Peer Pressure is one of the more powerful influences that we have in our world. Almost everyone wants to be accepted in their social peer groups. Nobody likes to be the “odd man out”. Nobody likes to be singled out as “different” or “unusual”. Rather, people make every effort to be accepted, to be like the others in the group.
This is OK until it happens that what the group is doing is wrong. Other people in your office may help themselves to stamps, staplers, pens, and other equipment that belongs to the company. Our faith demands that we NOT join them, that we not participate in the sin, even though it may seem somewhat insignificant. In fact, our faith tells us that weshould try to prevent people from doing what is wrong.
I imagine that you would be a bit unpopular if you confronted your fellow employees. It would be easier for you to mind your own business, or perhaps even join in doing what the others are doing. At the time of our text, God had sent a prophet named Hananiah to warn the people of Judah about what they were doing. But Hananiah knew that if he did that, it wouldn’t make him very popular with the people. And Hananiah wanted to be accepted. Hen wanted to be liked. So rather than do what God sent him to do, Hananiah patted the people on the back and told them to keep up the good work.
Our text today describes the reaction of Jeremiah when he heard the words of Hananiah. He wasn’t afraid of confronting him, and he didn’t worry about how his rebuke would sit with the people of Judah. He had a responsibility that he had been given by God, and he knew that it was more important for him to
“Be True, Not Popular”
1. The World’s Sinfulness Demands It
2. God’s Love Demands It
Jeremiah wrote, “Then the prophet Jeremiah replied to the prophet Hananiah before the priests and all the people who were standing in the house of the LORD. He said, ‘Amen! May the Lord do so! May the LORD fulfill the words you h ave prophesied by bringing the articles of the LORD’s house and all the exiles back to this place from Babylon.’” God selected men through whom He would reveal His will to His people. When Hananiah was chosen by God, it was his responsibility to relay the message from God accurately. Hananiah was commissioned by God to speak a harsh message to the people, a message of captivity and destruction. Such a message would make Hananiah unpopular with the people. So he changed it. He told the people that they would soon be free from the enemy and that good times were just around the corner.
Jeremiah immediately confronted Hananiah. Before the priests and the people who were at the temple, he challenged the message of Hananiah. But he did so in a pretty unique way. “Amen! May the LORD do so!” he said. Jeremiah had prayed that the exile into Babylon would not be necessary. He had hoped that the people would confess their sins and repent. If so, God would forgive them and, perhaps, spare them from the Babylonians.
But Jeremiah knew that the people had not turned from their sinful ways. They had not repented and were not going to be spared from God’s punishment. The message of Hananiah only led the people to continue along their path of sin. If Jeremiah did not stand up and confront Hananiah and the sin of the people, they would soon meet the full wrath of God. He called the message of peace that Hananiah proclaimed “the words you have prophesied.” Hananiah had failed the LORD. He did not proclaim God’s message. He proclaimed a message that would make him more popular with the people.
While confronting people with their sins may be difficult, it is vital. God tells us that when a person sins against us we are to “go and show him his fault…” (Mt. 18:15) In the Old Testament Moses wrote, “Rebuke your neighbor frankly so you will not share in his guilt.” (Lev. 19:17) What God wants us to do is clear. But doing it won’t make you the most popular person at the time. Unfortunately, the devil has misled people into believing that a harsh rebuke of sin isn’t so necessary. Misapplied Bible verses about God’s love and mercy have been used to downplay seriousness of sin and its consequences. We are surrounded by churches and religions that do not hold people accountable for sin, but rather preach a message of tolerance so that they do not offend anyone.
In our text, Hananiah took that route and was challenged by Jeremiah. He wrote, “Nevertheless, listen to what I have to say in your hearing and in the hearing of all the people: From early times the prophets who preceded you and me have prophesied war, disaster and plague against many countries and great kingdoms.” Pointing to the prophecies of the other men whom God had sent, Jeremiah noted a warning far different from the sugarcoated pat on the back spoken by Hananiah. So who was right? Jeremiah wrote, “But, the prophet who prophesies peace will be recognized as one truly sent by the LORD only if his prediction comes true.” While Hananiah meant to bring joy and relief to the people, all he really did was lead them further away from God’s love.
II. God’s Love Demands It
When Adam and Eve fell into sin, God searched them out to offer them His help. When King David fell into sin, God sent Nathan to bring him His love. Jesus Himself reached out to a woman whom He met at a well who was spiraling toward hell because of her adulterous life. But in each case, the love was first shown by leading the person to recognize his or her sin. God said to Adam and Eve, “Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?” (Gen. 3:11) Nathan spoke to David in a picture story describing a rich man who stole a poor man’s only sheep to lead David to realize what he had done with Bathsheba. And Jesus made a simple, but leading, request of the woman He met at Jacob’s well, “Go, call your husband and come back.” (Jn. 4:7)
The justice of God demands that He punish sin. He is not able to ignore it or close His eyes to it. Sin will be punished, and the sinner will pay eternally. But only the unrepentant sinner. For those who confess their sins and turn to God for mercy, the blood of Jesus will set them free. God’s great love moved Him to punish His son in our place. Those who trust the words of the Lord and the forgiveness He promises will be set free from their sins.
And that is what leads us to preach God’s law, even when it is not a popular message. While a parent or doctor does not enjoy telling a child or patient that they are sick, it is necessary so that the problem can be confronted. If God had allowed the people of Judah to go about their lives misled by the sugarcoated message of Hananiah, they would have lived comfortable while on earth, but faced a horrible verdict on Judgment Day. God’s love demanded that He send Jeremiah, and His love demands that He send us to preach the whole will of God.
And, yes, that includes His love and mercy. We will never hesitate to assure a grieving sinner of God’s love for him. But it also includes God’s wrath and anger against sin. It means holding the guilty accountable. In love, we will need to do that without sounding condescending or arrogant. We will have to be careful about how we approach someone who has sinned. A parent can use each day to establish God’s will in the heart of his child. Other times we need to work slowly to win the confidence of a friend or neighbor so that they understand our intentions when it is necessary for us to speak with them. And in a world that wants to soften the message, we must hold firm to the unchanging will of God.
Peer pressure can be used to prevent us from doing what God calls us to do. We don’t want to be unpopular. We don’t want people to be angry with us. But imagine how angry they will be as God convicts them of their sins and sends them away into hell if you don’t help them. God calls on us to be true to Him, not popular with the world. Sometimes you can be both. Pray the people will follow the will of God and turn to Him in repentance and true faith. Amen
–Rev. Roger Rockhoff