Proverbs 15:21 Commentary and Bible Study

Here is a fundamental difference between the people of the world and the Lord’s people: the former find pleasure in sin, viewing it as their source of satisfaction, while the latter struggle to avoid it, viewing it as the source of eternal danger. Solomon says that anyone who finds pleasure in sin is destitute of discernment or heart. Why? Because sin is such a fearful matter that no one who understands what it is can play with it. One sin brought a curse on the world that placed all mankind under condemnation and under the sentence of death. Sin necessitated the death of the blameless Son of God to redeem us from hell. Sin brings guilt that takes away all peace, and brings ruin and misery, and yet men take pleasure in it. No wonder they are said to be destitute of discernment, unable to tell the difference between good and evil. They are like someone who has lost his sense of taste and does not care what he puts in his mouth; everything tastes the same; they manage to eat foods which others would find repulsive. The point is that when we see someone who enjoys sin, we should not say, ‘Perhaps sin is enjoyable after all’, but we should say, ‘How destitute of understanding this man is that he should manage to put himself in such a horrific position.’ But a man of understanding keeps himself from sin. He is the one you should look to if you want to know what you should find pleasure in and how a man should live. He keeps himself from sin and obeys God’s commandment to hate what is evil. He strives to walk uprightly. He does not always succeed, but when he falls into sin he is quick to confess and to seek restoration through the atonement of Christ.