The sermon, titled 'Seven Robber Barons', delivered by Peter Allison, explores Proverbs 17:9-15, highlighting the destructive effects of certain behaviors on the unity and fellowship of the church. The sermon likens these behaviors to the metaphorical 'robber barons' of the church, who steal peace and intimacy from relationships. The first 'robber baron' is one who 'repeats a matter', causing separation among friends instead of covering transgressions with love. Covering a transgression involves forgiving and not holding past wrongs against others. The second is the folly of rebuking a fool, who resists correction, contrasting with a wise person who benefits from rebuke. The third is rebellion against authority, which invites divine retribution, as illustrated by biblical examples of Korah, Absalom, and Sheba. The fourth 'robber baron' is the ungrateful person who returns evil for good, exemplified by Judas and Gehazi. The sermon concludes by emphasizing the grace of Jesus Christ, who returns good for evil, and encourages believers to emulate Christ's example by seeking love and peace through the Holy Spirit.

Please turn in your copy of God's Word to Proverbs chapter 17. This morning we will be looking at verses 9. I'm sorry, beginning at verse 9. I'd like to read verses 9 through 15. Here, The word of God.

He who covers a transgression seeks love, but he who repeats a matter separates friends. Rebuke is more effective for a wise man than a hundred blows on a fool. An evil man seeks only rebellion, therefore a cruel messenger will be sent against him. Let a man meet a bear robbed of her cubs, rather than a fool in his folly. Whoever rewards evil for good, evil will not depart from his house.

The beginning of strife is like releasing water. Therefore stop contention before a quarrel starts. He who justifies the wicked and he who condemns the just, both of them alike, are an abomination to the Lord." Thus far, the reading of God's Word may he write its truth upon our heart. Let us pray. Almighty Heavenly Father, you are the word that was made flesh, that dwelt among us, whose glory we beheld.

And you have given to us your word. And bringing it through your messengers, You have given to us Your Holy Spirit to apply that word, to enable us to understand it, to enable us to see its truth and its beauty, to be filled with wonder, love, and awe, and adoration at your word and at you. Father, the scriptures reveal you, our Savior Jesus Christ, and we ask you give us eyes to see We I also ask that you would sanctify these lips that as your messenger they might proclaim Your truth and not my own in Christ's name we ask a man In the 19th century, I was going to say last century, but it's now two centuries ago, in the latter half of that century, companies, corporations, were just becoming prevalent and were being used in numbers in ways they had not been often used or is frequently used. And there arose a metaphor that came into common usage probably in the New York Times. The word, the phrase, robber baron.

And in the words of one historian, a robber baron, that metaphor conjures up visions of titanic, very big, monopolists, people who use their corporations to engage in monopolies, who crush competitors, who rigged markets and corrupted government in their greed and power. Legend has it they held sway over a hapless democracy." Now there is much that could be said about that whole topic. There are certainly envious people, but there is also a lot of truth in that description. Even Congress set up a committee as they are wont to do to investigate robber barons, and They found that much of what was said was true of these corporations and of the men who were behind them. That phrase though is used to speak of the harm that was done to the country, the evil that was perpetrated upon people in the land.

And I think that is a very apt description of the people who are described in our text, and the effect that they have on the fellowship and the unity of the church. On the fellowship and unity of any body of people for that matter. The people that are described here are like robber barons. They steal the peace of the fellowship. They steal the intimacy of relationships.

And they leave in their wake a trail of destruction, of broken relationships, of broken friendships of hurt and strife. There are seven that are here, and I don't think we're going to finish all of them this week, but we'll start. There are seven people that are described in verses 9 through 15. Seven People who we could say are robber barons in the church stealing the peace of God's people The first person that is talked about is someone who repeats a matter. Instead of covering, he who covers a transgression seeks love, but he who repeats a matter separates friends.

He who covers a transgression, that's a word for sin that's used frequently in the wisdom literature in Job, Psalms, and Proverbs. It's a sin. It's a fault. It's something that is inconvenient, maybe not wise. He who covers such things seeks love.

