 We'll begin with verse one, we'll read to verse five and get into our study. We'll be looking at the sixth chapter of Proverbs today. So let's begin reading here in Proverbs chapter six at verse one. And again, I'll read to verse five and we'll get into our study. Proverbs six, verse one, my son, if you become surety for your friend, if you have shaken hands in pledge for a stranger. You are snared by the words of your mouth, you are taken by the words of your mouth. So do this, my son, and deliver yourself, for you have come into the hand of your friend. Go and humble yourself, plead with your friend, give no sleep to your eyes nor slumber to your eyelids. Deliver yourself like a gazelle from the hand of a hunter and like a bird from the hand of the fowler. So Solomon continues here in chapter six, giving practical advice to his son, and this practical advice that he's giving to his son is intended to enable him to live wisely. These verses that we'll be beginning chapter six with are our verses that are relating to making financial decisions. And so that's how it begins when he says in verse one, if you become surety for your friend, if you have shaken hands in pledge for a stranger, you are snared by the words of your mouth, you are taken by the words of your mouth. So he's speaking concerning making financial decisions. Let me give you a little background as I introduce this subject to you. And obviously as we go through the chapter, we'll flow a little quicker. But I want to give a brief introduction just to give you its context concerning this advice that he's giving. You see, during this time, loans were not necessarily used for establishing a business. Today when we think of being surety, you know, a guarantor, we think in terms of business loans and all, but during the time of the writing, loans were not necessarily used to establish a business. They normally would be used to finance daily living. And what would happen is people, when they had to need for some financial cash, well, they would use their land, they would use their possessions, they would use themselves or they would use their family as collateral. So if the loan wasn't paid, they found themselves losing everything lender. That's what gives us insight into what it says in Proverbs 22 verse 7, where it says, the rich rules over the poor and the borrower is servant to the lender. Not only would that be in a metaphoric sense, but it would also be in a very practical or real sense because of the indentured servitude that sometimes they found themselves in. And so they would find themselves as indentured servants to the lender. Now during the time of Nehemiah, Nehemiah wrote concerning this in chapter five of the book of Nehemiah, verses one through five, and this is what he writes. Now there was a great outcry of the people and their wives against their Jewish brothers, for there were those who said, we our sons and our daughters are many. Therefore let us get grain that we may eat and live. There were others who said, we are mortgaging our fields, our vineyards and our houses that we might get grain because of the famine. Also there were those who said, we have borrowed money for the king's tax on our fields and our vineyards. Now our flesh is like the flesh of our brothers, our children, like their children. Yet behold, we are forcing our sons and our daughters to be slaves. And some of our daughters are forced into bondage already. And we are helpless because our fields and vineyards belong to others. So he's speaking about mortgaging. He's speaking about what would take place at that time. So to prevent this kind of thing from happening, the law had intended to address it. And the law of Moses had made it clear that it was wrong for the rich to take advantage of the poor. You see, lending to the poor Israelite was to be done without the lender collecting interest. Wouldn't that be nice today? Exodus 22 verses 25 through 27, if you lend money to my people, to the poor among you, you are not to act as a creditor to him. You shall not charge him interest. If you ever take your neighbor's cloak as a pledge, you are to return it to him before the sun sets. For that is his only covering. It is his cloak for his body. What else shall he sleep in? And it shall come about that when he cries out to me, I will hear him, for I am gracious. And so the poor were not to be taken advantage of. But by the time of Solomon, the law was being ignored and the people were beginning to lend for profit. So he says, and that's how he begins here in verse 1 of chapter 6, my son, if you become surety for your friend, if you have shaken hands and pledged for a stranger, that's how he's beginning. And so he's speaking concerning becoming a guarantor or a signer, a cosigner, putting up security. Now I want to note a couple of things very briefly with you. Look at verse 1 again. Notice he says surety for a friend. But notice at the end of that same verse he says pledge for a stranger. The word friend there in the Hebrew language is the word companion. It speaks of another person. And it's not necessarily speaking of a very deep, close and personal friend so much as the stranger. It's just speaking concerning somebody else. And so he says, if you become surety for your friend, if you've taken shaken hands or made an agreement, you can pledge for a stranger. The real emphasis is on stranger. He goes on to say, you are snared by the words