Scripture Reading: Judges 16:18–21
Introduction
A. Have you ever read the story about Samson and Delilah and wondered how he could have been so foolish?
B. Like many of us, Samson may have felt at this point in his life that he was so strong that nothing bad could happen to him.
Discussion
I. Samson was not the only Israelite ever to flirt with sin.
A. David was guilty of this (2 Samuel 11–12).
B. Solomon was also guilty on this point (1 Kings 11).
C. While these men never intended the consequences that attended their sins, they brought reproach on their people and their God.
II. Some early Christians flirted with sin.
A. The Galatians were flirting with sin by returning to the Law of Moses (Galatians 4:17; 5:9).
B. The Corinthians were also flirting with sin (1 Corinthians 5:1–6).
C. Paul would remind us, “Let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall” (1 Corinthians 10:12).
III. Are you flirting with sin?
A. Paul says that “evil company corrupts good habits” (1 Corinthians 15:33; cf. Numbers 33:55; 1 Corinthians 5:9; 2 Corinthians 6:14).
B. You can flirt with sin by the things you watch or listen to (cf. Romans 14:22), or by the places you choose to go.
C. We have nothing to gain by flirting with sin and everything to lose.
Conclusion
A. Eve flirted with sin and fell into the snare the devil set for her.
B. Paul urges us to “abstain from every form of evil” (1 Thessalonians 5:22).
C. Sin is deadly, and it is nothing for the Christian to toy with.