There Are No Straight People

There Are No "Straight" People
Scripture Passage: Amos 7:1-9:15
A battle has been brewing in the United States for many years over definitions of gender. What is a "man" and what is a "woman"? Sexual orientation has been labeled as "gay" (homosexual) and "straight" (heterosexual). The reason for this battle is that people among themselves can never apply a standard for themselves that all will agree is appropriate, much less obey. The only way any group can have such a universal standard is from someone who:

Is greater than that group

Has the right to declare such a standard

God is the Creator of all humanity (Gen. 1:1; Isa. 40:28; John 1:1-3). He is both greater and has the right to declare His standards for His creation. It is God the Creator who made both male and female and decided that marriage should be between one man and one woman for life (Gen. 2:24; Matthew 19:4-6). Given this, how can anyone try to redefine God's standard for sexual orientation, marriage, or anything else?
The basic problem is that those who reject traditional view of sexual orientation / marriage / etc. do so because they reject the authority and will of God for their lives. When that happens, all sorts of things in society become perverted. This was the problem in the northern kingdom of Israel during the time of Amos. Our Scripture passages paint a graphic picture of God's assessment of the people in this time:

Empty worship

False religion

Oppression of the poor

Materialism

Greed

Is this a picture of ancient Israel or modern times? The list looks very similar. From God's vantage point, is anyone "straight"? God permits human freedom to a point and then His merciful grace must be removed to enact justice. Amos saw this painful reality from God's own revelation. Yet even in judgment, God demonstrates that He will continue to be faithful to His promises, even to a stubborn and rebellious people.

Main Point: God's patience regarding sin and rebellion has a limit. At that point, God will judge even His own people. Both in mercy and in judgment, God continues to be faithful to keep all His promises.
Outline:

When God's plumb line (standard for righteousness) is applied to people, no one appears straight (Amos 6:1-2).

When people apply their own standard for righteousness, only the righteous appear evil (Amos 7:10-17).

When people reject God's righteousness, they find an unfillable void in their lives (Amos 8:11-14).

When God finally enacts judgment for unrighteousness, He will also remain faithful to His promises (Amos 9:8-15).

