✎ How often have parents heard their children cry, "That’s not fair?" Just this week Mikey complained when he was put in bed before his older brother and sisters who were upstairs watching a movie; "it’s not fair!" None of Mikey’s siblings were crying for fairness; they were not demanding fair treatment for their younger brother, nor were they begging to be put to bed before the end of the movie.
No one appeals to the law of fairness as the recipient of good things. Do we ever complain life isn’t fair:
when we get straight A’s on our report card?
when we receive an unexpected promotion and pay raise at work?
when we are blessed with good health?
when the judge rules in our favor?
when we get the biggest slice of pizza?
when our kids sit in our laps and say, "I
love you"?
when we get to be the first in line?
Those who feel cheated or left out, those who are envious of what others have are the ones who complain life isn’t fair. Is anyone here who has been disappointed and cried, "Life just isn’t fair," or am I the only one?
We have all been there. We have accused our parents of not being fair with us, but they are not the only ones. Your husband or wife, brothers and sister, teachers, bosses, friends, sometimes it seems the whole world has treated you unjustly. EVEN GOD.
The people of Israel felt that way too. This morning we are going to continue to gain "Godly Insight for Today" through the message of the prophet Malachi. God will ultimately establish justice for his people, and no one will be able to say God has been unfair.
+ Malachi 2:17 You have wearied the Lord with your words. "How have we wearied him?" you ask. By saying, "All who do evil are good in the eyes of the Lord, and he is pleased with them" or "Where is the God of justice?" (NIV)
The Jews are saying, "God you aren’t being fair with us! The people of Israel had become so embittered and skeptical; many believed God approved of those who did evil. When the Jews saw the prosperity and strength of foreign nations compared with the little they possessed, they assumed God must delight in blessing these sinful nations.
The people of Malachi’s day were practicing evil as if it were acceptable; they accepted injustice believing God was indifferent and didn’t care. Sounds familiar doesn’t it?
The prevailing attitude of their day is much like ours. Truth is relative; we can all decide for ourselves what is right and wrong because God must see evil as good.
Amidst watered down religion, and evil being accepted as good some asked the question, "Where is the God of justice?" The inference being made by the people was that God was not with His people. If God were here, then surely He would do something. If God won’t establish justice; if He won’t be fair, then God must not really care.
Those asking the question didn’t expect an answer, but God gave them one. "Where is the God of justice?" God answers His people saying, "I’M COMING!"
God says, "You’re wrong about Me. The God of justice is on the way." The next time life isn’t treating you fairly, and you’re tempted to think God does not care remember GOD SAID, "I’M COMING."
+ Malachi 3:1-5 1"See, I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come," says the Lord Almighty. 2But who can endure the day of his coming? Who can stand when he appears? For he will be like a refiner’s fire or a launderer’s soap. 3He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; he will purify the Levites and refine them like gold and silver. Then the Lord will have men who will bring offerings in righteousness, 4and the offerings of Judah and Jerusalem will be acceptable to the Lord, as in days gone by, as in former years. 5"So I will come near to you for judgment. I will be quick to testify against sorcerers, adulterers and perjurers, against those who defraud laborers of their wages, who oppress the widows and the fatherless, and deprive aliens of justice, but do not fear me," says the Lord Almighty. (NIV)
The people questioned God’s justice or fairness; it appeared to the people as though God approves of those who sin. They reasoned, "If God cares, if He notices what’s going on around us, then the Lord should do something about it." Why do sinners seem to never have a problem; are they blessed by God. "Where is the God of justice?"
God says, "I’M COMING!"
In Malachi 3:1 God says He will send His messenger to prepare the way of His coming. God hasn’t been indifferent; He has noticed and will come. Once the way is ready the Lord says He will come suddenly to His temple and announce His covenant.
1. TRANSFORMATION AND RENEWAL
God’s purpose in coming to His people is to bring transformation and renewal. God doesn’t want to leave us in our sin, but will refine us like silver. Instead of showing the filth of evil and sin, God will come to transform us purifying us like silver so we might reflect His image. (There’s much more for me to say about transformation, but that’s the message for next week, so you’ll just have to come back!)
2. JUDGMENT ESTABLISHES JUSTICE
In verse 5 God again tells His people, "I’m coming!" However, this time God is coming for another reason. "So I will come near to you for judgement."
The question asked by the people, "Where is the God of justice," and God answer "I will come near to you for judgement" uses the same Hebrew word. Therefore the God of justice is also the God of judgement.
