Justice And Injustice

"Where Is the God of Justice?" — Impugning God's Character 1:25

“You have wearied the LORD with your words; yet you say, "In what way 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?”

— Malachi 2:17 (NKJV)

And the question is this: Where is the God of justice? Where is the God of justice? And their implication will be that God Himself has not done that which is right. They're going to impugn God's actions.

They're going to impugn God's nature. So once again, I ask you, how do you process the existence of that which is bad with a God who is good? When you see the wickedness going on in the world around us, when you see a world that's absolutely stained scarlet by sin, when you look around in the world that's absolutely stained scarlet by sin, when you see the righteous persecuted, when you see the wicked prospering, do you ever wonder where the God of justice is?

Well, again, in today's text, that's what Malachi's contemporaries are asking. They're going to say God has dropped the ball and He doesn't care about justice.

God Does Care About Justice: A Matter of Timing, Not Abdication 2:09

But what we're going to see in our study is that that is not the case. It's never been the case. They fundamentally misread the situation. God, God does care about justice.

God does care about hurt and pain. He cares about your hurt and pain. He cares about the ways you've been wronged. He desires to vindicate the righteous, those who are victims.

He desires to judge and deal with the wicked, those who have committed iniquity. And what He's going to remind His people in today's text is that the issue is not whether justice will be dealt with. That's not the issue. They thought it was.

We might think it is when we look and see wicked prospering. God's going to say the issue is not whether they'll be dealt with. The issue is not whether every iota of sin will ever be judged. It will be.

The issue, the question is a matter of timing. It's a matter of when. When it will happen. There's a wise man who put it this way.

God's justice delayed does not mean God's justice is abdicated. The fact that the judge doesn't act on your timetable does not mean that the judge isn't going to act. And that's the message we're going to see God having for the people of Malachi's day. We're going to see this.

God is watching. And in His time, He will act. He will vindicate the righteous. He'll punish the wicked.

And if you and I could just fast forward to the end of the book, we'd see how. We would see how. All right, let's consider the implications of this. Let's look at Malachi 2.17 and then work our way through the verses that follow.

Verse 17, you have wearied the Lord with your words and yet you say, how? In what way 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 you say, where is the God of justice?

All right, right from the start of verse 17, we see this. The people have been complaining about this ad nauseum. This is not something that just one guy on a hill just said, God, what's the deal? The whole culture was doing this to the point that God says, a God who is infinitely patient, He says, look, My patience running out.

You have wearied me with your words. If such a thing is possible that you could run out of God's patience, or He's saying there and you're doing it. You have wearied Me with your words. And yet you say, how, how?

Well, let me tell you, you wearied Me in this, that you say that everyone does evil is good in My sight. You say that when someone does something bad, because I allow it to happen for a season, that therefore I'm in favor of it. And then you have the gall to ask Me, where is the God of justice?

Let's find that God, because our God is not coming through.

The Inversion of Good and Evil: The Sign of a Nation's Decay 4:51

That was the people's contention, that God is not coming through, that God is not acting. You know, the surest sign of a nation or a society's decay is when it inverts, inverts the principles of that which is right with that which is wrong. Inverts it. Takes that which is sinful, that which is base, and celebrates it, and takes that which is good and holy and just and right, and says it's evil, it's bigotry, it's wrong.

Sure sign of a nation's decay. It always has been. You doubt it? Read the history of Greece, Rome, any of the nations of antiquity.

Well, in verse 17, the people had the gall to accuse God of doing that same thing — of taking that which is good, making evil; taking that which is evil and making it good. Everyone who does evil is good in the sight of the Lord, and He delights in them. You hear what they're saying to God?

They're saying that the heart of God delighted in that which is wicked. Now do you see why God was wearied? I mean, He even hears that once — He's got to be irritated or angry. And the whole culture is saying our God celebrates that which is perverse, celebrates that which is wicked.

Now how could they ever get to that point, given God's good and loving and righteous nature? Well, part of the reason they got to that point is because they looked at the pagan nations. They looked at wicked Bob down the street, and they said, how is Bob prospering? You see what Bob's up to?

You see what the nations around us are up to? They don't keep the laws of our forefathers. They don't follow laws on tablets of stone. They're off doing their thing.

But you know what? It seems to be working out pretty well for them. Look at their money. Look at their resources.

