SWEATIN’ TO THE OLDIES: An Old Testament Sermon Series of Core Values for the Summer

Sermon 1: Love

Malachi 1:1-5

July 23, 2006

Introduction

Today we are beginning a 7-week journey through the Book of Malachi. It is the final book of the Old Testament. There are incredible comparisons between the people of Malachi’s day and ours. For that reason, it seems fitting to emphasize some subjects over the next few weeks that are at the very core of Christian living. Many of the values Malachi identified in his writing were found to be seriously lacking. His prophecy was a call to repentance, a call to return to the “main” thing.

It is important to repeat periodically what we value as a church. Thus, this sermon series of core values is just that: saying it again! Saying it long, saying it loud. We are the people of God. We have been delivered from the bondage of sin. The people who heard Malachi’s prophecy had not long been delivered from Persian exile. Once delivered and redeemed we have a passion to worship and serve God. However, in some cases today (as in the time of Malachi), the fire begins to dim, and our worship becomes lifeless.

The historical context of Malachi suggests the problem was in the pulpit as well as the pew: “It is you, O priests, who show contempt for my name” (1:6). “You have turned from the way and by your teaching have caused many to stumble” (2:8). Apathy and complacency were the norm. Intermarriage with unbelievers was common. The priests were being bribed and bought by the people. It was in this scenario that the prophet began his ministry: “An oracle: The word of the Lord to Israel through Malachi. ‘I have loved you,’ says the Lord” (1:1-2).

The word “oracle” can be translated “heavy burden.” It’s really a picture of a parent getting ready to discipline a child and saying, “I love you, and it hurts me to do what I’m about to do to you, but . . .” God loves His children too much to allow them to continue drifting away from a passionate relationship with Him. These messages may hurt a little bit; they may sting. But the value of these sermons is that we can be reminded of who God really is, and how He desires for us to love and worship Him. Let’s consider

Core Value #1: Love.

I. We Must Love with a Sense of Eternity

God has demonstrated an eternal love to all humankind. “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). There is not one thing you can do to make God love you more, and there is not one thing you can do to make God love you less. He loves you unconditionally.

How then do we reconcile Malachi’s illustration of “I have loved Jacob, but Esau I have hated” (1:2-3)? Let’s return to Theology 101 for a quick lesson. God is love. God is not like love, love is not like God. God is love. That is the essence of His being. In addition, God is holy. God’s holiness will not tolerate sin. Esau represents a type of sin in this scripture. The prophet is crying out to the people of God, urging them to remember what happened to Esau and the Edomites because of their rebellion: “I have turned his mountains into a wasteland and left his inheritance to the desert jackals” (1:3).

This is at the very core of what we believe. The cliché still makes sense: “we love the sinner, but we hate the sin.” Our love must keep on expressing itself to people in today’s fallen world. In fact, Jesus said, “My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:12-13). We must love God and our neighbors with a sense of eternity, even in spite of sin.

II. We Must Love with a Sense of Morality

There is no conflict in this message between the love of God and His punishment for sin. Sin always costs. The Bible refers to the “wages” of sin. In our text Jacob represents righteousness, while Esau is called “the Wicked Land, a people always under the wrath of the Lord” (1:4). As we today love God and our fellow humans with a sense of eternity, we must also love with a clear understanding of right and wrong.

Esau knew better. If sin truly is a willful violation of the known law of God, the Edomites and their immorality were guilty beyond measure. The similarity to our world today is staggering. America’s morality is for sale. Media glamorizes lying, stealing, and cheating. George Barna’s research shows there is just as much marital unfaithfulness in the church as there is in the secular culture. Divorce rates are just as high among the people of God as they are among non-Christians. The list goes on and on. We know better!

I am not imploring a return to strict legalism. All I am doing is reminding you (as Malachi was reminding God’s people), that we must love with an eternal sense of holiness. “‘I have loved you,’ says the Lord. ‘But you ask, “How have you loved us?”‘” (1:2). In a world of “what have you done for us lately,” may we be reminded of this timeless truth, the core value of a love that is pure.

III. We Must Love with a Sense of Accountability

As God’s people we really do need each other. There is no room in the church for a “Lone Ranger” mentality. The prophet condemns the “I’ll Do It My Way” or “I’ll Do It Anyway” theme of the Edomites: “Edom may say, ‘Though we have been crushed we will rebuild the ruins.’ But this is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘They may build, but I will demolish’” (1:4).

One of the great benefits of belonging to a community of faith such as our local church, and to a larger extent, our denomination, is that we practice our love of God and our love for our neighbor in an environment of accountability. It’s more than just knowledge in theory of how we are to engage in holy living. In the corporate body of the church we are held accountable to live out our profession. There are scriptural checks and balances that keep us on the “highway of holiness.”

Someone has compared the teaching and preaching ministry of the church to guardrails on the interstate highway. Although we (the pastor and church staff) cannot drive the car for you on this trip, we can give directions and provide boundaries for your spiritual protection. Once you have received the instruction and know the parameters of our faith, then you are accountable and responsible for the journey you take.

IV. We Must Love with a Sense of Purity

The people in Malachi’s prophecy had to be reminded of the love God had for them: “‘I have loved you,’ says the Lord” (1:2). Deep down they knew God loved them, and that God had called them to a life of holiness: “Be holy, because I am Holy” (Leviticus 11:44). Yet, the message is stern and the consequences are alarming if we forget or neglect this holy love relationship: “You will see it with your own eyes and say, ‘Great is the Lord—even beyond the borders of Israel!’” (1:5).

The people of Malachi’s day learned the hard way that if we do not love God with a sense of purity, and worship Him with genuine passion, He will find someone else who will. Our love for God and others is the starting point of that which is at the core of who we are as Christians. Let us determine today to have clean hands and pure hearts that model the love of God to our community.

Conclusion

Unfortunately, Malachi’s call to repentance was largely ignored. God had promised that something was going to have to change; they could not continue the way they were. God will not accept a counterfeit love. After the writing of Malachi (the end of Old Testament), there was a period of 400 years of silence from the heavens. No prophecies, no instructions, nothing until the promised Messiah.

Let’s learn from their mistake. Let’s receive the love of God today as Core Value #1. Let’s take this holy love to the streets. Let’s love God with a passionate love. Let’s love our neighbors as ourselves. The test: “They will know we are Christians by our love!”