Calvary Chapel of Jonesboro

Staggering into the Gaping Jaws of Sexual Destruction - Proverbs 5:6

01/10/2013

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She does not ponder the path of life; Her ways are unstable, she does not know it. Proverbs 5:6

Here is another in a list of warnings given to the man who would think of committing adultery. It is part of the description of the adulteress. Before I go into this particular verse I do want to make a comment or two for the ladies. This passage does describe for us the woman who either leaves her husband to have sex with another man - or a single woman who enters into relationships with married men and thus is committing adultery with him. I do not in any way want you ladies to think that any man is receiving a pass here. This passage is dealing with this issue from the perspective of a warning to sons. Fascinating that this warning comes most likely from David to Solomon - two guys who learned much from the wrong side of this issue. David's warnings to his son Solomon were for the most part unheeded in the end - and Solomon's sin was the undoing of Israel. So you can see that the cost of mistakes in this area are great. Fortunately for us - the grace of God and His forgiveness are greater. Nevertheless - a whole host of problems come when a young man is foolish enough to be ensnared by the adulteress. Oh, and ladies . . . the greatest snare for him is not the woman herself - but his own lusts that wage war in his soul. His greatest battle is with godly self-control, obedience to the Scriptures, and not living out of his flesh as a source.  But, with all this said, it is a wise father who speaks to his son about these issues - even if it is from hard lessons learned.

The adulteress, like anyone who is willingly cooperating with sin, is not watching for eternal things. The passage states in the Hebrew that she is not watching the path of life. The actual Hebrew word here is "palas" and it means to ponder or to calculate the weight of something. One of the ways this word is used is to weigh out a path and see what it will bring to us in the end. The adulteress is not thinking about eternity - about the judgment of God at the end of life when according to the Bible, all men and women will have to give an account of their choices and actions. The word "ponder" here does not mean just a casual thought - but to stop and think seriously about something. She is not thinking about where her actions are taking her. This is kind of a "duh" statement considering we just read a verse earlier that her feet are swiftly moving towards death and her very steps (indicating a direction taken) are taking hold of the place of the dead. Think about this for a moment. Does anyone who is entering into sexual immorality seriously stop and think about the diseases they are opening up to in their lives? Does anyone entering into adultery seriously stop and consider the havoc coming in their marriage - in their family - in their children's lives? There is not a lot of pondering going on here. Honestly, what IS going on is actions based on lust and desire. Sexual immorality usually involves shutting the "ponderer" down and living by the impulses of our flesh instead.  It involves shutting down our brain and our spirit - and thinking with our loins instead.

The adulteress also is unstable. The word for unstable here means to stagger and walk crooked. It has the idea of someone who is swaying in and out of a path. Rather than ponder and consider the path of life - she is wandering and staggering off the road. Jeremiah 14:10 uses this same imagery to indicate that there are those who love their wandering. God told Jeremiah, "Thus says the LORD to this people, 'Even so they have loved to wander; they have not kept their feet in check. Therefore the LORD does not accept them; now He will remember their iniquity and call their sins to account."' This is the same sentiment we sing about in the hymn, "Come Thou Fount" when we say, "prone to wander, Lord I feel it; prone to leave the Lord I love." 

This speaks of a "willful" wandering. The adulteress though, is wandering not toward sin with the assurance of God's gracious discipline. She is willfully wandering toward a yawning abyss without seeing its gaping jaws. Her ways are unstable - wandering - staggering toward destruction - but she does not know it. So althought she promises so much through her offer of pleasure, albeit illicit. She does not know even herself where it is eventually leading.  For the man foolish enough to be attracted to her wiles and follow her into sin - he simply is walking hand in hand with her to that yawning abyss with its gaping jaws - so step in and be devoured.

Pretty scary description here isn't it? That's the point that David is trying to drive home to young Solomon his son. Remember, David wound up killing Uriah as well as several other soldiers by proxy - had his daughter raped by one of her half brothers - had that son killed by another son (who used his proxy methods to accomplish the deed) - had 10 of his concubines raped in public by his son on a rooftop in front of the entire nation - and had that son die in an effort to usurp the kingdom along with all the soldiers who fell in that battle as well. Kinda cost David far more than he thought to have that one night of hidden passion? Maybe David was wanting Solomon to ponder more than he did - to avoid a similar fate? Maybe whether from success or failure in our moral lives we should do the same with our sons and daughters as well?
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Robbin' Dad and Mom . . . not good!  Proverbs 28:24

11/08/2012

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He who robs his father or his mother and says, “It is not a transgression,” is the companion of a man who destroys.   Proverbs 28:24

At first glance this proverb seems a little severe.  Who would rob his father and mother - and then assert that he had not sinned.  Yet this proverb is lived out again and again in our cities and towns as children wnat that their parents have - and resort to robbery and even destruction to obtain it.

