Clean Transcript

No Abortion Or How To Become Pregnant With Sin

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• James chapter 1, and we're just going to read verses 13, 14, and 15. James chapter 1. The title of the message, listen carefully, is "No Abortion" or "How to Become Pregnant with Sin." No abortion—I'll explain later—or how to become pregnant with sin. So look in your Bibles, James chapter 1 and verse 13. Scripture says, "Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death." Abortion is a prevalent issue today.

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• Strictly speaking, and I might also add biblically speaking, abortion is murder. Life begins at conception. It has to do so or there would not be a child formed or the growth of a child. Life must exist for there to be growth. And so it's not simply a fetus. It is a child. It is a being. Murder then takes place when life is taken contrary to God's law. So the sixth commandment, "Thou shalt not kill," is basically "Thou shalt not murder" or "Thou shalt not take life except on God's terms." Since God is the giver of life, He is the only one who can authorize why life may be lawfully taken. And if you remember the message I preached some time ago on the biblical doctrine of self-defense, I enumerated those reasons from the Scripture why life could be lawfully taken. So if life is not lawfully taken, then clearly then it is murder, plain and simple. Now, when you stop and think, the reasons the governments, as well as individuals, hold positions contrary to what I just stated is simply because they reject God as sovereign and they reject His Word as authoritative.

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• Hence, they deny God's objective standard and they go for their own subjective standard. So therefore we have a multitude of subjective standards floating around in our world today. You will notice most people, and yea, sometimes even Christians, will come up with stuff like this: "Well, the way I see it," "Well, I think this," "Well, in my opinion," "Well, I feel this way about it." Hardly ever does anyone say, "The Word of God says" or "God says." The words we always refer to our subjective standard instead of God's objective standards.

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• So I have to remind you again, and I said this last week, that the Bible is indeed the only sufficient rule for faith and practice. The Bible is indeed our canon. It is our measuring rod. It is our measuring stick. So while there are many excuses given for abortion as well as other sins, there is one particular area where there is no abortion, and I'm going to show you that momentarily, and that is in the spiritual realm. It's in the realm of sin and wickedness. Now the truth of the matter is this: we sin because we are sinners. We do not become sinners because we sin; we sin because we're sinners, and our sinning just evidences the fact that we are indeed depraved by nature. Adam's sin and Adam's rebellion was imputed to each one of us. That's why the Bible says in Romans 5 and verse 12, "Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned."

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• So Adam's sin then was imputed to each of us. Now before someone screams and objects and says, "But that's not fair," may I remind you that Adam was our federal head and representative. And what he did, we did. People say, "Well, if I had been there, I would not have done that." Yes, you would have. And of course, it's just like our elected representatives today. What they do, we do, whether we like it or whether we do not like it. Because Adam was our federal head and representative, his sin was imputed to us. Now you say, "Well, I still don't like that." Well, if you don't like that, then probably you don't like the truth as well that because of the person and work of Jesus Christ and His obedience and His sacrifice, His righteousness is also imputed to us. In other words, if you object to Adam's imputation of sin to us, then by the same standard you would have to object to the imputation of Christ's righteousness to us as well.

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• So the Bible teaches us that condemnation came by one man and righteousness came by one man. I want you to hold James chapter 1 but look in your Bibles, if you will, to Romans chapter 5 and let's begin reading there with verse 19, and you will see this truth enunciated very plainly. Look in Romans chapter 5 and let's begin well with verse 15. Romans 5 verse 15, and the Word of God says, "But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if through the offence of one"—that's the first Adam—"many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ"—the last Adam—"hath abounded unto many. And not as it was by one that sinned, so is the gift: for the judgment was by one to condemnation"—that's the first Adam—"but the free gift is of many offences unto justification"—the last Adam. "For if by one man's offence"—that's the first Adam—"death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ," who's the last Adam.

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• Look in verse 18. "Therefore as by the offence of one"—the first Adam—"judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life." Now here it is stated very plainly: "For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous." So in light of the fact that we're sinners, in light of the fact that we're depraved, have you ever wondered how sin birthed in us? How do we get to the place that we actually sin against God? How does sin begin? Is it instantaneous? Is it a process? Is there a way to stop and break the links in the chain of sin? The Word of God has the answers to those questions. And I want you to look in your Bibles back to James 1 in verse 13, and let me show you the absolute beginning point, the starting point. And that is this: never, ever, under any circumstance, blame God for your sins.

