
What Solomon addresses here about money is also addressed in Proverbs 11:15, 17:18, 20:16, and 22:26.
I. THE PROBLEM That is referenced (1-2)
A. Situation (v. 1)
The problem stated in Proverbs 6:1 is simple but serious: becoming surety for someone else.
What is "putting up security" or "giving your pledge" for someone else? It is co-signing a loan. It is putting yourself up as collateral. It is underwriting someone else's speculative risk. It is getting into a partnership when your partner's default can bring you down.
Surety implies being asked to guarantee a debt. The state of being surety; the obligation of a person to answer for another, and make good any debt or loss which may occur from another's delinquency.
There is a clear warning given here against becoming the underwriter of a debt. It is not a wise thing to do!
If the borrower does not pay the debt, you will be required to.
Be sure you can afford to pay if you have to, and that you want to accept this responsibility .
God wants every one of us to take responsibility for yourself. But if you put your financial future in the hands of someone the banks already think is a bad risk, you are acting irresponsibly yourself and encouraging irresponsibility in the other person.
Surety is an appeal to the kindness of the heart.
Helping others is to be guided by wisdom.
B. Snare (v. 2)
Look upon thyself as no longer a free man, but hampered and enslaved in dangerous obligations
GIVE SURETY AND RUIN IS NEAR.
By becoming surety the gullible person is trapped or ensnared.
To cosign a loan with someone whose character you do not know is folly that will cause you trouble.
We need to be careful about endangering the comfort of our own family by signing a note for another person.
Your peace of mind and welfare depend ` no longer upon yourself, but upon the character, the weakness, the impulse, of another when you sign a note.
If you like surety you are unsure, and if you do not like surety, you are sure.
We are advised to be very careful in what responsibilities we agree to bear for another.
See 17:18.
When money comes between friends, problems often follow. It is rarely a good idea to loan money to a friend, to borrow money from a friend, or to ask a friend to provide security for a loan or guarantee a loan. It is not usually a good idea to sell a car to a friend. If something goes wrong with the transaction or some misunderstanding arises, the friendship will be strained.
Whether in business or in personal ways, loans and guarantees between friends or on behalf of friends can be a great stressor.
II. The proposal THAT IS RECOMMENDED
: In verses 3-5. God is saying, "Take decisive action. Get out of that obligation before it's too late!"
A. Help Yourself (6:3a)
"Do this now, my son, and deliver thyself, when thou art come into the hand of thy friend." So far the gullible person appears to be still in the hands of his friend, not the friend's creditor. The guarantor-to- be must put his pride in his pocket, go back to his friend, confess that he has made a mistake, and seek to be released from his promise. Hopefully this request will not strain the friendship. If the friend to whom the promise was made is a real friend, he will release the would-be guarantor from his generous but rash promise and seek another solution to the financial problems.
B. Humble Yourself (6:3b-5)
The Hebrew verb translated "humble yourself" in verse 3 suggests getting down on the ground and letting the other guy trample all over you and call you every bad name, but you go ahead and let him do it and admit how stupid you have been, but get yourself free.
The urgency is indicated in Proverbs 6:3- 4: The longer the delay the more difficult it will be to undo the damage. Once the debtor passes on the guarantor's pledge to the creditor, it will be too late. Haste is needed so that the transaction will not proceed that far. Once the pledge gets into the hands of the creditor, the friend's release will carry no weight. History reveals that the moneylender invariably wants his money either way.
The urgency is illustrated in Proverbs 6:5: Both the roe (buck)and the bird rely on speed to escape danger.
This counsel contains a great deal of common sense. What good is a promise, however well-intentioned, when you r simply do not have the means to keep it? The promise only gives a false sense of security. It is far better to save a friendship by honesty and common sense than to see a friendship end in bitterness and hard feelings. It is far better to face awkward facts at the outset while it is still possible to make more realistic arrangements. Everything depends on honesty and speed.
If you are in a credit arrangement holding you hostage, you must get free. Take back your own responsibility for your life. Or if you have asked someone else to do this for you, you need to set them free.
Conclusion
Jesus came to this lost and lonely planet to be surety for Adam's ruined race.
Throughout the Old Testament period the animal sacrifices were valid for only one reason: they were backed by a guarantee from Heaven that in time the entire indebtedness would be paid. There was a Guarantor, One who stood surety for all human sin.
When Jesus came to earth to be surety for us, He had to "smart for it." How terribly He smarted we will never fully know. When we see Him face to face and see the prints of the nails in His hands, we will understand better, but we will never know fully, even in eternity, the enormity of the debt He paid nor the greatness of the cost to Him. We will only be able to echo Paul's great words: "Ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich" (2 Corinthians 8:9).
We will ponder Peter's words, "Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth: Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not... Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed" (1 Peter 2:22-24).
That which Solomon saw as an undesirable practice and the height of human folly—to be surety for a stranger—was the very thing Jesus did to make possible our redemption from sin.
IN HIS ETERNAL GRIP,
Pastor Jimmy Chapman
Victory Baptist Church
706-678-1855
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