He is seeking what is good. And covering involves two things. Cover a transgression and to seek love. It involves first of all the removal of the debt or the obligation. If we sin against somebody or we do something that results in hurt to somebody, maybe it's you know we we drop something that belongs to them and we break it or we do some other sort of injury to them.

There is an obligation, a debt that is owed as a result of that action. And to cover a transgression means that that debt, that obligation is removed. We pay it. We cover that. And we don't require the payment of that debt from that person.

Maybe you've broken something when you've been visiting somebody. I know I've done that. And what is your first reaction is you want to Replace that object. And if they're good friends of yours, they'll say, Oh, don't worry about it. It's nothing important.

That's the debt there. That's what you're feeling that you need to replace something that's been broken is a debt, it's an obligation. And to cover the transgression means that that obligation, you remove it. It's paid. You pay it.

You absorb that loss, that debt. But it also means a second thing. It means that we don't remember it anymore. That doesn't mean we get amnesia, But it means that, not remembering it means we don't hold it over somebody. We don't hold it against them.

We don't bring it up and use it as a weapon against them. Now often if we are not remembering something in that sense, we may very well forget it. That's often what happens. It's not something that is playing over and over in our mind. It is not something that we are mulling over and nursing in our heart, this hurt that has been done to us.

Done to us. Now that doesn't mean we are avoiding saying something out of fear, or That is something that we really want to say, but we are afraid to say. That is not really remembering it. It means not holding mental reservations against people. I think it is well described by two well-known commentators.

Matthew Henry said this, and I quote from him, The way to preserve peace among relations and neighbors is to make the best of everything. Not to tell others what has been said or done against them when it is not at all necessary to their safety. Nor to take notice of what has been done or said against them when it is not at all necessary to their safety, nor to take notice of what has been done or said against them, when it is not at all necessary to their safety, Nor to take notice of what has been done or said against ourselves, but to excuse both and put the best construction on them. It was an oversight. Therefore overlook it.

It was done through forgetfulness. Therefore forget it. Perhaps it made nothing of you. Then you make nothing of it." That's the end of his quote. The best way to preserve peace is not to tell what has been done, not to tell people what Not to tell people what has been said or done against them, unless it's necessary for their safety.

If it was an oversight, overlook it. If it was forgetfulness, forget it. And if it made nothing of us, then make nothing of it. Charles Bridges said this, quote, the repeating of a matter has often separated friends by uncovering a forgotten quarrel. Mischief might not be intended, but to amuse ourselves with the follies or weaknesses of our brethren is sinful, trifling, and fraught with injury.

Justly our tattlers and busy bodies describe those speaking things which they ought not." That's a quote from 1 Timothy 5.13. A disciplined tongue is a gracious mercy to the church. The end of quote. A disciplined tongue is a gracious mercy to the church. And you see we need to constantly make decisions about what we will do with the information we receive.

The information that we are told. Those who seek love will cover, will seek to cover transgressions. There are many ways that can be done. The removal of the obligation, the not remembering of the incident, to not use it against that person. Those that have teaching duties will use that information to better teach those whom they are called to teach.

As parents, when we see and observe things in our children, we take note of that. We As parents who seek to cover those transgressions may use that input, use that knowledge to formulate what are the things that first of all I need to pray about as a father or mother. What are the things that I need to teach my children? And many times you can teach in ways that are not directly dealing with what may be an unintentional oversight, what may be a weakness. We can bring as parents, we can bring teaching and we can bring instruction to our children.

This is really what anybody who has, as we looked in the fifth commandment, who has a responsibility or an authority. This is what legislatures do when they assess where, what the problems in the land are, and how laws might be constructed to protect the people from those particular problems. It's what sessions do when they look at a church, and what are the needs of the congregation? What do we need to hear from the Word of God? These are ways that we can more indirectly seek to cover transgressions.

