Printer Friendly VersionToday 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!”
