“With her many persuasions she caused him to yield; With her flattering lips she seduced him. 22Suddenly he went after her, as an ox goes to the slaughter [not knowing the outcome], Or as one in stocks going to the correction [to be given] to a fool, 23Until an arrow pierced his liver [with a mortal wound]; Like a bird fluttering straight into the net, He did not know that it would cost him his life.”

Proverbs 7:21-23 AMP

Jesus told us the He would give us the Holy Spirit who would lead us into all truth. In the book of Romans, the Holy Spirit speaks the harsh reality of the end results of sin.

“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God [that is, His remarkable, overwhelming gift of grace to believers] is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Romans 6:23 AMP

We know that corporately, man has suffered the penalty of sin since it was first committed. God warned Adam and Eve that is they disobeyed the penalty would be death.

“So the LORD God took the man [He had made] and settled him in the Garden of Eden to cultivate and keep it. 16And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, “You may freely (unconditionally) eat [the fruit] from every tree of the garden; 17but [only] from the tree of the knowledge (recognition) of good and evil you shall not eat, otherwise on the day that you eat from it, you shall most certainly die [because of your disobedience].”

Genesis 2:15-16 AMP

“Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, so also death was passed on to all men, because all sinned”

Romans 5:21 AMP

We must remember that our daily sin practices will also bring about destruction and death to our lives today. Oh, we may not drop over when we lie. Or we may not suffer the penalty of sexual sin immediately, but the possibility is there to contract a deadly virus that will steal our peace and life! Solomon is trying to warn us that as soon as we begin to entertain the idea, we are heading down the road of disaster! James also gives us wisdom about the areas of sin in pour life. I remember a comedian when I was younger whose catch phrase was “the devil made me do it!” While the devil does meddle into our daily affairs, he cannot make you sin! Sin comes from the inside out!

“When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He tempt anyone. 14But each one is tempted when by his own evil desires he is lured away and enticed. 15Then after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.”

James 1:13-15 AMP

When King David took Bathsheba into his bed, it was all of his own doing! Satan may have provided the opportunity, but David decided all the rest of the story. So costly was this mistake that he ends up having his best and most loyal friend killed to hide his actions, the child dies, and chaos ensues in his children’s lives.  Verse 21 reminds us of the powerful influence that sin can be in our lives. While we will never escape the corruption of this flesh until the day our bodies are redeemed, the Word of God does give us hope in that, 

“No temptation [regardless of its source] has overtaken or enticed you that is not common to human experience [nor is any temptation unusual or beyond human resistance]; but God is faithful [to His word—He is compassionate and trustworthy], and He will not let you be tempted beyond your ability [to resist], but along with the temptation He [has in the past and is now and] will [always] provide the way out as well, so that you will be able to endure it [without yielding, and will overcome temptation with joy].”

1 Corinthians 10:13 AMP

Do you see it? “…so that you will be able to endure it (without yielding…) That my friends is totally our responsibility!

Have a blessed day, Pastor Ken