When God Opens the Books

Text: Malachi 3:13-4:5

Theme: The Lord will come some day. He will condemn the wicked and reward the righteous. Tom Dooley was a physician who spent many years of his life as a missionary doctor in the jungles of Laos. A friend once asked him how he overcame disappointments and setbacks caused by uncaring and antagonistic people. Dooley's answer illustrates the truth of Malachi's message for us this morning. He said, "I simply remind myself of who is really keeping score."

No Christian can keep on keeping on without the certainty that it is God who really is in control and the one who keeps score in this world. The Scriptures are clear. God will condemn the wicked and reward the righteous. But let's be honest. Don't you sometimes wish that the wicked would be judged right now? It seems like everywhere we look the wicked prosper. The victims of wickedness cry out for justice but are forced to conclude that our judicial system appears to protect the perpetrators of crimes rather than dispensing justice on behalf of the victims of crime and society. The Prophet Jeremiah felt much the same way, “You are always righteous, O LORD, when I bring a case before you. Yet I would speak with you about your justice: Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why do all the faithless live at ease? 2 You have planted them, and they have taken root; they grow and bear fruit. You are always on their lips but far from their hearts.” (Jeremiah 12:1–2, NIV84)

What happens when the righteous see the wicked prosper?

A sense of bitterness can take root in the believer's life which makes us cynical.

That cynicism can color our attitude toward and relationship with God.

We begin blaming God for His apparent unfairness. "God: I'm a good person. I try to live right. So why do so many things in my life seem to turn sour while Joe Blow over here seems to prosper? And everyone in town knows that Joe is a rotten person. He cheats on his income tax and his wife. Curses like a sailor and drinks like a fish. God, it just isn't fair!"

The believer begins to backslide. He or she stops praying, stops worshiping, stops fellowshiping with God's people and draws the conclusion that God really doesn't care and we cease to serve Him.

Be careful! You're treading on dangerous spiritual ground when you accuse God of being unfaithful to His people. This is Israel's condition. The prophet Malachi charges the nation of Israel of speaking harsh words against God.

In Malachi's peculiar style he couches their attitude in the form of a dialogue with God. Says God, "You have said harsh things against me." To which the people of Israel reply,

"What have we said against you?" God answers, "It does not pay to serve the LORD. The only people who seem to prosper are those who have no regard for God or their neighbors."

Here were religious people following the Law to the letter. They were faithful in their prayers. They went to church. They even tithed! I mean, that's a sure sign of spirituality, isn't it? Yet, while they did all the things there were supposed to, their physical and economical hardships continued unrelieved. While they did right, everything in their lives and the life of their nation seemed to go wrong. On the other hand their neighbors (i.e. the nations around them who did not worship God) who were oppressive and idolaters, seemed to have everything go right. The result was that the people of God began questioning the justice and fairness of God.

The key to their dilemma is revealed in vs. 14. They had an attitude problem. God says of them, "You have said, 'It is futile to serve God. What did we gain by carrying out his requirements and going about like mourners before the LORD Almighty?" Translation: "What's the point of serving God if there doesn't seem to be anything in it for me?" Their religious ritual may have been correct but their attitude was all wrong. They concluded what many of God's people today have concluded: "If I'm going to have faith in God, there ought to be something in it for me. I know that God promises me heaven when I die, but what's wrong with a little prosperity now? I mean, God, if I do you the favor of having faith, don't you owe me something?"

God's answer to the Hebrews is His answer to us. God is authoring a book of remembrance. On the day of reckoning that book will be opened. On that day, God's righteousness, His mercy and His justice will be vindicated. To the wicked He will be their judge; to the righteous He will come as Father and reward our faithfulness. On that day, God will accomplish three specific things.

I. GOD WILL REVEAL HIDDEN THINGS

1. when the Lord comes, he will discern between the righteous and the wicked, between those that serve Him and those who don't v. 18

2. how will God do that?

a. by the look in our eyes and the blood on our souls

1) those who know God will have a sparkle in their eyes because of the glorious expectation of seeing our Savior face to face

“How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. 2 Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.” (1 John 3:1–2, NIV84)

2) God will look at us and say, "Gee, you look familiar to me. You know, you look just like my Son, Jesus. I'll bet you've been washed clean by his blood. Why yes, I see your name in the Lamb's Book of Life. Come on in!"

3. those who fear God in this life will not have to fear God in the after-life

“Then those who feared the LORD talked with each other, and the LORD listened and heard. A scroll of remembrance was written in his presence concerning those who feared the LORD and honored his name. 17 “They will be mine,” says the LORD Almighty, “in the day when I make up my treasured possession. I will spare them, just as in compassion a man spares his son who serves him. 18 And you will again see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between those who serve God and those who do not.” (Malachi 3:16–18, NIV84)

A. THE UNRIGHTEOUS MAY GET AWAY WITH MURDER IN THIS WORLD, BUT GOD SEES EVEN THE SECRET DEEDS OF MEN AND SHALL JUDGE THEM

1. the Hebrews complained to God, " ... Certainly the evildoers prosper, and even those who challenge God escape."

ILLUS. All we have to do is watch the news every night to see that people accused of hanious crimes of which there seems to be ample evidence to convict them—including confessions and even video tape—are found not guilty.

