Class Lesson August 12, 2012

Hey Gang,


This week we continue in our series from selected incidents in the life of Jeremiah, the prophet, our study will focus on how we too can be the kind of person through whom God works to carry out His purposes in the world. Last week we opened with Jeremiah's call to preach a message of repentance to the nation of Judah. This week we observe how Jeremiah joins God in His concern for the moral and spiritual condition of people.

What moves you to tears today?

What would it take to let our hearts break with our own sin and with the sins of others?

• Sin has devastating and eternal consequences. Each time we ignore God’s instruction or blatantly rebel against Him we create pain for ourselves and those around us. This is true whether already in the family of God or never having accepted Jesus. Seeing what sin does to people breaks the heart of God. But how does it affect us? Our lesson this morning wants us to let our hearts break with our own sin and with the sins of others. Only with a broken heart can we begin to be a healer.

Schindler's List Ending

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When you meet the Lord on judgment day, are you going to then consider those you could have saved? Will you too say, "I could have gotten more."




Do we really see the problem of sin - Jeremiah tries to explain in verses 4-7, let's read.

I. SEE THE PROBLEM – JEREMIAH 8:4-7

4 “You are to say to them: This is what the Lord says: Do people fall and not get up again? If they turn away, do they not return? 5 Why have these people turned away? Why is Jerusalem always turning away? They take hold of deceit; they refuse to return. 6 I have paid careful attention. They do not speak what is right. No one regrets his evil, asking, ‘What have I done?’ Everyone has stayed his course like a horse rushing into battle. 7 Even the stork in the sky knows her seasons. The turtledove, swallow, and crane are aware of their migration, but My people do not know the requirements of the Lord.

How does Jeremiah explain the sin of Judah?

• Sin is like falling or going the wrong direction, but many sinners fail to get up or turn around. People often claim to be wise when they are not.
• Sin is serious because it is sin against God’s love.
• From God’s point of view, sin is unnatural and irrational.
• If we get up from physical falls, why not get up from moral falls?
• If we turn around when we are going the wrong direction, why not turn from sin to God?
• Refusal to repent, to fly back to God, has serious consequences.
• People living sinful lives by choice as if there were no consequence.

What did God find abnormal about their behavior? (v. 1)

• Jeremiah described his people as “always turning away” from God. Disobedience had become the pattern of their lives to the point that they no longer saw anything wrong with what they were doing. We should pause to pray that we recognize our own behavior, whether good or sinful.
• Even the most sincere, committed believers sin at time. On those occasions, God’s Spirit convicts us of sin and motivates us to repent and seek forgiveness. Other times we, like the people of Judah, choose to ignore conviction and develop a well-worn, familiar path of sin.

How do people get to the point that they ask, “What have I done?” What’s the danger of feeling no guilt or shame?

• The Bible speaks of people hardening their hearts by continually rejecting God until they no longer sense the conviction of His Spirit. Those who don’t recognize the seriousness of their situation are the most deceived. They don’t ask for God’s redemption and guidance.

II. AVOID SUPERFICIAL RESPONSES – JEREMIAH 8:8-13

Punishment for Judah’s Leaders

8 “How can you claim, ‘We are wise; the law of the Lord is with us’? In fact, the lying pen of scribes has produced falsehood. 9 The wise will be put to shame; they will be dismayed and snared. They have rejected the word of the Lord, so what wisdom do they really have? 10 Therefore, I will give their wives to other men, their fields to new occupants, for from the least to the greatest, everyone is making profit dishonestly. From prophet to priest, everyone deals falsely. 11 They have treated superficially the brokenness of My dear people, claiming, ‘Peace, peace,’ when there is no peace. 12 Were they ashamed when they acted so abhorrently? They weren’t at all ashamed. They can no longer feel humiliation. Therefore, they will fall among the fallen. When I punish them, they will collapse,”says the Lord. 13 I will gather them and bring them to an end. This is the Lord’s declaration. There will be no grapes on the vine, no figs on the fig tree, and even the leaf will wither. Whatever I have given them will be lost to them.

How does Jeremiah explain the sin of Judah’s leaders?

