Hosea-6-A little or much, it is alike

The word of God is from Hosea 4:7-14.

 

“The more they increased, the more they sinned against me; I will change their glory into shame. They feed on the sin of my people and direct their desires toward their wickedness. And it shall be: like people, like priest. I will punish them for their ways and repay them for their deeds. They will eat but not have enough; they will engage in prostitution but not increase their numbers, because they have deserted the Lord to give themselves to prostitution. Wine and new wine take away the understanding. My people consult a wooden idol, and a diviner's rod gives them an answer. A spirit of prostitution has led them astray; they have been unfaithful to their God. They offer sacrifices on the mountaintops and burn offerings on the hills. They make offerings under oak, poplar, and terebinth trees, because their shade is pleasant. Therefore your daughters have become prostitutes and your daughters-in-law have committed adultery. I will not punish your daughters when they turn to prostitution or your daughters-in-law when they commit adultery, because the men themselves consort with prostitutes and offer sacrifices with temple prostitutes. A people without understanding will come to ruin.” Amen.

 

The People of Israel Who Abandoned Knowledge

As we read the Old Testament prophecies, we often encounter passages that make us uncomfortable. Perhaps this discomfort arises because we live in a civilized society and mistakenly believe we are inherently civilized, living under the illusion that our nature has changed. Today's passage prompts us to reflect on where we truly stand.

 

Continuing our study of Hosea 4, we examine verses 7-14. Hosea 4:6 states: "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I will also reject you from being priest for me. Since you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children." This is a warning given not only to the people of Israel but also to the priests who led them.

 

The phrase, "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge" does not simply mean they were ignorant. It means "you have abandoned knowledge." The people of Israel had knowledge of God, but they chose to abandon it. Why? Because it was not what they wanted. The way God wanted them to live and the way they wanted to live were different, so they turned away from the knowledge of God. The Bible testifies that this is precisely what we do. "I will also reject you from being priest for me" is the consequence of this action.

 

Even though we clearly know that our life and possessions come from God, we continue to reject that knowledge. This was especially true for the Israelites, who rejected the very law they were given. This is very similar to Romans 1, where Paul argues that "the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth."

 

"For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, being understood by the things that have been made. So they are without excuse." God has made His majesty, power, and wisdom so clear through creation that no one can plead ignorance. Nevertheless, Paul points out that "although they knew God, they did not glorify him as God or give thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man." The responsibility of the Israelites, who had even received the law, was even greater.

 

A Religious Business Built on Guilt and Blessings

Despite abandoning the knowledge of God and choosing their own path, the text in Hosea 4 reveals something unexpected. Instead of immediately stating that they were ruined, it says that as a result of their abandonment of knowledge, the number of priests increased. Does this cause and effect make sense to you? It's an ironic twist: the number of priests grew because the number of sacrifices increased. Why did they offer more sacrifices? Because they brought more burnt offerings and sin offerings. Isn't this strange? They abandoned the knowledge of God, yet they were sacrificing more.

 

This shows that their sacrifices and search for God were not directed toward God, but toward idols. In our terms, the more they worshipped, prayed, and read the Bible, the more they sinned. This is because they created a god for themselves—a god who would comfort them and take their side as they committed sin. Instead of repenting of their sins, they brought more sin offerings to appease their god and bribe him. The more they sinned, the more offerings they brought, and the more offerings they brought, the more priests they needed. This created a cycle.

 

This structure allowed the priests to operate a very profitable business. The more the people sinned, the more the priests prospered. This is a pattern that has repeated throughout history and is a common, highly profitable business in the church today. There are at least two reasons this business thrives.

 

First, as long as people have guilt, this business will not fail. We all have a conscience that makes us feel pricked by something we do wrong. This feeling of guilt means we fear punishment. To cover up this fear of punishment, we try to look good in God's eyes. How can we do that? By doing everything we are told. We confess our sins and try to cover them up. We don't miss worship services, we give offerings, we even go on mission trips and try to do good deeds.

 

These actions are not bad in themselves. However, we must examine their true purpose. Are we doing these things out of gratitude for the freedom God gives us and the forgiveness we receive through Christ? Or are we really just immersing ourselves in religion to alleviate our guilt and feel more at ease? This kind of religious devotion is often more intense than genuine faith because it's an attempt to pay off our sins and nullify our guilt so we don't have to face punishment.

