Are You Entangled in Sin? Seek the Instruction of the Word and Find Your Way Out
“For the ways of man are before the eyes of the Lord, and he pondereth all his goings. His own iniquities shall take the wicked himself, and he shall be holden with the cords of his sins. He shall die without instruction; and in the greatness of his folly he shall go astray” (KJV, Prov. 5:21-23).
“For the ways of man are before the eyes of the Lord”
In pondering the path of sanctification, one of the greatest meditations can be seen in the verse at hand. The ways of man are before the eyes of the Lord. For those who do not know the Lord, the fact of man’s ways being before the eyes of the Lord will have little significance. However, for those who are closely acquainted with Him, this thought will cause them to respond much like David did.
In Psalm 139, David wrote extensively on the subject of his ways being before an all-seeing God. Sanctification is no easy road. Instead, sanctification is met with many challenges, much discouragement, failure, and defeat. However, the Bible tells us that there is more going on in the midst of it all. While there are many challenges, there are also many triumphs. While there can be much discouragement along the way, there is also great encouragement through God’s Word. Although there are times of failure, there are also times of success. Despite there being times of defeat, it is victory that marks the life of the Christian.
David tells of a God Who has searched him. David tells of a God Who knows him. David tells of a God Who knows his thoughts. David speaks of a God Who is an all places at all times. David realized that there was nowhere that he could go to escape the eyes of God.
The understanding of man’s ways being before the eyes of the Lord should bring about a motivation for holiness that is unsurpassed by many of the other doctrines of Scripture. It is important not to isolate this doctrine, as doing so could bring much discouragement if one only thinks about his sin being known to God.
God is merciful and has sent His Son Jesus to die for the sinner. God knew of man’s sin and provided a remedy. God loves the sinner but does not want the sinner to stay in his sin. The ways of man are before the eyes of the Lord, and the work of Christ is before God’s eyes, as well. Both of these twin truths must be held together in close connection. Without them both, the Christian will not be motivated; instead, he will despair.
“and he pondereth all his goings”
God ponders the path of man. God sees and knows the ways of the heart. The book of Proverbs tells us that man plans his ways, but it is God ultimately Who establishes the steps of man. It should not be assumed that God does not care about the decisions that man makes. God is not like the god of the deist. God did not create, and then leave His creation after He created it to fend for itself. God is not like a watchmaker who makes a watch, winds it up, and lets it run all by itself. God cares about His creation. God is intimately involved with His creation. God will also intervene when He sees fit.
The fact of the matter is that man needs God to intervene. Scripture says, “There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh God” (Rom. 3:11). If Paul could say that there is none who seeks after God, the question must be asked, “Then why do people seek after God?” The answer must be, “Because God intervenes.” God ponders the goings of a man. God ponders his path. But God also delights in getting man on the straight and narrow.
“His own iniquities shall take the wicked himself, and he shall be holden with the cords of his sins”
While God delights in getting man to walk upon the narrow path, we also see that man does not always heed the call of God. The iniquities of the wicked will, in the end, take the wicked. The sin of a man will hold him like cords. A near-perfect parallel of this verse can be seen in Hebrews 12:1-2. Scripture says, “Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, Looking to Jesus…” (Heb. 12:1-2) . Here, we see an answer to the problem. While sin can entangle a man, one can also see what should be done to avoid such a serious issue.
Sin will lay hold of even the greatest of Christians if he allows it to do so. Instead, the author of Hebrews tells us to look to the saints of old and to see how they walked before God. They are witnessing and showing us by their example how to live a life of faith. Not only that, the Christian must also lay aside the weight and lay aside the sin. This means that there is work to do. The Christian must not let sin entangle him. When sin starts to get a grip, the Christian must rid himself of sin and never toy with it. Finally, and really this must be done throughout it all, the Christian must fix his gaze on Christ. Only when the Christian is looking rightly to Jesus will he find the power to persevere and grow in grace.
“He shall die without instruction”
The ultimate destiny of the one who becomes entangled in his sin is evident. The Bible tells us time and time again what to expect. There are many sin lists in the Bible, and some of them end with a startling warning which tells us that those who practice the various sins listed will not inherit the kingdom of God. People whose lives are marked by anger are said to be ones who will not inherit the kingdom of God. In the book of Revelation, the Bible tells us that hell will be full of liars.
There are sins that the Bible speaks of that many people would say that they would never do. On the other hand, there are sins that the Bible speaks of that are all too common among mankind. The common tendency is to brush away Paul’s words in Galatians 5:16-24 and 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 or to brush John’s words away in Revelation 22:14-15 and say, “Well, Jesus died for my sin.” While it may be true that Jesus died for someone’s sin, one should never feel a sense of assurance if his life is characterized by the same sin that John and Paul tell us will bring about damnation.
The truth is that the Christian must be disciplined. He is not saved because of his discipline. However, he can be assured because of his discipline. The one without discipline is said to be someone who will meet death face-to-face.
“and in the greatness of his folly he shall go astray”
Here, we see the foolish person on display. In the greatness of his folly, he will find that he is off the beaten path. He must look to the path that the witnesses in Hebrews 11 walked. He must look to Jesus and the path that Jesus took. He must realign himself with the Word, for the Word will be a lamp to his feet and will shed light on the path. When someone goes astray, he must be brought back to the fold. If someone strays for good, it must also be recognized that there will be some who go out from the fold of God because they were never of the fold to begin with.
The sheep hear Jesus’ voice, and they follow Him. If you have strayed, listen for the voice of Christ and seek the ancient path.
Final prayer
Father, I thank You for Your Word. I see in Your Word a need for discipline in my life. Please help me to be a disciplined Christian. Please help me to be who You have called me to be in Your Word. In Jesus’ name, Amen.