Provérbios 5
Arthur Pink · Citado em PreceptAustin
Provérbios 5
Pink - We are ourselves so infected and affected by sin that we are altogether incapable of estimating its due merits. Adam Clarke rightly says that "Most people who follow unlawful pleasures, think they can give them up whenever they please; but sin repeated becomes customary; custom soon engenders habit; and habit in the end assumes the form of necessity; the man becomes bound with his own cords, and so is led captive by the devil at his will." Charles Bridges encourages all men to… Ponder this chapter – ye that know not the poison and corruption of fleshly lusts. Perhaps painful experience (1Ki 11:1-8. Ec 7:26) had given the wise man (Solomon) wisdom and understanding. Therefore attend to it with fear and trembling. Man's own strength, the restraint of education, or self-discipline, is powerless, as the green withs (willow twigs) to bind the giant. (Jdg 16:9) Engrafted wisdom is the only effectual safeguard. This heavenly influence teaches us, both to regard discretion for the covering of our souls, and to keep knowledge for the warning of our fellow-sinners. (Pr 2:10,11, 16; 6:20, 24; 7:1-5. Ps.17:4; Ps 119:9, 11). As a very little dust will disorder a clock, and the least grain of sand will obscure our sight, so the least grain of sin which is upon the heart will hinder its right motion toward God. --John Wesley Wise King Solomon urged his son to understand that true freedom is possible only within the sphere of God-centered living, for which He created us. By contrast, bondage predictably and inescapably comes to anyone who ignores God's truth. Proverbs 16 describes the liberty and satisfaction that come from practicing humility, trust, careful conversation, and self-control. But it also warns about the inevitable bondage that comes into the lives of people governed by willful rebellion, pride, arrogance, strife, and malicious trouble-making. True freedom is not having our own way, but yielding to God's way. (cp Jn 8:34, 35, 36) ILLUSTRATION OF THE SUBTLE, CORRUPTING EFFECT OF SIN: What happened to the great city of Ephesus? Often mentioned in the New Testament, it was one of the cultural and commercial centers of its day. Located at the mouth of the Cayster River, it was noted for its bustling harbors, its broad avenues, its gymnasiums, its baths, its huge amphitheater, and especially its magnificent Temple of Diana. What happened to bring about its gradual decline until its harbor was no longer crowded with ships and the city was no longer a flourishing metropolis? Was it smitten by plagues, destroyed by enemies, or demolished by earthquakes? No, silt was the reason for its downfall—silent and non-violent silt. Over the years, fine sedimentary particles slowly filled up the harbor, separating the city from the economic life of the sea traders. Little evil practices, little acts of disobedience may seem harmless. (Song 2:15) But let the silt of sin gradually accumulate, and we will find ourselves far from God. Life will become a spiritual ruin. In the book of Hebrews we are warned of the danger of “the deceitfulness of sin” (Heb 3:13-note). James said that the attractive pleasures of sin are really a mask covering death (Jas 1:15-note).God forbid that we let the "silt of sin" accumulate in our lives! Little sins add up to big trouble. There is no sin so little as not to kindle an eternal fire! Sin Is Like An Insect! - It was reported recently that an enormous pine tree in the mountains of Colorado had fallen victim to a pine beetle and died. According to locals, up to that point the tree was thought to be indestructible. It had survived fourteen lightning strikes and many years of Colorado winters, including avalanches and fires. But it was eventually brought down from within by a tiny insect that did its work silently. That's the way it is with sin in a person's life, be they a Christian or a non-Christian. Watch over your heart with all diligence. (Pr 4:23-note) We must deal with the seeds of sin in our hearts. If neglected the seeds soon become weeds. --Vance Havner (Compare the progression in Ge 4:5, 6, 7, 8) John Blanchard says that… Sin has two great powers; it reigns and it ruins. Sin is not a toy, it is a tyrant. Rousseau's "Self-Ruse" - The deceitfulness of sin is vividly seen in the life of the French philosopher Rousseau. He declared, “No man can come to the throne of God and say, ‘I’m a better man than Rousseau.’” When he knew death was close at hand, he boasted, “Ah, how happy a thing it is to die, when one has no reason for remorse or self-reproach.” Then he prayed, “Eternal Being, the soul that I am going to give Thee back is as pure at this moment as it was when it proceeded from Thee; render it a partaker of Thy felicity!” Two theological students were walking along a street in the Whitechapel district of London, a section where old and used clothing is sold. What a fitting illustration all this makes!” said one of the students as he pointed to a suit of clothes hanging on a rack by a window. A sign on it read: SLIGHTLY SOILED— GREATLY REDUCED IN PRICE. “That’s it exactly,” he continued. “We get soiled by gazing at a vulgar picture, reading a course book, or allowing ourselves a little indulgence in dishonest or lustful thoughts; and so when the time comes for our character to be appraised, we are greatly reduced in value. Our purity, our strength is gone. We are just part and parcel of the general, shopworn stock of the world.” Yes, continual slight deviations from the path of right may greatly reduce our usefulness to God and to our fellowman (see notes on "vessel of honor… useful to the Master" - 2Ti 2:21,22-2Ti 2:21; 22). In fact, these little secret sins can weaken our character so that when we face a moral crisis, we cannot stand the test. As a result, we go down in spiritual defeat because we have been careless about little sins. (Source unknown) Tiny Evils, Big Fall READ: Eccl 9:16-18, Eccl 10:1-10 Dead flies cause the ointment of the apothecary to send forth a stinking savour: so doth a little folly him that is in reputation for wisdom and honour. --Ecclesiastes 10:1 It started as a seedling on the slopes of the Colorado Rockies some 500 years ago. For centuries it had stood tall, enduring violent winds, lightning strikes, blizzards, even avalanches. Now, however, the once-towering tree is just a mound of decaying wood. What caused its demise? A horde of beetles had attacked it, gnawing away until that skyscraper of nature surrendered to those tiny pests and toppled over. That's also the tragic story of many Christians. For long years they stood tall for God. They resisted temptations, weathered crises, and were bold in the strength divinely provided. But little sins began to eat away at their lives--little lies, little compromises with greed or lust, sins that gradually eroded their character. And suddenly they fell. Song of Solomon 2:15 states, "Catch us the foxes, the little foxes that spoil the vines." This colorful Old Testament verse should sound a loud alarm in our consciences. We must not tolerate the little evils that eat away at the roots of our lives. Otherwise, our once-strong witness for Christ will become a silenced casualty of sin. Let's confess those "tiny" evils to God now, before they lead to a big fall. — Vernon C. Grounds Nothing between, like worldly pleasure, Habits of life, though harmless they seem, Must not my heart from Him ever sever-- He is my all! There's nothing between. --Tindley A big fall begins with a little stumble. (I would add a blessed life can begin with what may seem like a little obedience!) SIN IS LIKE A BOA CONSTRICTOR! - Are you being deceived by sin and tolerating it like a pet? If you are, then you need to remember the fate of the man with the pet boa constrictor (Do a Google search - use the following three words in your search keeping the quotation marks as written >> "pet boa" killed). After 15 years of living with his owner, one day the "pet boa" would not let its "owner" out of its grip resulting in the owner's tragic death. Wild animals remain wild and so does Sin. Do not be deceived (Stop being deceived)! A slight sore, neglected, may prove of fatal consequence, and so may a slight sin slighted and left unrepented of. --Matthew Henry No Small Deviations in God's Economy! - In St. Louis there is a railroad switchyard. One particular switch begins with just the thinnest piece of steel to direct a train away from one main track to another. If you were to follow those two tracks, however, you would find that one ends in San Francisco, the other in New York. Sin is like that. Just a small deviation from God’s standards can place us far afield from our intended destination. Don't be deceived by the world, flesh or devil who say "It's no big deal!" Wrong! The way of sin is downhill. A man cannot stop himself when he will. --Matthew Henry Entanglement by the Cords of one's own Sin - Not long after a wealthy contractor had finished building the Tombs prison in New York, he was found guilty of forgery and sentenced to several years in the prison he had built! As he was escorted into a cell of his own making, the