Bill Johnson - The Kind Warning of a Father, God's Commands Bring Life (08/21/2025)
You know he never warns us because he’s trying to restrict us from pleasure or from life; it’s the opposite. He warns us because these things that we could easily fall into are the very things that rob us of why we’re alive—the very purpose of pleasure, delight, and design that God has for us. Well, hey there, welcome back! I’m glad you could join us.
Chapter 7 of Proverbs is what we’re looking at today. It’s interesting; I did a kind of radio show here maybe three months ago, and the chapter I was supposed to talk on in that assignment was Proverbs Chapter 7. There, the Lord speaks clearly in warnings about adultery, immorality, and even those who have kept their hearts clean. You’ve kept your life clean; the warning is still good. I tell our folks in our School of Ministry, when we have a week where we talk about sexual issues, I say, «Listen, I’ve never fallen off a cliff, and the reason why is that I don’t go close to the edge. I don’t play with that issue.» When we talk about immoral things, you don’t want to come close; you don’t want to toy with it as though it’s something you can master. The Scripture actually says to flee youthful lust. So the principles here, whether you’re married or not, whether you’re 80 years old or 8 years old, apply to you.
Let’s start here with Chapter 6:32, which actually begins the conversation: «He who commits adultery destroys his own soul.» Think about that for a minute. What is the soul? It’s the place of emotions; it’s our intellect; it’s our will; it’s that internal world. Those who have a heart bent toward illicit relationships actually do damage to their own internal world, and they begin to die, becoming fractured and really messed up. The Lord is giving us the kind warning of a father. Of course, this is speaking about the adulteress, as he’s talking to his son, but this would apply to women as well—be careful of the guys who are like this.
So we move on throughout this chapter. The first five verses have to do with embracing the commandments of the Lord. I love this verse: «My son, keep my words; treasure my commands within you; keep them and live.» Sometimes, the safety that we dwell in, that place of peace we live in, is directly related to how we value God’s commandments. His commandments are not punishment; they are not restrictive. The commandment of the Lord is actually the empowerment to live in a right way.
As we continue through this chapter, it says that this particular woman, this harlot, was dressed in a certain way. In verse 11, it says she was loud and rebellious; her feet would not stay at home. What does that mean? It means that the walk of her life was not focused on developing a legacy. Just think about that: developing a home life. It was about her own career, her personal experience, her independent lifestyle; it had nothing to do with the longevity of affecting multiple generations. When you consider your life, number one, we are living for eternity; number two, we are living to create a legacy, creating a momentum where multiple generations live under the favor and blessing of God because of how we chose to live. It means everything.
And here’s the warning: this one has no value for home; they are loud and rebellious. Her ways are easy to recognize. In verse 14, she says, «I have my peace offerings with me today; I have paid my vows.» She’s trying to draw this man into an illicit relationship, and she lets him know, «Listen, I’m ready to give my peace offerings after we sin.» You can’t sin expecting that you just wipe your mouth and walk away, confess it, and nothing happens. When we join ourselves incorrectly to other people, deep repentance has to happen for there to be true healing.
This whole chapter screams warnings, and then I want to take you, if you’ll go with me, to the end of the chapter. In verse 24, it says, «Now therefore listen to me, my children; pay attention to the words of my mouth. Do not let your heart turn aside to her ways.» Think about that because here’s what I think to be a primary warning. If you remember Chapter 4, verse 23, I gave you one of my life verses: «Watch over your heart with all diligence, for from it flow the issues of life.» And here he says if you’re watching over your heart, you won’t allow your heart to value what she values. Sometimes, the compromise happens in here first, where we start valuing things that are wrong—like rebellion, being vulgar, or whatever it might be. We start valuing wrong things, thinking, «Oh, she’s so independent,» when actually what it is is that she has no value for legacy, no value for longevity in affecting multiple generations.
So, what happens is that when we watch over our hearts, the wrong values—things that God does not celebrate—start to become appealing. When that happens, we’ve got to put on the brakes, keep accountable to people, and recognize what’s going on here. It just says do not let your heart turn aside to her ways. Don’t let her way of doing life be what you value; don’t let that attract you. Don’t let that lead you into compromise—first in values, second in thought, and finally in action.
Then it ends here in verse 27, which is kind of a scary verse. It says, «Her house is the way to hell.» So, you want to know where the gate of hell is? It’s at her house. When the Lord gives us warnings like this, you know he never warns us because he’s trying to restrict us from pleasure or from life; it’s the opposite. He warns us because the things that we could easily fall into are the very things that rob us of why we’re alive—the very purpose of pleasure, delight, and design that God has for us. These things actually ruin us along the way.
So that’s the reason we can embrace the commands of the Lord with pleasure, because we know everything he commands me to do, everything he commands me not to do, is for my safety; it’s for my pleasure; it’s for long life and multiple generations enjoying the favor of God. That’s the promise of the Lord for you, the promise of the Lord for me. Next week, we’re going to look at Chapter 8, and Chapter 8 is—it’s going to be hard for me to do this in one sitting—it’s actually one of my favorite chapters in the Bible: Proverbs Chapter 8. We’ll look at it as to the reason why, but I bless you with that sense of longevity. I bless you with that privilege and responsibility to know we live to affect multiple generations. Amen.