Amos – The Roar of the Lord
#8 - BE SURE
Amos 5:18-27
By Rev. John R. Hannem,
“One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” I don’t know about you, but I find it hard to believe that 36 years have gone by since Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldren landed on the moon. I was at Holmestead Camp the night that event occurred. Many people never believed that event actually happened. They were convinced the pictures of the 2 men supposedly walking around on the moon had been staged somewhere here on earth. Some said it was somewhere in the
You could try and tell them they were wrong but you could not persuade them. Friends, we live in a world where a lot of people believe a lot of things, often very passionately, .... things that simply are not true. As someone said, “The problem of our time is not that people don’t know things; it’s that they know so many things that are not necessarily so.” It can be very difficult to persuade someone that his/her belief is false. Often times the direct approach, saying “You are wrong!” backfires and people put up their defenses and cling more tightly to their false ideas. A more effective approach is often to plant little seeds of doubt, throw out little bits of fact and logic, which the other person can take home and process and maybe conclude on his/her own that he/she has been mistaken.
Many years ago, about 750 B.C., a man named Amos was dealing with a group of people who were making a very serious error in their thinking. Now, whether or not you believe man actually landed on the moon in 1969 probably doesn’t have a real big impact on other aspects of your life. However, the false belief that these folks in ancient
Amos “Woe to you who long for the Day of the Lord.” Those who are familiar with the N.T. recognize “the day of the Lord” as a phrase referring to the return of Jesus Christ.
I Thessalonians 5:2 says, “the Day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night.” Seeking to dispel rumors that Jesus had already returned, Paul, in 2 Thess. assures the folks in that chapter that the day of the Lord had not yet occurred. But when the O.T. prophets, including Amos, use that phrase it is a bit more general. It basically is the time of God’s judgment, the day when His verdicts are announced and His punishment and rewards are handed down.
In some ways, it is similar to a pair of brothers having a fight and the younger one saying, “you just wait until mom and dad get home.” I guess that would not be called the day of the Lord, but maybe the day of the parents. The implication is that when mom and dad get home, they are going to hear about the conflict, declare that the younger brother is right, reward him and punish the older brother. We can’t be sure whether the Jewish people of Amos’ day were thinking about a final, history ending day of the Lord or whether they understood it as an event that might be repeated, but it was something they eagerly anticipated, a time for which they longed.
Why? Because in their minds, this was when God would come home, so to speak. This was when God would declare, “These are the people I love and you guys have been messing with them. All you surrounding nations who have been harassing and persecuting
“It will be as though a man fled from a lion, only to meet a bear.” I have seen that scenario on more than one cartoon show. Someone is running from a lion, darting down all sorts of different paths, dodging in and out various places. Finally he thinks he has escaped. He steps into the mouth of a cave and thinks, “Now I’m safe from that lion.” Yet, just as he starts to relax, he hears this noise behind him. He turns around only to see this giant bear with huge teeth ready to attack him.
Another analogy is a man going into his house, maybe exhausted after a tough day at work. He is finally home, a place where he can safely rest and relax, but (19) he rests “his hand on a wall, only to have a snake bite him.” It is probably not a little garden snake. The point is—people can reach what they think is safety, only to find it is anything but safe. The people of
As the people of
The reason: their religion is empty and it angers rather than pleases God. We focused on this last time
in the first part of this chapter, but in these next verses Amos gives an especially vivid condemnation of the religion being practiced. Listen to verse -22—the Lord says in other words, even though you are doing everything right when it comes to religious ritual, you make me sick. He says 5:23—“your worship music may be lively, and it may be expertly done. The words you sing may be theologically sound, but I do not want to hear it. Then the Lord adds verse –“if only, if only
We then see (25) that
Some of the people were not even pretending to worship the Lord and instead (26) expressed devotion to shrines and idols, gods that they had made for themselves. Whenever we stop worshiping the one who has created us, and instead create our own objects of worship, it is blatant rebellion against God. That was happening in
That would be “The Day of the Lord” for those people. That would be the day when God would execute His judgment and enforce justice. The folk in
Surveys are periodically done asking people about their views on heaven and hell and on what they think will happen after they die. The percentages vary from survey to survey, but the general conclusions are the same. The vast majority of people in this country, probably over 75% believe in heaven. A smaller percentage, 40-50%, believe in hell. Of those who think there is a heaven, almost all of them believe they will end up there. In fact, I think one survey found that more people thought they were going to heaven than actually believed in heaven—I’m not sure how that works. Hardly anyone who believes in hell thinks they will end up there; many say they don’t even know anyone who will probably end up in hell. In other words, the consensus seems to be that the day of the Lord will be a wonderful day for almost everybody. Whether we each stand before God following our death, or whether the entire human race stands before the Lord when Jesus returns to earth as king and judge, we expect that the verdict will be a positive one. We are great optimists. The common thinking is that God is a loving God; deep down inside we are all basically good people, so surely almost everyone will end up in heaven.
As I said, it doesn’t matter a whole lot if you are mistaken on whether man actually landed on the moon in 1969. It really doesn’t even matter if you think that the Montreal Canadiens are a better hockey team than the Toronto Maple Leafs, .... but it matters if you think God is pleased with people when He really is not. It matters a lot if you think most people will make it to heaven, when they really won’t. It matters a great big deal if you think you have experienced God’s salvation when you really have not. I think that is the biggest mistake anyone could ever make. Last time I mentioned George Barna’s survey, which found that about 76% of adults consider themselves Christians and of that group, about 40% would describe themselves as born again Christians. I suspect that all of those folk think they are in good shape when it comes to God; they are confident they will end up in heaven. Yet, what if that is not true? What if many of these folk really are not ready for the “Day of The Lord”? What if like the people of ancient
Maybe you are thinking, boy Pastor John, you are sounding pretty alarmist. Are you turning into one of those old-fashioned fire and brimstone preachers? Not really. Like one of my heroes, John Edwards, I would much rather talk about the glories of God’s grace, than what it means to be sinners in the hands of an angry God. There are a number of reasons, however, why I am afraid many people are mistaken about their spiritual condition.
