missio

I was having a conversation with a young guy tonight at Starbucks, and when I asked him if he had a church home (he had already expressed that he was “saved”), he responded with a grimace. I prodded a bit deeper, and came to find out that he hated the Church because every leader he’d ever met in church had been a fake: pure as snow on Sunday, high on pills on Friday night. It just goes to show that Jesus was right: not everyone is for Him. And if they’re not for Him, they’re against Him, even though they may claim His name. We do indeed have traitors in our midst. Be wary and beware that you yourself are not practicing hypocrisy by claiming you know Christ and then denying Him by your actions.

So here we are, chapter five. I’m teaching on chapter six today, and realized I forgot to post my notes for five, so here you go. If you missed the previous four chapters, or simply want to review where we’ve been, here you go: (Overview, Chapter One, Chapter Two, Chapter Three, Chapter Four). And here’s the notes:

• God is lamenting over what He is going to do to Israel. Ezekiel writes that He wishes noone to perish (Ezk 18:32), but He wants everyone to turn and live. Israel, in Amos’ time, is obviously not going to turn to the Lord for their salvation. They have blinded themselves with idolatry and false religion. Even worse than this is the fact that there are no godly leaders in place to lead Israel back to God. They are all corrupt.  So God punishes them with the Assyrian invasion for two reasons: the greater good and because He is just.
• In verses 4-7, we see a plea for the Gospel. God urges Israel, and even us today, to return to the Gospel: Himself. As John Piper so famously puts, God is the Gospel. This is accomplished through God Himself, dying on a cross for our sins and then raising from the dead to conquer it. He warns us in Amos of going to places we do not belong: false religion and idolatry (Bethel and Gilgal).  And He warns Israel and ourselves of the consequences for not returning to Him: a just wrathful judgment.
• God reminds Israel who He is, as creator and the Gospel itself: He is the one who sets everything in motion, including time. He sets the stars in the sky, which we will see is ironic, because the Israelites are worshipping them. He causes calamity among His enemies, regardless of who they are. And the Lord is His name. God is creator, not creation, and deserves our worship.
• Where Israel has gone wrong is this: those who proclaim repentance is necessary are being cast aside, even forced to be silent. The poor are being trampled upon for the gain of those who are already wealthy. And false worship is constantly being practiced, along with idolatry, the two major opponents of the Gospel. But God sees our sins, regardless of how hard we try to hide them. Consumerism is a sin, and He sees it. In the American culture, we have to ask ourselves if it is worth it to place such a high emphasis on material goods.
• We see the results of the Gospel in verse 14: God will be with you. Immanuel. Jesus. Once we arrive at Christ, we enter upon a journey towards hating evil through Him, loving good, and establishing justice upon our lives and in our world. God makes the Gospel specific to the Israelites here, saying that He will spare the remnant should they return to the Lord.
• Verses 16-17 tell us that our response to the Lord, as in Amos 4:12, will depend on our response to the truth of His Word and Good News.
• The last part of the chapter is intense, saying that the day of judgment will be perfect, just as His salvation is perfect. His judgment will be absolutely dark, with no light, no hope. Offerings and sacrifices at that point will be useless. This justice is a show of His holiness and our sinfulness, especially the severity of it against His very name and character.

I plea to you: return to Christ, know that He is with you, and know that Christ has taken His perfect wrath to give us His perfect glory.