The group has developed a declaration on the environment and climate change and encouraged leaders and other Christians to sign it.  I think it is a very good declaration and have signed it.  The website also has other resources and links to help us consider practical ways we can be good stewards of the beautiful Creation that God has entrusted to us, and that He loves deeply.

Let me know what you think about this initiative, and if you have ideas we as a church might want to consider, let me know.

OK, so how many times does Hosea say “whore” (or harlot in some translations)?  You probably weren’t expecting that kind of language in the Bible.  Yet the Bible, doesn’t hide secrets of people, especially when they choose not to make God the center of life.  Until now, Hosea has been more of a story, but now Hosea is preaching.  He is fulfilling the role of a prophet, proclaiming to the people what God is saying, and it is not a pretty picture.  The image of prostitution is something close in his mind as he preaches, because he understands this type of betrayal.  Now, God tells him to use this image in his preaching as he seeks to show God’s people how they committed spiritual adultery.

In verse six, Hosea says the people have rejected knowledge.  This is so much more than skipping school.  They had God in their midst, but they choose to ignore Him.  People were created to worship God, to live life with Him at the center.  But they left God for idols.  They began praying to a piece of wood carved in their own image.  They began to worship by going to a tree and having a seance, or, even worse, by attending a cultic house of worship and sleeping with a temple prostitute.  At the heart of idol worship is the creation of a religion that lets a person worship themselves and their desires.  Think of it, they came up with a religious system that let them party and sleep with hot women.  They prayed to a piece of wood, and asked their “walking stick” to speak to them (v. 12).

But something happened that they didn’t expect.  This passage is written to the Hebrew men, primarily.  They were sleeping around and living this vile life, but they wanted a good Hebrew, God-fearing woman at home, and wanted good Hebrew, God-fearing daughters.  Their desire was to have it both ways.  Yet, they were finding that their daughters were turning into hookers, sleeping with other guys at a whim, and now, even their wives were hooking up with other guys (v.14).

When these men choose to reject God, and stop seeking knowledge of Him, they placed their sinful passions at the center of life.  They worshiped their wickedness, and it spiraled out of control.  They became the thing they worshiped.  You become what you worship.  They had become an image of the idolatry in their heart.  Then, that image was transferred to those closest to them, their wives and daughters also became whores.  How tragic!  The last line of verse 14 says, “And a people without understanding shall come to ruin.”  Never forget it, you become what you worship.

From the New Testament, and early Christian writings, it is fairly clear that baptisms were performed on those who already believed and done by immersion in water. The Didache, a late first or early second century (less than 100 years after the time of Jesus) document that was used as an instruction manual for the church indicates that baptism was to be done in “living” (with a current) water, and if living water could not be found, it was OK to do baptism in other water, preferably water that is cold.  Only as a last resort would a church use pouring, if no other water was available.  In all cases, the church called for a period of fasting for the person to be baptized, something that could not be done by an infant.

Eventually, the early church shifted the form and people baptized.  As for the move to pouring and sprinkling, much of the Mid-East is arid, and often shortages of water necessitated baptism using lower amounts of water.  The move to baptizing infants developed as early forms of Christianity began to wrestle with two key issues.

The first was the growing understanding of the doctrine of original sin.  Original sin is the understanding that humans are born into sin, the stain of the sin of Adam deeply affects all people.  Paul stated, “Just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned (Romans 5:12).”  In other words, every person is born into the world a sinner by nature and by choice.  But that original sin nature leaves all people in desperate need of grace and totally unable to gain acceptance of God on their own.  Original sin needs a solution, and that solution is faith in Jesus.  But what are we to do with original sin for those who cannot believe as yet?

This leads to the second issue, the struggle with how to answer parent’s greatest fear.  Before modern medicine, the infant mortality rate was high, and during times of plague it was often as high as 1 in 3 deaths in some places.  Parents want assurance that the baby they deeply love will be OK in eternity.  This is such an unbelievably valid issue, yet, the Bible does not give a direct answer to this question.  So, every Christian tradition has formulated some response to this very emotional issue.  In my tradition, we were taught the idea of “the age of accountability”, which basically said that a person was under God’s grace until they came to an age where they could believe on their own.  This sounds great, but it is not based on any clear teaching of the Bible.  LIkewise, the early church embraced the idea that baptism would wash away original sin, and therefore baptizing infants would protect them from the guilt associated with it.  Realize that not all who practice infant baptism do so for this reason, but this is the background of it.

