Judgment, 12 March 2023
12 03 23 Filed in: Sermons | Honor: Malachi
Judgment
Honor: The Book of Malachi
Malachi 2:17-3:5
Series Big Idea: The last book of the Jewish Bible (Old Testament) offers challenging words about bringing honor to the LORD.
Big Idea: The God of justice will judge, and we need to be ready.
When I was in seminary, one of my professors said he likes to preach verse-by-verse through the Bible. This is known as expository preaching, as opposed to topical. One of the reasons, he said, is it can be tempting to skip around the Bible, finding popular passages and ignoring those which are more controversial, uncomfortable, or even offensive. Although we do some topical messages—especially around Holy Week and Advent—much of our preaching is expository. We’re in the middle of one such series on the book of Malachi, the last book of the Jewish Bible or Old Testament. It’s written by the prophet Malachi, and biblical prophets rarely made people happy!
It's always important to understand our text today was not written to us, but it’s very valuable for us…a glimpse into the heart of God and what happens when His people forget or even forsake God. It’s usually a slow fade, but one which inevitably results in God’s judgment, not because He doesn’t like us, but precisely because He loves us and He wants us to return to Him.
PRAY
Two weeks ago we looked at Pastor John Soper’s summary of much of the Old Testament:
Israel forgets God >>> Israel forsakes God >>> Israel worships other gods >>> God sends judgment upon Israel >>> Israel cries out to God >>> God raises up a deliverer >>> God saves Israel >>> Israel pledges to serve God >>> [repeat]
Again I ask, where are you?
This past week a friend mentioned someone whose life is a wreck, they are experiencing God’s judgment or—at the very least—the dire consequences of many poor choices, yet they have refused to cry out to God and surrender.
God has ways of getting our attention, doesn’t He? Malachi is God’s prophet, trying to get the attention of His people, the Jews. The last verse of chapter two begins…
You have wearied the LORD with your words.
“How have we wearied him?” you ask. (Malachi 2:17a, NLT)
They pretend ignorance and declare innocence. This is the fifth sarcastic question they ask. God has an answer.
You have wearied him by saying that all who do evil are good in the LORD’s sight, and he is pleased with them. You have wearied him by asking, “Where is the God of justice?” (Malachi 2:17b, NLT)
God is weary over two things the people were saying.
First, they were saying that all who do evil are good in the LORD’s sight, and he is pleased with them. You might call this a new morality. It happened in Noah’s day. It happened in the period of the judges. Twice in the book of Judges (17;6; 21:25), it says,
In those days Israel had no king; all the people did whatever seemed right in their own eyes. (Judges 17:6; 21:25, NLT)
You can rationalize anything.
Throughout history, Christians have used the Bible to justify everything from misogyny to slavery. Satan even used it to tempt Jesus! We like to start with what we want, what we desire, what we think is fair, rather than beginning with a careful study of the Holy Scriptures and aligning ourselves with God’s will. Perhaps one reason we don’t read the Bible more frequently is we don’t want to be responsible for what it says!
We must be careful because
There is a path before each person that seems right, but it ends in death. (Proverbs 14:12, NLT)
I feel like this hits very close to home in our day, in our nation. It’s one thing to tolerate sin, but quite another to celebrate it with parades and celebrations. God must weep when He sees how even Christians have embraced alternative lifestyles, abortion, greed, gossip, pride, the pursuit of power and wealth, …the list goes on and on. It’s one thing for the world to act like the world, but when so-called Christians look just like everybody else, falling for whatever’s hip and cool and trendy, we have real problems. Politically correct does not necessarily mean biblically correct. In fact, the world is often diametrically opposed to godliness. There’s a war raging between good and evil, God and satan, the flesh and the truth.
Jesus said,
21 For from within, out of a person’s heart, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, 22 adultery, greed, wickedness, deceit, lustful desires, envy, slander, pride, and foolishness. 23 All these vile things come from within; they are what defile you.” (Mark 7:21-23, NLT)
This is nothing new. One of the things that makes me chuckle is when people say, “We are a New Testament church!” Which one? Laodicea? Ephesus? They were all filled with sinners…just like ours! The church in Corinth was hardly exempt:
I can hardly believe the report about the sexual immorality going on among you—something that even pagans don’t do. I am told that a man in your church is living in sin with his stepmother. (1 Corinthians 5:1, NLT)
Do we want details on that one?! If you need a definition, sexual immorality is any sexual activity outside of the marriage of a husband and wife. It’s mentioned more than a dozen times in the New Testament, including the lips of Jesus and the writings of Paul and John. Jesus said even lust was adultery.
