Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Adult Sunday School Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/bb/bb20000423.htm

PROVERBS: ALIGNING TO GOD'S FIXED MORAL ORDER
Part II: Sparking The Reader's Motivation To Heed God's Fixed Moral Order
J. Motivating YOUNG MEN To Adhere To God's Fixed Moral Order To Avoid Immorality
(Proverbs 6:20-35)
  1. Introduction
    1. A destructive kind of immorality is adultery where one becomes intimate with a party married to another.
    2. Solomon used Proverbs 6:20-35 to instruct his young prince of the reasons he should avoid this kind of immorality in particular, and gave him invaluable insights on avoiding all forms of immorality as follows:
  2. Motivating YOUNG MEN To Adhere To God's Fixed Moral Order To Avoid Immorality, 6:20-35.
    1. As we have noted before, Solomon structured the book of Proverbs after the Egyptian sboyet, a literary genre designed to train young princes to adhere to an observed fixed moral order for success.
    2. Of particular concern to Solomon was the need to motivate his young prince to avoid adultery. We utilize this lesson for its insight into avoiding not only adultery, but any form of immorality in general:
      1. Solomon here noted the need to avoid general immorality and adultery in particular, 6:24, 26a, 29.
      2. In doing so, he noted the awful price one pays when he commits adultery in particular:
        1. Anyone who commits adultery will inevitably be as hurt just like one who contacts hot coals, 6:27ff.
        2. The reason such inevitable harm comes arises from considering the jealousy such sin produces in the offended spouse, 6:30-35: (a) Where one who steals to keep himself alive can find mercy from the one whose belongings he stole (6:30-31), one who commits adultery with another man's wife is never granted mercy. for adultery is never viewed as something one needs to do! (b) Thus, adultery only leads to inciting the wrath of the offended spouse who cannot show mercy to the shame, pain and loss of the guilty, Proverbs 6:32-35. [Adultery is an offense against the BODY of the innocent SPOUSE since that spouse is ONE FLESH with his partner, cf. Gen. 2:25. It's as though the innocent spouse has been sexually VIOLATED, so he naturally becomes very upset!]
      3. Due to the awful price one pays for adultery, Solomon offers suggestions to his young prince on never exposing himself to an adulterous situation. We find in this advice insight for showing young people how to avoid immorality altogether (as follows), Proverbs 6:20-26:
        1. Step One - Adhere to the healthy sexual outlook influence of our heterosexual parents, Prov. 6:20-24. (a) Paying attention to our parent's outlooks on sexuality works to develop in turn the same kind of healthy outlooks with the other gender that counters immorality and adultery, 6:20-21. (b) Such adhering to our mothers and fathers (same-and-cross-gender outlooks) provides us guidance, protection, instruction, direction, correction and discipline regarding avoiding immorality and adopting a healthy heterosexual relationship with own marital partner, Proverbs 6:22-23.
        2. Step Two - Particularly, we should heed our parents' instruction to stay out of contact with the immoral party's words, lustful appearance and influential body language, Proverbs 6:24-25. Since such matters show up not only in real life, but in pornographic media, we should not start viewing such things! Much immorality failures begin with exposure to errant pornographic material!
        3. Step Three - Recall that interaction with immoral people produces poverty and destruction of the whole person as it ruins relationships, reputations and hence the ability to function with others, 6:26.
Lesson: (1) We can motivate young adults to AVOID immorality through (a) showing them the awful ABUSE it exhibits against the INNOCENT spouse. (b) Also, stating this ABUSE produces furious REPURCUSSIONS from the abused partner motivates one to avoid such sin. (c) Additionally, the cost to the one committing such sin is enormous at all levels, motivating him to avoid it. (2) We can offer the following steps to avoid such sin: (a) first, stick with the outlook patterned by our successful heterosexual parents on sexual orientation and conduct; (b) second, avoid contact with the words, lustful appearance and body language of the immoral; and (c) third, mention the COST of immorality.

Application: With God's help, we must LIVE before our children God's HEALTHY outlook between married men and women so they can have a BELIEVABLE and USEFUL PATTERN to HEED when we advise them on avoiding the ABUSES of IMMORALITY. Otherwise, we cannot disciple them well!