A Cake Not Turned

Hosea 7:8

Ephraim, he hath mixed himself among the people; Ephraim is a cake not turned.

John Gill comments of this verse,

"…a cake that is laid on coals, if it is not turned, the nether part will be burnt, and the upper part unbaked, and so be good for nothing; not fit to be eaten, being … neither bread nor dough; and so … Ephraim having introduced much of the superstition and idolatry of the Gentiles into religious worship, was nothing in religion, neither fish nor flesh, as is proverbially said of persons and things of which nothing can be made; … they halted between two opinions, and were of neither…..

…like the hotch potch inhabitants of Samaria in later times, …  and such professors of religion there are, who are:

Nothing in religion;

Nothing in principle,

they have no scheme of principles; they are neither one thing nor another

Nothing in experience;

If they have a form of godliness, they deny the power of it; they are

Nothing in practice,

all they do is to be seen of men; they are neither hot nor cold, especially not throughout, or on both sides, like a cake unturned; but are lukewarm and indifferent, and therefore very disagreeable to the Lord.”

This is such an appropriate description of Christianity today.

·       So many doctrinal walls have been broken down

·       So much compromise with the world has been made

·       So much comfort in Christianity has come our way

that we are indeed a "cake not turned" half baked and burnt useless.

It is time to call Christians to come out of the world. We must be separate and different. We must refuse lukewarm faith and choose instead to be full in for Christ.