So what is the answer to the question about children that do not survive?  As I said, this is such a tough issue because the Bible is not clear with an answer.  The Bible is primarily concerned with telling the story of God and His interaction with people.  There are some theological questions that it does not answer completely, and we are left to trust the character of God in these issues.  It does teach that salvation is found in no one other than Jesus (Acts 4:12), and that faith in Christ alone is the only response.  But there are two hints in Scripture that might help.  The first is in the story of David and Bathsheba (2 Samuel 11-12).  David commits a horrible sin that involved adultery with Bathsheba.  The impending pregnancy led to a few other horrible decisions by David.  David eventually repented and threw himself at the mercy of God.  The result was that God took the life of the child.  As the baby was sick, David responded by laying on the floor, refusing to eat, and entering a deep depression.  When the baby died, David’s servants were afraid to speak to him out of fear that his depression would worsen.  Eventually they inform David, but he cleans himself up and eats a meal.  The servants don’t quite get it, and ask David why he was in this fasting and weeping while the child lived, but now that he has died, David arose and ate food.  David’s response, “While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept, for I said, ‘Who knows whether the Lord will be gracious to me to me, that the child may live?’  But now he is dead.  Why should I fast?  Can I bring him back again?  I shall go to him, but he will not return to me.” (2 Samuel 12:22-23)  The key here is that David seems to believe in the fact that he will be reunited with this son in eternity.

The second hint relates to the general character of God.  And that is where I believe this question must be answered, that we must trust God to be merciful, gracious, loving, and just.  Any time we try to create a neat tidy little theological system to answer this question, more than likely, that answer will not be based on Scripture.  But when we trust the goodness of God, we can be sure that He will do what is right.  I know this is difficult, because we want well defined answers to difficult questions, especially emotional ones.  Yet, like all questions of this nature, the answer lies in the work of Jesus Christ and the Gospel.  God bless.

Finally, the private eye gets a tip and finds out where Gomer is living and the life she is leading.  Hosea tracks her down, finds her in a short little skirt, midriff and high heels on a street corner.  When she sees him, Gomer is ashamed and won’t even look in his eyes.  Since she is now living in slavery, Hosea can’t just take her.  He has to write a big honkin’ check to her pimp to buy her out of slavery and take her home (so in the real story, Hosea actually pays the guy off with some money, and some food).  Hosea does the unthinkable, he writes the check, forgives her, and takes her home to be his wife and allows her to come back to her position as mother to their children.

Does this story weird you out?  It should!  Why would Hosea go through all this trouble to buy Gomer out of slavery and take her home when she is a dirty, vile woman whose betrayal led to her downfall?  Because this is exactly what God had done for Hosea, and for you and me!  As you try to identify with someone in the story, realize, we are Gomer.  We serve other Gods, and betray God, but God still loves us.  We made our own bed filled with wickedness, but God still loved us, and searched for us.  God came himself and paid an unbelievable price to pay for our release from the spiritual pimp, Satan, and to deliver us from the sin which enslaves.  Then he took us home, cleaned us up, forgave us, and returned us to His family.

The question we ought to be asking is this, “Why would God go to all this trouble to buy me out of slavery and take me home when I am a dirty, vile person whose betrayal led to my downfall?

“What Satan put into the heads of our remote ancestors (Adam and Eve) was the idea that they could ‘be like gods’ - could set up their own as if they had created themselves - be their own masters - invent some sort of happiness for themselves outside God, apart from God… The reason why it can never success is this.  God made us: invented us as a man invents an engine.  A car is made to run on petrol, and it would not run properly on anything else.  Now God designed the human machine to run on Himself.  He Himself is the fuel or spirits were designed to burn, or the food our spirits were designed to feed on.  There is no other.  That is why it is just no good asking God to make us happin in our own way without bothering about religion.  God cannot give us a happiness and peace apart from Himself, because it is not there.  There is no such thing.  That is the key to history.”
C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity.

Andy Stanley, the pastor of Northpointe Church in Alpharetta, GA has given a very good message on the meaning and importance of baptism. I will be covering some of the ideas covered in his message, but wanted to provide a link to it for those who would like more information. You can find this sermon by clicking on the North Point link. So if you have questions, take time to listen to this. God bless.

