Commentary - Proverbs 16:6

Bird's-eye view

Proverbs 16:6 is a dense knot of gospel truth tied in the middle of a book dedicated to practical wisdom. At first glance, it might appear to be a simple formula for self-improvement: be nice and honest, and have a healthy respect for God, and you'll get your sins dealt with and stay out of trouble. But that would be to read it with modern, man-centered spectacles. This proverb is not a bootstrap prescription for moral renovation. Rather, it is a declaration of how God's own character is the engine of our salvation and sanctification. It lays out the divine initiative and the human response in one tight couplet. The first line deals with our justification, the great problem of our sin, and declares that the solution is found in God's own attributes, His lovingkindness and truth. The second line addresses our sanctification, our turning from evil, and anchors it in a right relationship with Him, the fear of Yahweh. This is not law; this is gospel architecture.

The verse neatly dissects the Christian life into its two essential movements: God's move toward us in grace, and our responsive move away from sin in reverence. It shows that atonement is not something we achieve, but something accomplished by the very nature of God Himself, applied to us. And our subsequent holiness is not a grim-jawed effort to be better, but the natural fruit of being thunderstruck with a holy fear of who this God is. It is a proverb that takes us from the courtroom of God to the street where we live, showing that what happens in the former determines everything that happens in the latter.

Outline

Context In Proverbs

The book of Proverbs is intensely practical, dealing with the nitty-gritty of daily life. It is wisdom for the street, for the marketplace, for the home. However, it is a profound mistake to think this practicality is divorced from deep theology. The foundation of all true wisdom is theological. As Proverbs repeatedly insists, "The fear of Yahweh is the beginning of wisdom" (Prov. 9:10). Our verse here in chapter 16 is a prime example of this. It is situated among other proverbs dealing with kings, pride, planning, and speech, all very earthy concerns. Yet, right in the middle of it all, we are given this profound statement about atonement for sin and the root of righteous living. This is intentional. The Spirit is teaching us that you cannot understand how to properly weigh your actions (Prov. 16:2) or commit your work to the Lord (Prov. 16:3) until you have grasped how your fundamental problem, your iniquity, has been dealt with by God's own lovingkindness and truth.

This verse serves as a theological anchor for the surrounding practical instructions. It prevents us from interpreting Proverbs as a mere collection of self-help aphorisms. It reminds us that the wise man is not simply a clever man, but a redeemed man. His turning from evil is not just good moral calculus; it is the necessary consequence of having his iniquity atoned for by a gracious and true God whom he now rightly fears.

Verse by Verse Commentary

Proverbs 16:6

"By lovingkindness and truth iniquity is atoned for, And by the fear of Yahweh one turns away from evil."

"By lovingkindness and truth iniquity is atoned for..."

The first thing we must get straight is the agent here. Who is doing the atoning? The verse does not say, "By our lovingkindness and our truth..." If it did, we would be in a world of trouble, trying to muster up enough character to pay off an infinite debt. No, the lovingkindness and truth spoken of here are attributes of God. This is His hesed (lovingkindness, covenant loyalty, steadfast love) and His emeth (truth, faithfulness, reliability). Our iniquity, our twistedness and guilt, is covered, purged, and propitiated by God's own character in action.

How does this happen? This proverb is an Old Testament snapshot of the logic of the cross. Where do we see the ultimate expression of God's lovingkindness and truth? At Calvary. God, in His steadfast love for His people, sent His Son. And in His faithfulness to His own righteous standard, He did not sweep sin under the rug, but judged it fully in the person of His Son. Jesus Christ is the place where mercy and truth have met together, where righteousness and peace have kissed each other (Ps. 85:10). So when Solomon writes this, he is pointing forward to the great reality that atonement is a divine accomplishment, rooted in the very being of God. It is not our good deeds that atone for our bad deeds. That is a pagan scale-balancing act. It is God's grace and faithfulness, embodied in Christ, that provides the atonement. Our sin is not just forgiven; it is atoned for, a price has been paid, a satisfaction has been made, by God Himself.

"And by the fear of Yahweh one turns away from evil."

Here we have the second half of the equation, the human response that is made possible by the divine action. Notice the logical flow. First, atonement is provided by God. Then, and only then, does a man turn from evil. This is the biblical order of salvation: justification precedes and enables sanctification. We are not made right with God by turning from evil; we turn from evil because we have been made right with God.

And what is the engine of this turning? It is "the fear of Yahweh." This is not the cowering dread of a slave before a capricious tyrant. That is the kind of fear Adam had in the garden after he sinned, the fear that makes you hide. The fear of Yahweh is the awe, reverence, and trembling delight of a son before a holy and loving Father. It is the beginning of wisdom because it is the beginning of seeing things as they actually are. When you see God in His majesty, His holiness, His lovingkindness, and His truth, the tawdry allurements of sin begin to look as cheap and foolish as they truly are. The fear of God is a liberating terror. It is the one fear that swallows up all other fears, the fear of man, the fear of failure, the fear of missing out. When you fear God properly, you are no longer intimidated by evil. You don't just avoid evil because you might get caught; you turn away from it. It is a decisive, directional change. You see it for the dead-end street that it is, and you want nothing more to do with it, because your heart is now captivated by the glory of the God who atoned for your iniquity.

Application

This proverb is a diagnostic tool for the soul. If you are struggling with a particular sin, the solution is not simply to "try harder." The solution is to go back to the beginning of the verse. Meditate on the lovingkindness and truth of God that provided for your atonement. Preach the gospel to yourself. Your sin has been dealt with, fully and finally, at the cross. The bill has been paid. When you begin to grasp the sheer magnitude of that grace, it will cultivate in you the fear of the Lord.

And when the fear of the Lord takes root, turning from evil is no longer a matter of white-knuckled willpower, but of Spirit-empowered wisdom. You begin to hate the evil that nailed your Savior to the tree. You begin to love the righteousness that He purchased for you. So do not separate these two clauses. The power to turn from evil in your daily life flows directly from your confidence in the atonement God has accomplished for you in Christ. Live there. Rest in His lovingkindness and truth. And from that place of security and awe, you will find the strength to turn away from evil, not to earn His favor, but because you already have it.