• Sinful leaders were leading people to reject God’s love and to face sure judgment. The people and leaders of Judah were so comfortable in their sins that they had lost the ability to blush.
• Many people who think they are wise act like fools by rejecting God.
• People are accountable for their choices and actions.
• Leaders are particularly accountable for leading people astray.
• Sin is too deeply imbedded to be cured by superficial measures.
• Many people have lost the ability to blush.

What was wrong with prophets and priests reassuring people with “Peace, peace?”

• We can’t fix a problem we don’t know exists. Pretending all is OK adds confusion and fear. We can’t figure out why we feel uneasy; its sin, but everyone keeps telling us things are fine. Then we stop trusting our feelings – our insights – and we make bigger messes.
• Some religious leaders are trustworthy, some are not.

What are some ways the church sometimes deals superficially with the brokenness of those affected by sin?



What consequences would the people suffer for their sin? What are some examples of the consequences of sin today?

• Look for consequences in verses 9, 10, 12, and 13.
• Sin’s consequences may come immediately as in the car crash, loss of life, and legal charges for driving too fast. Other times consequences come much later as in a relationship broken once lies are discovered. Some consequences will come with God’s final judgment.
• In addition to circumstantial consequences, those who sin suffer shame, unrest, loneliness, guilt, fear of getting, and alienation.

III. REFLECT GOD’S BROKEN-HEART – JEREMIAH 8:18-9:1

Lament over Judah

18 My joy has flown away; grief has settled on me. My heart is sick. 19 Listen—the cry of my dear people from a far away land, “Is the Lord no longer in Zion, her King not within her?” Why have they provoked me to anger with their carved images, with their worthless foreign idols? 20 Harvest has passed, summer has ended, but we have not been saved. 21 I am broken by the brokenness of my dear people. I mourn; horror has taken hold of me. 22 Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there? So why has the healing of my dear people not come about? 9 If my head were a spring of water, my eyes a fountain of tears, I would weep day and night over the slain of my dear people.

How did Jeremiah explain his lament over Judah?

• Jeremiah’s heart was faint within him. He foresaw the coming defeat and exile, and this broke his heart. The exiles would ask where God was, and God would ask them why they ask them why they had forsaken Him. The problem was not just their sins but their refusal to receive God’s love by repentance.

Why do human sins break God’s heart? How did Jesus reflect God’s love? How did Jeremiah reflect God’s love?





In one word, describe Jeremiah’s mood. Why did he feel this way since he had been obedient to God and was not facing sin’s consequences?

• Jeremiah’s overwhelming distress over the sin and punishment of his people can only be explained in terms of his selfless compassion and concern for their suffering. He condemned their sinful actions but felt pity for them.
• Jeremiah also had been severely abused no matter how hard he tried to communicate. People didn’t want the truth, nor did they want him.
• Compassion

Compare Jeremiah’s reaction to that of Jonah, who became angry when the people of Nineveh he preached to repented and avoided God’s judgment (Jonah 3:10-4:3). How does compassion for those who reject God make us more effective messengers of the gospel?

• Jonah resented the mercy God showed toward the Ninevites when they repented of their sin. God reprimanded him for his lack of compassion. By contrast, Jeremiah reflected the heart of God and the compassion He showed.
• Despite the unwelcome reception Jeremiah got for his preaching, he kept sharing the message God gave him to preach. When our hearts are broken for the condition of those trapped in sin, we will keep sharing our message of hope with them even in the face of rejection.
• Most leaders will feel a combination of resentment and compassion. Both make sense, but act only upon compassion.

Conclusion
How well do we achieve the balance between the great Bible truths that we are to hate sin but love sinners?

• A beginning would be to recognize that each of these is true of God and should be true of all God’s children.
• Sinners can begin by repenting of their sins and experiencing God’s forgiveness for themselves.
• Saved sinners can live according to biblical standards.
• We can seek to restore those who have gone astray.
• We can pray for individuals in our lost society.

How do you show your hatred of sin in others? How do you show your love for sinners? How do you show your hatred of sin in yourself?

Prayer of Commitment

Lord, show me how to hate sin but love sinners. Amen

Be in prayer this week for a broken heart toward your own sin and the sin of others.

See you on Sunday!

In His Love,

David & Susan