Hosea 6:4-5

It’s my privilege to speak to you once again from the book of Hosea chapter 6. So I invite you to turn with me to Josea chapter 6. I want to read verses 4 and 5 for our text tonight. Josea chapter 6 and verses 4 and 5. O Ephraim, what shall I do unto thee? O Judah, what shall I do unto thee? For your goodness is as a mourning cloud and as the early do it goeth away. Therefore have I ewed them by the prophets. I have slain them by the words of my mouth and thy judgments are as the light. that goeth forth. May God bless to us his sacred and holy word this evening. There was a convict that was released from a Kansas prison after serving seven years for fraud. Upon his release, he immediately required someone, acquired someone else’s credit cards and went on his friendings for it. He was caught again, brought to trial, and inquired. court. He confessed what he had done. And he asked the judge to pardon him, be lenient toward him, because now he’s learned his lesson. He said it was wrong and I know that now and I will never do anything like that again. The judge was unimpressed. He said, I have learned that courtroom confessions lasts only as long as the criminals get to the back door. You know, in recent years, In America, much attention has been focused on evangelicals who often talk about their born-again experience. And there’s a vast group of people that will claim to fit under that category. But if so many people are claiming to be born-again again and having that experience, the question we would ask is then why is there’s so little impact on the society in which we live. Sadly, the lives of many claiming to be born again are no different, really, or only a little bit different from the world lanes around them. So what is the problem? Well, let us say that the religion is shallow. There is an empty religious profession that has been made. This is nothing to. As you see in our text tonight, God complains about the same thing with regard to Israel and Judah. Your goodness is as the morning cloud. And this is the theme that we see here tonight. Now let me say this. Your religious profession, may trouble God. You’ll notice he says here in verse four of chapter six, O’Ephraim, what shall I do unto thee? Oh, Judah, what shall I do unto thee? For your goodness is as a morning cloud and as the early do, it goeth away. Your profession may be very disappointing. We see here that it’s an empty profession. You can have a religion, but the fact of the matter is, it’s like the early dew that in the morning cloud it disappears. Where is it? As you search for it, it’s not there. What is God saying here? He’s saying, whatever you profess, it is in vain. It doesn’t stand the test of time. It fades away. It’s not genuine. What the people of Israel probably had in this period was some kind of an emotional attachment, perhaps, to the ancient God of their fathers. Now, in this day and time, they had multiple gods that they would worship sometimes. They knew about Jehovah, and they had Jobha’s prophets talking with them. But we see that they really didn’t have the substance of what the Bible talks about when it comes to salvation. Very much, this is the way some people are today. They’re Christians in name, maybe because of their parents or their grandparents, or something of this nature. The people of Israel were worshipping Jehovah to some extent, evidently, much like those in America or Western countries may claim to be worshippers of Christ, but God says it’s all meaningless. It’s all meaningless. You’re not keeping God’s law. There is no submission to Christ. So it was an empty profession. Now, we see a promising profession that fades away here. Observe the contrast. When God promises it is as the morning, verse 3, the light increasing intensity. When man promises, it’s like the dew or the morning cloud, it quickly fades. When we see the many who make religious, professions and they don’t hold on to the promises they’ve made to follow the Lord. It all comes to nothing. It’s sort of like the stony ground here. That seed falls on a ground that’s really underneath is pretty much stone or rock. And there’s just a little layer of dirt on a ground that’s really underneath is pretty much stone or rock. the top and it springs up immediately, but it has no root, it has no depth. It shows early promise, but then it withers it. In the heat, it dies out. How disappointing the stony ground hearers are. How many go through some type of confession of sin. They show promise, and yet where are they afterwards? what happened to that early interest in the things of God? There’s such a danger here with regard to young people. You read in the Bible of the young king, Jehoas, who was crowned when he was seven years old, and Russell, read some of the story for you tonight. He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord as long as Joel. O’hoiada the priest instructed him. Long as he had that guidance for him. And while this priest was a guardian and advisor, the young king obeyed the laws of God. But when that gracious man died, then the king went