contractor said, “I never dreamed when I built this prison that I would be an inmate one day.” (cp Nu 32:23) No sin is small. It is against an infinite God and may have consequences immeasurable. No grain of sand is small in the mechanism of a watch. --Jeremy Taylor According to sociologist Robert Bellah - One of our current psychological gurus says that 98 percent of Americans are dysfunctional. No doubt he is right. He has just discovered original sin, though he is mistaken if he things 2 percent are without. SIN'S POWER - Dr. J. Wilbur Chapman told of a distinguished minister, Dr. Howard, from Australia who preached very strongly on the subject of sin. After the service, one of the church officers came to counsel with him in the study. "Dr. Howard," he said, "we don't want you to talk as openly as you do about man's guilt and corruption, because if our boys and girls hear you discussing that subject they will more easily become sinners. Call it a mistake if you will, but do not speak so plainly about sin. "The minister took down a small bottle and showing it to the visitor said, "You see that label? It says strychnine -- and underneath in bold, red letters the word 'Poison!' Do you know, man, what you are asking me to do? You are suggesting that I change the label. Suppose I do, and paste over it the words, 'Essence of Peppermint'; don't you see what might happen? Someone would use it, not knowing the danger involved, and would certainly die. So it is, too, with the matter of sin. The milder you make your label, the more dangerous you make your poison!" (Source Unknown) Slavery to Sin - Radio personality Paul Harvey tells the story of how an Eskimo kills a wolf. The account is grisly, yet it offers fresh insight into the consuming, self-destructive nature of sin. "First, the Eskimo coats his knife blade with animal blood and allows it to freeze. Then he adds another layer of blood, and another, until the blade is completely concealed by frozen blood. "Next, the hunter fixes his knife in the ground with the blade up. When a wolf follows his sensitive nose to the source of the scent and discovers the bait, he licks it, tasting the fresh frozen blood. He begins to lick faster, more and more vigorously, lapping the blade until the keen edge is bare. Feverishly now, harder and harder the wolf licks the blade in the arctic night. So great becomes his craving for blood that the wolf does not notice the razor-sharp sting of the naked blade on his own tongue, nor does he recognize the instant at which his insatiable thirst is being satisfied by his OWN warm blood. His carnivorous appetite just craves more--until the dawn finds him dead in the snow!" It is a fearful thing that people can be "consumed by their own lusts." Only God's grace keeps us from the wolf's fate. - Chris T. Zwingelberg. Attraction to Sin - Several years ago our family visited Niagara Falls. It was spring, and ice was rushing down the river. As I viewed the large blocks of ice flowing toward the falls, I could see that there were carcasses of dead fish embedded in the ice. Gulls by the score were riding down the river feeding on the fish. As they came to the brink of the falls, their wings would go out, and they would escape from the falls. I watched one gull which seemed to delay and wondered when it would leave. It was engrossed in the carcass of a fish, and when it finally came to the brink of the falls, out went its powerful wings. The bird flapped and flapped and even lifted the ice out of the water, and I thought it would escape. But it had delayed too long so that its claws had frozen into the ice. The weight of the ice was too great, and the gull plunged into the abyss. The material possessions of this world can entrap us if we become too attached to them. They will take us to our destruction if we cannot give them up. And as Sweeting observed, "Oh, the danger of delay!" - George Sweeting BEWARE OF YOUR OWN LUSTS! > Consumed by Their Own Lust Radio personality Paul Harvey tells the story of how an Eskimo kills a wolf. The account is grisly, yet it offers fresh insight into the consuming, self-destructive nature of sin. First, the Eskimo coats his knife blade with animal blood and allows it to freeze. Then he adds another layer of blood, and another, until the blade is completely concealed by frozen blood. Next, the hunter fixes his knife in the ground with the blade up. When a wolf follows his sensitive nose to the source of the scent and discovers the bait, he licks it, tasting the fresh frozen blood. He begins to lick faster, more and more vigorously, lapping the blade until the keen edge is bare. Feverishly now, harder and harder the wolf licks the blade in the arctic night. So great becomes his craving for blood that the wolf does not notice the razor-sharp sting of the naked blade on his own tongue, nor does he recognize the instant at which his insatiable thirst is being satisfied by his OWN warm blood. His carnivorous appetite just craves more—until the dawn finds him dead in the snow!” Dr. George Sweeting wrote in Special Sermons For Special Days It is a fearful thing that people can be “consumed by their own lusts.” Only God’s grace keeps us from the wolf’s fate. -- Chris T. Zwingelberg This powerful illustration from Paul Harvey—of a wolf unknowingly killing itself by licking a blood-covered knife—perfectly portrays the deceptive, destructive nature of sin. It highlights how sin, like the frozen blood, disguises itself as harmless or satisfying, yet ultimately leads to self-destruction. The wolf’s inability to recognize that it is consuming its own lifeblood mirrors how sinners become consumed by their own appetites, often without realizing their peril until it’s too late. Below are Scriptures that beautifully complement this illustration and can be used in teaching, preaching, or devotional writing: Scriptures That Align with This Illustration 1. James 1:14–15 But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death. Key Connection: Just as the wolf is drawn by its appetite and unknowingly seals its doom, so those who are lured by sinful desires will inevitably find that sin leads to spiritual death. 2. Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Key Connection: The wolf’s fatal appetite mirrors the consequence of sin—death. Only God's grace rescues us from this fate through Christ. 3. Proverbs 14:12 There is a way which seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death. Key Connection: The wolf thinks it is feeding itself, but is destroying itself. Sin often appears satisfying, even harmless, until its deadly end is revealed. 4. Galatians 6:7–8 Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. Key Connection: The wolf "sows to the flesh" and reaps corruption—death. Habitual sin is self-sabotaging. 5. 2 Peter 2:19 …by what a man is overcome, by this he is enslaved. Key Connection: The wolf is overcome by its appetite—its own nature—just as sinners can become enslaved by their own desires until it destroys them. 6. Proverbs 5:22 His own iniquities will capture the wicked, and he will be held with the cords of his sin. Key Connection: Sin is not something merely external—it comes from within and traps us. The wolf is literally consuming and being trapped by its own blood. 7. Jeremiah 17:9 The heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick; who can understand it? Key Connection: Like the wolf deceived by its own hunger, the human heart deceives itself into thinking sinful desires will satisfy. 8. Hebrews 3:13 But encourage one another day after day… so that none of you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. Key Connection: Sin deceives—and that deception leads to spiritual death if unchecked, just like the wolf’s fatal ignorance. 9. Isaiah 59:2 But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden His face from you so that He does not hear. Key Connection: The wolf’s insatiable appetite leads to separation from life, just as sin separates us from God—unless we repent. Sinners bound with the cords of sin (See Spurgeon's full sermon below) The first sentence of this verse has reference to a net, in which birds or beasts are taken. That which first attracted the sinner afterwards detains him. This first sentence may have reference to an arrest by an officer of law. The transgressor’s own sin shall take him, shall seize him; they bear a warrant for arresting him, they shall judge him, they shall even execute him. The second sentence speaks of the sinner being holden with cords. The lifelong occupation of the ungodly man is to twist ropes of sin. The binding meant is that of a culprit pinioned for execution. Iniquity pinions a man. Make a man’s will a prisoner, and he is a captive indeed. Who would not scorn to make himself a slave to his baser passions? And yet the mass of men are such--the cords of their sins bind them. I. The captivating, enslaving power of sin is a solution to a great mystery. 1. Is it not mysterious that men should be content to abide in a state of imminent peril? 2. Before long unconverted men and women will be in a state whose wretchedness it is not possible for language fully to express. 