Devotional Life · Obedience and Discipline · Exhortation and Repentance · Christian Family

Fornication and adultery?

6 min read, approximately

“She overcame him with the sweetness of her many words and compelled him with the flattery of her lips. At once he followed her, like an ox going to slaughter, like a fool going to prison to be punished, like a bird rushing into a net, unaware that it will cost him his life, until an arrow pierces his heart.” (Proverbs 7:21-23)

Throughout history, we have seen many people fall into adultery or fornication for so many reasons: peer pressure, low self-esteem, poor parental examples or dysfunctional parents, and many more. The fact is that

“He that committeth adultery with a woman is void of understanding: He doeth it who would destroy his own soul.” (Proverbs 6:32 ASV)

. This is a weapon of the devil, carefully designed with a devastating purpose: to destroy us! (John 10:10a) Let us see the path that leads to this sin: \1. Its task is to attack everyone, but only those who lack understanding fall at its feet:

“My son, keep my words and treasure my commandments. Keep my commandments and live, and guard my law like the apple of your eye. Bind them to your fingers; write them on the tablet of your heart. Say to wisdom: You are my sister, and call understanding your relative, so that they may keep you from another man’s wife, from the stranger who smooths her words. For as I looked through the window of my house, through my lattice, I saw among the simple and noticed among the young men a youth lacking understanding. He was passing along the street near the corner, taking the road to her house.” (Proverbs 7:1-8)

. The Word says: ‘Keep my words!’ ‘Keep my commandments and live!’ ‘Write them on your heart!’ It does not matter whether we are pastors, evangelists, singers, leaders, or listeners… If we do not have a relationship with God, meditate on the Word, pray, or fast, we will not be able to discern good from evil. We will lack that lamp for our feet, quickly grow spiritually cold, and end up a direct target of the enemy! \2. Its task is to make us feel secure, but by the time we notice, we are far from the fold:

“Then a woman came to meet him, dressed like a prostitute and cunning of heart. She was loud and quarrelsome; her feet could not stay at home. Sometimes in the street, sometimes in the squares, she lurked at every corner. She seized him and kissed him, and with a brazen face said: I had promised peace offerings; today I have fulfilled my vows. That is why I came out to meet you, diligently seeking your face, and I have found you. I have adorned my bed with coverings embroidered with Egyptian thread. I have perfumed my room with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon. Come, let us drink our fill of love until morning; let us delight in love. For my husband is not at home; he has gone on a long journey. He took a bag of money with him and will return home on the appointed day. She overcame him with the sweetness of her many words and compelled him with the flattery of her lips.” (Proverbs 7:10-21)

…We think: ‘What a well-designed plan!’ ‘There is no commitment involved!’ ‘How clever! No one will see us!’ Let us wake up! The enemy is always prowling like a roaring lion. His task is to steal from us, kill us, and destroy us, so he will try to overcome us by telling us what we want to hear until we break through the wall and the serpent bites us! (Ecclesiastes 10:8) How naive we are to think we can befriend the enemy! \3. Once this is accomplished, it injects its destructive poison into our relationship, our descendants, and those around us:

“At once he followed her, like an ox going to slaughter, like a fool going to prison to be punished, like a bird rushing into a net, unaware that it will cost him his life, until an arrow pierces his heart. Now, children, listen to me and pay attention to the words of my mouth. Do not let your heart turn toward her ways or wander onto her paths, for she has brought down many wounded, and even the strongest have been killed by her.” (Proverbs 7:22-26)

…Everything involves a transaction. To obtain a product, we pay for it: we give money and receive the product. Imagine this transaction for a moment: we give away a plot of land with all kinds of trees, a stream with fish, and fertile soil, in exchange for the lowest-value coin in our country. Does that seem reasonable? Have we ever asked what kind of transaction takes place when we commit fornication and adultery? The transaction is this: we receive a moment of pleasure but hand over the keys to our trust, our life, our possessions, our relationship as a couple, our whole family, our children, and our descendants. A good transaction, isn’t it? No matter our reputation, how wise or honorable we are, or how much we do… I want to tell you that

“Dead flies make the perfumer’s perfume stink and give off a bad odor; so does a little foolishness to one esteemed as wise and honorable.” (Ecclesiastes 10:1)

How can I avoid fornication and adultery? The Word gives us the key:

“My son, keep my words and treasure my commandments. Keep my commandments and live, and guard my law like the apple of your eye. Bind them to your fingers; write them on the tablet of your heart. Say to wisdom: You are my sister, and call understanding your relative, so that they may keep you from another man’s wife, from the stranger who smooths her words.” (Proverbs 7:1-5)

This leads us to ask ourselves: How is our prayer life? How are we doing at meditating on the Word? How are we seeking the Lord through fasting? How are we doing at keeping his precepts and statutes?

May God continue to bless you
and may you keep enjoying an excellent day in Christ Jesus!
I invite you to stop by the Songbook