his own way, began worshipping other gods, refused to listen to the God’s heart. You know, many young people may grow up under the influence of godly parents, relatives, or friends, but they lack in inward change. Their real character is concealed because the godly person overshadows them. And you may be moving in the right way, not because of the spiritual change within, but because of a Godly influence without. And thus in your early years, you may appear to show great promise. But let that influence be removed, and your goodness fades away. How many people hear a sermon? And they perhaps are deeply impressed by the sermon. Satan soon comes along and steals away the seed. and it never takes root. How soon impressions of the word of God are forgotten. You go your way, you live your life as you’ve done before, and there’s no changed life. Young people spiritually impressed early in life when they face no great temptation, maybe because they’re in their parents’ house, too often disliked. you later in life. And so it’s important that we seek with regard to our children, that they are genuinely converted and know the Lord. So your profession may be disappointing. Notice God may be pondering what to do with you. Here you observe a change in Jose’s tone of voice. The change is the tone of voice. The chapter begins with the remnant’s future repentance, and it’s full of mercy and grace. But now it’s time to come back to present reality, and Josea upbraids them to their hypocrisy, rebelliousness, and inconsistency. What is interesting here is the way God quits this. He says he doesn’t know what he’s going to do with him. Now, of course, it must be clearly understood that God here is speaking in human language. He’s speaking as you or I would speak. Certainly, as Almighty God, he could do whatever he pleased. He is never perplexed. He’s never at an uncertain point about what to do. But he puts the matter in this way. to make you think about it from a human perspective. As if you yourself were facing this situation, almost as if justice and mercy held a dialogue, O Ephraim, what shall I do unto these? And justice says, well, sweep him away. The man vows, he makes promises, but he’s a liar. He says he will repent, but he returns like the same. sile back to the mind. But mercy says, spare him, O God. You can still give him a new heart in the place of the stony one. You can provide a right spirit for him. So justice urges one thing in mercy another. Thus there is in human terms of conflict. So the Lord has two courses that are open before him. The first, he can leave you alone altogether. Remember, Jesus telling the disciples about the Pharisees, let them alone. The blindly, the blind, they’ll both fall in the ditch. You hear the gospel? Maybe you’ve felt some of its power. It’s made an impression. It brought some conviction. But you may never hear it again like that. When you get out of hell, you can’t claim that you never heard the gospel. You never knew the way of salvation. Just as, says, mercy, you’ve had your turn. This person has had enough urging. Let me draw out my sharp sword. Those who will not bend shall break. Those who do not submit to Christ will be dashed to pieces as a potchert with a rod of arm. Second course is that God may try something more with you. He could send another preacher. He could have a message to prick your conscience further. Perhaps God will send some kind of crushing providence to get your attention. Strip away from you that which provides comfort and satisfaction. If God is determined to save you, he will not spare you in order to make you see the emptiness of your religious profession first. And so we see here your religious profession may trouble God in a sense. Secondly, tonight, God will use his sharp sword of the word to judge you. You will feel the blows of God’s word. Notice how this is put here. in verse 5. Therefore have I youed thee by the prophets. I have slain them by the words of my mouth. And my judgments are as the light that goes forth. God sometimes sends his prophets to you people. As we see from this text to scripture, it’s not always God’s purpose in his word going forth to save everyone. It’s, you know, he has different purposes. And here it’s to you people. They’re not sent here just to speak to people as if they could be brought to salvation. As he says in Jeremiah 23-29, it’s not my word like fire, said the Lord. and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces. The power of God’s word, shattering people. The minister at times have to speak and they hit so hard that sometimes the splinters go flying off in all directions. This is not because they love destruction, but they would like to see some. something made of your life. And you’d be changed. So here, perhaps you’re sitting comfortably in church and you’re satisfied with your empty religious profession and an external display of religion and all of a sudden a dreadful sermon comes along like a bomb shell. And it may make you very angry. But the preacher’s business involves laying the axe to the tree of self-righteousness. You