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• Notice what he says in verse 13. He said, "Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man." The first four words in this verse form a present active imperative. That means it is a command. Actually, he is saying, "I command, let no man say." Words—don't say it, don't even think it—that when he is tempted, "I'm tempted of God." Why? "For God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man." So God then is not the author of sin. God is not the infuser of sin. God is not the instigator of sin, but since God is sovereign, He is the controller of sin, and so God may use sin for His own honor and glory if He so chooses, even though sin is contrary to Him and contrary to His law. That's why the Bible says in Psalm 76 and verse 10, "Surely the wrath of man shall praise thee: the remainder of wrath shalt thou restrain." In other words, the only sin that is actually going to happen in this world is that which is going to redound to God's honor and glory.

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• It will reveal God's holiness, God's righteousness, and God's justice. And what will not, God will restrain it.

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• Now when he says in verse 13, "Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God," he tells you why. "For God cannot be tempted of evil, neither tempteth he any man." In other words, there's absolutely nothing in the nature or in the person of God that is unholy, sinful, or wicked, and therefore sin cannot be laid to His charge. Moreover, there is nothing in God's sovereign providence that would give men an opportunity to lay sin to God's charge.

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• Now, I want to point something out. I've done this in times past, but in light of this message, I want to emphasize it again. He said, "Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God." The word "tempt," the noun is the word peirasmos in the Greek. That word is used both in a good and in a bad sense in the Scripture. When you get to the Septuagint, which is the Greek translation of the Hebrew Old Testament, the Bible says, "God did tempt Abraham." The word "tempt" would be "God did test Abraham." "God did try Abraham." In other words, the good sense of the word is this: that God will test us, God will try us. He will try a man's faith. He'll try a man's character. But He will not tempt him to sin. He will not lead him in sin. Neither will He put sin in front of him. It's impossible for God to tempt any man because God is absolutely holy. Now the same word is used in verse 13 as is in verse 12. So if you look in verse 12 to show you the proper usage in the good sense of the

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• word. The Bible says, "Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him." So what you have in verse 12 is the same Greek word peirasmos, but it's a noun, and the word "temptation" there means a test, a trial, an affliction. But when you get to verse 13, "Let no man say when he is tempted"—here the verb, peirazō—it's the same word, but here it means to entice, to seduce, or to lead into sin or evil. So you have a good sense of the word in verse 12 and you have the bad sense of the word in verse 13. So it really doesn't matter whether or not it is a noun or a verb. In other words, the word may be used in a good sense or in a bad sense, and you have to depend upon the context to determine the usage of it.

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• Let me give you a quote from Matthew Henry. He's been commenting on verse 13, and he says this. Listen carefully. He says, "We are here taught that God is not the author of any man's sin. Whoever they are who raise persecutions against men, whatever injustice and sin they may be guilty of in proceeding against them, God is not to be charged with it. And whatever sins good men may themselves be provoked to by their exercises and afflictions, God is not the cause of them. It seems to be here supposed that some professors might fall in the hour of temptation"—testing—"that the rod resting upon them might carry

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• some into ill courses, and make them put forth their hands unto iniquity. But though this should be the case, and though such delinquents should attempt to lay their fault on God, yet the blame of their misconduct must lie entirely upon themselves." Wow. Well, think about it like this. There are so many men that try to excuse their sins. And when I say men, I'm using it anthropomorphically speaking in one sense of the word, man-form speaking. Men—men includes women as well. I've heard people say things like this: "Well, God made me this way. God had made me this way. I wouldn't be doing these things. So it's God's fault." Or how about this one? "God put me in this position. If He had not put me in this position, then I would not have done this. So basically it's God's fault." Have you ever noticed that whenever we sin it's never our fault? It's someone else's fault. "You made me." And when God said to Adam, "Adam, what have you done?" Adam said, "It's the woman you gave to be with me.

