Wednesday, November 20, 2013

A False Response To Steps In The Fall Of A Nation

The Minor Prophets Speak to Today

A False Response To God's Warnings
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Often words sound very good
but if you dig beneath the surface
they are useless.
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“Come, let us return to the Lord.
He has torn us to pieces;
    now he will heal us.
He has injured us;
    now he will bandage our wounds.
In just a short time he will restore us,
    so that we may live in his presence.
Oh, that we might know the Lord!
    Let us press on to know him.
He will respond to us as surely as the arrival of dawn
    or the coming of rains in early spring.”
Hosea 6:1-3

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What a wonderful prayer of repentance! 
But do not let the devil fool you. 

This passage is about
- a repentance in words
but not heart or action
- a repentance on Sunday
that is no good on Monday
- you get the drift?

They are the result of teaching a false definition of repentance - a repentance that is not a turning away, not a return, not about the Lordship of God, not a repentance that becomes a following in his ways, his steps.

Verse One:

What a statement of faith!
He has torn us to pieces - but we will return to him anyway!
He will heal us.
He will bandage our wounds.
He will restore us so that we may live in his presence.
(to which we would add - he will prosper us!) 

Contemporary culture rejects God if he tears us or even merely displeases us. Such actions, such statements are reason enough, in our value system, to reject this God. So a statement of faith like this is very unusual, even in the church. In the church if you get torn or become displeased, it's someone else's fault and we seek to isolate of get rid of the individual or group. We consider it heresy to say God has torn us or that our displeasure was brought on by a God orchestrated event or circumstance. GOD DOESN'T ACT THAT WAY! Or that is at least what leader after leader, lay person after lay person, prostituted Christian after prostituted Christian says. 

But go talk to as yet uncommitted seekers, many of them will tell you that position is wrong. God does act that way. They are looking for a God that makes sense out of the perceived good and perceived bad. One that matches what the Bible claims of him. A consistent God. And they would be speaking the truth.

Verse Three:

What a statement about knowing God!
Let us press on to know him.
He will respond as surely as
the arrival of dawn or
the coming of the spring rains.

But this repentance is a false repentance!

This seeking to know God is a false quest!


The goal is themselves, their good.
The words and action's are
the operation of a coin machine -
drop in a coin and get the blessing!

A belief in a mechanistic God.
A law of do this and
God will do that.
(Your basic paganism.)

This wonderful prayer is an attempt to manipulate the Universe!
An attempt to manipulate God! 




Photo Credits:
Soil and Water Movement Model 3 of 4 some rights reserved by USDA NRCS South Dakota @flickr.com
 

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