The Sin That Baffles God

Nothing baffles me more than Christians who remain fickle, even though they sit under a clear, strong gospel message! I can't understand how some of God's children can be so committed to Him one moment, and then turn around and become so cool the next.

This sin actually baffles God! It both bewilders and frustrates Him! In His Word, God speaks His mind to a people who had received a very clear call to repentance. The Lord sent the prophet Hosea to Israel with this message:

"Come, and let us return unto the Lord: for he hath torn, and he will heal us; he hath smitten, and he will bind us up.... Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the Lord...he shall come unto us as the rain, as the latter and former rain" (Hosea 6:1-3).

God's message was clear but the people were fickle in their response! They wavered in their hearts: unstable, inconsistent, moving quickly from hot to cold! God exclaimed of them, "What shall I do unto thee?" (6:4).

It is as if the Lord was saying, "Nothing works! Tell Me, angels, seraphim, elders, martyrs — Tell Me, shepherds and pastors — Tell Me, earth, moon and stars: What am I going to do with these fickle children?"

"O Ephraim, what shall I do unto thee? O Judah, what shall I do unto thee? for your goodness is as a morning cloud, and as the early dew it goeth away" (6:4).

Many times I've asked God this same question: "Lord, what's it going to take to get some of your dear children off the fence? What more can we do to rid them of their vacillation? We never know where they stand spiritually. They are so changeable!

"Lord, we warn them sharply, we prophesy to them. And just when they seem to have been gripped by the Spirit, they run back to their idols!"

This fickleness is wonder to heaven. God sees it and seems to say, "I'm in a quandary about what to do with these people! What more can I do in My vineyard, that I have not done? I've dug it, fertilized it, watered it, pruned it and put a wall around it — yet the branches remain spoiled!"

Beloved, God cannot endure stiff-neckedness. That is what He faced with Israel! They had promised to obey Him, to walk according to all His words. But instead they disobeyed and hardened their hearts. And God said, "I will not go up in the midst of thee; for thou art a stiffnecked people: lest I consume thee in the way" (Exodus 33:3).

When the people heard those awful words, "they mourned: and no man did put on him his ornaments" (33:4). This put God in a quandary! The people were so changeable! One moment they were hardened to His voice, and the next moment His word melted them! But God knew that their repentance was not deep. He instructed Moses, "Say unto the children of Israel, Ye are a stiffnecked people: I will come up into the midst of thee in a moment, and consume thee: therefore now put off thy ornaments from thee, that I may know what to do unto thee" (33:5).

God seems to have told them, "Don't move! I don't know what to do with you yet — you are such a changeable people!"

You may be saying, "How can God be in a quandary, baffled by people? He knows all things. He knows what is in the heart!"

Yet Jesus faced the same dilemma with the Jews. He said: "But whereunto shall I liken this generation?" (Matthew 11:16). In other words, "What can I do about a generation like this? John the Baptist came neither eating nor drinking, and they said he had a devil! Now the Son of Man comes eating and drinking, and they call him a glutton. These people neither dance to the music nor mourn with the mourners! No one knows where they stand! They are divided, uncommitted. They don't know what they want. What can you do with such people?" (See 11:16-19).

As the Lord spoke through Hosea, He seemed to hurt the most over Judah's fickleness: "O Judah, what shall I do with thee?" It was bad enough that Ephraim was not committed, but Judah was a people close to God's heart!

God had a tender relationship with Judah. These people had walked closely with the Lord, kept His ordinances and at one time obeyed all His commandments. They had enjoyed such sweet communion with the Lord.

Now Judah was turning fickle, changing! As Scripture says, their goodness was "as a morning cloud, and as the early dew it goeth away" (Hosea 6:4).

I am sure that in years past during my walk with the Lord, at times God must have said, "David, what am I going to do with you? I'm not sure of you! I've done all that is possible to keep you, warn you, establish you. But sometimes you are fickle toward Me. You take sin so lightly — you are cold toward Me!"

Thank God I am not like that anymore! Now I can truly say that God knows where I stand. My heart is not divided! I have set my love on Him, and He is in no quandary about my love or my walk with Him!

I want to show you the marks that distinguish a fickle Christian. Few such Christians would believe they are fickle; in fact, their first reaction often is, "Not me!" But you see if you fit this description of a changeable, divided, fickle believer!

A Fickle Christian Repents Often — But Not Deeply

He is moved upon easily, but not for long! He responds to the voice of God quickly — but runs aside just as quickly!