Let me add there seem to be acceptable sins in the church…even so-called conservative churches.
- Pride often runs rampant, the original sin.
- Fear, the opposite of love, is used to bring people to Jesus and paralyzes many decisions, both in homes and churches
- Gluttony…hey, we only have potlucks on 5th Sundays!
- Worry…Jesus condemned it (Matthew 6:25-34), but I’m very guilty!
- Lying…you’ve never told a lie, right?
- Favoritism…we like to hang around people like us, don’t we?
- Greed is demonstrated by stingy giving
Christians nationwide are giving 2.5% of their income…one quarter of what is known as the tithe, 10%, a good starting point for generosity. One 2023 report said only 5% tithe. Most of you tip your barista far more than you give to your God.
https://nonprofitssource.com/online-giving-statistics/
I’m not a perfect example, but I am seeking to follow Christ, not merely avoiding sin, but loving Jesus. The point is the Jews were celebrating sin, not unlike many Christians today.
You have wearied him by saying that all who do evil are good in the LORD’s sight, and he is pleased with them. You have wearied him by asking, “Where is the God of justice?” (Malachi 2:17b, NLT)
Second, they were asking, “Where is the God of justice?” Have you ever heard someone blame God for their problems? Where is the God of justice?…while their poor choices have done them in. No wonder God was weary! In a moment we’ll see how God addresses the claim that He is either absent or unjust.
Now that we’ve looked at that verse, let’s move on to chapter 3! It doesn’t get any easier. God warns of the coming judgment.
“Look! I am sending my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. Then the Lord you are seeking will suddenly come to his Temple. The messenger of the covenant, whom you look for so eagerly, is surely coming,” says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies. (Malachi 3:1, NLT)
This sounds like good news, right? God’s messenger is coming! Actually, there seem to be two messengers. Jesus quotes this passage in Matthew 11:9-10 and Luke 7:27, referring to John the Baptist, the one who will prepare the way. Then the messenger of the covenant will come. This appears to be none other than Jesus the Messiah, the LORD of Heaven’s Armies. Malachi describes the second coming of Christ.
“But who will be able to endure it when he comes? Who will be able to stand and face him when he appears? For he will be like a blazing fire that refines metal, or like a strong soap that bleaches clothes. 3 He will sit like a refiner of silver, burning away the dross. He will purify the Levites, refining them like gold and silver, so that they may once again offer acceptable sacrifices to the LORD. (Malachi 3:2-3, NLT)
This is a sobering, powerful message, family. Clean hands and a pure heart are what God seeks, and purification is necessary, a refiner’s fire.
The Refiner’s Fire
As she watched the silversmith, he held a piece of silver over the fire and let it heat up. He explained that in refining silver, one needed to hold the silver in the middle of the fire where the flames were hottest as to burn away all the impurities. The woman thought about God holding us in such a hot spot; then she thought again about the verse that says: ‘He sits as a refiner and purifier of silver.’ (Malachi 3:3) She asked the silversmith if it was true that he had to sit there in front of the fire the whole time the silver was being refined. The man answered that yes, he not only had to sit there holding the silver, but he had to keep his eyes on the silver the entire time it was in the fire. If the silver was left a moment too long in the flames, it would be destroyed. The woman was silent for a moment. Then she asked the silversmith, ‘How do you know when the silver is fully refined?’ He smiled at her and answered, ‘Oh, that’s easy — when I see my image in it.’
This third I will put into the fire; I will refine them like silver and test them like gold. They will call on my name and I will answer them; I will say, ‘They are my people,’ and they will say, ‘The Lord is our God’” (Zechariah 13:9).
“See, I have refined you, though not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction” (Isaiah 48:10).
The crucible for silver and the furnace for gold, but the Lord tests the heart (Proverbs 17:3).
For you, God, tested us; you refined us like silver (Psalm 66:10).
Purify (testing/fire) and cleanse (soap) like silver and gold.
After the purifying…
Then once more the LORD will accept the offerings brought to him by the people of Judah and Jerusalem, as he did in the past. (Malachi 3:4, NLT)
Hallelujah! The worshipers are purified and cleansed, acceptable to the LORD. But there’s more. They want the God of justice? He’s going to judge!
“At that time I will put you on trial. I am eager to witness against all sorcerers and adulterers and liars. I will speak against those who cheat employees of their wages, who oppress widows and orphans, or who deprive the foreigners living among you of justice, for these people do not fear me,” says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies. (Malachi 3:5, NLT)
He's going to judge, and He mentions four things in particular: sorcerers, adulterers, liars, and oppressors, those who treat employees, widows, orphans, or foreigners/immigrants poorly. These things are still detestable to God, and we see it all over, don’t we? The occult is celebrated in many ways. Adultery sounds like an old-fashioned term for what everybody’s doing. We don’t like liars, but only tell “little white lies,” right? How have we treated laborers, widows, orphans, refugees?