Sometimes when you serve God, these things happen.  The hurt I felt is nothing compared to the hurt that must take place in the heart of God when He sees His people reject Him.  This chapter is the story of God giving love and grace to His people, yet they choose to worship other Gods, and prostitute themselves to a sinful lifestyle.  They basically spit in the face of God’s goodness and love.  They use the grace of God as a license to do their own thing, with little care for how it will affect the God who created them and pours out His life for them.  As a result, God promises discipline for His people, but He also demonstrates compassion and grace.

The love He shows to His disobedient people is unbelievable.  First of all, He takes the initiative with His disobedient people.  God reaches out to them and draws them back to Himself.  He also forgives their sin and removes the residue.  And God gives them a second chance to enter a wonderful relationship with Him.

Jesus tells an incredible story that illustrates this point (Luke 15:11-32).  The prodigal son is a parable about a boy who took his share of the inheritance from his father and wasted it on sinful living.  He rejected everything the father stood for and believed, and choose to live life his own way, on his dad’s dime.  When he had wasted all of his fathers money on wild living, he was left with nothing, and got a job feeding pigs.  He came to his senses and decided to return home, expecting to become a slave in his dad’s household.  But his dad was waiting at the door, looking for his son, and when the dad realized the son had returned, he ran down the driveway, hugged his neck, and welcomed the son home.  In the story, the love of the father is an image of God’s love for us.  WOW!

Oh yeah, that story about the girl.  I can’t tell you how bad I wanted to lash out, put her in her place, and tell the world she was a liar.  But instead, I prayed for her, and found ways to encourage her.  In time, God got hold of her life and she repented and returned to God.  When she did, she came back to me, and God used me again in her life.  Pretty cool, eh!

Let me be honest now, and say that I have not yet seen the movie, but hope to do so soon.  I just wanted to get it out there so you were aware, and might consider taking a look.  I do know that the movie is not seeking to give evidence of Christianity or Jesus, but rather is raising a good cultural question about the place of an alternate theory of origins in the scientific community.

You can check out the trailer and get other information at the Expelled website.  You can also hear a couple good interviews with Ben Stein and R. C. Sproul.  Visit ligonier.org and find their media center.  Click on audio and scroll down to find the interviews.  Several theaters in St. Louis are showing the movie this weekend.

“Well, son, I was reading the newspaper and saw the name of some dead guy…”

When I was a kid, Johnny Cash had a song titled, “A Boy Named Sue.” The song was about this guy whose name was Sue. His dad gave him that name before he left his mom. During his school years, Sue got into all kinds of fights. By the time he grew up, Sue was the toughest guy in town, and nobody messed with him. One day, Sue ran into his dad, and decided to kill him for giving him that terrible name. After a fight in the street, Sue was about to kill his dad, when his father explained that he had given him the name Sue because he knew he wouldn’t be there, and he wanted Sue to be able to take care of himself. It’s kind of a dorky song, but it shows the importance of a name and the identity that goes with it.

Hosea married Gomer, and they began to have children. Instead of giving their children normal names, like Sue, or Billy, or Ralph, God led them to give names that had deeper meaning. The first child was named Jezreel, which means “God will scatter.” In the near future, God would scatter the Israelites at the hand of Assyria. Their second child was a daughter named Lo-Ruhamah, which means “not pitied”. This child’s name was a reminder that God had chosen to cease giving mercy. The third child was a son named Lo-Ammi, which means “not my people.” Because of their sin, God had decided to sever ties with those who chose to worship idols.

Can you imagine having one of these names? What a bummer! But the names of Hosea’s children were images of a greater reality, specifically God’s dealing with Israel. Every time his children’s names are mentioned, they are a reminder of God’s patience, the people’s unfaithfulness, and the impending judgement as a result.

So think about this. If God were to give you a new name that reflected your life in the Kingdom of God, and your true identity in Christ, what would it be? Take a few minutes to write out some possible names that reflect God’s work in your life.

I love being married.  My wife and I have a wonderful relationship based on love and trust.  I have to tell you that we have a lot of fun together, and our relationship brings a significant amount of joy.  I cannot think of anything worse in this life than to find out that my wife had been unfaithful.  The pain that would grip my heart would reach down to the very depths of who I am and grip me.  My trust would be eroded, and my joy would be quenched.

The Bible uses marriage as an image of how God relates to His people.  His people are in a covenant with Him.  God loves them, provides for them, and nurtures His people.  Yet, so often, His people turn their back on God and seek after other gods.  They commit spiritual adultery against a God who loves them deeply.  Still, God is faithful and loving to His people in spite of their failures.  On the other hand, God will judge His people when they choose to serve other gods and live for something other than His glory.

