by Pastor Ayo Sparks
Solomon was dolling out wisdom about Chastity and staying far immorality, however, alongside all those instructions, I could see a picture of Paul teaching what he teaches the most – The Gospel. Follow me keenly, since the chapter is about one theme, I’d just share as inspired…
Proverbs 5:7 NET | So now, children, listen to me; do not turn aside from the words I speak.
Parallel verse in the New Testament…
Acts 20:32 NET | And now I entrust you to God and to the MESSAGE OF HIS GRACE…
Do not turn aside from the words I speak suggests that there will be other people speaking words that are much more enticing than that been spoken by the wise one… The same way we are entrusted to the message of Grace, there would be other much more enticing messages that are capable of making us turn away from it…
Personally, I don’t know if any other message can be sweeter than the message of Grace. But of course, there’ll be… There’s always another woman who seems more curvier and appealing… If it’s not the message of Grace then it is the Law – The Message entrenched in Legalism.
Proverbs 5:3-6 NET | For the lips of the adulterous woman drip honey, and her seductive words are smoother than olive oil, but in the end she is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword. Her feet go down to death; her steps lead straight to the grave. Lest she should make level the path leading to life, her paths are unstable but she does not know it.
Parallel verse in New Testament…
Romans 7:9-11 | For I was alive without the law once: but when the law came, sin revived, and I died. So I discovered that the law’s commands, which were supposed to bring life, brought spiritual death instead. Sin took advantage of those commands and deceived me; it used the commands to kill me.
Paul acknowledged that there are people who will entice you will words that would seem to be spiritual but they are a perversion of the gospel.
Galatians 1:6-7 | I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ.
I don’t believe it… Which message is sweeter than the message of Grace? But like the wise one said, her words are seductive and smoother than olive oil… So, in Acts 20:32 we were further told the result of embracing the message of Grace… And now I entrust you to God and to the message of his grace. THIS MESSAGE IS ABLE TO BUILD YOU UP…
The words of wisdom – Grace have the innate ability to construct the edifice of one’s being. Construction usually begins from the lowest and you start seeing its effects on the outside… Unlike the strange woman, the perverted message, here’s the effect of legalism…
Proverbs 5:9 NET | lest you give your VIGOR to others and your years to a cruel person…
…another version uses the word “honor”… So what does that really mean? In Hebrew it is the word “hod” which means splendor or majesty indicating the best times of one’s years… So, rather than enjoy the dividends of one’s wife – Grace which is a systematic contentious development anyone who decided does to trail after the strange woman, would end up wasted… A typical picture is…
Philippians 3:7-9 NET | But these assets I have come to regard as LIABILITIES because of Christ. More than that, I now regard all things as liabilities compared to the far greater value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things – INDEED, I REGARD THEM AS DUNG! – that I may gain Christ, and be found in him, not because I have my own righteousness derived from the law, but because I have the righteousness that comes by way of Christ’s faithfulness – a righteousness from God that is in fact based on Christ’s faithfulness.
Earlier in that Phil. 3, he said this which corresponds to the second of verse 9…
Philippians 3:2 NET | BEWARE OF THE DOGS, beware of the evil workers…
Prov. 5:9 | …your years to a CRUEL PERSON…
The word Dogs used by Paul is a figurative expression to mean False Teachers, he called them evil workers… Hmmm! So, Where’s the admonition in all these… what instruction can we hold on to?
1. Be Faithful to Grace:
Proverbs 5:15-17 NLT | Drink water from your own well— share your love only with your wife. Why spill the water of your springs in the streets, having sex with just anyone? You should reserve it for yourselves. Never share it with strangers.
Oh! What danger it is to mix up a romance with law and Grace. Why should we combine the operations of the Old Testament with the New? We have been made able ministers of the NEW Covenant not both covenants… Don’t mix it up…
2. Enjoy the Intimacy with Grace:
Proverbs 5:18-20 NLT | Let your wife be a fountain of blessing for you. Rejoice in the wife of your youth. She is a loving deer, a graceful doe. Let her breasts satisfy you always. MAY YOU ALWAYS BE CAPTIVATED BY HER LOVE. Why be captivated, my son, by an immoral woman, or fondle the breasts of a promiscuous woman?
Hmmm! A fountain of blessing is talking about pleasurable fruitfulness… It’s impossible to remain intimate with Grace and not be fruitful. What is captivating you about Elijah calling down fire when the source of the fire resides in you? What is captivating you about Moses’s rod dividing the red sea when the one who walked on water lives in you? Spend quality time with the person or Grace and the words of Grace, you will realise the constant flow of milk and honey, stay satisfied with her breasts… May you be always captivated by her love…Did I hear someone say Amen?
For someone here… You enjoy fruitfulness! You enjoy consistency! You ENJOY ALL ROUND STABILITY!
Blessed be the name of the Lord! I hope this blessed you?
Remain in Grace Always.
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