The justice of God is His righteous judgements. Through justice the law of God is put into effect; in other words, justice casts the verdict or renders to each one what is his/her due.
Justice is not a divine fairness whereby God treats everyone the same. Justice is not God’s way of demanding you and I live a holy life, and do the right thing. Nor does the justice of God overlook how we may live our life treating us with tolerance .
God’s justice is perfect; His justice will be demonstrated through His judgement. God will examine each individual’s life in the light of His covenant and law God rendering a verdict of absolute justice.
+ Revelation 20:12-13 12And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. 13The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what he had done. (NIV)
+ 2 Corinthians 5:10 For we must all stand before Christ to be judged. We will each receive whatever we deserve for the good or evil we have done in our bodies. (NLT)
God will establish His justice when we stand before Him. Many of us this morning believe that, but some of us are still like Mikey and the nation of Israel.
We look at how the people around us live;
we see them living in sin, pleasing themselves
with no regard for God. And while they seem
to have no problems or difficulties we struggle
to make it from one day to the next, so we cry,
"It’s not fair! Where is the God of justice?"
We should be careful when we begin to ask God for justice. His day of judgement will be unlike any other day.
+ Amos 5:18-20 18Woe to all of you who want God’s Judgment Day! Why would you want to see God, want him to come? When God comes, it will be bad news before it’s good news, the worst of times, not the best of times. 19Here’s what it’s like: A man runs from a lion right into the jaws of a bear. A woman goes home after a hard day’s work and is raped by a neighbor. 20At God’s coming we face hard reality, not fantasy a black cloud with no silver lining. (MsgB)
The next time you are tempted to cry, "God it’s not fair!" stop asking for justice and ask for God’s mercy instead!
Many of us have a misunderstanding of justice or fairness. Our misunderstanding is why we accuse God of not being fair, we find fault with God because our thinking is wrong. It’s time for us to stop convicting God of breaking "the law of fairness."
Many people believe an absolute "law of fairness" or justice which is higher than God; even God must submit to ¡°fairness.¡± God must respond to the injunction of the "law of fairness," and when we are mistreated, or if we see injustice, then we appeal to the law which governs God.
God is not governed by justice; no moral law or "law of fairness" legislates to God. This is an incorrect view of God and justice.
GOD IS THE STANDARD OF JUSTICE. Fairness or justice is not something apart from God; rather justice is an attribute or characteristic of God Himself.
God is both holy and omnipotent. Holy means God is set apart from sin or evil, and omnipotence means God has the power to do anything; nothing is impossible for God. Therefore, everything God does is righteousness and just.
God always acts with justice; it is impossible for God to be unjust because justice is a part of His nature. Everything God does is fair, even if we don’t understand it. Our response is to appeal directly to God, and not a moral law of fairness.
Let me show you how this works another way. If God was governed by a "law of fairness," then Jesus could not have died on the cross for our sin. The "law of fairness" would mandate that an innocent man could never be put to death; it wouldn’t be fair to unjustly punish someone who had committed no crime. In order for then for Jesus to die on the cross God would have to break the "law of fairness."
Instead, God is the standard of justice. Through God’s love and mercy He sent His Son to die. Jesus, who is not guilty of any sin, freely dies to pay the penalty for our sin. God raises Jesus from the dead. God’s purpose is to give forgiveness and eternal life to all who acknowledge that Jesus died for their sin and confess Him as Lord. The human mind will reason that what God did was an injustice and say "God that’s not fair!" God says it is justice!
+ Psalm 103:10 He does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. (NIV)
I’m glad God does not give me what I deserve.
God’s justice reveals His mercy; He will give
us more grace! When we don’t understand God’s
justice, or we are tempted to say, "it’s not fair,"
then appeal directly to God¨Cbut not for justice;
cry out to God for mercy!
When we complain that life is not fair, or cry out to God for justice, then we put ourselves in a position to be judged instead of a place to receive mercy. Remember when we ask, "Where is the God of justice" God answers "I’M COMING!"
+ Malachi 3:-5 "So I will come near to you for judgment. I will be quick to testify against sorcerers, adulterers and perjurers, against those who defraud laborers of their wages, who oppress the widows and the fatherless, and deprive aliens of justice, but do not fear me," says the Lord Almighty. (NIV)
God will come near for judgment. When God comes to establish justice will we be found guilty? When God puts His covenant and law into effect through His judgement will we be on the wrong side of the law, or will we stand with His mercy?
