Let’s turn now to Proverbs, chapter four. Remember the purpose of a proverb is to know wisdom, and instruction. To receive words of understanding, that we might receive instruction of wisdom, justice, judgment, equity. It’s to help bring the truth to the simple, knowledge to the young man, and discretion. “A wise man will hear, he will increase his learning. A man of understanding will attain to the wise counsels.” So Proverbs, chapter four. We continue the instructions.
Hear, children the instructions of a father, and attend that you might know understanding. For I give you good doctrine, forsake not my law. For I was my father’s son (4:1-3),
Now Solomon is speaking, and thus he is speaking concerning his father, David. Now there are indications in the scripture that David was not the best father. There were areas of failure. It would seem that he was not a good disciplinarian. Concerning one of his sons that had rebelled against him, it said that David never crossed him, never said any word that would cross him. The son ultimately rebelled against David.
But, you know, I think that through the years, we learn an awful lot as parents. I feel that we almost owe an apology to our first daughter. As we were learning how to be parents. I thought I knew all the answers on parenthood, until I had my own children. Then I realized I didn’t have any answers on how to raise kids! I learned through the years how to raise kids. Just pray like everything! But by the time our last daughter came, who was a late comer. All the children were in school, and Kay and I were just so lonesome at home, we talked it over, and decided, let’s have one more.
So the Lord gave us our daughter Cheryl. Well, by then I knew a lot more about parenting, than I did when we had our first three children. Cheryl was, well, they were all pure joy to us, but she was just a special joy to the whole family. I think that I was probably a better father to her, having now experience and understanding in parenthood, being older, being more mature, I was more patient with her. Realizing this was the last one, I took more time with her, and of course sort of growing up for the first five years at home alone, the other kids were in school, we were able to devote more time to her. It was just, I think that I was a better father. A wiser father for sure by the time she came along.
This could be the case with David and Solomon. That through the years, David in his own maturity became a better father. Because he took the time to sit down with Solomon, and to instruct Solomon, give him good wise counsel. Now it is interesting that Solomon then passes on to his sons, the counsel that he received from his father. That’s pretty much the way God intended it to be, that we pass down from generation to generation, basic truths, the knowledge of righteousness, and of judgment.
So Solomon is now sharing the truth that he was taught by his father David. “I was my father’s son,”
tender and only beloved in the sight of my mother (4:3).
Who of course was Bathsheeba. The first child that was born of their adulterous relationship of course, died. Then Solomon came along and he became just the only beloved in the sight of his mother.
But my father taught me also, and he said unto me, Let your heart retain my words; keep my commandments, and live (4:4).
Really the purpose of commandments is life, it’s a better life. I think that many times children look at commandments as restrictions. “Keeping me from life, keeping me from a good time”, and not having wisdom and discretion, they see the commandments of God as something restrictive, rather than something that is, in reality, liberating you, by giving you the confines in which you should live. So that, if you go beyond these confines, you’re actually going into the realms of death. You’re going into things that destroy. So, “My father taught me to just keep His words, keep His commandments, and live”.
And to get wisdom, get understanding: forget it not; neither decline from the words of my mouth. Forsake her not [That is, wisdom.] and she shall preserve thee: love her, and she shall keep thee. [“Forsake her not, love her, for”, he said…] Wisdom is the principal thing, therefore get wisdom: and with all of your getting get understanding (4:5-7).
Now the purpose of the educational system today is basically to impart knowledge to people. But knowledge without wisdom, can be folly. There are many smart people, but they’re not very wise. In fact, I’m amazed at what dumb things smart people do! And, I’m amazed at what dumb things smart people believe! I’m amazed that men of great education can believe that you can have design without a designer! I’m amazed that people believe such folly, that the human body, with all of its intricacies and mechanisms, and facets, could be the product of, “blind chance”. That you could have this intricate mechanism without an intelligent designer behind it. Yet, men of knowledge believe that. But that’s because they’re not wise. It’s sort of like the mother instructing her child that said, “Honey, when you ain’t got no education, you just got to use your brains”. And that’s what wisdom is all about, just using your brains!
