I'm going to ask you to take your Bibles and turn with me to the book of Proverbs chapter 5. Proverbs chapter 5. I had this past week someone come up to me and ask me a question. And this was the question, what is the meaning of life? And I didn't really answer it, but rather I mused upon that question and whether I am answering what they asked me or whether this message today was just born to my heart because of that, I don't know. But my heart was drawn to this proverb that we looked at years ago, going through this book. And I looked at these verses and I thought to myself, This is a needful admonition.

I need to hear what God has to say in this fifth chapter of Proverbs. Everybody in this congregation needs to hear this. I need to hear it especially because I know That, as I've said before, everybody in this room today, everybody that's not in this room today, is going to leave this world and we're going to meet God. We're going to meet God. Now, let me say that again. We're going to meet God. And when we meet the Lord, Wherever we stand in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ, whether condemned by him or shown mercy through him, by him, that's where we're going to be forever. And that's a sobering thought to me. The older I get, the more I realize I need some instruction. I need some instruction.

The fact of the matter that the Lord has allowed me to preach the gospel for close to 45 years means nothing if I don't know him. I know some doctrine. If you ask me do I know the five points of Calvinism, I don't. Yeah, I can tell you the five points of Calvinism. I can give you all the instruction on that and I can tell you the truth about that, but here's the point of the matter. Do I know him? Do I know him?

Now I'm going to just ask you to do something for me. that I'm going to ask myself to do. I want us to look at the situation, pretend is the word I'm wanting to use. I tried to think if there was another word I could use. I can't think of one right now.

I'm going to pretend that I've never heard the gospel before. And this is the first time. This is the first time that I've ever heard it. And I'm in a congregation of people that have never heard the gospel before. Never heard. Never heard anything. Never heard anything about who man is. Never heard anything about who God is. I'm here just standing like you are. A blank sheet.

Now I need somebody to be truthful with me because I'm telling you, when I leave this world, it's over. And according to my little feeble understanding, forever is a long time. So I want to know what's right. I don't want to know what somebody else thinks if it's not according to these scriptures. Because I'm telling you, when we stand before him, it's all over. There's nothing that is more eternally dangerous or deceptive than a carnal heart.

Now, I want you to just get it in your mind. That's the first time you've ever heard that. What's the most dangerous thing in this world? Well, you can go ahead and start naming all kinds of things you want to. Oh, this is dangerous. That's dangerous. I'm telling you, the most dangerous thing in this world, in this life, is a carnal heart.

Man fell in the garden. He disobeyed God. And man died spiritually. Now, that man, man, by nature. That man now has what's known as a carnal heart. A carnal heart, the scripture says, that is enmity against God, that hates God, despises God. That inner man, that will, of that fallen creature, man, is born into this world. And let me tell you what the scripture says about it. Here's the first time you've ever heard it. Jeremiah 17,

9. The heart, the inner man, the inner being, the will is deceitful. This is how every man, every woman is born into this world. They're born into this world with a heart that is sly. This is what it means, deceitful. It means sly or slippery. Above all things, of everything, what's the most sly, slippery thing that is in this world? It's a fallen heart, a fallen nature that we're all born with. We're born with one like this. It's deceitful above all things. And the scripture says in Jeremiah 17, 9, desperately wicked. You know what that means? It's incurable. It's incurable. Now, this is a heart we're all born with. It's an incurable heart. Who can know it? Who can perceive it? Who can grasp hold of that? Who can discern or recognize a deceitful heart unless the Lord is pleased to mercifully impart or give a new one?

Man by nature, he is born in a state of spiritual deception. Now, we're all like this. We're all born spiritually deceived, and none of us are born into this world believing God. None of us. We all despise God. Now, let me tell you how every man and every woman is born into this world, according to these scriptures right here I just read. This old man, This deceitful heart. Now listen.

He has no interest in the things of God. He has no interest in the things of God. To come and to hear the gospel of God's free grace is a drudgery to him. He'll look for every excuse in the world. not to come here. The only message of hope. Here's a problem. That old man, even though God may have been pleased to call one out of darkness, that old man is still there. And I tell you what he thinks. I don't want to hear what God has to say. I will look for every reason in the world to not hear what God has to say. I don't want to go. I don't want to be there. I'll go. I'll go. Because Mama wants me to go. I'll go, you know.

