March 17, 2011

Minor Prophet XLII: Zombies Ahead!

So what does God hate in Amos 5:21-24 and what does He want from Israel?

God hates their feast days and sacred assemblies. They offer God burnt offerings & grain offerings. He will not accept them or pay any regard to peace offerings. He doesn’t want their songs or music. God being perfectly just wants justice and righteous people. God doesn’t want their offerings and feasts because they are done with a dead or apostate heart. They go “through the motions” but they are meaningless, done for the action not the intent. They have become spiritual zombies. They move and behave like religious robots but what they do fails to have any meaning any more. No brain and no heart-only movement and insatiable need to “do” and/or “consume” mindlessly. "Brains!" or should I say "Brainless!" ??? We see this today also don't we? The folks just show up at church, sit and stand in unison with hands in their pockets that sit diagonally in front of you. They are easily spotted by their 1000 yard stares piercing holes through the floor or the backrest of the seat in front of them. They carry no Bible or the one they carry looks like it just came out of the cellophane wrapper. No scuffs on the gilded edges or on the pressed leather cover. When they open their Bible the pages are still sticking together because it has never been opened before today (yes, I'm stereotyping). Are you one of the spiritual undead? Dead to God but still moving, still animated?

We see this in people today that just attend church to “pay their dues”. They show up at their churches because they feel they are under some obligation of “works” and “dues” that they need to keep the “goodness tank” above 50% to be able to make it into heaven. Sadly, many of these people go back to living backsliding and decadent lives the other 6 days of the week and are not even recognizable as Christian except on Sundays (or Saturday nights). Unfortunately, this is rampant in the Christian culture and many denominations take advantage fiscally of the …”Ooooo!!! I have to go to church and pay dues so I don’t go to Hell,” mentality. God doesn't want your works. There is nothing you can do that is worthy enough to merit God's attention for forgiveness let alone actual forgiveness. He wants your heart, not your works. If your heart isn't in something, what good would your works be anyway? Everything you could do for God is but dirty rags. The work has been done for you already. Reach for it in faith. Now.

Salvation is by faith alone (Sola Fide) not works. What you do isn’t what gets you Heaven, what you believe in your heart does.

No comments:

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...
Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...