Malachi

The Sins of Saints

The bible makes it clear that we were born sinners.

Romans 3:23 NASB95

23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

However, God’s gift to sinners is forgivness through Jesus Christ.

1 Timothy 1:15 NASB95

15 It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost of all.

Now in Christ Jesus we are no longer calssed as sinners, but as saints.

Romans 1:7 NASB95

7 to all who are beloved of God in Rome, called as saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

We are saints, not sinners.

But even as saints, we still on occasion sin.

1 John 1:8 NASB95

8 If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us.

However, while we do sin - i do not believe that we sin in the “same way” as we used to sin for we were saved.

That is, as born again Christians our whole mind, attitude and will has been transformed, so when we sin now, we actually sin in a more personal way towards God.

A sinner who sins does so without even thinking of God. God simply does not factor in to their sinful choices.

But we however are united with Christ.

So our sins are done in the context of our relationship with God.

This actually makes the sins of saints WORSE than the sins of sinners.

The last minor prophet and last book in the old testament is not a particulary positive book.

In it the prophet lists and warns, not sinners, but saints of their sins towards God.

Sinners cannot technically commit these sins, but we can and must be fearful.

Unfortunutly Malachi, though written thousnds of years ago is not ancient history, many of the sins are still with us to this day.

1: Doubting God’s Love

Malachi 1:1–5 NASB95

1 The oracle of the word of the Lord to Israel through Malachi. 2 “I have loved you,” says the Lord. But you say, “How have You loved us?” “Was not Esau Jacob’s brother?” declares the Lord. “Yet I have loved Jacob; 3 but I have hated Esau, and I have made his mountains a desolation and appointed his inheritance for the jackals of the wilderness.” 4 Though Edom says, “We have been beaten down, but we will return and build up the ruins”; thus says the Lord of hosts, “They may build, but I will tear down; and men will call them the wicked territory, and the people toward whom the Lord is indignant forever.” 5 Your eyes will see this and you will say, “The Lord be magnified beyond the border of Israel!”

Doubting God’s love has got to be one of the single most awful things a born again Christian can do.

Malachi lists all of the examples of God’s love towards His people.

He chose them.

he cared for them.

He delivered them.

He led them.

If they had such a wealth of evidence for God’s love then we have even more!

because we have the ultimate experession of God’s great love.

Jesus Christ.

Romans 5:8 NASB95

8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

That word “demonstrate” is the greek syn-stemi.

It means to provide sufficient evidence for.

In a court of law, a prosicutor has to provide sufficient evidnce that a person is guilty.

Once the evidence is presented the judge can make their decision in confidence of the evidence.

Jesus Christ’s death on the cross for us is, according to God, sufficient evidence that He loves us, sufficient evidence that the question of God’s love can be put to rest.

In light of Christ great sacrifice, to doubt God’s love is nothing less than an isult to Him.

Doubting God’s love in light of Christ is doubting His word, calling Him a liar, questioning His motives. Calling Him unjust.

2: Dishonering God’s Name.

Malachi 1:6 NASB95

6 “ ‘A son honors his father, and a servant his master. Then if I am a father, where is My honor? And if I am a master, where is My respect?’ says the Lord of hosts to you, O priests who despise My name. But you say, ‘How have we despised Your name?’

Again this issue comes up.

Sinners do not dishonor God’s name for they do not bear it.

We bear the Name of Christ.

We are called Christians. Christs name is in our name.

3: Profaining God’s Covenant

Malachi 2:10–16 NASB95

10 “Do we not all have one father? Has not one God created us? Why do we deal treacherously each against his brother so as to profane the covenant of our fathers? 11 “Judah has dealt treacherously, and an abomination has been committed in Israel and in Jerusalem; for Judah has profaned the sanctuary of the Lord which He loves and has married the daughter of a foreign god. 12 “As for the man who does this, may the Lord cut off from the tents of Jacob everyone who awakes and answers, or who presents an offering to the Lord of hosts. 13 “This is another thing you do: you cover the altar of the Lord with tears, with weeping and with groaning, because He no longer regards the offering or accepts it with favor from your hand. 14 “Yet you say, ‘For what reason?’ Because the Lord has been a witness between you and the wife of your youth, against whom you have dealt treacherously, though she is your companion and your wife by covenant. 15 “But not one has done so who has a remnant of the Spirit. And what did that one do while he was seeking a godly offspring? Take heed then to your spirit, and let no one deal treacherously against the wife of your youth. 16 “For I hate divorce,” says the Lord, the God of Israel, “and him who covers his garment with wrong,” says the Lord of hosts. “So take heed to your spirit, that you do not deal treacherously.”

The Christian’s personal life should be an example of their blessings in the New Covenant.

Particulary in how we treat eachother and even more how we treat our families.

Christians do not slander each other.

Do you know what the greek word for slander is?

Blasphema. To slander another Christian is akin to blaspheming.

Why?

