Sermon Tone Analysis

Intro:

A woman attended an evangelistic meeting and was delighted when she learned that the preacher would talk about sin.

When he preached against strong drink, she cried, “Preach it, brother!”

When he decried against tobacco, she shouted, “Amen!”

The minister’s third point was a condemnation of gossip, and she leaned over to her neighbor and said, “Now he’s not preachin’; he’s meddlin’.”

That’s probably a good picture of what was taking place in the preaching service at Bethel as Amos finally hit home.

He had denounced the nations surrounding Israel and God’s judgment upon their sin.

But now he’s meddling in the affairs of his own people!

See Judah and Israel were politically secure but had become so spiritually smug that they had no clue how bad off in sin they really were.

But Amos is fixing to reveal their sin.

Text; Amos 2:4-5

1. God shows no Partiality; 4

Amos has brought the message of God’s judgment upon the nations who have sinned against Him and Israel.

And now God, being a just and holy God, must bring His message of judgment to His very own.

God shows no partiality!

God judges all sin!

God does not show partiality toward them because of their position of privilege.

Being “God’s people” does not create immunity to the judgment of God but in fact increases accountability, because we know better!

2. They Despised God’s Law; 4

The previous 6 nations were judged by the “everlasting law/moral law” given to Noah by God;

Every sin of the other nations was against humanity

Turn to the Book of Romans [Rom.

1:18-20, 2;11-16], God has placed within the conscience of man the ability to know the difference between right and wrong!

But the nation of Israel [Judah/Israel] had been privileged to receive the Mosiac Covenant/Law, so they are unquestionably without excuse in their sin!!

Despise- to feel contempt towards, disgust with, not valuable

Let me give you a summary of the Bible

God’s word is written first of all that man can by faith enter into a relationship with God through Jesus Christ.

[justification]

Secondly it is written so the believer can have life abundant in Christ here and now [sanctification]

Thirdly it is written so the believer can live with hope of Christs’ return to reward His own eternally in heaven [glorification]

Now, why would anyone who had been given this privilege, and accepted these blessing on God’s terms, despise that?

Selfishness, which leads to disobedience.

And when someone despises what they have been blessed with in Christ, shouldn’t they be held to a higher standard than others who do not believe?

Yes!!

When the natural man sins, its because thats what he knows.

When a Christian sins, its because he despises the Word of God!

3. Led Astray by Lies; 4

James Montgomery Boice says (1) if you reject the Bible, you will reject the Bible’s God, and (2) if you reject the Bible’s God, other gods, idols, will come in to take the true God’s place.

[4b] Lies- false gods, to deceive, leading someone away from the truth

These lies had led Judah to believe that they would find their religion to be more satisfying if they worshipped a god that they could see with their own eyes.

Aaron makes a golden calf, Israel asked for a king [Saul] like other nations, carved images and idols became competitors for the worship of Jehovah God.

They walked by sight instead of by faith!

In like manner there are competitors for our heart/worship today and we are led astray by them.

Athletics/Recreation- we would rather see our child win a trophy that can be broken or tarnished, than to see them accept Christ as their Savior and receive an eternal reward in heaven.

Materialism- we put our faith in material things whose only concern is money, which is temporary.

Can you buy love?

Can you by happiness?

Can you buy Forgiveness?

Can you buy Eternal Life?

Religion- we come to church to be seen and heard but not to serve.

We sing songs without meaningful worship and pray without sincerity.

We give our tithes grudgingly or not at all instead of with a devoted heart.

We have access to the Gospel that can change the World, but we haven’t even allowed it to change our own lives.

We are content to play church instead of being the church!

[4c] Led astray by previous generations - the influence of parents and grandparents brought about the fall of Judah.

Instead of looking at the former generations mistakes as warnings they took them as a pattern for their lives and changed the truth of God to a lie.

Our kids today either come to love the Lord or the world primarily through what they see in us!

Close;

Judah was punished for their sin in 586 B.C. Nebuchadnezzar destroyed Jerusalem, slaughtered the royal family, burned the temple, the palace, and all houses in the city, and carried almost the entire population of Judah to Babylon (2 Kings 25:1–12).

Do you know Christ this morning?

Have your sins been forgiven?

Are you walking in righteousness?

If not then you are despising God’s law and your sin will be judged!