2. many believers must patiently wait for the Day of Judgment to come before they see that it really does pay to serve God

a. it is hard to understand why evil seems to prosper so readily

b. the apostle Paul affirms that one day we will know the answer to that question 1 Cor 13:12

“Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.” (1 Corinthians 13:12, NIV84)

3. the day is coming when the hidden things about men's lives will be revealed and God will judge them

“Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.” (Hebrews 4:13, NIV84)

a. a man may hide his sins from his family, his friends and his community, but he cannot hide them from God

“The sins of some men are obvious, reaching the place of judgment ahead of them; the sins of others trail behind them.” (1 Timothy 5:24, NIV84)

4. there is a distinction between the righteous and the unrighteous and we can trust that God knows the difference

II. GOD WILL RIGHT WRONGS: HE WILL REWARD THE RIGHTEOUS PUNISH THE UNRIGHTEOUS

1. the prophet paints two different pictures for us

A. PICTURE ONE: THE UNRIGHTEOUS WILL BE CONDEMNED

1. the first picture Malachi paints of the kind of eternal life awaiting the unrighteous is one of desolation, pain and privation

““Surely the day is coming; it will burn like a furnace. All the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble, and that day that is coming will set them on fire,” says the LORD Almighty. “Not a root or a branch will be left to them.” (Malachi 4:1, NIV84)

2. Malachi's portrait is what awaits those who choose to serve the devil, by even the slight act of not accepting Christ as Savior

a. some of you might be tempted to say, "Aw, now preacher. Don't go talking about no hell. I don't want to hear about hell. Besides, I'm not sure I really believe in hell."

ILLUS. Robert Ingersoll, the most famous atheist of the 19th century called hell "the scarecrow of religion"

3. folks, let me tell you something ... there are some basic facts about the universe—seen and unseen—which cannot be ignored or explained away

a. one of the physical laws of the universes is that 2 + 2 = 4

1) there ain't no way that law is every going to change

b. there are also some spiritual laws

1) there is a God—and no denial of that truth will change it

2) but because in the spirit world there is always a head and tails to every coin, there is a God and there is a Satan

3) there is a Heaven and there is a Hell

a) not believing in it is not going to change that fact

ILLUS. I heard a preacher tell a story one time about three men who died and went to hell. One of them was a Baptist, one of was a Catholic and one was a Christian Scientist. Now I know that some of you have a hard time believing that a Baptist could go to hell. And if you're a Catholic or former Catholic I know that this is not what you were taught in Catechism class. Now, I don't know how much any of you know about Christian Scientists, but they've got an interesting perspective on life. They figure that anything negative that happens to you is mental. For instance, if you're out walking down the street and you get run over by and eighteen-wheeler —POW!—all you've got to do to reverse the situation is lay there and confess that it didn't happen. So here you have these three guys dies and all go to hell. As their standing there the devil walks up to that Baptist and says, "Well, what have you got to say for yourself?" That Baptist says, "Hey, I blew it. I'm here. That's it." Then devil walks up to the Catholic and says, "What about you?" And the Catholic says, "I ain't too worried about it, because there's somebody praying me out of here." Lastly, he goes up to the Christian Scientist and asks, "What about you?" And the Christian Scientist says, "Man. I just ain't here, and you ain’t real!"

c. now the truth of the whole situation was, he was there and his disbelief did not change that fact

4. the Bible is very clear

a. there is a reward awaiting those who have rejected God's plan of salvation through Jesus Christ

“For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to hell, putting them into gloomy dungeons to be held for judgment; 5 if he did not spare the ancient world when he brought the flood on its ungodly people, but protected Noah, a preacher of righteousness, and seven others; 6 if he condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah by burning them to ashes, and made them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly; 7 and if he rescued Lot, a righteous man, who was distressed by the filthy lives of lawless men 8 (for that righteous man, living among them day after day, was tormented in his righteous soul by the lawless deeds he saw and heard)— 9 if this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue godly men from trials and to hold the unrighteous for the day of judgment, while continuing their punishment. 10 This is especially true of those who follow the corrupt desire of the sinful nature and despise authority. Bold and arrogant, these men are not afraid to slander celestial beings;” (2 Peter 2:4–10, NIV84)

5. the proud and the wicked and the unrighteous who seem so strong and firmly rooted will one day be consumed as quickly as a handful of straw

B. PICTURE TWO: THE RIGHTEOUS WILL BE REWARDED

1. the second picture Malachi paints of the kind of eternal life awaiting the righteous is one of freedom, joy and plenty

“But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings. And you will go out and leap like calves released from the stall.” (Malachi 4:2, NIV84)

a. there will be healing of our hurts

1) verse two reminds us of that great and wonderful day when we shall see our Lord face to face and he will make us whole and restore lives which have been broken and maimed by the difficulties of life

“He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”” (Revelation 21:4, NIV84)

b. there will be joy for eternity

1) what a wonderful picture Malachi paints

2) like a calf which leaps and kicks for shear joy, so will our rejoicing be for all of eternity

“You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions by anointing you with the oil of joy.”” (Hebrews 1:9, NIV84)

ILLUS. When Jesus comes back in glory, I want to be in church singing, Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee!

c. there will be the reign of the righteous

“Then you will trample down the wicked; they will be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day when I do these things,” says the LORD Almighty.” (Malachi 4:3, NIV84)

Billy Graham says there are three things all men have to do. 1) You have to be born. You can't be unborn. 2) You have to die. 3) You have to stand before God and be judged.

When that happens, how will God see you? Will He see you as righteous or as unrighteous? The answer depends upon what you have done with the message and person of Jesus Christ. If you have had a personal encounter with the Savior and committed your life to him, God will see you as righteous and reward you. If you have encountered the Savior, but refused access into your heart and life, God will see you as unrighteous and evil and you will get exactly what you deserve.

You see, God really is keeping score!