Now the second robber baron is someone who reproves a fool. Rebuke is more effective for a wise man than a hundred blows on a fool. Proverbs says, don't answer a fool according to his folly, lest you be like him. Rebuke is more effective for a wise man than a hundred blows on a fool. And there's another verse about fools in verse 12, Let a man meet a bear robbed of her cubs, rather than a fool in his folly.

A mother bear robbed of her cubs. We get that phrase When we want to talk about a mother who is defending her children, we call her a mama bear. Somebody who can ferociously defend her children. Somebody who ordinarily is not thought of as a ferocious person, but who when she is defending her children can become very strong and very adamant and very protective. That's the sense of this metaphor.

Except a bear is somebody who by nature is very strong, who by its nature can be very vicious, even without being a mama bear. But a mama bear, a real bear, a real mama bear, is something nobody wants to tangle with. Bears are, bears can be cunning. I had a friend pass through a few, a year or two ago, from out west, And he was telling me about a bear hunting trip that he had. He's gotten into hunting bear.

It's a level above, maybe two levels above hunting deer in terms of the adrenaline and the excitement in it. He talked about trying to track this bear and all of a sudden having a sixth sense kick in that he should look behind him. And he looked behind him just in time to see the very bear that he was tracking, charge him. And he managed to get being a, being a sensor kind of a guy, he managed to react appropriately and discharge his rifle in the correct direction and kill the bear. But it was that close.

The bear was feet away from him. He thought he was tracking the bear, the bear was tracking him. This wasn't even a mama bear. This is a very, very powerful image. Let a man meet a bear robbed of her cubs rather than a fool in his folly.

See a fool is someone who is wise in his own eyes, someone who will not listen to reprove somebody who doesn't accept correction who Rejects it who becomes angry? To be wise in our own eyes is to Despise the wisdom of God. It's to really deny God. It's to say we're wiser than God or who is God that I should listen to him. The fool says in his heart there is no God.

Verse 10, rebuke is more effective for a wise man. Rebuke, that word is to penetrate, to penetrate deeply. Rebuke penetrates more deeply, a reproof penetrates more deeply into a wise person than a hundred blows on a fool. Both Parts of this antithetical proverb use the same verb. Rebuke, so you have to read it if you want to have complete sentences.

Rebuke is penetrates more deeply into a wise man than a hundred blows penetrate into a fool. Now one is a spiritual penetration, the other is a physical penetration. The word here for blows is the word that is used to smite somebody or to kill them. Many times it has reference to killing someone. It's a very, very common word in the Old Testament.

Remember all the times you read, and so and so smote this nation, or smote that city, or just the same word here. It's the exact same word. It's used in probably more than in any other chapter in Joshua 10. Remember that chapter where the sun stood still to give time for the Israelites to smite the Amorites. Joshua gathered all the land together to come to help the Gibeonites who were being attacked.

They won a great victory. God caused the sun to stop, to give time for the Israelites to complete smiting their enemies. And that's used throughout that chapter a number of times, probably 10 or more times, 10 to 15 times to describe what the Israelites did to all of the cities in southern Canaan in the conquest of the land of Canaan. They smote this city, they smote that city with the edge of the sword, didn't leave one soul left. That's what it's talking about here.

It's also, Now in pedagogical texts, texts involving instruction, discipleship, and learning, it seems to refer to corporal chastisement. In Proverbs 23, I'm sure everybody is very familiar with those verses, if not just because of the wicked of our land, throw them back at us. But Proverbs 23 speaks about, �Do not withhold correction from a child, for if you beat him with a rod he will not die. You shall beat him with a rod and deliver his soul from hell. That's the same word.

Do not withhold correction from a child if you beat him with a rod." The same word there. So in pedagogical text that word instead of being translated to kill or to smite is translated to use the rod on somebody. The spank we would say today. Beat has maybe a bad connotation in our culture because it is used of people who abuse authority are said to beat other people. But that is not the sense here.

It is not speaking about an abusive authority in Proverbs 23. In fact, it says, you shall do this. It's speaking of the right use of the rod for corporal chastisement in the instruction of our children. And that's the word here, a hundred blows. It's a gross exaggeration.