3. Is it not a wonder that men do not receive the gospel of Jesus Christ, seeing that the gospel is so plain? 4. Nay, moreover, so infinitely attractive. 5. The commandment of the gospel is not burdensome. 6. And, according to the confession of most sinners, the pleasures of sin are by no means great. Here stands the riddle, man is so set against God and His Christ that he never will accept eternal salvation until the Holy Spirit, by a supernatural work, overcomes his will and turns the current of his affections. II. THOUGH THIS IS THE SOLUTION OF ONE MYSTERY, IT IS IN ITSELF A GREATER MYSTERY. One reason why men receive not Christ is, that they are hampered by the sin of forgetting God. Another sin binds all unregenerate hearts; it is the sin of not loving the Christ of God. What a mystery it is that men should be held by the sin of neglecting their souls! (C. H. Spurgeon.) TWENTY REASONS NOT TO SIN! Just for "fun" take a moment to review the following list of 20 reasons not to commit sins (hamartano)… 1. A little sin leads to more sin. 2. Sin invites the discipline of God. 3. The time spent in my sin is forever wasted. 4. My sin never pleases but always grieves the God Who loves me. 5. My sin places a greater burden on my spiritual leaders. 6. In time, sin always brings heaviness to my heart. 7. Others, including my family, suffer consequences due to my sin. 8. My sin makes the enemies of God rejoice. 9. Sin deceives me into believing I have gained when in reality I have lost. 10. Sin may keep me from qualifying for spiritual leadership. 11. The supposed benefits of sin will never outweigh the consequences of disobedience. 12. Repenting of sin is a painful process. 13. My sin may influence others to sin. 14. My sin may keep others from knowing Christ. 15. Sin makes light of the Cross, upon which Christ died for the very purpose of taking away my sin. 16. It is impossible to sin and follow the Spirit at the same time. 17. Others more earnest than I have been destroyed by just such sins. 18. God chooses not to hear the prayers of those who cherish their sin (Ps 66:18). 19. My unwillingness to reject this sin now grants it authority over me greater than I understand. 20. I promised God He would be the Lord of my life. (Source unknown) Sin will take you farther than you ever thought you’d stray Sin will leave you so lost, you think you’ll never find your way Sin will keep you longer than you ever thought you’d stay Sin will cost you more than you ever thought you’d pay The Captivating Power of Sin Charles Simeon THE force of habit is well known: it operates as a second nature; so constant is it in its exercise, and so imperious in its demands. There is this difference however in habits of piety, and habits of sin: that the one are easily lost; but the other are with great difficulty overcome. Nor is this difficult to be accounted for; seeing that the one is against the course of nature, and the other conformable to all its propensities: the motion of the one is a continual ascent; the other is downward on a declivity. But it is not merely as a natural consequence that sin, when indulged, has so great a power: there is an additional influence given to it by God himself, as a judicial act, and as a just punishment for indulging it: so that in a judicial, no less than in a natural sense, our text is true: “His own iniquities shall take the wicked himself: and he shall be holden with the cords of his sins.” Let us consider, I. The declaration itself— In a two-fold view it may be noticed; 1. As a judgment inflicted— It is inflicted on the whole human race. There is not a sinner in the universe who cannot from his own experience attest the truth of it. Every sin has a power to enslave the mind, and to lead captive him who has indulged it. But we will instance this in some particulars. The man addicted to drinking previous to the formation of his habit, had perhaps no particular love to strong drink, or desire after it: but he has been drawn into company, he has there acquired a taste for conviviality, and at last, by repeated excesses, he has contracted such a thirst for intoxicating liquors, that he cannot deny himself the use of them, or use them in moderation. He can see his character sinking in the estimation of all the sober part of the community, his health impaired, his fortune injured, his family suffering, and his eternal interests sacrificed: and yet he cannot cast off the habit which he has contracted: his soul is bound with it as with a cord, and he cannot burst his bonds. In a similar plight is he who has given himself up to the gratification of his lusts and passions. They, at least as far as the mind is concerned, are increased by indulgence, so that every object calls forth desire, and “the eyes of the libertine are full of adultery, and cannot cease from sin.” (2Pe 2:14-note) His very soul, as it were, is sensualized, and, whether sleeping or waking, his imagination roves after the gratification of his lawless appetites. Nor must I omit to mention the gamester, in whom the text is most awfully verified. Nothing can induce him to abandon his ruinous pursuits. Domestic ties of wife and children have no influence at all. The ruin of himself and family are all suspended on a card or die. Not even the experience of ruin will reclaim him. Let his losses be repaired again and again, and again and again will he return to the fascinating object, like the moth, and hover round it, till he is consumed. I have mentioned these instances, as being more obvious and acknowledged: but the declaration is equally verified in the gay, the worldly, the profane; yea, and in the superstitious and self-righteous also. They all “feed on ashes; and a deceived heart hath turned them aside, so that they cannot deliver their souls, nor say, Is there not a lie in my right hand?” (Is 44:20) 2. As a warning given— [In this view more especially the declaration in our text is introduced, to guard young men against the temptations to which they are exposed (Pr 5:20). And a most awful warning it is: it shews us how earnestly we should guard against our besetting sins. Every man has some “sin which more easily besets him,” (He 12:1-note) and by which he is more in danger of being enslaved. Now every man should find out what this peculiar temptation is; and should watch and pray against it; lest, by yielding to it, he provoke “God to give him over to a reprobate mind,” (Ro 1:28-note) and to say, “He is joined to idols; let him alone.” (Hos 4:17) We should labour to say with David, “I have kept myself from my iniquity:” (Ps 18:23-note) and, with Job, “Thou knowest I am not wicked,” not deliberately and habitually wicked (Job 10:7). We should dread lest that be inflicted on us which is spoken in the text; a judgment far heavier than any other that can be inflicted on us even by God himself, as long as we continue in this present life; because it is a certain prelude to everlasting misery, and the means of augmenting it every day and hour: for, if we are delivered over to our own lusts, we do nothing but “treasure up wrath against the day of wrath,” and accumulate mountains of guilt to sink us deeper and deeper into everlasting perdition (Ro 2:5-note). Our employment will be like that of those mentioned by the Prophet Isaiah, who “drew out iniquity with cords of vanity, and sin as a cart-rope:” (Is 5:18-note) for, as a rope is spun out continually to an indefinite length by the constant addition of fresh materials, so will our sin be drawn out to an endless extent, till death shall cut it short, and the deserved punishment be awarded to it.] It would be improper to pass over such a declaration as this without drawing your attention to, II. The reflections which it naturally suggests— 1. How thankful should we be for the Gospel of Christ! [Heathens are in the bondage above described, and have no conception of any way of deliverance from it. But in the Gospel a Saviour is proclaimed: who came on purpose to “preach deliverance to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound.” (Lk 4:18) His power no lusts can withstand. As he delivered Peter from prison, causing his chains to fall off, and the prison doors to open of their own accord, so can he liberate the slaves of sin and Satan from their bondage, and bring them forth into the glorious liberty of the children of God. Diseases, devils, elements, all obeyed his voice in the days of his flesh: and at his word the most deep-rooted lusts shall be plucked up, and the most inveterate habits changed. The day of Pentecost sufficiently attests the truth of this assertion. The hands of the men who had crucified him were yet reeking with his blood, yet in an instant were their hearts renewed, and they became altogether new creatures, “the wolf being as harmless as the sheep, and the lion as gentle as the lamb.” (Is 11:6) However inveterate then your habits may have been, despair not: but look to “that Mighty One on whom your help is laid,” and who is able to save “to the uttermost all who come unto God by him.” (Heb 7:25KJV)] [There is no death of sin without the death of Christ.] [John Owen] 2. How watchful should we be against