The scariest passages of scripture in the Bible.

 Today, we are going to look at one of the scariest passages of scripture in the Bible. I want you to grab on to this passage. I pray that this message will be ingrained into your hearts and minds for the rest of your life. I pray that this message will forever be branded in the conscience of every man and woman, so that for the rest of your life you may remember this message. I pray that any time you are tempted with sin, this sermon will come to the forefront of your mind. I pray that you will be changed from this message and that your perspective of sin will be shaped and formed by this message. The passage of script that I am referring about, I will disclose later in this message.

But first I need to introduce my subject today. My subject today is to do with sin. The subject of sin is a subject which is rarely preached about in modern churches. There is a shift in modern churches where the pastors preach more and more about subjects that people want to hear. Because let's be honest, the subject of sin and hell is a subject which is not a seeker friendly subject. But the Bible warns us time and time again against sin and hell. Therefore, it is the duty of a pastor and the responsibility of a pastor to preach on hell and to preach on sin. The Bible is the Bible that is full of warning against sin. COLOSSIANS 3:5 MORTIFY. THEREFORE, YOUR MEMBERS, WHICH ARE UPON THE EARTH, FORNICATION, UNCLEANNESS, INORDINATE AFFECTION, EVIL, CONCUPISCENCE AND COVETOUSNESS, WHICH IS IDOLATRY.

 1  CORINTHIANS 6,18. FLEE SEXUAL IMMORALITY EVERY SIN. WHATEVER. IF A MAN MIGHT DO IS OUTSIDE OF THE BODY, BUT THE ONE SINNING SEXUALLY SINS AGAINST THE OWN BODY.

 1JOHN4: 6,  WHOSOEVER COMMITTETH SIN TRANSGRESSES. ALSO, THE LAW FOR THE SIN IS THE TRANSGRESSION OF THE LAW. A HE WAS MANIFESTED TO TAKE AWAY OUR SINS AND IN HIM IS NO SIN. WHOSOEVER ABIDETH IN HIM SINNETH NOT. WHOSOEVER SINNETH HATH NOT SEEN HIM. NEITHER KNOWN HIM. TIME AND TIME AGAIN. WE ARE WARNED AGAINST SIN. TIME AND TIME AGAIN WE ARE TOLD NOT TO STEP IN SIN. BUT FOR A MOMENT LET US LOOK AT THE SIN OF ADULTERY. 

PROVERBS 6:32. BUT WHOSO COMMITTED ADULTERY WITH A WOMAN LACKETH UNDERSTANDING HE THAT DOETH IT DESTROYETH HIS OWN SOUL. 

YOU SEE, THIS IS PROOF THAT NOT ALL SINS ARE THE SAME. YES, ULTIMATELY ALL SIN BRINGS death. But they are not the same. You can't tell a lie and sin against your own body. You can't tell a lie and destroy your soul. What this verse tells me is that the effects of sin are different. The Bible clearly says if you commit adultery, you are literally destroying your very own soul. But the Bible did not say a thief destroyeth his own soul or a liar destroyeth his own soul, but an adulterer destroyeth his own soul. The effects of sin are different. The end destination is the same. There is something serious about sexual immorality that I believe we as humans don't fully comprehend.

 Now, here is the passage of Scripture I was referring to at the start of this sermon. One of the scariest passages of scripture you will find in the Bible. It is Proverbs 9 verse 16 through 18, but let us begin with PROVERBS 9:16 through 17. WHOEVER IS SIMPLE, LET HIM TURN IN HERE. AND AS FOR HIM WHO LACKS UNDERSTANDING, SHE SAYS TO HIM, STOLEN WATER IS SWEET AND BREAD EATEN IN SECRET IS PLEASANT. Here, this lady is quoting a well known saying, a well known saying, which is a half truth. And we all know that a half truth is a lie. And in my opinion, a half truth is actually worse than a lie because a half truth is likely to deceive you, then a downright lie. In other words, what she is saying is illicit sex of an adulterer or a fornicator is more satisfying than sex between a husband and a wife, which God has sanctioned.

 Hence the saying Stolen water is sweet and bread eaten in secret is pleasant. And in all honesty, she is telling the truth, but she is not telling the whole truth because she does not tell you the end of the story. Let's be honest. There is a pleasure in sin. People don't commit sin because it hurts them. No, people commit sin because there is pleasure in sin. That is the truth. Sin can make you feel so, so, so good. Sin can make you forget about all your problems for a moment of time. There is an enjoyment in sin for a period of time.

 And that pleasure and sin is what she is talking about. There is some genuine allure in the excitement, independence, camaraderie and pleasure in breaking God's command and wisdom and counsel. Sin has its pleasures for a season. Listen carefully. PROVERBS 9:16-17. WHOEVER IS SIMPLE, LET HIM TURN IN HERE. AND AS FOR HIM WHO LACKS UNDERSTANDING, she says to him, stolen water is sweet and bread eaten in secret is pleasant. John Gill's exposition of the Bible expands on this verse stating by which in general is meant that all prohibited unlawful lusts and pleasures are desirable to men and sweet in the enjoyment of them, and the pleasure promised by them is what makes them so desirable. 