Judgment is coming…for all of us. Are you ready?
So What?
There’s good news and bad news. The good news is that the Father sent Jesus to die on the cross to make forgiveness and purification possible. We all sin and fall short of God’s standard, but He has made a way for us to be reconciled to Him—and one another—through Jesus.
The bad news is so many have rejected God…even people who think they are Christians or “saved” because they prayed a prayer as a child. The invitation of Jesus is not pray a prayer so you can go to heaven when you die. It’s follow me, be with me, do life with me…it’s about a relationship. How’s that going for you? How is your soul?
Remember from two weeks ago in chapter 2, the Jews had intermarried with people from other religions. They had abandoned God and turned to sorcery, adultery, and lies. Every day is a new opportunity to follow Jesus or ignore Him. It’s like a marriage. It doesn’t end when you say, “I do.” That’s only the beginning, and the relationship must be cultivated every day.
Perhaps you’ve been going through the motions, mailing it in, so to speak. I’ve found myself doing that, at times. Just because I avoid doing bad things doesn’t mean I’ve necessarily been obedient, either. Following Jesus is more than just playing by the rules, avoiding murder, adultery, lying, and the like. It also means loving well…God and others. It means caring for the widow, stranger, and orphan. It involved surrendering my time, talents, and treasures for His glory, His Kingdom, His Church. Following Jesus even means surrendering my body, my dreams, and my comforts.
The good news, of course, is God’s grace. Forgiveness is available to every one of you. There’s nothing you’ve done that’s beyond God’s mercy. Each time we gather is an opportunity to be reminded that He’s God and we’re not, that we all fall short and miss the mark, and that we have a loving Father with arms wide open to extend grace and forgiveness if we come to Him, if we repent, if we turn from our sin, and do life with Jesus.
Family, I love you and I want what’s best for you. So does God. I don’t get it right all of the time, but that’s my desire. What is your next step in following Jesus? What do you need to surrender?
You can listen to this message and others at the First Alliance Church podcast here.
You can watch this video and others at the First Alliance Church Video Library here.
Honor: The Book of Malachi
Malachi 2:17-3:5
Series Big Idea: The last book of the Jewish Bible (Old Testament) offers challenging words about bringing honor to the LORD.
Big Idea: The God of justice will judge, and we need to be ready.
When I was in seminary, one of my professors said he likes to preach verse-by-verse through the Bible. This is known as expository preaching, as opposed to topical. One of the reasons, he said, is it can be tempting to skip around the Bible, finding popular passages and ignoring those which are more controversial, uncomfortable, or even offensive. Although we do some topical messages—especially around Holy Week and Advent—much of our preaching is expository. We’re in the middle of one such series on the book of Malachi, the last book of the Jewish Bible or Old Testament. It’s written by the prophet Malachi, and biblical prophets rarely made people happy!
It's always important to understand our text today was not written to us, but it’s very valuable for us…a glimpse into the heart of God and what happens when His people forget or even forsake God. It’s usually a slow fade, but one which inevitably results in God’s judgment, not because He doesn’t like us, but precisely because He loves us and He wants us to return to Him.
PRAY
Two weeks ago we looked at Pastor John Soper’s summary of much of the Old Testament:
Israel forgets God >>> Israel forsakes God >>> Israel worships other gods >>> God sends judgment upon Israel >>> Israel cries out to God >>> God raises up a deliverer >>> God saves Israel >>> Israel pledges to serve God >>> [repeat]
Again I ask, where are you?
This past week a friend mentioned someone whose life is a wreck, they are experiencing God’s judgment or—at the very least—the dire consequences of many poor choices, yet they have refused to cry out to God and surrender.
God has ways of getting our attention, doesn’t He? Malachi is God’s prophet, trying to get the attention of His people, the Jews. The last verse of chapter two begins…
You have wearied the LORD with your words.
“How have we wearied him?” you ask. (Malachi 2:17a, NLT)
They pretend ignorance and declare innocence. This is the fifth sarcastic question they ask. God has an answer.
You have wearied him by saying that all who do evil are good in the LORD’s sight, and he is pleased with them. You have wearied him by asking, “Where is the God of justice?” (Malachi 2:17b, NLT)
God is weary over two things the people were saying.