 

A Faith for Our Own Hearts, Not for God

In such a situation, knowing God becomes less important. What's far more crucial is our own comfort and peace of mind. Coming to church becomes a matter of feeling good, and things like "taking up my cross" or "denying myself" are seen as pursuits for the most devout. This kind of faith becomes something we must create and sustain through our own efforts. We feel we must appease God, gain His favor, and ensure He looks upon us favorably, so we offer Him things as if they were bribes.

 

Do you know what the end result is? Even as we believe that Jesus died for us, His person and His cross gradually become less important. Our focus shifts to how much we can please God. We start to believe that the more we do for God, the more we can guarantee a better future for ourselves. When the cross becomes secondary, the consequences are terrifying. Jesus Christ is no longer essential; instead, what becomes most important is a belief that, by being a Christian, we can simply become better people. Our faith can turn into a means of self-improvement.

 

Once guilt takes over, our religious life becomes incredibly zealous. This is a tactic often used by cults. The term "gaslighting" is popular today, and it's so dangerous because the victims don't know it's happening to them. When someone uses guilt to manipulate you, you may not realize it's happening, but you're being affected. You spend all your time battling the guilt of not attending worship, not praying enough, or not reading the Bible.

 

I used to have older church members who would lower their heads when they saw me. When I asked why, they would say, "Pastor, I'm ashamed to face you. I didn't read the Bible at all last week." While their sincerity is touching, leaving them with that guilt is not the right solution. If someone were to tell that member, "Your eyes are weak; you don't need to read the Bible. Just give a lot of offerings," they would likely fall for it. This is exactly how this profitable "business" works.

 

Another factor as powerful as guilt is the word "blessing." Christianity is a religion of blessing, and the Bible is filled with it. Psalm 1 speaks of "the blessed one," and Jesus’s Sermon on the Mount gives us the Beatitudes. Christianity is deeply connected to blessings. However, the blessings I am talking about here are not the glory and joy of God but worldly blessings. This is when we base our worth on what we possess: our education, career, wealth, and possessions, both tangible and intangible. The Bible clearly states that our worth is not in these things; it calls this "covetousness" and "loving the world."

 

The Danger of Making Money Our God

This is a difficult issue to navigate. You may wonder, "Am I loving the world?" or "I want to work hard for a better life for my family. Does that mean I should just be content with what I have?" To be clear, your standard is wrong. Don't base your worth on "how much you have." Instead, ask yourself, "Am I valuing God's will?" and "Am I using what God has given me to serve the world, or is what I have my ultimate goal?" Loving money doesn't mean having a lot of it; it means that money has become your purpose in life.

 

Instead, we should be focused on how to serve this world with the mission God has given us and what it means to live according to His will. Trying to figure out "how much is enough" will lead you nowhere. It is different for everyone, and it's impossible to judge. But when we start to see blessings as something worldly, the church becomes a very good place for business. We are so easily swayed by the promise of blessings and worldly things.

 

I feel this even more as a preacher. When I talk about how Christ died for us and gave us eternal life, only one person might say, "Amen." But when someone who is sick receives prayer and is healed, people cry with joy and shout "Amen." Of course, it's a blessing when an illness is healed. But pause for a moment and consider: What should we truly rejoice in? Is it right to rejoice so much that we have been given eternal life, or is it right to rejoice so much that an illness has been healed? At least we should think about it. I admit that I can easily fall into this trap, and this is why the church business is so successful.

 

The Blindness of 50 Paces and 100 Paces

The Bible says that the priests lived off the sins of the people, so they encouraged them to sin even more. This happened in the past, and it is happening today. Do you remember the sale of indulgences during the Middle Ages? Martin Luther's posting of the 95 Theses on the door of the Wittenberg Castle Church in 1517 is not so different from the message of Hosea. To fund the extravagant St. Peter's Basilica, the Vatican invented and began selling indulgences. They exploited people's guilt and the promise of a heavenly blessing. And many people fell for it.

 

In Thesis 21, Luther stated, "Therefore, those preachers of indulgences are in error, who say that by the pope's indulgences a man is freed from every penalty and saved." He continued in Thesis 24, "Most people are necessarily deceived by that indiscriminate and high-sounding promise of relief from penalty." He was criticizing that if you claim a person's faith, life, or salvation can be changed by something other than Jesus Christ, you are deceiving them. People were being deceived even after coming to church and paying money.

 

Thesis 27 states, "They preach only human doctrines who say that as soon as the money clinks into the money chest, the soul flies out of purgatory."

