“Amaziah the priest of Bethel sent to Jeroboam king of Israel, saying, ‘Amos has conspired against you in the midst of the house of Israel. The land is not able to bear all his words. For thus Amos has said,
‘“Jeroboam shall die by the sword,
and Israel must go into exile
away from his land.”’
“And Amaziah said to Amos, ‘O seer, go, flee away to the land of Judah, and eat bread there, and prophesy there, but never again prophesy at Bethel, for it is the king’s sanctuary, and it is a temple of the kingdom.’
“Then Amos answered and said to Amaziah, ‘I was no prophet, nor a prophet’s son, but I was a herdsman and a dresser of sycamore figs. But the LORD took me from following the flock, and the LORD said to me, “Go, prophesy to my people Israel.” Now therefore hear the word of the LORD.
‘You say, “Do not prophesy against Israel,
and do not preach against the house of Isaac.”’
“Therefore, thus says the LORD:
‘“Your wife shall be a prostitute in the city,
and your sons and your daughters shall fall by the sword,
and your land shall be divided up with a measuring line;
you yourself shall die in an unclean land,
and Israel shall surely go into exile away from its land.”’” [1], [2]
Her approach following the service communicated determination; she was a woman on a mission. She informed me that she was uncomfortable with how the message might be perceived by outsiders or by Christians on the fringes of the Faith. It wasn’t her first time to register her concerns—she confronted me at least once each month. After a few years, and gaining no traction, she ceased attending our services. She seemed distressed that she could not get her way on the issue. Her idea of the pastoral role was that the pastor must make everyone happy and never make anyone uncomfortable. Frankly, she was ignorant of the Word of God.
If our concern is primarily how the world sees us, our message can be muted before individuals who despise Jesus our Master. However, I recall Someone who said when He had forgiven a woman of her sins, “Her sins, which are many, are forgiven—for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little” [LUKE 7:47]. If we love the praise of men more than we love the smile of Heaven, we will be silent in the face of vicious attacks against the Saviour.
However, each pastor has received a solemn charge that must be neither ignored nor depreciated. “I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching” [2 TIMOTHY 4:1-2]. By the very nature of the Word that is declared, the preacher will be brought into conflict with others from time-to-time. Paul would warn Timothy to be wary of Alexander the coppersmith [see 2 TIMOTHY 4:14]. This appears to have been the same Alexander, who together with Hymenaeus, had been handed over to Satan [see 1 TIMOTHY 1:20]. Though the preacher would wish to be positive, would wish to be affirming, he knows that many times standing firm will ruffle some feathers. Many times, the feathers that are ruffled are those of fellow preachers.
The Prophet from Tekoa came to the Northern Kingdom with a straight-forward message. His message, uncompromising as it was, was not well received by the elite within the northern kingdom. The clergy, in particular, were disturbed by Amos’ message.
No one likes to think of their preacher as combative. We want our preachers to be peaceable, to avoid conflict—we have every right to imagine that our preachers will prove to be men of peace. In Scripture, we are taught that the man of God must be neither violent nor quarrelsome [see 1 TIMOTHY 3:3]. That the preacher must not be quick-tempered [see TITUS 1:7] is a qualification that is properly demanded of the clergy.
Of course, focusing on the requirements that speak of a pacific demeanour while ignoring the remainder of the requirements listed can easily lead to gross distortion in the pulpit. Though the elder is not to be combative, “He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it” [TITUS 1:9]. It is a question of intent—the preacher must not go looking for a fight; however, he must not shrink from fighting the Lord’s battles. It is his responsibility to analyse the conflicts he faces, avoiding exalting his own desires while standing firm for the cause of Christ.
Amos is identified as a Minor Prophet. However, there is nothing “minor” about the message that Amos delivered to Israel. At the LORD’s command, this man of God went to the Northern Kingdom, though his home was in Judea. There, he stirred up opposition, especially with clergymen. Amos’ message stung the Israeli clergy like wasps when they sting the unwary soul. One moment an individual is wandering through the pleasant environs on a summer day; the next moment that same individual is swinging wildly and smarting from multiple, painful stings that swell the face or partially paralyse the arms. That was the impact Amos had on the Israelite clergy. In their pain and anger, they attempted to silence the man of God. Something like that still occurs even in this day.
