Take his garment that is surety
for a stranger, and take a pledge of him for a strange woman. Now, on the surface of this,
that might be difficult to sort out, but the essence of this
proverb is to be wise in who you deal with and how you deal
with them. Careful who you trust. Someone that is surety for a
stranger is unwise. And that's not just one of the
tenets of good business. That's the word of God. Proverbs
11, 15. He that is surety for a stranger
shall smart for it. He's gonna hurt. He's gonna suffer
for it. And he that hateth suretyship
is sure. The only way to be secure is
to not be security for a stranger. And what our text says here,
take his garment. That is before you trust him
with anything, take collateral with him. In other words, don't
deal with him in such a way that you're gonna be a loser like
he is. Now that's a principle that's
taught all through the word of God. And the first phrase here,
notice the difference in the two phrases. It's not just being
repetitive. Take his garment that is surety
for a stranger. In other words, get collateral
from him. Be sure you don't become a participant in his loss. Take collateral from him. And
really it's saying don't do it. It's saying be sure about it. And the best way to be sure about
it as our scripture we just read, Proverbs 11 is don't do it. But
make sure that if you trust somebody that you don't be a partaker
in their loss. The first phrase is talking about
somebody that's bad in business. To be surety for somebody that
you know and you have some reason to trust is one thing. They're
successful. Their character is such that
you can pretty much count on. They're gonna pull themselves
up. They're going to be good for it, even though they might
be hurting at a certain time. Some bad thing happens to them,
and you can pretty much... But to be surety for a stranger
is just foolish. Again, that's not my opinion.
That's what God said. You're going to hurt. You're
going to suffer for it. You're going to be the loser.
And the best way to make sure that you're not the loser is
don't do it. He that hateth surety shall be
sure. If you say, look, I hope the
best for you. And it may be somebody that we
love. I'll pray for you. I'll help you any way I can,
but I'm not in on it with you. And there's so much spiritual
teaching in that. But the first phrase is talking
about just bad decision, just poor mind. who are thinking. But the second
one is telling you not to trust somebody that's consumed by the
lust of the flesh. And this strange woman is just
one example of that. All of the lust of the flesh,
the pride of life. That's somebody, and this is
the interesting, this is what makes this a spiritual matter.
And here's the question, how is this man who indulges in the
flesh, if he gets some money, he's gonna squander it on just
wherever he satisfies his flesh? And he's not smart in that. His
head and his heart are corrupt. And how's he gonna pay you back
when he squanders money on vain and temporary pleasures and doesn't
have any business sense whatsoever? And the interesting thing, It's
what makes this a spiritual lesson or begins us to get us on the
track of thinking spiritually with regard to this is that both
of the things that this man does with regard to his head and his
heart are in direct opposition to God and his word. That's the
lesson here. If somebody just doesn't, just
has no interest in what God said, don't trust them. Don't trust
them in the sin, and you may love them. You may care for them.
You may help them in other ways, but don't be a partaker of their
godlessness. Don't enter into it in such a
way that you're a loser in the same way they are, in that they
have no regard for God. They don't love the Lord Jesus
Christ. Nothing that they do is for the
glory of God's son. And here's the thing, everything
God does is for the glory of his son. So if that's not you,
then you're at odds with God. You're contrary to the word of
God. And you may love him, but don't
trust him in that, in those matters. The implication is that you're
helping this man, you're giving him money, and he's promising
to pay you back. But be sure that you deal with
him in such a way that you don't come out the loser in this spiritual
assessment. with regular earthly money is
one thing, but in spiritual matters, help lost people. Help people
that don't know the God that you know, that maybe they believe
a lie. Maybe their Christ is a false
Christ. We don't hate people for that.
We don't wanna argue with them, we want them to know the Lord,
don't we? If you care anything about them, if you're inclined,
as our scripture implies, if you're inclined to help them,
Just be careful that you do so in a godly way, in a way that's
not like them, with disregard to God, but in a way that God
prescribes. Help and be forgiving, be sympathetic,
teach them, pray for them, but don't let your dealings with
them be such that you lose and what God has blessed you with.