The civil magistrate was limited to 40 blows upon anyone, lest he be humiliated. And so this is saying you could go to 100 blows and you still will have no effect, no penetration. You are not going to break into this foolish person who is wise in his own eyes. It is like casting your pearls before swine. It produces a huge disruption to peace and accomplishes nothing.

And that's why such people like this are to be put out of the assembly. They're to be put out of the congregation. We're to reject such people after a first or second warning. Because it's impossible to correct them, or to break through their own self-righteousness, their own wisdom, being wise in their own eyes. The third Robert Barron, is in verse 11, it's those who rebel against authority.

An evil man seeks only rebellion, therefore a cruel messenger will be sent against him. A cruel messenger is specifically reserved for rebellious people. Messenger here is the same word for angel, which is just a messenger of God. That's what an angel is, a messenger of God. And so this word is used equally in Hebrew to describe the messenger of God, the divine messenger of God, which we call angels in English, or the human messengers of man, which we call messengers, or ambassadors, or something of that sort.

So we have two separate words for what the Hebrew has one word, messenger. And in the Bible this word is used about half the time to describe angels and half the time to describe messengers of humans to humans. Most of the time, when it is used of humans, messengers, These are people who are bringing a message, a word. It might be a word of warning, it might be an inquiry. So when Balak wanted Balam to come, he sent messengers to him.

If a king wanted to acquire from a prophet, he would send messengers to us. If he wanted to make a peace treaty with another nation, he would send messengers to them. If he wanted to pass news to somebody, he would send messengers. So half the time it's used of these human messengers. But very rarely, in fact maybe not even ever, are human messengers sent by humans sent to bring retribution.

But God's messengers are sent to bring retribution, to bring judgment. So we have to determine from the context what kind of a messenger is being referred to here. And I think because of this context, because this is a messenger who is obviously bringing punishment. He's obviously bringing, it's a cruel messenger. It's the only place in the whole Bible that I could find that a cruel and messenger are put together.

God's judgments are spoken of as cruel. God says in describing his oracle against Babylon, or Isaiah says when he brought his oracle against Babylon, which was the word of the Lord, which he was called to send. He said, Behold, the day of the Lord comes, cruel, both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the Lamb desolate, and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it." The Day of the Lord was described as cruel because it was going to bring calamity, not because it was unjust, but because it was going to bring destruction. It was going to destroy what was wicked. It's called cruel.

Nebuchadnezzar was described as a cruel man, But Nebuchadnezzar was also God's servant. God said Nebuchadnezzar is my servant to administer my vengeance, my judgment. In Jeremiah 27, God says, and now through Jeremiah, and now I have given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, my servant, and the beasts of the field have I given him also to serve him." So God can send messengers who are cruel, who do things that are hard. God's judgments are hard. So I think the sense here is that An evil man seeks only rebellion, therefore a cruel messenger will be sent against him, is saying that he will face divine retribution.

This is in a sense like an angel of death that will come against him, somebody who rebels against God. And remember that when we rebel against the authority that God has established, we are rebelling against God Himself. God Himself. When the children of Israel rebelled against Samuel and they wanted a king like the other nations, God says they haven't rejected you. They haven't rejected your rule.

They've rejected my rule. They've rejected me. So someone who is An evil person, as this text describes, seeking rebellion is someone who lives with a chip on their shoulder and they rise in rebellion against anyone who would tell them what to do. They bristle when somebody gives them direction. And that's a serious thing.

It's a very serious thing. Scripture compares that sin of Rebellion to the sin of witchcraft equates the two. A cruel messenger will be sent against a rebellious person. In other words, their death has often been spectacular and different. Just think of a few examples in Scripture.

The one that comes first to mind when we think of rebellion against lawful authority is Korah, Dathan, and Abiram in Numbers 16. We're not going to look there, but you remember these people rebelled against Moses. They said, you know, who are you to take this authority and say that you're the only one that can do these things, these sacrifices and offerings? That you're the only one who speaks for God. Moses falls on his face.