Look how well off Bob is. Look how great things are going for them.

The Prosperity Gospel Refuted: Wealth Is Not a Sign of God's Favor 6:35

They looked at the success of the wicked, the perceived success of the wicked, and they adopted a prosperity gospel mindset, where they said, hey, if someone is doing well, that's a sign that God loves them and God is blessing them. That's really the prosperity gospel. Prosperity gospel teaches that if God loves you, He'll give you what you want.

That those with five jets and all the amenities of Midas, that therefore God must love them. That's never been the case. That's never been the case that God's love is primarily demonstrated through material blessing.

Taking the Long View: Ahab, Elijah, Herod, and John the Baptist 7:07

You remember the story of King Ahab? Who was Ahab married to? Jezebel. Do you know anyone, just out of curiosity, do you have any family relations, any relatives named Ahab?

Any family relations named Jezebel? Why not? Because these were bad eggs. Ahab and Jezebel was the worst.

Now, were Ahab and Jezebel well off? You bet. Who was a holy man of Ahab's day? There was a prophet named Elijah.

Now, picture this. You have Ahab and Jezebel. They're eating the equivalent of steak tartare, I don't know, whatever fancy kings used to eat back in the days. They're eating well.

They're doing well financially speaking. You got Elijah. Where's Elijah? Elijah's living in a cave.

You know what he was eating? Birds, ravens were coming and giving him bread. That's how he was eating, being fed by birds in a cave. Was that a sign that God, that God's blessing was not upon Elijah and that it was upon Ahab?

Not in the least. How about Herod? How about Herod when you say, compare him to John the Baptist? Is the opulence of Herod?

If you were to go to Caesarea by the sea, was the opulence a sign of God's blessing? Was the imprisonment of John the Baptist a sign of God's displeasure? Well, no. Here's the thing. God's people don't often take the long view.

And we look at a narrow slice of time and say that what I see through my eyes right now, If that guy's prospering today, it's a sign that God loves him. And God says, look at the whole picture. God says, if you could fast forward to the end of the book, you'd see how this turns out.

And it only turns out well for those who are righteous, those who are clothed in the righteousness of Christ. In any case, back in Malachi's day, the people didn't take the long view. They thought, well, this country, that nation, this guy, they're doing well. Therefore, God's abdicated His role.

Therefore, God isn't righteous. And you know what that allowed them to do? And this happens any time you take God and knock Him off His pedestal or lower Him. The moment you can do that, the moment you feel better about doing what you want in your own life.

The minute you say that God Himself is not righteous, then what does that say about the laws He gave you to follow? It means they really aren't that critical because He Himself is something less than you previously thought he was. Therefore, you can do what you want. And that's what the people were doing.

Well, God has a message for them. Let's look at verse 1.

Behold, the Messenger of the Covenant Is Coming 9:35

“Behold, I send My messenger, and he will prepare the way before Me. And the Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to His temple, even the Messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight. Behold, He is coming, says the LORD of hosts.”

— Malachi 3:1 (NKJV)

Verse 1, this is God's response. Starts with one word, the word behold. As we said last week, the moment you see that word, especially when it comes from the lips of God, that's the minute you stop the presses. Your eyes go boring.

You say, all right, what is he going to say? What's he going to do here? Well, this is what he says. He says, behold, I will send My messenger and he will prepare the way before Me.

And the Lord whom you seek, the one you've been looking for to do righteously, the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come into His temple, even the messenger of the covenant on whom you delight. Behold, He is coming. We get two beholds here. All right.

At the very end of chapter two, the people had accused God of being unjust. Here at the start of verse three, we see God's answer, but it's not the answer they would have expected. Behold, behold, O Israel, behold all you who are complaining. If you think, God says, if you think that I'm out of touch, you got another thing coming.

If you think I've been on vacation, I'm just sitting off in the clouds. There's a harp chorus going on around me. If you think that's all I'm up to, you're wrong. And you are about to find out.

You're in for a surprise. For I am going to send someone to you. I'm going to send someone to you. And I'm not only going to send one, I'm going to send two.

There's two messengers that are identified in this text.

Two Messengers: John the Baptist and the Divine Christ 10:55

The first messenger is this one. The one who goes to prepare the way. The one who goes to prepare the way. And the second messenger is the one who arrives suddenly in the temple.