the first incursions of sin! [As we know not “how great a matter a little fire will kindle,” so we know not what evils one sin may introduce. Every evil habit originated in one sin. Judas little thought in what his first act of dishonesty would issue: and millions, who are now gone beyond the hope of redemption, once thought as little to what a state they should be ultimately brought, as we now do. Say not, This angry temper is a light evil: It is murder in the seed and embryo; and may terminate in the very act of murder much sooner than you imagine. Say not, This impure thought or look is venial: it is constructive adultery; to which it lends, and in which, ere you are aware of it, it may soon issue. The same I would say of envy, hatred, malice, covetousness, ambition, and the whole catalogue of spiritual lusts: the admission of them into the heart is as is leak in a ship, which will sink it ultimately, if it be not stopped in time. A mariner will not neglect that leak, though it be but small; because he knows the consequences: he Knows that if it be neglected, his efforts to preserve the ship will ere long be vain and ineffectual. It is not possible to look around us without seeing, in numberless instances, what dominion the evil tempers of men have gained, and what misery they diffuse throughout their respective families and spheres. Had they been checked in their commencement, how much sin and misery would have been prevented! If then we would not forge chains for our own souls, let us guard against the first risings of sin: for, whatever we may think, “we shall reap according to what we sow: he that soweth to the flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit, shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.” (Gal 6:7,8)] 3. How constant should we be in waiting upon the Lord Jesus Christ, both in his public ordinances, and in secret prayer! [None but Christ can afford us any effectual help: for “without him we can do nothing.” (Jn 15:5) To him we must carry our every trial, and every temptation: and we must plead with him for help, as the Apostle did, till he answer us, and say, “My grace is sufficient for thee.” (2Cor 12:9-note) Let us never forget that it is in vain to resist sin in our own strength. None but God himself can subdue it in us. “Our sufficiency even to think a good thought must be of him.” (2Cor 5:5) If He help us, it is well: “We can do all things through Christ who strengthened us.” (Php 4:13-note) But if we address ourselves to the purifying of our hearts in our own strength, we shall fail, as the Apostles did, when in self-confidence they attempted to cast out a devil, which “could only be ejected through the influence of prayer and fasting.” (Mt 17:21) Let us look simply to Christ to purge us both from the guilt and power of our sins; and then we shall find, that “according to our faith it shall be done unto us.” (Mt 9:29)] (Volume VII -- Proverbs to Isaiah 26) If you are wrestling with sin, if it is becoming not just an occasional meandering into the darkness, but a habit that is growing more and more powerful in your life, then read Charles Simeon's discussion of various aspects of sin… see SIN - the links are to Simeon's various messages on sin. Related Resources: Deceitfulness of Sin Backsliding Backsliding-Quotes, Devotionals, Illustrations Charles Simeon's discussion of Achan's sin and its deceitfulness The Certainty that Sin will Find Us Out by Charles Simeon See also several Discussions by Charles Simeon on Self-Deceit & Self-Deception (links go to page discussing the topic or subtopic)… Self–deceit, sources of, XVII. 248 Self–deceit, illustrated in the person of Saul, III. 187–190 The self–deceiver, exposed. XX. 45–49. Danger of self–deceit, VII. 469. XVI. 641. Remedies against self–deceit, XVII. 249, 250. Its importance, 250, 251. Self–deception, Danger of, IV. 352. Caution against it, I. 333. Why men are so liable to it, XII. 389, 390. How we may counteract its baneful influence, 390–392. The self–deception of covetous professors exposed, IX. 419–422. Sin cannot be reduced to manageable proportions. --Sinclair Ferguson CORDS OF SIN Pulpit Commentary homily on Pr 5:22…I. The sinner is in bondage. Such a condition is not expected when a man freely gives the reins to his passions, and weakly yields himself to temptation. On the contrary, he supposes that he is enjoying a larger liberty than they possess who are constrained to walk in the narrow path of righteousness. Moreover, even when this shocking condition is reached, he is slow to admit its existence. He will not confess his bondage; perhaps he scarcely feels it. Thus the Jews were indignant in rejecting any such notion when our Lord offered deliverance from the slavery of sin (Jn 8:33). But this only proves the bondage to be the greater. The worst degradation of slavery is that it so benumbs the feelings and crushes the manliness of its victims, that some of them do not notice the yoke that would gall the shoulders of all men who truly appreciated their condition. The reality of the bondage is soon proved, however, whenever a slave tries to escape. Then the chains of sin are felt to be too strong for the sinner to break. He cries, “O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?” (Ro 7:24). II. The cords that bind the sinner are spun out of his own sins. Satan does not need to build any massive prison walls, or to call upon Vulcan to forge fetters for his captives. He has but to leave them to themselves, and their own misdeeds will shut them in, as the rank new growth of a tropical forest encloses the rotting trunks of the older trees, from the seed of which it sprang. 1. This results from the force of habit. All conduct tends to become permanent. The way wears into ruts. Men become entangled in their own past. 2. This is confirmed by wilful disregard of saving influences. If the sinner repented and called for deliverance, he might be saved from the fearful bondage of his sins. But proudly choosing to continue on his own course, he has consented to the tightening of the cords that bind him. III. Christ alone can liberate from the bondage of sin. Left to itself, the slavery will be fatal. The sinner will never be free to live to any good purpose. He will not be able to escape in the day of doom; his own sins will tie him to his fate. In the end they will strangle him. Inasmuch as the cords are spun out of his own conduct, they are part of himself, and he cannot untie their knots or cut their strands. They are stronger than the cords with which Delilah bound Samson, while the helpless, guilty sinner is weaker than the shorn Nazarite. But it is to men in this forlorn condition that the gospel of Christ is proclaimed, with its glorious promise of liberty to the captives (Is 61:1). Christ brings liberating truth (John 8:32), redeeming grace, and the saving power of a mighty love,—those attractive “cords of a man” (Hos 11:4) which are even stronger than the binding cords of sin. (The Pulpit Commentary) VICE SUICIDAL Pr 5:22, 23 I. Wickedness (like goodness) has undesigned results. The good comes back to nestle in the bosom of the giver and the doer. We never do right without invoking a blessing on our own heads. Evil, on the other hand, designed and executed, is like a snare set for one’s self, a net in the meshes of which the crafty is entangled, self-overreached. II. Wickedness and ignorance are in close connection. “He shall die for want of instruction”—the correct rendering of Pr 5:23. Socrates taught that vice was ignorance, virtue identical with knowledge. This, however, ignores the perversity of the will. The Bible ever traces wickedness to wilful and inexcusable ignorance. III. Wickedness is a kind of madness. “Through the greatness of his folly he shall reel about.” The word shâgâh once more. The man becomes drunk and frenzied with passion, and, a certain point passed, staggers to his end unwitting, careless, or desperate. (The Pulpit Commentary) THE END OF AN EVIL COURSE Pr 5:22, 23 There are two fearful evils in which impenitent sin is sure to end, two classes of penalty which the wrong-doer must make up his mind to pay. He has to submit to— I. An inward tyranny of the most cruel character. (Pr 5:22.) We may never have seen the wild animal captured by the hunter, making violent efforts to escape its toils, failing, desperately renewing the attempt with fierce and frantic struggles, until at length it yielded itself to its fate in sullen despair. But we have witnessed something far more romantic than that. We have watched some human soul caught in the meshes of vice (intemperance, it may be), or entangled in the bonds of sin (covetousness, it may be), struggling to be free, failing in its endeavour, renewing the attempt with determined eagerness, and failing again, until at length it yields to the foe, vanquished, ruined, lost! “His own iniquities have taken the wicked himself, he is holden in the cords of his sins.” 1. Sin hides its tyranny from view; its cords are so carried that they are not seen; nay, they are so wound around the soul that at first they are not felt, and the victim has no notion that he is being enslaved. 