POLLUTE MY HOLY NAME NO MORE
Ezekiel 20:39, “As for you, O house of Israel, thus saith the Lord GOD; Go ye, serve ye every one his idols, and hereafter also, IF YE WILL NOT HEARKEN UNTO ME: BUT POLLUTE YE MY HOLY NAME NO MORE with your GIFTS, and with YOUR IDOLS.”
Introduction:
Israel during all of her history has been up and down, vacillating in her service to Jehovah. When she had strong leaders as Joshua or one of the Judges she remained faithful to the Lord. However, when the strong man died eventually Israel fell into sin and idol worship pretending to worship Jehovah.
In our world today much the same is happening. False doctrine and sin has entered into many churches and the truth has become unknown to them. They have POLLUTED GOD’S HOLY NAME and lost their former position of respect before the world.
I. GOD WILL BRING YOU INTO JUDGMENT
A. Know for all these things YOU SHALL BE JUDGED, Ecclesiastes 11:9, “Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth; and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in the ways of thine heart, and in the sight of thine eyes: but know thou, that for all these things God will bring thee into judgment.”
1. God shall judge the RIGHTEOUS and the WICKED, Ecclesiastes 3:17, “I said in mine heart, God shall judge the righteous and the wicked: for there is a time there for every purpose and for every work.”
a. God will judge with righteousness and equity, Psalms 98:9, “Before the LORD; for he cometh to judge the earth: with righteousness shall he judge the world, and the people with equity.”
b. He shall reward every man according to his works, Matthew 16:27, “For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works.”
2. Go serve the gods that you have chosen, Judges 10:14, “Go and cry unto the gods which ye have chosen; let them deliver you in the time of your tribulation.”
a. Come to the house of God and transgress, Amos 4:4-5, “Come to Bethel, and transgress; at Gilgal multiply transgression; and bring your sacrifices every morning, and your tithes after three years: 5 And offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving with leaven, and proclaim and publish the free offerings: for this liketh you, O ye children of Israel, saith the Lord GOD.”
1) The have CHANGED the TRUTH of God into a LIE, Romans 1:25, “Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.”
2) God has GIVEN THEM UP to VILE affections, Romans 1:26-27, “For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: 27 And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet.”
B. God has given them up to the LUST of their hearts, Psalms 81:12, “So I gave them up unto their own hearts’ lust: and they walked in their own counsels.”
II. MANY HAVE POLLUTE GOD’S HOLY NAME WITH THEIR FALSE CHRISTIANITY
A. Here is a judicial declaration of GOD’S GIVING UP of the HALF-IDOL, HALF-JEHOVAH WORSHIPPERS to utter idolatry, Revelation 22:11, “He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still.”
1. Many churches have done what Israel did in the Old Testament as Stephen declared, Acts 7:43, “Yea, ye took up the tabernacle of Moloch, and the star of your god Remphan, figures which ye made to worship them: and I will carry you away beyond Babylon.”
a. MOLOCH, the name of the NATIONAL GOD OF THE AMMONITES (modern Jordan), to whom children were sacrificed alive by fire.
b. The star of your god REMPHAN; these names represent the STAR-GOD SATURN or Moloch.
2. Many have halted between TWO OPINIONS, 1 Kings 18:21, “And Elijah came unto all the people, and said, How long halt ye between two opinions? if the LORD be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him. And the people answered him not a word.”
B. God anticipated the SAME APOSTASY afterwards, …AS NOW,
1. Today we have the SCOFFERS, 2 Peter 3:3, “Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts,”
2. Today we have those whose LOVE HAS WAXED COLD, Matthew 24:12, “And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.”
3. Today many are trying to serve TWO MASTERS, Matthew 6:24, “No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.”
C. God will PURGE these out, Ezekiel 20:38, “And I will purge out from among you the rebels, and them that transgress against me: I will bring them forth out of the country where they sojourn, and they shall not enter into the land of Israel: and ye shall know that I am the LORD.”
1. God will RECOMPENSE these folks, Ezekiel 11:21, “But as for them whose heart walketh after the heart of their detestable things and their abominations, I will recompense their way upon their own heads, saith the Lord GOD.”
2. God is KNOWN BY HIS JUDGMENT, Psalms 9:16, “The LORD is known by the judgment which he executeth: the wicked is snared in the work of his own hands.”