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• It's her fault." "Well, Eve, what have you done?" "Well, it was a serpent you made, Lord. He tempted me. He beguiled me." And so Adam blamed Eve and Eve blamed the serpent and both said, "God, you put us in this position. You created this serpent. We're here. And so basically, Lord, it's your fault." Well, that certainly is not true. And the very first consideration the Scripture said that should come to our mind when it comes to sin is this: God is not the author of sin. God does not seduce us. God does not tempt us. God does not lead us into evil and that which is wicked. Now, so here's the question: if God is not the author of sin, and you and I both know that we're sinners, how do we sin? How does it happen? I've said this before: there's no such thing

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• as an instant sin. Because we think about things before we do them, but I want to show you. Let's tie verses 13 and 14 together. Watch this: "Let no man say when he's tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man." Here it is: "But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed." Now I want you to look at the word "tempted" again. It's the same Greek word that you find in verse 13 and in verse 12 as well. It is the word peirazō. Peirazō may be used in a good sense and in a bad sense. You will find it sometimes used in a very good sense. Most of the time, however, it's used in a bad sense. Now before I show you a verse, let me explain something to you. It is not necessarily a sin to be tempted. How can I say it's not a sin to be tempted? Well, you remember Matthew chapter 4 and verse 1, and the Spirit led our Lord into the wilderness where He was tempted of the devil forty days and forty nights.

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• So our Lord was tempted, but He did not sin. He was sinless. So temptation in itself is not necessarily sinful in and of itself. Temptation usually arises from our own lusts, our own desires. Now listen carefully: if there is no lust, if there is no desire, there can be no temptation. Let me explain it like this. Never in my entire life, in nearly 79 years, never ever have I been tempted to be a drunkard or to get drunk. Because I don't have any use for alcohol. I'm just saying outside of medicinally, I've never cared anything about it. The same thing: in all of my life, I've never ever been tempted to murder anyone. Because I don't have a desire to harm anyone. So the point I'm trying to make is, to try to tempt me to be a drunkard or to get drunk would be useless because I could care less for alcohol. To try to tempt me to murder someone would be useless as well because I have no desire to harm anyone. So the point I'm trying to make is, a temptation without a lust or without a desire is basically useless because without that lust and without the desire, it fails. Now look back in

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• verse 14. He said, "But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed." Now, obviously the temptation in verse 14 is a temptation to sin. Now I want you to note first of all the word "lust." He said, "But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed." When you and I hear the word "lust," we normally think of sexual sins. But the truth of the matter is, the word is extremely broad. In fact, the truth of the matter is, the word for "lust" here is the word epithumia. It's translated in our Bibles as "lust," "concupiscence," "desire," and "to lust after."

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• So again, this is one of the words, like peirasmos, that can be used in a good or bad sense. So the word epithumia, let me break it down for you. Epi is a preposition which means "upon," and thumos is the word for "passion" or "desire." So what is your lust? Your lust is whatever you set your passion or desire upon. It's just that simple. So let me show you how this word is used in a good sense first. Hold James chapter 1 and you look back in your Bibles to Luke chapter 22 and verse 15. Luke 22 verse 15, and look what our Lord says to His disciples. Luke 22 and verse 15, watch this: "And he said unto them, With desire I have desired to eat this passover with you before I suffer." The word "desire" is epithumia. So literally what our Lord said, "With lust have I lusted to eat this passover with you before I suffer." So all that verse is saying is that our Lord has set His heart, set His desire, set His passion upon eating the last Passover with His disciples before He suffered and died.

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• That's all it's saying, but it's used in a good sense. It's the same word, epithumia. I suppose we could use it in a good sense. You remember that passage? I think it's Psalm 42 verse 1 where David said, "As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my heart after thee, O Lord." We could change that a little bit. I didn't check it in the Septuagint.

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• I don't know what it is in the Greek. But we could say, "As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so lusteth my soul after thee, O God." In other words, I've set my passion upon you. I've set my desire upon you. In fact, that's what the Scripture commands in Colossians chapter 3 and verse 1: "Set your affection on things above, where Christ is on the right hand of God."

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• So, I mean, the word can be used in a good sense. However, usually the word is used in a bad sense because usually it is connected with our depraved desire. So when we talk about lust, one may lust after another's spouse, another's money, another's possessions, another's abilities, another's beauty. You can lust after anything. You can set your desire upon anything, and so whatever you set your desire upon, that is your lust. Now let's go back to James chapter 1 and look in verse 14, because lust is the starting point. Now I want you to watch this. He said, "But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed." So lust is the starting point. But I want you to note what he said: our lust then are drawn away and enticed. Now, I want you to consider the words "drawn away." Look at it. "But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away." The Greek word for "drawn away" is exelkō, which literally means to draw away or to draw out.