 

Luther then declared the truth. In Thesis 32, he wrote, "All Christians who are truly repentant receive forgiveness of guilt and punishment even without letters of indulgence." He proclaimed, "The true treasure of the Church is the most holy Gospel of the glory and grace of God." Although Luther cried this out in 1517, this issue remains an unsolved problem for us believers today.

 

The Similar Hearts of the People and the Priests

At that time, the priests of Israel were running this religious business with the people. The number of priests grew, the money poured in, and the sacrificed animals piled up. If this message is about the sins of the priests, you might think, 'This sounds more like a message for the pastor than for me.' And you'd be right. The pastor can be the real problem.

 

However, let's look at Hosea 4:9 together: "And it shall be like people, like priest; I will punish them for their ways and repay them for their deeds." While the translation is accurate, it means that "the people and the priests are no different."

 

Why did the priests' business thrive? Every business needs demand to have supply. What was in the hearts of the people that made this business possible? They believed, "If I offer something to God, He will give me a blessing." So they were willing to make offerings and live that way. It was more convenient for them to live in a religious framework and live as they pleased rather than living according to God's Word. Their mindset was, "I'll make an offering so you can be satisfied, God. Just don't interfere with how I live my life." Because the people had this mindset, they were in perfect sync with the priests. It was a case of "the pot calling the kettle black" or "six of one, half a dozen of the other." This is why this sermon is titled "The Blindness of 50 Paces and 100 Paces."

 

The Problem of Drifting from the Word

The story of the "50 paces and 100 paces" comes from the book of Mencius. King Hui of Liang boasted to Mencius about how well he governed his kingdom. Mencius used a parable of a war. During a battle, two soldiers fled from the enemy. One soldier ran 100 paces, and the other ran 50. The soldier who ran 50 paces ridiculed the one who ran 100 paces as a coward. When King Hui heard this, he said, "What's the difference between 100 paces and 50 paces?" Mencius replied, "Your kingdom and your neighbors' kingdoms are both cases of 50 paces and 100 paces."

 

Likewise, pastors and church members often fall into corruption together. Of course, leaders have a greater responsibility. They have studied more and researched God's Word, so it's only right that they bear a greater burden. But how can a business run if no one buys the goods? This type of business is only possible because we find that way of life comfortable, and we believe that being a Christian should simply align with what our heart wants.

 

I emphasize the Word of God because it is the only standard for everything. When a pastor strays even a little from the Word, they unconsciously start the "church business." When we drift from the Word, we inevitably stray. Why? Because there is always a demand for deception. There are always people waiting to be deceived. When you stray from the Word, you become the one being deceived, and I become the one doing the deceiving. This is what today's passage so starkly points out. It is possible to set up a charismatic pastor and gather like-minded people who never repent or return to the Word, all while feeding their own pride and gluttony. We can talk as if we would die without Jesus, but live entirely differently.

 

The Lessons from Judges and Exodus

In reality, people who are involved in this kind of business are often unaware of their actions. Look at Exodus 32. While Moses was on Mount Sinai, the people of Israel said, "Make us a god who will go before us." I have a hard time understanding Aaron's behavior here. How great it would have been if Aaron had just said, "Wait!" But instead, he took the lead, saying, "Take off the gold earrings from your wives, your sons, and your daughters and bring them to me. I will melt them down and make you a god." He even said, "Tomorrow will be a feast to the Lord." In Moses's absence, the Israelites offered a sin offering.

 

I am so curious to know what sins they confessed. They even offered a peace offering. They offered a peace offering even though God would not meet with them. They ate, drank, and danced with joy. They were completely blind to what they were doing. This is a frightening thing. The moment we start to think, "We are a normal church," the possibility of falling into the church business increases. The moment we think, "This is enough," is often the beginning of our problems.

 

Judges is much the same. A priest was hired to offer sacrifices to idols, and the Bible records that "it went well." In our terms, a church was started, the congregation grew, the offerings increased, and "it was doing so well." It was doing so well that when people from the tribe of Dan passed by and saw what was happening, they said, "We can do this too," and lured the priest away. "Don't stay in this small place; come with us. We will give you a better position." And he immediately followed them. The Bible contains records like these that should make our faces burn with shame. Is our world today really all that different from theirs?