In Hosea, God gives us a wonderful picture of His love and grace.  As a picture to demonstrate God’s love for His people, God calls Hosea to marry a prostitute named Gomer.  More than likely, the woman was not a prostitute before they married, but soon after Hosea and Gomer were married, her unfaithfulness to Hosea comes forth.  Eventually Gomer left Hosea and ended up on the streets living the life of a whore.  Hosea would have been justified to ditch Gomer, and take his family and start again somewhere.  But God had a different plan for them.  God told Hosea to go find Gomer and buy her back (as a prostitute, she had become a slave).

The book of Hosea uses this life illustration to demonstrate how God continues to reach out to His unfaithful people, and love them in spite of their failures.

AUTHOR

Hosea introduces himself in the first verse of the book, “The word of the Lord came to Hosea, the son of Beeri.”  Hosea is a name that means salvation, and is a variation of Hebrew name Joshua, and the Greek version which is Jesus.  Not a whole lot is known about the man, Hosea, outside of the his prophetic book.  From his writing, we do know that Hosea was a person of compassion, but also a spokesman to warn the people about God’s coming judgement.

TIME OF HOSEA

To understand the life situation of Hosea, we first need to understand what happened in the nation of Israel.  When the Hebrew people entered the promised land, God told warned them not to intermarry with people from other religions with other gods.  But the people never really listened to God.  Through His prophets, God continually warns the people that their idolatry is dangerous and that He will only tolerate their rebellion for so long.  Idolatry to God is the same as the sin of adultery in marriage.  God made His covenant with His people, but they continually turn their back and serve other gods.  And often, we are no different.  We turn from the true God to serve ourselves and other things around us.

About two hundred thirty years before the time of Hosea, Israel went through a civil war, and the country was divided into two.  Two of the twelve tribes remain in the south and follow the kings located in Jerusalem.  These people are known as Judah.  The other ten tribes joined kings reigning from Samaria, in the northern part of the promised land.  The northern tribes are called Israel or Ephraim (these names are used throughout the book to refer to the 10 tribes in the north).  While both kingdoms struggle with idolatry, Judah has a softer heart toward God, and a number of their kings repent and lead the nation back to faith in Him.  On the other hand, the northern kingdom of Israel constantly remains in a state of idolatry, with some of their kings being the most wicked the nation ever experienced.

Hosea prophecied to the northern kingdom, and his ministry begins during the reign of Jereboam II.  During this king’s tenure, the nation experienced political peace and material prosperity, but they were morally wicked.  After Jereboam II, the nation declined rapidly, with four of the next six kings being assassinated by their successors.  Eventually, God would put an end to this by bringing judgement.  Near the end of Hosea’s ministry, the empire of Assyria conquered the northern kingdom, and deported most of the people.  The northern ten tribes of Israel disappeared forever as a result of their complete rebellion against God.

Hosea is a book that demonstrates God’s love and patience.  Through Hosea, God lovingly warns the people of their need to repent from idolatry and serve the one, true God.  But the book also demonstrates God’s judgement.  Eventually, God will judge the sin of His people.

KEY THEMES OF HOSEA
As you read Hosea, you fill find some important themes and ideas.  Look for them.

(1)The love of God for His people – Hosea begins with an illustration of God’s love, and is full of language that demonstrates His love.  Even though His people have turned from Him, He pursues them and demonstrates incredible patience.

(2) The judgement and holiness of God – While God is faithful and patient, eventually God will judge sin and rebellion.

(3) God’s plan for marriage – We live in a culture where about half of all marriages end in divorce.  People ditch their spouses for just about any reason.  Hosea is a demonstration of God’s ultimate plan for marriage, two people staying together for a lifetime.  While the Bible does permit divorce in the case of adultery, Hosea demonstrates God’s best plan by staying with Gomer, even when she is unfaithful.  Hosea’s faithfulness is a great model for married couples to follow when they believe they have a good reason to leave.

(4)The remnant – One of the themes we find in this book relates to a group of people that God keeps for Himself.  Even though the nation of Israel may rebel, God always had a group of people that served Him and obeyed Him, in spite of the wickedness around Him.  God will always raise up a group to be light in the darkness.  Sometimes it may be difficult to find people who truly believe in Christ with all of their hearts, but God will always have a remnant.