SIN AND THE VOTING BOOTH 

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I John 3:4 KJV

Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law. 

The Westminster Shorter Catechism in Question 14 asks “What is sin?”  This is a most profound question.  On the answer to this depends the moral responsibility of man.  The answer is as simple and as all-encompassing as the question.  “Sin is any want of conformity unto, or transgression of, the law of God.”  The Scripture reference is I John 3:4. 

The reason for concern that sin be defined is a recent article I read in a news magazine I receive.  The author, in concern for the coming national election, wrote, “I’m stunned at the number of my fellow Christians who aren’t even registered to vote, that’s a sin.” 

I am registered to vote and I have been for 48 years.  I have voted in every presidential election since 1964.  It is a cherished privilege given us who live in this beloved nation.  Out of this privilege comes the Christian responsibility to vote for that candidate who most represents righteousness as the Scriptures define it.  If he or she fails in their promises they will answer to God.  I am responsible as a Christian to vote for righteousness and not my pocketbook. 

This brings us to the issue at hand.  “Sin is the transgression of the Law.”  Whenever anything is determined to be a sin there is to be a single reason.  It is a transgression of the law.  Voting, for a Christian citizen, is a privilege and without a doubt, a moral responsibility to consider the candidate.

There is in the Scriptures no example of what we call a democratic form of government.  What we do see is monarchical government where there is no popular choice.  Providence has placed the citizens of this nation in a great and free republic.  The wisdom afforded Christians from the Scriptures, the righteousness which should always be the Christian’s choice, and the orderliness of society demand a choice that is consistent with these values. 

Great care is demanded about what is called sin.  Nothing should be called sin but that which can be traced directly to the Ten Commandments.  When anything else enters, the standard of righteousness is expanded and in most instances lowered.  For man to determine what is sin gives him the right to determine what is righteousness.  We can be sure our standard will never reach God’s standard.  If it is a sin not to vote, it is righteousness to register and of course righteous to vote. 

Pilate’s vote or refusal to vote on the dismissal of Jesus was sin.  It is a Christian’s right to refuse his citizenship.  If he can refuse that, he can refuse to vote.  He can think it is his responsibility not to make a choice when he does not know what choice to make.  Who can say his choice not to vote was not a responsible choice.  He has only his present light on this subject.  He does not have a “thus says the Lord”. 

My conclusion after years of consideration is that you can only say it is a sin not to vote when you think your choice of candidates is the only right choice. 

When I voted for Nixon I was persuaded he lacked a moral base and that he had a monarchical complex.  I voted for him as a bad choice against the other candidate.  I would not do that now.  I would not vote.

SOME MORE HABAKKUK 

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Habakkuk 3:17-19 KJV

¹⁷ Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls:

¹⁸ Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation.

¹⁹ The Lord God is my strength, and he will make my feet like hinds' feet, and he will make me to walk upon mine high places. To the chief singer on my stringed instruments. 

Habakkuk has asked the question that troubles him in 1:13 Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity: wherefore lookest thou upon them that deal treacherously, and holdest thy tongue when the wicked devoureth the man that is more righteous than he?   The only answer he gets is in 2:4 Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith.   But how does Habakkuk respond to God’s answer.  His response is found in the following:

1. His confession is in 2:20 NKJ “But the Lord is in His holy temple.
   Let all the earth keep silence before Him.”  A discerning look at this confession will find it to be the ultimate in faith.  “The Lord is”.  The writer of Hebrews in Hebrews 11:6 states this as the single access to God.  “For whoever comes to God must believe that He is”.  This is the “I am” of Moses and the “I am the Alpha and Omega” of John the Revelator.  Habakkuk has stepped away from his whining into the faith of heroes.
2. His prayer is stated in 3:2 NKJ  O Lord, I have heard Your speech and was afraid;
   O Lord, revive Your work in the midst of the years!  In the midst of the years make it known;  In wrath remember mercy.  Habakkuk has two requests.
1. “Lord I trust you and only ask that you do your will.  I submit to that”.  Habakkuk has accepted the work of his day as God’s will.  That is enough.
2. “Lord, reveal what you’re doing so your people can know your intent for you glory is for their good”.  The availability and clarity of God’s revelation is one of the treasures of the church.  What should our reply to that be?  To read it, obey it, and be thankful for it.
3.  “Lord, no matter how terrifying the day of the Lord is I am committed to believe that your justice in this day will prevail.  Those who think they have the victory over your church will fail and face your unswerving justice”  3:16 NKJ.  There is no victory over the church.  As the grave could not hold Jesus, nothing can prevail against the church.  We are our own worst enemy.  When once again that is realized, reformation will come.  Quietly wait, watch, and pray.  There is trouble appointed for those who trouble the church. 