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• Hang on. Metaphorically, the word is used in hunting and fishing to draw game out from their place of safety so they may be captured. Now I want you to stay with me. I want you to look at verse 14 again. "Every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed." I just told you what the word "drawn away" means. Now look at the word "enticed": deleazō, which means to entice, to beguile, to lure, to bait, and to lure or to catch by bait. Now I want you to put this together. He said, "But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed." So now what God is doing in this verse is not only telling us where how sin is formed in us, but He's also giving us a very clear illustration. Let me just try to give it to you. Here it is.

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• My favorite food, and by the way, Alice's favorite food, happens to be fresh fish, pond fish. I'd rather have fresh fish than I had a T-bone steak. Much rather have fish any day. So, I know that in my pond there's this big bass, and Alice and I want to have him for supper. But, if I went in that water after that bass, first of all, he can out swim me. He can outmaneuver me. There's no way in the world I could catch that bass.

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• And let's say he has a place of safety and it's under some rocks from which he can get to, but I cannot. So how in the world am I going to get that bass so we can have him for supper? Well, the truth is I would go and get my fishing pole and I'd get my line and a hook and I'd get a big fat juicy worm and I'd put it on that hook and I would dangle that worm either right beside that bass or in front of that bass. I can't get to him. He's under the rocks and he's in the water. But when I dangle that big fat juicy worm and he sees that worm, he rushes out from under that rock. He bites that worm. The hook catches him. I pull him up and we clean him and cook him and have him for supper. Now, how did that happen? He was in a place of safety. I couldn't get to him. Listen carefully: I dangled something in front of him that would fulfill a desire that was inside of him. He had a desire to have a full stomach. He had a desire to have that big fat juicy worm. So there appeared on the outside something that would fulfill his desire

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• on the inside. He was lured and baited and seduced into biting that hook. Now I want you to think about this. Look at verse 14. I'm going to say it a different way: "But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed." Whenever there is something outside of us that promises to fulfill a desire inside of us—whether it's pleasure, whether it's profit, whatever it is, what kind of fulfillment it is—we're being drawn away from God's law, we're being drawn away from obedience because we're being baited, we're being lured, we're being seduced into what we want instead of what God wants. Okay?

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• Now, I'm going to give you two quotes, one from Matthew Poole and one from John Trapp, and both of them are commenting on verse 14. Listen to what Matthew Poole said: "He shows the great cause of sin, that lust hath a greater hand in it than either the devil or his instruments, who cannot make us sin without ourselves. They sometimes tempt and do not prevail. But when lust tempts, it always prevails, either in whole or in part, it being a degree of sin to be our own tempters." Now listen to John Trapp: "Satan only hath a persuading slight, not an enforcing might. Our own concupiscence, our own lust, carries the greatest stroke."

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• So what he's saying is this: Satan's temptations are very rare. And they are not necessarily successful. And if he made us sin, then we would not be responsible for our sin. Obviously, we are responsible for our sin. Here's another thing. I want you to turn in your Bibles, if you would, to the book of Galatians chapter 5. I want to show you, because I believe Satan gets blamed for a lot of things that he does not do and that he's not interested in and that he does not even have to have a hand in. So look in Galatians 5 beginning there in verse 19. Look what he says.

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• "Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these: This is not satanic. This is the works of the flesh. Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, fussing and fighting, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like." He goes on to say, "Of the which I told you before, and I've also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God." All of these are works of the flesh. Satan does not have to tempt us to do these things. They are already in us. Evil, wicked lusts are sinful, and now we are being drawn away, we're being enticed, we're being baited to fulfill these lusts and these desires. Now go back in your Bibles to the book of James chapter 1 and watch this. Let's put verses 14 and 15 together. James 1 verses 14 and 15: He said, "But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed." Now watch the wording: "Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death." Now here's an interesting thought. Look at this: "Then when lust hath conceived." Lust is the starting point. But there has to be a conception. And here we're

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• being given the picture of pregnancy. In fact, the word in the Greek is the Greek word sullambanō, which means to bring together or to take together or to conceive. So when the sperm and the egg come together, there is conception, the conception of life. So God says it is the same way when you have your lusts and now you have the opportunities to fulfill those lusts and they come together and sin is conceived. What is sin? Sin is a violation of God's law. First John chapter 3 and verse 4: "Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law." So the conception produced by lust produces sin.

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• However, that's not the whole thing. Watch it again. Verse 15: "Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death." Now look at that. "Sin, when it is finished, brings forth." Hmm. It produces. It gives birth. That's exactly what it said. "And sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death." Now, lust bringeth forth sin, but sin bringeth forth death.