1. When God's plumb line (standard for righteousness) is applied to people, no one appears straight (Amos 6:1-2).

Thus He showed me: Behold, the Lord stood on a wall made with a plumb line, with a plumb line in His hand. (8) And the LORD said to me, "Amos, what do you see?" And I said, "A plumb line." Then the Lord said: "Behold, I am setting a plumb line In the midst of My people Israel; I will not pass by them anymore. (9) The high places of Isaac shall be desolate, And the sanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste. I will rise with the sword against the house of Jeroboam." (Amos 7:7-9 NIV)
A prevailing attitude with many people is a disdain for judgment. "Who died and made you God?" is a mantra that enables a person to escape accountability. Even in the church, many Christians believe it is wrong to judge another person in anything, citing Jesus' words in Matthew 7:1 as proof for this position. As a result, people living without rebuke or reproof grow increasingly unholy -- even Christians.
The view that even Christians should not judge anyone fails to take into account the rest of what Jesus had to say (Matthew 7:2-5), that we are to make right judgments about what people do. There are other passages as well that indicate Christians do indeed make judgments about people (Luke 7:43, 12:57; John 7:24; Acts 15:19, 16:15; 1 Cor. 1:10, 2:15, 5:3, 6:2-5, 7:25, 7:40, 10:15, 11:13, 14:29; 1 Pet. 4:17; 1 Thess. 5:21). We are not to judge someone in the sense of condemnation regarding their internal beliefs and salvation (Jer. 17:9-10), we must judge whether the words and deeds of people (including ourselves) are true or not.
What happens, though, when God makes a judgment regarding people? This is the vision Amos had from God. He took a plumb line to a wall (representing the nation of Israel) and it measured straight and true. God raised up the nation of Israel to be holy, to be a light to the rest of the world concerning the reality of our Creator God and His righteousness. But when God held up the plumb line to the people, they were revealed to be crooked and evil. This will always be the case:
The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it? (Jeremiah 17:9 NKJV)
As it is written: "There is none righteous, no, not one. (Romans 3:10 NKJV)
For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. (Romans 3:23 NKJV)
God showed Amos two visions of horrible judgments, by locusts (Amos 7:1-3) and by fire (Amos 7:4-6). Each of these judgments was put off when Amos interceded for the people. The first two judgments were general in their application but the third was directed specifically to Israel. In the third vision of the plumb line, Amos made no intercession. God's point was made with utter clarity and finality. God's standard of righteousness is absolutely straight and the people had fallen short, were falling short, and refused to repent. The only just response from God at this point was swift judgment.
What happens when God holds up the plumb line to your life? Obviously God's infinite perfection always reveals the imperfections in our own hearts. Why would I want to subject myself to constant failure? Let us look at it this way instead. God saved you through His Son, Jesus Christ, to make you holy. Because of the righteousness of Christ, He has declared you holy forever. So our life in Christ is about God creating a masterpiece out of your life, a masterpiece of holiness. As each day passes, God has been at work enhancing the strengths and working to eliminate the weaknesses. God does not look over your shoulder, ready to thump you whenever you fall short. Rather, He rejoices when you walk with Him by faith (Deut. 30:9-10; Psa. 104:31; Zeph. 3:17), and you should as well (Deut. 12:7,12,18, 14:26, 16:11, 27:7, 32:43; 1 Chron. 16:10; 2 Chron. 6:14; Psa. 5:11, 40:6; Luke 6:22-23; 1 Cor. 13:6; 2 Cor. 7:9; Phil. 1:18, 2:17-18; 1 Pet. 4:13; 2 John 1:4; 3 John 1:3).
For that very reason we must continue to humble ourselves before our holy God and ask for His insight and power to make us holy. Our joy in life is found in the pursuit of holiness (2 Cor. 7:1).

2. When people apply their own standard for righteousness, the righteous before God appear evil (Amos 7:10-17).

(12) Then Amaziah said to Amos: "Go, you seer! Flee to the land of Judah. There eat bread, And there prophesy. (13) But never again prophesy at Bethel, For it is the king's sanctuary, And it is the royal residence." (Amos 7:12-13 NKJV)
Amaziah was a "pretend" priest at Bethel (7:10) where King Jereboam II lived in a luxurious palace. I say "pretend" priest because by God's law the priests were to serve at the temple in Jerusalem. Part of the empty worship practices in the Northern Kingdom of Israel is that they ignored God's law and established their own places and ways of worshiping God.
Amaziah confronted Amos because he had prophesied God's plumb line judgment to Israel. Though this was the word from the LORD Himself, Amaziah put a spin on the words by claiming Amos was starting a conspiracy against the king. This is a typical strategy of people with no moral conviction. If you cannot win with the facts, then disparage and attack your opponent.
Amaziah's statement to Amos was representative of the people in the Northern Kingdom. They did not want to hear what the LORD had to say. They had pushed His word out of their lives so they could relish their own evil thoughts and ways. They did not want to hear God's word much less obey it. Truly, Amaziah spoke truthfully when he told Amos not to prophesy anymore, "For it is the king's sanctuary, And it is the royal residence" (Amos 7:13, NKJV). The people and their land no longer were loyal to God -- they were loyal to an earthly king.
Israel was never intended to have a king. This nation was to be a theocracy, ruled by God Himself. Installing a king drew the affection of the people away from serving God to serving an earthly king. This is what God warned them about in the days of the prophet Samuel when they demanded an earthly king:
"But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, "Give us a king to judge us." So Samuel prayed to the LORD. And the LORD said to Samuel, "Heed the voice of the people in all that they say to you; for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me, that I should not reign over them" (1 Samuel 8:6-7 NKJV).
How should you and I respond to those who reject our righteous stand and the truth from God's word? Look at Amos' response:
(14) Then Amos answered, and said to Amaziah: "I was no prophet, Nor was I a son of a prophet, But I was a sheepbreeder And a tender of sycamore fruit. (15) Then the LORD took me as I followed the flock, And the LORD said to me, 'Go, prophesy to My people Israel.' (16) Now therefore, hear the word of the LORD: You say, 'Do not prophesy against Israel, And do not spout against the house of Isaac.' (17) "Therefore thus says the LORD: 'Your wife shall be a harlot in the city; Your sons and daughters shall fall by the sword; Your land shall be divided by survey line; You shall die in a defiled land; And Israel shall surely be led away captive From his own land.'"
Amos remained humble in the face of intense opposition and mocking. He was a rancher with cattle and an orchard. Nevertheless, God called Amos to proclaim the word of the LORD to His people. God can use even the unlikeliest candidate for His work:
(26) For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. (27) But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; (28) and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, (29) that no flesh should glory in His presence. (1 Corinthians 1:26-29 NKJV)
Amos remained faithful in the face of intense opposition by continuing to proclaim the word of the LORD. "You say, 'Do not prophesy..." Amos said to Amaziah, " but the LORD says, "Go, prophesy..." Amos set Amaziah's angry words against the pure word of the LORD for perspective. What did the so-called priest expect Amos to do, disobey Almighty God?
Our strength and authority as believers in the LORD Jesus Christ rests not in our ability, not in our hard work, but in God's majestic word. Many will oppose our message and our works of faith. Stand firm and faithful to the task of serving the living God:
God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them. We want each of you to show this same diligence to the very end, in order to make your hope sure. We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised. (Hebrews 6:10-12 NIV)
Be sure to do as Amos did when opposition, persecution, and rejection comes. Put it in the context of what God has called you to do. That makes your course a bit clearer.