2. Gradually and stealthily it fastens its fetters on the soul; e.g. intemperance, impurity, untruthfulness, selfishness, worldliness. 3. It finally obtains a hold from which the soul cannot shake itself free; the man is “holden;” sin has him in its firm grip; he is a captive, a spiritual slave. Beside this terrible tyranny, the persistent wrong-doer has to endure— II. After-consequences yet more calamitous. (Pr 5:23.) These are: 1. Death in the midst of folly. “He shall die without instruction,” unenlightened by eternal truth, in the darkness of error and sin; he will die, “hoping nothing, believing nothing, and fearing nothing”—nothing which a man should die in the hope of, nothing which a man should live to believe and die in the faith of, nothing which a man should fear, living or dying. He shall die without peace to smooth his dying pillow, without hope to light up his closing eyes. 2. Exclusion from future blessedness through his folly. “In the greatness of his folly he shall go astray.” While the simplest wisdom would have led him to seek and find entrance into the City of God, in the greatness of his folly he wanders off to the gates of the City of Sorrow. 1. If the path of folly has been entered upon and is now being trodden, return at once without delay. Further on, perchance a very little further on, it may be too late—the cords of sin may be too strong for the soul to snap. Arise at once, in the strength of the strong Deliverer, and regain the freedom which is being lost. 2. Enter in earliest days the path of spiritual freedom. Bear the blessed yoke of the Son of God, that every other yoke may be broken. Enroll in his ranks whose “service is perfect freedom.” (The Pulpit Commentary) Proverbs 5:23 He will die for lack of instruction, and in the greatness of his folly he will go astray. Pr 10:21; 14:32; Job 4:21; 36:12 Pr 14:14; Ps 81:12; 2Pe 2:15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22 Proverbs 5 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries God's wounds cure Sin's kisses kill. --William Gurnall Matthew
Provérbios 5:15-23
Pink - We are ourselves so infected and affected by sin that we are altogether incapable of estimating its due merits. Adam Clarke rightly says that "Most people who follow unlawful pleasures, think they can give them up whenever they please; but sin repeated becomes customary; custom soon engenders habit; and habit in the end assumes the form of necessity; the man becomes bound with his own cords, and so is led captive by the devil at his will." Charles Bridges encourages all men to… Ponder this chapter – ye that know not the poison and corruption of fleshly lusts. Perhaps painful experience (1Ki 11:1-8. Ec 7:26) had given the wise man (Solomon) wisdom and understanding. Therefore attend to it with fear and trembling. Man's own strength, the restraint of education, or self-discipline, is powerless, as the green withs (willow twigs) to bind the giant. (Jdg 16:9) Engrafted wisdom is the only effectual safeguard. This heavenly influence teaches us, both to regard discretion for the covering of our souls, and to keep knowledge for the warning of our fellow-sinners. (Pr 2:10,11, 16; 6:20, 24; 7:1-5. Ps.17:4; Ps 119:9, 11). As a very little dust will disorder a clock, and the least grain of sand will obscure our sight, so the least grain of sin which is upon the heart will hinder its right motion toward God. --John Wesley Wise King Solomon urged his son to understand that true freedom is possible only within the sphere of God-centered living, for which He created us. By contrast, bondage predictably and inescapably comes to anyone who ignores God's truth. Proverbs 16 describes the liberty and satisfaction that come from practicing humility, trust, careful conversation, and self-control. But it also warns about the inevitable bondage that comes into the lives of people governed by willful rebellion, pride, arrogance, strife, and malicious trouble-making. True freedom is not having our own way, but yielding to God's way. (cp Jn 8:34, 35, 36) ILLUSTRATION OF THE SUBTLE, CORRUPTING EFFECT OF SIN: What happened to the great city of Ephesus? Often mentioned in the New Testament, it was one of the cultural and commercial centers of its day. Located at the mouth of the Cayster River, it was noted for its bustling harbors, its broad avenues, its gymnasiums, its baths, its huge amphitheater, and especially its magnificent Temple of Diana. What happened to bring about its gradual decline until its harbor was no longer crowded with ships and the city was no longer a flourishing metropolis? Was it smitten by plagues, destroyed by enemies, or demolished by earthquakes? No, silt was the reason for its downfall—silent and non-violent silt. Over the years, fine sedimentary particles slowly filled up the harbor, separating the city from the economic life of the sea traders. Little evil practices, little acts of disobedience may seem harmless. (Song 2:15) But let the silt of sin gradually accumulate, and we will find ourselves far from God. Life will become a spiritual ruin. In the book of Hebrews we are warned of the danger of “the deceitfulness of sin” (Heb 3:13-note). James said that the attractive pleasures of sin are really a mask covering death (Jas 1:15-note).God forbid that we let the "silt of sin" accumulate in our lives! Little sins add up to big trouble. There is no sin so little as not to kindle an eternal fire! Sin Is Like An Insect! - It was reported recently that an enormous pine tree in the mountains of Colorado had fallen victim to a pine beetle and died. According to locals, up to that point the tree was thought to be indestructible. It had survived fourteen lightning strikes and many years of Colorado winters, including avalanches and fires. But it was eventually brought down from within by a tiny insect that did its work silently. That's the way it is with sin in a person's life, be they a Christian or a non-Christian. Watch over your heart with all diligence. (Pr 4:23-note) We must deal with the seeds of sin in our hearts. If neglected the seeds soon become weeds. --Vance Havner (Compare the progression in Ge 4:5, 6, 7, 8) John Blanchard says that… Sin has two great powers; it reigns and it ruins. Sin is not a toy, it is a tyrant. Rousseau's "Self-Ruse" - The deceitfulness of sin is vividly seen in the life of the French philosopher Rousseau. He declared, “No man can come to the throne of God and say, ‘I’m a better man than Rousseau.’” When he knew death was close at hand, he boasted, “Ah, how happy a thing it is to die, when one has no reason for remorse or self-reproach.” Then he prayed, “Eternal Being, the soul that I am going to give Thee back is as pure at this moment as it was when it proceeded from Thee; render it a partaker of Thy felicity!” Two theological students were walking along a street in the Whitechapel district of London, a section where old and used clothing is sold. What a fitting illustration all this makes!” said one of the students as he pointed to a suit of clothes hanging on a rack by a window. A sign on it read: SLIGHTLY SOILED— GREATLY REDUCED IN PRICE. “That’s it exactly,” he continued. “We get soiled by gazing at a vulgar picture, reading a course book, or allowing ourselves a little indulgence in dishonest or lustful thoughts; and so when the time comes for our character to be appraised, we are greatly reduced in value. Our purity, our strength is gone. We are just part and parcel of the general, shopworn stock of the world.” Yes, continual slight deviations from the path of right may greatly reduce our usefulness to God and to our fellowman (see notes on "vessel of honor… useful to the Master" - 2Ti 2:21,22-2Ti 2:21; 22). In fact, these little secret sins can weaken our character so that when we face a moral crisis, we cannot stand the test. As a result, we go down in spiritual defeat because we have been careless about little sins. (Source unknown) Tiny Evils, Big Fall READ: Eccl 9:16-18, Eccl 10:1-10 Dead flies cause the ointment of the apothecary to send forth a stinking savour: so doth a little folly him that is in reputation for wisdom and honour. --Ecclesiastes 10:1 It started as a seedling on the slopes of the Colorado Rockies some 500 years ago. For centuries it had stood tall, enduring violent winds, lightning strikes, blizzards, even avalanches. Now, however, the once-towering tree is just a mound of decaying wood. What caused its demise? A horde of beetles had attacked it, gnawing away until that skyscraper of nature surrendered to those tiny pests and toppled over. That's also the tragic story of many Christians. For long years they stood tall for God. They resisted temptations, weathered crises, and were bold in the strength divinely provided. But little sins began to eat away at their lives--little lies, little compromises with greed or lust, sins that gradually eroded their character. And suddenly they fell. Song of Solomon 2:15 states, "Catch us the foxes, the little foxes that spoil the vines." This colorful Old Testament verse should sound a loud alarm in our consciences. We must not tolerate the little evils that eat away at the roots of our