And the more so because forbidden and particularly as adultery being forbidden and unlawful and secretly committed, is sweeter to an unclean person than a lawful enjoyment of his own wife. To put it plainly, what is meant by this is making love to someone you are not meant to be making love to is more exciting than making love to your wife or husband who you have been married to for ten years. In other words, private sins are particularly pleasurable, whether that private sin is fornication or adultery or pornography. It is pleasurable for a season, but it doesn't last. And this is what Solomon tells us. Now, verse 18, Solomon tells the readers the whole story, the part that she conveniently missed out. PROVERBS 9:16 -18. WHOEVER IS SIMPLE, LET HIM TURN IN HERE.  AND AS FOR HIM WHO LACKS UNDERSTANDING, SHE SAYS TO HIM, STOLEN WATER IS SWEET AND BREAD EATEN IN SECRET IS PLEASANT.

 VERSE 18. BUT HE DOES NOT KNOW THAT THE DEAD ARE THERE. THAT HER GUESTS ARE IN THE DEPTHS OF HELL. Wow. Oh, wow. Remember the first time I read this verse? I literally stopped for 30 minutes and spoke to my father about the verse. Listen to it one more time. He does not know that the dead are there, that her guests are in the depths of hell. Look at how the Bible phrases this and that. Her guests are in the depths of hell. Her guests are not only on the way to the depths of hell, neither are they on the brink of it. 

But they are in the very midst of it. There are many in hell. She is invited into her house and persuaded to turn in there. Now, I ask you today, do you have a secret sin that you are hiding? One that no one knows but you? One that you have been nursing secretly for years. Yes. Sin may feel good or bring pleasure, but it will cost so much. Are you busy living a life of fornication? Fornication with this one and then that one being a lover of pleasure. You need to repent. God will forgive you. Do you have a secret sin? Repent. Do you have a secret sin? Repent. God will forgive you. Are you living a life of secret sin? Do you have a mistress on the side that your wife knows nothing about? I'm not judging you.

 I am pleading with you to repent. Adultery will make you live a life of fear. You always fear that at any moment your partner will find out. The writer of Proverbs Solomon knows firsthand about the effects of adultery. His family history testifies of this. Solomon's father, King David, the man who was regarded as a man after God's own heart, first came to know his mother, Bathsheba, in an act of adultery. And as a result, a cover up and bloodshed was caused because of this. The consequences of this haunted David for the rest of his life. And I have even spoken to people who committed adultery in the early days of their marriage.

 And 15 years later, they are still being haunted by this act. I encourage you to stay faithful. You are not above committing adultery. It only takes one second. One bad day, one weak day. Be mindful of that and fight it. Our mind is a powerhouse where the issues of life flow from. PROVERBS 4:23, KEEP THY HEART WITH ALL DILIGENCE FOR OUT OF IT ARE THE ISSUES OF LIFE. The first step before a person commits physical adultery is that they perform the act in their mind. Don't do it. Resist the temptation. If you commit adultery once, it's much easier to commit that sin a second time. It is the same with fornication. Once you do it, it is easy to do it again and again. It is the same with every sin. Every sin once committed, becomes easier to do it the next time.

 Radical measures must be taken to prevent this from happening again. Lust is one of the worst spirits out there. The reason why I say this is because it makes people make dumb decisions. People have slept with people they had no business sleeping with. Don't answer this question out loud. But has lust ever made you make a dumb decision before? Lust makes people make stupid decisions. Intelligent people, people smarter than you and I make dumb, foolish decisions because of this spirit of lust in the grip of lust and temptation. Those committing adultery often don't consider how destructive it is, or they know the risks, but think the pleasure is worth that gamble. 20 minutes of pleasure is not worth a lifetime of pain. 

The pleasure of sin literally only lasts for a period of time, but it leads to a lifetime of grief and painful consequences. Allow this passage of scripture to be a warning to you, because it was to me, it literally was one of the most scariest passages of Scripture I have ever read because it truly describes the nature of sin, the deceptive nature of sin, how sin can make you feel good and great, but all the while it is destroying you. PROVERBS 9:16-18. WHOSO IS SIMPLE LET HIM TURN IN HITHER. AND AS FOR HIM THAT WANTETH UNDERSTANDING, SHE SAITH TO HIM STOLEN WATERS ARE SWEET AND BREAD EATEN IN SECRET IS PLEASANT. BUT HE KNOWETH NOT THAT THE DEAD ARE THERE AND THAT HER GUESTS ARE IN THE DEPTHS OF HELL.