A way of foolish wickedness - a way of Eternal Life!

Proverbs 7

1 My son, keep my words,
And treasure my commands within you.
2 Keep my commands and live,
And my law as the apple of your eye.
3 Bind them on your fingers;
Write them on the tablet of your heart.
4 Say to wisdom, “You are my sister,”
And call understanding your nearest kin,
5 That they may keep you from the immoral woman,
From the seductress who flatters with her words.

6 For at the window of my house
I looked through my lattice,
7 And saw among the simple,
I perceived among the youths,
A young man devoid of understanding,
8 Passing along the street near her corner;
And he took the path to her house
9 In the twilight, in the evening,
In the black and dark night.

10 And there a woman met him,
With the attire of a harlot, and a crafty heart.
11 She was loud and rebellious,
Her feet would not stay at home.
12 At times she was outside, at times in the open square,
Lurking at every corner.
13 So she caught him and kissed him;
With an impudent face she said to him:
14 “I have peace offerings with me;
Today I have paid my vows.
15 So I came out to meet you,
Diligently to seek your face,
And I have found you.
16 I have spread my bed with tapestry,
Colored coverings of Egyptian linen.
17 I have perfumed my bed
With myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon.
18 Come, let us take our fill of love until morning;
Let us delight ourselves with love.
19 For my husband is not at home;
He has gone on a long journey;
20 He has taken a bag of money with him,
And will come home on the appointed day.”

21 With her enticing speech she caused him to yield,
With her flattering lips she seduced him.
22 Immediately he went after her, as an ox goes to the slaughter,
Or as a fool to the correction of the stocks,
23 Till an arrow struck his liver.
As a bird hastens to the snare,
He did not know it would cost his life.

24 Now therefore, listen to me, my children;
Pay attention to the words of my mouth:
25 Do not let your heart turn aside to her ways,
Do not stray into her paths;
26 For she has cast down many wounded,
And all who were slain by her were strong men.
27 Her house is the way to hell,
Descending to the chambers of death.

Take a closer look at verses 14 - 17.  How many of us are exactly as this foolish young woman? We confess our sins and seek forgiveness, but then, because our hearts are wicked and not yielded fully to God in total surrender, we turn right around and commit sin, the same sin even, all over again.

Repentance is not an outward action of the flesh, but an inward, true change of the heart, a turning AWAY from sin that leads to a new heart attitude.  That new heart attitude is what leads to new actions.  

When our heart hasn't changed, just going through the motions counts as nothing with the Lord.  He is ever ready to forgive and give us a fresh start.  For that I am extremely grateful, for I've had more than one totally fresh, clean start thanks to Gods grace.

But He knows the difference. He knows when we are simply "pretending" on the outside - and when we have truly repented in our hearts and are ready to surrender and let HIM change our hearts forever.

Godly sorrow leads to true repentance.  When you are sorry, not because you were caught or there were unwelcome consequences to your actions.  But when you are really hurt in your heart that you have dishonored the Lord, who is worthy of all honor and glory and praise.

Verses 24 - 27 tell the story of her end and the end of those who foolishly follow in her footsteps.  But that isn't the end of the whole story!  No - the whole story is that Christ Jesus came and died for us to not only be forgiven of our sin, but to redeem us from slavery to sin and set us truly free to be brand new creations with Eternal through Him!

Now that is a perfect ending to our story!