Connect Psalm 7:14 with James 1:15 on the progression of sin.

Setting the Scene

• Psalm 7:14: “Behold, the wicked man travails with evil; he conceives trouble and gives birth to falsehood.”

• James 1:15: “Then after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.”

Both writers picture sin as a pregnancy that moves from conception to birth, then to deadly maturity. The Holy Spirit invites a sober look at each stage so that its advance can be stopped early.

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The Shared Birth Metaphor

• Conception: an inward stirring—evil desire in James, trouble in Psalm 7—quiet, hidden, yet alive.

• Gestation: the heart “travails,” nursing the ungodly thought until it takes shape.

• Birth: the inner impulse becomes an outward act—falsehood in Psalm 7, explicit sin in James 1.

• Maturity: James tracks sin’s growth to “death,” echoing Romans 6:23. Psalm 7 implies the same fate; in verses 15-16 the wicked falls into the very pit he dug.

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Tracing the Downward Spiral

1. Desire tolerated (James 1:14-15, Genesis 3:6).

2. Desire conceived—sin now has life inside (Proverbs 23:7).

3. Sin born—words, choices, habits sprout (Psalm 7:14, Mark 7:21-23).

4. Sin matured—bondage hardens (John 8:34, Romans 6:16).

5. Death harvested—physical, relational, and eternal separation (Romans 5:12, Romans 6:23).

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Guardrails for the Heart

• Keep short accounts with God—confess at the conception stage (1 John 1:9, Psalm 139:23-24).

• Feed new affections—store up Scripture to crowd out corrupt desires (Psalm 119:11).

• Walk in the Spirit—He empowers resistance before sin is “full-grown” (Galatians 5:16).

• Cultivate accountability—light disrupts hidden gestation (Ephesians 5:11-13).

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The Gospel’s Antidote

• Christ took the penalty that mature sin deserves (Isaiah 53:5, 1 Peter 2:24).

• His resurrection supplies new life, breaking sin’s reproductive cycle (Romans 6:4-6).

• In Him believers become “a new creation” with fresh desires (2 Corinthians 5:17).

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Summary Snapshot

Desire unchecked conceives. Conceived evil inevitably births sinful action. Unrepented action grows until it pays out in death. Psalm 7:14 and James 1:15 paint the same portrait, urging immediate, Spirit-enabled intervention so the line is severed before evil comes to term.