THE CALL TO REPENTANCE

HOSEA 8:1

A. "SET THE TRUMPET TO THE MOUTH. HE SHALL COME AS AN EAGLE AGAINST THE HOUSE OF THE LORD, BECAUSE THEY HAVE TRANSGRESSED BY COVENANT, AND TRANSGRESSED MY LAW"
  1. The context of the eighth chapter of the book of Hosea shows:
    1. That Israel had apostatized from the truth
    2. They followed the ways of the heathens serving idols - Hosea 14:1-6
  2. Yet, the Lord God of Israel:
    1. Full of compassion, sought to reclaim them unto Himself To do this He would use corrective measures - Hosea 4:12-13 Heb. 12:6-11 B. A CALL TO REPENTANCE:
  3. Repentance - What is It? The Bible speaks of two types of repentance:
    1. Godly sorrow - 2 Cor. 7:10: Examples: David sorrowed because of his great transgression against the Lord - Ps. 32:5; the prodigal son - Luke 15:18-21; the inhabitants of Nineveh - Jonah 3; the Corinthians - 2 Cor. 7:9; Jeremiah in behalf of Israel - Jer. 14:7; 8:14
    2. Sorrow of selfishness - with total disregard to the injury to the Lord - Judas - Matt. 27:1-5; Saul - 1 Sam. 15:16-19; Cain - Gen. 4;13-14; Esau - Heb. 12:16-17
  4. The Manner of Repentance:
    1. Return unto the Lord
    2. To return implies a backsliding condition. Examples: The prodigal son returned to his father; - Luke 15:18-21; Ancient Israel in the days of Ezra - Ezra 10:10-19; Israel in the days of Elijah - I Kings 18:39
    3. Repentance is a saving grace only when it brings us back to God in humility of heart
    4. The Divine arms are ever stretched forth to receive those who truly return unto the Lord - Is. 55:7-8; Hosea 14:1-6; Is. 65:1-6
    5. Repentance is not one experience in the life of the child of God; no, when we are overtaken by a sin we must return to the Lord - Rev. 2:1-6. At times it is a daily experience
    6. It is the goodness of God that leads us to repentance - Rom. 2:4 C. FRUIT OF GODLY REPENTANCE
  5. "Healing and binding"
    1. "I will heal their backsliding"
    2. Sin brings wounds and putrefying sores to the sinners - Is. 1:4-6
    3. It blinds them to the terribleness of sin - 2 Cor. 4:4; Rev. 3:17
    4. The heart of a sinner becomes defiled and totally corrupted - Matt. 15:19; Jer. 17:9
    5. Jesus promises to bind up the broken hearted - Is. 61:1; 57:15; Luke 4:18
    6. The Psalmist prayed, "Create in me a clean heart O God; and renew a right spirit within me" - Ps. 51:10
    7. Ezekiel writes of the transformation of the heart of the penitent - Ezek. 36:26-28
  6. There will be quickening:
    1. "He will revive us" - "I will be as the dew unto Israel; he shall grow as the lily and cast forth his roots as Lebanon" - Hosea 14:5
    2. A special promise from the Lord is found in Isaiah 57:15 - "For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with Him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit to revive the spirit of the humble and to revive the heart of the contrite"
    3. God's remnant people need a revival and a reformation in these days - Rev. 3:14-18; Zeph. 2:1-3
  7. There will be a "Living in the Light of God" Hosea 6:2
    1. To live in the light of God means that what we do, we do it in the light of heaven - Ps. 139:1-7; Gen. 16:13
    2. Said the Lord to Abraham, "I am the Almighty God, walk before me, and be thou perfect" Gen. 17:1
    3. Writes John, "If we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin" - I John 1:7
  8. There will be times of refreshing among God's people: "He shall go forth as the morning...and He shall come unto us as the rain" - Hosea 6:3
    1. What a bright, cheerful experience to have the wonderful promise - Acts 3:19-20


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