God personifies temptation as a harlot in Proverbs 7. The chapter gives us one of the greatest pictures of temptation in Scripture. The harlot pursues the young man the way temptation pursues us. The chapter also gives us one of the greatest pictures of the foolishness of giving in to temptation. The young man should have resisted the harlot like we should resist temptation. Here are three ways to resist temptation from Proverbs 7:6-9.

Table of contentsTo Resist Temptation, Don’t Take the First StepSome Sins Don't Require Taking StepsThe Steps David Took to Commit Adultery with Bathsheba"When He Fell, He Didn't Fall Far"To Resist Temptation, Guard Your HeartCounsel for Parents Who Want to Help Their Children Guard Their HeartsCounsel for Young Men and Young Women Who Want to Guard Their HeartsCounsel for Children Who Have Parents Who Help Them Guard Their HeartsTo Resist Temptation, Stay in the LightWanting to Hide in Darkness Starts at a Young AgePursue the Light

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Here are three ways to resist temptation from Proverbs 7:6-9. The young man should have resisted the harlot like we should resist temptation.

God is a visual teacher. He wants us to have pictures in our minds. Think of how God had prophets use object lessons in the Old Testament so the people had images of the preached truths. Think of the poetic language used throughout the Bible, such as:

Exodus 19:4 I bore you on eagles’ wings.

God didn’t literally carry Israel with eagles, but this creates wonderful imagery of him swooping in to save his people from Egypt.

Psalm 6:6 Every night I flood my bed with tears; I drench my couch with my weeping.

David wasn’t literally lying on a soggy bed of tears, but it creates the imagery of his sleeplessness and sorrow.

Think of the way Jesus taught in parables, causing people to picture:

A sower sowing seed

A friend coming in the middle of the night

A king throwing a wedding for his son

A greedy farmer who kept building barns for his crops.

This creates pictures that help us understand spiritual truths more easily.

God does the same thing in Proverbs 7. He personifies temptation as a harlot. This chapter gives us three things:

The harlot gives us one of the greatest pictures of temptation in Scripture. Because temptation can be so strong, God wants us to have an equally strong picture of how terrible it is. The harlot pursues the young man the way temptation pursues us.

The foolish young man gives us one of the greatest pictures of the foolishness of giving in to temptation. The young man should have resisted the harlot like we should resist temptation.

The end of the chapter gives us one of the most dramatic pictures of the danger of giving in to temptation. The harlot killed the young man like sin kills us.

James 1:14 says, "Each person is tempted when lured and enticed by his own desire." "When he is lured" is one word in Greek, exelkō, which is a metaphor for the seduction of a harlot. In other words, when James wants to describe temptation enticing us, he uses the imagery of a harlot. We get to see what that looks like in this chapter.

What is temptation? Some synonyms for ‘tempt’ are: allure, attract, entice, seduce, and tantalize. Each word generates an emotional picture. We are allured by the temptation. We are attracted to it, enticed by it, seduced by its seeming pleasure, tantalized by the fantasy of what it would be like.
Dangers Men Face by Jerry White, 1997, p. 80

If you didn’t know better, you would think Jerry is describing a harlot enticing someone versus temptation enticing us.

Because we are dealing with a harlot, there’s lots of application for young men, but because the harlot personifies temptation, and we all face temptation, there is application for all of us. That’s why the sermon title is “Three Ways to Resist Temptation” versus “Three Ways for Young Men to Resist Harlots.” When we are tempted,