of your mouth. You are taken by the words of your mouth. If you cosign for someone who's a stranger, you're guaranteed a loan for someone you really don't know. You may be liable for their debt for the rest of your life. That's true, isn't it? And that's what he's speaking about. And there are those today who might impossibly sign to guarantee somebody else's loan. And you do that because you want to be generous. It's generally not a wise, and I'm certainly not here as some financial officer, some kind of person who's able to give you great advice concerning your personal financial affairs and all. But I would say this, it's generally not the wisest thing in the world to become a cosigner. It's generally not. And you should be very reserved in it. But especially for somebody you don't know very well. And if you want to show generosity, there are other ways to do it. For example, you could simply give it to the person who has the need, if you're in a position to be able to do so. Remember Proverbs 3.27 and 28, do not withhold good from those to whom it is due when it is in the power of your hand to do so. Do not say to your neighbor, go and come back and tomorrow I'll give it. When you have it with you, there's always potential for you to be generous and to give somebody help in a generous way without being a cosigner. You could also, as mentioned earlier, lend without interest. That's something that you could do. But it's not a good idea to become a cosigner for somebody, especially somebody that you really don't know. And so he's speaking concerning that and he's saying you're snared and taken by the words of your mouth. So in verse three, he gives his advice, so do this, my son, deliver yourself. For you have come into the hand of your friend. Go and humble yourself, plead with your friend, give no sleep to your eyes, or slumber to your eyelids. Deliver yourself like a gazelle from the hand of a hunter, like a bird from the hand of the fowler. He said, get out of it as fast as you can. Deliver yourself immediately if at all possible. Do your best to be released from the debt as quickly as you can. The advice really would be humble yourself and has to be removed from the agreement as soon as possible. And that's a wise advice that is given to a son that way he's not snared in another man's debt. So he gave financial advice. Now he moves on concerning being diligent in your work. Verse six, and he says, go to the aunt, you sluggard, when's the last time you called somebody that? Consider her ways and be wise, which having no captain, overseer, or ruler, provides her supplies in the summer, gathers her food in the harvest. How long will you slumber, oh sluggard? When will you rise from your sleep? A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep. So shall your poverty come on you, like a prowler in your need, like an armed man. Go to the aunt. He's using an aunt as an illustration obviously. He's pointing his attention to someone that he refers to as a sluggard. We, of course, again, we don't use that word sluggard. I haven't heard that today. We don't use that word. It speaks of a lazy person. It speaks of a word that is used to describe them, a slothful person, but lazy is what he's speaking about. He's saying, use the example of an aunt to your benefit. And so when you look at the aunt here, you see that the aunt is pictured in a certain way. He's used, the aunt is used as an example of diligence, as an example of planning, as an example of what we would call industry. He points out that the aunt has no overseer, but she doesn't need someone to watch her constantly. So he's given advice. He says, you wanna learn from an animal to learn what it means to be diligent. Just look at nature. Look at the aunt. They have no overseer. In other words, there's nobody watching over her constantly to make sure she does what she's supposed to do. And that's a good thing, isn't it? I mean, if you've got a job, it's a good thing when your boss doesn't have to always look over to make sure you're busy, you know, that he or she can trust you when they give an assignment. And all in that's what he's saying. He's saying, you need to know that you should have the integrity when you work to the degree that nobody has to watch you to make sure that you do what you're supposed to do. You ought to do it just for internal reasons, for eternal reasons, for things that you're motivated by your own heart. You should have an internal motivation and you can work without being watched. It's like what it says in Colossians in the New Testament, chapter three, verse 22, bond servants obey in all things your masters according to the flesh, not with eye service as men pleasers, but insincerity of heart, fearing God. You ought to be able to do the job you're saying, take the aunt as an example. She doesn't have an overseer, yet she does the work that she's supposed to do. You ought to do that too. You ought to have an internal motivation to do the work and to do it well. Many years ago, we had somebody, I'm talking 33 years ago at least, 33 at least. Somebody came in and said, I need some financial help. Can you help me with a particular bill? And we said, which we believe was the right thing to do then and continue to do so to the stake, should we be in that same kind of position? We said, what can you do around the church so you can work off whatever we give to you because I don't think it's a good