Point of No Return - Damon J. Gray
I have always enjoyed the music of the band, Kansas, and not just because Alean and I are from Kansas, both born and raised there. No, I genuinely enjoy the the quality of their work, the intricacies of the musical composition, and the provocative nature of many of their lyrics.
I got to see Kansas live, in concert, on only one occasion, and that was on their Point of Know Return tour in 1978. The Point of Know Return album presented yet another opportunity for pundits to speculate regarding the puzzling nature of artist, Kerry Livgren’s lyrics. The lyrical work of Point of Know Return unleashed some of Livgren’s most probing work to date, including the decades-long hit, Dust in the Wind.
The overriding message of the album is one of existential courage and humility. Livgren presses upon us to embrace the journey into life’s unknowns, stepping past the fear of transcending safe boundaries, while acknowledging the fleeting nature of life.
The Point of No Return
Flipping from Know to No, there is such a thing as a point of no return. If you begin driving east and you have enough gasoline to travel exactly three hundred miles, you’re fine from mile zero to 149.9. As soon as you hit mile 151.1, there is no going back. Returning is no longer an option. A space craft that has enough oxygen for twenty days passes the point of no return on day eleven.
Ephraim is joined to idols;
leave him alone.
When their drink is gone, they give themselves to whoring;
their rulers dearly love shame.
– Hosea 4:17-18, ESV
Ephraim, here, is a collective reference to the ten northern tribes of Israel. We are in the time of the divided kingdom (Israel/Judah), and Israel has gone over the edge, but for Judah, there is still time to recover.
Though you play the whore, O Israel,
let not Judah become guilty.
– Hosea 4:15, ESV
The leaders of Israel had become enamored with, and infatuated by, the pantheism and polytheism of the nations around them. They were sucked in by nature worship, sensuality, and idolatry. Israel had become”joined” (habara) to idols. There is a nuance we don’t get with our English translation here. What God is saying through Hosea is that Israel has become so smitten with the filth around her that she is charmed by it as if under a magic spell.
Israel was deeply entwined with the underlying occult forces of the nature-god idols, entangled to such a depth that they were irrevocably committed to them. It was pointless to even attempt to reclaim them, so God says, “leave him alone.” There is an unsettling finality to those words.
Similar to Hosea, Ezekiel looked at his society and saw:
- Priests who violate God’s law.
- Prophets who cover wrongdoing with false assurances.
- Leaders who exploit people.
- People who commit violence and injustice.
And God said:
And I sought for a man among them who should build up the wall and stand in the breach before me for the land, that I should not destroy it, but I found none.
– Ezekiel 22:30, ESV
When the spiritual leadership fails, God looks for someone who will stand in the gap, someone willing to stand for righteousness when others will not do so.
The Parallel for Today
Those of you who have read my writing for years know precisely where I’m going with this. Western Christianity is no different than Ephriam/Israel to whom Hosea wrote. Our society is baptized in filth. Our leaders encourage it and legislate for it. Our spiritual leaders embrace it and say, “Just roll with it. God is pleased with us.”
Although God is longsuffering and abounding in mercy, we can spit in God’s face for only so long until he transitions to the God who is a “consuming fire.”1 A mere six chapters into Genesis we see God lamenting, “My spirit shall not always strive with man.”2 When humanity is committed to a debaucherous way, God reaches a point that he will give us over to that way. He will give us exactly what we want.
Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.
– Romans 1:24-25, ESV
For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error.
– Romans 1:26-27, ESV
And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Though they know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.
– Romans 1:28-32, ESV
Let Your Voice Be Heard
God suffers long, but not forever. I don’t know when it will happen, but what I do know is that it will happen. That time is coming when God will call an end to the filth endlessly unloaded on humanity. So, what is your role, Christ-follower?
Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them.
– Ephesians 5:11, ESV
As Christ-followers, rather than just avoiding the darkness, we are to be exposing it for what it is. We are to call it out as exactly what it is, to bring it into the light so everyone can see the truth. We correct the record, rather than remain silent as the world calls good evil and evil good—calling light darkness, and darkness light.3 It is a dangerous thing for a society to lose that distinction between right and wrong.
When God called Ezekiel to be the watchman on the wall, Ezekiel was not given responsibility for the choices people would make in response to his message. But Ezekiel was responsible for delivering the message.4
And you shall speak my words to them, whether they hear or refuse to hear, for they are a rebellious house.
– Ezekiel 2:7, ESV
Isaiah had a similar message.
Cry aloud; do not hold back;
lift up your voice like a trumpet;
declare to my people their transgression,
to the house of Jacob their sins.
– Isaiah 58:1, ESV
The apostle Paul told Timothy to preach the word with all patience and sound teaching, to reprove, rebuke, and exhort5 I’m not calling for rudeness or nastiness, but honesty. It is time that the representatives of Christ on earth call sin “sin,” because that’s what it is! Like the apostle Paul, we dare not shrink from declaring the whole counsel of God.6 The whole counsel of God includes walking in righteousness—in step with the Holy Spirit.
The apostle Jude says we are to contend earnestly for the faith.7 I cannot contend for anything if I am not actively speaking on its behalf. To contend earnestly takes that contending to a whole new plane. Contending also requires that I have a good grasp on my source material.
All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.
– 2 Timothy 3:16, ESV
If I am to be teaching, reprooving, correcting, and training in righteousnss, then I need to keep my druthers out of it. The teaching, reprooving, correcting and training comes from Scripture, not from me.
Is This For Everyone?
This rather forceful blog post is not for everyone. Not everyone is Hosea, or Amos, or Ezekiel, or Isaiah. It is for spiritual leaders who are not living up to their calling. Leaders across the West are playing footsie with sin, or just jumping right into the bathtub with it. Shepherds, rather than protecting their flocks are fleecing and even raping them.
Then there are those who read through this and mumbled, “Yeah, I should say something.” Yes! You should! Listen to that tug on your heart and contend earnestly for the faith.
A Final Thought
The purpose of exposing sin as sin is not to condemn the sinner. It is to awaken people. It is to move them to a place of repentence. It is to restore righteousness. It is to turn hearts back to God. Because the time is coming when, once again, God will say, “Ephraim is joined to idols; leave him alone.”
1. Hebrews 12:29
2. Genesis 6:3
3. Isaiah 5:20
4. Ezekiel 3:17-19; 33:1-9
5. 2 Timothy 4:2
6. Acts 20:26-27
7. Jude 1:3