God lists 7 types of people He will judge on that day when He establishes justice. Are we among those who will be judged? YES! Remember, we must all stand before the Lord! Be careful before you toss this list aside as not applying to you; ask the Holy Spirit to reveal the true condition of your heart today while it is still possible to call out to God for mercy.
1. GOD WILL JUDGE THE SORCERERS.
+ Deuteronomy 18:10-13 10. . . Don’t practice divination, sorcery, fortunetelling, witchery, 11casting spells, holding s-ances, or channeling with the dead. 12People who do these things are an abomination to God. It’s because of just such abominable practices that God, your God, is driving these nations out before you. 13Be completely loyal to God, your God. (MsgB)
We may be quick to think, "I’m not a sorcerer, or a witch." Our culture is hungry for a spiritual reality. Psychics, readers and advisors, horoscopes, wican (white witchcraft), fantasy games and the like have flooded our society.
These things are so readily available that many Christians have accepted them as just make-believe or fun. Do you read your daily horoscope or call a psychic hotline to tell you what a dream means?
God wants you to have no part in such activities; they are an abomination to God¨"it’s detestable" in His sight. God says, "Be blameless" or "completely loyal."
2. GOD WILL JUDGE ADULTERERS.
+ 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 9Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders 10. . . will inherit the kingdom of God. (NIV)
+ Matthew 5:27-29 27You know the next commandment pretty well, too: ’Don’t go to bed with another’s spouse.’ 28But don’t think you’ve preserved your virtue simply by staying out of bed. Your heart can be corrupted by lust even quicker than your body. Those leering looks you think nobody notices¡ªthey also corrupt. 29Let’s not pretend this is easier than it really is. If you want to live a morally pure life, here’s what you have to do: You have to blind your right eye the moment you catch it in a lustful leer. You have to choose to live one-eyed or else be dumped on a moral trash pile. (MsgB)
3. GOD WILL JUDGE LIARS.
+ Revelation 21:8 . . . all liars¨Ctheir place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death. (NIV)
Those who do not speak the truth will be judged by God; however, God will not only judge the liar. The Lord said, "I will come near to judge perjurers."
Perjury is a lie told under oath; it is to swear falsely in God’s name. Does the way you live your life and the things you say honor God, or do you take the name of the Lord in vain through the way you live?
+ 1 John 2:4 The man who says, "I know him," but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. (NIV)
Christians have taken on the name of Christ; we know Him. Does our life prove our knowledge of Him by obedience or are we betrayed by our actions and made a liar?
4. GOD WILL JUDGE THE CHEATER.
The Lord said, "I will come near to judge those who defraud laborers of their wages." The cheater is a thief.
+ Romans 2:21 you, then, who teach others, do you not teach yourself? You who preach against stealing, do you steal? (NIV)
5. GOD WILL JUDGE THE OPPRESSORS.
The Lord said, "I will come near to judge those who oppress the widows and the fatherless." God will judge those who oppress and take advantage of the weak and defenseless.
+ Psalm 82:3 Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless; maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed. (NIV)
+ You’re here to defend the defenseless, to make sure that underdogs get a fair break (MsgB)
6. ALL WHO FORGET HIS GRACE.
The Lord said, "I will come near to judge those who deprive aliens of justice."
+ Exodus 22:21 Do not oppress foreigners in any way. Remember, you yourselves were once foreigners in the land of Egypt. (NLT)
As believers you and I have been mad citizens of the kingdom of heaven. God does not want us to forget that by His grace He has brought us out of the kingdom of darkness.
1. We cannot have a casual attitude toward sin.
+ Hebrews 3:12-13 12See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. 13But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness. (NIV)
2. We cannot neglect our duty to reach out to
those lost in sin.
+ Luke 14:23 Then the master told his servant, ’Go out to the roads and country lanes and make them come in, so that my house will be full. (NIV)
+ 2 Corinthians 5:18-20 18All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 20We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. (NIV)
7. GOD WILL JUDGE ALL WHO DO NOT FEAR THE LORD.
+ Deuteronomy 31:12-13 12Call them all together men, women, children, and the foreigners living in your towns so they may listen and learn to fear the Lord your God and carefully obey all the terms of this law. 13Do this so that your children who have not known these laws will hear them and will learn to fear the Lord your God. (NLT)
God will ultimately establish justice for his people, and no one will be able to say God has been unfair.
The next time you are tempted to cry, "God it’s not fair!" stop asking for justice and ask for God’s mercy instead!
