If Sinners Entice Thee

Proverbs 1:10-19 Proverbs

Pastor Albert N. Martin expounds Proverbs 1:10-19, focusing on the general warning in verse 10: "My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not." He first establishes the assumed relationship of filial affection and fatherly authority between God and His children. Martin then analyzes the situation contemplated, defining 'sinners' as those devoid of the fear of God and 'entice' as leading into sin by subtle persuasion. He underscores two principles: believers will inevitably have dangerous contacts with sinners, and sinners are aggressively subtle in their enticements. The core directive, 'consent thou not,' is explored by distinguishing consent from assent, emphasizing that temptation itself is not sin, sinners cannot force one to sin, and consenting to enticement is the essence of sin. Martin provides practical counsel for resisting enticement, including avoiding evil people where possible and maintaining a clear judgment regarding the enormity and self-destructive effects of sin, particularly through the lens of Christ crucified.

3 illustrations in this sermon

Introduction to Proverbs and its Foundational Principles

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Proverbs Cling to the Mind

Driving home: wrench the rest of Proverbs loose from verse 7 and all you have, are empty moralisms. All you have is a manual on practical ethics. But because verse 7 stands where it stands and the concepts there are so sweeping, we un…

The benefit of proverbs is that they attack the mind with vigor and cling with tenacity, even in unlikely situations, helping truths stick despite feeling like one has a sieve for a mind.

a great benefit of which is that a proverb attacks the mind with unusual vigor, and then it attaches itself to the mind with unusual tenacity. And those of you who have been following the suggestion I made a few weeks ago that you read one chapter in Proverbs each day corresponding with the day of the month, I'm sure you've already begun to find that in the most unlikely situations, some of those truths have clung to your mind as much as you feel like I am sure that you have a sieve where you ought to have a mind at times. It turns all apparent knowledge into absolute folly. And then beginning...

0:32 - 1:28 Read in full sermon

Two Fundamental Principles Regarding Sinners' Enticement

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Girl Dying in Emergency Room

The point: Is that the perspective that you're giving to your children? Are they growing up believing that the greatest problem they'll face in the world is dangerous contacts with sin? Are they? Are they learning that from you?

A dying girl confronts her mother, lamenting that she was taught social graces and immorality but not how to die or deal with sin, illustrating the tragic consequences of parents failing to prepare children for spiritual dangers.

Are they learning that from you? Oh well, I remember the story and it's a true story of the girl who had been out living very loosely at the end of an evening of profligacy. A car in which she was driving with her boyfriend wrapped itself around a pole or a tree and she lay in her own blood dying in an emergency room. She looked up into the face of her mother and said, mother, you taught me how to hold a cocktail glass.

24:46 - 25:16 Read in full sermon

The Given Directive: 'Consent Thou Not'

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Magnet and Iron Plate

Driving home: First of all, we need to understand that temptation itself is not sin.

A powerful magnet pulling a piece of iron plate held in one's hand illustrates the enticing power of sin and the conscious effort required to resist it, with 'consenting' being the act of relaxing one's grip and letting the iron be drawn in.

Do not give up the will to their enticements. Do not yield to their aggressive subtlety. And if I'd had a big magnet, I would have given an object lesson in the pulpit tonight, so I'll just have to describe it. Because as I try to think, now how can I visually conceptualize what it means to consent?

33:49 - 34:08 Read in full sermon

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