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• Now, let me just stop and point out the word for sin. It's the word hamartia, which means to miss the mark, to fall short of the glory of God. It means to err, to wander from the path of righteousness, to violate God's law, which I just quoted. So the conception produced by lust brings forth sin, but it's not over simply with the result of the production of sin, because he said in verse 15, "And sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death." Now, "sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth"—it produces. The word is apokueō in the Greek, literally means to give birth from the womb, to produce or to bring forth. Bluntly stated, here's what it means: it means to cease being pregnant. Because he used the word "conception" in verse 15, which gives you the picture of pregnancy. So he said, "When sin then is finished, it brings forth." It produces. When it ceases being pregnant, it brings forth death. So here is a woman that has conceived and she has a child in her, and after nine months she gives birth. After she gives birth,

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• she's no longer pregnant. Hmm. So here's what God says: once that lust conceives, it brings forth sin, and when sin is finished, when the pregnancy ceases, when it's over, you have death. Death. Now, the Greek word for death is thanatos. We get our word "euthanasia" from the Greek. Eu is a preposition which means actually "well" or "good." Thanatos is a Greek word for death. So euthanasia just means a good death. It's what it means. But thanatos is used here. It brings forth death, and thanatos is not just simply the death of the body, but it also includes the misery of the soul and all the miseries that sin produces. Not just simply the loss of life, but even the loss of a life lived for God. In other words, when sin is finished, all you have is death. Now here's what I want you to grasp. Here's what I want you to put together: Once the process is started, there is no abortion. Once your lusts meet the opportunity for fulfillment, sin is brought forth, and then when sin finishes being pregnant, there is death.

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• So what God is saying is there is a conception, there is maturation, and there is completion. See, the truth of the matter of all of our lusts, all of our desires, which are contrary to God's Word, always promise us happiness and joy and life. But all they produce is misery and death. That's it. He says, don't ever blame God, because your sin originates in you, with your own desires, with your own lusts. And when you have the opportunity to fulfill those lusts, sin is conceived, and once there's a conception, there's going to be a maturation and there's going to be a completion, and it's going to be death. Now let me make some applications and try to tie this together for you. That means this: the very first thought of sin, the very first inkling of desire to go contrary to God's Word, God's law, should be immediately refused, rejected,

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• and replaced. Think about this. If I were to ask you, "What am I holding in my hands?" What would you tell me this is? A pair of glasses. Now, if I were to ask you, "What is this in my hand?" What would you tell me? It's a phone. Do you realize no matter how hard you try, you can't think of one thing at a time? When you were thinking about my glasses, you're not thinking about that phone. When you're thinking about that phone, you're not thinking about my glasses. So the point I'm trying to make is, when a thought comes in your mind and you know that thought is unbiblical, you know that it's unscriptural, you know that's contrary to God, do not entertain that thought. Repudiate it. "Lord,

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• I don't want that thought. I refuse that thought, and Lord, I'm going to replace that with Your Word. Your Word says, 'Thou shalt not lust,' 'Thou shalt not commit adultery,' 'Thou shalt not steal,' 'Thou shalt not bear false witness,' whatever it is." You say, "Well, what if that thought comes back five minutes later?" Do it again. What if it comes back three minutes later? Do it again. You cannot entertain that thought in your mind. Pretty soon you'll learn the truth of Isaiah 26: "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee."

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• Now we have an old adage in South Georgia, and I'm sure you've heard it before, and that is this: "You can't stop a bird from flying over your head, but you can stop him from building a nest in your hair." The world, the flesh, and the devil can throw thoughts in your mind quicker than lightning can flash. It's not a sin for that thought to go through your mind. The sin comes in when you say, "Whoa, wait a minute. Let me think about this. I like this.

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• Let me chew on this a while. Let me meditate on it. Let me see if I can work this out." That's how it starts. That's why we are not to have any thoughts in our mind that are unbiblical. We're to have the mind of Christ. Here's the second one: When you and I have first see the opportunity to fulfill our lusts and our desires—here it is, here's the opportunity—

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• "This is what I've been waiting for. This is what I've been wanting." I have to understand that I'm now being baited. I'm now being lured. I'm now being enticed to violate God's law. So we have to understand that if we give into that opportunity to fulfill those desires, there's not going to be any stopping after that. Because there will be a maturation and there will be a completion and it will bring forth death. Now I want you to turn in your Bibles to the book of Proverbs chapter 5—no, Proverbs 7. Proverbs 7. Usually I tell people to read Proverbs 5, 6, and 7 together. I want to read the entirety of Proverbs chapter 7, and I want you to listen. I want you to watch. I want you to follow me. And I want you to see: lust, opportunity, and death. I want you to see how God commands us to begin with not to give in. Look at it in Proverbs 7 verse 1.

