WWUTT 1354 Beware the Lips of a Forbidden Woman (Proverbs 5:1-23)

Proverbs chapters 5, 6, and 7 give a great deal of space warning a person to stay away from adultery.

And there's a reason for that. Adultery is a very deadly sin when we understand the text.

This is When We Understand The Text, a daily Bible commentary to help encourage your time in the

Word. Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday we feature New Testament Study, an Old Testament book on Thursday, and our

Q &A on Friday. Now here's your teacher, Pastor Gabe. Thank you, Becky. Well, yesterday was sure an interesting day if you've been keeping up with the news.

More riots and violence on Capitol Hill. That really makes the Bible lessons

I did Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday rather prophetic, did it not? Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

In 1 John chapter 4, beginning in verse 4, we read, Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.

They are from the world, therefore they speak from the world and the world listens to them.

We are from God. Whoever knows God listens to us. Whoever is not from God does not listen to us.

By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error. The wisdom of God is evergreen, and today, being

Thursday, we continue with our Old Testament study in the book of Proverbs. We come today to chapter 5.

I'm going to begin by reading all of Proverbs 5. My son, be attentive to my wisdom, incline your ear to my understanding, that you may keep discretion, and your lips may guard knowledge.

For the lips of a forbidden woman drip honey, and her speech is smoother than oil.

But in the end she is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two -edged sword. Her feet go down to death, her steps follow the path to Sheol.

She does not ponder the path of life, her ways wander, and she does not know it.

And now, O sons, listen to me, and do not depart from the words of my mouth.

Keep your way far from her, and do not go near the door of her house, lest you give your honor to others and your years to the merciless, lest strangers take their fill of your strength and your labors go to the house of a foreigner.

And at the end of your life you groan, when your flesh and your body are consumed, and you say how

I hated discipline, and my heart despised reproof. I did not listen to the voice of my teachers, or incline my ear to my instructors.

I am at the brink of utter ruin in the assembled congregation. Drink water from your own cistern, flowing water from your own well.

Should your springs be scattered abroad, streams of water in the streets? Let them be for yourself alone, and not for strangers with you.

Let your fountain be blessed, and rejoice in the wife of your youth, a lovely dear, a graceful doe.

Let her breasts fill you at all times with delight. Be intoxicated always in her love.

Why should you be intoxicated, my son, with a forbidden woman, and embrace the bosom of an adulteress?

For a man's ways are before the eyes of the Lord, and he ponders all his paths.

The iniquities of the wicked ensnare him, and he is held fast in the cords of his sin.

He dies for lack of discipline, and because of his great folly he is led astray.

Surely you can tell the subject matter we're talking about here, we're talking about adultery. Wisdom from a father to his son to stay away from the adulterous woman.

The consequences that could result from entertaining such a fantasy and giving in to such temptations.

Now even though this is from a father to his son, women, there's still wisdom for you to glean from this as well.

Do not be that adulterous woman, seducing another man, destroying his life and his family, and possibly also your own.

We are told that the Lord will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous, as it says in Hebrews chapter 13.

Here in Proverbs, we're dedicating three chapters to this subject, Proverbs 5, 6, and 7.

And we're going to see, interspersed especially in chapter 6, some other general wisdom as well.

But why so much space dedicated to warning about sexual immorality, specifically the sin of adultery?

Well, I've talked before about how oftentimes on a list of sins, sexual immorality is at the top of that list.

And I'm going to give some examples here in just a moment. The reason for that, I believe, is because sexual immorality is the fullest display of a person that lacks self -control, who doesn't have gentleness or compassion or love for other people, but feeds the fleshly appetites of themselves, is just so self -absorbed, selfish.

A person who does not know true love as God defines it, but instead chases after the passions of the flesh, who cannot exercise patience or kindness or goodness or faithfulness, especially when you're talking about adultery.

You'll notice that I've just kind of ticked through a list of the fruit of the spirit, right? What is the fruit of the spirit?

Galatians 5, 22, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self -control.

Sexual immorality goes against all of that. And as Paul said in 1 Corinthians chapter 6, every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body, which for the

Christian, for the believer, is a temple of the Holy Spirit. Would you desecrate the temple of God by uniting yourself with a prostitute?

That's what Paul goes on to talk about further in 1 Corinthians chapter 6. So sexual immorality is that fullest expression of a lack of self -control, no discipline, having not committed yourself fully unto

God. Remember that as we've been going through Romans chapter 12 in our

New Testament study, Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, Romans 12, 1 begins, in view of God's mercies, present your bodies as a living sacrifice unto the

Lord, holy and acceptable to God. This is your spiritual act of worship.

And elsewhere, Paul says there must not even be a hint of sexual immorality in you.

That's why this is so big a deal. When a person loses control over being able to rein in their thoughts and the appetites of their flesh, then what are they going to give themselves over to?

They'll give themselves over to sexual immorality. And that's why even among the general wisdom that we'll see in Proverbs chapter 6, this comes in the middle of a warning that a father is giving to his son about staying away from the adulterous woman.