Are you following Christ?

Are you obedient to His command?

Are you responding to His call on your life?

If you answer is yes to these questions, then rejoice that you have been counted worthy of suffering as Christ suffered. Look forward to God's great eternal reward (Matt. 5:12) that He will surely give to you.

3. When people reject God's righteousness, they find an unfillable void in their lives (Amos 8:11-14).

(11) "Behold, the days are coming," says the Lord GOD, "That I will send a famine on the land, Not a famine of bread, Nor a thirst for water, But of hearing the words of the LORD. (12) They shall wander from sea to sea, And from north to east; They shall run to and fro, seeking the word of the LORD, But shall not find it. (13) "In that day the fair virgins And strong young men Shall faint from thirst. (14) Those who swear by the sin of Samaria, Who say, 'As your god lives, O Dan!' And, 'As the way of Beersheba lives!' They shall fall and never rise again." (Amos 8:11-14 NKJV)
Because Israel rejected the righteousness of God, God revealed to Amos that the time for judgment was ripe, like a basket of ripe fruit (Amos 8:1-3). Again, the LORD enumerates the injustice of His people:

Refusing to help the needy among their own people, even taking measures to put the poor out of the country (Amos 8:4, NKJV).

Dishonor God on the days set aside for worship and rest (Amos 8:5a) by yearning for a return to "normal" business days.

Cheat customers with uneven scales and greedily boost prices (Amos 8:5b).

Engaging in slavery of fellow countrymen who are poor (Amos 8:6a) rather than helping them.

Selling to the poor dirty remnants of grain rather than pure batches (Amos 8:6b).