Habakkuk’s testimony in 3:17-19 is a high point in the Old Testament.  There is no Psalm or other statement that is more to faith and with pure emotion than here in Habakkuk.  As I read this I could no longer doubt the greatness of this prophet.  Somewhere, sometimes, and by someone this was dedicated to the Psalmody of Israel.  I wish I knew how to sing it.  Material prosperity cannot affect the joy of the believer’s salvation.  Habakkuk 3:17-18 KJV ¹⁷ Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls:

¹⁸ Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation.

THE SECRET TO KINGDOM UNDERSTANDING 

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Ephesians 2:1-3 ESV

And you were dead in the trespasses and sins

² in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—

³ among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.  

The secret to kingdom understanding is there is no secret.  It is a matter of accepting Biblical description of radical depravity.  When radical depravity is accepted in the true sense of Scripture, man’s participation in his salvation at any level is nothing more than a fantasy. 

Paul writing to those who received this letter, and there is no certainty of its recipients, reminds them of their former state.  They were “dead in trespasses and sin.”  He conditions his statement by describing the deadness he intends.  It is “in trespasses and sin”. 

He then describes their life that was contemporaneous with the deadness in VSS 2-3.  This should alert any reader that he is concerned with man’s spiritual relationship with God.  It is either “in Him” which he stated plainly in chapter 1, or it is this deadness. 

Further Paul describes the deadness he means.  There are three primary undeniable characteristics given in verses that follow.

1.  VS 3  To be dead is to act according to the nature of mankind.  Mankind, as they are distinguished from believers, is under the wrath of God.  The Scriptures allow different habits, characters, personalities, and emotions.  But there are only two natures.  There is the nature mankind receives from Adam, which is under wrath, or it is the kingdom nature received at the new birth.  In VS 5 this is being made alive, “by grace you have been saved”. 

2.  There is again the extent of deadness.  It has only one cure.  That is grace, VS 9 ESV not a result of works, so that no one may boast.  The extent to which the writer goes to limit salvation to grace is plainly intentional and complete.  This grace is not left open to debate.  It is the grace which he began to praise in 1:3-10. ³ Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, ⁴ even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love ⁵ he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, ⁶ to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. ⁷ In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, ⁸ which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight ⁹ making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ ¹⁰ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. 

This is grace that will brook no human involvement.  It is “not of works”.  The ESV has made it even clearer, “not of your own doing”.  It is the hardest of all Bible truths for man to accept.  He cannot do anything for God to win His acceptance. 

3.  The third fact of this deadness is that there is alienation between man and God that has no human cure.  The death of Christ is no mere miscarriage of justice or tragic misapplication of man’s ire and jealousy.  It is the centerpiece of the ages.  All time revolves around that complex of events covered in three short days in Jerusalem.  The God-man was crucified for sin and the third day He arose from the grave.  This will not be forgotten and it ever remains as the centerpiece of the Gospel.

Paul in VSS 11-16 states the single condition for acceptance with God, “you have been brought near by the blood of Christ”.

¹¹ Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called “the uncircumcision” by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands— ¹² remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. ¹³ But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. ¹⁴ For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility ¹⁵ by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, ¹⁶ and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility.  This is the antithesis of “dead”.  It belongs to all and only those who have been “brought not of human endeavor”., because we are so prone to boast. 

You may ask “do you boast?”  Yes!  I am a boaster.  I am told in Jeremiah 9:24 I can boast.  “but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the Lord.”  I have a great God in whom I can boast.  Paul in I Cor. 1:31 tells every saint in whom he may boast, the one who is made our “wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption”.  It cannot be in the flesh for this cannot seek, accept, or find God.  He must find us.