lives. Otherwise, our once-strong witness for Christ will become a silenced casualty of sin. Let's confess those "tiny" evils to God now, before they lead to a big fall. — Vernon C. Grounds Nothing between, like worldly pleasure, Habits of life, though harmless they seem, Must not my heart from Him ever sever-- He is my all! There's nothing between. --Charles Tindley (Play this great hymn) A big fall begins with a little stumble. (I would add a blessed life can begin with what may seem like a little obedience!) SIN IS LIKE A BOA CONSTRICTOR! - Are you being deceived by sin and tolerating it like a pet? If you are, then you need to remember the fate of the man with the pet boa constrictor (Do a Google search - use the following three words in your search keeping the quotation marks as written >> "pet boa" killed). After 15 years of living with his owner, one day the "pet boa" would not let its "owner" out of its grip resulting in the owner's tragic death. Wild animals remain wild and so does Sin. Do not be deceived (Stop being deceived)! A slight sore, neglected, may prove of fatal consequence, and so may a slight sin slighted and left unrepented of. --Matthew Henry No Small Deviations in God's Economy! - In St. Louis there is a railroad switchyard. One particular switch begins with just the thinnest piece of steel to direct a train away from one main track to another. If you were to follow those two tracks, however, you would find that one ends in San Francisco, the other in New York. Sin is like that. Just a small deviation from God’s standards can place us far afield from our intended destination. Don't be deceived by the world, flesh or devil who say "It's no big deal!" Wrong! The way of sin is downhill. A man cannot stop himself when he will. --Matthew Henry Entanglement by the Cords of one's own Sin - Not long after a wealthy contractor had finished building the Tombs prison in New York, he was found guilty of forgery and sentenced to several years in the prison he had built! As he was escorted into a cell of his own making, the contractor said, “I never dreamed when I built this prison that I would be an inmate one day.” (cp Nu 32:23) No sin is small. It is against an infinite God and may have consequences immeasurable. No grain of sand is small in the mechanism of a watch. --Jeremy Taylor According to sociologist Robert Bellah - One of our current psychological gurus says that 98 percent of Americans are dysfunctional. No doubt he is right. He has just discovered original sin, though he is mistaken if he things 2 percent are without. SIN'S POWER - Dr. J. Wilbur Chapman told of a distinguished minister, Dr. Howard, from Australia who preached very strongly on the subject of sin. After the service, one of the church officers came to counsel with him in the study. "Dr. Howard," he said, "we don't want you to talk as openly as you do about man's guilt and corruption, because if our boys and girls hear you discussing that subject they will more easily become sinners. Call it a mistake if you will, but do not speak so plainly about sin. "The minister took down a small bottle and showing it to the visitor said, "You see that label? It says strychnine -- and underneath in bold, red letters the word 'Poison!' Do you know, man, what you are asking me to do? You are suggesting that I change the label. Suppose I do, and paste over it the words, 'Essence of Peppermint'; don't you see what might happen? Someone would use it, not knowing the danger involved, and would certainly die. So it is, too, with the matter of sin. The milder you make your label, the more dangerous you make your poison!" (Source Unknown) Slavery to Sin - Radio personality Paul Harvey tells the story of how an Eskimo kills a wolf. The account is grisly, yet it offers fresh insight into the consuming, self-destructive nature of sin. "First, the Eskimo coats his knife blade with animal blood and allows it to freeze. Then he adds another layer of blood, and another, until the blade is completely concealed by frozen blood. "Next, the hunter fixes his knife in the ground with the blade up. When a wolf follows his sensitive nose to the source of the scent and discovers the bait, he licks it, tasting the fresh frozen blood. He begins to lick faster, more and more vigorously, lapping the blade until the keen edge is bare. Feverishly now, harder and harder the wolf licks the blade in the arctic night. So great becomes his craving for blood that the wolf does not notice the razor-sharp sting of the naked blade on his own tongue, nor does he recognize the instant at which his insatiable thirst is being satisfied by his OWN warm blood. His carnivorous appetite just craves more--until the dawn finds him dead in the snow!" It is a fearful thing that people can be "consumed by their own lusts." Only God's grace keeps us from the wolf's fate. - Chris T. Zwingelberg. Attraction to Sin - Several years ago our family visited Niagara Falls. It was spring, and ice was rushing down the river. As I viewed the large blocks of ice flowing toward the falls, I could see that there were carcasses of dead fish embedded in the ice. Gulls by the score were riding down the river feeding on the fish. As they came to the brink of the falls, their wings would go out, and they would escape from the falls. I watched one gull which seemed to delay and wondered when it would leave. It was engrossed in the carcass of a fish, and when it finally came to the brink of the falls, out went its powerful wings. The bird flapped and flapped and even lifted the ice out of the water, and I thought it would escape. But it had delayed too long so that its claws had frozen into the ice. The weight of the ice was too great, and the gull plunged into the abyss. The material possessions of this world can entrap us if we become too attached to them. They will take us to our destruction if we cannot give them up. And as Sweeting observed, "Oh, the danger of delay!" - George Sweeting Sinners bound with the cords of sin (See Spurgeon's full sermon below) The first sentence of this verse has reference to a net, in which birds or beasts are taken. That which first attracted the sinner afterwards detains him. This first sentence may have reference to an arrest by an officer of law. The transgressor’s own sin shall take him, shall seize him; they bear a warrant for arresting him, they shall judge him, they shall even execute him. The second sentence speaks of the sinner being holden with cords. The lifelong occupation of the ungodly man is to twist ropes of sin. The binding meant is that of a culprit pinioned for execution. Iniquity pinions a man. Make a man’s will a prisoner, and he is a captive indeed. Who would not scorn to make himself a slave to his baser passions? And yet the mass of men are such--the cords of their sins bind them. I. The captivating, enslaving power of sin is a solution to a great mystery. 1. Is it not mysterious that men should be content to abide in a state of imminent peril? 2. Before long unconverted men and women will be in a state whose wretchedness it is not possible for language fully to express. 3. Is it not a wonder that men do not receive the gospel of Jesus Christ, seeing that the gospel is so plain? 4. Nay, moreover, so infinitely attractive. 5. The commandment of the gospel is not burdensome. 6. And, according to the confession of most sinners, the pleasures of sin are by no means great. Here stands the riddle, man is so set against God and His Christ that he never will accept eternal salvation until the Holy Spirit, by a supernatural work, overcomes his will and turns the current of his affections. II. THOUGH THIS IS THE SOLUTION OF ONE MYSTERY, IT IS IN ITSELF A GREATER MYSTERY. One reason why men receive not Christ is, that they are hampered by the sin of forgetting God. Another sin binds all unregenerate hearts; it is the sin of not loving the Christ of God. What a mystery it is that men should be held by the sin of neglecting their souls! (C. H. Spurgeon.) TWENTY REASONS NOT TO SIN! Just for "fun" take a moment to review the following list of 20 reasons not to commit sins (hamartano)… 1. A little sin leads to more sin. 2. Sin invites the discipline of God. 3. The time spent in my sin is forever wasted. 4. My sin never pleases but always grieves the God Who loves me. 5. My sin places a greater burden on my spiritual leaders. 6. In time, sin always brings heaviness to my heart. 7. Others, including my family, suffer consequences due to my sin. 8. My sin makes the enemies of God rejoice. 9. Sin deceives me into believing I have gained when in reality I have lost. 10. Sin may keep me from qualifying for spiritual leadership. 11. The supposed benefits of sin will never outweigh the consequences of disobedience. 12. Repenting of sin is a painful process. 13. My sin may influence others to sin. 14. My sin may keep others from knowing Christ. 15. Sin makes light of the Cross, upon which Christ died for the very purpose of taking away my sin. 16. It is impossible to sin and follow the Spirit at the same time. 17. Others more earnest than I have been destroyed by just such sins. 18. God chooses not to hear the prayers of those who cherish their sin (Ps 66:18). 