‘The Ultimate Law of the Gospel’ (Proverbs 24:11-12)
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Proverbs 24:11-12
11 Rescue those who are being taken away to death; hold back those who are stumbling to the slaughter. 12 If you say, “Behold, we did not know this,” does not he who weighs the heart perceive it? Does not he who keeps watch over your soul know it, and will he not repay man according to his work?
Hey now! What a couple verses to start the year & to start this series! You might hear these verses and think to yourself ‘Man that’s kinda dark’...’You know, isn't it a little heavy to talk about those ‘being taken away to death’ and ‘stumbling to the slaughter’ on the first day of the year? ‘That kinda grotesque Luke goodness gracious!’
Listen I hear you and I’d argue it’s not grotesque, it’s beautiful. And the reason why I’d say it’s beautiful and that it's the perfect way to start the new year off is because they get at the heart of the gospel.
And why is that you might ask? Because these verses describe what God has done for you and me. The Lord saw the immense evil and perversity in all of us. He saw that we were ‘being taken away to death’ and that we were ‘stumbling to the slaughter’, drawn away by the allurement of sin. But God didn’t ignore our sin or pretend not to see us stumbling toward destruction. Instead, He sent Jesus to rescue us.
That’s the beauty of these verses. They remind us of what God has done for us—and they also challenge us to live out that same love by sharing the good news with others.
This picture is what theologian Charles Bridges calls ‘the ultimate law of the gospel’—to love others so deeply that we share with them the very truth that transformed us: the hope of salvation through Jesus Christ. It’s Christ’s story of rescuing us, taking such deep root in our hearts that it compels us to share with others in hopes that they might be rescued too. That’s the heart behind the Great Commission: love that rescues.
May we not be so apathetic to lost souls around us that we produce the excuses that we see in verse 12, saying ‘Behold, we did not know this’. May we not be the ones who pretend like we don’t know what to do or that we should even do anything in the first place. The gospel’s too good to just sit back and count the stars!
Think about it: rather than receiving our apathy, shouldn’t these people described in these verses—those ‘being taken away to death’ and ignorantly “stumbling to the slaughter” of their souls—shouldn’t these people be the objects of our deepest and most yearning desires?
And rather than being ignored, shouldn’t these people be all the more pursued by the love of Jesus? The only love that can rescue them?
I think so. I know so. We have been rescued from an eternity of damnation separate from the God who created us. And we were also rescued for a reason, rescued for the purpose of telling our story of redemption to every living breathing soul who will listen.
That’s the circle of the gospel: we are rescued by Christ’s love and redemption, and in response, we are called to share that life-changing hope with others.
Let’s not make excuses. I don’t want you or I to be a living picture of verse 12 in 2025, acting like others’ souls are no concern of ours.
Could it be this year that a soul may be rescued from death, held back from stumbling to the slaughter, if their danger was made known to them? Could it be? I believe so. Better yet so does the end of our text today.
‘Will he not repay man according to his work?’ (Proverbs 24:12).
“The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few” (Matthew 9:37).
While the work of salvation and the growth of the gospel is ultimately God’s - He, the chief watcher of souls (Proverbs 24:12), chooses to use people like you and me to plant and water seeds (1 Corinthians 3:6). So don’t withhold the Word that saves. Plant, water, and pray for God to give growth.
So, who do these verses bring to mind for you today?
Who around you is being 'taken away to death' or 'stumbling to the slaughter'?
Who needs to be rescued by the good news of Jesus Christ?
Let’s pray together for those people and for each other.
