As Iron Sharpens Iron: Who Sharpens You? Proverbs 27 Sermon
Scripture: Proverbs 27:5–17
Series: Proverbs Advance
Preacher: Russell Smith
Date: July 26, 2026
Church: Madeira-Silverwood Presbyterian Church, Cincinnati, Ohio
Theme verse: Proverbs 27:17
What does “iron sharpens iron” mean?
“As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.” We are made for relationship, because the triune God is relational at the heart of his character. We sharpen one another when we open ourselves to honest feedback from friends we trust, bear one another’s burdens, and delight in one another. As we trust in Christ, we are forgiven, and the Holy Spirit empowers us to help one another grow into the fullness of what God designed us to be.
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All this month, We’ve been dipping into the book of Proverbs. This week I chose a section that focuses on relationships and friendships, because I believe relationships are truly at the heart of God’s character, and at the heart of what it is to follow Christ.
We Are Made for Relationship
Today we are commissioning our mission team to go to the Appalachia Service Project. Tex Evans, the Kentucky minister who founded the Appalachia Service Project, said, “Appalachia Service Project is a relationship ministry with construction on the side.” He understood (he is now with the Lord) that ultimately the Christian faith is about relationships.
Our God is relational in God’s very character. God is a triune God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Community is at the heart of God’s character; relationship is at the heart of God’s character, with love continually flowing forth among the persons of the Trinity. And in creation, God’s love flows forth into creating the cosmos and creating human beings who bear the stamp of God’s divine image. We were indeed created for relationship: for loving kindness and loving relationships with one another. So the wisdom we are dipping into today is wisdom about relationships.
I think the most famous verse in this passage is actually the last one: “As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.” We are made for one another. We are made to sharpen one another, to help one another grow into the fullness of what God has designed us to be. As we trust in Christ, we know that we are all fallen, broken creatures. But as we trust in Christ, not only are we forgiven; we receive the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit empowers us to sharpen one another, as iron sharpens iron. That is a really great overarching theme. But this passage takes us on a bit of a journey through some other important things about relationships.
Proverbs Makes Room for Laughter
Let’s remember that this passage has comedy in it. Sometimes relationships can be very comical. “If anyone loudly blesses their neighbor early in the morning, it will be taken as a curse.” Think of Ned Flanders in The Simpsons. An overabundance of good intentions, poorly timed, can actually be a pain in the neck. I love how Proverbs slips some of these humorous ones in.
Or even more comical: “A quarrelsome wife is like the dripping of a leaky roof in a rainstorm; restraining her is like restraining the wind or grasping oil with the hand.” Now, before I get into deep trouble with my wife, I did forewarn her that this was going to be in here. It is a funny saying. But remember how I said you have to ponder and chew on the Proverbs? That also means flipping things around. It’s framed as a wife, but we could equally read it as a grumpy, grouchy husband being like the dripping of a leaky roof in a rainstorm. It does indeed go both ways. So, gentlemen, do not start quoting this to your wife on a regular basis. As your pastor, I assure you that would be a bad idea.
Sharpening Means Opening Ourselves to Correction
Beyond the comic side, the passage gives a more serious picture of the sharpening: honest feedback. It gets into how we open ourselves up in relationships of intimacy, relationships where we learn to trust one another and open our hearts to one another. The sharpening lies in opening ourselves up to correction. It is a healthy thing to open yourself to another trusted person so that they can sharpen you. “Better is open rebuke than hidden love. Wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies kisses.”
These aren’t wounds from a friend who is trying to hurt you. Sometimes a friend gives you honest feedback, and sometimes that honest feedback hurts. Sometimes your spouse gives you honest feedback, and that honest feedback hurts. But it can be trusted, because you know they love you, and you know it’s for your own good.
One of the more humbling things that happened to me in the past several months was when a dear friend asked me, “You know me probably better than anybody else. Would you give me feedback on three or four things where I might have blind spots?” Frankly, it terrified me. I said, “Let me pray about this, and let me work it down to one.” It was incredibly hard to be asked for that and I wanted to honor my friend’s request. We had a really good discussion. I don’t know whether it was helpful. But that friend was practicing this proverb: “I’m going to open myself up to my friend, a brother in Christ, because I trust him to give me honest feedback.” Wounds from a friend can be trusted.
Friends Bear One Another’s Burdens
Then there is the aspect of mutual care and mutual support in times of trouble. We sing about it in the hymn “Blest Be the Tie That Binds”: “Our mutual burdens bear, and often for each other flows the sympathizing tear.” Proverbs says, “Do not forsake your friend or a friend of your family, and do not go to your relative’s house when disaster strikes you—better a neighbor nearby than a relative far away.”
Remember that in the ancient world, people were scattered far and wide. When it was time to start your own estate, you moved off. Read through the Old Testament and you find Abraham wandering to the land God called him to. You moved away from your family, and so you cultivated friendships and relationships for mutual care and mutual support.
We live in a very mobile world, too. It’s very easy to move far away. And so we cultivate relationships. We cultivate a found family. I hope that is what a church is: you find your family in a church. You find your tribe; you find your people. I hope people experience this congregation, this fellowship, not as just someplace to check in on a Sunday, but as a place to find the people you can call up and say, “Hey, I’m struggling. I need some help. I need some advice. I need some guidance.” Or, “Hey, I’m working on something, and I’d love for you to come along with me.” I hope that by the power of the Holy Spirit we are becoming, and continue to be, a people who lean on and trust and encourage and support one another and cry together, because God in his providence has redeemed us by the blood of Christ and brought us together by the power of the Spirit to be this people, in this place, at this time. That, I think, is the wonderful picture here.
Friendship Brings Delight
The final piece is the joy, the delight: “Perfume and incense bring joy to the heart, and the pleasantness of a friend springs from their heartfelt advice.” Relationships aren’t just useful to us; they bring us joy. There is a sweetness that comes from simply being together and spending time together. God in his providence made us to be delightful to one another.
Tammy and I have been here now for a little over five and a half years, and we rejoice and delight in you. You have all been so wonderful. I’ve enjoyed working with so many of you in so many different contexts: going on mission trips, serving at Matthew 25: Ministries, being in Bible studies, going on pilgrimage together, singing together, worshiping together, or just being goofy together. It is a delightful experience.
That is why I am so thrilled that today we also celebrate an adult baptism. A family that has become a great part of this congregation, and dear friends of ours, will be journeying alongside one of their own as she is baptized. And this bit about bringing joy to the heart? This is a day of great joy: great joy for me and for my family, great joy for theirs, and, I believe, great joy for this congregation. This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.
Invitation to Reflection
Take a few quiet moments to give thanks for the people God has placed in your life. Ask the Holy Spirit who is sharpening you, who needs you nearby in a time of trouble, and in whose friendship you might simply delight this week.
Questions for Reflection
Who in my life has permission to give me honest feedback, and am I open to receiving it?
Who is “a neighbor nearby” that I can support, or lean on, in a time of trouble?
How am I experiencing the church as a found family, and how might I help someone else find their people here?
This sermon is part of the Digital Discipleship Resources of Madeira-Silverwood Presbyterian Church in Cincinnati, Ohio. We create resources to help people take their next step of faith with Jesus.
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