There is a tendency in all of us to sink lower as time passes. Unless we honestly assess where we are at the moment, we cannot fight this and we risk deluding ourselves. The Apostle Paul warned Timothy “Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers” (1 Tim 4:16). The letter to the Church in Laodicea in the book of Revelation, shows how we can think “...'I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.' But you do not realise that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked” (Rev 3:17).

Keith Green writes about this in his song “Grace by which I stand”

Lord, the feelings are not the same,
I guess I'm older, I guess I've changed.
And how I wish it had been explained, that as you're growing you must remember,
That nothing lasts, except the grace of God, by which I stand, in Jesus.

I know that I would surely fall away, except for grace, by which I'm saved.
Lord, I remember that special way,
I vowed to serve you, when it was brand new.
But like Peter, I can't even watch and pray, one hour with you,
And I bet, I could deny you too.

But nothing lasts, except the grace of God, by which I stand, in Jesus.
I'm sure that my whole life would waste away, except for grace, by which I'm saved.
But nothing lasts, except the grace of God, by which I stand, in Jesus.
I know that I would surely fall away, except for grace, by which I'm saved.

Keith was honest enough to recognise this tendency and he actively fought this, relying on the grace from God to do so. Time has a way of cooling people down. Maybe it was for this reason, some churches have the practice of strengthening spiritual disciplines, like fasting and prayer, during the lenten season. Setting apart a season to strengthen spiritual disciplines has merit, because we often allow the urgent (and relatively unimportant matters) to crowd out vital and the essential matters. However, the process of introspection should not be seasonal but perennial. A daily discipline to affirm the primacy of the Word of God and prayer.

In this article I want to look at some passages from the book of Hosea, that addresses people whose hearts have become callous and unproductive. I want to look at it from three angles 'The Context,' 'The Problem,' and 'The Solution.'

The Context
Hosea was a prophet in Israel in 8th Century BC. According to Hosea 1:1, the Word of God came to Hosea during the time when Jeroboam (II) was king in Israel. Simultaneously, in Judah, Isaiah and Micah were the prophets during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah. Willem A. VanGemeren, in his book Interpreting the prophetic Word, describes their situation like this “Prosperity had brought an unprecedented degree of cultural corruption.  The much-sought-after political power had opened Israel to foreign cultural influence, including the demoralizing influence of Canaanite Baal worship (2:7, 17; 11:2) with its fertility cults and bacchanalian orgies (4L10-13). Sacred prostitution was rampant (Amos 2:7-8) Perversion of the Mosaic faith was seen at the sancturies of Dan and Bethel.

So, we have the people of God enjoying prosperity but their hearts and actions were far from God. It is to be noted that they were correct in all their offerings. In fact God had to tell them that they had missed the whole point of the Covenant that God had made them. They were quite comfortable with the thought that if you offer sacrifices to God, you have fulfilled all obligations. God tells them “...I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings” (Hosea 6:6).  In other words “I’m after love that lasts, not more religion. I want you to know God, not go to more prayer meetings. You broke the covenant—just like Adam! You broke faith with me...(The Message Version). Their sacrifices did not neutralise the effects of their debaucherous lifestyles. How often in life, we meet people who are blatantly transgressing God's laws, who point to their religious observances as a proof of their religiosity. Selective hearing/obedience of God's laws is still disobedience. How do people get to this stage?

The Problem
The problem is deeper than the idolatry, orgies and prostitution that was being practiced. God's diagnosis is this “break up your fallow ground” (Hosea 10:12). Their hearts have become unproductive and thus “fallow.”  The Bible warns us “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it” (Proverbs 4:23). The illustration that God uses in Hosea is from agriculture. Farmers need to till the soil and prepare it before they can plant seed and expect a harvest. The seed cannot do well in all kinds of soils. The Lord uses the same analogy also. He taught that the stony ground, the ground filled with thorns, cannot do as well as the good soil that has been prepared by the farmer (Matthew 13:18-23).