THE ETERNAL GOSPEL 

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Habakkuk 1:13 ESV

You who are of purer eyes than to see evil
and cannot look at wrong,
why do you idly look at traitors
and remain silent when the wicked swallows up
the man more righteous than he?

2:4 

 Behold, his soul is puffed up; it is not upright within him,
but the righteous shall live by his faith. 

I began reading Habukkuk and thought, “what a whiner.”  The other Old Testament heroes who whine are Jacob, David, and Elijah.  It is interesting that these three are of the most significant men of the Old Testament.  All three have special roles, are true heroes, and have some particular relationship to God. 

Habukkuk’s question in 1:13 is not quite that of theodicy for it is far more directed to the God of Bible faith.  “You who are of purer eyes than to see evil and cannot look at wrong, why do you idly look at traitors and remain silent when the wicked swallows up the man more righteous than he?”

It cannot be taken as anything less than accusation against God.  Habakkuk accuses God, though infinitely holy, of being so unconcerned with evil that He not only does nothing to control it but is silent when the righteous despair.

When God answers He does not justify His conduct but calls Habakkuk and all who read to realize the only responses God expects from them.  2:4 Behold, his soul is puffed up; it is not upright within him, but the righteous shall live by his faith.  The faith of the righteous must withstand both time and circumstances.  2:3 “ For still the vision awaits its appointed time;
it hastens to the end—it will not lie.  If it seems slow, wait for it; it will surely come; it will not delay.”

The importance of the requirements laid down in the statement, “The righteous shall live by faith”, cannot be over emphasized.  It is quoted three times in the New Testament. Each time with a slightly different nuance.

First it is quoted in Galatians 3:11 Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for “The righteous shall live by faith”.  The purpose of use Paul has for it here is to define the cause and content of righteousness before God.  He lays down the principle that “a man is justified by faith and not by the works of the law.”   And then quotes Habakkuk 2:4 as his proof text.  The intent of Paul is his gospel as he states it in Galatians 2:16 yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.

Again Paul in Romans 1:17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith” .  His statement here is that there is only one relationship man can have with God.  That is by faith.  The righteousness of God which the gospel reveals is directed to faith and is received by faith.  Whether it be conversion or the Christian life of sanctification it does not matter there is no other way to know and do the righteousness of God but through faith in Christ Jesus.

Hebrews 10:37-38 For, “Yet a little while, and the coming one will come and will not delay;
³⁸ but my righteous one shall live by faith, and if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in him”, sum these two emphasis up in a look at faith both as the means of conversion and the strength of perseverance.  Here the fact of faith and preservation are united.  When the story is completed and the end is known it will be said that Christ Jesus did it all.  He redeemed us and carried us through the wilderness.  What was required of us?  Nothing more or less than faith in Him.

JESUS PAID IT ALL

I hear the Savior say,
“Thy strength indeed is small;
Child of weakness, watch and pray,
Find in Me thine all in all.”

Lord, now indeed I find
Thy pow’r, and Thine alone,
Can change the leper’s spots
And melt the heart of stone

 For nothing good have I
Whereby Thy grace to claim;
I’ll wash my garments white
In the blood of Calv’ry’s Lamb.

And when before the throne,

I stand in Him complete,
“Jesus died my soul to save,”
My lips shall repeat.

Jesus paid it all,
All to Him I owe;
Sin had left a crimson stain,
He washed it white as snow.

DISCERNING DARKNESS 

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Micah 3:5-6, 9-11  ESV

⁵ Thus says the Lord concerning the prophets who lead my people astray,
who cry “Peace” when they have something to eat,
but declare war against him who puts nothing into their mouths.
⁶ Therefore it shall be night to you, without vision, and darkness to you, without divination.
The sun shall go down on the prophets, and the day shall be black over them; 

⁹ Hear this, you heads of the house of Jacob and rulers of the house of Israel,
who detest justice and make crooked all that is straight,
¹⁰ who build Zion with blood and Jerusalem with iniquity.
¹¹ Its heads give judgment for a bribe; its priests teach for a price;
its prophets practice divination for money; yet they lean on the Lord and say,
“Is not the Lord in the midst of us? No disaster shall come upon us.” 

I recently celebrated my 76^th birthday.  Many thanks for the cards and kind thoughts.  I have had to realize I am one of the old men.  It is usual for one who is old to think that during his life experience all that matters has happened.  But that is not so. 

