Galatians 6:7-10
"Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to this flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith," Galatians 6:7-10.
Be not deceived in verse 7 means to roam from safety, truth, or virtue; to be out of the way; be deceived, err, seduce. We can be deceived by others, but we can also deceive ourselves. "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?" One way we deceive ourselves is by taking God for granted. We become laxed. We begin to act like spoiled children who think they can get away with things because of who their parents are. "Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil," Ecclesiastes 8:11. We abuse God's longsuffering, mercy, and we become grace mongers. "What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?" Romans 6:1-2. Any time we do not have a biblical view of God, it is the wrong view of God. Let us turn to the Old Testament to learn from some examples the Lord has given us. Turn to Hosea.
Hosea is the first book of what we call the Minor Prophets. Hosea was a prophet called by God. Hosea was told to marry a prostitute named Gomer. He had kids by Gomer whose names proclaimed what kind of people the Israelites were, and proclaimed how God viewed them. Israel played the whore and went after many lovers. These lovers would be idols. Israel would even praise these idols for their prosperity (Hosea 2:1-13). Through this book we see God's judgment, and we see God's faithfulness to His people. Here is a question I ask here: was there not any one in Israel that loved the Lord? Had the whole nation slipped off into idolatry? Look at chapter 8:3-4. "They have set up kings, but not by me." We could trace this back to king Saul in I Samuel. Who are the they? Did everyone in Israel want an earthly king? Did everyone in Israel want Saul to be their king? The answer is no. Samuel did not want Israel to have an earthly king. There were others who did not want Saul to be king, but the nation as a whole wanted an earthly king. The majority of the nation wanted and earthly king. God gave them the king they wanted. He even told them what kind of king Saul would be and the people still wanted an earthly king. God gave them what they wanted. God gave them the king they deserved.
The next thing in Hosea 8:4; "They have made princes, and I knew it not." This means they have put people in power without God's approval. They were not worried about what pleased God, but what pleased them. They were lovers of themselves. They loved that which pleased the flesh. We are not talking about people voting in pastors, but leaders of nations. The leaders they were putting in power loved the same things the people loved. The leaders they were putting in power did not love God, nor the things or the people of God. They would mock God. They would approve and promote that which is sinful. These leaders would call evil good and good evil. These leaders would take the restraints off of sin. The people would become exceeding sinful. That is where the nation of Israel was here in Hosea. In their eyes sin was not a bad thing. They would laugh at it. You may ask "How can I say that"? The sinfulness of man has not changed since the fall of man. No matter how righteous a nation may appear, there is always a progression towards sin.
Back in Hosea 8:4; "Of their silver and their gold have they made them idols, that they may be cut off." We may think that there are very few people today making idols, but we are mistaken. The word "Idol" in verse 4 speaks of an idol made out of silver and gold. It is formed by the hands. It takes much work, time, and skill to make an idol like this. God hates it. We can go back to Exodus 32 when Moses was on the mountain receiving the 10 commandments from God. He came down with the 10 commandments and found the people in a sexual orgy. Once people take their eyes off of the Lord and turn to idols, sin will abound, and sin will be accepted. How do we view sin? Having a right view of the cross will give us a biblical view of sin. Turn to Romans 1:18-32. We see a progression of sin, which is part of God's judgment upon a nation. Have we not seen an acceleration of this in the last 50 years? We may not be offering our children as a burnt offering to the idol Molech, but when we are involved in idolatry we will not be focused on the Lord, and we will not be earnestly contending for the faith once delivered to the saints.
Does anyone here today worship an idol? What would you rather do than serve the Lord? Do you stay up late to watch a football game, but don't mind missing church? Would you stay up till midnight to have a bible study? Do you get up super early in the morning to go hunting, but when asked if you get up in the mornings to spend time with the Lord, you say you do not have time? Do you spend your money on material things to the point where you have very little to none left to give to your local church? "For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also," Matthew 6:21. Multitudes say they are not guilty! Look again at Hosea 8:5-6. They chose to embrace idolatry. They watched as Israel, their own nation, crumbled down around them. What the people loved they worshipped. God's anger was kindled against them, and He destroyed their idols, and them. God raised up another nation, Assyria, to come and annihilate Israel. They were conquered and carried away captive, naked. Did their idols help them, no? We are not Israel, but we can learn from this. Just go back to Galatians 6:1-6. We are not in this fight alone, and we need each other to hold each other accountable. When someone holds us accountable, we should not get angry at them, but instead thank them.
Sin is running across our lands unchecked, promoted, praised, pushed, and worshipped. God will not be mocked, and God is not threatened by sinful people. Since there is no panic in heaven, there should be no panic in us. May God grant us grace to trust, live, and die for Him. Let us end by going to Ezra 9:13-15. God has truly punished us less than our iniquities deserve. Aren't you thankful that God is gracious and merciful? We deserve His wrath, but He gives us grace. I am so thankful the Lord drew me to Himself. He saves even the chiefest of sinners. Are you ready to meet the Lord? Are you saved according to the Scriptures? Lord willing, next week we will look at Hosea 4:1-6 and Amos 8:11-12. Please send questions and comments to richardsonbaptistchurch@gmail.com. To God be the glory.