AMAZIAH’S ANGER AT AMOS’ MESSAGE — “Amaziah said to Amos, ‘O seer, go, flee away to the land of Judah, and eat bread there, and prophesy there, but never again prophesy at Bethel, for it is the king’s sanctuary, and it is a temple of the kingdom’” [AMOS 7:12-13].
Amaziah occupied an important position within the Kingdom of Israel. He is identified as “the priest of Bethel.” And he apparently had the ear of the King of Israel, Jeroboam, since he was able to send a disturbing letter in anticipation that his missive would be read and acted upon. Bethel was an important location in the northern kingdom. When the United Kingdom was divided following the death of Solomon, Jeroboam led a revolt that would lead to him ascending the throne of the northern kingdom, the kingdom afterwards known as Israel following that revolt. Rehoboam, son of Solomon, assumed the throne in the southern kingdom that would thereafter be identified as Judah.
Jeroboam was uneasy about the loyalty of the citizens of his kingdom. We read, “Jeroboam said in his heart, ‘Now the kingdom will turn back to the house of David. If this people go up to offer sacrifices in the temple of the LORD at Jerusalem, then the heart of this people will turn again to their lord, to Rehoboam king of Judah, and they will kill me and return to Rehoboam king of Judah’” [1 KINGS 12:26-27].
Fear is never a sound basis for making a decision; but Jeroboam, despite the Lord’s appointment to reign over Israel, was a fearful man. Because he was fearful of what might happen, Jeroboam decided to take matters into his own hands to ensure his continued reign. Since Jerusalem was where the Temple and the altar of God was, Jeroboam decided to build a rival site for worship. If the people didn’t go up to Jerusalem to worship, then they wouldn’t be tempted to return to Rehoboam. Therefore, we read, “The king took counsel and made two calves of gold. And he said to the people, ‘You have gone up to Jerusalem long enough. Behold your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.’ And he set one in Bethel, and the other he put in Dan. Then this thing became a sin, for the people went as far as Dan to be before one. He also made temples on high places and appointed priests from among all the people, who were not of the Levites. And Jeroboam appointed a feast on the fifteenth day of the eighth month like the feast that was in Judah, and he offered sacrifices on the altar. So, he did in Bethel, sacrificing to the calves that he made. And he placed in Bethel the priests of the high places that he had made. He went up to the altar that he had made in Bethel on the fifteenth day in the eighth month, in the month that he had devised from his own heart. And he instituted a feast for the people of Israel and went up to the altar to make offerings” [1 KINGS 12:28-33].
The distressing thing about fear in a leader is that whether or not the leader means to communicate fear, those beneath the leader will act in fear. Fear is communicable! This is the reason Jesus comforted His disciples on so many occasions by urging them, “Fear not.” Consider a few instances when the Master comforted His disciples because they were fearful. On one occasion, Jesus had just told the disciples that He was sending them out as sheep in the midst of wolves. He spoke of the consequences of their seemingly helpless condition. Having thus instructed them, the Lord pointed to the manner in which He Himself was treated, saying, “A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. It is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household” [MATTHEW 10:24-25]. No doubt, His words weighed heavily on their hearts; they certainly weigh heavily on our hearts!
Then, comforting them in the face of what they could expect from the world, the Master said, “So, have no fear of them, for nothing is covered that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. What I tell you in the dark, say in the light, and what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops. And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows” [MATTHEW 10:26-31]. “Have no fear…” “Do not fear…” “Fear not!”
On one occasion when He came walking on the sea while the disciples were struggling in vain against the waves, Jesus’ appearance terrified the men. What did the Master say to these men? “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid” [MATTHEW 14:27]. Don’t be afraid of what you can’t explain. Don’t fear what is beyond your experience.
On the Mount of Transfiguration, when the voice of the Father spoke and the terrified disciples fell to the ground, Jesus’ response was to touch them and say, “Rise, and have no fear” [MATTHEW 17:7b]. God is in control if you are following the Master. Don’t be fearful.
On another occasion, when death had taken the daughter of the ruler of a synagogue, Jesus spoke these comforting words, “Do not fear, only believe” [MARK 5:36b]. Not even death should cause the one who is looking to Jesus to be fearful.
