To deliver thee from
the strange woman, even from
the stranger which flattereth
with her words; Which forsaketh the guide of her youth, and forgetteth the
covenant of her God. For her house inclineth unto death, and her paths unto the
dead. None that go unto her return again, neither take they hold of the paths
of life. (Proverbs 2:16-19)
I found myself walking from one room to the next last night
looking for something. I realised I must be losing my mind. My kids were with
me for two weeks in a row and now suddenly they are with their Mom. The emptiness
in the house was just too much for my brokenness. As I kept looking for something,
I could not find I thought about adultery and lately the enemy has been bombarding
me with the idea that God despises adultery, so is it an unforgivable sin. The weakness
of the flesh will go unpunished in God’s judgement. Well I must admit that not
having my boys with me felt already like a death sentence and a huge punishment.
So, is adultery unforgivable?
Now if we look at my scripture in Proverbs we see that here
it says that no adulterer “regains the paths of life“. We can easily
understand that this is not meant absolutely. The proverbs in this chapter were
collected by Salomon (see Proverbs 1:1). He knew very well that not all
adulterers without exception “sink down to death“. For he was the son
from a marriage that began as an adulterous affair. His father, David,
committed adultery with Batsheba (see 2 Samuel 11), who later became Solomon’s
mother.
We know that David deeply repented from his adultery (and
the murder it led him to). He openly acknowledged his guilt and asked
forgiveness from the Lord. That is not an easy thing to do for a king! But
after he repented from his sin, he wrote Psalm 51:2: “Wash me thoroughly from
my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin!” We know that God never refuses to
grant forgiveness to those who repent from their sins and turn to Him. The rest
of David’s life confirms that. He went back to serving God.
So why is there still this passage in the Bible? It is
important that we understand the nature of Proverbs. It is what we call a
‘wisdom book’. That means that it contains God’s wisdom for how to lead our
lives. This wisdom is put in general rules. It does not mean that there are
never exceptions to these rules. We see many examples of this in Proverbs. In
the next chapter for example, we read: “The wise will inherit honour, but
fools get disgrace” (Proverbs 3:35). Yes, this is true as a general rule.
But we all know examples where wise people were disgraced, and fools got honour
they did not deserve.
What is important is that sin leads to death and to live in
sin is to live a life that will end in death (eternal death). So, we must take
this warning seriously, because all sin leads to death. Paul wrote: Know ye not
that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived:
neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers
of themselves with mankind, Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor
revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.
What he means is that they that continue to live like that will
end in death, but if you truly repent as David did you will be forgiven. Jesus
came for the lost and that is why I can look at the accusations of the enemy
and smile, because I am forgiven. That is why Jesus said to the adulteress that
she is forgiven and that she must sin no more. He does the same to us. We are forgiven,
and we must sin no more.
Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in
heaven is perfect.
Have an awesome day dear friend of Jesus.
Cheers
