Hello friends of God,
Today let’s be reminded of the enticing nature of sin:
My son, if sinners entice you,
Do not be willing.
— Proverbs 1:10
In this short proverb, we find a clear piece of advice given by the wise King Solomon to his son. He simply says, “if sinners entice you, do not be willing.” This simple statement actually carries quite a bit of weight, as do many other wise sayings and proverbs. Let’s dissect what Solomon is saying to his son and learn from this insightful statement.
1. The Sinners
Solomon names this group of people who will interact with his son. He calls out this specific group as sinners. It’s important to remember that “sinners” was basically everyone’s official title before being rescued from the kingdom of darkness. This definition is important to invoke because we sometimes have a stereotypical idea of what a sinner looks like. We think sinners are dirty and walk around with knives in their hands, ready to kill everyone in their paths.
However, when we take the definition in light of biblical teaching, we quickly find that a sinner could look very innocent on the outside. They could even be in a suit of priestly attire and still be sinners. Sin starts with the heart. This is why the teaching of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount left people shocked. While society had already defined their version of what sin is and how a sinner looks, Jesus came in and raised the bar to infinity, such that no man in and of himself can attain this perfection to be sinless.
The only antidote to sin is the righteousness of Christ. This is the imputed righteousness that we get when we place our faith in Christ. Solomon is warning his son against sinners. It’s important for us to understand that this warning applies to us as well. We should be aware that these sinners Solomon warns against could be some of our closest friends or our most trusted confidants.
2. The Enticement
The king tells his son that when these sinners come, they will entice him. The word he uses for entice means: “to persuade, seduce, to deceive.” This is what sinners do—they entice.
This is their default operation. When one is caught in sin, it consumes them to the point where they basically want everyone else to join in. With this burning desire, they are driven to offer invitations to the people around them to join in on the wickedness. David paints a very accurate picture of the condition of the sinner:
For it flatters him in his eyes
For one to discover his iniquity and hate it.
The words of his mouth are wickedness and deceit;
He has ceased to consider to do good.
He devises wickedness upon his bed;
He sets himself on a path that is not good;
He does not despise evil.
— Psalm 36:2-4
Another thing to notice about the use of this word “entice” is that most times it’s not the most obvious thing to notice. When sinners entice, it’s not broadcasted to the public. The advances are subtle, they move in the shadows where they can’t be seen, they whisper words of deceit, and by the time one notices that they have been lured out of sound doctrine, it’s usually too late.
This enticement is usually very crafty; it’s a dose of lies sandwiched between some truth—just enough truth to get the target on board. This is what the apostle Peter alludes to when he speaks concerning false teachers:
But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves.
— 2 Peter 2:1
The sinners in this case are masquerading as teachers of the gospel and of the word of God. Peter says their enticement comes through “secretly introducing destructive heresies.” It’s important to note that when they come, they aren’t wearing a “sinner” badge or a “sinner” name tag.
In Jesus’ time, they were the Pharisees, claiming to be righteous and speaking for God. And so Jesus gave a clear-cut litmus test for such parties:
A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. So then, you will know them by their fruits.
— Matthew 7:18-20
Watch out for the fruit. Is it good fruit or bad fruit? Are they exalting Christ or exalting self? Is what they are teaching based on scripture, or are they twisting scripture to make a point?
3. The Response
Finally, Solomon offers a simple piece of advice to his son concerning what his response ought to be when he’s enticed by sinners: “Do not be willing.” King Solomon invokes the will. He’s telling his son that he needs to exercise the will to not follow the enticement. Earlier, we mentioned that “sinners” was a state that we all once possessed. It was only by grace that we were saved through faith in Jesus Christ (Ephesians 2:8). In this previous state, we were unable to exercise willpower to push back against sin. Sin was a master over us. We were slaves to sin. And such is the state of everyone who has not been redeemed. Paul says to the Corinthians, “such were some of you”:
And such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.
— 1 Corinthians 6:11
With this washing, sanctification, and justification came a new thing—the freedom from sin. With this freedom, our will is now inclined to righteousness. In this new state, sin is no longer our master:
For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace.
— Romans 6:14
This means we have been equipped with the ability to say no to sin, to resist sin, to escape the temptation from the evil one.
Here are some points to keep in mind:
- Sinners are everywhere around us; we need to be watchful.
- Sinners will secretly entice us to join them in their wickedness.
- We have been equipped with the ability to push back on sin. Let’s say no to sin and yes to righteousness.
But I say, walk by the Spirit and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you do not do the things that you want.
— Galatians 5:16-17
I pray this word helps you become more and more discerning as we live in this world that is not really our home.
May the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all,
Paul
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