I had the sad priviledge of watching my mother's family almost disintegrate due to a dispute about the inheritance and the dividing of furniture and possessions when the homestead was separated to the children.  This is one of the ways that this proverb is seen in our world.  A greed for and a sense of entitlement to a parent's wealth will lead children to do horrific things to their parents.  Lizzie Borden killed her father and step-mother by hacking them to death with an ax.  This unfathomable action took place because Lizzie and her sister feared that their father was about to change his will and keep them from his riches, which they had wrongly assmed were theirs.  In this way we see that this kind of greed which seeks to steal what belongs to father and mother is a companion of a man who destroys.

The other way I see this passage fulfilled is in our current drug culture.  Those who get hooked on drugs will do anything to get them.  They will even steal from their parents to get their next fix.  Often, when confronted about their behavior, the drug addict will bitterly state that they should get what their parents have - even absolving themselves of responsibility of stealing from them.  The booty they take from their parents is then poured down a hole as they buy more drugs and exhaust what they've stolen on another temporary high.  Following this sordid path has led to numerous overdoses by these drug enslaved chidlren.  Their robbery leads to their destruction. 

The wise man knows that two of the commandments of God are to honor one's parents as well as not steal.  When they ignore these commandments and do as they see fit, they put themselves on a path toward destruction.  Sin in David's household led to such a demise for Absalom.  Embittered over his sister's rape at the hands of a half brother - he felt he had a right to first kill his brother - then to steal the kingdom from David - then to rape 10 of his father's concubines in front of all Israel.  His last act of rebellion was to gather an army which he himself led to find and kill his father.  All the robbery of this bitter young man was a companion of what would eventually destroy him.  Caught in an oak tree by his own hair - hanging between earth and heaven with his failed attack falling apart all around him - his life ended with a man thrusting a spear through his heart.  Oh that we would learn from such horrific cautionary history, and honor our parents.  Our parents are not perfect - but they are ones God has given us to teach us ultimately to honor Him.  To do otherwise is to put yourself in a direct collision course with the one who will destroy your life.  Therefore learn to bless and not curse your parents.  If they have failed you in some way or another - learn from the grace God has given you - and love them with affection born of mercy.  

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Signs a Culture is on the Decline - Proverbs 17:26

04/25/2012

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It is also not good to fine the righteous, nor to strike the noble for their uprightness.  Proverbs 17:26

Today's proverb has to do with the issues of injustice in a society.  By the time this kind of injustice begins to take place, a society is beginning to experience its death throes.  When what is good is called evil and what is evil is called good, very dangerous days lie ahead for that society.  It will not endure long when this begins to happen.  Then we read that is it not good to fine the righteous.  These are the godly ones who follow the rules.  They are being fined and punished by their government - which is wrongly defining the righteous and the wicked - the noble and the ignoble. 

According to this passage - the righteous are being fined.  We are beginning to see this more often in our country.  People, doing what is right and good - are being fined for being successful - fined for doing what is right.  The reason for this is because the society itself is beginning to call what is good evil and what is evil good.  That is a point where the society begins a downward spiral. 

Not only are the righteous being fined - but the noble and godly one is being struck simply because they are righteous.  Consider today's world in which the godly man says homosexuality is a sin - agreeing with God and what He has revealed to us in His Word.  This creates a problem with an ungodly society that says that we should not only tolerate all sexual choices – we should celebrate them!  Thus in our society we have the righteous being fined and honestly,  threatened with jail time if they continue to hold views contrary to those being forced upon the rest of the populace.  Here is where we find the righteous being fined and the noble being struck.  Consider the radical homosexual movement which has gone so far as to invade churches – throwing condoms on the membership while two lesbians passionately kiss on the stage area.  In such a society righteousness and uprightness has been redefined by the more deviant parts of society.  Anyone who holds to a biblical view of such things is labeled a “hater” or is called “intolerant” or even accused of committing a “hate crime” because of their views. 

Before you think I am picking on the Gay movement – we also have problems standing for biblical morality when it comes to other issues too.  Issues like abortion, purity before marriage, racism, greed, work ethic, and a host of others also bring out the worst in our society.  Let’s face it . . . we are a fallen people who do not appreciate biblical morality.  We hate God’s ways – because we love sin.  This is why societies get to the point where they fine the righteous and strike the upright. 

These are the signs or a rapidly declining cultures.  They are signs that there are very serious problems within the society.  The rotting morals of a nation have begun to  taken hold when we see the abuse of the righteous and the upright.  The proper thing to do at times like this is humble ourselves and pray that God will work in such a way to turn the society from their sinful thinking - and turn them instead to the Word of God.  What is truly sad is that often the striking of the godly is even happening in the church by this point.  Thus the first place a return to Godly principles is needed is among God’s people – the church.  Only a God-sent, God-empowered revival can rescue such a culture from these kind of things.  May God grant us such a gracious move soon!
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