John 13:35 NASB95

35 “By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”

Yes, we as Christians disagree, we might irritate another Christian or be irrited by them.

We are all, after all, reforming sinners, so disagreemesnts, even the occasion fight is not unexpected.

But fights that turn ugly and end up in divisions or legal disputes are evil.

1 Corinthians 1:10 NASB95

10 Now I exhort you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all agree and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be made complete in the same mind and in the same judgment.

1 Corinthians 6:1 NASB95

1 Does any one of you, when he has a case against his neighbor, dare to go to law before the unrighteous and not before the saints?

And within a family it is even worse.

We are members of the New Covenant and we called to live as such.

Husbands:

Ephesians 5:25 NASB95

25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her,

Wives:

Ephesians 5:22–23 NASB95

22 Wives, be subject to your own husbands, as to the Lord. 23 For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the head of the church, He Himself being the Savior of the body.

Parents:

Ephesians 6:4 NASB95

4 Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.

Children:

Ephesians 6:1 NASB95

1 Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.

These are not suggestins from yor pastor.

These are duties of the New Covenant to all who are partakers thereof.

4: Questining God’s Justice

Malachi 2:17 NASB95

17 You have wearied the Lord with your words. Yet you say, “How have we wearied Him?” In that you say, “Everyone who does evil is good in the sight of the Lord, and He delights in them,” or, “Where is the God of justice?”

Let me explain why doubting God’s justice is so bad.

Do doubt God’s justice is to doubt God’s goodness.

If God is not just then He must in unjust.

If God is unjust then he is wicked. unfair, evil, corrupt, a liar and a thief.

All descriptions of Satan!

But we know this is not true!

Yes, in our temporal life it may seem like sinners get away with it, but we know:

Acts 17:31 NASB95

31 because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead.”

In our life, just in the last 2 years we have seen how the honest small buisness man trying to provide for his family has been shut down, while the multibillion rands orperation were allowed to continue.

We saw how Churches who rely soley on donation where shut down, whil casinos were allowed to say open.

We saw how criminals were allowed o roam free, while claw abiders looking to go for a walk during the lockdown were baten and thrown in jail.

And at the end of all this, nothing happened to those who made these rulings.

Have they gotten away with it?

No a chance!

I woul not want to stand before God and answer his question on the day of judgment.

5: Robbing God’s House

Malachi 3:7–12 NASB95

7 “From the days of your fathers you have turned aside from My statutes and have not kept them. Return to Me, and I will return to you,” says the Lord of hosts. “But you say, ‘How shall we return?’ 8 “Will a man rob God? Yet you are robbing Me! But you say, ‘How have we robbed You?’ In tithes and offerings. 9 “You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing Me, the whole nation of you! 10 “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house, and test Me now in this,” says the Lord of hosts, “if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you a blessing until it overflows. 11 “Then I will rebuke the devourer for you, so that it will not destroy the fruits of the ground; nor will your vine in the field cast its grapes,” says the Lord of hosts. 12 “All the nations will call you blessed, for you shall be a delightful land,” says the Lord of hosts.

What is the big deal with tithes?

Let it be properly understood that tithes are not an old covenent command.

Tithing to God predates the Old Covenent.

But what is it all about?

Firstly, God does not need your tithe.

God’s priority is not your money its your heart.

So what does tithing have to do with your heart?

Jesus said:

Matthew 6:21 NASB95

21 for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Your heart is tied NOT to God but to your treasure.

By not tithing, not only are you robbing God, but you also declare that your heart is not in the kingdom.

And before you make en excuse that you cant afford to tithe:

Mark 12:41–44 NASB95

41 And He sat down opposite the treasury, and began observing how the people were putting money into the treasury; and many rich people were putting in large sums. 42 A poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which amount to a cent. 43 Calling His disciples to Him, He said to them, “Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all the contributors to the treasury; 44 for they all put in out of their surplus, but she, out of her poverty, put in all she owned, all she had to live on.”

My friends let me make this as clear as i can.

Its not that you cannot aford to tithe - Its more like you cannot fford NOT to tithe.

We tithe as a church.

My tithe from my salery goes straight to the Curban Central region.

This church’s tithes from our income goies straight to the Full Gospel Church headoffice.

Failure to pay either my personal tithe or the church’s tithe will resul in swift disciplinery action and susspencion.

But we tithe not out of fear but out of obedience to God.

Imag you ome home from church today nd your house has been cleaned out.

Everything you have has been robbed.

You find security footage from a neighbor and see the thief.

3 days later your bell rings and a man comes asking you for money -you immeditly recognise him as the thif!

Would you, having been cleaned out - give this criminal more money?

Of course not!

Yet when we rob God today, we still expect him to hlp tomorrow.

You are acting like God is a fool.

Conclusion:

You are no a sinner.

You are a Christian.

Doubt God Love.

Dishonour God;s name.

Profain God’s covenant.

Question God’s Justice

Rob God’s house.