Now, you can certainly flesh that out, no pun intended there.

You can see this also as being somewhat metaphorical toward other sins as well.

The world is going to tempt you with all kinds of things. Don't go to it. Be faithful unto God. But I think we need to take this as literally and as straightforward as possible, because warning against this sin is, in a certain sense, a warning against all other sins of the flesh as well.

All sin is selfish. All of it is saying to God that your way is not good enough for me.

I need this thing in order to be satisfied. So I'm going to turn myself over to this and then

I will be fully complete since Jesus just wasn't enough. That's what a person expresses with sin when they decide to give in to those things that God has said is wrong and that he will judge a person for.

Sin is not to be taken lightly. It condemns. It destroys. There is eternal punishment for the sinner who does not repent and turn to Christ.

Hell exists for the devil and his angels and all who followed in the devil's ways.

You will spend an eternity in hell under the wrath of God. Flee from sexual immorality.

Paul says in 1 Corinthians 6, cling to Christ. Hold fast to him.

Let's look at a few of these warnings against certain sins that we find in the New Testament.

I'll give you three examples. 1 Corinthians 6, which I've already mentioned. Galatians 5, I've already mentioned.

And then we're going to throw in Colossians 3 as well. So 1 Corinthians 6, starting in verse 9, do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God?

Do not be deceived. Neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.

You have other sins there in verse 10, but verse 9 is committed to sins of sexual immorality.

Neither the sexually immoral, any kind of sin, any kind of sexual sin that is outside of the marriage bed, which is what

God has created sex for, to be enjoyed between a husband and a wife. And all the sins that are mentioned there in verse 9 are tied in with sexual immorality.

Sexual immorality is the broad label for it. And then we get specific, idolatry, bowing at an altar to a false god, adultery, men who practice homosexuality.

So there's different kinds of sexual sins that are mentioned there. Let's go to Galatians chapter 5.

Now, remember, I just quoted to you about the fruit of the Spirit. Right before we get to the fruit of the

Spirit is where Paul mentions the works of the flesh, which he says are evident. Sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, those are the first three, and those all have to do with sexual sins.

Idolatry is mentioned next. That also has to do with sexual immorality, but it kind of falls right in the middle of that sin and then these other sins.

Sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, and then we end with a sexual sin, orgies, and things like these.

I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

Sexual immorality mentioned first and last in that particular list of sins.

Let's go to Colossians chapter 3, beginning in verse 5. Put to death, therefore, what is earthly in you, sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.

On account of these, the wrath of God is coming. All of those things mentioned there are sexual sins, but notice something else.

It's not just talking about a sexual sin you commit with your body, but also with your mind.

Put to death, therefore, what is earthly in you. Put it to death. Have nothing to do with it. Sexual immorality, impurity, and then you get to sexual sins of the mind, passion, evil desire, and covetousness.

Wanting that which does not belong to you, coveting your neighbor's wife is the way it even says in the

Ten Commandments in Exodus chapter 20. Paul says this is idolatry. It is saying that God is not enough for me.

I have to have this thing in order to be satisfied. You can give 99 % of yourself to God, but if it takes this 1 % to make you happy, then that's the thing you worship because you feel incomplete without it.

That is idolatry, wanting what does not belong to you. What God does not intend for you is to snub

God and go after your own flesh. And it says in Colossians 3, 6, on account of these, the wrath of God is coming.

We cannot even have the desire in our minds for those things that God has said are sin.

If it is not God's desire for you, then it is a sin for you to desire it. In Colossians 3, we go on to mention other sins, anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth.

Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.

So you have other sins that are mentioned there. Sexual sins are at the top of the list because it's those sexual sins are those sexual appetites that reflect or reveal the fact that we're not actually walking in the spirit, but we are driven by the passions of our flesh.

And so this is why we have such space dedicated even in the book of Proverbs to warning about sexual sin, specifically the sin of adultery.

Let's come back through Proverbs chapter 5 again. My son, be attentive to my wisdom, incline your ear to my understanding, which means don't just hear what

I say, but do it, fill it up in your heart and go after it that you may keep discretion and your lips may guard knowledge.

Verse three for the lips of a forbidden woman drip honey and her speech is smoother than oil.

Notice the contrast there. So the father is telling his son, let your lips guard knowledge.

So what comes from your mouth is going to be evident of the wisdom and knowledge of God that is in your heart.

That that's what must be on your lips. Stay away from the lips of the forbidden woman whose lips drip honey.

Do not attach your lips to hers, right? Let from your lips be the wisdom of God.

In the end, she is bitter as wormwood sharp as a two edged sword.

You might think that's what you want, but there is destruction in her deadly kiss.

Verse five, her feet go down to death. Her steps follow the path to Sheol.

Once again, Hebrews 13, four, let marriage be held in honor among all and let the marriage bed be undefiled for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous.