The LORD makes a solemn commitment regarding the injustice concerning the poor: "The LORD has sworn by the pride of Jacob: 'Surely I will never forget any of their works'" (Amos 8:7 NKJV). Perhaps the worst judgment for anyone would be for God to simply ignore you. This is what God predicts will happen as a result of the people's insistence on harboring sin and rejecting the word of God: "Behold, the days are coming," says the Lord GOD, "That I will send a famine on the land, Not a famine of bread, Nor a thirst for water, But of hearing the words of the LORD" (Amos 8:11-14 NKJV).
People wander about looking for contentment, significance, fulfillment, joy, and love but none is to be found. This is always the result of harboring sin and rejecting the pure truth of God's word. Is the Bible the solution to such problems or a dangerous weapon?
Recently the NEA (the largest teacher's union in the United States) tried to pass a measure that would force teachers across the country to promote the homosexual lifestyle -- not just tolerate people who engage in illicit sexual relations with same-sex partners but actively promote the acceptance of their evil choices. Here is a quote from a news release on the NEA web site:
Some critics want the public schools to be an agent of moral doctrine, condemning children and adults when they are not in accord with Biblical precepts. We believe it is impossible to create a safe haven for children -- physically safe and emotionally safe -- while condemning their beliefs. (http://www.nea.org/nr/nr010702.htm. "Statement of Bob Chase, President of the National Education Association on the Consideration of Resolution New B." July 2, 2001.)
According to the NEA, the truth found in God's word is dangerous to children and adults. Rather than correct a false belief that leads to evil behavior, the NEA would have us comfort children in their queer thoughts and promote such beliefs. Further, the NEA would teach everyone to accept and be sensitive toward people engaged in homosexual practices. Sin, any sin, should bring shame and guilt in the individual. That shame and guilt is what prevents people from finding contentment, significance, fulfillment, joy, and love. The LORD Jesus Christ wants to fill that void with truth, love, and righteousness.
You cannot knowingly hold onto your own evil choices and embrace the LORD Jesus Christ at the same time. Jesus said, " To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free" (John 8:31-32 NIV).

4. When God finally enacts judgment for unrighteousness, He will also remain faithful to His promises (Amos 9:8-15).

"Surely the eyes of the Sovereign LORD are on the sinful kingdom. I will destroy it from the face of the earth-- yet I will not totally destroy the house of Jacob," declares the LORD. (Amos 9:8 NKJV)
God declared the total destruction of the northern kingdom of Israel, an event that was fulfilled just a few years later in 722 B.C. by the hand of King Shalmaneser of Assyria. As He predicted, the people were scattered throughout the Gentile nations (Amos 9:9). Yet an amazing promise is given in verse 8 as well: "yet I will not totally destroy the house of Jacob," declares the LORD. (Amos 9:8 NKJV). Even in judgment, we sees God's mercy toward His people, Israel. Though "all the sinners among My people shall die by the sword" (Amos 9:10, NKJV), a remnant would survive.
Verses 11-15 describe a time of new birth for God's chosen people. It is a time in God's own time that God will bring about Himself ("For surely I will command" {Amos 9:9 NKJV}, "I will bring back the captives of My people Israel" {Amos 9:14 NKJV}) -- the time of the Milleniel Kingdom (see also Isaiah 11:4-16, 65:17-25; Rev. 20:4).

A time of restoration for Israel's home (9:11a).

A time of renewal for the broken places and ruins (9:11b)

A time where Israel will rule the nations (9:12).

A time of great abundance (9:13).

A time of great security, never to be uprooted again (9:15).

God is faithful to His own promises because He is perfectly righteous. He cannot fail, He will not fail to accomplish His Sovereign plan for Israel. He cannot fail, He will not fail to accomplish His Sovereign plan for you as a believer in Christ. Just as He promised a place for the remnant of Israel, Jesus promised a place for His disciples:
(1) "Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. (2) "In My Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. (3) "And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. (4) "And where I go you know, and the way you know." (5) Thomas said to Him, "Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?" (6) Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. (John 14:1-6 NKJV)
Even though judgment must come for each of us, we can find peace, contentment, joy, and love from the LORD as we turn away from injustice and evil, turning instead to the LORD Jesus Christ who loves you and gave Himself for you on the cross of Calvary.
If you are unsure where you stand in view of God's judgment upon your life, please read How You Can Be Sure of Heaven. As the prophet Amos declared: "Seek the LORD and live" (Amos 5:6 NKJV).

Our Creator God loves you and wants you to know Him! If you would like to contact this ministry for further information or questions, please send your e-mail to:
Email: ministryrequest1@WordTruth.Com
Web Site: WordTruth.Com
Copyright 7/5/2001, Randy Lariscy.