So Solomon recognized the importance of having wisdom. It’s the principal thing. It’s more important than knowledge, because if you have knowledge and not wisdom, then your knowledge can lead you astray. It can’t be of any value. Wisdom is the proper application of knowledge. It’s sad that our educational system does not devote itself more into bringing wisdom, instead of just imparting knowledge. “Wisdom is the principal thing. Get wisdom, don’t forget it. Forsake her not. Wisdom will preserve you. Love wisdom, she’ll keep you.”
Exalt her, and she shall promote thee: she shall bring thee to honour, when you embrace her. [So the importance of getting wisdom.] She shall give to thy head an ornament of grace: a crown of glory she will deliver to you. So hear, O my son, and receive my sayings; and the years of your life shall be many (4:8-10).
The whole idea of the law, the commandments, is to teach us the way of life, and a long, good life. You remember David in the first Psalm, declares that, “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful, but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and he meditates in that day and night”. The effect will be, “He will be like a tree that’s planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth his fruit in his season. His leaf also shall not wither”. That’s talking about a good, long life. “And whatsoever he does will prosper.” So David is, is instructing Solomon in the importance of wisdom.
Now, this is interesting, because you remember when God came to Solomon, when he ascended to the throne, at the death of his father David, and the Lord said to Solomon, “Ask of me what I shall give unto you”. So when Solomon prayed, he said, “Lord, grant unto me wisdom”. His father said, “Get wisdom son. That’s the principal thing”. So when he was given his request, God said, “Just ask, what would you like today?” “Oh Lord, a new Mercedes!” Yeah, and you’ll probably go out and crash it, kill yourself in it, you know. We would ask for stupid things! But, Solomon asked for wisdom. And the Lord said, “Inasmuch as you didn’t ask for riches and you didn’t ask for fame, but you asked for wisdom, I not only will give you wisdom, but I will also bless you with wealth and with other things”. But you see, wisdom is the door to these other things also. For then when you have them, you will use them wisely. There are a lot of people that have a lot of things, but they don’t use them wisely at all. Wisdom, that’s the principal thing.
So, Solomon evidently really took to heart what his father said. He’s passing it on now to his son. Now in verse ten, Solomon takes up his own discourse. “Hear, O my son, and receive my sayings; and the years of your life shall be many.” Again, long life associated with the keeping of these commandments, or these rules, or these principles that he is teaching. If you give heed, he said…
I have taught you the way of wisdom; I have led thee in the right paths. And when you go, your steps will not be straitened (4:11-12);
Or, “narrowed, you will not be confined. If you’re wise, you’ll be able to see many avenues. You won’t have tunnel vision, but you’ll be able to consider wisely, the options, the various options that are there, you’ll not be in a straitened path.”
and when you run, you will not stumble. So take fast hold of instruction; don’t let her go: keep her; for she is your life (4:12-13).
He’s talking about the basic issues of life. A good life!
Enter not into the path [Now here are the instructions, the instructions that will lead you into life, into a good long life. “Enter not into the path”,] of the wicked, and go not in the way of evil men. Avoid it, pass not by it, turn from it, and pass away. [So, don’t get entrapped in evil, or in wickedness, or with evil people.] For they will not sleep until they have done their mischief; and their sleep is taken away, unless they cause someone to fall. [They’re bent towards evil.] For they eat the bread of wickedness, and they drink the wine of violence. But the path of the just [In contrast now, the wicked eating the bread of wickedness, drinking the wine of violence, doing mischief, “but the path of the just”,] is as a shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day (4:14- 18).
What a beautiful scripture! The, the path of the just, it’s like a shining light that gets brighter and brighter, leading us into the perfect day.
But the way of the wicked is as darkness: they know not at what they stumble. [It’s like walking in darkness, you stumble over things you don’t even realize that are there.] My son, attend to my words; incline your ear to my sayings. Let them not depart from your eyes; keep them in the midst of your heart. For they are life [Again, over and over, it’s life, these are the rules to life, “they are life”,] unto those that find them, and health to their flesh. [It’s just healthy to live a good life!] Keep your heart with all diligence; [This again, one of those important principals, it’s a principal of life. “Keep your heart with all diligence”,] for out of it are the issues of life (4:19-23).
The bible says, “Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaketh”. Jesus said that, “Fornications and all these evil things, proceed out of the heart of man”. So, “Keep your heart with all diligence, out of it come the issues of life”. Put a, put a guard, a filter over your mind, over your heart.
