Post by Cindy on Jul 20, 2015 9:14:31 GMT -5
As I began to study Amos yesterday, I was moved to write hoping people would examine themselves to see if they were truly saved. (Are you really saved) In continuing to study chapters 3 and 4 today, it's been impressed on me even stronger that God's electing Grace is always meant to influence our conduct and that judgement always begins with the House of God, just as He tells us it does. Right now, today, we are all going through some very hard times and we see that the whole world is going through hard times. We often blame the government for all the troubles that are happening around us and even to us. Yet the Lord Himself tells us in more then one place, “When disaster comes to a city, has not the LORD caused it?”(Amos 3:6) We don't like to look at scriptures like that too closely because it makes us uncomfortable. In these chapters the Lord tells us that He sends these things to warn us, to draw us back to Him. He reminds us again that the way we live, "our walk" shows where our hearts really are, and many of us are walking with people we have no business walking with. In other words we're living in ways that go against God and His Word, and denying the Lord who bought us with His blood. The Lord even tells us that He's revealed all of this in His Word, so we should know better, and yet we continue to live in ways that are contrary to His Word, even in spite of the warnings He's sent by way of trials and hardship. He tells us that because the people have not responded to His warnings, things are going to get even worse. He's sending these things though because He loves us and desires to get our attention so we will choose life instead of death. Sadly, most of the people simply continue to go along doing the same things, and even bragging about it.
God tells us that many of these people seem to be quite religious, quite "Christian" to those who have no discernment. They take part in all kinds of ministries, and give money to them, and other things like that, but their reason for doing those things is to either make themselves look good to others, or perhaps to try and bribe God not to send the judgments. They don't do it because they love Him and want to obey Him, which is the only acceptable reason to our God.
Many people today think of a prophet as someone who tells what's going to happen in the future, and in a way, that can be true. But a prophet's main job is to warn people to turn from their sins, to examine their hearts, turn to God and live for Him. The "future" they foretell isn't necessarily something that we would read in history books and understand, but is instead the simple truth that sinners will go to hell and those who truly love the Lord will spend eternity with Him. A prophet is one who tells others what God's Word is saying to them. We find today that the true prophets are those who are warning people to turn from their sin and search for God with all their hearts, and to do it now before it's too late. The false prophets tend to ignore the heart, ignore people's thoughts and attitudes and tell people that they can have peace and prosperity and be healthy if they do certain things. False prophets encourage self centeredness; encourage people to focus on what they want instead of what God wants.
Amos 4 should wake up us women especially, as God compares the women to pampered cows. He shows their selfishness and self centeredness and how they order their husbands around instead of submitting to them as God tells us to. When we read that, we can surely see who wears the pants in those families! It's also reminding the men of what their God ordained role is, and that they will be held accountable. Isn't it really how many families run in today's world though? Yet, as God continues, we again see that even these people look to be religious to others. But their hearts are far from God.
God even compares them to Sodom and Gomorrah, which you'd think would be a real wake up call, but again it's ignored. Just as it is today. He says, “I overthrew some of you as I overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah. You were like a burning stick snatched from the fire, yet you have not returned to me,” declares the LORD.” (Amos 4:11) Remembering that story we know that God couldn't even find 10 righteous people there, only Lot and his family, therefore only they were saved, "snatched from the fire." This again forces us to consider how few are truly saved in our day and time, and only those few will be snatched from the fire to come by the rapture.
2 Peter 2:6–7 tells us that God made those cities an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly. That Lot who was righteous was constantly distressed by the filthy lives of the others. Lot didn't pretend to be religious, he was righteous, and the way he lived his life in public and private, was very different then the way everyone else did, and all who knew him, could see that. Peter tells us, “if this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue godly men from trials and to hold the unrighteous for the day of judgment, while continuing their punishment.” (2 Peter 2:9) This isn't saying that the godly don't experience trials, they obviously do, or Lot wouldn't have been so disturbed by the ungodly behavior around him. What we will be rescued from is God's Wrath, not the trials or hardships that are meant to warn us, or to grow or prove our faith. (1 Peter 1:7) Peter then explains how important obedience to God is; that it's not enough to know God, or to play at looking religious to others because God knows our hearts. He expects obedience and holiness from us, not excuses, and will hold us accountable because we know better even though we're not doing what we know is right . (2 Peter 2:20–21) To be sure everyone understand what this means, even if we don't know God's Word, if we have had someone tell us at some point that God commands us to know His Word, then we will be held accountable for everything within His Word, even if we haven't studied it. He will hold us accountable because we've been warned that knowing His Word is a command and not a suggestion. For those who don't have any way to access God's Word, He handles in a different way. As He tells us, to whom much is given, much is required. (Luke 12:48)
There's no worse denunciation of meaningless religious ritual than in Amos 4:4–5, where he's saying, “Come to worship and sin.” The people worshiped God in ways that appealed to themselves not in ways that God approved. Their religion was centered in self, just as it is today. Every single one of us will have to stand before a very Holy God. Only those who have the benefit of truly believing in Christ, knowing Him, and living for Him by being obedient to His commands, will escape the wrath of God that the rest of the world will have to face. I am not advocating a works based faith, however. Obedience to God comes because we have been saved and love Him. We do not obey Him in order to be saved. Even demons "believe" but they are not saved, but sadly, this is the kind of "faith" that many today are relying on. Don't let yourself or those you love rely on that kind of "faith".