Saul exemplifies the fickle child of God. He began so right with the Lord. He was humble and full of God's Spirit: "God gave him another heart...and the Spirit of God came upon Him, and he prophesied" (1 Samuel 10:9-10).

Saul surrounded himself with men "whose hearts God had touched" (10:26). When he called Israel to battle, "the fear of the Lord fell on the people" (11:7). Yet in just two years later Saul was operating in the flesh — with no trust in God and no heart for Him!

At Gilgal, before going to battle, Saul refused to wait for the prophet Samuel to arrive before offering the sacrifice. Instead, Saul acted as priest himself and disobediently offered the sacrifice.

On another occasion, Saul was so zealous for God's holiness that he was ready to kill his own son Jonathan over an act of disobedience! The king built an altar to the Lord. Yet almost immediately after that, he disobeyed God's order to slay Agag and all that belonged to the Amalekites!

Saul was always vacillating! One moment he was kneeling in God's presence at the altar he erected, and the very next day he was compromising and doing things his own way. How quickly Saul responded to spiritual things; how easily his heart was moved — and yet he was still full of rebellion!

When an evil spirit came upon Saul, he called for David to play the harp. As David played and sang, Saul was refreshed and the evil spirit departed. Yet later, in a rage, Saul called in messengers in the middle of the night, saying, "Bring (David) up to me in the bed, that I might slay him" (1 Samuel 19:15).

As long as Saul was in a deeply spiritual moment, he would respond to God and speak of God. But the next day he would be another man!

David fled to Samuel at Ramah. As Saul approached Ramah, David, Samuel and all the prophets were worshiping and praising God. The king, while still a distance away, could hear the singing and praising — and his spirit was stirred!

Saul flung open his heart, "and the Spirit of God was upon him also, and he went on, and prophesied, until he came to Naioth in Ramah. And he stripped off his clothes also, and prophesied before Samuel in like manner, and lay down naked all that day and all that night" (1 Samuel 19:23-24).

What an open, tender heart! Saul set aside his royal robes and worshiped all night long, crying out to God, melting in His presence!

Surely, now, David was safe. The devil must have fled. And surely Saul was no longer fickle! How could there have been such a powerful move of the Spirit on a man, and it not change him?

But a few days later Saul was found raging at Jonathan: "Wherefore now send and fetch him unto me, for he shall surely die" (20:31). Twice David came upon Saul during a chase, and twice Saul repented — only to go right back to his hateful ways! David heard him confessing finally, "I have sinned: return, my son David: for I will no more do thee harm...behold, I have played the fool, and have erred exceedingly" (26:21).

But it was too late! Saul's word was worthless — his heart was too divided! He was so changeable that no one around him knew from day to day where he stood. So David fled to the land of the Philistines.

How often I've seen this "Saul syndrome" in believers! They're so easily moved and so often confessing, weeping and promising — but with no depth!

A Fickle Christian Makes Zealous Promises and Then Breaks Them!

He begins with great zeal and promise — but seldom follows through!

Jehu, king of Israel, was marked with this characteristic. The Bible says he was furiously driven! "And the driving is like the driving of Jehu the son of Nimshi; for he driveth furiously" (2 Kings 9:20).

What zeal for God this man had in the beginning! How mighty he was in destroying sin, how quick in avenging and defending God's holiness! When he saw wicked Jezebel looking proudly out of her window, he yelled, "Throw her down. So they threw her down...and he trode her under foot" (9:33).

Jehu took Jehonadab aboard his chariot and said, "Come with me, and see my zeal for the Lord" (10:16). But Jehu was fickle! He had no deep-seated love for holiness — he had only a surface zeal!

Scripture says: "Thus Jehu destroyed Baal out of Israel. Howbeit from the sins of Jeroboam...Jehu departed not from after them, to wit, the golden calves that were in Bethel, and that were in Dan.... But Jehu took no heed to walk in the law of the Lord God of Israel with all his heart; for he departed not from the sins of Jeroboam" (10:28-31).

In Jehu's final days, his chariot could be found in Bethel, parked outside the idolatrous temple that Jeroboam erected! In his last few months of life, Jehu spent his time kneeling before a golden calf, praying! Imagine this king, stretching out his arms toward a dumb idol and begging for a little hope, embracing an idol as he faced death!

You say, "How could this be? He was such a powerful man of God! He was ruthless toward idolatry. He had gathered together all the false priests and worshipers of Baal into their temple and killed them all. He took out all their idols and pounded them to dust!"

