Sound The Trumpet

Gen 3:1-6 Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? (2) And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: (3) But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. (4) And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: (5) For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. (6) And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.

The serpent here was described as subtle.  In fact, we know this particular serpent was Satan himself.  Someone who is subtle is someone who is sly, who can easily deceive someone.  The devil was being subtle to convince Eve to sin. However, in the Word of God, there is another kind of person who is described as subtle:

Prov 7:10 And, behold, there met him a woman with the attire of an harlot, and subtle of heart.

When we take the passages we have studied so far and put them together, it becomes easy to imagine how Eve convinced Adam to eat the fruit.  True, she was enticed by the devil as he lied to her.  However, I can imagine her going to Adam and showing him the fruit.  Perhaps winking at him and begging him with her flattering words to eat.  Likewise, the harlot is described as subtle of heart.  In a previous section, we discussed how the devil often uses women as bait in his snare.  The harlot is another kind of woman Satan uses as bait.  No one would debate that the harlot is a trap.  However, how many other women are walking around with the attire and language of a harlot and do not realize it?
The attire of a harlot includes more than her clothing.  Likewise, the attire of a harlot is subtle.  If a man is not careful and vigilant, he will quickly be ensnared by her.  Once in her snare, his testimony or life could easily be destroyed.  Sadly, there are many women walking around us every day who are adorned in the attire of the harlot.  If you approached some of these women and accused them of being a harlot, they would be deeply offended.  As we will see, many of them unwittingly occupy our churches in every service. So, what is the attire of the harlot?

Prov 7:10-12  And, behold, there met him a woman with the attire of an harlot, and subtle of heart. (11) (She is loud and stubborn; her feet abide not in her house: (12) Now is she without, now in the streets, and lieth in wait at every corner.)

The true harlot is clearly dressed in a certain way.  She reveals her body in a way that it intended to attract a customer.  The harlot is also acting in a very specific way and she is speaking a specific way.  We understand why she is dressed the way she is, but why is she acting and talking the way she does?  For the same reason: she is advertising what she has to offer.  She is advertising her product and setting a trap for a man.  Is the man who takes the bait without guilt?  Of course not!  If a man takes her bait, he is guilty, but she has set a trap for him!  Likewise, a woman who has adorned herself in the attire of a harlot has also set a trap for a man.  Sadly, she may not even realize it.
The harlot is dressed in a certain way, and that she dresses that way so that she can sell her product.  She is dressed to show off her product - her body.  She knows that most men are drawn in by their eyes.  When men see the body of an attractive woman, men are naturally excited and drawn to her.  At the site of an attractive woman's body, a man is tempted to sin.  Everyone with any common sense knows this.  Every woman wants to be considered attractive.  Who is she trying to attract?  The way a woman is clothed certainly reveals whether she is concerned with attracting men or not. However, there is more to the attire of a harlot than the clothes she is (or is not) wearing.  As we learned already, she is subtle. In other words, she is a flirt.  She is the one who is always talking and drawing men to her with her actions and words.  Yes, it is immodest to be a flirt and a harlot is also a flirt!   The harlot is also loud.  She wants you to know she is there.  The harlot is also stubborn.  In fact, most immodest women will refuse to admit these simple truths are a part of who they are!

1 Cor 6:19-20  What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? (20) For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.

The harlot is dressing in a certain way because she has something to sell.  However, as Christians, we have nothing to sell. We have already been purchased by the Blood of Christ!  Our bodies are not our own to do with as we please.  As Christians, we belong to God.  We cannot do as we wish, we are to glorify God with our bodies.  The Apostle Paul referred to himself as a servant (Rom 1:1).  Literally, Paul was referring to himself as a man who is so indebted to another that he would be considered to be a slave.  When a Christian exposes her body or acts as a harlot does, she is not glorifying God in any way!  When a woman acts in this way, she is merely advertising what she has to sell.

In some churches, you will see a group of people at the alter every Sunday morning. It seems as though it is always the same group of people. Now, don't get me wrong. If you are struggling with some sin, you need to take it to the altar. You need to go to the Lord and get it right. I am not speaking about the ones who are genuinely struggling with sin. I am speaking of the ones who are trampling on the grace of God. These are the ones who believe they can plan to do whatever they want and then plan to run to God to claim His grace. The perfect example of this is in the song “Small Town USA” by Justin Moore.

Give me a Saturday night my baby by my side A little Hank Jr. and a six pack of light Old dirt road and ill be just fine Give me a Sunday morning thats full of grace A simple life and I'll be okay Here in small town USA

Recently, we saw this song mentioned on the blog of a young man who faithfully attends church. How many people do we all know who claim to be saved, yet walk daily in the world? Is it ok to park on a dark road on Saturday night with a six-pack and a girl, then, on Sunday morning, go running to the alter to confess it all to God? Does God honor that? No. What does God say about the matter?

Romans 6:1-4 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? (2) God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein? (3) Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? (4) Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.

