Sometimes a man doesn’t have to argue with fire to get burned. The question posed in Scripture pulls back the curtain that reveals the lie before it fully develops: “Can a man take fire in his bosom, and his clothes not be burned?” ~Proverbs 6:27.

God does not ask rhetorical questions because He needs information. He asks them because the answer is self-evident to anyone who is not lying to himself. Fire burns. Sin scars. Adultery destroys. This is not hyperbole. This is reality.

Men still want to reason with fire. They hold it close to their hearts. They tell themselves they are exercising caution. It’s harmless. They say it’s only looks. Only messages. Only thoughts. Only curiosity.

God slices through that rationalization with the follow-up question: “Can one go upon hot coals, and his feet not be burned?” ~Proverbs 6:28. The answer is a definitive no. There is never a time when that answer changes. There is no harmless, close encounter with a sin God has already declared evil. The wounds may not be immediate, but they will be there. Scripture is never wrong about consequences.

Now the Word gets personal. “So he that goeth in to his neighbour’s wife; whosoever toucheth her shall not be innocent” ~Proverbs 6:29.

God does not say he might be considered innocent in the eyes of others. He will not be innocent. Period. Guilt is not defined by your feelings the next morning. God determines guilt before the transgression occurs. When a man chooses to step across the boundary God has already established, innocence is forfeited. Nothing you can say after the fact will reinstate it. No matter how secretly you think you have gotten away with it, it does not make it true.

People try to soften adultery by comparing it to other sins. God stops them in their tracks. “Men do not despise a thief, if he steal to satisfy his soul when he is hungry” ~Proverbs 6:30.

Even stealing to feed his family is stealing. But Scripture makes allowances for why a man may do what is still declared sin. Then God sets the contrast. “But if he be found, he shall restore sevenfold; he shall give all the substance of his house” ~Proverbs 6:31.

Stolen property can be returned. Monetary loss can be replenished. One can make amends for the damage.

Someone cannot undo adultery. “But whoso committeth adultery with a woman lacketh understanding: he that doeth it destroyeth his own soul” ~Proverbs 6:32.

It is not simply poor judgment in God’s eyes. When God says it destroys a man’s soul, the Hebrew implies Self-destruction. Turn it over and over in your mind. There is no walking away untouched by the fallout. Adultery damages a man’s own heart. It crushes future confidence. Ruins the ability to celebrate personal joy. It murders his own soul by degrees.

“The aftermath will not be silent” ~Proverbs 6:33 (The Voice). Adultery is a wound to another human being. The world tells us time heals all wounds. But some scars never fully fade in Scripture. Not because God condones the harm, but because men are injured by sin in the real world. Forgiveness may clear a guilty conscience before God, but it will not undo all consequences between men. Grace does not ignore the truth.

“But the curse shall hunger” ~Proverbs 6:34 (The Voice). Now God brings in the final warning no man wants to face but every man should hear. Adultery provokes jealousy. And jealousy is as much about pride as it is love. You do not get to control the feelings of another person when you assault what they most cherish in life. Sin is never a personal issue because it always releases repercussions you cannot control.

God gives no get-out-of-jail-free card. “He will not regard any ransom; neither will he rest content, though thou givest many gifts” ~Proverbs 6:35.

Some men will not be bought off. Some relationships cannot be redeemed with money. And some lines, once crossed, will irreparably change the landscape.

It doesn’t whisper. It warns. Don’t test God. Listen.

“He asketh not questions concerning multitude of gifts” ~Job 31:27.

The message is not seductive. In fact, it’s the opposite. It does not invite you to figure out how close you can get to the flame. It asks why you would even consider touching fire in the first place. Wisdom is never flirtatious with sin. She listens, while there is still time to listen.

The man who fears God does not push the boundaries to see how far grace will stretch. He flees from what God has clearly declared will destroy him. ~Chuck MacDonald

Scripture leaves no room for confusion. The question is not whether we know what God says about adultery.

The issue is whether we will listen to what He says before we get burned or learn it the hard way after we sin.