Moses had only pleaded for those people. When God would want to destroy them because of their rebellion, Moses would plead to God for them. God answers very strongly and in a very unusual way. Moses said, if these people die an ordinary death, then God has not spoken through me. If these people Who are rising up in rebellion, if they just die an ordinary death, then they are right and I am wrong.

And so there was a showdown. They were all to bring their censors and they were going to offer fire and Moses and Aaron did the same. And you know what happened? God caused the earth to simply open up underneath them and swallow them and their families alive. 250 people joined in that rebellion.

250 Levites were destroyed, burned up. Or think of Elisha. When he came back from having watched Elijah ascend, be taken up in the chariots, and the people who came out and were mocking him. Mocking this prophet of the Lord, whom Elijah had anointed to take his place as God's messenger. They mocked him and bears come out of the forest and maul them.

Forty-two children. It's an unusual thing to happen. Or Absalom. Absalom rebelled against his father. He got all Israel on his side, turned them against his own father.

Now how did he die? There was a war, his side loses, and as he's fleeing away on his donkey, His hair gets caught in a tree. The donkey goes on, leaving him hanging there helplessly by his hair. Joab comes along and runs him through with a spear. A cruel messenger, the angel of death visited Absalom.

Or Sheba, at the exact same time, right after this. Sheba rises up in rebellion against David and gathers an army together against himself and runs into a city, holds himself up in there. And Joab comes with the army of Israel against this city, ready to destroy it. And a very wise woman comes to the wall and says, Joab, are you going to destroy this whole city? All the people in here?

And Joab said, no, I'm not here to destroy the city, I just want one person. And the woman says, okay, just a minute. The Bible calls her a wise woman. It doesn't name who she was, but it says that she was a wise woman, a mother in Israel. She went, this wise woman, went to the elders and said, look, are you going to let this city be destroyed because of this one man, or are you going to give this rebel over to Joab.

They all agreed with her and they threw that sheba's head over the wall and Joab went his way and left the city saved because of a wise woman But that is a cruel messenger of death to those who rebel against lawful authority. The Bible speaks of children who rebel against their parents as the eagles of the air coming and plucking out their eyes. A cruel messenger is sent against those who rebel. Bell. The last robber baron this morning is the ungrateful.

The one who rewards evil for good says that evil would not depart from his house. All unbelievers, beginning with Adam, returned evil for good. God created Adam wise, created him with knowledge, righteousness, holiness. He gave him dominion over all the earth, gave him a garden to tend, gave him a wife to be a helper that was suited to his task of exercising dominion over this earth. He gave him a calling, something that was fulfilling for him, something in which he could work and find satisfaction and reward.

God promised Adam that if he obeyed God that he would live, he would give him life. All of these blessings Adam had, and what did he do in response to that kindness and that goodness, that ultimate goodness? He returned evil. He disobeyed the command that God had given him not to eat the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. But it's not just Adam, there are many relationships where we can return evil for good.

Just think of student-teacher relationships, Teachers who lay themselves out for students. Think of Judas, who Jesus took under with him for three years. He was with Jesus. He was blessed by being in his presence, by hearing his wisdom, by hearing him teach, by seeing him work many miracles. That was a great privilege.

That was a true blessing that Christ afforded Judas. To see the things that he saw, to hear the things. When the disciples came back, they rejoiced that the demons were made subject to them that they could heal the sick and the lame Judas got to see all this firsthand You got to be a participant you got to spend all this time with Jesus in his time on earth And what did he do? Betray him for 30 pieces of silver to his enemies. You know I think that student teacher is one relationship where we need to guard against and be very grateful for the work that people that teachers put in for us and so that we do not return evil for good.

Parents and children is another relationship where evil can frequently be returned for good. Parents can put years of loving labor into their children to take care of them, to nurse them in their nights of sickness, to feed them. That's a labor, that's a toil, that's a good that mothers do often for their children teaching them instructing them showing them sacrificing of their convenience sacrificing of their enjoyment for the sake of their children. That's good. That's a very good thing.