I remember sitting with my grandfather when I was six years old as he talked with the old men of that time.  This was 1942.  The depression was over and the Great War was on the horizon.  Texas was still primitive and naïve.  But these men, for the most part Christian, prized honesty.  They spoke the truth.  They expected to hear it.  The preaching of that day was different from that which prevails in 2012.  The transition from 1942 to 2012 has given me a perspective by which to understand our time.

Micah in the text for today is a headline for our preachers and politicians.  And in the midst of it Micah says, “⁶ Therefore it shall be night to you, without vision, and darkness to you, without divination.  The sun shall go down on the prophets, and the day shall be black over them;”.  How shall we know we are in this darkness?  Micah gives us two sure signs. 

1.  The message and character of the prophets are a sure indication of darkness.  The ministry is a profession.  In VS 9, their message is determined by their reward.  If they are well fed they “cry peace”.  And when they are not paid well there is disaster declared. 

Woe be to the church in which the ministry is only a profession.  The result of this will always be a message tuned to earn the highest reward.  We have huge churches, national radio and television ministries, and of course the never ending production of “how to” books.  The mega-churches are supposed to be the standard of success.  The radio and television stars continue with a newer demand for money.  Then there are the authors of books and study guides and sequels.  You see my point.  Follow the money trail. 

There is nothing sacred in being poor.  The laborer is worthy of his pay.  Preachers deserve adequate support as much as anyone.  The old saying “Lord you keep him humble, we’ll keep him poor” has no virtue.  But the gospel ministry is never to be a profession. 

2.  In VSS 9-10 the second cause of darkness is described.  Political offices are for sale.  In my present day experience I know of no one who expects honesty from any politician without regard to party.  They are all for sale.  It is just some are more expensive.

This is an election year.  Should conservatives gain both house of congress and the presidency will we see our “social” agenda get any attention?  I doubt it.  What has burdened the conservative constituency?  What has drawn the greatest interest and given any probability of the sweep mentioned?  The financial crisis has done it.  I must say the word “crisis” is not an exaggeration.  But any historical perspective must admit President Obama did not get us here without a herculean effort by former President Bush.

As a conclusion in VS 11, Micah looks to the trough at which politician, priest, and prophet are lined up for their dole.  His conclusion is that the dark day of judgment is a certain result of their greed and sell-out.

It would be wrong to leave this significant passage on this note.  Look at the light in this darkness, VS 8  But as for me, I am filled with power, with the Spirit of the Lord,
and with justice and might, to declare to Jacob his transgression and to Israel his sin.

God will not leave this His church without a true witness.  Again look at the message that marks this witness, “to declare transgression and sin”.  The church is never hurt by the Biblical preaching of sin, repentance, and faith.

COMEDY IN JONAH 

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Jonah 4: 9  NKJV

⁹Then God said to Jonah, “Is it right for you to be angry about the plant?”

And he said, “It is right for me to be angry, even to death!” 

Jonah is emotional.  We are given the material to see the whole range of his emotions.  They range from obstinate disobedience in 1:3 to petulant anger in 4:9.  But always first and foremost Jonah is a true believer. 

Alexander Whyte says Jonah is the “Older Brother” from the New Testament and a true representation of Simon the Pharisee.  I think he is too harsh with him.  Jonah seems to be the Old Testament Peter.  Immature, undisciplined, and committed to his own understanding of God rather than knowing God as He reveals Himself. 

This should sound familiar to most of us.  It is at least a stage through which we have passed even if we have not gotten hung up in it.  Jonah just didn’t seem to get past this point in his growth.   

But what develops in Jonah is a different look at God’s grace.  It seems as the writer sees this grace as a jewel that he turns in his hand to show us the beauty reflected from it no matter what side we see.

This grace begins as God delivers the sailors, it extends to Jonah in the belly of the great fish, and the true extent of it is seen in God both granting repentance to Nineveh and then graciously receiving that repentance all the way to their deliverance.

In chapter 4 there is a particular aspect of grace that is revealed.  That is God’s grace in His longsuffering with an obstreperous believer.  There is no excuse for Jonah.  His conduct is immature and if it was not so comical it would be disgusting.