idea just to hand people money to go pay their bills. If you've got an able body, you ought to work for it. It gives you a sense of dignity. You're doing something right. You're not ripping off the Lord or the church. So what can you do? Well, anything you need. So we said, okay, well, we were moving into a small building on Grove in the city of Ontario, 2,500 square foot industrial building and it had two bathrooms that probably all together, if you were to add up the square footage on the floor, probably represented maybe 60 square feet. It was just a commode and a sink and just a small area and there were two of them. So it couldn't have been 60 square feet at all. So we needed to put in some tile in. And I'm not talking about fancy tile. I'm talking about going to Home Depot or Lowe's or whatever and finding the dollar squares that they have those and just pasting them down. And so we said, why don't you put these down for us? Okay, and so I'm doing my work and I'm in my office all day and I come out at around lunchtime. I come out and he's sitting, this fella's sitting on his side and he's put maybe, and he's been there about four hours and he's put maybe eight pieces down. Now, I'm not thinking about it. I walk in and look and I say, oh, I'm not thinking about it. And so I come back at the end of the day and he didn't even finish that one room. And so I thought, well, he must be doing other things. And so the next day I walk in and he still isn't finished with the second. Now it's lunchtime. And so he took off for lunch naturally because all that hard work made him hungry. And so I took my lunch, I sat down in about 10 minutes. I finished just, I mean, how hard is that? You know, put it down. He came in and I said, you know, the job's done. Oh, okay. And he left and never came back. So we paid his bill. It was, I believe rent and he took advantage. And so from the very beginning, we've believed that you really ought to take lessons from the end. You ought not to be slothful. You ought not to be lazy. If you put your hand to do something, you do it with all your might. You do it with excellence. And you do it as a center of the Lord. You do it without the need for someone to be looking over your shoulder to make sure that you get that job done because your internal integrity ought to drive you to do the best that you can at all times. And if I'm the kind of man who needs somebody to watch me to make sure I do what I'm supposed to do, then I'm lacking character. And so you ought to be able to do the job is what he's saying. And look and see as an example, an aunt. An aunt doesn't have an overseer. Doesn't have a superintendent. Doesn't have a supervisor. Doesn't have necessarily a boss. But she's industrious. She does what is in front of her because that's what she's to do on her own. She's driven by an internal motivation and she works without having to be watched. In verse eight, he speaks concerning the fact that she provides her supplies in the summer and gathers her food in the harvest. And so he uses her as an example of diligence. She diligently is providing supplies. Diligence causes her to do work that will end up providing for her needs. And it helps, by the way, her diligence helps to alleviate burdening other people. So he uses the aunt again as an example of preparing for the future, of doing what is necessary. She works with others preparing for the good of the colony. And in the end, she works in community, doing her share to provide for all, use the aunt. Because the aunt isn't doing something independent for just the aunt's sake, but it's for the community's sake. And so when you're doing something, remember that you're doing it not just for yourself, but for others. It says in verse eight, she provides for both the summer and works during the time of harvest. So this is a picture of careful planning. She prepares for times of need. In Proverbs 20, verse four, it says, the lazy man will not plow because of winter, but he will beg during harvest and have nothing. In Proverbs 26, verse 16, the lazy man is wiser in his own eyes than seven men who can answer sensibly. He's always got a reason for why he didn't do what needed to be done. And so he speaks concerning that and then moves on in verse nine with a question. How long will you slumber, oh sluggard? When will you rise from your sleep? A little sleep, a little slumber, little folding of the hands to sleep. So shall your poverty come on you like a prowler and your need like an armed man. In light of the ant's diligence, he rebukes laziness. He points out that the ant works both day and night, but a lazy man refuses to work. It's an exhortation to rebuke laziness forcefully. Quite sloth is sin. There is danger to being lazy, he's saying, you end up in poverty. In Proverbs 10, verse four, he who has a slack hand becomes poor, but the hand of the diligent makes rich. Proverbs 19, verse 15, laziness cast one into a deep sleep and an idle person will suffer hunger. So once again, he's encouraging people to diligent work and to provide. Moving into verse 12, a worthless person, a wicked man, walks with a perverse mouth, he winks with his eyes, shuffles his feet, points with his fingers, perversities in his heart, he devises evil continually, sows discord, therefore his calamity shall come suddenly, suddenly he shall be broken without remedy. So the slothful person is rebuked harshly. They're guilty of simply doing nothing, but this person is busy, but he's busy doing evil. Notice how he speaks of him, the person is worthless, that word worthless, the worthless person, the word worthless literally is son of Belial. Son of Belial, Belial is worthless, the word Belial speaks of unprofitable. It's a picture of somebody, again, we don't use this word anymore, but he's a scoundrel. He's the one who cannot be trusted and he's being described here. And I want you to notice every bit of his body is dedicated to working out the evil of his heart. His mouth is perverse, the word perverse speaks of crooked, he's a liar. His eyes, his feet, his hands, everything is dedicated to evil. Even when he's speaking, he's giving secret signals as he's deceiving. In verse 14, it says perverse that he's in his heart. He devises evil continually and he sows discord. He's twisted, constantly planning out to do evil and he's destructive. He sows discord, he destroys relationships. Well, what's gonna happen to this person in verse 15? Well, his calamity shall come suddenly. He's gonna be broken. They don't get away with this. Ultimately, he's gonna receive what he's been sowing. In Psalm 37, verse 20, the wicked shall perish, the enemies of the Lord, like the splendor of the meadows shall vanish, into smoke, they shall vanish away. And so he speaks concerning the worthless person and what's going to happen. And now we get the joy of seeing things God hates. These six things the Lord hates. Yes, seven are an abomination to him. A proud look, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that are swift in running to evil, a false witness who speaks lies and one who sows discord among the brethren. We'll look at those a little bit at a time, one at a time. These are specific personal attitudes and actions and all of this flows out of a person's heart. He speaks in verse 17 of a proud look. Proud look. It's, we've all seen it, maybe we've given it. It's that kind of that thing where you kind of throw your head back and go, it's a proud look. It's an arrogance of the heart. It's that attitude of the heart that reveals that this person is very arrogant and proudful. It can also carry the connotation of two people and there's another one here and the two people are exchanging knowing glances. So this person is saying something and the other person's got his eyes kind of rolling like what an idiot, has that ever happened to you? It's happened to me more than once. It's happening right now. And I've had that happen in ministry where I've been sharing my heart before I was senior pastor of this fellowship. It comes to mind, I had a spiritual experience that was very unique and even disinserting. I'll tell you what, you can roll your eyes too. But it was before we began this ministry, I was an assisting pastor in another fellowship. The senior pastor was moving in a particular direction and I was having difficulty in the direction that we were going but we wanted to be open to the power of the Holy Spirit and the things that God could do and we were praying a lot, often. God reveal yourself, may your Holy Spirit reveal yourself. We prayed that all the time and one night I had a dream. At least I still to this day and we're talking many years ago now, 37 years ago, I was in bed, the room became very bright light. I was on my right side, the light was shining from the left. I rolled over and there were two young people who were right next to my bed and I looked at them and I said, who are you? And they said, we are angels that have been sent by God to anoint you for suffering that you're about to endure. And I said, if you're truly from the Lord is Jesus Christ, the Son of God, second person of the most Holy Trinity? Because I had read that you test the spirits through, I had read that in a chick track. So I tried it. And they laughed and said, yes, Jesus is the Son of God. And one of them reached over and touched my forehead. I felt a warmth from the top of my head to the tip of my toe. And they disappeared. I shook Marie, my wife, we just had angels in the room. And she looks at me, she says, okay, and goes back to sleep, goes back to sleep. And I'm just like blowing my mind. I mean, was this a dream? Was this real? What was it? I mean, Joel 2, Acts chapter 2 speaks about visions and dreams and I'm a charismatic. I believe that the power of the Holy Spirit is resident within the church. The gifts of the Holy Spirit are still exercised. Why can't God reveal something? And I'm wrestling with this. And so it's a Sunday morning. I go to church and a couple of the elders and the senior pastor in the room were about to pray. And I say to them emotionally, this is what happened. And I'm taking a chance and telling them this because you feel crazy. Did this really happen? Well, we've been praying that God would reveal himself to us. Did he do that? Is this real? Did he, that was what I was going through. And I'm sharing with, wow, and I'll never forget the senior pastor, as I looked down, he didn't know I could still see him as he turned and gave this look to one of the elders. Like, I never forgot that. But within a month or so, I resigned my position as assistant. I suffered, Maureen, I suffered in ways we had never suffered before. The heartbreak, the tears, the pain. And I remembered, they said, we are anointing you the suffering you're about to endure and you will make it through. So, I believe that was a real event, I'll