The first messenger that would come would prepare the way for the second messenger. And depending on what translation you use, you'll notice this. The second messenger, the word M is capitalized. There's a reason.

Because the translators — I use the New King James — the translators identify that as a divine figure. The first messenger is one who prepares the way. He's a prophet. Who am I talking about?

Who is the first messenger that Malachi's pointing to? John the Baptist. John the Baptist. He prepared the way, right?

It's a prophecy. It says just as when a king comes in, there's one sent ahead of him to announce the king's arrival, so will John, so will this one come. He is on the way. God says, behold.

Remember, Malachi's the last book of the Old Testament, so it wasn't long before this one would show up. He says, behold, one is coming. There's a messenger coming. He's going to prepare the way.

He's going to prepare the hearts. He's going to season the ecclesiastical landscape. He's going to season the world of his age in such a way to prepare for the one who's coming. And then he will show up.

The Refiner's Fire: Who Can Endure the Day of His Coming? 12:11

“But who can endure the day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears? For He is like a refiner's fire and like launderers' soap. He will sit as a refiner and a purifier of silver; He will purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer to the LORD an offering in righteousness.”

— Malachi 3:2-3 (NKJV)

You won't expect him when he does but the messenger capital m will show up let's look at verses two and three now verse two but who can endure it when He does? Who can endure the day of His coming? Who can stand when He appears? If that's all you heard, you'd be going, uh-oh, hold the phone here.

So someone's coming and this someone will be a threat to the establishment. This someone, He will show up and He will not be what we expected. Who can endure the day of His coming? Who can stand when He appears?

For He is like a refiner's fire, like launderer's soap. He will sit as a refiner and a purifier of silver. He will purify the sons of Levi. He will purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer to the Lord an offering in righteousness.

You know, I've got good news for you. I've got bad news for you. The good news is this. God is here.

The bad news is this. God is here. You know what the difference is? What makes this news either good or bad depends on what your relationship is to His Son, to this messenger.

So the question in verse 2, who can endure the day of Christ's coming? That's a rhetorical question because the answer is no one. No one can endure the day of His coming on their own.

True Justice: Even the Righteous Cannot Stand Under His Verdict 13:47

For example, the people of Malachi's day, here's what they wanted. They wanted justice. Now, they defined justice on their terms. What they wanted was that Bob or whoever, that the nations would be dealt with, and that they themselves would receive everything that they wanted.

To them, justice was taking away from whoever the villains were of their age, seeing them dealt with and themselves blessed to the hilt, given everything they wanted. Justice was a matter of where the scale tipped the heaviest in terms of the bounty and abundance one had. That was justice. That's not true justice, but to them that was justice.

They wanted justice. And God says, when this one comes, He will bring justice. But it's not what you expect. He will deal with the wicked.

He's going to be like a refiner's fire. He's going to deal with them. But here's the problem. You're wicked too.

Looks at the people who have been complaining at him for chapters now, several chapters, and is going to say, look, when this one comes, it's not like it's just that guy who's going to be dealt with. The whole of the earth is going to be dealt with when this one comes. He will purify.

He will cleanse. He will make that which is debased holy. He will do it. But you, O Israel, if you only knew the implications that it will have for you, for your people.

See, even the sins of the most righteous man in Malachi's day, even the sins of Malachi, were mile high in the eyes of God. If we'd march down to the local county judge and we'd tell them to jail every guilty man in the county, it'd probably start with us, because we're all guilty.

Crimes may differ, but guilt does not. So behold, God says in verse 2, you want justice without delay, you want it on your terms, defined the way you define it. But when the actual judge shows up, the one you're looking for, you're not going to be able to stand under His verdict. When the gavel comes down, you won't be able to stand.

The First and Second Advent: Christ the Refiner Who Ushered In the New Covenant 15:46

Now, let me stop and make an observation. When people look at this text, they sometimes wonder whether the arrival of the messenger, the arrival of Christ here, whether this is referring to the first arrival, the advent of Christ, the first coming, or this is pointing forward to the second, to His ultimate return.

Well, the answer, as it often is in prophetic passages, is a bit of both. See, when Jesus showed up in the first century, when He came into the temple, it was unexpected. No one, for one, when He first came in as a babe, when He came in as a child later, no one would have expected that.