As one who has argued with God, I can truly identify with Jonah.  In the argument God is always there listening, never threatening, always kind, and without any intent of giving in to the petulance of the poor self-absorbed believer.

There are two certain results.  God will win because he is God.  The believer will receive sufficient grace because the grace of God is what it is.

The upshot is most of us have, or have had, our gourd vine, and every vine comes with a worm.  Remember there is a worm that kills, a God who will require, and a warning to prevent it.

SAVING NINEVEH

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Jonah 1:1-2 NKJV

Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying,

² “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry out against it; for their wickedness has come up before Me.” 

Jonah is an interesting man.  It can be that his writing is the first of any prophet.  But as it is a historical narrative of Jonah’s call, his experiences, and the fact of his preaching in Nineveh, it is not a prophetic writing in the proper sense. 

He was probably contemporary with Amos, maybe with Isaiah, Hosea, and Micah.  He was surely a prophet at the same time as Elisha and maybe as early as Elijah. 

This was a rich time in Israel’s history as far as their greatest prophets were concerned.  Preaching and writing men were active in both kingdoms.  It is very probable that Jonah came from the school of prophets that gathered around Elijah and Elisha.  From II Kings 14:25 it is evident that he was active in Israel. ²⁵ He restored the territory of Israel from the entrance of Hamath to the Sea of the Arabah, according to the word of the Lord God of Israel, which He had spoken through His servant Jonah the son of Amittai, the prophet who was from Gath Hepher. 

Jonah has for two centuries been looked at by Liberal Scholars as a myth with a great religious principle residing in it, the free grace of God.  But there is a masterful statement in Alexander Whyte’s Bible Characters that sums up the issue, pg. 130.

“The advance of science does not involve the retreat of religion.  Nor does the uniformity and harmony of Nature enable her to dispense with the sleepless oversight of her Creator.  The heavens may become still more astronomical that they yet are, without that making them any the less conspicuously the immediate movement of the Divine Hand.  And the sea herself will yet be found to ebb and flow, and toss and storm, according to fixed and foreseen laws, without thereby blotting out God’s footprints in the deep, or causing any less praise to arise to Him from a smooth sea or any less prayer from a storm.  Our meteorology has still a multitude of confused and restless phenomena to register, and a great mass of carefully-taken inductions to reduce to a rule: but, all the time, our Bible keeps impressing upon us that bad weather overtook Jonah for his bad behavior; and that his disobedience before God had disturbed an equilibrium that was far too delicately poised for any earthly instrument of heat or cold, or dry or moist, to take account of.” 

The concern in tracing the activity of Jonah has spent its energy and genius in trying to determine why the Prophet refused to go to Nineveh.  And after all the energy and genius a great fact is missed with the truth being simply Jonah was disobedient - and oh how I identify with that. 

The fact missed is God spoke to Nineveh in the same way - the only way - He always communicates with the world, through His church.  He could have raised up a Balaam or his ass.  He had done this before.  But God, though not bound by His established principles, most ordinarily acts according to them.  He speaks to the world through the church. 

The whole of Acts is replete with this fact so that we should have it firmly established in our mind.  The commission in Matthew 28:18-20.  ¹⁸ And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. ¹⁹ Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.  This is easily overlooked.  By this is not intended that the missionary responsibility is overlooked, but the uniqueness  of God’s communication with His human creation.  Any fair exposition of Romans 1:14-17 has to recognize the Gospel is God’s word to the nations.  ¹⁴ I am a debtor both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to wise and to unwise. ¹⁵ So, as much as is in me, I am ready to preach the gospel to you who are in Rome also.¹⁶ For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. ¹⁷ For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “The just shall live by faith.”  Having said this look at Calvin’s insight on Matthew 28:18 New Testament Commentary Vol. 3, pg. 249. 

“Before relating that the office of teaching was laid upon them, Matthew says that Christ spoke first of His power, and rightly so.  No ordinary authority would be enough for this.  He had to hold supreme and truly divine power of command, to declare that eternal life was promised in His name, that the whole globe was held under His sway, and that a doctrine was published which would subdue all high-seeking, and bring the whole human race into humility.  By this preface, Christ not only urged the Apostles to have a brave confidence in their powers to fulfill their task, but also established the faith of His Gospel unto all ages.”