Terrified when he witnessed Jesus’ mastery over nature, Peter fell down and cried out, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord” [LUKE 5:8b]. Jesus responded by saying to him, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men” [LUKE 5:10b]. Fear of our own sinful condition should be banished if we are seeking the face of the Master.
Fear is a natural emotion in times of high stress or when we are unable to explain or comprehend what we are witnessing, but if Christ the Lord is present, He consoles His people, always comforting them and saying, “Do not be afraid!” Fear is natural in our world, primarily because we realise our limitations. However, if we are standing with the Living Saviour, there should be no fear since He is victor over the world.
There are plenty of events and even people to cause us to fear if we focus on what is going on the in the world. We each face a measure of uncertainty in our world—Do we have enough money for retirement? Will the markets continue strong? Or will our investments erode? Will our job be secure? What are other nations doing to disturb the peace of our world? What are our own politicians doing to destabilise our nation or to threaten the world? Will someone else get the parking space I’m looking for? Okay, that last thought shouldn’t be a problem, but we often create problems that should never really be problems.
As a minister of the Lord Jesus Christ, I’ve been disturbed on numerous occasions. At any given time, there are members or adherents who are upset with something I’ve said or with some decision that the church has made. There are times that I’ve gone home and threatened to go into some field that is less stressful—something like clearing mine-fields or taming lions.
I was approached by the executive director of a major denomination on one occasion. “Mike,” he said, “you could pastor our largest congregations, if only you’d be more restrained.” I was gracious in my response as I told him that if I ceased to speak so pointedly I would no longer be me. Moreover, if I tempered my message, I would dishonour the One who appointed me. “Then, I guess you’ll always pastor insignificant congregations,” he sneered. Consequently, I never pastored one of “his” larger congregations.
On another occasion, while speaking with a denominational leader, the man ventured, “One of our best congregations is seeking a pastor. I’m thinking of recommending you.” Then, shaking his head as a rather shocked look crossed his face, he said, “But, that would never work; you don’t respect money.” I agreed with him that I kept my eyes focused on Christ and not on the donors to the congregation. I thought of that conversation some years later when a man approached me representing a search committee for that very church which that denominational leader had spoken of. The gentleman was adamant that the congregation he represented needed the message I was preaching. I explained that I don’t respect money, and therefore, the invitation, though gracious, would never work.
I sat across from the man who had been my pastor for several years as he informed me, “I’ve phoned every pastor I know; and you’ll never preach again.” He said this because I refused to quit inviting people of other races to come to faith in the Son of God. He was offended that I would agree to baptise people of another race and because I wasn’t exclusive enough in my denominational affiliation to satisfy his deacons.
“Preacher,” I responded, “if I have any steel in my spine, it is because your preaching put it there. I’ll remind you that it is the Living God Who opens doors; and if He opens a door, you’ll try in vain to close that door. And if God has closed a door, I have no business trying to go through it. I’ll take my chances with God rather than with your deacons.”
Some years later as I was speaking to an assembly of over four hundred pastoral students, I noticed a small group of men as they entered the back door of the auditorium. I recognised several of those men, one of whom was the same pastor who had confronted me because people of the wrong race were being converted to Christ. He gave no indication that he recognised me as I spoke, but it would have been difficult for him not to have known who I was.
My mind raced back to that earlier conversation when he had told me that I would never speak in the Name of the Lord again. I realised that time hadn’t been kind to my former pastor; he was no longer pastoring and the church he had served was closing its doors and selling their building to a black congregation. I had cast my lot with the One who oversees life. I briefly paused in my address and silently gave thanks that my times were in the hands of the Living God and not in the hands of some petty deacons who bore their prejudices openly. Clergy in conflict is a tragic reality. It has been part of the Faith from earliest days.
No wonder Amaziah was angry with Amos! It is natural to want to control our situation; and the natural man will inevitably seek to hold power so as to ensure a measure of stability. The man of God, however, realises the truth expressed by the Psalmist:
“I trust in you, O LORD;
I say, ‘You are my God.’
My times are in your hand;
rescue me from the hand of my enemies and from my persecutors!”
[PSALM 31:14-15]
Each child of God can be assured that the Lord God who rules over life, not man.