I think that one of the greatest crimes that a person can commit, is to plant evil, or filth in the mind of a child. Because stuff that is planted there, stays there. Crud that has been planted in your mind stays with you during your lifetime. It’s, a crime, to take and to spoil a pure little mind, an innocent mind of a child, with filth. “Keep your heart with all diligence.”
Put away from thee a froward mouth, and perverse lips put far from thee. [Froward is sort of a brash, bragging kind of a mouth.] Let your eyes look right on, look straight ahead. Ponder the path of your feet, and let all your ways be established. Turn not to the right hand or to the left: and remove thy foot from evil (4:24-27).
So his instruction.

Chapter 5
Now into chapter five. Again the encouragement to…
Attend to my wisdom, bow your ear to my understanding: [That, “bow your ear”, has the same connotation as Shakespeare having Mark Anthony saying, “lend me your ear”, it’s, “give ear”.] That you may regard discretion (5:1-2),
So now he’s gonna teach him concerning an important area of discretion. There are some people that are not very discrete. It, it, discretion is a very important thing.
that your lips might keep knowledge. For (5:2),
And, and one of the problems of the young is something that Solomon addresses quite a bit. In fact, he’s going to address it here in chapter five. He’s going to again bring it up in chapter six. Then in chapter seven, he’s gonna devote again, the entire chapter seven to this issue. The issue is that of a strange woman. A prostitute. The instructions are to his son. Warning him against sexual promiscuity, warning him against the flattering woman. Warning him of the dangers of becoming sexually involved, apart from marriage, and encouraging the husband, wife relationship. Of finding your full satisfaction with your wife, and in your wife, and confining this precious gift of God. The gift of being able to reproduce, confining that to the bonds of marriage itself. So he’s gonna talk now a lot about the temptations that come into the path of a man, and in many cases, the path of a woman. So you can always reverse these things. Where it says…
The lips of a strange woman drop as honeycomb (5:3),
So do the lips of a strange man, the flattery and all that comes. So, “the lips of a strange woman drop as honeycomb”. Oozes with just sweetness, you know. Oh she seems so sweet. Oh my! Just oozing out.
her mouth is smoother than oil: But her end is bitter as wormwood (5:4),
The end result, you get involved, and you find the end result is bitter. Wormwood was thought to be poisonous. It’s like a bitter poison.
sharp as a two-edged sword. For her feet go down to death; and her steps take hold of hell. [So the warning of his son again, to not become involved with strange women.] Lest you should ponder the path of her life, her ways are moveable, and you cannot know them. So hear me now therefore, Ye children, depart not from the words of my mouth. Remove your way far from her, and do not come near the door of her house: [There are always those women who are willing to sell their bodies, and pervert the souls of man.] Lest you give your honour unto others, and your years unto the cruel: Lest strangers be filled with your wealth; and your labours [And you labor, or your labours] are in the house of a stranger; [That is, you, you become a slave.] And you mourn at the last, when thy flesh and thy body are consumed (5:4-11),
The, the, in those days, there were sexually transmitted viruses and diseases, such as there are today. Of course, in those days they didn’t have any kind of penicillin, or whatever, for some of the more virulent sexually transmitted diseases. Thus syphilis was one of those plagues that was transmitted by sexual activity, and without the drugs to treat it created of course, the insanity, blindness, and ultimately death. Your flesh, and your body are consumed as the result. Today, it’s AIDS. But it’s always been something. There is always that danger of, of sexually transmitted bacteria, or virus that can destroy. When, when you enter into any rate, into a relationship, in the heightened emotions, and all, you don’t think about the consequences. You don’t look down the road to see what this could lead to.
When a person drives along Harbor Boulevard, and sees all of these gals out there with their mini skirts and all, you, you don’t stop to think, “Man there’s AIDS city!”, you know. But, your passions get aroused, and you don’t think of the consequences of these things. But Solomon is seeking to cause him to realize what is the end result of this kind of a life, becoming sexually active, and sexually promiscuous. The end result of these things can be disaster. They can destroy you, it’s your life! They can bring you really into poverty. They can, they can rob you of everything that is worthwhile and good. Even your health. When your health is gone, your life is being consumed, then that remorse.
And say, Oh how I have hated instruction, and my heart despised reproof; [“Why didn’t I listen?”, that horrible remorse when you’re paying the price.] I did not obey the voice of my teachers, I did not incline my ear to those that instructed me! I was almost in all evil in the midst of the congregation and the assembly (5:12-14).