When a heart is hardened, it will not incline itself to hear the word of God. God is speaking all the time. For example, the “seed” in the parable of the sower, is the Word of God (Luke 8:11). God speaks but the hardened person is unwilling to listen. The reason being “For this people’s heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them” (Matthew 13:15). The Word of God goes forth but the results are mixed. In some cases there is great fruit in some cases it produces “...thorns and briers is worthless, and is in danger of being cursed. Its end is to be burned' (Heb. 6:7,8). An early Church Father wrote about how the acts of God could seemingly cause different results.

 "It may seem strange for Him who produces rain to say, 'I produced both the fruit and the thorns from the earth.' Yet, although strange, it is true. If the rain had not fallen, there would have been neither fruit nor thorns. The blessing of the rain, therefore, fell even on the unproductive land. But since it was neglected and uncultivated, it produced thorns and thistles. In the same way, the wonderful acts of God are like the rain. The differing results are like the cultivated and the neglected land. ... " (Origen, First Things, bk. 3, Chap 1).

The problem in Hosea (and in other parts of the Bible where people rebel) is a hardened heart.

The Solution
In the book of Hosea 10:12 (b), we find the solution “...break up your fallow ground, for it is the time to seek the LORD, that he may come and rain righteousness upon you.” What does the process of “breaking up your unproductive ground” require from us? At least three things.

1. Course correction: A turning around and getting back to God. We find this in Hosea 12:6  “But you must return to your God,...” And Hosea 14:1 “Return, O Israel, to the LORD your God, ...” In the New Testament this turning around to God is called 'repentance.' Some think that repentance and getting back to God is when you start your journey with Christ. That is true, but repentance is a also a life long process, where we continue to change in all areas of life where we find sin. False religion bypasses it. A false religion recognises no need to change from its sinward direction. In these times, a truncated Gospel is being proclaimed which selectively picks words from the Words of the Lord. The so-called 'hyper grace' moment sees no need to turn from your sinful ways back to God. Unfortunately for them, the first words of the Lord was not “grace” but “Repent for the kingdom of heaven is near” (Matthew 4:17). We are called to come to God in trust “Bring your confessions and return to the LORD. Say to Him: “Take away all our iniquity and receive us graciously,..” (Hosea 14:2). God waits for us to come to Him. His grace is waiting to restore us. Whatever we have done, whatever we have become, we are never too far gone to turn to Him. The Bible assures us “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). God is not partial. “whoever comes to me I will never cast out” (John 6:37). His door will not be shut in your face.

2. Change in practices: Replace sin with righteous practices. In Hosea 10:12 (a) we find “Sow righteousness for yourselves, reap the fruit of unfailing love...” In Hosea 14:1 we find “... maintain love and justice (Hosea 12:6). This find a fuller expression of this in the New Testament “The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity, and debauchery; idolatry and sorcery; hatred, discord, jealousy, and rage; rivalries, divisions, factions, and envy; drunkenness, carousing, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,  gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law. (Galatians 5:16-23).

Is it possible to change our practices? By ourselves we cant. We can follow the external observations of the law out of fear of punishment, but we cannot change the inner inclination to sin. The solution is in Christ. The book of Ephesians describes how God has given us a rich inheritance in Christ. It is the work of Christ in our lives that we can put our hope in. When a sinful struggle comes in our lives, we say “no” to it, resist it, and lean on the power of God by faith to overcome the struggle. Failure is never final, we keep pursuing God's ways till we get this right.

3. Cost of discipleship: This brings up the question, "are we willing to pay the cost to follow God?" If the world is more valuable, we will be unfaithful to God. If we find the kingdom of God to be valuable, then, like the man who sold all to buy the pearl of great price, we would give preeminence to God. All compromise stems from this. We do not burn bridges because we do not want to lose access to the sinfulness prevailing in the world. Unfortunately this double mindedness will profit us nothing. Rather such a person will be unstable in all his ways (James 1:8). It is dangerous not to burn bridges. Remember lot's wife.

The most amazing thing is the fact that God loves us and things that we are worth the sacrifice He paid on the cross. His call comes to us. The question is “Do we want to cling to sins and harden ourselves or are we willing to turn back to Him?” Today is the day of salvation. If God has been talking to you, do not harden yourself. Do not put it off. Remember “If you are flirting with sin, it will one day do you in.” Give your life to the Lord.