But I'm telling you, man by nature does not love the things of God. His heart is deceitful above all things, and it's desperately Wicked! Who can know it? Who can perceive it? John 3.3, a man named Nicodemus came to the Lord and he was going to... I don't know if he was going to try to impress the Lord. I don't know what he... I don't know. All I know is what scripture says.

John 3.3, I'll just read verses 1 through 3. John chapter 3, there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews.

The same came to Jesus by night and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God, but no man can do these miracles that thou doest except God be with him. Now you know that was a pretty complimentary statement. We know that you've come from God. We know that. Listen to what the Lord said.

Verse three, Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Now, here's what I know. I'm born with a wicked heart, and you are too, that hates God. You don't want to hear the things of God by nature, and I don't either. You say, well, Marvin, doggone. That's kind of...

I'm telling you, I'm going to preach a message as if you've never heard this before. Somebody told Brother Henry Mahan one time, I've told you this. I've told you a lot of things. I keep saying them over and over and over. That's OK. He told Henry one time, he said, I've always been a Christian. Henry said, that's too long. That's just a little bit too long. No, you haven't. No. No man has always, no woman's ever been always a Christian. We came into this world, haters of God.

This truth concerning this heart that's deceitful, this truth, this telling somebody that their heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked, that thought right there, is contrary to the natural man. He doesn't want to hear that. He doesn't want to hear that he's a rebel against God. He doesn't want to hear that.

Now, I'm with you. I'm telling you. I know exactly. I get it. But I tell you, the blessing, when God calls a man or a woman out of darkness, you know what they're going to do? They're going to agree with God. If I told you that I, in my wicked, natural self, that I'm looking for a reason, in my natural man, to avoid the things of God, if I tell you that that nature's still with me, you believe me? I'm telling you, you better believe me, because I'm telling you, it's there.

There's a war that's going on. The miracle of God's grace is that He won't leave me to myself. that he won't allow me to do what I want to do, and leave me to what people call their free will. God forbid that God leave me to my own free will, because I know what I'm going to do. I'm not coming back if you leave me to my free will. Just exercise your free will. No. I pray God deliver you from that.

Salvation of a hell deserving sinner is a mysterious, marvelous work of God's grace bestowed upon a people of God's choosing. And men, by nature, they are powerless and they're ignorant, rebels against God. But in the midst of man's total inability according to the good pleasure of almighty God, his wisdom and mercy. God's been pleased to give a warning and he's been pleased to tell us something about ourselves. Can you imagine trying to know that you've got all this figured out? Just, you know, we don't have anything figured out.

But I'm telling you, I'm telling you there's a God in heaven that has mercy on people, on men, women, according to his good pleasure. I need, I need for the Lord to tell me who I am and who he is. I need to know the remedy of my state. Being born in that, I need to know, I want to know, please, Lord, don't leave me to me.

Now, I've got some comfort. I'm gonna try to be as brief as possible, I really am. I don't wanna wear you out, because I can tell you what the old man says. I get it, and we're born with that, so I'm gonna try to be brief. Here's the comfort out of our passage, out of Proverbs chapter 5.

Some comfort, some instruction on how God gives, delivers. How? How does the Lord, I know He delivers His people. How does He do it? Now here's where it is right here. Proverbs chapter 5, I'm going to read verses 1 and 2. This is how God does it. Proverbs 5, 1 and 2. My son, attend unto my wisdom, and bow thine ear to mine understanding, that thou mayest regard discretion, and that thy lips may keep knowledge.

Now here's what he said. My son, all of us born into this world, Whether God's pleased to call us out of darkness, we're all creatures made of God. God's made us. Now, whether or not he's pleased to save one of us, that's up to the Lord. But I'm telling you, I might have said, how did we get here? God put us here. He made us. All souls are mine. So the sin is going to perish.

