Walking Away From God

Zephaniah 3:1-2

Woe to the city that is rebellious^[a] and defiled,
the oppressive city!
² She has not obeyed;
she has not accepted discipline.
She has not trusted in the Lord;
she has not drawn near to her God.

Israel has yet again decided to rebel against God. God has warned, extended His corrective discipline and still they walk away from Him. Honestly, this kind of sounds like my kids at times. They know the "rules", rebel against it, are disciplined, and then decided to do it again. Sometimes the discipline actually works, even if my wife and I don't see it right away. In the case of Israel and in this passage of Zephaniah, they didn't accept the discipline and are walking away from God. Micah Fries in the Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary says there is a pattern of walking away from God present in verse 2. I agree and it was the focus of my quiet time this morning. So, here are the steps and individual or even an entire nation can take in walking away from God.

Disobey

Obedience to God is less about living morally good lives or checking off a list the things God wants of us. It is more about living life His way and reflecting the character and nature of God. If we are called out by Him to be His representatives through salvation offered in Jesus; then His name is at stake in us. Through obedience we represent the name and character of God that is found in His Word. This is the first step to take in walking away from God. Being obedient keeps us consistent with His way and His Word and close to Him. It allows for the relationship with God to flourish and our connection to be strong.

Reject Discipline

If the character and name of God are represented through us, then He has every right to discipline us. Discipline from God is corrective, to change our hearts and nature of our being, not just to change behavior. Ultimately, discipline is to lead us to Jesus to rest and trust in His grace and salvation. Discipline is in fact an act of love. Like a parent He lovingly corrects us to Himself. Why? God loves us enough to meet us where we are, but not to keep us there. He knows and can see who we can be in Him and strives to lead us that way. My oldest son at times can be the hardest of our children to discipline. I can come down hard on him at times, but I also see how he can be a great leader. I can see who he can be, if he would just listen and follow. Therefore, I strive in love to correct him and lead him. He has to be willing to follow that discipline and lead though. If we have begun a life of disobedience, rejection of His discipline that will follow disobediecne is easier. In fact, we have a choice to make. We can either accept the discipline and our lives be redirected back to obedience or we can reject and find ourselves taking the next steps.

Distrust God

The heart of disobedience is rejectin God's way; His character of holiness in our lives and living our own way. This does something to our hearts. We begin to trust in ourselves or perhaps in other things not worthy of our trust. In addition, when God disciplines, we can either push further in or away from Him. To take this step in walking away is to push away, to move our trust from Him. Typically we reject God and no longer trust because we no longer believe His discipline was fair or good. Usually we form in our mind that He Himself is no longer good and able to be trusted. In fact the opposite is true. It is for our good that He disciplines and shows that He loves us enough to discipline which should lead us to trust in Him more. Moreover, He is consistent with who He says He is. God isn't changing the rules for His chosen people here is Zephaniah because they are His chosen people. If He did, that would make him fickle and untrustworthy. Unfortunately, as we step further away from God we don't always see it that way.

Move Away From God

If all the other three steps are in place, this is the natural course to go. Truly, we should push into God more, especially when He disciplines, but we can find ourselves drawn away. The relationship at this point is damaged. Our hearts are cold and hard by this point and it is much harder to return back to Him. It is not impossible, but it does become difficult. We now carry more baggage and habits that just hinder a reconnection. The good news is God is powerful and willing to go to great lengths to help us return, to reconcile what is broken. We just have to want it.

Inverse the Process

Ironically, if we inverse the process of walking away and make it positive steps, we can find ourselves on a path of return.

1. Draw Near- When we draw near, He will draw near to us

2. Trust in Him- As we draw near, we see who God really is and begin to trust once again.

3. Accept His Discipline- When we see the character of God correctly and the relationship is restored, discpline can be accepted easier and our hearts our softer and moldable to His way.

4. Be Obedient- As we obey, we reflect the nature and character of God. We find ourselves is right relationship and it becomes a joy to follow.

Handling the Judgment of God

Struggling with God's Judgment

I have always struggled with reading through the prophets in the Bible and understanding the judgment of God. It seems so harsh and punitive. Rightly so, it is because the people have rebelled against Him. The harder aspect for me has been when He speaks of wiping out His own people. In relation to being a believer, it can seem that God is precarious and willing to take back that salvation He offers. As I have begun a study in the book of Zephaniah, I have learned a different perspective.

"I will stretch out my hand against Judah

and against all the residents of Jerusalem.

I will cut off every vestige of Baal

from this place,

the names of the pagan priests

along with the priests;

5 

those who bow in worship on the rooftops

to the stars in the sky;

those who bow and pledge loyalty to the Lord

but also pledge loyalty to Milcom..." Zeph. 1:4-5

The people of God have turned from Him and followed and replaced Him with false gods. Gods that led the people to pursue comfort, wealth, and political influence that led to compromise. So, God speaks of His coming judgment, not just on the general population, but on His own people. This is hard because we want to see God as loving and merciful God alone. That He is, but sometimes "our vision and affections need adjusting so that we can focus on Christ." (Fries, Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary, 6). So, why bring judgment on His people? Especially on believers today who are covered by the grace and salvation of Christ?

Judgment is not punitive

Judgment for the believer is not punitive as the debt has been paid through the sacrifice of Jesus. It is finished by the cross. Fries helped me understand this better through Romans 8:1-2, "Therefore, no condemnation now exists for those in Christ Jesus, because the Spirit's law of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death." Fries explains, "In other words, while Christians may still sin, God's response to their sin has changed. Specifically, God will not punitively discipline His children." (Ibid,6) Judgment on believers is to correct. To change the nature and heart of the believer to reflect Him more. Again Fries helps, "God is going to judge the people that He loves, mainly because they have begun functioning as those who are not His own." (Ibid, 5) For those outside of Jesus's grace and salvation, judgment is punitive as a choice is made to reject that which was provided. So, for the believer judgment is seen in their life is designed to correct for a change of heart and nature rather than a punishment for the sake of damages done by disobedience.

Judgment is for the integrity of God

One of the 10 commandments is to not take the Lord's name in vain (Ex. 20:7). Jesus also spoke in His famous sermon that when we take an oath our yes should be yes and no should be no (Matthew 5:37). To claim Jesus by name and yet reject His character in our lives is to "defame the name of God (Ibid, 8). Fries explains, "WHen we misrepresent the name and character of God, we are not only guilty of engaging in a form of character assassination, we are guilty of preaching a false gospel (Ibid, 8). As the God of all things, the Scripture is clear that God deserves all glory and honor. If He is going to put His "name on the line" as we become His representatives (2 Cor. 5:11-21), then He bears the right to correct us for the sake of His integrity. 

Our Response

The cost of following God is actually high, but the question is whether its worth it. Even more, when God brings judgment on us as a corrective measure we are left with a decision. Do we accept it and pursue change or reject it? Both carry a cost, but which one is greater to us?