“There I was sitting in the midst of the congregation, in the assembly of the righteous, and, and I was filled with all of this evil! I did almost every evil thing. Here I was though, sitting among the congregation!” Now the exhortation.
Drink waters out of your own cistern, and running waters out of your own well. [In other words, “Enjoy your wife”.] Let thy fountains be dispersed abroad, and the rivers of waters in the streets (5:15-16).
That is, “Let your children, your legitimate children from your wife, let them just fill the streets. Have a bunch of kids, and just enjoy being a family man, and a father, and the joy of your wife, and the joy of many children”. “Let thy fountains”, your children, “be dispersed abroad, your rivers of water in the streets.
Let them be only thine own, and not as strangers with thee (5:17). In other words, your own children, that of your wife. Don’t have kids by that woman, and the other woman, and you know, a bunch of illegitimate kids running around.
Let thy fountain be blessed: and rejoice with the wife of thy youth (5:18).
That’s instruction now, for you men. This is the older men. The younger men, keep yourself pure. Older men, just enjoy your wife. Drink the waters out of your own cistern. Enjoy your children. “Rejoice with the wife of thy youth.”
Let her be as the loving hind and a pleasant roe; let her breasts satisfy thee at all times; and be thou ravished always with her love (5:19).
Don’t go looking elsewhere for sex. Be fully satisfied within the boundaries that God has established, the boundaries of marriage, where you can have this intimacy, and this openness of relationship. Where you’re satisfied with her, completely and fully. “Ravished always with her love.”
For why will you, my son, be ravished with a strange woman? [Why get excited and burn in lust toward some strange woman?] and embrace the bosom of a stranger (5:20)?
It doesn’t make sense! There’s no real love there! It’s just lust. She embraces every man, and she’s probably embraced some who have sexually transmitted diseases, that have transmitted to her, and will be transmitted to you! It’s interesting that the government is now telling them, I think that they really feel very bad that they have to get, become involved in a little morality. But they are telling us that they only safe sex is within a monogamous marriage. (If you’re really talking about truth), you see, I like that! They, they’re forced to uh, encourage people towards a monogamous relationship. You know, that, that’s pretty good for our government, considering! The Bible told us that though a long time ago!
Now not only just for your own sake, but there’s more to it than that. God has commanded.
And the ways of man are before the eyes of the Lord, and he ponders his goings (5:21).
You may think that you’re slipping around. You may think that you’re hiding, you may think that nobody knows. But the ways of man are before the eyes of the Lord, God sees!
And man’s own iniquity shall take the wicked himself, and he shall be held with the cords of sin (5:22).
You get involved in these things, and they get a hold on you. I’ve counseled so many men who have, became involved in pornography, and it actually got a grip on them. It was, it was like a drug, it was like an opiate, and, and it got such a hold on them that they couldn’t, they couldn’t see themselves. They were plagued ultimately, by pornography. Because if you open the door, you open the mind to those things, they have a way of getting a hold on you. You’ll never be satisfied. That is the problem with pornography. It takes more and more and more to bring the same kind of a more explicit and all, until as Bundy testified, “The pictures didn’t do any good anymore”. He had to go out and try and, and bring some of his fantasies into reality. Those sexual murders, that string of murders and all that he committed, but it all began with this fact that this pornography got a hold on his mind. Again, here it, it’s to me a crime that we would expose children to pornography. That it begins so early in life. But the results are…
He will die without instruction; and in the greatness of his folly he will go astray (5:23).
He will be bound by this stuff, he becomes a slave to it, and he dies without instruction.

Chapter 6
Now in chapter six he deals with several issues. In the first part of the chapter he deals with…
Being surety for your friend, [That is, guaranteeing a loan for a friend.] or if you have stricken your hand with a stranger (6:1),
Now in those days, in that culture, when you made a deal, you would strike hands. It’s sort of like in our culture we say, “Okay, shake on it. It’s a deal. Shake on it”. It’s sort of a bond, it’s sort of the way that you would sort of seal.