Lord, I need to know, you tell me, what must I do to be saved? Well, I can tell you what it is. Believe God. And God Almighty's gonna have to give you a heart of belief, because it's not in you by nature. But here's what God says concerning this. John 5, I mean, Proverbs 5, attend. Be attentive. be attentive, hearken, pay attention unto my wisdom.

Now let me tell you a secret. Wisdom is not something that we pick up along the way. We may pick up some facts. I may pick up some information. I may have some, you know, some, but attend unto my wisdom. Wisdom is a person. Wisdom is the Lord Jesus Christ. And when God Almighty says, attend, or be attentive to, or heed, or hearken to, or pay attention to my wisdom, He's talking about listening to what His Son has got to say. What does Christ have to say? He says, bow, my son, attend unto my wisdom and bow thine ear to my understanding. Bow, stretch out thine ear. Lord, what, I'm sorry, what did you say?

I want to hear it. Let me hear that one more time. Lord, tell me, tell me again. I've had people, I've told you this before too. Said, well, I know what Marvin's gonna say. Well, I hope whenever you hear me preach, you can truthfully say, he says the same thing over and over and over again. And you're right, by God's grace, I'm gonna say, it'll be out of a different passage, but I'm gonna tell you, I only have one message, Pat. I got one message.

Paul the apostle said, I'm determined. I'm determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. I'm not going to sit here and try to tell you how to live and tell you what to do. I'm going to tell you, if God can't give you a heart to do that, how am I going to do it?

You tell me what God has to say. Here's what he's got to say. My son, bow, stretch out thine ear. Bow to the understanding which God Almighty alone gives. You bow to what He has to say. Not what the carnal heart has to say. And I'm going to explain that, Lord willing, in just a second. Wisdom is a person. You bow to my wisdom. You bow to Christ. You bow to Him.

Proverbs 8.1, I'll just read this to you.

Does not wisdom, and wisdom is a person, does not wisdom cry and understanding put forth her voice? Listen to Proverbs verse 8 of chapter, I mean verse 12 of chapter 8. I wisdom. dwell, I exist, he said, with prudence. Or what that means is I exist with that which is right in God's sight. Now having considered the only hope, the only remedy for peace with God, it's attending unto God's wisdom and listening to what God has to say. I want us to consider now for just a minute what God has to say concerning what man needs to guard against. Now, he's already told me this is the remedy. Listen to what I have to say. I am so thankful that God was pleased to send a man years ago. that would tell me truly what God has to say.

Don't, don't, don't, don't waste, don't waste my time and my life on lying to me. Don't, don't lie to me. Don't, don't tell me something that is going to be detrimental to my life. I'm telling you, I'll show you in just a minute what God has to say about Wasting your time, just flitting it away.

Tending to God's wisdom. I want to consider the only remedy to that. It's here, what God has to say. But here's the warning. Here's a warning. Now, again, you've never heard this before. But I'm going to tell you something. I'm going to tell you. what you best according to these scriptures. I'm going to tell you, I'm going to give you a warning. And it's going to come up again. The warning is going to come up again. This warning for sure is going to come up in the day of judgment. I can tell you it's coming up. Barry, it's coming up again.

But I'm going to tell you what God has warned us against. It's found in verses three to, I'm gonna read. I'm gonna go ahead and read the first, the 14th verse. I'm gonna read verse three of Proverbs five. And I'm gonna tell you, this is the warning. And only God can teach a man, teach a woman this. I don't have the ability. I can tell you what God has to say, but God's gonna have to teach you. I pray God teach me and keep me. Here's what he says. Verse 3,

14. For the lips of a strange woman drop as a honeycomb, and her mouth is smoother than oil, and her end is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword. Her feet go down to death, Her steps take hold on hell, lest thou shouldest ponder the path of life. Her ways are movable, that thou canst not know them. Hear me now, therefore, old children, and depart not from the words of my mouth. Remove thy way far from her, and come not nigh the door of her house, lest Thou give thine honor unto others in thy years unto the cruel. Lest strangers be filled with thy wealth, and thy labors be in the house of a stranger.