And I know doctrinally that we can't lose our salvation, but
how many warnings in the scripture are there regarding this? Be
careful, if you be not removed, if you be not removed, and of
course that was God's purpose all along, if you are, but we're
given those warnings and exhortations that we might deal God's way
with others in this life and with our own soul. Don't let your heart be compromised. Don't let your mind, you know
better. You know better. So don't indulge their ignorance
of God. Don't indulge their preference
for the world when it comes to the things of God and Christ
and how God saves sinners. They're not wise. And the thing
is, they're not wise with regard to God being God. Let's make
sure we understand that here. It's not just that they don't
know how to do best. These things are in direct opposition
to God. They're not wise in the sense
that they have no interest in what God said. They're gonna
do what they feel, what they think, what they trust, and not
trust God and his word in these matters. And that's a rejection
of the gospel in the spiritual sense of this. Well, God says
you're totally depraved. He says there's no goodness in
you. And what does religion appeal to? You need to make a decision. How's a somebody that's never
done anything good or never can gonna make a right decision with
regard to God of all things? Don't be fooled in that. Don't
be involved in their endeavor, their godless endeavor in this
world in a spiritual sense, that it compromises your own heart.
That you start, the logic of false religion begins to sound
good to you. Be careful, don't trust them,
trust God. And try to be used of the Lord
so that they will trust God. Don't become unwise in the same
way with regard to the matters of life and death and spiritual
life and spiritual death. You see in the earthly scenario
before us here, this man is gonna lose money because he was surety
to a stranger. That money is a loss sustained
for defying God. Because God has clearly taught
us not to be surety for a stranger. Make sure in your dealings with
that same man that in a spiritual sense, You don't lose. And for
the same reason, because you forget God, you forget his word,
you forget his truth. You forget the truth of the gospel.
Don't defy God by your trusting of them. Your emotions may tell
you to trust them. Your relationship with them in
this world may tell you to trust them, but they cannot be trusted
in matters of what God said. Trust God and not man. Man is
foolish in their business dealings and in their desires when it
comes to spiritual things. They trust common sense, the
wisdom of the flesh, but God has made foolish the wisdom of
this world. And also because of their, the
lusts of the flesh, they prefer themselves over God. The merchant
man, both of these matters, the business aspect of it and the
fleshly lust aspect of it are used in scripture to illustrate
spiritual things. The rich young, the merchant
man seeking goodly purpose. He made a good business decision.
And that's a spiritual essay, that Christ is all. He's all. He that followeth me must take
up his cross if he's gonna do that. In other words, he's got
to die to the flesh, die to self, die to all of our trusting in
the flesh. All the things that Paul talked
about in Philippians three, where we are now. Yeah, in Philippians
three. And all of this, and also though,
the rich young ruler, what did he love? Why did he say, Can't
do it. Can't do it. And why do all of
us in that sense do the same until God has mercy on us? All
these other things satisfy my flesh. I've got too much stuff
that satisfies me. I'm too busy indulging in my
flesh. I've got my life to live. And so, Until the Lord has mercy
on their soul, they choose and love the pleasures of the flesh
more than God. Lovers of themselves rather than
lovers of God. That was God's estimate elsewhere
in scripture. So that can easily be applied
to each of our lives. If you sign your name to this
world, You won't in on this world and the dog-eat-dog and Just
what this world can give like Judas for 30 pieces of silver.
He sold the Son of God You're gonna end up just like him You're
a murderer of your own soul, and you're gonna go to hell for
it You hate God's Son that much that you betray him for money
So in the same sense, if you sign yourself over to this world,
you're trusting a stranger, you think the world is your friend,
but it's not. You're doing it for gain, but
you're gonna lose. He that findeth his life shall
lose it. You're gonna lose it now. When
you sign, don't follow anybody else in that venture either.
Somebody you love may sign themselves wholeheartedly over it. to this
world, Judas made a pact, didn't he, with the haters of Christ.