Now today in Israel, if you go on Friday mornings to the sheep market, which is just outside of the city wall, across the street from the Rockefeller Museum. There in the sheep market, you’ll see the Bedouins bringing in their sheep on Friday morning. It’s quite a sight to behold! Sometimes they’re driving a herd of sheep up the, up the street, stopping traffic and all, as they bring their sheep to the sheep market. Others of them drive up in Mercedes, and they open up the trunk, and the sheep get out, and they open up the back door, and all the sheep get out. You know. Others in pick-up trucks and all. But it, it’s fascinating to watch. It’s just always something I enjoy doing, it’s just going to the sheep market and watching them. But you’ll see them as, as they are then bargaining. They, they’re sheep are for sale, and a guy comes up, and he feels it, and tests the wool, and looks at its eyes, and teeth and everything else.
Then they talk and then they get louder and louder, and then they start yelling at each other. You’re waiting for them to draw their daggers, and really start going at it! But when they get to the height of this frenzy, yelling at each other, then you’ll see them slap their hands. The one guy reaches in his pocket, and pays the other guy, and takes the sheep and goes. But the striking of the hands is, “We made a deal”. So the warning of course is, is being a guarantor for a friend.
You know a lot of good friendships have been destroyed, by the fact that someone was surety for a friend. He’s warning against that. Some people, and I’m just warning you, even pastors, be careful! Some people in our church, here at Calvary Chapel, when we first started, came to Calvary Chapel from another church, and the pastor of, the reason why they came is that the pastor of this other church borrowed several thousand dollars, and had these members of the church sign as guarantors for the loan. The next week he filed bankruptcy, and they were stuck to pay off the loan. The church naturally disbanded it. The reason why I knew about it, the church owned this organ, and so we bought the organ from them, so that they could pay off the loan, and get them out of it. But they, they had that bitter experience of being surety for a friend. “Well after all, he’s the pastor.” You know. But they didn’t have kind words about him after that. Many friendships are destroyed. If they are a true friend they won’t ask you to put yourself in that kind of jeopardy. For when you do that…
You become trapped by the words of your own mouth, [How many times has a person been trapped by his own words?] and you are taken with the words of your mouth. So do this now, my son, deliver yourself, [If you’re in that position, go get free from it.] when you’re come to the hand of your friend; go, and just humble yourself, make sure of your friend (6:2-3).
Make your friendship sure. Just humble yourself, say, “I made a mistake. Get my name off of that. I’m sorry, I can’t do that”.
Do not give sleep to your eyes, nor slumber to your eyelids. [Until you’ve settled these things.] Deliver thyself as a deer from the hand of the hunter, or as a bird from the hand of the fowler (6:4-5).
Now, change of subject. He’s gonna deal now with laziness. In I Kings, chapter five, when it tells about the wisdom that God gave to Solomon, as he, as he prayed, “God grant unto me wisdom”. It says that he wrote three thousand proverbs, and he also wrote books, and lectured on the subjects of zoology, biology, and many of the life sciences. People would come to hear him talk about plants, and talk about animals and insects and things like that. So he had a very keen interest in nature, and a great understanding of nature. He was an observer of various life forms. So he says…
Go to the ant, thou sluggard; [The sluggard is the lazy man.] learn of his ways, and be wise (6:6):
Now as we progress in the Proverbs, he’s gonna talk about three things on the earth that are small, but yet are exceedingly wise. The ant is one of those three things. Very small, talk about miniaturization! Can you imagine how small the ant brain must be? Yet it’s very wise! You can learn a lot from ants. That’s why a lot of people have little ant villages, watching them. You can just learn a lot from watching ants. So he said, “Now go to the ant, thou sluggard; learn of his ways, that you might be wise”.
They have no guide, overseer, or ruler, [No foreman giving orders.] But they provide their meat in the summer, and gather their food in the harvest (6:7-8).
They know that there is that time for the gathering of the food. An ant can’t swim, it can’t cross water. Once it starts raining, an ant has to stay inside. So it lays up its food, while it is still summertime, harvest time.
So how long will you sleep, O you sluggard? [Or lazy man] when will you arise out of your sleep? For a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep: And so shall your poverty come as one that travaileth, and thy want as an armed man (6:9-11).
Just a little laziness, “Just, I’ll just take another half hour”, brings to poverty. Now he turns to that wicked person who speaks with that brash froward mouth.