AMOS’ PREPARATION FOR PROPHETIC MINISTRY — “I was no prophet, nor a prophet’s son, but I was a herdsman and a dresser of sycamore figs. But the LORD took me from following the flock, and the LORD said to me, ‘Go, prophesy to my people Israel’” [AMOS 7:14b-15].
I trust you will not misunderstand what I am about to say. I have encouraged numerous young men to equip themselves for service in full-time ministry by attending Bible School and seminary. I taught in a major Bible College and have served as field supervisor or doctoral mentor for two major seminaries on several occasions. I believe in ministerial education as extremely valuable for equipping the man of God for his service among the churches. However, I fear that in many instances, education is substituted for divine appointment. If the hand of the Lord is not on the life of the one who is to preach, the effort is doomed to eternal failure. Amos, though a rude herdsman who supplemented his income through tending sycamore trees, had this one point of equipping for success—the hand of the LORD rested on him.
Ezekiel speaks of his ministry as directed by God’s hand. “The Spirit lifted me up and took me away, and I went in bitterness in the heat of my spirit, the hand of the LORD being strong upon me. And I came to the exiles at Tel-abib, who were dwelling by the Chebar canal, and I sat where they were dwelling” [EZEKIEL 3:14-15a]. For Ezekiel, the phrase, “The hand of the LORD was upon me,” becomes a somewhat common statement for his ministry before the LORD. [3]
Just as “the hand of the Lord” may rest upon one to equip the individual for service, so the hand of the Lord may rest on a person in order to inflict judgement on them. During his first missionary tour Paul condemned a man for attempting to discredit their ministry. Paul said, “You son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, full of all deceit and villainy, will you not stop making crooked the straight paths of the Lord? And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you will be blind and unable to see the sun for a time” [ACTS 13:10-11]. Ouch! Paul’s language certainly was not pastoral at that moment! Or was it? Perhaps his love for the Risen Son of God was far greater than his love for the approval of mere mortals.
Paul’s language addresses the matter of presumption in ministry, doesn’t it! However, it also reminds us that without God’s appointment and without the equipping that He alone can provide, the idea of effective ministry is fallacious. I remind anyone who imagines that ministry is an issue of training that the Master said, “Apart from Me you can do nothing” [JOHN 15:5b]. Without divine appointment, and without divine equipping, any individual occupying the pulpit is deceiving not only himself but deceiving also those who look to the pulpit for guidance.
The divine pronouncement delivered through Moses is frightening for those who are presumptuous. “The prophet who presumes to speak a word in my name that I have not commanded him to speak, or who speaks in the name of other gods, that same prophet shall die” [DEUTERONOMY 18:20]. That same proscription surely applies even today.
In emphasising this divine warning, Ezekiel wrote, “If the prophet is deceived and speaks a word, I, the LORD, have deceived that prophet, and I will stretch out my hand against him and will destroy him from the midst of my people Israel. And they shall bear their punishment—the punishment of the prophet and the punishment of the inquirer shall be alike” [EZEKIEL 14:9-10].
Amos was prepared by God. He had neither prophetic heritage nor ministerial training. He made no claim of being qualified for the prophetic office through knowing all the right people or by dint of having attended the right schools. Rather, Amos’ preparation was simply, “The LORD took me … and the LORD said to me, ‘Go!’” If Amaziah had a complaint with Amos, he would need to take the matter up with the LORD God of Israel. That is excellent advice! So live that if others have a complaint with you, with your conduct or with your speech, that they must take up the matter with the Lord who appoints to holy service!
God prepares each of His servants uniquely. No training is wasted if it is committed to the Risen Lord of Glory. Whatever your experience in life, it has been preparation for service if you understand that God has had His hand in your life. Though you may have passed through deep waters, as His child, God was there with you to ensure that the water would not overwhelm nor would the fire consume you. Though the promise was for Israel, it applies to us today.
“Thus says the LORD,
he who created you, O Jacob,
he who formed you, O Israel:
‘Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by name, you are mine.
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;
when you walk through fire you shall not be burned,
and the flame shall not consume you.’”
