COMFORTABLE CHRISTIANITY

Bill Fitzhenry's Thoughts For Today…

Understanding important truths from the Bible…. 

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”.