Haters (Proverbs 18:3)

There are certain aspects to the character of a person that bring about reactions in other persons but more so in himself for anything that is the antithesis of who he is.

"When the wicked comes in [to the depth of evil], he becomes a contemptuous despiser [of all that is pure and good], and with inner baseness comes outer shame and reproach." Proverbs 18:3, Amplified

When a man immerses himself so far into that which is evil, he will have no choice but to despise all that is good and godly. God is not the antithesis of Satan, that needs to be understood; nor is He the antithesis of sin. To call Him such would be to place Him on an equal or lower level than Satan or sin. It is what God represents that becomes the antithesis of the sinner. The character of God threatens the sinner in that He wants to depose the sinner from the throne of his own heart. Shame and reproach come upon the wicked one because he has no part with God, he brings the shame and reproach upon himself and he wants to blame the One he wants nothing to do with. To be evil and wicked seems to be much more work than serving the Lord. Surrender is the only choice for humanity. God will eventually depose humanity, but not from the throne of his heart. God will come again and rule on this earth just as it should have been in the beginning.

Just Payment (Proverbs 11:31)

There will be payment for our actions on this earth, for the sinner and the saint alike.

"Behold, the [uncompromisingly] righteous shall be recompensed one earth; how much more the wicked and the sinner! [And if the righteous are barely saved, what will become of the ungodly and the wicked?]" Proverbs 11:31, Amplified

If the righteous are promised recompense while still on this earth, then how much more true is this for the wicked and the ungodly. To put forth an analogy I would have to say that every man is given the same building materials. What type of shelter he chooses to build is complete his choosing. The type of foundation is solely on his shoulders. It is like the man that built on the rock and the other that built on the sand in Matthew chapter six. Both built houses, but one withstood the trials of this life, the other fell.

The second part of this verse has perplexed me. The brackets indicate it is an addition that was not there. The amplified version attributes this to First Peter 4:18, "If the righteous is scarcely saved, where will the ungodly and sinner appear?" (NKJV) Peter pulled this from Proverbs 11:31. It is a but confusing. Here we have a verse in the Old Testament that attributes its contents to a book in the New Testament. And we have a book in the New Testament attributing its contents to a book in the Old Testament. A bit circular.

I read many different version of Proverbs 11:31 and none read like I Peter 4:18. The answer is quite simple. Though Proverbs speaks about recompense and Peter speaks about salvation, the contents of both are almost identical in idea and substance. The righteous will be recompensed and so will the sinner; is the righteous are barely saved then what about the sinner? We have to remember as well that the Bible has gone through many different translations. Peter was a Jew who spoke and read Hebrew, it is quite possible that this is how the verse in its original context read. In either case, the Holy Spirit allowed for two different versions of this one verse to appear in the context of the Bible.

The recompense of the righteous is that salvation as though through fire. And if the righteous are barely saved then the recompense of the sinner will surely be death.