And thou mourn at the last, when thy flesh and thy body are consumed, and say, How have I hated instruction, and my heart despised reproof, and have not obeyed the voice of my teachers, nor inclined mine ear to them that instructed me. I was almost in all evil in the midst of the congregation assembly.

Now, here's the warning. Now, I'll tell you the remedy. The remedy, again, is hearing what God has to say. This is a remedy. That's a remedy. Hear what God has to say. You say, I've heard it before. A man or woman that knows him wants to hear it again. You tell me one more time. You tell me one more time. You that have children.

Did you ever tell them, give them any instruction on right, wrong? Did you ever have to mention it again? Or were yours, you know, just extra special? They heard it the first time when they were real little, and they never deviated. You know? Well, I can tell you what, I got, I had four. And I guarantee you none of mine ever listened the first time. And none of them, none of them wanted to. And yours didn't either. And God's children want to hear what God has to say, and you tell me, you tell me. Here's, here's the remedy. the word of the Lord. And here's the reason, because the penalty for not hearing what God has to say is everlasting.

But here's who I have to be careful of. Here is who I have to be careful of. The scripture refers to the one I got to be careful of as a strange woman, a strange woman. It says there in verse 3, the lips, the language, that's what the word means, the lips, the language, the language of a strange woman dropped as a honeycomb and her mouth is smoother than oil. Oh, this language. of a strange woman. If you don't know what the word strange woman means, it means a harlot, a harlot, a spiritual harlot. And we do well to consider the language of a strange woman, a harlot, a spiritual harlot. I could go to Proverbs 7 and read You know Proverbs 7. But just turn with me to Revelation 17 for a minute. Revelation 17, 1 to 6. Revelation 17. Revelation 17, 1 to 6.

And there came one, of the seven angels, which had the seven vows, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither, and I will show thee the judgment of the great whore, the spiritual whore, unfaithful, unfaithful, unfaithful, that sitteth upon many waters, with whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication. Let me tell you what this is saying. It's listening to something out of the mouth of a man that's standing in a pulpit and is lying to you. He's lying to you. He's lying, and I'm coming to it. I'll tell you what the lies are in just a second.

With whom the kings of the earth, first two, have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication. So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness, and I saw a woman upon a scarlet-colored beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.

And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet color and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls. Having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication upon her forehead was a name written, Mystery, Babylon the Great, the mother of harlots and abominations of the earth. And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus.

And when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration. It was a marvelous thing. That's not in a good sense. But John saw this woman in this vision, and she was decked out. She was, I mean, arrayed with all kinds of beautiful colors and garments. He said, I looked at this woman. But she was a harlot. She was alluring. I mean, she was one that would, by nature, draw you to her. This has got to be right. She's got to be. This is marvelous.

But this harlot, she was a liar. Liar. I'm coming to it. I'm going to tell you what she says. This revelation and description is none other than this harlot. Let me tell you what it is. It's none other than man-exalting. Man-exalting. God-despising. Hell-deserving. False religion. False religion. I'm going to tell you in just a second how you know false religion. Words of deception, words that are completely opposite of the words of Christ, found in the words of Jeremiah 23, 29, is not my word like a fire, saith the Lord, like a hammer that breaketh rot in pieces. Here's what the scripture says about the language, her lips, the language, They are smooth, smoother than oil. They're just so sweet. They're just so, you know. I tell you, I want to hear by nature. Don't tell me, this is by nature now, by man born in Adam.

Don't be hard on me. Don't be rough on me. Tell me something that makes me feel good. Make me feel good now. Tell me that there's a little good in all men. Don't come and don't tell me something that's going to be hard on my flesh. Now, I'm not perfect. I know I'm not perfect. But isn't there something that you can tell me about me? Isn't there something?

Do you have anything good to say? Yeah, I'm going to tell you something that is found in Psalm 14 three. I got some I'll read to you. I'm going to tell you something that's it's good for you to hear. This is good. There's none good. No, not one. Let me tell you the best, most profitable thing that I could possibly tell you. By nature, You're a God-hating, hell-deserving sinner against God. I'm just gonna be honest with you, and me too, me too. That's the best thing in the world I could hear.