First, they were saying that all who do evil are good in the LORD’s sight, and he is pleased with them. You might call this a new morality. It happened in Noah’s day. It happened in the period of the judges. Twice in the book of Judges (17;6; 21:25), it says,
In those days Israel had no king; all the people did whatever seemed right in their own eyes. (Judges 17:6; 21:25, NLT)
You can rationalize anything.
Throughout history, Christians have used the Bible to justify everything from misogyny to slavery. Satan even used it to tempt Jesus! We like to start with what we want, what we desire, what we think is fair, rather than beginning with a careful study of the Holy Scriptures and aligning ourselves with God’s will. Perhaps one reason we don’t read the Bible more frequently is we don’t want to be responsible for what it says!
We must be careful because
There is a path before each person that seems right, but it ends in death. (Proverbs 14:12, NLT)
I feel like this hits very close to home in our day, in our nation. It’s one thing to tolerate sin, but quite another to celebrate it with parades and celebrations. God must weep when He sees how even Christians have embraced alternative lifestyles, abortion, greed, gossip, pride, the pursuit of power and wealth, …the list goes on and on. It’s one thing for the world to act like the world, but when so-called Christians look just like everybody else, falling for whatever’s hip and cool and trendy, we have real problems. Politically correct does not necessarily mean biblically correct. In fact, the world is often diametrically opposed to godliness. There’s a war raging between good and evil, God and satan, the flesh and the truth.
Jesus said,
21 For from within, out of a person’s heart, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, 22 adultery, greed, wickedness, deceit, lustful desires, envy, slander, pride, and foolishness. 23 All these vile things come from within; they are what defile you.” (Mark 7:21-23, NLT)
This is nothing new. One of the things that makes me chuckle is when people say, “We are a New Testament church!” Which one? Laodicea? Ephesus? They were all filled with sinners…just like ours! The church in Corinth was hardly exempt:
I can hardly believe the report about the sexual immorality going on among you—something that even pagans don’t do. I am told that a man in your church is living in sin with his stepmother. (1 Corinthians 5:1, NLT)
Do we want details on that one?! If you need a definition, sexual immorality is any sexual activity outside of the marriage of a husband and wife. It’s mentioned more than a dozen times in the New Testament, including the lips of Jesus and the writings of Paul and John. Jesus said even lust was adultery.
Let me add there seem to be acceptable sins in the church…even so-called conservative churches.
- Pride often runs rampant, the original sin.
- Fear, the opposite of love, is used to bring people to Jesus and paralyzes many decisions, both in homes and churches
- Gluttony…hey, we only have potlucks on 5th Sundays!
- Worry…Jesus condemned it (Matthew 6:25-34), but I’m very guilty!
- Lying…you’ve never told a lie, right?
- Favoritism…we like to hang around people like us, don’t we?
- Greed is demonstrated by stingy giving
Christians nationwide are giving 2.5% of their income…one quarter of what is known as the tithe, 10%, a good starting point for generosity. One 2023 report said only 5% tithe. Most of you tip your barista far more than you give to your God.
https://nonprofitssource.com/online-giving-statistics/
I’m not a perfect example, but I am seeking to follow Christ, not merely avoiding sin, but loving Jesus. The point is the Jews were celebrating sin, not unlike many Christians today.
You have wearied him by saying that all who do evil are good in the LORD’s sight, and he is pleased with them. You have wearied him by asking, “Where is the God of justice?” (Malachi 2:17b, NLT)
Second, they were asking, “Where is the God of justice?” Have you ever heard someone blame God for their problems? Where is the God of justice?…while their poor choices have done them in. No wonder God was weary! In a moment we’ll see how God addresses the claim that He is either absent or unjust.
Now that we’ve looked at that verse, let’s move on to chapter 3! It doesn’t get any easier. God warns of the coming judgment.
“Look! I am sending my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. Then the Lord you are seeking will suddenly come to his Temple. The messenger of the covenant, whom you look for so eagerly, is surely coming,” says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies. (Malachi 3:1, NLT)
This sounds like good news, right? God’s messenger is coming! Actually, there seem to be two messengers. Jesus quotes this passage in Matthew 11:9-10 and Luke 7:27, referring to John the Baptist, the one who will prepare the way. Then the messenger of the covenant will come. This appears to be none other than Jesus the Messiah, the LORD of Heaven’s Armies. Malachi describes the second coming of Christ.
“But who will be able to endure it when he comes? Who will be able to stand and face him when he appears? For he will be like a blazing fire that refines metal, or like a strong soap that bleaches clothes. 3 He will sit like a refiner of silver, burning away the dross. He will purify the Levites, refining them like gold and silver, so that they may once again offer acceptable sacrifices to the LORD. (Malachi 3:2-3, NLT)
This is a sobering, powerful message, family. Clean hands and a pure heart are what God seeks, and purification is necessary, a refiner’s fire.