A naughty person, a wicked man, walks with a froward mouth. He winks with his eyes, he speaks with his feet, he teaches with his fingers; [You’ve seen them.] But frowardness is in his heart, he deviseth mischief continually; and he sows discord. Therefore shall his calamity come suddenly; suddenly he shall be broken without remedy (6:12-15).
Now he moves to another subject.
There are six things that God hates: yea, there are seven that are an abomination to him (6:16):
Now, if God hates something, I don’t want to be doing it. That’s wisdom. Not to do things that God hates. So he gives us a list here of seven things that God hates.
God hates a proud look, [Ever been guilty of that?] God hates a lying tongue, God hates hands that shed innocent blood, He hates a heart that devises wicked imaginations, he hates feet that are swift in running to mischief, he hates a false witness that speaks lies, and he hates those who would sow discord among brethren (6:17-19).
Those who would come in and sow seeds of discord. They, they will come to you and say, “Do you know what someone is saying about you? They told me that you did this, and you did that”, and they’re just baiting you. They’re just wanting you to say, “Ah they’re just crazy! You don’t listen to them. Don’t you know that they are this, and they are that?” Then what do they do? They run back right to the other person, “Do you know what he said about you? Said you’re crazy…”, and they love to just get things boiling. They’re happy when the pots just churning, and they’ll do their best to just get people at odds with each other. They, they sow discord among brethren. God hates that, along with these other things.
Now again, turning from that to another subject.
My son, keep your father’s commandment, forsake not the law of your mother: Bind them continually upon your heart, tie them about your neck. And when you go, it shall lead thee; and when you sleep, it shall keep thee; and when you’re awake, it will talk with thee. [So the commandment, now keep these commandments, don’t forsake them.] For the commandment is a lamp, and the law is light; and the reproofs of instruction are the way of life (6:20-23):
So again, the purpose of the commandments are not to restrain or to restrict, but they are to give life!
To keep thee from the evil woman (6:24),
And of course now we get to that woman again, he comes back to her quite often. But the commandments dealt with messing around. “And they will keep thee from the evil woman”,
and from the flattery of the tongue of a strange woman. Lust not after her beauty in your heart (6:24);
Many of these women are very beautiful, and they’ve learned to use that beauty to their own profit. But don’t lust after their beauty. Jesus, you remember, in the Sermon on the Mount, as He was contrasting the law as it had been taught by the Pharisees, and as it was intended by God, showing that the Pharisees were wrong in interpreting the law as only a restriction to the actual activity itself. Where God was seeking to put the restraints upon the attitudes that brought the activities. How that you could sin in your heart, without ever moving a hand. One of the contrasts that Jesus gave, was on the subject of adultery, and the law concerning adultery. “You have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt not commit adultery. But I say unto you, that whoever looks upon a woman, and lusts after her in his heart, has already committed adultery.” It’s something that you’ve done in your mind, in your heart, and the, the desire, that lusting or desiring in your heart, is tantamount to actually committing adultery. Now here he said…
Lust not after her beauty in your heart; [He’s warning against that.] neither let her take thee with her eyelids (6:25).
They’re probably false anyhow! But here’s, here’s, here’s the real, here’s the real clincher. This you can see evidence and proof all around.
For by means of a whorish woman a man is brought to a piece of bread: and the adulteress will hunt for the precious life (6:26).
I can name you, but it would be of no value, many, many ministers who have been destroyed. Their ministries destroyed by a whorish woman. They’ll bring a man to a crust of bread. They can destroy everything that is valuable and worthwhile in your life. They can destroy your relationship with your wife. It can destroy the confidence, and the admiration of your children. It can destroy your position, and that’s of course one thing with the ministry, it’s a wipe out for the ministry!
Just this past week or two, another very prominent evangelist is trying to justify the leaving of his wife and five children, having taken up a relationship with this young girl. He’s trying to hold on to his ministry, that’s his, his whole thing. He’s gonna try and get the people to continue to support him, because what he is doing is really marvelous, God is just really blessing him, and he’s so happy and all. What he’s trying to do is just sucker people to continue to support him. But it’s not gonna, it’s not gonna happen. He, like so many others, will be brought to a crust of bread.
Again, a wise person will look at the consequences of the action. “What can happen if I do this? What are the consequences of doing this?” You just don’t jump into something without first of all giving reconsideration to, “What can be the effect upon my life, upon my family, upon my job, upon my friends, if I do these things?” Really, “What can be the result of my relationship with God if I allow these things?” I have seen too many men brought to a piece of bread, by a whorish woman.