19. My unwillingness to reject this sin now grants it authority over me greater than I understand. 20. I promised God He would be the Lord of my life. (Source unknown) Sin will take you farther than you ever thought you’d stray Sin will leave you so lost, you think you’ll never find your way Sin will keep you longer than you ever thought you’d stay Sin will cost you more than you ever thought you’d pay The Captivating Power of Sin Charles Simeon THE force of habit is well known: it operates as a second nature; so constant is it in its exercise, and so imperious in its demands. There is this difference however in habits of piety, and habits of sin: that the one are easily lost; but the other are with great difficulty overcome. Nor is this difficult to be accounted for; seeing that the one is against the course of nature, and the other conformable to all its propensities: the motion of the one is a continual ascent; the other is downward on a declivity. But it is not merely as a natural consequence that sin, when indulged, has so great a power: there is an additional influence given to it by God himself, as a judicial act, and as a just punishment for indulging it: so that in a judicial, no less than in a natural sense, our text is true: “His own iniquities shall take the wicked himself: and he shall be holden with the cords of his sins.” Let us consider, I. The declaration itself— In a two-fold view it may be noticed; 1. As a judgment inflicted— It is inflicted on the whole human race. There is not a sinner in the universe who cannot from his own experience attest the truth of it. Every sin has a power to enslave the mind, and to lead captive him who has indulged it. But we will instance this in some particulars. The man addicted to drinking previous to the formation of his habit, had perhaps no particular love to strong drink, or desire after it: but he has been drawn into company, he has there acquired a taste for conviviality, and at last, by repeated excesses, he has contracted such a thirst for intoxicating liquors, that he cannot deny himself the use of them, or use them in moderation. He can see his character sinking in the estimation of all the sober part of the community, his health impaired, his fortune injured, his family suffering, and his eternal interests sacrificed: and yet he cannot cast off the habit which he has contracted: his soul is bound with it as with a cord, and he cannot burst his bonds. In a similar plight is he who has given himself up to the gratification of his lusts and passions. They, at least as far as the mind is concerned, are increased by indulgence, so that every object calls forth desire, and “the eyes of the libertine are full of adultery, and cannot cease from sin.” (2Pe 2:14-note) His very soul, as it were, is sensualized, and, whether sleeping or waking, his imagination roves after the gratification of his lawless appetites. Nor must I omit to mention the gamester, in whom the text is most awfully verified. Nothing can induce him to abandon his ruinous pursuits. Domestic ties of wife and children have no influence at all. The ruin of himself and family are all suspended on a card or die. Not even the experience of ruin will reclaim him. Let his losses be repaired again and again, and again and again will he return to the fascinating object, like the moth, and hover round it, till he is consumed. I have mentioned these instances, as being more obvious and acknowledged: but the declaration is equally verified in the gay, the worldly, the profane; yea, and in the superstitious and self-righteous also. They all “feed on ashes; and a deceived heart hath turned them aside, so that they cannot deliver their souls, nor say, Is there not a lie in my right hand?” (Is 44:20) 2. As a warning given— [In this view more especially the declaration in our text is introduced, to guard young men against the temptations to which they are exposed (Pr 5:20). And a most awful warning it is: it shews us how earnestly we should guard against our besetting sins. Every man has some “sin which more easily besets him,” (He 12:1-note) and by which he is more in danger of being enslaved. Now every man should find out what this peculiar temptation is; and should watch and pray against it; lest, by yielding to it, he provoke “God to give him over to a reprobate mind,” (Ro 1:28-note) and to say, “He is joined to idols; let him alone.” (Hos 4:17) We should labour to say with David, “I have kept myself from my iniquity:” (Ps 18:23-note) and, with Job, “Thou knowest I am not wicked,” not deliberately and habitually wicked (Job 10:7). We should dread lest that be inflicted on us which is spoken in the text; a judgment far heavier than any other that can be inflicted on us even by God himself, as long as we continue in this present life; because it is a certain prelude to everlasting misery, and the means of augmenting it every day and hour: for, if we are delivered over to our own lusts, we do nothing but “treasure up wrath against the day of wrath,” and accumulate mountains of guilt to sink us deeper and deeper into everlasting perdition (Ro 2:5-note). Our employment will be like that of those mentioned by the Prophet Isaiah, who “drew out iniquity with cords of vanity, and sin as a cart-rope:” (Is 5:18-note) for, as a rope is spun out continually to an indefinite length by the constant addition of fresh materials, so will our sin be drawn out to an endless extent, till death shall cut it short, and the deserved punishment be awarded to it.] It would be improper to pass over such a declaration as this without drawing your attention to, II. The reflections which it naturally suggests— 1. How thankful should we be for the Gospel of Christ! [Heathens are in the bondage above described, and have no conception of any way of deliverance from it. But in the Gospel a Saviour is proclaimed: who came on purpose to “preach deliverance to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound.” (Lk 4:18) His power no lusts can withstand. As he delivered Peter from prison, causing his chains to fall off, and the prison doors to open of their own accord, so can he liberate the slaves of sin and Satan from their bondage, and bring them forth into the glorious liberty of the children of God. Diseases, devils, elements, all obeyed his voice in the days of his flesh: and at his word the most deep-rooted lusts shall be plucked up, and the most inveterate habits changed. The day of Pentecost sufficiently attests the truth of this assertion. The hands of the men who had crucified him were yet reeking with his blood, yet in an instant were their hearts renewed, and they became altogether new creatures, “the wolf being as harmless as the sheep, and the lion as gentle as the lamb.” (Is 11:6) However inveterate then your habits may have been, despair not: but look to “that Mighty One on whom your help is laid,” and who is able to save “to the uttermost all who come unto God by him.” (Heb 7:25KJV)] [There is no death of sin without the death of Christ.] [John Owen] 2. How watchful should we be against the first incursions of sin! [As we know not “how great a matter a little fire will kindle,” so we know not what evils one sin may introduce. Every evil habit originated in one sin. Judas little thought in what his first act of dishonesty would issue: and millions, who are now gone beyond the hope of redemption, once thought as little to what a state they should be ultimately brought, as we now do. Say not, This angry temper is a light evil: It is murder in the seed and embryo; and may terminate in the very act of murder much sooner than you imagine. Say not, This impure thought or look is venial: it is constructive adultery; to which it lends, and in which, ere you are aware of it, it may soon issue. The same I would say of envy, hatred, malice, covetousness, ambition, and the whole catalogue of spiritual lusts: the admission of them into the heart is as is leak in a ship, which will sink it ultimately, if it be not stopped in time. A mariner will not neglect that leak, though it be but small; because he knows the consequences: he Knows that if it be neglected, his efforts to preserve the ship will ere long be vain and ineffectual. It is not possible to look around us without seeing, in numberless instances, what dominion the evil tempers of men have gained, and what misery they diffuse throughout their respective families and spheres. Had they been checked in their commencement, how much sin and misery would have been prevented! If then we would not forge chains for our own souls, let us guard against the first risings of sin: for, whatever we may think, “we shall reap according to what we sow: he that soweth to the flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit, shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.” (Gal 6:7,8)] 3. How constant should we be in waiting upon the Lord Jesus Christ, both in his public ordinances, and in secret prayer! [None but Christ can afford us any effectual help: for “without him we can do nothing.” (Jn 15:5) To him we must carry our every trial, and every temptation: and we must plead