Text: Amos 7:1-9
Three Warnings of Destruction
- Locust-swarm, vegetation destroyed — Amos protested, God changed His mind (v. 1-3)
- Fire, farm land destroyed — Amos protested, God changed His mind (v. 4-6)
- God would spare the people no longer — no protest from Amos (v. 7-9)
- Why did Amos not protest the final warning? … He had no basis for his protest
- What was different about the final vision was the plumb line — a perfect & unmistakable standard
The Condition of Israel
- How they perceived themselves (Amos 5:18,22; 6:1)
- How God perceived them (Amos 6:8; 5:23-24; 2:6-8)
- Why the difference? … They weren’t following God’s perfect standard — this became evident when God put the plumb line in the midst of the people
Fallible Standard for Us Today
- Religious leaders (Matthew 5:20)
- Denominations (1 Samuel 8:19-20)
- The world (Romans 12:2)
- Fellow Christians (2 Corinthians 10:12)
- Our conscience (Acts 23:1)
The True, Infallible Standard
- The plumb line we must measure up to today is Christ & His word (John 12:48)
- It is the perfect standard (2 Timothy 3:16-17)
- It is infallible (John 10:35) and will not be changed later (Jude 3)
- We must reject man’s standard & embrace God’s standard
Read the article: The Plumb Line