First, I think of a couple of statements the Lord Jesus made. In Matthew 7:13-14, He says “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. (14) For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few. Over the centuries, there has been a bit of discussion about the percentage of people who will end up in heaven and the percentage that will end up in hell. God alone knows the numbers, but Jesus’ statement makes it clear that not everyone will make it to heaven. Though a countless multitude will be a part of God’s eternal kingdom, (Rev. 7:9) there will be plenty of people who won’t be there and some of those folk will be totally shocked that they are being excluded from heaven. Matthew 7:21-23 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. (22) On that day many will say to me, “Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name and do many mighty works in your name?” (23) And then will I declare to them, “I never knew you; depart from me.” Jesus words are sobering, but clear. There are folks who think they are in good shape spiritually, confident they will make it to heaven, but who in the end, on the Day of the Lord, will learn they are tragically wrong.
Another reason I believe many folks are mistaken about their own spiritual condition are statements they themselves make. In his study, Barna found that 50% --1/2 of self described born again Christians believed that striving to do good works is what makes someone ready for heaven. That seems to be a direct contradiction of what the Bible tells us. Ephesians 2:8-9 says, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not of your own doing; it is the gift of God, (9) not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” Now listen carefully. Someone can be a genuine Christian even if he/she says that good works is what gets one into heaven. Theological confusion doesn’t necessarily damn one to hell. But…..if someone is actually trusting in his good works rather than in Jesus Christ for salvation, he/she is not a true Christian and will be in big trouble on The Day of the Lord. If someone is trusting in Jesus Christ and in his good works, he/she may also be in big trouble. In Galatians 1, the apostle Paul seems to reject any hybrid type of Christianity where it is faith in Jesus Christ plus faith in something else which enables one to experience Gods’ salvation. I believe it is very correct to say that salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone and in Christ alone.
I also hear folks say, “Well I’m sure I will be in heaven because I have been baptized, or because I’m a church member or because I went forward at a Bible Camp meeting when I was 8 years old.” Friends, those are all fine things, but if you are not trusting in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, these will be of little value when The Day of The Lord comes. A couple of years ago I had a conversation with a Lutheran Pastor. After some discussion we reached a point of agreement. Now, this is not some great Baptist/Lutheran accord, but I think it is an important point. He was willing to concede that a person who has been baptized and even confirmed, but is not trusting in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior is not really a Christian, as long as I agreed that a person who went forward at an evangelistic meeting or repeated a prayer that someone told him/her to pray, but is not trusting in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior is not really a Christian either. I agreed with him.
Don’t miss the significance here. One of my pet peeves is to attend a funeral service for someone who over the years has never given any indication through words or actions that he/she was a believer in Jesus Christ or had any interest in the things of God, and then hear the Pastor say, “We know Joe/Jane is in heaven because 65 years ago when he/she was an infant, he was baptized. OUCH!! I’d rather hear someone running his or her fingernails down a chalkboard than listen to such a spiritually silly and harmful statement. At the same time, one of the Lutheran Pastor’s pet peeves is talking with folks whose words and actions reflect no indication of faith in Christ or interest in the things of God, but who claim, “I know I am saved, I know I am going to heaven, because 40 years ago when I was 7 years old, I went forward at Bible Camp and I repeated a prayer they asked me to pray.” Friends, I think that is also a spiritually silly and harmful statement.
I’m sure some of you are thinking, but Pastor isn’t that often how someone becomes a Christian, by going forward or responding to an invitation and saying a prayer? That’s how I became a Christian.” Let me gently say, “No, that is not how you become a Christian. If you are a true Christian, you become one when by God’s grace and through the work of His Spirit, you placed your faith and you trusted in Jesus Christ as your Savior. That may have happened when you went forward of repeated a prayer. Those are often occasions when people receive Jesus as Lord and Savior and become Christians. That is why I don’t believe there is anything wrong with asking people to do those things. However, it is important; it is essential, to remember that one can do those things, without ever trusting in Jesus Christ at all.
Someone can go forward in dozens of evangelical meetings, can say dozens of prayers asking Jesus to be his/her Savior, but if there is no real Holy Spirit generated faith, no real trust in Jesus Christ and in what He has accomplished through His death and resurrection, that individual is not really a Christian. Unless people like that truly turn to the Lord Jesus, they will one day, when the Day of The Lord comes, experience God’s judgment and wrath. No matter how sincerely they may think, “I know I am a Christian because I said this prayer or because I was baptized”; if there is not faith in Jesus Christ, they will be in big time eternal trouble.
Friends, one of my greatest fears is that there are folks who listen to my sermons almost every week, who sincerely believe they are saved, heading for heaven and in good shape spiritually, but who when they stand before the Lord, will hear the words, “I never knew you, depart from me.” If there is one thing in life to be sure about, it is what I have just described to you. 2 Peter tells us we should be “Diligent to make our calling and election sure.” That is a simply a way of saying, be sure your faith is truly in Jesus Christ. Be sure you are not trusting in yourself or some religious thing you have done to get you to heaven. Be sure you are trusting in the Lord Jesus and in His death for you on the cross. Be sure you are really a Christian. Be sure. This is something, which you cannot be mistaken about.