[ISAIAH 43:1-2]
What is marvellous about this information is the knowledge that just as God equipped Amos through his experiences, so the Lord of Glory has been working in your life preparing you for His service through the experiences of your life. I understand that some of you will protest that you are just a housewife, just a mother, just a clerk or just a labourer. Nevertheless, throughout the days in which you have walked with the Master, He has been at work in your life uniquely equipping you for the task to which He has appointed you. You may feel that you have done nothing that qualifies as greatness, nothing that could be thought exceptional, nothing beyond the ordinary; however, you must never forget that God works in the ordinary. The Living God excels in transforming the ordinary into the glorious.
Perhaps you will recall what God did as He called Moses to the great task of delivering the people of Israel from bondage to the Egyptian overlords. Moses had protested that the people would never believe him if he said the LORD had appeared to him. Here is the divine text. “The LORD said to him, ‘What is that in your hand?’ He said, ‘A staff.’ And he said, ‘Throw it on the ground.’ So, he threw it on the ground, and it became a serpent, and Moses ran from it. But the LORD said to Moses, ‘Put out your hand and catch it by the tail’—so he put out his hand and caught it, and it became a staff in his hand—'that they may believe that the LORD, the God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has appeared to you’” [EXODUS 4:2-5]. It was nothing but a staff, an ordinary implement, until the Lord worked.
Similarly, you have no claim of greatness or power, until the Lord transforms the ordinary to express His might and His power through what others can never see as great. It is just a piano, until God employs your hands to provide music to delight the soul and to glorify His Name as you enable His people to sing joyously and in harmony with the angels. It is just an automobile, until the Lord God transforms it to provide hope through providing transportation for some needy soul. It is just a cup of water, until the Son of God transforms it to encourage some fainting individual who needs the cool refreshment of the invigorating draught. What we as followers of the Risen Lord of Glory must see is that God works in the ordinary, in the mundane, transforming what others can never see as great so that He receives honour and glory. And He is using us to fulfil His perfect will.
AMOS’ PROPHECY — “Now hear the Word of the LORD” [AMOS 7:16a]. If you have set yourself against the LORD God, you really don’t want to hear what the LORD’s prophet has to say. The words of the prophet will terrify you. To be certain, one can almost see the terror that Amos’ words imposed on Amaziah. This is the Word of the LORD which Amos delivered to Amaziah,
“You are saying,
‘Don’t prophesy against Israel,
and don’t preach against the house of Isaac.’
“Therefore, this is what the LORD says:
‘Your wife will become a whore in the city,
and your sons and daughters will die by the sword.
Your land will be divided and apportioned,
and you will die in a foreign land.
Israel will surely go into exile,
far from its homeland.’”
[AMOS 7:16-17 ISV]
The Living God is not to be trifled with, He is not to be dishonoured by mere mortals; He expects that those who name His Name will honour Him. Preaching, pastoring God’s people, is not a vocation—it is a divine appointment. Amaziah obviously was attempting to use his position as a priest to advance his own interest. Acting in this manner could not work out well for him; it never works out well for anyone abusing the position as a servant of God.
The one proclaiming God’s Word is expected do so even when there is no remuneration for doing so; he will proclaim this Word out of commitment to the One who appoints to holy service and out of love for the Master. We who stand behind the sacred desk are not professionals—we are servants of the Most High God. Though we answer to the congregation in an ongoing manner, we are always aware that ultimately, we answer to the Living God. We stand before Him continually, and we shall each stand before Him at the last to answer for how we handled the responsibilities with which we were entrusted.
God warned the shepherds of Israel, and in doing so He warned those who shepherd His churches even in this day. The LORD commanded Ezekiel, “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel; prophesy, and say to them, even to the shepherds, Thus says the Lord GOD: Ah, shepherds of Israel who have been feeding yourselves! Should not shepherds feed the sheep? You eat the fat, you clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the fat ones, but you do not feed the sheep. The weak you have not strengthened, the sick you have not healed, the injured you have not bound up, the strayed you have not brought back, the lost you have not sought, and with force and harshness you have ruled them. So they were scattered, because there was no shepherd, and they became food for all the wild beasts. My sheep were scattered; they wandered over all the mountains and on every high hill. My sheep were scattered over all the face of the earth, with none to search or seek for them.
“Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the LORD: As I live, declares the Lord GOD, surely because my sheep have become a prey, and my sheep have become food for all the wild beasts, since there was no shepherd, and because my shepherds have not searched for my sheep, but the shepherds have fed themselves, and have not fed my sheep, therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the LORD: Thus says the Lord GOD, Behold, I am against the shepherds, and I will require my sheep at their hand and put a stop to their feeding the sheep. No longer shall the shepherds feed themselves. I will rescue my sheep from their mouths, that they may not be food for them” [EZEKIEL 34:2-10].
God will protect His Name. I have always been awed by God’s declaration delivered through the Prophet Isaiah.
“I am the LORD! That is my name!
I will not share my glory with anyone else,
or the praise due me with idols.”
[ISAIAH 42:8 NET BIBLE]
Elsewhere, the LORD declared through His Prophet,
“For my sake alone I will act,
for how can I allow my name to be defiled?
I will not share my glory with anyone else!”
[ISAIAH 48:11 NET BIBLE]
The consequence can only be described as awful, as frightful, when we fail to recognise God as God, when we fail to honour Him as holy. There is an especially frightful consequence of attempting to distort knowledge of the Holy One for our own nefarious, dastardly purposes. The act of distorting the knowledge of God in order to advance our own cause is presumptuous. The Living God will judge us more harshly because we have attempted to drag Him down to our level and restrict Him to the present.
In the prophecy pronounced against Amaziah, Amos reveals a terrifying truth that is seldom considered whenever we imagine we can trifle with sin, especially if it is sin that would seek to dethrone the Living God—The consequences of our sin are never restricted to us alone. Judgement, when it is poured out, inevitably spills over with terrible impact on those we love. Perhaps we deserve the pain and the sorrow that accompanies judgement, but our sin will cause deep pain to those we love; they shall suffer because of our sin.
I recall a seaman assigned to the Treasure Island Naval Base when we were living in the Bay Area of San Francisco. He had a profane chief who constantly invested great effort to call down divine imprecations against everything within his sight. On one particular day he was calling down divine maledictions on an IBM Selectric Typewriter. When the young seaman could stand the crude language no longer, he said to the CPO, “Chief, I hope when God answers your prayer the scatter doesn’t hit us.” Humorous, without a doubt. However, there is considerable truth in the seaman’s observation. The chief displayed ignorance of the fact that judgement, when it is unleashed, inevitably touches far more than the wicked who are the objects of judgement. Judgement will have an impact on all about us. Though judgement can serve to warn the unwary, it is the impact on the innocent that should give us pause.
The drunkard may suffer impaired memory and loss of fine motor function, finally being brought to death because of a necrotic liver, but his loved ones will suffer from the pain of watching that individual slowly kill himself. His family will suffer financial loss and possible ruin because of his wasted life and the money he has wasted. And if the drunkard injures another while attempting to drive while drunk, the family will be saddled with financial ruin brought on by the consequences of the poor decision of the drunkard.
The drug addict destroys not only her own life, but she destroys the hopes and dreams of all who love her. The sex addict destroys not only his own life, but leaves his marriage in tatters, having threatened his wife with dreadful infections acquired because of his infidelity. The wife and children of that man who surrendered to the siren call of pornography will have been deeply wounded as result of that man’s exchange of reality to pursue an air-brushed illusion. In the same way, the false teacher condemns not only his own soul, but he sentences to eternal ruin those who have imbibed his poison. Too often, he leads his own children and the wife of his youth, into spiritual devastation as they follow his pernicious doctrine.
Amaziah would be captured by foreign invaders, rough men without regard for anyone identified with the nation they conquered. He would be deported to a foreign land, where he would die. He would see the nation destroyed, knowing that he had contributed to the destruction of the land through his failure to honour God. This would, in itself be a horrible consequence of his sinful behaviour. However, compounding the consequences of his sin, he would see his sons and his daughters slain by the sword. His wife would become a prostitute, compelled to sell her body for food or for shelter. The horror of God’s judgement when it was unleashed would touch everyone whom Amaziah loved. Understand that when judgement comes, your sin will have contaminated multiple lives beyond anything you could ever imagine.
