The Rebuke of Amos

“Woe to them that are at ease in Zion, and trust in the mountain of Samaria, which are named chief of the nations, to whom the house of Israel came! Pass ye unto Calneh, and see; and from thence go ye to Hamath the great: then go down to Gath of the Philistines: be they better than these kingdoms? or their border greater than your border? Ye that put far away the evil day, and cause the seat of violence to come near; That lie upon beds of ivory, and stretch themselves upon their couches, and eat the lambs out of the flock, and the calves out of the midst of the stall; That chant to the sound of the viol, and invent to themselves instruments of musick, like David; That drink wine in bowls, and anoint themselves with the chief ointments: but they are not grieved for the affliction of Joseph. Therefore now shall they go captive with the first that go captive, and the banquet of them that stretched themselves shall be removed. The Lord God hath sworn by himself, saith the Lord the God of hosts, I abhor the excellency of Jacob, and hate his palaces: therefore will I deliver up the city with all that is therein” (Amos 6:1-8). For the sake of anyone who may think that the scathing rebukes from God’s prophets to Israel were just for then, and just for them; I am copying the following passage of scripture from the new testament writings: “Now these things [from the OT] were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted. Neither be ye idolaters, as were some of them; as it is written, The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play. Neither let us commit fornication, as some of them committed, and fell in one day three and twenty thousand. Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed of serpents. Neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer. Now all these things happened unto them for examples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come. Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall” (I Cor. 10:6-12). That last verse is truly worthy of two or three more reads, considering the whole “sinners saved by grace” mindset that reigns among God’s people today.

There simply is no difference in God in old testament times and God in new testament times. That is a widely embraced erroneous mindset among God’s people, who have been taught so widely that it’s just fine to be under sin, seeing that we’re “under grace.” Never mind what the Bible says on the subject: “What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid” (Rom. 6:15). The only difference from old testament times till now is in us, because the power of God’s Spirit has been made available to us for the sake of living above sin. That INCREASES both our capacity for following after true holiness, and also our accountability to do so. The apostle Paul made this very point crystal clear in the book of Hebrews, as well as many other places; as did the other apostles: “Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip. For if the word spoken by angels [old covenant] was stedfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompence of reward; How shall WE escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him” (Heb. 2:1-3). This short exposition of sobering truth is a door slamming rebuke for all of God’s misguided children who look for every reason under the sun to both justify and subtly promote sin in the body of Christ, even as they have been falsely taught. Where I come from, only the pure in heart are blessed (Mat. 5:8). And where I come from, “every man that hath this hope [of being saved] in him, purifieth himself, even as he [Jesus] is pure” I Jn. 3:3; I Thess. 5:8). My prayer, hope, and desire is my friend; that you come from the same place that I come from. and that we enter in one day through that “strait gate” together. May God bless.