This sermon delves into the analogy of sin being likened to a fire that, if hidden within, will not only burn but ultimately lead to death. It emphasizes the danger of concealing sin within oneself, as it will consume and destroy. The focus is on the hidden sins, particularly immorality, that individuals may harbor in their hearts, leading them astray.

Can a man take fire to his bosom and his clothes not be burned? Today this question is put to us. Can you light a fire in your bosom and your clothes not be burned? In fact, if you light a fire in your bosom, not just your clothes will be burned, but you, your very self will be burned. And that illustrates how sin also brings about death. I want to speak about sin. Now, here in this portion, sin is likened to a fire, and the question being that if that fire burns in your bosom, won't you and your clothes be burned by it? So Solomon here is teaching us that we can't take sin and hide it within. If you hide sin within, it will burn you and it will bring about death. In the Hebrew that word means that you will be burned and it will burn you in a bad way. And it's used here in the same sense as if a house burns down. In the Old Testament, this word is used 120 times. And it speaks of a fire, but in a negative sense. Where this fire will burn you, it will consume you, finish you off. And here Solomon is speaking about a sin that is hidden in your bosom. It's something which you are hiding, you're covering up. It's within you, you're hiding it there, you're covering it up, you're telling no one about it. So here in this text, that fire refers to sin directly, and it's that sin that's within you which you're hiding, covering up. And the most dominant sin in this sense, which you cover up and hide, is the sin of immorality, which you hide in your heart. So Solomon is directing this at young people about this sin that leads you to the wrong thing.