 

Spiritual Emptiness That Cannot Be Filled

The Bible gives us a standard to judge whether we are in the right place or not. Hosea says, "How will you know that you have done wrong? You will eat, but you will not be satisfied." This is deeply connected to God's covenant and the history of Israel's exodus. In the barren wilderness, when there was nothing to eat, God fed the Israelites. They were so full of quail that the meat was coming out of their noses. But now, God says, "You will eat, but you will not be satisfied." He also says, "No matter how much you try, your children will not prosper." This relates to the covenant to "be fruitful and multiply" and means they will "bear no fruit."

 

The Fruit of the Spirit is the Standard

Whether a church is doing well, has a fancy building, is financially prosperous, sends many missionaries, has powerful prayer and beautiful worship, or emphasizes the Word—these external things can be important, but they are not the true measure. We should not judge whether a church is "right" or "doing well" based on these outward appearances. The true standard is whether the Holy Spirit is working through the Word to transform our hearts and whether we are bearing the fruit of the Spirit. This is the most important measure.

 

You might ask, "Isn't diligently learning the Word a sign of a healthy church?" Generally, yes. But Paul said, "They are always learning, but they are led astray by their desires and weighed down by sin." They diligently studied the Bible, but no fruit was being borne in their lives. Does that mean they were doing well? No. No, it does not.

 

The Right Goal Is the Fruit of the Spirit

Therefore, what we must pursue is the fruit of the Spirit. And not a fruit separate from the Word, but fruit based on the Word, as the Holy Spirit always works together with the Word. As we know so well, "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law." This is the fruit of the Spirit.

 

We must ask ourselves if we are bearing this fruit, or at least if we are moving in that direction. We must examine if our words, our lives, and our church are pursuing these things. This doesn't mean we have already achieved them or that fruit is overflowing everywhere. Like Paul's confession, "Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me." What matters is what our goal is. Is our goal this fruit of the Spirit, or is it a church organization, an image of what we want the church to be, or our own ideas? We must ask ourselves if our goal is the fruit that God is speaking of right now. This is an incredibly important question.

 

Just because a sermon is being proclaimed correctly does not mean a church is healthy. Having a perfectly accurate doctrine is a great thing, but it alone cannot be the measure of a healthy church. When we forget what God is accomplishing through His Word and lose our purpose, it is like eating to live instead of eating to work and breathe. We must not make the Word itself the goal. When knowing how much of the Bible we know or how much doctrine we have becomes the goal, we lose the true purpose of our faith. "Doing worship rightly" is not the purpose in itself. God is pleased with worship, but what does He ultimately want to accomplish through it? He wants to form a temple of believers who reach the full measure of Christ and find joy in eternal fellowship with God. If we constantly say, "Lord, receive our glory" but then turn around and act otherwise, what good is a beautiful worship service with perfect order, a choir with the most beautiful voices, a brilliant sermon, and an eloquent prayer? That could also be a very high-class church business.

 

The Diversity of Fruit and Our Own Shortcomings

If our goal is to bear the fruit of the Spirit, we must acknowledge and believe that the Holy Spirit is at work within us through God's Word. If you are a child of God, you must believe that God has started this holy work within you and is bringing it to completion. The church is a place where the Holy Spirit does holy work through the Word. This is why it is called a temple.

 

We must recognize that this holy work does not happen in the same way, in the same order, or at the same pace for everyone. It is incredibly diverse. Sometimes people stop coming to church and suddenly disappear, and when they return, we ask, "How did you end up coming back?" We add, "What have you been doing?" or "Why haven't you been around?" Can't we try to imitate the father who welcomed the prodigal son and say, "Welcome back," "I've been waiting for you," "I've missed you," "Let's eat together"? Why are we so stingy with such words? It's because instead of seeing the church as a place where God leads every life to holiness, we are satisfied only when the church operates according to our own desires. The same goes for pastors.

 

However, no two fruits grow exactly alike. Some are small, some are large, and some grow slowly. Cucumbers ripen in just 7 to 10 days after flowering. But apples and pears need much longer. At least five to six months pass after the blossom is pollinated before we can eat an apple. Grapes and figs take four months. They are all different. They may look the same as they blossom, but they are not. Some apples are large, and others are small. Of course, sellers will throw away the small ones and sell only the large, perfect ones for profit. But to those who eat them at home, even the small ones are precious. No matter how small a pear is, if you cut it open, it is often sweet and delicious. No matter how small an apple is, as long as it is on the apple tree, it is still an apple. God is doing this work in all of us through His Holy Spirit and the Spirit of Christ. We must not forget this. If we lose sight of this, the more we worship and read the Bible, the more we sin. When we forget the fruit of the Spirit and what we are striving for, and instead get caught up in work or the act of achieving something, we are bound to be drawn in that direction.