COMFORTABLE CHRISTIANITY

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Amos 6:1 NKJV

Woe to you who are at ease in Zion,
And trust in Mount Samaria,
Notable persons in the chief nation,
To whom the house of Israel comes! 

Christians often take the sacrifice and sincerity of religious people to be certain indicators of their fellowship with God.  The Northern Kingdom, Israel, was experiencing great peace and prosperity.  At the same time they were very religious.  Amos in chapter 4:4-5 describes their commitment to their religion.

 ⁴ “Come to Bethel and transgress,
At Gilgal multiply transgression;
Bring your sacrifices every morning,
Your tithes every three days.^[b]
5 Offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving with leaven,
Proclaim and announce the freewill offerings;
For this you love,
You children of Israel!”
Says the Lord God.  

Sacrifice, tithes, and offerings were common to them.  It is certain that church attendance, tithing, and sacrificial labor on the behalf of religion do not equate to true Christianity.  At the same time they are described as zealous for their religion.  Amos, in 5:10-13 describes the other side of their religious concern. 

¹⁰ They hate the one who rebukes in the gate,
And they abhor the one who speaks uprightly.
¹¹ Therefore, because you tread down the poor
And take grain taxes from him,
Though you have built houses of hewn stone,
Yet you shall not dwell in them;
You have planted pleasant vineyards,
But you shall not drink wine from them.
¹² For I know your manifold transgressions
And your mighty sins:
Afflicting the just and taking bribes;
Diverting the poor from justice at the gate.
¹³ Therefore the prudent keep silent at that time,
For it is an evil time. 

In Amos 6:1, Amos directs his criticisms to both Judah (Zion) and Israel (Mount Samaria).  All of national Israel stands accused.  This accusation is thorough.  But the particular interest is the rather benign fault Amos identifies.  They are “at ease”.  As Calvin so finely states there is nothing wrong with being at ease if it is resting in the right cause. 

Amos’ criticism is a timely reminder of a chief fault in the church of today.  The great majority of the people in today’s church are “at ease”.  This means at least three things: 

1.       There is no urgency.  The state of the church is accepted.  The Gospels are replete with the Lord’s warnings against lethargy and calls to urgency.  There are two good reasons for this urgency.  First our life is so brief.  At the best we will waste far too much of it.  Attention must be given to usefulness in Kingdom business.  Secondly is the eminent return of Christ.  Any failure to keep this in mind must be attributed to unbelief.  There is the ever present warning that that He will come at the least expected time. 

2.      The necessity of continual repentance is overlooked.  When Amos writes “Woe to those”, it is a call to repentance.  It is a failure in any life, in the local church, and in the church overall to overlook that the ministry of Christ, the Day of Pentecost, and the preaching of grace all are the demands for repentance, cf Acts 17:30  Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent. 

3.      The primacy of faith in God is a constant of true Christianity.  This failure Amos describes as, “trust in Mount Samaria”.  The overall contentedness of the whole Israel was based on their impregnable defense in Jerusalem and Samaria.  They were able to defend themselves.  God was an elective luxury.  While they had their defense, they were at peace.  While they were at peace they were prosperous. 

They had Uzziah in Jerusalem and Jeroboam in Samaria.  God could be served at their convenience.

 

There may be no urgency, no necessity for repentance, and no demand for faith.  But still the words stand, “Woe to those who are at ease in Zion”.

GIFTS IN THE CHURCH

Bill Fitzhenry's Thoughts For Today…

Understanding important truths from the Bible…. 

Amos 1:1 NKJV

The words of Amos, who was among the sheepbreeders of Tekoa, which he saw concerning Israel in the days of Uzziah king of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel, two years before the earthquake. 

I must tell you I am a true admirer of Amos.  He was a very ordinary man and made no claims of being anything else.  Amos was always first and foremost a herdsman.  That was his training and his vocation, but he was by Divine calling a Prophet. 

As a prophet, Amos was the first of those strictly named “writing prophets”.  This needs to be understood because Old Testament writers were prophets and also some who did not write.  This description of Amos puts him among what we know as the Major and Minor Prophets.  They are put in this category because of their classification in the Hebrew Bible. 

He was before Isaiah, Hosea, Joel, or Micah.  He preached and wrote in times of prosperity in both the Northern and Southern Kingdoms.  This was the high point of the Northern Kingdom’s rule and prosperity.  Jereboam II, it appears, was the grandson of Jehu the general who slew the family of Ahab.  Jehu also put to death all the prophets of Baal.  This was a truly pleasant time in Israel.   

Theodore Laetsch, in his excellent commentary on the minor prophets has this to say about Hosea and his contemporaries named above, pg 136, The Minor Prophets.  “Amos, Hosea, Isaiah, Micah, four great stars in the galaxy of Old Testament prophets, truly noble men of God, trying-alas, vainly-to stem the flood of iniquity engulfing God’s people, and their inevitable ruin.  Never has the holy law of God been preached with greater earnestness and intensity that it was proclaimed by these men, who spared neither rich nor poor, neither young nor old, neither vociferous rebel nor unctuous hypocrite.  And in no other period of the Old Testament era has the Gospel been heralded in language clearer and sweeter than these men spoke by inspiration of God.  Yet all their faithful efforts, all their fervent appeals to their countrymen, could not hold back the overwhelming floodwaters of God’s judgment sweeping away a people highly favored but unspeakably wicked and ungrateful.  Still they continued in their call to repentance and salvation to a hardened generation, seeing but little success, yet faithful to their high calling.  Their message is as timely today as it was more that 2,500 years ago.  It is God’s Word, enduring forever!” 

In Amos 7:10, Amaziah, a false priest, says to the King of Israel, Jereboam referring to Amos, “The land is not able to bear his words”. And then he says to Amos, “¹² Then Amaziah said to Amos:

“Go, you seer!
Flee to the land of Judah.
There eat bread,
And there prophesy.
¹³ But never again prophesy at Bethel,
For it is the king’s sanctuary,
And it is the royal residence.” 

Amos’ reply is that statement that is dear to the heart of every man with a call to preach God’s word, Amos 7:14-15

 ¹⁴ Then Amos answered, and said to Amaziah:

“I was no prophet,
Nor was I a son of a prophet,
But I was a sheepbreeder
And a tender of sycamore fruit.
¹⁵ Then the Lord took me as I followed the flock,
And the Lord said to me,
‘Go, prophesy to My people Israel.’ 

The Christian is never to be deceived nor is he to accept anything less.  Every true herald of God’s word has been “taken” from what he would otherwise be doing and put into the preaching of the Gospel. 

Amos was told, in VS 16  Now therefore, hear the word of the Lord: You say, ‘Do not prophesy against Israel, And do not spout against the house of Isaac.’  This is always the demand of the unconverted; “Do not proclaim man’s guilt and sinfulness.  Do not demand repentance.  Do not make the claims of Christ absolute.  Forget the offense of the Gospel.  You must not hurt the feelings of the unchurched.  Remember people should be able to leave our services feeling good.” 

In the heart of every Gospel preacher the words of Paul in Galatians 6:14, 17 burn with a fiery heat.  ¹⁴ But God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.  ¹⁷ From now on let no one trouble me, for I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus.  The conclusion of the matter for the gospel preacher was very early on declared by Paul, “ I Cor. 9:16  For if I preach the gospel, I have nothing to boast of, for necessity is laid upon me; yes, woe is me if I do not preach the gospel! 

John Calvin on I Corinthians 9:16, Calvin’s New Testament Commentaries, pg 192,

“However, this is a remarkable sentence.  We learn from it, in the first place, the nature of the call which ministers receive, and how tightly they are bound to God; and, secondly, what the office of the pastor involves, and embraces within itself.  Once a man has been called, then, let him get it into his head that he is no longer free to draw back, when it suits him, if, for example, frustrations take the heart out of him, or troubles overwhelm him; for he is dedicated to the Lord and to the church, and held fast by a sacred bond, which it would be sinful for him to break. 

As far as the second point is concerned, Paul says that the threat of a curse lies over his head, if he does not preach the Gospel.  Why?  It is because he has been called to do that, and for that very reason he is controlled by a compulsion which drives him on.” 

Amen!

THE FRUIT OF IDOLATRY 

Bill Fitzhenry's Thoughts For Today…

Understanding important truths from the Bible…. 

