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“In Obedience, Hosea Married Gomer.”(A response to recent feedback from a member of the United Church) By Carman Bradley
Praise God for the
words, “In obedience, Hosea married
Gomer.” After some study, it is clear that the Book of Hosea offers a gold
mine of thoughts to consider as evangelicals, especially following approval of
Bill C-38 - the same-sex marriage law.
The government decree to redefine marriage serves to highlight the
importance of evangelicals inside (and outside) the United Church separating
from the denomination and witnessing more ardently then ever for the authentic
Gospel of Jesus Christ. This article
continues to outline the implications of maintaining the “status quo” witness and the benefits of the alternative action of “breaking away” from the UCC. The sole reader’s feedback: “In obedience, Hosea married Gomer” contends
that Hosea’s relationship to Gomer is Scriptural grounds (the Biblical model)
for evangelicals remaining loyal to
the UCC in spite of the apostasy. The
parallels are interesting and the insights gained from a look at the Book of
Hosea are most valuable.
Hosea lived about 760
years before Jesus Christ, thus the relationship of Israel to God was hugely
different then from the one in which Canadians find themselves today. In
Hosea’s time God viewed Israel (northern and southern kingdoms) as His chosen
nation. God likened His relationship to
Israel to that of a husband to his wife.
Moreover, one was born into this covenant relationship by bloodline from
the twelve tribes (descendent sons) of Jacob-Israel,
who himself had descended from Isaac and Abraham. For the Israelite, no real choice was exercised to be in this
covenant relationship. Although,
Genesis 17:11 records God said to Abraham, “You
are to undergo circumcision, and it will be the sign of the covenant between
you and me,” this male rite was often performed involuntarily at
birth. Thus, a gentile, prior to the
coming of Jesus Christ, could not enter into this covenant relationship. God was literally stuck with Israel and they
either honoured Him or dishonoured Him.
In this husband-wife
context God viewed Israel’s worship of another god as spiritual adultery. The
nation’s idolatry in Hosea’s time gave opportunity for material
self-indulgences and self-serving (as opposed to God-serving) sexual
gratifications. As a preacher in the
northern kingdom, Hosea’s message was one of repentance before God exercised
His judgment and chastisement. He
prophesied that God was going to raise up the Assyrians to punish the apostate
Israelites. No one listened. God said to Hosea, “Go, take yourself an adulterous wife and children of unfaithfulness,
because the land is guilty of the vilest adultery in departing from the
Lord.” In obedience, Hosea joined
himself in marriage to a prostitute named Gomer. Thus Hosea was able to share God’s experience of being joined to
Israel - God’s “wife,” who had become a prostitute by joining herself with
other gods. Here Gomer’s unfaithfulness
to Hosea symbolized the condition of Israel.
The Israelites continued with their ungodly acts of lying, killing,
stealing, perjury, deceit, drunkenness, perversion, adultery, oppression and idolatry. God did what Hosea said He would do in judgment.
Before setting the
United Church into this Hosea-Gomer model, how does Canada’s situation today
compare to Israel’s in Hosea’s time?
The greatest resemblance turns out to be idolatry. Things that draw
our focus and priority away from recognizing, worshipping and reverencing God
as God are idolatrous. And today, the Charter of Rights and Freedoms interpreted
by a secular (pro-homosexual) Supreme Court has become the national idol, the
golden calf of good governance. The
trendy political button says it all - It’s
the Charter stupid! Same-sex
marriage legislation symbolizes the full amputation of theist principles from
influence in State governance and their replacement with ideas anchored in a
secular humanist worldview. The Charter is held by the Supreme Court to
trump long-standing tenets of Christianity, and indeed, Islam, Sikhism, Judaism
and other world religions. In its
lifetime, the Charter has been used
to completely overturn Canada’s historic theist worldview. Ironically, while 76 per cent of Canadians
still claim a Christian heritage, the State refuses to reverence Jesus Christ
any more then the Gnostic deity or some Zodiacal character. Compare the State’s worldview in the context
of the following societal issues:
In 1999, MP Svend
Robinson tabled a humanist petition to replace “God” in our Constitution with the words “intellectual knowledge.”
Our Preamble reads: “Canada is
founded upon principles that recognize the supremacy of God.” The bill was defeated. However, with the enactment of same-sex
marriage law, homosexual liberationists have accomplished what MP Svend
Robinson and some humanists could not achieve by petition. The Preamble statement is now meaningless in
orthodox Christian eyes. Thanks to the
witness of the United Church before the Supreme Court - “there is no theological impediment that would prevent same-sex couples
from participating in this union” - the judiciary can legally claim that the Preamble intent remains intact. The God of Hosea and modern day Christians
knows differently. All the tenets
listed under the secular humanist worldview in the table have notable
correlations with free sex and homosexual liberation ideologies. After forty years of anti Christian
liberalizing legislations there is nothing more to concede. The name of Jesus Christ has been banished
from State liturgy and ordered erased from all Armed Forces sermons.