Proverbs five, six, she does not ponder the path of life. Her ways wander and she does not know it.

She has no good thing for you. Verse seven. And now, oh, sons, listen to me and do not depart from the words of my mouth.

Keep your way far from her and do not go near the door of her house, lest you give your honor to others and your ears to the merciless, lest strangers take their fill of your strength and your labors go to the house of a foreigner.

And at the end of your life, you groan when your flesh and your body are consumed and you say how

I hated discipline and my heart despised reproof. I did not listen to the voice of my teachers or incline my ear to my instructors.

I am at the brink of utter ruin in the assembled congregation. And I have seen it many, many times among many, many men who have given themselves over to sexual appetites and gone the way of an adulteress and their lives, their marriages, families, friendships, careers, jobs, dreams, pursuits, everything was left in ruin because of a few minutes of desired pleasure.

I've seen it many times and you've seen it many times as well. If you've not witnessed it personally, you've certainly seen it in the news even recently when we'll hear these stories of these scandals of pastors who have given up their entire ministries for these sexual sins.

Carl Lentz is one of those guys that has been most recently in the news. He was the pastor of Hillsong Church in New York City.

And he was going after this adulterous woman and they interviewed that woman on the news, the different news sites that reported on Lentz's adultery.

As I understand it, there were several women, but there was one woman in particular that was getting quoted in all the articles and they did a video interview with her.

And she may not have known that he was married at first, but she did find out later and still continued in that adulterous affair with him, ruining that man, his ministry, his church.

Now, Lentz was a heretic anyway. His church was already going in a direction that was far from God.

But this woman is not some saintly person that uncovered this guy. She destroyed someone else's life and family.

A lot of times when these adulterous affairs are found out, the guy is made to look like the bad guy.

And he most certainly did do evil. But the woman who seduced him, the woman who was in that relationship is just as guilty as he is.

A lot of these pastors that get outed as having these affairs because of the Me Too movement, the woman is getting referred to as some sort of a victim.

Like he did this to her. No, she was every bit as much a player in this thing as he was.

It takes two to tango. As the old saying goes, she is the one whose lips are dripping with honey.

But in the end, she is bitter as wormwood and sharp as a two edged sword.

Women, you are not in you are not innocent in adultery either. If you have entered into these adulterous relationships, you also will be judged by God.

If you do not turn from sin to Christ and repent, we have in Proverbs 515 going on through the rest of this chapter.

Drink water from your own cistern. Remember, this is a father telling his son this. He's basically telling his son, love your wife.

If if you desire, if you have passions that that burn within your flesh will fulfill those passions with your spouse, be filled with her, with somebody who actually loves you, not somebody who's going to ruin your life.

Drink water from your own cistern. It's pure like her water is pure. The adulterous woman is bitter as wormwood.

Your wife is flowing water from your own well. Should your springs be scattered abroad, streams of water in the streets, let them be for yourself alone and not for strangers with you.

Let your fountain be blessed and rejoice in the wife of your youth, a lovely deer, a graceful doe.

Now, I know this next passage might sound embarrassing, might make somebody blush. This is a beautiful verse, and I love this verse.

I have it underlined in my Bible. Let her breasts fill you at all times with delight.

Be intoxicated always in her love. Why should you be intoxicated, my son, with a forbidden woman and embrace the bosom of an adulteress?

Notice the contrast there. The breasts of your wife are good. The breast of an adulteress will destroy you.

For a man's ways are before the eyes of the Lord, and he ponders all his paths.

Nothing is kept secret from God. He knows all your ways, even your thoughts, which is why, again, as we went to the

New Testament, you must not even in your thoughts be inclined toward sexual immorality. Proverbs 5, 22, the iniquities of the wicked ensnare him, and he is held fast in the cords of his sin.

He dies for lack of discipline, and because of his great folly, he is led astray.

I have a note in my journaling Bible written at the end of Proverbs 5. Here's the note that I have written down.

My wife is my delight. I praise the Lord that he has given her to me, and through her he has blessed me with wonderful children.

Let us pray, my friends. Heavenly Father, we thank you for the good things that you give to us daily.

There are so many wonderful things that we have received from God that we could rejoice in you for every day, most assuredly for life that you have given to us and everlasting life that we have by faith in Jesus Christ.

For those who are listening, for myself, may we rejoice in our marriages.

We rejoice in the marriage that you have given to us, the spouse that you have blessed us with, and let us see the instructions that we have about sex in the

Bible are good for us because this is the way that you've made it and the way it is meant to be enjoyed, and we can do even this to the glory of God our

King. When we know that your commandments are right and good and they are for our benefit not to burden us, but that we may know

God, we may see your righteousness, and live according to your ways.

May we walk in purity today, committing our bodies unto Christ as a living sacrifice.

This is our spiritual act of worship. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. This has been

When We Understand the Text with Pastor Gabriel Hughes. For all of our podcasts, episodes, videos, books, and more, visit our website at www .utt

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