It's easy to forget it. It's easy for children to forget that. In disobeying your parents, when they have labored to feed you, To clothe you, to teach you, to train you, to provide for you, to bless you with things as they are able. To disobey them is the epitome of returning evil for good. But you know, even as adults, children can be ungrateful to their parents.

A number of years ago, after I'd been out of the house supporting myself for probably 10 or 15 years my father asked for some help with his taxes he was visiting us and I told him to my great regret well no I Wouldn't help him wouldn't help him unless he would use a certain computer program. He had a habit of wanting to do everything on paper by hand. If you make a mistake, you've got to add everything up again. And I wasn't going to help him that way. But when the Holy Spirit convicted me of that ingratitude, I called him and asked his forgiveness for being so ungrateful, to be unwilling to help him his way to do something for him.

People, it's easy to return good, to return evil for those who have done good to us. Especially when people risk far more than they are ever compensated for. People who, even when they are paid, serve us in ways that risk far more than they are paid. Like Gehazi, another servant, master-servant relationship, another student-disciple. Got to spend time with Elisha.

He saw, he participated, and he even was given some ability to do things himself. He got to live with Elisha, a very privileged position. And yet he returned that kindness by trading on Elisha's good name to get wealth for himself. Whoever rewards evil for good, evil will not depart from his house. He was cursed with leprosy on him.

Elisha said it would not depart from his house forever. But this morning we can be very thankful that Jesus Christ has not repaid the evil that we have done to Him with evil. But he has repaid good for the evil that we have done to him. We have breathed his air. We have eaten food by his hand.

We have lived in homes that he has given us. We have clothed ourselves with his provision of reignment as he has promised to do. We enjoy his blessings upon us. He is wonderful. He is a counselor.

He is the Prince of Peace and we enjoy the blessings of the peace that He has brought even in our homes and with one another. He is the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords. He is reigning over the nations of the earth. He is restraining sin in those lands. And we get to enjoy the benefit of his restraint of wickedness.

We often don't even think about it. We walk down the street without a fear for our lives. Why? Because God is restraining the wickedness of men all around us. I even lost my wallet once, and I had no idea where I lost it.

In the whole city I had no idea where I lost it. Somebody found it and called me up. They did the right thing. Why because God is restraining sin in wicked people. And we get to enjoy the fruit of that rain the fruit of his grace and then we sin against him We do what He tells us not to do.

And yet Christ returns good for our evil. While we were yet at enmity against Him, Christ loved us. He died in our place. Greater love has no man than this, than to lay down one's life for one's friends. Jesus has returned to us good in exchange for evil.

And He is in that sense our example. But more than that, it is his spirit that is what enables us to not return evil for good, but to rather bless those who persecute, to return good, to overcome evil with good. May we have that mind that was in Christ Jesus ourselves. A mind that the scriptures say is, can be ours, by His grace, through the power of His Holy Spirit working in us. Let's pray.

Let's pray. Our Heavenly Father, we thank you that you have loved us even when we were unlovable. When we were yet at enmity against you, you died for us. You gave us your Holy Spirit to draw us to yourself. You have forgiven our iniquities.

You have crowned our life with loving kindness and tender mercies. And you have removed our transgressions from us as far as the East is from the West and remembered them no more. Lord, we ask that that mind that was in Christ might also be in us By the powerful working of your Holy Spirit, by that same Spirit who has raised Christ from the dead, He, Lord, we need. And it is He whom you have promised to us that when you ascended into heaven you would send him. You have also promised that even as parents give to their children, even unregenerate parents, how much more Will you not, being the loving Father that you are, give to us your children?

So we ask for your Holy Spirit. That spirit of wisdom and revelation, that we might have wisdom and not be foolish. That we might not be ungrateful, returning evil for good. That we might not be rebellious against you. That we might be those who seek love one with another.

Father this We boldly ask because you have promised it to us in Jesus Christ. In His name we pray, Amen.