Lust or Love
Introduction:
The fifth
chapter of Proverbs concerns the use or abuse of our God-given
physical bodies. Jehovah has given us the freedom to choose whether
we will use our bodies for love or for lust.
Body:
I. A
Description of Lust (Verses 1-6)
-
Verses
1-2: Advice is given in verses one and two. Discretion is the
ability to make responsible decisions and judge critically what
is correct and proper.
-
Verse
3: Lust is deceptive, seductive. Proverbs 2:16
The neighbor’s wife may look inviting. Proverbs
6:27-29
-
Verse
4: Lust promises pleasure, but it delivers only pain.
Ecclesiastes 7:26 The payoff is painful. It leaves a bitter
taste.
-
Verses
5-6: Lust leads down a destructive path. There are similar
words in Proverbs 7:24-27.
II. The
Devastation of Lust (Verses 7-14)
-
Verses
7-8: Advice is given in verses seven and eight. Don’t play
with fire! Stay away from her like she has the plague. God
gives us prohibitions for our own good. Matthew 5:27-30
-
Verse
9: You will lose your honor, dignity, and reputation that you
have worked to achieve.
-
Verse
10: You may lose your wealth. Sexual immorality is costly.
-
Verse
11: You may lose your health. There is often pain, anguish,
and grief.
-
Verses
12-13: To lose your self-esteem will leave only regret and
remorse.
-
Verse
14: You will become a public disgrace.
III. The
Delight of Married Love (Verses 15-20)
-
Verse
15: In the water imagery of this passage, let the husband
quench his sexual thirst with his wife. Proverbs 9:13-18
-
Verses
16-17: Sexual promiscuity is a waste. Marriage is the only
place for the expression of sexual love.
-
Verses
18-19: These verses emphasize sexual delight in marriage.
Sexuality is a gift from God. I Corinthians 7:3-5 God is not
ashamed to speak openly of sex. It is natural. We should be
“intoxicated” and “exhilarated.”
Invitation:
Read
Proverbs 5:21-23. “For the ways of man are before the eyes
of the Lord. And He ponders all his paths. His own iniquities
entrap the wicked man. And he is caught in the cords of his sin.
He shall die for lack of instruction. And in the greatness of his
folly he shall go astray.”
NKJV Nothing is done in secret. Lust promises freedom, but
brings slavery. Lust captures. II Peter 2:18-19 “For when they speak great swelling
words of emptiness, they allure through the lusts of the flesh,
through licentiousness, the ones who have actually escaped from
those who live in error. While they promise them liberty, they
themselves are slaves of corruption; for by whom a person is
overcome, by him also he is brought into bondage.”
NKJV
Bobby
Stafford
May 15, 2011