That's this world, this world hates God's Son. He made a deal
with them, I'll betray you, but I want something in return. Don't follow somebody in that,
it doesn't matter how much you care about them. Don't compromise
in that. Don't follow them in that venture.
When you sell your soul over to a false preacher or a false
religion, you're responsible for that. When you become surety,
you're responsible for the debt and you will surely pay. Your
sins will find you out. Your soul will be required for
it. Don't follow anybody in that
venture. Don't compromise with them. Don't
contribute to it. If you even wish them good day,
and I hope everything goes well for you, the Lord said, you're
a partaker in their evil. Don't compromise with it, and
don't be sympathetic with it. You're not doing them a favor
when you are. If you trust them with more money,
and remember, we're in the spiritual realm now, that is you give them
comfort in that, and you give them reason to continue in that.
That's bad business. The man in our text is a loser
because of his head being weak and wrong. He makes bad decisions. Salvation is not by a decision.
The only decision you can make is a bad one. Until the Lord
gives you life, spiritual life and faith. He gives you faith
in his son. And his heart also is evil. He's
fleshly and corrupt. And most importantly, he has
no use for God. The text is really saying, don't
give him anything that will fuel that. Don't do it. It's a fool's
endeavor. If he has more money from you,
what's he gonna do with it? He's gonna use it trying to get
more money, but he does that in an unwise way, in a way that's
contrary to God. That's what unwise means. You didn't hear God. You didn't
hear from God and bow to his will in it. You lose. Or he's gonna squander it on
his lusts, which amounts to the same thing. But remember that
we do have something to give. We do have something to give,
which is more valuable than this whole world. It can't be lost. Turn with me to Acts chapter
3 and let's look at this. Acts 3 going. Now Peter and John went up together
into the temple at the hour of prayer, being the ninth hour.
And a certain man lame from his mother's womb was carried, whom
they laid daily at the gate of the temple, which is called beautiful,
to ask alms of them that entered into the temple. So seeing Peter
and John about to go into the temple, asked an alms. And Peter,
fasting his eyes upon him with John, said, look on us. And he
gave heed unto them. Now there's a lot of spiritual
lessons in this lame man. But one of the key ones is this. To give him money, and I'm not
saying don't give to the poor, that's not the lesson. But to
give him money is not gonna change his problem. It's gonna allow
him to continue. It's gonna allow him, it's gonna
change the symptoms of the problem. but not the problem. Giving a man money that's just
gonna squander money, that doesn't solve his problem. His problem's
up here and down here. It'll allow him to go on in it.
It'll contribute to the situation. It's not gonna save him from
what he is. And that's religion now. They'll
deal with the symptoms. They'll teach you not to cuss
and not to drink and not to, You know, not to tell a lie,
you know, be good to your mama. That's not your problem, though.
That's not your problem. Problem's up here and down here. So as we read this, keep that
in mind. Peter fastened his eyes on her and said, look on us,
look here. We're looking around for a handout
and look at us. We've got something for you.
That's what the preacher says. Quit looking at this world, quit
trusting the flesh, and look at us. And he gave heed unto
them, expecting to receive something of them. Then Peter said, silver
and gold have I none, but such as I have, give out of me. Can
we do that by God's grace? Can we be a light in the darkness? Can God use even the likes of us
as a means for the gospel of his son to shine forth in their
hearts. Such as I have, give I thee.
What do you have? In the name of Jesus Christ of
Nazareth. Your root problem is solved.
What you are has changed. You're not the lame man anymore. You're the one called the one
that used to be lame. You're not even the same person in the name of Jesus Christ.
That's how we come, by God's grace now. So don't give up on
people that have no head or heart for God or his son. Those like
the man in our text, they're never gonna gain what they seek. Proverbs 30, 15 says, the horse
leech cries, give, give. But what he never says is enough. But the wise who is prudent by
the grace of God, while the horse leeches say, never enough, give,
give, never enough. Those whom the Lord has mercy
on are saying, the Lord is my shepherd. I don't need anything. I shall not want, I shall not
lack. He's everything I need and everything
I want by His grace.