For can a man take fire into his bosom, [And not be burned? Can you grab a flaming torch without it burning you?] and his clothes not be burned? Can one walk upon hot coals, and his feet not be burned? So he that goeth into his neighbour’s wife; whosoever touches her shall not be innocent. Men do not despise a thief, if he steals to satisfy his soul when he’s hungry (6:27-30);
That’s something. A guy is starving to death, his family is starving to death, if he goes out and steals some food, you say, “Oh my! His family was starving to death!” You don’t despise the guy. In fact you probably say, “Well, if he’d only come, I would’ve been glad to have given him some food”. But even that, if a man is stealing out of tremendous necessity, even that, under the law, if he is caught he has to repay seven fold. He had to give all of the substance of his house. If he doesn’t have the money, then they can take his furniture.
But whoso commits adultery with a woman he lacks understanding: for he who does it is destroying his own soul. A wound and dishonour shall he get; and his [proach] reproach shall not be wiped away. [You cannot wipe away the reproach for what you have done.] For jealousy is the rage of a man: therefore he will not spare you in the day of vengeance. [When he gets the opportunity, you’ve gone into your neighbor’s wife, I mean, he won’t forget it.] He will not regard any ransom; neither will he rest content, though you give him many gifts (6:32-35).
So warnings again, commandments that tend towards life.
Now, chapter seven, he really sort of lays it once more. What this tells me is that time really doesn’t change many things. The problems that they had in those days, with the young being tempted after the flesh, into premarital sexual activity. Or the older being tempted to extra marital activity. The problems, the temptations of those days, are the same problems and temptations that exist today.
We sort of think, “Well we’re living you know, in a modern age. Things are different now”. No their not, man is still the same. We are sinful by nature. We, each of us have these desires of our flesh, that must be brought to the cross. We must, each of us determine, in our hearts, and purpose in our hearts, to live a life that is pure, to follow the word of God, and the teaching of the word of God. There will be temptations for every one of us. None of us are immune from temptation, we, all of us, human. But God has commanded us, if we’re gonna really live, if we’re gonna know a good life, if we’re gonna live a happy life, then we are to avoid these things at all costs. Not to make an allowance, or try to make a special case, but realize that these are God’s warnings to us, if we going to live, we must heed them.
It is folly to disobey them. Because you’ll pay the price, the consequence. Again, if only you could sit in the office and hear the stories that we hear. See the tears that flow, hear the confessions that are made, and hear of the families and lives that have been messed up and ruined, because a person did not have enough sense to be obedient to the word of God, did not use wisdom, but became involved, and then began to experience the tragic consequences. As Solomon warned his son, when your flesh is being consumed, you’re being destroyed, then you say, “Oh why didn’t I listen? I hated the instruction, but I should’ve listened”. So true. Shall we pray?
Father help us to give ear and take heed to the instructions, to the warnings, to the words of wisdom. May we keep our hearts Lord, with all diligence. May we guard Lord carefully, what goes in. We ask you Lord, to put a filter over our minds, over our hearts, that they would not be polluted by junk that can only destroy. Lord help us to be pure, even as our Lord Jesus was pure. Help us Lord to be righteous, even as He is righteous. Lord, I pray that if there be those here tonight that are presently involved in an affair, give them the wisdom Lord, to see the damage that is going to result from giving themselves over to this passion. If there are those Lord that are ensnared in pornography, I pray Lord that You’ll set their minds free. God deliver them from the hold that pornography has on them. Wash Lord with Thy word, this filth from their minds. Lord I pray that You’ll strengthen every family, every married couple, strengthen their love and relationship with each other. Lord I pray for the men that they might be ravished with the love of their wives. Give them a new love, a new commitment. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.
It’s life. The commandment tendeth to life. God wants you to have a good life. He gives the rules and instructions for a good life. O God, give us wisdom and understanding, that you have only said these things for our good, for our protection. So may you walk in the law of the Lord, may you meditate day and night. The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul. The testimonies of the Lord are sure, making wise the simple. They’re to be desired more than riches, more than fine gold. Be sustained by God’s power, in Jesus’ name.

Edited & Highlighted from “The Word For Today” Transcription, Pastor Chuck Smith, Tape #7219
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