In Romans chapter six, God asks the same question. “Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound?” In other words, when we are saved, should we continue to sin so that we can see the grace of God in our lives? He then goes on to answer that question immediately in verse two saying, “God forbid.” The grace and mercy we see in God every day is truly astonishing. However, simply because that grace exists does not mean we should rely upon it. We should not plan on sinning knowing we can rely upon the grace of God. He continues in verse two by asking “How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?” Once we are saved, we are no longer living as sinners. When we are saved, God gives us the tools we need to live without sin in our lives. As saints of God, we literally have the ability to choose whether we will sin or not. He is trying to show us that we do not need to live continuously in sin. We can easily decide or choose not to sin. As believers, we are dead to sin. True, we can choose not to sin, but we should literally be dead to sin. Baptism is a picture of this. The immersion into the water is symbolic of our death to sin and coming out of the water is symbolic of our resurrection from death (to sin). We are symbolically being raised from death to walk in a new life as a new person.

2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

2 Corinthians 5:17 reinforces the point being made in Romans 6:2. We are new people. The problem comes in when people mistake the grace of God for a license to sin. Nothing could be further from the truth. When God saves us, we are made into new creatures. God changes us! God does not change us so that we cannot sin. Instead, if we allow Him to, God begins to change us into someone who does not want to sin. This is where I get concerned about the country-music Christian. The country-music Christian is someone who plans to sin. For example, as the lyrics to the song say, they plan to park on a desolate road with his girl and a six-pack. When they plan their sin, they also plan to confess the sin(s) sometime after they have enjoyed the pleasure. This is a pure trampling of the grace and mercy the Lord offers us. This person is using the mercy the Lord offers us as an escape from the penalty of their sin. If they were in a trial where they had to prove they were a Christian, this attitude could be used to prove they are not truly a changed person. If they are not truly a changed person, are they truly saved? The Lord had another name for the country-music Christian.

Mt 23:27 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness.

The Lord takes a pretty hard stand with these people. He told them they were focused on how they looked more than their walk with Him. They were claiming to be Godly, and basing that on what they did or how they looked. Their hearts had never changed. They had never really submitted themselves to God and they were never saved. The best they could ever do is, well, what they could do. The Holy Spirit of God was not in them and they did not have the power of God working in them helping them to live right, to do right and to be God-like. On the other hand, the saint, the person who is saved, has the Holy Spirit of God dwelling in them. The Holy Spirit is there to help us and the Holy Spirit is there to change us into someone who wants to do that which pleases God! So, how does a country-music Christian, or, as Jesus described them, a hypocrite, become Godly? The hypocrite simply needs to be saved. Are you one who knows to do right, yet plans on claiming the mercy God offers after you sin? Are you a country-music Christian? Perhaps you need to be saved. Will you take a moment to read another article that explains the free gift of salvation?

A stumbling block is something that can cause someone to sin or something that can help someone sin.  For example, suppose I knew that someone who an alcoholic and trying not to drink.  Now, suppose I took them to a bar. By taking them to a bar, where they would be tempted to drink, I would become a stumbling block to them.  In the same way, if I offered that person a drink, I would, again, be a stumbling block for them.  I would be giving them a way to sin or giving them the opportunity to sin.  We never want to be in the position where we can be accused to leading someone to sin. 

Rom 14:13  Let us not therefore judge one another any more: but judge this rather, that no man put a stumbling-block or an occasion to fall in his brother's way.

We can all see that we should never knowingly do something that would cause someone else to sin.  That may even make us accountable for their sin in some way.  But have you ever considered that the way you dress may cause someone to sin? 

Mat 5:27-28 Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery: (28) But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.

Jesus told us plainly that a man could sin with a woman just by looking at her.  We also know a man can sin by looking from David's example.  His sin began when he looked across the rooftops and he saw Bathsheba bathing. Now, we clearly know that David's sin was David's fault.  There is no doubt of this.  However, if Bathsheba had not been on the rooftop bathing, David would never have seen her.  We have to assume that Bathsheba sinned here also.  She created the circumstances that enticed David to sin.  We could even say that the devil set a trap for David and used Bathsheba as the bait.

Today, the bait to sin is all around us.  We cannot walk through the mall, go to a high school football game or, sadly, go to many churches without being surrounded by more bait.  Yes, everywhere we turn, we are surrounded by women who are dressed in such a way as to entice a man to sin.  Perhaps it is a short skirt or shorts or perhaps she is completely covered but her clothes are tight and reveal her form.  Either way, the trap is set.  What is even more sad is that these women often do not realize they are being used as bait in Satan's snare.

Prov 6:24-26  To keep thee from the evil woman, from the flattery of the tongue of a strange woman. (25) Lust not after her beauty in thine heart; neither let her take thee with her eyelids. (26) For by means of a whorish woman a man is brought to a piece of bread: and the adulteress will hunt for the precious life.

A woman's speech can be just as powerful as her attire.  With her words or even with her eyes, a woman can convince even the strongest man to do things he would never consider doing.  Literally, as this passage says, a man can be brought down to the cost of a piece of bread.  Consider Samson.  He never dreamed that a woman would cause him to literally give his strength away.  On three different times, she teased him, begging him for the secret of his strength. Likewise, three different times, he played her game.  Finally, however, he was taken.  Many women do not realize the power they have over men.  The most critical thing women, mostly unmarried women, do not realize is that men are stimulated, literally enticed, by their eyes.  That is, they are attracted by what they see.  On the other hand, woman are attracted by their emotions – by what is said to them and how they are treated.  Whether she realizes what she is doing or not, an immodest woman will reveal her body. Again, perhaps she will actually reveal her skin or perhaps she will only reveal the form or outline of her body.  In either case, she is revealing herself in a way which will draw a man's eye.  By doing this, she will become the bait in a trap the devil would use to snare the unsuspecting man.