Hosea 4:1 NKJV

Hear the word of the Lord,
You children of Israel,
For the Lord brings a charge against the inhabitants of the land:

“There is no truth or mercy
Or knowledge of God in the land. 

God’s complaint against Israel in chapters 4 and 5 are an indictment of Israel’s spiritual commitment to idolatry.  This is illustrated in the marriage of Hosea to Gomer the prostitute.  Israel was married to idolatry and his offspring, the fruit of the idolatrous relationship, were also rejected. 

From 4:1B-5:7 the charge is laid out clearly.  But the interesting part of the charge is VSS 4:1B-2.  It begins with willful failure in truth, love of neighbors, and a denial of any responsibility to know the true God. 

What follows is an enumeration of criminal charges against the inhabitants of Israel. 

1.       Swearing and lying.  All regard for the commandment of taking the Lord’s name in vain and bearing false witness is forgotten or denied.  This is found later in the charge of Jeremiah.  He charges Judah with an absence of truth.  No one is to look to his fellow for truth either under oath or in conversation.  Where once you could expect the truth now you must suspect a lie. 

2.      Murder has become ordinary.  It neither causes fear or concern.  When murder is tolerated it is a sure sign of contempt for God.  The image of God in man, each and every individual, gives man his value.  It guarantees that every life has worth and anyone can be converted.  When life is devalued this image is denied and God’s law no longer exercises any restraint. 

3.      Stealing is accepted as a useful way of provision.  There are two sure signs of societal failure, lying and theft.  When truth is not there as the glue which binds society and there is no respect for the property of others there is nothing which guarantees the structure from which we get our support.

There is no penalty for lying in our society except when the government is concerned.  And the only thing you are to expect in the occasion of robbery or burglary is a case number to give your insurance. 

4.       Adultery is more common than fidelity which should mark our conduct.  But if life, truth, and property have no value why should fidelity in sexual conduct fare any better?

There is no law against any sexual crime no matter how extreme when committed by adults.  This must have extensive consequences.  One illustration please.  There is no law against adultery.  A person may have as many adulterous partners as they please.  These partners even have standing in court.  This of course means there is no longer an effective law against polygamy.  The mere fact that there aren’t multiple court approved marriage contracts is of no consequence as these other partners have legal standing in the courts and what else is a court issued contract supposed to represent.  By the by sociology has a name for modern day divorce, serial polygamy. 

What is the crux?  Conduct is a theological issue.  Idolatry has consequences.

THE SOUL SATISFIED 

Bill Fitzhenry's Thoughts For Today…

Understanding important truths from the Bible…. 

Job 15:11  KJV

¹¹ Are the consolations of God small with thee?  is there any secret thing with thee? 

The question by Eliphaz to Job is his assumption that he and his two friends had truly spoken the truth of God to Job.  Their comfort and encouragement given quietly should have satisfied him.  Job had been unimpressed with their attempts to counsel him in his low estate.  Therefore Job, and I suppose we also, should consider this a presumptuous conceit on Eliphaz’s part. 

But the question is a good one.  As a Christian is God’s provision lacking in my estimation?  Has He failed to come up to my expectations?  I find this attitude to be, all too often, that which characterizes my thoughts toward God. 

In direct contradiction the Psalmist in Psalm 87:7 writes, “All my springs are in you.”  Let the following quotation suffice us as a commentary most helpful.

C.H. Spurgeon, Treasury of David, page 125

“’All my springs are in thee.’  Whatever conduit pipe be used, Christ is the fountain and foundation of every drop of comfort; Christ is the God of all true consolation.  It is not in the power of all the angels of heaven to give any soul one drop of comfort, nor can all on earth give you one dram of comfort.  They can speak the words of comfort, but they cannot cause the soul to receive comfort.  God comforts by them, 2 Cor. 7:6.   Titus was but an instrument.  Comforting is called frequently in Scripture the speaking to the heart, Hosea 2:14.  Who is able to speak to the heart but he who is the Lord and commander of the heart?  God hath put all the oil of spiritual joy into the hands of Christ, Isaiah 61: 3, and none but he can give it out.  He that wants comfort must go to Christ, he that hath received any true comfort must ascribe it to Christ.  ‘All my springs,’ saith the Church, ‘are in thee’ __ Ralph Robinson.