Proverbs
5:22 - His own iniquities shall take the wicked himself, and he shall be held
with the cords of his sins.
The world we live in does not like to even
acknowledge that sin exists. Many laugh and mock at the idea of sin but, if all
of us were honest; we would admit there is an unseen and undetected power that
drives men to commit horrendous acts against one another. We can say that we
don’t believe in poison but we will die if we ingest it, regardless of our
beliefs. In the final analysis men will suffer the consequences of continuing
in their sin. Responsibility rests with the individual to choose the wisdom of
God in avoiding certain evils. In this very pointed chapter of Proverbs we have frank and
straight forward instruction and warning to shun sexual sin of every form. The
strange woman has boldly come into our homes through the television and the
computer screen, and we are the ones who have opened the door. We are the
consumer, we are the reason that pornography and all sexually explicit material
sells. We are the purchasers of sin.
Iniquity is the power that holds men and
keeps men shackled within a prison of addiction and weakness. Why does man do
the things that he does? How can man treat his fellow man with such lack of
respect and value? Iniquity is the power within our fallen natures that clearly
exhibits that something has gone terribly wrong. It is the propensity and the
tendency to crave what we do not have. It shows itself in the fact that we are
attracted to things that will eventually destroy us. Someone has written that
habits are first threads then cables; easily broken at first and almost
impossible to break later. We form the habit and then the habit forms us. Sin
is a powerful and compelling force that always will entice men of all ages and
all cultures. Sin reaches to the highest levels and echelons of our society and
it dives down into the lowest and darkest sectors of our culture; it is no
respecter of persons; sin hates all men equally. Satan is the archenemy of God
and the nemesis of mankind. He despises man; he deviously delights in the
destruction of everything that is good and fair and kind.
Eventually if a sin
is persisted in, the cords of that sin will hold the man captive. It will
control the man and keep him in a cursed state, continually wrapped up,
entangled and confined to a very tiny space, when all the while it is the will
of God for that man to be blessed and free and ever-expanding in prosperity and
influence. Sin, especially sexual sin, keeps men from becoming all that God
intended for us. It restrains mature character and the full expression of the
image of God. It diminishes true manhood. It promises much but delivers little. It
is deceptive by nature and destructive in result. We need a Saviour; one who
will free us from all iniquity and, thank God, Jesus has done it! The power of
sin has been neutralized. The shackles of sin have been broken. The prison
doors are open. Captive humanity is now free to go. Why do we continue to stay inside?
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