with him for help, as the Apostle did, till he answer us, and say, “My grace is sufficient for thee.” (2Cor 12:9-note) Let us never forget that it is in vain to resist sin in our own strength. None but God himself can subdue it in us. “Our sufficiency even to think a good thought must be of him.” (2Cor 5:5) If He help us, it is well: “We can do all things through Christ who strengthened us.” (Php 4:13-note) But if we address ourselves to the purifying of our hearts in our own strength, we shall fail, as the Apostles did, when in self-confidence they attempted to cast out a devil, which “could only be ejected through the influence of prayer and fasting.” (Mt 17:21) Let us look simply to Christ to purge us both from the guilt and power of our sins; and then we shall find, that “according to our faith it shall be done unto us.” (Mt 9:29)] (Volume VII -- Proverbs to Isaiah 26) If you are wrestling with sin, if it is becoming not just an occasional meandering into the darkness, but a habit that is growing more and more powerful in your life, then read Charles Simeon's discussion of various aspects of sin… see SIN - the links are to Simeon's various messages on sin. Related Resources: Deceitfulness of Sin Backsliding Backsliding-Quotes, Devotionals, Illustrations Charles Simeon's discussion of Achan's sin and its deceitfulness The Certainty that Sin will Find Us Out by Charles Simeon See also several Discussions by Charles Simeon on Self-Deceit & Self-Deception (links go to page discussing the topic or subtopic)… Self–deceit, sources of, XVII. 248 Self–deceit, illustrated in the person of Saul, III. 187–190 The self–deceiver, exposed. XX. 45–49. Danger of self–deceit, VII. 469. XVI. 641. Remedies against self–deceit, XVII. 249, 250. Its importance, 250, 251. Self–deception, Danger of, IV. 352. Caution against it, I. 333. Why men are so liable to it, XII. 389, 390. How we may counteract its baneful influence, 390–392. The self–deception of covetous professors exposed, IX. 419–422. Sin cannot be reduced to manageable proportions. --Sinclair Ferguson CORDS OF SIN Pulpit Commentary homily on Pr 5:22…I. The sinner is in bondage. Such a condition is not expected when a man freely gives the reins to his passions, and weakly yields himself to temptation. On the contrary, he supposes that he is enjoying a larger liberty than they possess who are constrained to walk in the narrow path of righteousness. Moreover, even when this shocking condition is reached, he is slow to admit its existence. He will not confess his bondage; perhaps he scarcely feels it. Thus the Jews were indignant in rejecting any such notion when our Lord offered deliverance from the slavery of sin (Jn 8:33). But this only proves the bondage to be the greater. The worst degradation of slavery is that it so benumbs the feelings and crushes the manliness of its victims, that some of them do not notice the yoke that would gall the shoulders of all men who truly appreciated their condition. The reality of the bondage is soon proved, however, whenever a slave tries to escape. Then the chains of sin are felt to be too strong for the sinner to break. He cries, “O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?” (Ro 7:24). II. The cords that bind the sinner are spun out of his own sins. Satan does not need to build any massive prison walls, or to call upon Vulcan to forge fetters for his captives. He has but to leave them to themselves, and their own misdeeds will shut them in, as the rank new growth of a tropical forest encloses the rotting trunks of the older trees, from the seed of which it sprang. 1. This results from the force of habit. All conduct tends to become permanent. The way wears into ruts. Men become entangled in their own past. 2. This is confirmed by wilful disregard of saving influences. If the sinner repented and called for deliverance, he might be saved from the fearful bondage of his sins. But proudly choosing to continue on his own course, he has consented to the tightening of the cords that bind him. III. Christ alone can liberate from the bondage of sin. Left to itself, the slavery will be fatal. The sinner will never be free to live to any good purpose. He will not be able to escape in the day of doom; his own sins will tie him to his fate. In the end they will strangle him. Inasmuch as the cords are spun out of his own conduct, they are part of himself, and he cannot untie their knots or cut their strands. They are stronger than the cords with which Delilah bound Samson, while the helpless, guilty sinner is weaker than the shorn Nazarite. But it is to men in this forlorn condition that the gospel of Christ is proclaimed, with its glorious promise of liberty to the captives (Is 61:1). Christ brings liberating truth (John 8:32), redeeming grace, and the saving power of a mighty love,—those attractive “cords of a man” (Hos 11:4) which are even stronger than the binding cords of sin. (The Pulpit Commentary) VICE SUICIDAL Pr 5:22, 23 I. Wickedness (like goodness) has undesigned results. The good comes back to nestle in the bosom of the giver and the doer. We never do right without invoking a blessing on our own heads. Evil, on the other hand, designed and executed, is like a snare set for one’s self, a net in the meshes of which the crafty is entangled, self-overreached. II. Wickedness and ignorance are in close connection. “He shall die for want of instruction”—the correct rendering of Pr 5:23. Socrates taught that vice was ignorance, virtue identical with knowledge. This, however, ignores the perversity of the will. The Bible ever traces wickedness to wilful and inexcusable ignorance. III. Wickedness is a kind of madness. “Through the greatness of his folly he shall reel about.” The word shâgâh once more. The man becomes drunk and frenzied with passion, and, a certain point passed, staggers to his end unwitting, careless, or desperate. (The Pulpit Commentary) THE END OF AN EVIL COURSE Pr 5:22, 23 There are two fearful evils in which impenitent sin is sure to end, two classes of penalty which the wrong-doer must make up his mind to pay. He has to submit to— I. An inward tyranny of the most cruel character. (Pr 5:22.) We may never have seen the wild animal captured by the hunter, making violent efforts to escape its toils, failing, desperately renewing the attempt with fierce and frantic struggles, until at length it yielded itself to its fate in sullen despair. But we have witnessed something far more romantic than that. We have watched some human soul caught in the meshes of vice (intemperance, it may be), or entangled in the bonds of sin (covetousness, it may be), struggling to be free, failing in its endeavour, renewing the attempt with determined eagerness, and failing again, until at length it yields to the foe, vanquished, ruined, lost! “His own iniquities have taken the wicked himself, he is holden in the cords of his sins.” 1. Sin hides its tyranny from view; its cords are so carried that they are not seen; nay, they are so wound around the soul that at first they are not felt, and the victim has no notion that he is being enslaved. 2. Gradually and stealthily it fastens its fetters on the soul; e.g. intemperance, impurity, untruthfulness, selfishness, worldliness. 3. It finally obtains a hold from which the soul cannot shake itself free; the man is “holden;” sin has him in its firm grip; he is a captive, a spiritual slave. Beside this terrible tyranny, the persistent wrong-doer has to endure— II. After-consequences yet more calamitous. (Pr 5:23.) These are: 1. Death in the midst of folly. “He shall die without instruction,” unenlightened by eternal truth, in the darkness of error and sin; he will die, “hoping nothing, believing nothing, and fearing nothing”—nothing which a man should die in the hope of, nothing which a man should live to believe and die in the faith of, nothing which a man should fear, living or dying. He shall die without peace to smooth his dying pillow, without hope to light up his closing eyes. 2. Exclusion from future blessedness through his folly. “In the greatness of his folly he shall go astray.” While the simplest wisdom would have led him to seek and find entrance into the City of God, in the greatness of his folly he wanders off to the gates of the City of Sorrow. 1. If the path of folly has been entered upon and is now being trodden, return at once without delay. Further on, perchance a very little further on, it may be too late—the cords of sin may be too strong for the soul to snap. Arise at once, in the strength of the strong Deliverer, and regain the freedom which is being lost. 2. Enter in earliest days the path of spiritual freedom. Bear the blessed yoke of the Son of God, that every other yoke may be broken. Enroll in his ranks whose “service is perfect freedom.” (The Pulpit Commentary) Proverbs 5:23 He will die for lack of instruction, and in the greatness of his folly he will go astray. Pr 10:21; 14:32; Job 4:21; 36:12 Pr 14:14; Ps 81:12; 2Pe 2:15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22 Proverbs 5 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries God's wounds cure Sin's kisses kill. --William Gurnall Matthew