Sin's Seductive Power

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Pastor James May

SIN’S SEDUCTIVE POWER

God has spoken to me that I should take a little extra time to bring to you a message of instruction in the power of sin to seduce you into being unfaithful to Jesus Christ, as well as a message of deliverance from the power of sin. I think that too many Christians fall prey to Sin’s Seductive Power simply because they do not recognize what is happening to them until it is too late to stop the process.

I want you to know that Sin has power to destroy your body, soul and spirit. The only power greater than sin is the power of the Blood of Jesus Christ! Once you begin down the long path into disobedience and sin against God, it is impossible for you resist unless you turn to Christ and allow Him to wash you in His precious blood again.

God is faithful and just to forgive us, but we must turn back from our sin in absolute and true repentance before He will wash us clean again.

With this in mind I want us to examine chapter 7 of the Book of Proverbs this evening. At first glance this entire chapter seems to be just a chapter of Proverbs that gives instructions concerning the character and wiles of prostitutes and their effect upon weak-minded youth. While this is evidently a message that Solomon and the Lord wanted to leave for youth, I believe that there is a deeper, spiritual application that can be beneficial to us all.

Proverbs 7:1-5

7:1 my son, keep my words, and lay up my commandments with thee.

7:2 Keep my commandments, and live; and my law as the apple of thine eye.

7:3 Bind them upon thy fingers, write them upon the table of thine heart.

7:4 Say unto wisdom, Thou art my sister; and call understanding thy kinswoman:

7:5 that they may keep thee from the strange woman, from the stranger which flattereth with her words.

These first 5 verses of this chapter are the words of advice from God, through the lips of Solomon, to all of his children for all ages. God’s advise is this: Keep the Word of God and obey His commandments all the time. Hide my Word in your heart and that word will guide your heart in every circumstance.

The scripture also says that if we must hide the Word of God in our heart that we might not sin against God. We are to keep the commandments of God that bring life and peace. We should obey His laws and keep them ever in focus.

The “apple of thine eye” refers to the pupil of the eye that allows light to enter. By focusing our pupil upon the commandments, laws and the Word of God, we will protect what enters there and we will only receive the light of His Word.

It’s when our focus begins to get off of Jesus and His Word that our problem with sin begins to enter. The eye and the pupil of the eye are easily damaged. Once that damage occurs because we have moved our focus then the light that once entered so easily is not so easy to see anymore. With time and continued degeneration of our vision of Christ, the eye grows dimmer and dimmer until complete blindness sets in and we are caught up in and surrounded by total darkness.

God’s advice is also that we should “bind the commandments, the law and His Word upon our fingers”. They are to be our constant companions. The commandments continually teach us how we should act. The Law constantly reminds us that there is a difference between right and wrong. The Law also reminds us that there are consequences to our disobedience if we fail to listen and obey. The Word of God is a constant washing. If we meditate upon God’s Word, read it and study it, that Word will be a constant cleansing agent and it will also become our most powerful weapon against the Seductive Power of Sin just as it was for Jesus in His temptation in the wilderness.