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• He said, "My son, keep my words, and lay up my commandments within thee. Don't forget them. Keep my commandments, and live. And my law as the apple of thine eye. Bind them upon thy fingers, write them upon the table of thine heart. Say unto wisdom, 'Thou art my sister,' and call understanding thy kinswoman: That they may keep thee from the strange woman, from the stranger which flattereth with her words." Now he's going to give you the illustration. "For at the window of my house, I looked through my casement, and I beheld among the simple ones"—notice if you would, the simple, those who forget God's Word, God's law. He said, "I beheld among the simple ones, I discerned among the youths, a young man void of understanding"—he didn't have God's wisdom—"passing through the street near her corner, he went the way to her house, in the twilight, in the evening, in the black and dark night. And, behold, there met him a woman with the attire of an harlot, and subtil of heart.

  #40 | 42:41 to 43:56 | cleaned

• She is loud and stubborn; her feet abide not in her house.

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• Now is she without, now in the streets, and lieth in wait at every corner. So she caught him, and kissed him, and with an impudent face said unto him, 'I have peace offerings with me; this day have I paid my vows.' In other words, 'My religious duties are over with, so now I can fulfill my flesh.' 'So I have peace offerings with me, and I've this day paid my vows. Therefore came I forth to meet thee, diligently to seek thy face.

  #42 | 44:01 to 44:34 | cleaned

• I have found thee. I've decked my bed with coverings of tapestry, with carved works, with fine linen of Egypt. I have perfumed my bed with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon. Come, let us take our fill of love until the morning: let us solace ourselves with loves. For the goodman'—that is her husband—'is not at home, he is gone a long journey: He hath taken a bag of money with him, and will come home at the day appointed.'" So now watch, if you would. You have lust, you have desire, you have opportunity—I mean the perfect opportunity. Watch: "With her much fair speech she caused him

  #43 | 44:34 to 45:12 | cleaned

• to yield, with the flattery of her lips she forced him. Here it is: He goeth after her straightway, as an ox goeth to the slaughter, or as a fool to the correction of the stocks; Till a dart strike through his liver; as a bird hasteth to the snare, and knoweth not that it is for his life. Hearken unto me now therefore, O ye children, and attend to the words of my mouth. Let not thine heart decline to her ways, go not astray in her paths. For she hath cast down many wounded:

  #44 | 45:12 to 45:44 | cleaned

• yea, many strong men have been slain by her. Her house is the way to hell, going down to the chambers of death." So I want you to see in Proverbs chapter 7 the exact same truth that I preached from James 1 verses 14 and 15, and that is this: you have lusts, you have opportunity, you have sin, and you have death. We need to learn that it's our lusts, our desires, that lead us into opportunities to sin against God. And when we see those opportunities, we're being baited and lured away from God, away from wisdom, away from truth, away from righteousness, because there is appearing on the outside of us something that seemingly is going to satisfy that which is on the inside of us. And when we fall for that, we end up with misery and death. For the wages of sin is death. So let no man say when he's tempted, "I'm tempted of God," for God cannot be tempted of evil, neither tempteth any man, but every man is drawn away of his own lust and enticed.

  #45 | 45:44 to 47:21 | cleaned

• And when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin, and sin, when it is finished, when it ceases being pregnant, it brings forth death. Once it gets started, there's no aborting sin. It will always produce death. Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we bow to you this day. We thank you for your Word. We thank you for your truth. We ask, Lord, that you would continue to teach us and help us, Lord, to be holy, help us be godly. Help us to control our thinking, our thoughts, and to bring our lives in conformity to your Word. Lord, may we never ever forget your Word, may we never ever forget the principles, and Lord, give us your grace, your mercy, and your power to live holy, godly, obedient lives. In the name of Jesus Christ, we ask and pray. Amen.

  #46 | 47:21 to 48:26 | cleaned

• so so

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deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-04T16:45:47Z