God tells us that many of these people seem to be quite religious, quite "Christian" to those who have no discernment. They take part in all kinds of ministries, and give money to them, and other things like that, but their reason for doing those things is to either make themselves look good to others, or perhaps to try and bribe God not to send the judgments. They don't do it because they love Him and want to obey Him, which is the only acceptable reason to our God.
Many people today think of a prophet as someone who tells what's going to happen in the future, and in a way, that can be true. But a prophet's main job is to warn people to turn from their sins, to examine their hearts, turn to God and live for Him. The "future" they foretell isn't necessarily something that we would read in history books and understand, but is instead the simple truth that sinners will go to hell and those who truly love the Lord will spend eternity with Him. A prophet is one who tells others what God's Word is saying to them. We find today that the true prophets are those who are warning people to turn from their sin and search for God with all their hearts, and to do it now before it's too late. The false prophets tend to ignore the heart, ignore people's thoughts and attitudes and tell people that they can have peace and prosperity and be healthy if they do certain things. False prophets encourage self centeredness; encourage people to focus on what they want instead of what God wants.
Amos 4 should wake up us women especially, as God compares the women to pampered cows. He shows their selfishness and self centeredness and how they order their husbands around instead of submitting to them as God tells us to. When we read that, we can surely see who wears the pants in those families! It's also reminding the men of what their God ordained role is, and that they will be held accountable. Isn't it really how many families run in today's world though? Yet, as God continues, we again see that even these people look to be religious to others. But their hearts are far from God.
God even compares them to Sodom and Gomorrah, which you'd think would be a real wake up call, but again it's ignored. Just as it is today. He says, “I overthrew some of you as I overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah. You were like a burning stick snatched from the fire, yet you have not returned to me,” declares the LORD.” (Amos 4:11) Remembering that story we know that God couldn't even find 10 righteous people there, only Lot and his family, therefore only they were saved, "snatched from the fire." This again forces us to consider how few are truly saved in our day and time, and only those few will be snatched from the fire to come by the rapture.
2 Peter 2:6–7 tells us that God made those cities an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly. That Lot who was righteous was constantly distressed by the filthy lives of the others. Lot didn't pretend to be religious, he was righteous, and the way he lived his life in public and private, was very different then the way everyone else did, and all who knew him, could see that. Peter tells us, “if this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue godly men from trials and to hold the unrighteous for the day of judgment, while continuing their punishment.” (2 Peter 2:9) This isn't saying that the godly don't experience trials, they obviously do, or Lot wouldn't have been so disturbed by the ungodly behavior around him. What we will be rescued from is God's Wrath, not the trials or hardships that are meant to warn us, or to grow or prove our faith. (1 Peter 1:7) Peter then explains how important obedience to God is; that it's not enough to know God, or to play at looking religious to others because God knows our hearts. He expects obedience and holiness from us, not excuses, and will hold us accountable because we know better even though we're not doing what we know is right . (2 Peter 2:20–21) To be sure everyone understand what this means, even if we don't know God's Word, if we have had someone tell us at some point that God commands us to know His Word, then we will be held accountable for everything within His Word, even if we haven't studied it. He will hold us accountable because we've been warned that knowing His Word is a command and not a suggestion. For those who don't have any way to access God's Word, He handles in a different way. As He tells us, to whom much is given, much is required. (Luke 12:48)
There's no worse denunciation of meaningless religious ritual than in Amos 4:4–5, where he's saying, “Come to worship and sin.” The people worshiped God in ways that appealed to themselves not in ways that God approved. Their religion was centered in self, just as it is today. Every single one of us will have to stand before a very Holy God. Only those who have the benefit of truly believing in Christ, knowing Him, and living for Him by being obedient to His commands, will escape the wrath of God that the rest of the world will have to face. I am not advocating a works based faith, however. Obedience to God comes because we have been saved and love Him. We do not obey Him in order to be saved. Even demons "believe" but they are not saved, but sadly, this is the kind of "faith" that many today are relying on. Don't let yourself or those you love rely on that kind of "faith".