In his letter to the
Romans (1:18-32), Paul details the linkage between idolatry and sin, which
pro-gay Christians now claim is
Biblical text out of touch with modern realities and understandings:
Therefore God gave them over in the sexual desires of their
hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one
another. They exchanged the truth for
created things, rather than the Creator - who is forever praised. Amen.
Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations
for unnatural ones. In the same way the
men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for
one another. Men committed indecent
acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their
perversion. Furthermore, since they did
not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a
depraved mind, to do what ought not de done(22-28).
Robin Scroggs, author
of The New Testament and Homosexuality,
raises two points of clarification to this text. First, the phrase “God gave
them up” means that people now living in the false reality do what they
choose. God does not force them into
such false actions; His judgment lies in leaving them where they want to be, in
actions which, they think to be good and right. This is the ultimate irony of their fate. Second, Paul also heaps up anthropological
terms - heart, body, passions and mind - apparently to indicate that this false
reality permeates a person’s entire existence.
All dimensions of one’s self are distorted by the false reality in which
he or she lives.
To date no reader has
responded to the question, “Do you believe the testimony of ex-gays and
ex-lesbians, who claim that Jesus Christ delivered them from homosexuality -
Yes or No?” Moreover, where do we find
the modern day homosexuals described in the above passage from Romans? Are they the promiscuous men and women
populating bathhouses and swing clubs or parading on gay-pride days? Now that same-sex marriage is legal and sanctified in the United Church, what is
the moral status of the sexually active but unmarried homosexual? The unending challenge of a counterfeit
theology is finding a rational place to end the chain of heresies. One unorthodoxy begets a dozen more. Before returning to Hosea and Gomer, I must
ask, what is the moral-ethical sexual code of the United Church? For two millenniums sex outside of the
bounds of marriage has been deemed a sin.
What goes for homosexuals must apply equally
for heterosexuals (“It’s the Charter stu…”).
Hosea’s gracious
response to His adulterous wife’s sinfulness parallels God’s unconditional love
for Israel. In spite of her chronic
unfaithfulness Hosea never abandoned the covenant he had with her. In the very dregs of shame and disgrace
Gomer was redeemed from slavery by Hosea (His name means “delivering” “saving”
or “salvation”) for fifteen pieces of silver and about a homer and a lethek of
barley. Now that Gomer was saved from slavery, Hosea said to her, “You are to live with me many days; you must
not be a prostitute or be intimate with any man, and I will live with
you.” This is grace by any standard
- Old or New Testament! In love God
disciplined Israel and they acknowledged Him returning for relationship. In gracious love He accepted them. But how does this dynamic apply according to
the New Testament - our current covenant relationship with God? Two new entities not in the Hosea-Gomer
model are the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ and the infilling presence of the
Holy Spirit for those covered by the accepted blood of Jesus Christ.
Scripturally, it is
not plausible to claim one without the other.
The very calling to accept Jesus Christ is Holy Spirit led (an act of
God’s grace) and an acceptance of Jesus Christ will bring one into greater
presence with the Holy Spirit, although perhaps not when or in the measure one
would wish. The point is that all who
come to accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, regardless of their sin will be
saved (John 3:16). However, like Hosea’s
loving redemption of Gomer - after which he demands an end to her unfaithfulness
- God declares we must be born again (John 3:7) and that the Holy Spirit
(Counselor) will help to keep us from sliding back to our old status in our
thoughts and actions. So what about
Hosea and Gomer and the evangelicals in the United Church?
Christianity does not
require believers to be in a sacred covenant relationship with their
denomination. This type of association
defines cults. Christian churches,
denominations and seminaries etc. are only useful to God’s Kingdom, if they
lead adherents to a personal relationship with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit
- through the acceptance of Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour. I say this recognizing that less than five
per cent of UCC membership may actually believe this evangelical doctrine,
although this is what the New Testament states. The Bible also says in Matthew 7:21, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the Kingdom of
Heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in Heaven.” What is the highest standard of
Christian love if not a truthful witness to the Gospel of Jesus Christ? And here is where liberal theology is not
only counterfeit but also unloving. It
looks inclusive and loving upon shallow study, but in deeper analysis the
witness is false. There are many verses
in the Old and New Testaments that declare the unrepentant homosexual “will not inherit the Kingdom of God (1
Cor. 6:9).” An important lesson
from the Book of Hosea is that Gomer had to be left to crash or hit rock bottom
(become a naked slave) before she could see and accept the true loving grace of
Hosea. This is true of many who come to
accept Jesus Christ. It happens at a
time of rare brokenness. The Christian
witness of ex-gays and ex-lesbians also tells us Jesus is there for them.
So what is the best
witness for evangelicals within (and outside) the United Church? Separate and let Gomer crash! The
evangelicals remaining in the UCC have been in a codependent relationship with the unorthodox for decades. In spite of the public witness of many who left, the remaining evangelicals have
chosen to draw purpose from a heretofore-vain non-public witness to the liberal-minded - intervening to delay
renaming the Trinity or to prevent reimaging Father Almighty to include Mother
Almighty. And the unorthodox have drawn
comfort and affirmation from the fact the evangelicals are still talking with
them, still propping-up sagging membership and their liberal witness to the
orthodox has not ended. It is bonus
affirmation for the liberal-minded when they have association with evangelicals
outside the UCC. Note that the example
of compromised theology in the Church of Laodicea tells us lukewarm (so-called
“balanced”) spirituality actually made Christ sick (Rev. 3:16). Proud, wealthy and vibrant, the congregation
had not recognized God as God. Jesus
cried out to them, “Here I am!”
