(1) "My son, attend unto my wisdom, and bow thine ear to my understanding:
(2) That thou mayest regard discretion, and that thy lips may keep knowledge.
(3) For the lips of a strange woman drop as an honeycomb, and her mouth is smoother than oil:
(4) But her end is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a twoedged sword.
(5) Her feet go down to death; her steps take hold on hell.
(6) Lest thou shouldest ponder the path of life, her ways are moveable, that thou canst not know them.
(7) Hear me now therefore, O ye children, and depart not from the words of my mouth.
(8) Remove thy way far from her, and come not nigh the door of her house:
(9) Lest thou give thine honour unto others, and thy years unto the cruel:
(10) Lest strangers be filled with thy wealth; and thy labours be in the house of a stranger;
(11) And thou mourn at the last, when thy flesh and thy body are consumed,
(12) And say, How have I hated instruction, and my heart despised reproof;
(13) And have not obeyed the voice of my teachers, nor inclined mine ear to them that instructed me!"
~ Proverbs 5:1-13 (KJV)
There is much wisdom in this passage from the book of Proverbs; especially for the age that we live, when there is so much emphasis on sex, which has led to so many acts of adultery and fornication. One of the miracles of the Bible is that it speaks to all generations and all people. Generations come and go, cultures are different, but the issues of mankind are the same; men throughout the ages have all faced the same problems. Sin in the heart of man has been our downfall from the time Adam and Eve committed the first sin. When I speak of men, I am referring to women as well -- all of mankind. Even though the above verses are addressed to a son by his father, the same warning is applicable to daughters who would look for a good time with lustful men.
Our news is filled with men who have experienced the progression of events that the above verses outline. Temptation lures people by the pleasure that it offers. However, just as verse 3 says, though the temptress has sweet kisses, there will be a bitter end to those moments of pleasure. Moses gave up the pleasures he could have had as the Prince of Egypt and chose rather to suffer with the people of God. He could do this because he had eternal vision and knew God would reward him later.
"By faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter; 25 Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season; 26 Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompense of the reward."
~ Hebrews 11:24-26
The Bible tells us to flee from fornication. It warns young people not to get themselves into situations that would entice them to sin. It tells them to stay away from the wrong crowd. This advice is for older people as well. The devil is destroying many marriages because the above advise is not heeded. Many honorable men have lost their honor, and are in the news today, as their illicit affairs have been exposed. If they have forgiving mates, they may still have their marriages, but their names are forever blighted. Some, however, lose not only their families, but their position and finances as well. They end up sick and broke. Why? Because if they yield to their immoral appetites in one area, they will then sin in other areas, which then leads them in a downward spiral. Sin begats sin, and sin brings corruption and death to one's life.
Sin is progressive, just as on the positive side, righteousness is progressive. Each day, we will become more like our Lord by obeying His Words, or each day, we will become more wicked by giving into sin. Let us follow the advice of our godly teachers so that we may live a good life. God does not want us to end up with a wasted life, that we shall surely mourn about. We have a choice. The Bible asks us this question:
"I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing:..."
"...therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live."
~ Deuteronomy 30:19
above taken from Bible.com
Do not be fooled into thinking that you can remain as you are in your sinful nature because it is now void in God's eyes thanks to Jesus Christ who died on the cross for you sins past, present and future. Do not think you can fool yourself into believing you need not change because God accepts you for who you are. Twisted Truth is not Truth; it is a lie.
God does accept you for who you are. But it doesnt mean that He is pleased that you continue to dwell in sin, neither does it mean that He turns a blind eye to your misery living in the shadow of past sins.
God accepts you, yes, but He intends to change you.
"Grace, (Tom Wright) says, does reach down to us where we are but that same grace, because of the death and resurrection of Christ, is transformative; God’s grace doesn’t accept but transform." (taken from Jesus Creed)
God moves to change us.
(15) What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid.
(16) Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?
(17) But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you.
(18) Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.
(19) I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh: for as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity; even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness.
(20) For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness.
(21) What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death.
(22) But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.
(23) For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
~ Romans 6:15-23 (KJV)
(6) If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth.
(7) But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.
~ 1 John 1: 6-7
(3) We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands.
(4) The man who says, "I know him," but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him.
(5) But if anyone obeys his word, God's love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him:
(6) Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did.
~ 1 John 2:3-6
For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God afore prepared that we should walk in them.
~ Ephesians 2:10
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