Don't tell me that God wants to do anything for me and he's gonna leave it up to me to figure it out. I couldn't figure it out if my life depended on it, which it does. I couldn't figure it out. I don't know what God demands. I don't know what God sets forth that I'm to do. I don't know. I'm an ignorant creature.

And I'm going to stand before God that demands absolute perfection. Absolute. No deviation. If I've ever thought an evil thought, I'm done. I'm done. Well, I can tell you this, we're all done. By nature, we're all done. That's the best thing in the world I can tell you. We're warned concerning this back in Proverbs 5, verse 4 and 5. This is her. Her end is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword. Her feet go down to death. Her steps take hold on hell. Let me tell you this.

Traveling in the journey, in the steps, that's what we're talking about, her steps, journey, traveling with her, going hand in hand with her, is one that's going to descend to hell. Let me tell you what a believer, one that's made sensitive, to his state. What he says is this, wherever she's going, I don't want to go there. I don't, I don't want to go there. If her way is a way that leads to hell, God help me not to go that way.

Because I know this, by nature, by nature, this is the way I am. By nature, I want to go. I want to go her way. Tell me something smooth. Tell me something soft. Pat me on the back. Tell me, oh, don't worry about it. God helps those that help themselves. Don't worry about it. You'll be fine in the end.

Well, according to these scriptures, unless God does something for me, I'm not going to be good in the end. And I'm going to face God, and then I'm going to hear it from him. And when he says, depart from me, you workers of iniquity, I never knew you. Do you know what hope I got? Bam, I got nothing. Look at verse six. Now here in verse six, I'm telling you, and believe me, the next few verses, I'm gonna be wrapping this up. But here in verse six, there is some depth that I pray the Lord give me, you too.

Lest thou shouldest ponder the path of life, her ways are movable, that thou canst not know them. Now let me tell you what that says. We're admonished by God to avoid the inconsistency, the inconsistency of this harlot right here. And I'll tell you, the mouth of this harlot, her mouth, I'm telling you right now, it's false preaching. You say, well, how do you know false preaching when you hear it? Gary, I don't know if it was you or your dad that said it, but this is the truth. Here's the heart of false preaching. Who gets the glory for salvation? Who gets the glory for it? Who gets the glory? Does man get the glory? Because he decided for Jesus. I've listened to this TV ad.

It says, now if you want to be saved, just pray this prayer. or Jesus, and I'm a sinner, come to my heart. Now, if you prayed that prayer, you're saved. No, you're not. Because that's something, according to these words about person, that's something that you do.

I'm going to tell you something. God has got to do something for me that I cannot do. I can't do it. Verse 6 says, lest thou shouldest ponder her path, her life, they're movable. Movable. What does that mean? Her path, her words, her way, her walk is movable. Here's what the word movable means.

They quiver, they tremble, they shake, they stagger, they are unstable. They're unstable. Unstable, aimlessly unstable. Thou cannot know them. You can't recognize with a carnal eye, carnal heart. You can't recognize what she's doing. You don't recognize it. God's got to give you some new eyes to see. All right, wrapping this up. You say, well, you've already said that, Marvin. Now, I mean it. I'm going to try. They're unstable. You can't depend on them. You cannot depend on what false religion says. You can't depend on it. Why? Because it's unstable. It has no stability to it.

I'm going to try to prove it with a couple of verses here. Turn to Ephesians chapter 2. Ephesians chapter 2. I want you to look at these words. Ephesians chapter 2. You've heard this many times. I'm going to read verse 1. Ephesians 2-1. And you hath he quickened who were dead in trespasses and sins. You hath he quickened. You hath he quickened who were dead in trespasses and sins.

Colossians 2.13 says the same thing. And you being dead spiritually in your sins. You being dead spiritually.

Now here's what I'm getting at concerning the inconsistency of what this harlot, spiritual harlot, is saying. It's inconsistent. They're inconsistent. Now, if you hear the word of God and it says that men by nature are dead, you've heard me say this so many times, I'm telling you, we're pretending like we never heard it before.

