Sermon 247

SERMON 247 — REFORMATION OR FAMINE

Text: Amos 8:11–14 (Read 1–14)
Date: October 30, 1949
Preacher: G. S. Kok

INTRODUCTION

Tomorrow is Reformation Day, when we commemorate the beginning of the great religious Reformation of the 16th century under Luther, Calvin, and Zwingli.From Amos’s warning of a coming famine in Israel, we see the meaning and necessity of Reformation — for Israel, for the 16th century, and for today.

SUBJECT: REFORMATION OR FAMINE

I. THE NATURE OF THE REFORMATION NEEDED

A. Israel (the Ten Tribes) had forsaken the Word of God
1. They had separated themselves from Jerusalem and established worship elsewhere (Dan, Bethel).
2. They rejected the Word of God and worshiped according to their own ideas.
3. Their views of God and salvation no longer agreed with the truth.
4. God said, My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.
5. False prophets multiplied.
6. They sought salvation in outward forms, sacrifices, and ceremonies — not in true repentance and faith.Thus the forsaking of God’s Word was the root of their religious and social evils.

B. Before the 16th-century Reformation, the Roman Catholic Church also departed from the Word of God
1. The Bible was closed and hidden.It was not the rule of faith and conduct.Church councils and popes substituted their authority.
2. They forsook Bible teaching on salvation and replaced it with human doctrines:
  Salvation by works,
  Self-righteousness instead of Christ’s righteousness,
  Indulgences purchased with money,
  Rituals instead of repentance and heart-renewal.
3. The Word of God needed to be reinstated as the final rule of faith.The Reformers cried, Back to the Word of God.Back to salvation by grace through faith in Christ alone.Back to the truth that salvation cannot be bought or earned.Unlike Israel, the people of Europe heeded the call — and Reformation came.

C. Today, the same need exists
1. Churches again are departing from the Word of God.
2. Many base their hope of salvation on what Scripture does not teach:
  Their own goodness,
  The vague goodness of God apart from Christ,
  Their financial contributions to the church.
3. Many today suppress or disregard Scripture in solving social problems.God’s law is mocked, rejected, ignored.
4. Again God calls the nation and the church: Back to the Word of God.

II. THE FAMINE TO BE AVOIDED

Either Reformation — or famine.

A. This was true in Amos’s day, in the 16th century, and it is true now
Israel refused Reformation — and famine came.

B. The nature of the famine
1. Not food or water.
2. A famine of hearing the Word of the Lord.
3. Like a wartime blackout — you turn on the radio and hear only static.
4. People will listen for the Word, but will not hear it.A terrible experience indeed.

Why is it terrible
1. Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord.
2. Consider King Saul: when God no longer answered him, he was driven in despair to the witch of Endor.
3. When God’s Word is withdrawn, the people perish.
4. This is exactly what happened to Israel.

C. Its tragic consequences
1. The people search desperately for a Word from God — but it is too late.
2. Young people faint for lack of spiritual nourishment — because their fathers rejected God’s Word.
3. They collapse before the dumb idols they built when they turned from God.
4. In these idols they perish — exactly as God warned.

D. Its present threat
1. God’s Word is being suppressed today — in schools, homes, public life, and even in churches.
2. Unless America reforms and returns to God’s Word, the nation will perish spiritually.
3. Unless churches return to Scripture, preaching the Bible as God’s Word, the church will perish.
4. We face the same alternative as Israel: Reformation or famine.

CONCLUSION

During the Reformation, people returned to the Word of God — and famine was prevented.Imagine how dark Europe would be today had men not called the people back to Scripture — and had the people refused.Imagine how dark our nation will become if no Reformation takes place.When the light of God’s Word goes out, darkness deepens, civilization decays, hope dies, confusion reigns.How tragic that America, claiming to be a Christian nation, has removed God’s Word from public schools — and many even condemn the schools that still teach children to obey the one and only true God.Reformation or famine. The choice remains.