The Seriousness of Sin & God’s Holiness

Hosea 1:4-9, Genesis 3, Isaiah 6:1-7

God, doesn’t this seem too harsh? Nope. It’s hard to read the Old Testament because it’s riddled with moments like this passage - God’s wrath is very real and scary. What is hard to understand is that our sin is not against one another. If you lied to me, I wouldn’t rename you “The One Who Lied to Me'' because I am not holy. I am no one of real significance to be offended by your lie or betrayal (I would be hurt, I am not a robot). However, God is H O L Y. He is set apart. He is so significant that when we lie, cheat, worship idols, forsake him, betray him, we cause GREAT offense against him. Sin is not light when it comes to God. It is severe, and when we forget the seriousness of our offense, we reveal how much we do not understand who God is. 

He is holy. Holy. Holy. There is none like him, and when we sin, when we disobey, when we say, “God, you do not know what you are doing, let me take it from here,” we are rejecting, forsaking, and betraying him for brokenness, destruction, and death. That is what God is revealing in Hosea. You betrayed me. You became whores to the world and have forsaken my mercy, my goodness, my covenant with you. You have become No Mercy, Not My People, children of wrath. 

But, God is merciful. God is kind. God remembers the covenant made on his promises of goodness, grace, and love and pursues us because of such promises.

Can we sit in that today? Can we feel the weight that Jesus bore on the cross? He took the names of No Mercy and Not My People so that we may be Mercy and God’s People? Don’t let this lead you to a pit of shame, but to the throne of grace to worship.