As we have noted in the course of these studies, the word “whoso” occurs 54 times in the Bible (King James). Exactly one half of these are found in the book of Proverbs. We continue our examination of these Proverbs passages in which this word is found.
Solomon stated, “Whoso walketh uprightly shall be saved: but he that is perverse in his ways shall fall at once” (Prov. 28:13). Salvation is the keynote theme of Scripture. Jesus came to “seek and to save that which was lost” (Lk. 19:10). It is the grace of God that brings salvation to man (Tit. 2:11, 12). It was for mankind’s deliverance that God sent His Son into the world (Jn. 3:16). And yet, salvation remains so foreign to so many, as they have failed to grasp what the Word of God reveals that it entails. In the religious world it has been so glossed over by quaint sayings and the feel-good mentality that it has lost its true meaning and means of attainment. It has been demoted to something frivolously obtained and impossible to lose.
Although Solomon’s words here are found under a former covenant and reveal a generalization of the subject at hand, they still reveal the truth that salvation involves man’s active participation (always has under God’s plan, and always will). Just look at the questions asked by some of those revealed in the New Testament who were seeking to be saved. “Men and brethren, what shall we do?” (Acts 2:38). “Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?” (Acts 9:6). “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” (Acts 16:30). Notice that these people were not denigrated because of their questions. They were not told that they were foolish to think there was something they actually had to “do” in order to please God and be saved by Him. They were not corrected in their thinking at all. To the contrary, they were given answers that corresponded exactly to the questions they had asked. And, each one involved something they indeed had to “do.” Now, as in Solomon’s day, it is still the case that “Whoso walketh uprightly shall be saved.” That “upright walk” entails more than most ever consider, and requires all that God has commanded. Perhaps the words of Jesus sum the thought up best: “And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?” (Lk. 6:46).
-Eddy
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