be honest with you. I'm not gonna go out and write books visited by angels. I'm not gonna do that, but I do believe that that was a very real event because within a short time, we went through the pain that we'd never felt before in ministry. And God was with us every step of the way. But this arrogant look that he's speaking about, this look, this exchange, this proud look, many of us have experienced that. And he says, this is something that I hate. A second thing, a lying tongue. And that means a deceptive person, somebody lying or giving false impressions, I hate this. It's somebody who practices deceit. They practice so much, they become experts at lying. A Romans tells us in chapter three, verse 13, their throat is an open tomb with their tongues, they have practiced deceit. They are skillful at it. He says, I hate practice deceit, lying tongues. He goes on, hands that shed innocent blood. Of course this would speak of murder, but it also speaks of using your energy to be harmful to somebody else. In verse 18, a heart that devises wicked plans. This is a will that is bent on destruction of other people, no matter what the cost is. In Zechariah, in chapter eight, verse 17, let none of you think evil in your heart against your neighbor, and do not love a false oath. For all these are things that I hate, says the Lord. In 1 Corinthians 13, verse six, love does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth. God says, I hate a heart that devises wicked plans. Verse 18, continuing feet that are swift and running to evil, this enthusiastic involvement in activities that produce pain in others can't hardly wait to get there to do something bad. Verse 19, a false witness who speaks lies. When this false witness who speaks lies is spoken of, he's speaking of the one who's who assassinates character and does so through gossip. In Leviticus 19, 16, you shall not go about as a tail bear among your people. Titus 3, 2 says, speak evil of no one. In Proverbs 26, verse 20, without wood, a fire goes out, without gossip, a coral dies down. He says, one who sows discord among the brethren. Remember that God's desire is unity and harmony, but Satan's desire is division. Remember how Jesus said, a house that has been divided will most certainly fall? If there's anything the enemy wants to do, keep this in mind, keep this in mind, in a practical sense. If there's anything the enemy wants to do, is he wants to bring division. Always remember that, always remember that. Where there is good, evil will be present also. When God is doing something, the enemy comes to undermine it. And very often what he does is he will go after leadership. That's why Jesus said, smite the shepherd and the sheep will be scattered. So the enemy goes after leadership. And when he has help of people who say things concerning those people, things that are not true, this is deceptive speech. Things that are not true, but because they're disillusioned or upset or they didn't get what they want or whatever. And they began to sow discord. God says, I hate that. I hate it when somebody sows discord amongst the brethren. There was a period in my family's life when my children were in their teen years that I didn't like to take them out for dinner as a family. I didn't like to because at the table, they'd start picking on each other. They'd start saying things and then somebody'd get upset and I'd turn and I'd look at Marie and I'd say, I wanna go home. I don't enjoy this. I don't wanna be around all this nitpicking and all of that. I hate that. I do this day hate that. I like to sit down and have a quiet meal and have everybody at the table tell me how wonderful I am. I like that. But I do not like it when people are picking on each other and sowing discord. Who does? Who does? And God says, I hate it. I hate it because the enemy can get involved and undermine the plans of God to people who are sowing discord and break in the unity of the spirit. And that's why Paul would say, endeavor to keep the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace. Remember that you are one in Christ. He tells us in 1 Corinthians 12. And therefore you need to work together to accomplish great things. What does the enemy do? Sows discord. Many of you have encountered people who sow discord. What are you supposed to do? How do you handle this? If you come upon it, if you're being victimized by it. Well, if somebody starts sowing discord into your life, politely excuse yourself from the conversation and do so as quickly as possible. Just politely say, you know what? I've got other things to do. You don't have to be confrontational. Just excuse yourself. I don't need this. Now me, I'm a little more open. Most of the time, I excuse myself. But I still remember a young woman who was speaking to me and saying things that bothered me and about somebody else. I still remember pointing to my ears like this. I said, you see these? She goes, yeah. I said, do these look like trash cans? No, they're as big as trash cans. No, I didn't say that. I said, do they look like trash cans? She says, no. I said, why are you pouring your garbage in me? Why are you doing that? Because gossip's destructive. It's something you should avoid. And if you have people complaining and whining and gossiping about somebody to you, politely excuse yourself. If you wanna talk about that person, talk about him or her while on your knees to the Lord. But don't