The Refiner’s Fire
As she watched the silversmith, he held a piece of silver over the fire and let it heat up. He explained that in refining silver, one needed to hold the silver in the middle of the fire where the flames were hottest as to burn away all the impurities. The woman thought about God holding us in such a hot spot; then she thought again about the verse that says: ‘He sits as a refiner and purifier of silver.’ (Malachi 3:3) She asked the silversmith if it was true that he had to sit there in front of the fire the whole time the silver was being refined. The man answered that yes, he not only had to sit there holding the silver, but he had to keep his eyes on the silver the entire time it was in the fire. If the silver was left a moment too long in the flames, it would be destroyed. The woman was silent for a moment. Then she asked the silversmith, ‘How do you know when the silver is fully refined?’ He smiled at her and answered, ‘Oh, that’s easy — when I see my image in it.’
This third I will put into the fire; I will refine them like silver and test them like gold. They will call on my name and I will answer them; I will say, ‘They are my people,’ and they will say, ‘The Lord is our God’” (Zechariah 13:9).
“See, I have refined you, though not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction” (Isaiah 48:10).
The crucible for silver and the furnace for gold, but the Lord tests the heart (Proverbs 17:3).
For you, God, tested us; you refined us like silver (Psalm 66:10).
Purify (testing/fire) and cleanse (soap) like silver and gold.
After the purifying…
Then once more the LORD will accept the offerings brought to him by the people of Judah and Jerusalem, as he did in the past. (Malachi 3:4, NLT)
Hallelujah! The worshipers are purified and cleansed, acceptable to the LORD. But there’s more. They want the God of justice? He’s going to judge!
“At that time I will put you on trial. I am eager to witness against all sorcerers and adulterers and liars. I will speak against those who cheat employees of their wages, who oppress widows and orphans, or who deprive the foreigners living among you of justice, for these people do not fear me,” says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies. (Malachi 3:5, NLT)
He's going to judge, and He mentions four things in particular: sorcerers, adulterers, liars, and oppressors, those who treat employees, widows, orphans, or foreigners/immigrants poorly. These things are still detestable to God, and we see it all over, don’t we? The occult is celebrated in many ways. Adultery sounds like an old-fashioned term for what everybody’s doing. We don’t like liars, but only tell “little white lies,” right? How have we treated laborers, widows, orphans, refugees?
Judgment is coming…for all of us. Are you ready?
So What?
There’s good news and bad news. The good news is that the Father sent Jesus to die on the cross to make forgiveness and purification possible. We all sin and fall short of God’s standard, but He has made a way for us to be reconciled to Him—and one another—through Jesus.
The bad news is so many have rejected God…even people who think they are Christians or “saved” because they prayed a prayer as a child. The invitation of Jesus is not pray a prayer so you can go to heaven when you die. It’s follow me, be with me, do life with me…it’s about a relationship. How’s that going for you? How is your soul?
Remember from two weeks ago in chapter 2, the Jews had intermarried with people from other religions. They had abandoned God and turned to sorcery, adultery, and lies. Every day is a new opportunity to follow Jesus or ignore Him. It’s like a marriage. It doesn’t end when you say, “I do.” That’s only the beginning, and the relationship must be cultivated every day.
Perhaps you’ve been going through the motions, mailing it in, so to speak. I’ve found myself doing that, at times. Just because I avoid doing bad things doesn’t mean I’ve necessarily been obedient, either. Following Jesus is more than just playing by the rules, avoiding murder, adultery, lying, and the like. It also means loving well…God and others. It means caring for the widow, stranger, and orphan. It involved surrendering my time, talents, and treasures for His glory, His Kingdom, His Church. Following Jesus even means surrendering my body, my dreams, and my comforts.
The good news, of course, is God’s grace. Forgiveness is available to every one of you. There’s nothing you’ve done that’s beyond God’s mercy. Each time we gather is an opportunity to be reminded that He’s God and we’re not, that we all fall short and miss the mark, and that we have a loving Father with arms wide open to extend grace and forgiveness if we come to Him, if we repent, if we turn from our sin, and do life with Jesus.
Family, I love you and I want what’s best for you. So does God. I don’t get it right all of the time, but that’s my desire. What is your next step in following Jesus? What do you need to surrender?
You can listen to this message and others at the First Alliance Church podcast here.
You can watch this video and others at the First Alliance Church Video Library here.