Christians cannot recognize spiritual truth apart from the infilling of the
Holy Spirit. Jesus says in John 16:7, “Unless I go away, the Counselor will not
come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you. When He comes, He will convict the world of guilt in regard to
sin…when He the Holy Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you in all
truth.” Jesus Christ cannot be
liberating men and women from homosexuality and also blessing same-sex
marriages. Equally, the Holy Spirit
cannot be of two minds - orthodox and
liberal.
How are outsiders to
discriminate safe evangelical congregations from the unorthodox if the churches
do not somehow publicly separate themselves?
Is discrete selectivity feasible in a denomination that is 95 per cent
liberal? For example, when the
Evangelical Fellowship of Canada affiliated and rallied with Dominion-Chalmers
United Church for Prayer Launch 2005,
did they purposely differentiate this congregation from other mainline
(liberal) UCC churches? And if they
did, what were the criteria?
Dominion-Chalmers is not a member of the NACC (reform evangelical
congregations within the UCC). Only
weeks before the Prayer Launch, their
minister would not declare the congregation in disagreement with UCC pro-gay
theology. But even if a minister’s
personal theological conviction is orthodox or a congregation’s democratically
derived theological stance is mostly evangelical, is this sufficient to
overlook denominational ties? Two
recent feedback e-mails help to formulate an answer. One feedback stated there was an evangelical spirit at Dominion-Chalmers. The other feedback said (in part):
…I attended and actually took part in the 80th anniversary
celebrations of the United Church at Dominion Chalmers on June 5. What a wonderful evening of praise, worship
and singing to our Lord. All churches
of the area coming together. I have
attached the sermon from Rev. Oliphant that you might like to read, seeing you
send out pages and pages of your opinions. You might like to read the
uplifting message that was delivered to us on this special occasion, but then
again you may be so "hell bent"
in causing discord and upsetting people that you are not interested in
anybody else’s opinion, if they don't share yours.
I read the sermon and
also did an Internet search under “Reverend Robert Oliphant.” At this URL
(http://www.egale.ca/index.asp?item=7&version=EN) you will find Rev.
Oliphant is the third name listed on an EGALE web site listing ministers who
have signed EGALE's Equal [same-sex] Marriage Clergy Endorsement
Statement. Now Rev. Oliphant is more
than entitled to hold his liberal views and Dominion-Chalmers is equally
entitled to have him as their Anniversary guest speaker. My point is this. One spirit tells
evangelicals same-sex marriage is wrong and another spirit tells Rev. Oliphant and other liberals that marriage
redefinition is right. Logic dictates
on such a pivotal theological matter that one spirit must be false. I deeply regret evangelicals risking
compromise of a Prayer Launch in such
an important year by associating with a denomination aligned on the other
side. When the Moderator of the United
Church states before parliamentarians, "My
hope is that the contribution the [UCC] has offered in this debate is a window
for politicians to see the possibility of balancing human rights, tradition,
faithfulness, and religious freedoms by voting in favour of civil same-sex
marriage,” he is offering a compromise between two diametrically opposed
worldviews, which in spiritual truth cannot exist. Look again at the table of secular humanist and Christian
worldviews. Who are the winners after
approval of Bill C-38? Who have
suffered setback? The Canadian landscape for the long-standing moral, social and spiritual battle over the basis for deciding right and wrong just got incredibly tougher for Christians as a result of the passage of Bill C-38. Will same-sex marriage prompt God’s judgment and a particular chastisement as in Hosea’s time or, as Paul details in Romans, will God give Canada up to live in the false reality that the state has so willfully crafted? Will God do both or something else entirely? The answers to such questions are not entirely out of our hands. Paul states in Romans 8:28, “We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to His purpose.” Moreover, Paul proclaims in Romans 8:31,“If God is for us, who can be against us?” What motivates me in these letters is a burden to point out to evangelicals inside (and outside) the UCC that the status quo witness has not worked in decades, and in particular in stopping marriage redefinition. Look at the worldview of indifference, which is now the foundation to our governance. Make a difference and put an end to the indifference! “Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness…Therefore come out from them and be separate, says the Lord. (1 Cor. 6:14-17)” Secularism and humanism are greatly advanced by this same-sex marriage decision, but not the cause of Christian liberalism. Passage of Bill C-38 must result in greater clarity of orthodox belief, better unity, stronger conviction and bolder witness amongst evangelicals. If Christians do not strengthen their witness against liberalism our reality will only worsen. Give your best witness for Christ and against this Nation’s idolatrous reality. Come out from the UCC and be separate and see how Christ responds to this sacrificial act of obedience, love and loyalty.
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