It didn’t have to be that way. Amaziah could have repented, he could have sought the Lord, he could have confessed his sin. For anyone who follows the Christ, we have this promise: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” [1 JOHN 1:9]. One of the hardest things for a follower of Christ to do is to confess her own sinfulness. One of the most blessed things a follower of Christ will ever do is to confess her own sinfulness. That is not mere tautology! That is biblical. The flesh rebels at the thought of repentance; the Lord delights when His people repent and get right with Him.
Obviously, I commend the act of repentance for those who claim the Name of Christ. I recommend that you get specific when you repent of your sin. It is one thing for someone to say, “Of course I’m a sinner.” It is quite another thing to get specific. Confessing specific sin, such as, “I have lusted after another” humbles the proud soul. Admitting, “I have grumbled against God and against His goodness” enables us to be specific about where we are failing. Owning up to our sin by saying, “In my anger, I maligned a good person,” compels us to seek forgiveness from that person. Saying, “I doubted God and His goodness” drives us to rely on His mercy. God’s people are called to confess sin in the specific rather than wallowing in the general.
Let me take a moment to speak of this act of repentance. Some have distorted the mind of God through a perverted ecclesiastical Terpsichore that transforms repentance into penitence. Penitence is a flawed effort to make amends for wrong. God calls for us to transform the attitude. To be certain, when we repent, we will want to make things right. However, many imagine that they can perform some act that will substitute for repentance. Repentance is not feeling sorry for the wrong that has been performed, though the one who repents will no doubt feel shame and even sorrow. What is important is that the sorrow flows from the transformation of the heart, for sorrow can never create a clean heart.
When we repent, we will confess our sinful acts. We will confess to those we have wronged, admitting that we hurt them and asking their forgiveness. If our sin was private, it is perhaps best not to broadcast our sinful proclivity. It is enough to confess to those we have wronged. However, if our sin clearly injured another, we need to make things right with those whom we have injured. The man guilty of infidelity has wronged his wife and his children; he will need to confess his sin to them. He also wronged those with whom he was unfaithful. If his confession is real, he will need to confess to them that he sinned against them.
The thief needs to restore what was stolen, confessing her theft. The liar must cease lying, going to those against whom he lied, asking their forgiveness. The slanderer must cease slandering others. Then, she must go to those whom she slandered, confessing her awful sin and seeking their forgiveness. This need to admit our sinful actions, confessing to those whom we wronged, is a major reason why few are prepared to repent. We are proud, and we don’t want to be compelled to admit that we have sinned against another. Therefore, we try to cover our sin, hoping that a quick prayer will suffice to make things right again.
Since all sin is against God, we will need to confess our sin to Him, asking His forgiveness. We are part of His Body, the church of the Risen Saviour. Therefore, it is appropriate that we heed Scripture and let the assembly know our sinful actions, seeking restoration to the Body. James deals with this matter in this way: “Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise. Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another” [JAMES 5:13-16a]. Confess to those we have wronged!
Let me focus for but a moment longer and then I’m finished. The shepherd that will honour God will preach a hard message at times. He will declare that difficult message, not because he is angry, not because he seeks to inflict pain, but because he seeks God’s best for the flock. The shepherd knows that he does not own the flock, but he is responsible to the One to whom the flock belongs. Therefore, he will say the difficult things that must be said because he loves the flock and seeks God’s best for them.
I speak out of my love for the Saviour who redeemed me and appointed me to this service. I seek God’s best for you, the people of God when I call you to forsake the sin that is now tripping you up. With the Apostle, I plead with you, “This I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity. But that is not the way you learned Christ!— assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.
“Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another. Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil. Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need. Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you” [EPHESIANS 4:17-32].
I urge each one who listens to accept the encouragement of a nameless writer, who wrote, “Since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God” [HEBREWS 12:1-2].
If somehow you have never received Christ as Master over your life, let this be the day you look to Him in faith. He gave His life as a sacrifice because of you, and He has promised, “Whoever comes to Me I will never cast out” [JOHN 6:37b]. Trust Him and be saved today. Amen.
[1 ]Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. Wheaton: Standard Bible Society, 2016. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
[2] The title for this message and the concept is taken from a message by Dr. William A. Jones, Jr., https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I1Tbe2E53NI
[3] E.g. EZEKIEL 3:22; 8:1; 33:22; 37:1; 40:1