But Jehu never departed from the idolatry of Jeroboam. He had a fickle heart! The man who once was furious for God's holiness died at the feet of an abominable golden calf!

In three short years that Times Square Church has been in existence, I have watched in horror as some Christians — at one time "on fire" and charged up about what God was doing, committed to the message of holiness — drift away only months later! Today they are different people!

The church is no longer the center of their life. The fellowship of the saints is no longer precious to them. I see them on the street and they are embarrassed. They come only once a week, or they just roam about.

Their fire is gone! They are tired of hearing about repentance, and now they have newfound friends in the world. Many of them will end up dead — groveling in some empty ritual when the day of judgment arrives!

A Fickle Christian Gladly Embraces Shepherds and Prophets But Ends Up Annoyed and Angry at Them!

King Amaziah of Judah was such a man. He had hired 100,000 men of valor out of the ten backslidden tribes of Israel. But to the people of Judah, this was an act of unbelief!

"There came a man of God to him, saying, O king, let not the army of Israel go with thee; for the Lord is not with Israel.... And Amaziah said to the man of God, But what shall we do for the hundred talents which I have given to the army of Israel? And the man of God answered, The Lord is able to give thee much more than this" (2 Chronicles 25:6-9).

Amaziah was willing to suffer a great loss because he had a measure of the fear of God in him. He said to his staff, "We've heard from God! The man of God has spoken and it's a strong word. It proves me dead wrong — but God has spoken!"

Because Amaziah obeyed, he won a great victory. His enemies were cast down and he "strengthened himself, and led forth his people" (25:11).

But Amaziah backslid! A spirit of idolatry gripped his heart! Scripture says of him: "And he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, but not with a perfect heart" (25:2).

He had a fickle heart! Coming back from the victory over the Edomites, "he brought the gods of the children of Seir, and set them up to be his gods, and bowed down himself before them, and burned incense unto them" (25:14). How incredible that these gods could not save Edom from Amaziah's armies — and yet he set them up as his own gods!

"Wherefore the anger of the Lord was kindled against Amaziah, and he sent unto him a prophet" (25:15). This prophet cried out, "Those gods could not even deliver their own people out of your hand — so why do you seek after them?"

In Times Square Church we have young Christians who seek careers in show business. They see the destruction, the emptiness, the drug addiction, and the suicide — yet they chase after the lifestyle of rich and famous people. These people are divorced, miserable, empty, shallow, searching for fleeting moments of happiness. Still, Christians do not learn, and they continue to go the same way!

Amaziah became irritated by the word from this prophet. He lashed back, "Are you my counselor? Stop talking! Why be struck down?" (see 25:16).

What a cold reception the prophet received! It was a stinging rebuke: "Prophet, don't interfere! You have not been appointed to run my kingdom. Keep yourself! I know what I'm doing!"

This is where the fickle-hearted Christians end up: They no longer tremble at God's Word. They no longer have deep respect for men of God. Instead, they have an attitude that says, "I hear from God, too. I don't need a prophet or shepherd interfering with my life!"

I have felt that cold Amaziah rebuff, right in this church. I once trembled in the Spirit as I brought a corrective message to a young man, but he didn't receive it. I told him, "I've heard from God, and what I prophesy to you is the truth!" He looked at me coldly and said, "I hear from the same God!"

When the prophet to Amaziah was rebuked, he cut short his message: "Then the prophet forbore" (25:16) — meaning he knew his message was not going to be received. But he gave one last warning: "I know that God hath determined to destroy thee, because thou hast done this, and hast not hearkened unto my counsel" (25:16).

If you turn away from God's true prophetic warnings, you set yourself on a destructive path! You won't live long, because you will be destroying yourself! "Now after the time that Amaziah did turn away from following the Lord they made a conspiracy against him in Jerusalem; and he fled to Lachish: but they sent to Lachish after him, and slew him there" (25:27).

After the killing of Naboth, King Ahab had to face the prophet Elijah. Elijah thundered, "In the place where dogs licked the blood of Naboth shall dogs lick thy blood, even thine" (1 Kings 21:19).

Ahab trembled at this and repented! "And it came to pass, when Ahab heard those words, that he rent his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his flesh, and fasted, and lay in sackcloth, and went softly. And the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, Seest thou how Ahab humbleth himself before me? (21:27-29).

