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A Sermon by Dr. Bob Griffin, Teaching Elder at Sovereign Grace Church
I. GUILT PINPOINTED (of no life-style proof of repentance)
A. FALSE PRESUMPTION
>>1. DISMISSED
Hosea 6:1-2 Come, let us return to the Lord. He has torn us to pieces but He will heal us; He has injured us, but He will bind us up. After two days He will revive us; on the third day He will restore us so we may live in His presence. (Lk 18:5)
>>2. DEPERSONALIZED
Hosea 6:3 Let us acknowledge Him, to press to know the Lord. For as certain as the dawn He will appear, just like winter rain or spring showers that water the ground. (Heb 11:6)
B. FALSE PROJECTION
>>1. DISAPPEARANCE
Hosea 6:4-5 What should I do with you, Ephraim? What shall I do with you, Judah? Your faithfulness is like a morning mist, like the dew that quickly disappears. Therefore I cut you with words of My prophets; I killed you with My words. My judgment goes forth like sunlight. (Jas 2:18; Ps 119:130; 119:105
>>2. DESIRE
Hosea 6:6 For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, acknowledging God rather than burnt offerings. (Mt 9:13; 12:7; Rom 12:1)
C. FALSE PENITENCE
>>1. DESTRUCTION
Hosea 6:7 But like Adam, they broke the covenant, and there dealt unfaithfully with Me. (Ps 51:16-17; Is 1:11,16-18)
>>2. DEFILEMENT
Hosea 6:8-10 Gilead is a city of evildoers, with footprints in blood. As robbers lie in ambush, so bands of priests murder on the road to Shechem and carry out their wicked schemes. Oh, I have seen frightening things in Israel: Ephraim given over to prostitution and Israel defiled. (Amos 5:21-22)
D. FALSE PERSPECTIVE
>>1. DISHONESTY
Hosea 6:11-7:1 And also for Judah, a day of harvest is appointed, when I restore the fortunes of my people; when I would heal Israel, the sin of Ephraim is exposed, as are the crimes of Samaria. They deceive; thieves break into houses, and bandits rob in the streets.
>>2. DISCERNMENT
Hosea 7:2-3 But they don’t realize that I remember all their evil. They are drowning in their sins; nothing is hidden from Me. Their evil actions delight the king, and the princes are [delighted] by their treachery. (Jer 31:34)
II. GRAPHIC PICTURES (of those who CLAIM to repent but CONTINUE in sin)
A. IMAGE = OVEN
>>1. DRIVEN
Hosea 7:4 They are all adulterers; they are like a heated oven whose baker stops stirring the fire while kneading of the dough until it rises. (I Cor 7:9)
>>2. DIRECTION
Hosea 7:5-7 On the festival day of our king, the princes are inflamed with wine, joining hands with mockers. With hearts like an oven they approach their intrigue; all night their anger smolders and in the morning it blazes like a fire. All of them are hot as an oven, consuming their leaders. All their kings fall, yet none of them calls upon Me.
B. IMAGE = HALF-BAKED PANCAKE
>>1. DISREGARD
Hosea 7:8-9 Ephraim mixes with Gentiles; Ephraim is a pancake not turned. Foreigners sap his strength, and he doesn’t realize it. His hair is sprinkled gray, and he doesn’t notice it. (Jer 17:9; Lk 16:13)
>>2. DISDAIN
Hosea 7:10 Israel’s arrogance testifies against him; despite this, they do not return to the Lord their God, nor search for Him. (Jdg 16:20)
C. IMAGE = DOVE
>>1. DESTRUCTION
Hosea 7:11-13 Ephraim is like a dove, tricked and without sense, calling to Egypt, then to Assyria. As they go, I will throw My net over them; I will bring them down like birds of the air. When the flock gathers, I will catch them. Woe on them, for they have strayed from Me! Destruction on them, for they have rebelled against Me! I would redeem them, but they lie about Me.
>>2. DECEPTION
Hosea 7:14 They do not cry to me from the heart, but they wail upon their beds. They cut themselves in appeals for grain and for wine they gash themselves, but still turn away from Me.
D. IMAGE = FAULTY WEAPON
>>1. DEFECTIVE
Hosea 7:15-16a Although I trained and strengthened their arms, yet they plot against Me. They turn, but not to the ‘Most High’. They are like a defective bow.
>>2. DERISION
Hosea 7:16b Their leaders will fall in battle because of their impertinent words; they will be ridiculed in the land of Egypt. (Ps 34:18; Is 57:15)