Desire When It Has Conceived Gives Birth to Sin

James 1:15 says, "Desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death." James 1:15 compares sin with pregnancy, pictured in Proverbs 7:24-27. When the foolish young man sinned with the harlot, the union's most obvious and natural result is pregnancy. The child produced from that pregnancy, or sin, is death!

Table of contentsSin Begins in the HeartEven the Strong and Mighty Must Be on GuardThe Wages of Sin Is DeathSin Is Compared to Pregnancy Because It Gives Birth to DeathSin Is Compared to Pregnancy Because It Is a ProcessSin Is Compared to Pregnancy Because It GrowsBut What About When We Still Sin?

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James 1:15 describes pregnancy: "Desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death."

Consider these people who were killed by, of all things, their pets:

Sandra Piovesan had nine half-wolves, half-dogs that she raised, and after they grew, they killed her.

Kelly Ann Walz raised a black bear from when it was a cub. When it reached 350 pounds, it killed her.

Marius Els had a pet hippopotamus, which ended up killing him after it grew.

We know many animals are deadly. There are lots of stories of people being killed by animals. These stories stand out because the people kept the animals as pets.

All these people had one thing in common: they thought the animals didn’t threaten them. They thought the animals could be tamed and controlled. They thought they could have these animals in their lives without problems.

Marius owned the hippopotamus, and the article reads, and I quote, that he was “[warned repeatedly] that it was a wild animal that could never be tamed.” But he said, “There’s a relationship between me and the hippo, and that’s what some people don’t understand. They think you can only have a relationship with dogs, cats, and domestic animals. But I have a relationship with the most dangerous animal in Africa.”

This sounds crazy to us. Most of us agree that keeping wolves, bears, and hippopotamuses is a bad idea. These people thought the animals were safe because they got them when they were small and harmless. Over time, the animals grew and became deadly.

This illustrates what can happen with sin. We tend to treat our sin like a pet. It starts small and seemingly harmless, but then it grows into something deadly and kills us as well. This is the main point of James 1:15: "Desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death." And it is illustrated in Proverbs 7:24-27:

Proverbs 7:24 And now, O SONS, listen to me, and be attentive to the words of my mouth. 25 LET NOT YOUR HEART TURN ASIDE TO HER WAYS; DO NOT STRAY INTO HER PATHS, 26 for many a victim has she laid low, and all her slain are a mighty throng. 27 Her house is the way to Sheol, going down to the chambers of death.

Don’t you hear the father pleading with his son?

Proverbs 1:8 Hear, MY SON, YOUR FATHER'S INSTRUCTION, and forsake not your mother's teaching…

Proverbs 1:10 MY SON, if sinners entice you, do not consent…

Proverbs 1:15 MY SON, do not walk in the way with them;

Proverbs 2:1 MY SON, if you receive my words and treasure up my commandments with you

Proverbs 3:1 MY SON, do not forget my teaching, but let your heart keep my commandments,

Proverbs 4, 5, 6, and 7 begin the same way. The word “son” occurs almost 50 times because Proverbs is written as a father speaking to his son. Proverbs is indeed for everyone. It is the book of wisdom, and we all benefit from gaining wisdom; however, because Proverbs is written as a father talking to his son, young men receive a special benefit.

So, young men can read these verses and hear me pleading to resist the harlot. Young men hear Solomon, the human author of Proverbs, pleading to resist the harlot. But I hope even more that you look past Solomon and me to the even greater Person plead...