IN our last sermon on this section of the prophecy of Amos we saw how the passage reveals that God's grace and patience with a sinful church is not inexhaustible; and that if God's word and his warnings are not heeded, and the sins and errors corrected, then God will judge and punish without any reprieve. The question is of how we can prevent such an awful happening taking place. It is easy to 'put our head in the sand', and say that such a scenario will never happen, and look on the church and feel there is nothing much wrong with it. However Scriptures, such as the one before us, warn us otherwise, and tell us how dangerous such thinking is. It is imperative that we take the Word of God seriously. What we read happened in the past tells us of eternal truths. If we are to heed God's Word we must learn what these truths are, and act upon them. We may feel that one individual will make little difference, we must resist this. The church is made up of individuals, and as individual church members believe, heed, and live God's word, this will have an effect on the whole. So let us dig out these practical lessons which are clear in this passage in Amos, and then seek to hold fast to them, live by them, and by example and word, press them upon the wider church.

GOD'S JUDGEMENT IS REAL.

In the first place we need to believe that the Bible does not lie when it tells us of the reality of God's judgement against sin. It is so easy for us today, in spiritual pride, to judge the Bible and say that these Old Testament prophets had got things all wrong, and that God is not like the way he is portrayed in the Old Testament. It is easy to say superficially that God is love, and would never send anyone to hell, or afflict punishment on a sinful church, but such teaching denies the plain teaching of the Bible. The Bible is clear that God is holy and his word inviolable, as well as being infinitely loving. God's love is seen in the tremendous cost God was prepared to pay so that he could be just, that is not deny his holiness, and still justify sinners, that is forgive sinners, and welcome them as his children. The cost was the terrible suffering, both bodily and spiritually, of the incarnate Son of God, in his life and death.

The Bible is clear, and this passage makes this plain, that if sin is not renounced, then those who commit sin and live in sin will suffer everlasting punishment.

GOD IS GRACIOUS.

Grace is unmerited favour and kindness shown by God to sinners. God had no obligation to warn Israel through Amos that he disapproved of their conduct, and warn them of the judgements he was proposing to inflict upon them for their sin. God has made plain in the Bible the standard he has set in his holiness that he requires of mankind, and specially those who profess to be his people, and so he has every right to punish transgression. Yet we see God graciously warning Israel through Amos, and giving the people time to repent and return in obedience to him. In the first two warnings, God says he is preparing a swarm of locusts. He has not yet sent the swarm to ravage the crops. In the second warning God says he is calling for judgement by drought, but it has not yet taken place, or if it has begun it is not finished and not in full force. Here is God's grace. He warns so that time can be given for repentance, and change of mind and practice.

When God's patience has run out, God still warns because the coming judgement is warned of in advance. The standard of judgement is made plain, and so there is still time for a change of heart. There is evidence in the history of the Old Testament that on repentance and in response to a cry of mercy, God withholds his judgement.

Then God makes plain the holy standard by which he judges. The plumb-line expresses that there is no deviation from perfect righteousness when it comes to his judgement. If people refuse to listen to God's call to repentance, and do not avail themselves of his free forgiveness through faith in Jesus Christ, then they will be judged by the standard of God's perfect righteousness. The plumb-line is straight, and human life and the church's life must conform to it. God has given salvation in Christ to be freely received by faith, which is the imputing to the believer that perfect righteousness of Jesus for God's acceptance, and this so covers the believer that in God's view the plumb-line of his righteousness is fully adhered to. However if this righteousness is not received, and people come to God in their own righteousness, then the standard of the plumb-line will be the standard they will be judged by, and which will condemn them. Grace has provided an escape from the just wrath of God against sin, but if like Israel people go on in their own way, and refuse his grace, then eternal punishment will result.

SIN WHICH PARTICULARLY OFFENDS GOD.

In verse 9 of our passage Amos is told by God what particularly offends him in the life of Israel. This is in the national life, and as Israel was the church of the Old Testament, we have God setting forth what offends him in the life of the church.

What is this offending? It is the raising up worship, practice and belief that is contrary to that which was revealed and laid down by God in his Word. The worship of Israel was governed by the directions of God to Moses, and by the ten commandments. Israel had set up other forms of worship which transgressed both the 10 commandments and the Mosaic direction.

The church today needs to take note of this because it is doing just the same. The clergy have set themselves up as mediators in the celebration of Holy Communion which is to usurp the perfect mediation of our great high priest, Jesus Christ; together with this the church has deemed it right to change and correct the word of God by human wisdom. The plumb-line has not been kept to. Let us be warned, and turn back to the Word of God lest the judgement of God falls upon and apostate church.

THE EFFICACY AND POWER OF PRAYER.

Prayer is extraordinarily difficult to understand. It raises all sorts of questions which are beyond the human mind to answer. Nonetheless prayer his set forth in the Bible as a privilege and the means of communicating with God for our blessing and benefit. In this passage we have an example of the extraordinary power and efficacy of prayer.

In James 5: 13-18 James commends prayer for relief in trouble and sickness. James brings the example of Elijah to show the power of prayer. Elijah prayed that it would not rain, and God sent drought on Israel. Then he prayed that the drought would cease, and God sent rain. Here is this passage of Amos we have something which is similar.

God speaks to Amos and reveals to him the judgements that he proposes to bring upon Israel. Then we read that Amos responded with prayer to this threat of judgement, and we are told that his plea for mercy and forgiveness was heard by God, and God relented from his proposed judgement. This happened in both of the first two revelations of judgement. The prayer of Amos brought a relenting in the heart of God.

What are we being taught here concerning prayer? In the first place we are assured that God hears prayer, but we need to stop and meditate on this before we run away with the idea that prayer is a magical formula whereby we can manipulate God to our will, and so treat prayer as a means of gaining favours from God whenever we wish, but without any concern for the wishes of God, and attitude to him of love and obedience.

In the James passage mentioned above James tells us that it is the prayer of a righteous man that is powerful and effective. This is so important. A sinner who cries to God in repentance for mercy and grace, will most surely be heard. The Bible is clear about this. However the Bible is also clear that the privilege of prayer and success in prayer is reserved for God's children, who have been born again by the Spirit of God, and are living in righteousness, that is living to please God and to be obedient to God's will. Amos was a righteous man. He had not taken up his office as a prophet to Israel under his own whim. He had been reluctant to take up the office, but God had called him, and so he obeyed God. In this obedience to God, Amos lived, not only to please God, but seeking to follow the will of God and speak God's word only. It is in this context that we find him being so successful in prayer before God.

The situation is clear. God is speaking to Amos, and telling him his attitude to Israel, and how he is offended by their sin, and what that sin and perverse disobedience demands. Amos is responding to the warning God is giving him, and he sees the mercy in God in giving the warning, and is moved to pray as he did because of this assurance. When God speaks again concerning the plumb-line we find Amos ceasing to pray as he did before. Plainly he discerned the will of God that prayer further was inappropriate. We have a similar scene when we read that Abraham prayed for the relenting of God over the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. (Genesis 18: 16-33) Why did Abraham stop at the request that the cities should be spared if ten righteous remained in the cities? We are not told, but the inference is that it was not in the will of God that he should go on praying further. In fact God brought out the family of Lot before the destruction of the cities, and saved the righteous, but destroyed the wicked cities and all in it. We need to remember that Lot had warned the cities, but they had laughed at him.