You're dead. Now, here's the inconsistency of false religion. All you have to do in order to be saved is give your heart to Jesus. That's all you gotta do. Can you imagine walking up to a corpse and saying to that corpse, all you have to do to get out of that casket is to open your eyes and get up? You say, well, that's ridiculous. That's right. Now let me ask you something.

How can somebody say that man, according to the scriptures, how can they say that man has a free will to do something in order to be saved? When the scripture says that men are dead, they're dead, they're dead in order to be saved. Give your heart to Jesus and you'll be saved. How is a dead man, spiritually dead, this is what scripture says about this woman, lest thou shouldest ponder the path of her life, her ways are movable, they're inconsistent, it's not consistent. Give your heart to Jesus in order to be saved. How are you going to do that if you're dead?

No, I'm telling you, God's got to give man or woman life first. And if he gives them life, then they'll come. A baby can't cry if the baby is dead. Can you imagine a baby being born, stillborn, and telling that baby, if you will cry, you'll become alive. Telling somebody, if you'll give your life to Christ, he'll save you. No, I'll tell you what he does. If he saves you and gives you life, you'll come. You'll cry unto him. Now, man by nature, he's dead in trespasses and sins. It cannot come unless God does something for him.

She's inconsistent. How can we read this scripture? And I've only got a couple of scriptures left in my notes right here, so how can we read this? Not by works of righteousness. I looked that word up, by, not by. Here's what the word by means. Out of, from, away from, or the point of origin. Not by the point of origin, or not by, or from, not from works of righteousness that we've done.

But according to his mercy, he saved us by the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost. So for a man or woman to say, because I gave my heart to the Lord, because I've been good, this person that asked me that question the other day when I didn't really answer, I didn't say anything to him, kind of caught me off guard, I just, you know, You've been like that before. What's the meaning of life? And he told me this, here's the meaning of life. To be good and do the best you can. That's not what God has to say.

How can you say that sins of a man or a woman have been washed away in the blood of Christ because I, whatever. How can you say that? When the scripture says, not by the works of righteousness that we've done, but according to his mercy, his mercy, his mercy. If God Almighty looked at the best I could do, you know what the best I can do is according to the scriptures?

Filthy racks, filthy racks. Well, I was sincere, filthy racks. If it's not, holy, perfect, blameless before God. I'm telling you, they are hell-deserving, hell-demanding works of self-righteousness. I'm just going to read verses 7 to 13 out of Proverbs chapter 5, and then I'm going to stop. Proverbs 5, verse 7 to 13.

Hear me now, therefore, ye children, and depart not from the words of my mouth. Remove thy way far from her. Come not nigh the door of her house, lest thou give thine honor unto others in thy years unto the cruel. Lest strangers be filled with thy wealth and labors be in thy house of a stranger.

And in this verse 11 right here, just, oh, I've thought to myself, these words are going to be uttered, I'm telling you, by every person that has heard, especially if you've heard the gospel, and refused about a Christ. Verse 11, and thou mourn at the last when thy flesh and thy body are consumed, and say, how have I hated instruction? And my heart despised reproof, and have not obeyed the voice of my teachers, nor obtained, or inclined, I'm sorry, inclined mine ear to them that instructed me. I was almost in all evil in the midst of the congregation of assembly.

Beloved, only the Lord can do this. Only the Lord can do this. If a man or a woman finds himself with a heart to admit what they are by nature, that's a miracle of God's grace. What I'm telling you, I'm not telling you this for you to do in order to be saved. I'm telling you that if God is pleased to save you. And I know that there are many, according to the scriptures, that's going to be found leaving this world that don't know Him. And I know that. I know that. I know that. There's going to be many that don't.

But if God has given any of us a heart to cast ourselves upon the mercy of God. And just being honest with the Lord. Lord, save me. Keep me from looking to myself. Keep me from looking to the works of my flesh. Keep me from thinking that I've done something to merit your salvation.

If God's given you a heart to cast yourself upon the mercy of God, and that's something that you do in your heart. It's not some act. But if he'd given you a heart, just be honest with yourself. That's a miracle of God's grace. And I do pray, I mean this, I pray that God have mercy on our souls for God's glory and our eternal good. Amen.