bring that to other people. My mom told me something when I was a kid that I've never forgotten. My mom said, you're stupid. But she also said, my mom said to me, David, anything that someone says to you about somebody else, you can count on the fact that they're saying something about you to somebody else. Always be aware of that. Anybody who's free with their mouth about others to you will be free with their mouth about you to somebody else. Keep that in mind. So why would we entertain gossip? Sometimes they say, well, I'm not entertaining gossip. It's a prayer request. That's just a nice way of saying, tell me more. Because I don't wanna be receiving a bad report about somebody. It's unfair to them. It's character assassination. And God says, I hate this. The one who sows discord amongst the brethren. This is something that you cannot do. In Galatians 5 verse 14, all the laws fulfilled in one word, even this, you shall love your neighbor as yourself. In verse 20, continuing, my son, keep your father's command. Do not forsake the law of your mother. Bind them continually upon your heart. Tie them around your neck. When you roam, they will lead you. When you sleep, they will keep you. When you awake, they will speak with you. For the commandment is a lamp. And the law, a light, reproofs of instruction are the way of life to keep you from the evil woman from the flattering tongue of a seductress. And so he continues on to give a father's command. And he's saying here, keep your father's command. Don't forsake the law of your mother. In other words, respect the teaching of your parents. Why? Because the things that they're teaching you will protect you in life. The things that they're pouring into you will be ingrained in you. The things that they teach you concerning what is right, what is wrong. The things that they teach you concerning God and His word become the foundation of your decisions in life. And so verse 21, he says, so bind them continually upon your heart. Tie them around your neck. In other words, constantly remember what you've been taught. Wear these as ornaments. When it says in Proverbs 3 verse 3, let not mercy and truth forsake you. Bind them around your neck. Don't write them on the tablet of your heart. This chain around the neck symbolized honor. It's a picture of moral character. So he's saying these are the things that will form your moral character. Verses 21 through 23, when you roam, they'll lead you. When you sleep, they'll protect or they'll keep you. Somebody said this. The law of God, which your parents taught you, shall lead you and direct you concerning how you should order all your steps and actions. It will inform you and give you counsel and comfort at all times, whether when you are awake and even when you sleep. You know, I have dreams to this day where in my dreams, I'm being reminded in my dreams of moral lessons that I've learned over time. And that's a very real thing. There are things that will just rattle within you because they're part of your character. They are who you are. The moral teachings you receive form your character, inform your decisions, and because this is true, you value their effort as they attempt to train you. He's saying, don't resent your parents, learn from them. Thank God for their efforts to help you. An interesting proverb, Proverb 30, verse 11. There's a generation that curses its father and does not bless its mother. And we need to be careful that we do not curse our father and that we do bless our mama. In verse 24, he says to keep you from the evil woman, from the seductress. Here he goes again. Listening to them will preserve you from sexual sin that springs from lust. And he begins to speak about that again. Verse 25, do not lust after her beauty in your heart nor let her, nor let her allure you with her eyelids. That's an interesting phrase, isn't it? We used to use the term batting your eyes, you know? Allure you with her eyelids. For by means of a harlot, a man is reduced to a crust of bread. And an adulteress will pray upon his precious life. Can a man take fire to his bosom and his clothes not be burned? Can one walk on hot coals his feet not be seared? So as he who goes in to his neighbor's wife, whoever touches her shall not be innocent. Once again, he brings instruction concerning purity. Don't let yourself fall into the trap of imagination and fantasy. That's verse 25. Look what he says. Do not lust after her beauty in your heart nor let her allure you with her eyelids. Don't fall into fantasizing. Don't fall into that trap. Looking at her and thinking about her and then she turns and bats those eyes at you. And before you know it, you're thinking things that you ought not to think. He's saying, son, avoid it. Stay away from it. Don't fall for this. Don't fall into the trap of imagination and fantasy. Imagination has a tendency as well as fantasy of producing unrealistic beliefs and dreams. You think that if you're with this person that they will be that one who is satisfying in every way that you can imagine. And they're always the person who yields to every impulse and desire that you might have. That's the sin of using your imagination improperly. And he's saying, don't do that. Don't enter into that. Don't let your lust trap you. So you begin to fantasize. And then as you watch her and she gives you an inviting look, she can draw you into sexual sin. Don't do that. Why? Verse 26, for by means