Doors and Doorways

Genesis 4:1–7 NKJV

Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, and said, “I have acquired a man from the Lord.” Then she bore again, this time his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. And in the process of time it came to pass that Cain brought an offering of the fruit of the ground to the Lord. Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat. And the Lord respected Abel and his offering, but He did not respect Cain and his offering. And Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell. So the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it.”

Proverbs 5:1–23 NKJV

My son, pay attention to my wisdom; Lend your ear to my understanding, That you may preserve discretion, And your lips may keep knowledge. For the lips of an immoral woman drip honey, And her mouth is smoother than oil; But in the end she is bitter as wormwood, Sharp as a two-edged sword. Her feet go down to death, Her steps lay hold of hell. Lest you ponder her path of life— Her ways are unstable; You do not know them. Therefore hear me now, my children, And do not depart from the words of my mouth. Remove your way far from her, And do not go near the door of her house, Lest you give your honor to others, And your years to the cruel one; Lest aliens be filled with your wealth, And your labors go to the house of a foreigner; And you mourn at last, When your flesh and your body are consumed, And say: “How I have hated instruction, And my heart despised correction! I have not obeyed the voice of my teachers, Nor inclined my ear to those who instructed me! I was on the verge of total ruin, In the midst of the assembly and congregation.” Drink water from your own cistern, And running water from your own well. Should your fountains be dispersed abroad, Streams of water in the streets? Let them be only your own, And not for strangers with you. Let your fountain be blessed, And rejoice with the wife of your youth. As a loving deer and a graceful doe, Let her breasts satisfy you at all times; And always be enraptured with her love. For why should you, my son, be enraptured by an immoral woman, And be embraced in the arms of a seductress? For the ways of man are before the eyes of the Lord, And He ponders all his paths. His own iniquities entrap the wicked man, And he is caught in the cords of his sin. He shall die for lack of instruction, And in the greatness of his folly he shall go astray.

How do you deal with temptation?

Resist it? But how?

Loveless Temptation

Loveless temptation is the desire to react in our flesh rather than respond in love.

Loveless temptation is likened to sin at the door of Cain’s heart—like a poisonous viper coiled at the threshold waiting to strike.

Loveless temptation lashes out and spreads its poisonous anger, bitterness, and hatred.

God warned Cain of its presence.

God told Cain that he must rule (take dominion) over it.

How do you take dominion over it? Keep the door shut on sin, walk in love, and do what is right.

Luring Temptation

Luring temptation is the desire for the forbidden stimulated by outside seduction.

It is likened to an immoral woman. Her lips drip with honey and her mouth is smoother than oil, but in the end, she is more bitter than wormwood and is as sharp as a two-edged sword.

How do you deal with luring temptation?

Doors and Doorways

Doors speak of barriers, separation, and distinction. God put barriers between us and sin through His commandments.

Doorways speak of access. We walk through doorways to move into another realm

The devil seeks access into our lives. He wants to enter by a doorway in our heart.

The devil seeks access through an open door, the removing of a barrier.

The devil uses temptation to lure us to disobey God’s commandments to gain access into our lives.

Once sin has occurred, the consequences of sin begin to drop like dominoes.

The best way to deal with temptation is not to deal with it!

Proverbs 5:8 NKJV

Remove your way far from her, And do not go near the door of her house,

Remove yourself far from the lure (seduction) of temptation.

Do not go near the door of her house!

Both speak of establishing boundaries to protect you from the lure of temptation.

Romans 13:14 NKJV

But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.

Motto: “No sin. No pride. No compromise. No excuse.”

The Door and the Doorway

God can deliver you out of the bondage of sin.

Consider the blood-stained doorway of the Passover.

Jesus is The Door and the Cross is The Doorway

John 10:1–10 NKJV

“Most assuredly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice; and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. Yet they will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.” Jesus used this illustration, but they did not understand the things which He spoke to them. Then Jesus said to them again, “Most assuredly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who ever came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.

1 Corinthians 2:2 NKJV

For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.

RESPONSE

Repent for opening the door to sin through disobedience, pride, and rebellion.

Renounce all agreement with or excuses for sin.

Get rid of any provision to fulfill temptation. (House cleaning)

Ask God to deliver you from the power of your sin.

Come to Christ as The Door and to His Cross as the Doorway into God’s salvation and blessing.