Was this repentance and humility real? Did Ahab really respect God's Word? Did he have a high regard for shepherds and prophets who told the truth? No! He turned right around and disobediently went to battle against Syria with King Jehoshaphat of Judah!

Ahab had surrounded himself with false prophets: "yes" men! Jehoshaphat asked him, "Is there not here a prophet of the Lord besides that we might enquire of him?" Ahab replied, "There is yet one man, Micaiah...but I hate him; for he doth not prophesy good concerning me, but evil" (22:7-8).

There it is in all its ugliness: Ahab's fickle heart was exposed! All along he had harbored hatred for God's holy prophets. He wanted to hear only the good! He wanted only to be encouraged and flattered, pampered on his road to success! He wanted no hard preaching — and his repentance had no depth whatsoever!

A Fickle Christian Comes Under God's Judgment.

"Therefore have I hewed them by the prophets; I have slain them by the words of my mouth" (Hosea 6:5).

God has but one option for fickle Christians: "Therefore, I will hew them (cut them down) by the prophets and slay them by the Word."

God's true prophets are not flatterers! They do not prophesy good things to compromising Christians! They are God's hewers! They carry a two-edged sword in their hands to show God's people the difference between holy and the profane. They do not deal with trivia!

God is doing the hewing and cutting in His church right now by putting so powerful a word in the mouth of His servants that it becomes judgment! It is God speaking, and that is awesome!

In Ezekiel 11, Pelatiah, a prince of Israel was giving wicked counsel to the people. The Spirit of God fell on Ezekiel, and he spoke a word of warning to Pelatiah and to the people. Then Ezekiel said, "It came to pass, when I prophesied, that Pelatiah the son of Benaiah died" (Ezekiel 11:13). Pelatiah was literally slain by the word of God!

God's Word is so strong and so powerful that one day it will destroy and consume the Antichrist. "Then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth" (2 Thessalonians 2:8).

But a true prophet never curses others — he grieves and weeps when he sees the Word consuming. When Ezekiel saw Pelatiah fall dead, "then fell I down upon my face, and cried with a loud voice, and said, Ah Lord God, wilt thou make a full end of the remnant of Israel?" (Ezekiel 11:13). When judgment fell by the word he preached, Ezekiel cried for mercy!

The truth cuts. When a true man of God speaks as the oracle of the Lord, the axe is laid to the root. A two-edged sword comes out of his mouth! One edge cuts away sin and rebellion to heal and restore; the other cuts to destroy. I have seen Christians literally die in days, weeks or months from the time they brushed aside the warnings of holy shepherds.

At times I have felt like Jeremiah, when he said to God, "I am in derision daily, every one mocketh me.... Then I said, I will not...speak any more in His name. But His word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary with forbearing, and I could not stay" (Jeremiah 20:7,9).

How can you be sure your shepherd is speaking this kind of holy word from God's heart? "If thou take forth the precious from the vile, thou shalt be as my mouth" (Jeremiah 15:19).

That is what this message is all about — it's a warning to rid your soul of the vile sin of fickleness! Why such strong warning? "Thy judgments are as the light that goeth forth" (Hosea 6:5).

Right now God's judgments are breaking out on all sides! Russia has fallen under the rod of God. Arab countries are trembling. The nations and the islands of the sea are raging. It is judgment day, and God will not put up with lukewarmness, treachery or double-mindedness!

God is uncovering all iniquity — He is blowing a trumpet in Zion! And to all who hear the trumpet He says, if you "cast off the thing that is good: the enemy shall pursue (you).... (You) shall reap the whirlwind" (Hosea 8:3,7).

Yet here is the hope: When God's sword cuts away sin and rebellion, He always brings oil for the wound.

If You Are a Fickle Christian, Embrace These Words From The Lord:

"Return unto the Lord thy God...say unto him, Take away all iniquity, and receive us graciously...

"[And] I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely.... I will be as the dew unto Israel: he shall grow as the lily, and cast forth his roots.... His branches shall spread, and his beauty shall be as the olive tree.... They that dwell under his shadow shall return; they shall revive as the corn, and grow as the vine....

"Ephraim shall say, What have I to do any more with idols? I have heard him, and observed him: I am like a green fir tree. From me thy fruit is found" (Hosea 14:1-8).

God promises to raise up and restore His people — a people who have laid down their idols, who no longer have fickle hearts.

Give your heart over totally to God — and watch Him restore to you what has rotted away in His vineyard. Then, in you, His "fruit will be found!" (Hosea 14:8).