 

Acknowledging Our Own Shortcomings

We all know how inadequate we are. Yet, we do church work as if to say, "This was all thanks to our skills." What are we truly pursuing? What do we want to achieve? Do we truly value the fruit of the Spirit?

 

For example, when working on a ministry like "Hesed," the tasks of translating, editing, printing, and folding are not easy. But how disheartening would it be if someone threw all that work in the trash? That would take all the energy out of a person, and they would probably think, "I'm never doing this again." That is our level of skill. But through that, God teaches us patience and shows us how He reaches out to one soul at a time even through mundane and seemingly insignificant tasks. We are not good at thinking this way.

 

Taking up the Cross and Following Jesus

Are we truly making the fruit given by the Holy Spirit our goal? And are we working hard to achieve it? Or do we want a church that is comfortable, free of worries, anger, and frustration—a place where our minds can rest? A church like that will not exist until we get to heaven. If that is what you want, you are directly opposing Jesus's words. Jesus said, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me." Even though we have heard sermons about suffering and know what it is, we are weak when even a little suffering comes our way. This is our level of skill; this is our true nature. Why can't we admit it? We must admit it and turn back. We must say, "Ah, I have become so caught up in the church business."

 

There is no difference between a pastor and an elder, a member, or a deacon. We are all two of a kind. We get along very well when it comes to sinning. But when we try to do something good, it's so difficult. It's hard to be of one mind, and we face so many trials and difficulties over different opinions. We are so good at being jealous, critical, gossiping, and greedy. It's so easy to do these things together. But it's hard to do good things. It's because we are still in the midst of a battle with sin.

 

Our True Hope, Christ

It is natural for some people to feel uncomfortable after hearing a sermon like this. Some may be convicted of their wrongdoings, while others may get angry and think, 'Pastor, that's not the whole story.' It's okay to get angry or upset. You might even think, 'We're doing well enough, aren't we? We don't deserve this scolding.' But I am in the same position as you. No matter how you feel, there is one thing I hope you don't do. I hope you don't go back to yourself. Don't return to your emotions, your hurts, your self-righteousness, your sense of injustice, or your feelings.

 

Let us stop trying to find answers by piecing together our torn and wounded selves, like the broken priests and people of Israel. It is time for all of us to turn to Christ, our true hope and true high priest. Let us go to the true priest who offered Himself as a sacrifice for us.

 

As it says in Hebrews, "Therefore, holy brothers and sisters, who share in the heavenly calling, fix your thoughts on Jesus, whom we acknowledge as our apostle and high priest." Let us hold on to the confidence we had when we first believed in Him. "Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts, but lay down your soul, spirit, joints, and marrow before the word."

 

Our great high priest, Jesus, is the Son of God, yet He understands our weaknesses. He was wounded just as we are and suffered injustice and pain far beyond what we could ever imagine. That is why He can help us in our time of need. So let us approach the throne of grace with confidence.

 

The Path to Bearing the Fruit of the Spirit

My dear friends, since we have life through the Spirit, isn't it time to walk by the Spirit? Let us not give up on bearing fruit. Let us walk this path. When it is difficult, seek and receive the grace that helps us in our time of need. If you lack wisdom, drink from the well of Jesus’s wisdom. If you lack love, immerse yourself in His love. If you lack patience, go to the cross of Jesus, who has been patient with us since before the creation of the world. If you are exhausted and tired and want to do nothing, yearn for Jesus, who gives strength to the weary so they can run and not grow tired, so they can walk and not grow faint.

 

I pray that you will surely bear the fruit of the Spirit—His kindness, gentleness, humility, and compassion—just as our Lord was patient with us. Amen.

 

Let's Pray

Lord, You are truly so good to us. You do not hold back Your labor until we bear fruit. You are patient with us to the very end. You do not abandon us, and You hold on to us. You do not hesitate to wipe away our tears, and You are not ashamed of us. Though we are ashamed of ourselves, You are not ashamed of us and have called us Your sons and daughters. Therefore, Lord, help us walk this path of grace with Your Word. Help us not to lose our purpose. Help us not to forget that we have been called to bear the fruit of the Spirit. Help us not to grow weary on this journey until we bring this amazing fruit and all our crowns to You, offering all that we have and giving You all the glory. In the name of Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen.