Lesson 3:

A Matter of Life and Death

Memory Text
Proverbs 6:23 (NKJV)

23

For this command is a lamp, this teaching is a light, and correction and instruction are
the way to life.

Q1: To whose command and to whose teaching does this text refer? (Prov 6:20)

1. In context, this verse refers back to Prov 6:20 where the writer is instructing his son to keep
your fathers command and do not forsake your mothers teaching.

Q2: Which of the Ten Commandments does Prov 6:20 remind you?

1. It is a clear reminder of the fifth commandment:

o Exodus 20:12 (NKJV)
o 12 Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which
the LORD your God is giving you.
2. You honor your father and mother by obeying them, keeping their commandments, and not
forsaking their teaching.
3. This assumes, of course, that they are instructing you in the nurture and admonition of the
Lord.
4. Paul writes:
o Ephesians 6:1 (NKJV)
o 6 Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.
5. Children should obey their parents in the Lord.

Q3: What is the promise of the fifth commandment?

1. The promise of the 5th commandment is long life in the land He gives us. That is, on this
earth.
2. In repeating the commandment in Ephesians Paul writes:
o Ephesians 6:1-3 (NKJV)
o 1 Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.
o

2 Honor your father and mother, which is the first commandment with promise:

o 3 that it may be well with you and you may live long on the earth.
3. The promise of the commandment is that you may live long on the earth.
4. So this is not a promise of eternal life; it is a promise of a long earthly life before you die.

Q4: What is the promise of our memory text?

1. It is very similar to the 5th commandment.

2. Being receptive to your parents correction and instruction are the way to life.
3. Again, this is not eternal life, it is a promise of a long earthly life before your die.

Light or Darkness

This command is a lamp, this teaching is a light. (6:23)

Q1: Of what famous Psalm does this remind you?

Thy word is a ____ unto my feet and a ____ unto my path. (Ps 119:105)

1. Ps 119:105 uses the same words in the same order: lamp and light.

Q2: How is Gods word like a lamp and a light?

1. In scripture, light is a metaphor for truth, righteousness, holiness, godliness.

2. Darkness is a metaphor for error, sin, evil, and rebellion against God.
3. We could cite scores of verses on this. Here are a few examples.
o
o

Isaiah 5:20 (NKJV)

20 Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil;
Who put darkness for light, and light for darkness;
Who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!

o
o

John 3:19 (NKJV)

19 And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved
darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.

o
o

1 John 1:5 (NKJV)

5 This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is

light and in Him is no darkness at all.

4. Gods word and His commandments and His teachings lead us into the light.
5. That is, they lead us into truth, righteousness, godliness, and salvation.
6. Gods word guides us through the darkness of evil and sin to His eternal kingdom of light and
glory.

Head Lamp

Read Prov 6:21 and 7:3

Q1: If you want to see through the darkness, where do you hold the flashlight?

1. To see where you are going in the darkness, you need to point the flashlight in the direction
you are looking.
2. Thats what is nice about the headlamp in this picture.
3. You put it on your head so the light is always pointing in the direction you are looking.
4. Then you can use both hands to do something useful.

Q2: How can we make Gods word like this headlamp?

o
o

Psalm 119:11 (KJV)

11 Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.

1. We need to boil our minds in the word of God.

2. We must have Gods word hidden in our hearts so that no matter what direction we turn, the
darkness will be illuminated by His truth.
3. When temptation arises, it is too late to try to find out what the Bible says.
4. Like Jesus in the wilderness, we must be always ready with and answer: It is written.
o 1 Peter 3:15 (KJV)
o 15 be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the
hope that is in you with meekness and fear:

What light have you found in the word of God and what difference has it made in your life?

Temporal or Eternal

Read Prov 7:2

Q1: Obey my commandments and live. What kind of life is promised here, temporal or eternal?

1.
2.
3.
4.

We must be very clear here that this is temporal life that is being promised, not eternal life.
How many will receive eternal life as a result of obeying the commandments of God?
Nobody, because nobody has perfectly obeyed the commandments of God. (Jesus excepted)
It only takes one sin to make you a sinner, and sinners will not inherit the kingdom of God.

Q2: How can obedience to Gods commandments generally add both quality and quantity years to
your life?

1. Lets think through the second table of the law.

2. What happens if you murder someone?
3. Chances are you could be murdered in revenge, be arrested, convicted, imprisoned, or
executed.
4. What happens if you commit adultery?
5. Chances are you destroy two families, go through the stress of divorce, and may get shot by
the offended party.
6. What happens if you steal?
7. You could be shot by the person you are stealing from, you could be arrested and go to jail.
8. What happens if you lie?
9. If you lie under oath in a court of law, you can be convicted of perjury and go to jail. Good
relationships are impossible with liars.
10. What happens when you covet?
11. Coveting is the sin that occurs in our hearts that leads to all the other acts of sin.
12. All these create stress, worry, and heartache that leads to a life that is shortened in both
quality and quantity.
13. But there is actually one of the 10 commandments that actually promises long life: the 5 th

commandment to honor our parents.

14. Lets take a look at some evidence that supports that promise

Quotation from Fit Forever

Devotional by Kay Kuzma, March 19,
p 88 R&H 2005

Many studies have shown that having close relationships decreases your
susceptibility to disease in general. But one of the most interesting studies
began in 1952 when Dr. Stanley King and his associates randomly selected
126 healthy male Harvard students and asked them how close they knew
their parents and whether or not they had a good relationship with them.

1. Just take the first sentence alone.

2. Sin breaks relationships. First our relationship with God, then our relationships with others.
3. The stress of broken relationships leads, in general, to disease, and, in general, disease shortens life.