of a harlot, a man is reduced to a crust of bread. So Solomon repeats this theme obviously several times and we can wonder why he does so. Well, somebody said when we consider how much this sin abounds, how destructive and terrible it is of the evil consequences that result and how certainly it destroys the spiritual life in the soul, we should not wonder that the cautions against this sin are so often repeated. That is the subject that I'll be sharing tomorrow on Facebook Live related to the subject of entering into sexual immorality and how destructive it is. It's a sin that is not only against God but according to Paul and 1 Corinthians, you also actually are sinning against your own self when you do so. And so it's a terrible sin to be involved in from the old as well as the New Testament. And so you get warnings concerning this quite often. He's saying that when you yield to these kinds of temptations, the consequences can be eternal and he points out you can be reduced to a crust of bread. In other words, by indulging in adultery, a man can end up in a life of poverty. He says in verse 26, an adulteress will pray upon his precious life. You're gonna be judged. You'll be judged an adulterer by God but you can also fall into the hands of the husband. Under Jewish law, you could stand before a judge as an adulterer and the penalty was huge in Leviticus chapter 20 verse 10, the man who commits adultery with another man's wife, he who commits adultery with his neighbor's wife, the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death. That's how severe it is. Some of the stories we find in the scriptures highlight that kind of thing and give to us insight as it pertains to that because adultery is a terrible sin. Adultery is an evil and it's destructive in every way. We think of the woman who was caught in the act of adultery, how that she was brought before the Lord Jesus Christ and we remember how she was brought in undoubtedly was unceremonially thrown at his feet and as Jesus was there ministering teaching, they bring in this woman, they interrupt the teaching, you know the story and they say, master, this woman was caught in adultery in the very act and Moses in the law says such should be stoned, what do you say? And we know the story how Jesus bent down, he was writing on the dirt there. The only time in scripture by the way that Jesus has ever pointed out is writing anything and there he is writing and they continue asking and that's when Jesus asks them the question, well, which of you is without sin? Let the one without sin be the first to cast a stone and then he begins to write more, he does it twice and there's all this questioning as to what was it that Jesus could have been writing? Nobody knows, it doesn't say. But I do believe something, whether this is true or not, we'll find out in heaven, if it's not true, you'll forget it anyway, but it's possible. What could he have been writing? I suspect Leviticus 20 verse 10. I suspect that. You're demanding her death because you said such should be stoned and that Moses in the law stated that, which is correct. But here's the situation, if you caught her in the very act, where's the man? Where's the man? Because according to the law, the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death. Where's the man? And when you think of the Lord Jesus Christ, you need to understand one thing about him and always remember this one simple thing, I'm sure you already know, but let me reiterate it with you. He brought newness to women in a way that was not known at that time in society. He put the woman in a place of honor because the man was getting away with all kinds of nonsense. Even to this day, we men do get away with all kinds of nonsense. There's no argument with that. It's a fact, we know that. We know that. The woman pays the penalty. The woman gives up her purity and the guy gets bored with her and before you know it, he's with somebody else and she has nothing but memories and regret. The woman gives up herself to a man. She gets a venereal disease, a gift that keeps on giving. The rest of her life. Now she pays. She becomes pregnant. She has the shame, she carries that in a way that's maybe more acceptable today but never gonna be completely acceptable. And the man, because we didn't respect the woman the way God created her to be and the way God commanded us to do. So many times, we don't even pay it a second thought as we destroy one person after another and Jesus is there and there's this woman and she's there and you can almost see her in your mind's eye as he bends down and he writes, they keep on persisting. He who is without sin let him be the first to cast a stone in it. Bends down and from the oldest to the youngest. They drop those stones they were about to use to enact capital punishment. They drop those stones and they walk away. Woman, where are your accusers? I have none. Neither do I accuse you. But go and sin no more. He didn't say go and fornicate some more, did he? Don't use God's grace as permission to continue in sin. He said, go and sin no more. Go and sin no more. He didn't accuse her, why? Because our God has got a mercy and grace and that I rejoice in even as I think of it out loud before you right now. And this man, this man that we have here, this is a man that's being warned and he's saying no. An adulteress will pray upon his precious life. Can a man take fire to his bosom and his