know that the Spirit of God often brings destruction through the word. So the Lord uses his word as a cutting edge here, as a hammer. So the prophets, when they came and they spoke their words, they weren’t idle threats. God meant what he said when they pronounced judgments. I have slain them by the words of my mouth, God says. There comes a point where the word of God not only cuts, it kills. And we see that here. There’s an aroma of death about the word of God, just as there is an aroma of life about it. Jeremiah 1, 9, and 10th, God tells Jeremiah this, Behold, I have put my words in thy mouth. See, I have this day set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms to root out and the pull down and to destroy, to throw down, to build, and to plant. So you may feel all the blows of God’s word. Now, you’re in bad spiritual shape if you’re unmoved by these blows. The vast majority of people in Joseus’ day heard what the prophets had to say, but it made no impression upon them. And so they continued on in their ways. The sharpest threats, the most moving promises had no effect on their own. unyielding hearts. Israel did not change in the slightest. Unless you find God cutting them down. Destruction comes quickly. The captivity follows. You too have heard the words of God’s servants, those uncompromising and painful words. And the scripture indicates to us we would do well. to pay attention. Mistaken ideas have to be chiseled away. Sinful practices must be given the acts. Christ must take shape in your life, or there is no hope. So sometimes the preacher has to wield the hammer and the saw of God’s word. But as a hearer of the Word of the Word of God’s Word, you must go to church and expect at times to be cut and shaped by the message of God. Sadly, many people are unaffected by the preaching of the word of God. Blow after blow is struck, but no impression is made upon them. But those who will not be shapen by God’s word will be killed by it. The judgment is made upon them. are sure and certain. The words of death are there as well as the words of life. So you are in bad spiritual shape if you’re unmoved by these blows. Notice also, you will experience the clear and increasing judgments of God. God says here that his judgments will be open and manifest. to all, increasing like the light from dawn till noon. The intensity of God’s judgments will increase if one will not listen. All you have suffered, you have well deserved. God has brought you very low, but perhaps he hasn’t consumed you yet. But who will plead for you? Are you a person who knows all about Christ and his precious blood? Do you know about salvation by grace through faith? Because you’ve heard it many times. You knew the truth. But did you act upon it? Who will be your advocate? Here comes a person that sat 52 Sundays a year, heard the gospel perhaps faithfully preached, and yet closed his ear, to the message. What is your excuse? God’s going to say, what could have then done more to my vineyard that I have not done to it? Mercy can say no more. Justice must speak. Will it not be another case like the wedding guest without a garment? He stood speech and the king said, Bind him hand and foot and cast him in the outer darkness. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. He somehow gets into the wedding feast, but then he’s exposed. He has no garment of Christ’s righteousness to cover him. And so he is judged by the Lord. So what I tell you tonight is tonight is this. There is a big problem with empty religious professions. Much of it is the result of some of the faulty evangelistic practices that we have today. But this is nothing new as God tells us here in our text, he complains of the same thing, with the people of Judah in Israel. their goodness fades. If you claim to be born again, let there be evidence in your life of a change that you are born from above. Your goodness must be real and lasting, not something that fades out. Has the Holy Spirit brought a deep conviction of your sin? Have you turned to to Jesus Christ as your only hope of salvation from sin? What effect has this hand on your way of life? What difference has it made? Because unless the stirrings of your heart have tended to draw you closer to Jesus Christ, it really won’t benefit you. Let’s close. with a word of prayer tonight. Heavenly Father, as we bow before you, we are again, people who tremble at your word when we hear these threats and the judgments that come with your word at times. I pray, Father, that our professions are real and last and not fading. I pray, Father, that when we speak to others, we will not seek to run them through a little prayer and say, well, now you’re saved. But realize they need an act of regeneration by your spirit to change them and make things right. How we pray, Father, that you would work through our witness, and use it to deal with people’s hearts. In Jesus’ name, we ask these things with Thanksgiving. Amen. Let’s stand for the benediction tonight. Grace with all them that love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity. Amen.