How can a holy God forgive sin?
Hosea 1-4/Matthew 23-24
How to get the most out of Hungry Bible
OT
1:10 Yet the time will come when Israel will prosper and become a great nation. In that day its people will be like the sands of the seashore–too many to count! Then, at the place where they were told, “You are not my people,” it will be said, “You are children of the living God.”
NT
23:2-12 ‘The teachers of religious law and the Pharisees are the official interpreters of the Scriptures. So practice and obey whatever they say to you, but don’t follow their example. For they don’t practice what they teach. They crush you with impossible religious demands and never lift a finger to help ease the burden. Everything they do is for show. On their arms they wear extra wide prayer boxes with Scripture verses inside, and they wear extra long tassels on their robes. And how they love to sit at the head table at banquets and in the most prominent seats in the synagogue! They enjoy the attention they get on the streets, and they enjoy being called Rabbi. Don’t ever let anyone call you Rabbi, for you have only one teacher, and all of you are on the same level as brothers and sisters. And don’t address anyone here on earth as Father, for only God in heaven is your spiritual Father. And don’t let anyone call you Master, for there is only one master, the Messiah. The greatest among you must be a servant. But those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.
OT Flash Points
Now they are not loved and not My people
After a time of rejection, they will become loved & My people
But first, the ugliness of their sin will be revealed
NT Flash Points
Actors! Acting like you are pious & pure yet you are corrupt & murderous
I will send you prophets, wise men & teachers & you will murder them as you have all through history causing the accumulated judgment to break upon this very generation
Then I will come to make all things right
Perspective
Questions that arise are windows for peace to break through
How much does hurry help?
Many people dodging conviction ask, “How can a loving God allow …?”
The real question we should be asking is, “How can a holy God want to save us?”
He must have something up His sleeve that we can’t fathom