clothes not be burned? Can one walk on hot coals, his feet not be seared? So as he who goes into his neighbor's wife, whoever touches her shall not be innocent. Sexual sin has consequences though not necessarily reaped immediately. You can think you got away with it but she was unfaithful to her husband. Why would she be faithful to you? You're gonna pay in one form or another. When he says in verse 29, whoever touches her shall not be innocent. Your impure relationship results in disgrace. It can result in a loss of your finances, a loss of health. It will also possibly end up in the fact of a lost family. Your life will be reduced to nothing. Insignificance and harm occurs and you are burned. Verse 30, people do not despise a thief if he steals to satisfy himself when he's starving. Yet when he is found he must restore sevenfold. He may have to give up all the substance of his house. And so there's a general sympathy for those who steal because they're hungry, they need to feed their kids. But there's restitution before he's able to put this all behind him. In verse 32, whoever commits adultery with a woman lacks understanding and he who does so destroys his own soul. Wounds and dishonor he will get. His reproach will not be wiped away. Jealousy is a husband's fury. Therefore he will not spare in the day of vengeance. He will accept no recompense, nor will he be appeased though you give many gifts. You may get past the sin, but the reproach remains as long as you live. I say the name King David. And if you think for a moment and I say, do you have a name that you'd associate with him? Some people would say, oh yeah, Goliath, right? Some will say, well, Absalom. That's quite obvious. Absalom was his son, tried to steal the kingdom. Goliath, Absalom. You know the average person who doesn't even read the Bible if I say David of Israel, name somebody associated with him, Bathsheba, Bathsheba. That's normally the first name that comes to mind. Why is that? Because he committed adultery with her because he had her husband killed. She became pregnant and he tried to hide it all. It's interesting when you study King David's life, but an amazing warrior, what a great king, what a wonderful leader, but he will always be remembered for Bathsheba. Always, always, his reproach stays with him. You may get past the sin, but the reproach remains as long as you live. There are ministers, pastors, teachers, well-known who entered into sexual sin. And if you mention their name, and I won't mention any names, but if you do, the first thing they'll say is, oh yeah, I remember when. They don't say, oh, I remember the great church that he pastored it, I don't remember. They don't mention perhaps the crusades that he did, or no, no, this guy fell, he never loses his reproach. Never, and that's what he's saying here. It's something that doesn't go away. People will remember that. You remember it. Your wife remembers it, or your husband remembers it. Your friends remember it. Your children remember it. Your parents remember it. Your friends and neighbors, they all remember it. They don't forget. Now that doesn't mean that we condemn, and that doesn't mean that we judge, and that doesn't mean that we're harsh. No, we just don't forget. How can you? How can you? It's all ever before you. It's something that you have to live with the rest of your life. And so he says, don't do it. It's not worth it. It never has been, and it never will be. Billy Graham was asked of a young pastor, which should I be careful for? What are the things that I need to be guarding against? He said, pride, money, and women. Pride, money, and women. Those are the three basic things that every human being has to deal with. Less of the flesh, less of the eyes. Pride of life. Die to self, and be aware of one thing. A man's ministry, your ministry, and we all have ministry, is built on a variety of things, but what makes that ministry have credibility is your character, your integrity. I don't want to be the kind of person that says, I know he did these things, but what he's saying is true. I like to know that that person actually lives the things that he tells me to do. I like the idea of somebody actually practicing what they preach, because what you are speaks so loudly. Sometimes it's just hard to hear what you're saying. And so your ministry will always be built on the foundation of your character. That's why Paul in 1 Timothy 3, as well as in Titus tells us in chapter one, tells us that the bishop is to be a teacher, but his character is supposed to be the thing that girds up his capacity to communicate because he lives what he gives. And all of us have had people share with us how we should live when in fact that person telling you that isn't living that way themselves. And so remember that always, that when we are out doing service of the Lord, no, I'm not saying we're all supposed to be perfect. If that was the case, only perfect people could serve the Lord. I'd be here all by myself today. No, there'd be nobody here. There'd be nobody here. None of us. So no, please don't walk out carrying. Oh boy, he made me feel condemned on not saying that. What I am saying is may God help us to take into our heart the things that are taught by his word, to live in such a way that we actually adorn the gospel of grace with lives that are obedient to the things that Jesus teaches. May God help us to live for him. That's what I'm saying.