That wasn't on anybody's radar when He came in as a child and the like. When He showed up to the temple, when He later, you know, chased out bandits of His day, when He did these things, no one expected it. No one thought that He was the guy. But the result of His actions, the result of His actions changed the temple, changed the entire religious landscape of His day forever.

Jesus in His first advent was every bit the refiner's fire that scripture said that He would be. And the proof that He was a refiner's fire even back then, let alone in the future, is that the entire religious practices and protocols of his age, things like the sacrificial system, things like the temple, things like the priesthood, all of it was modified and improved really by the time that He was done.

After Christ's arrival, He ushered in what? Today we're going to talk about it. He ushered in a new covenant. They had an old covenant.

He says, I'm bringing something new. Something radically new. A covenant not forged in just the blood of animals, but a covenant forged in My own blood. He says, the Passover lamb we've been celebrating for centuries, well, now we have the lamb of God.

You're going to say, the priest that we've had all this time, the sons of Levi, well, now we have the priesthood of believers. He says, the temple, the temple that we've had in Jerusalem, well, now guess where the Spirit's going to dwell? In the hearts of the saints. Do you understand what a change this was?

What a wholesale change this was. When he prophesied, when Malachi prophesied that this one would come and He would not be what the people expected, He would not do what the people thought He would do. Oh, my goodness. When He showed up, everything changed.

Everything changed. You cannot overstate what happened in Israel as a result of this one man's coming.

A Swift Witness Against Iniquity: Better Days Ahead 18:09

All right, let's look at verses four and five. Verse four, then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasant to the Lord, as in the days of old, as in former years, and I will come near you for judgment. I will be a swift witness against sorcerers, against adulterers, against perjurers, against those who exploit wage earners and widows and orphans, and against those who turn away a stranger because they do not fear Me, says the Lord of hosts.

You see, verses four and five promise that there are better days ahead. And that's good. I'm doing a whole series on Wednesday nights called On the Eve of Judgment. I've spent a lot of time looking at the hard truths of scripture, looking at how God has acted.

But the good news is that the story does end well. There are better days ahead. It's not all a slippery slope down into perdition. There is better days ahead.

And that's what He reminds me. He says there are pleasant days. Pleasant days are coming. A day is coming when God's people are no longer what they have been.

When they're purged of their iniquity. When they dwell with Him in peace. But that peace wouldn't be made possible because God just forgot about their sin. As I said before, God is not like a spiritual janitor who takes a broom out and sweeps our sins into the coat closet of heaven and just backs away, or under the rug.

Have you ever done that? When I was a kid, I think that's all I did. I pushed stuff under the edge of the rug. God doesn't do that with our sin.

He can't do it and still be a just judge. Now remember, the main contention that people had was that He was not just, because they didn't perceive what He was doing in the limited amount of time that they were looking at as just. They said, God, you're not only not just, you're not only abdicating responsibilities, but remember, they took it a step further.

They said, you're in cahoots with the wicked. That's definitely not in the original Hebrew. But cahoots, you're side by side, you're working with the wicked. Remember, He says this in verse 5.

He says, listen here. Listen, listen, listen. He said behold twice. He says, listen, I will come near you for judgment, and I will be a swift witness.

That's a direct response. The iniquity of Malachi's day, the iniquity of our own day, God looks out at it. God says, I don't like it, and I'm going to deal with it. Behold, I am coming.

However, we see at the end of the whole book, come, Lord Jesus.

Injustice in Our Own Day: Racism and the Cry of the Unborn 20:42

Well, he is coming. In our day, there is a great deal of injustice in the world around us. Some of that injustice in recent days has properly, rightfully been identified and called out. Properly, rightfully called out by the world around us, such as the gross and heinous sin of racism.

We have seen that properly and rightfully called out as something that is wrong, as a sin. To be clear, racism is unbiblical, it's unethical, it's an unequivocal affront to the God in whose image we are all made. It is wrong. To call it out is both appropriate and necessary in a right society.

I'm not saying our society is right, but I am saying that it is right to call out this as a sin. At the same time, we're selective. Other injustices are ignored, even celebrated in our day, such as the injustice committed against the unborn. The injustice committed against the unborn.

If they could, millions of silenced infants would cry out now for justice. Well, know this. God has heard that cry. God has heard the cry of all those who have been aggrieved by their fellow men.

God has heard the cry of the widows, the orphans. Those who have been victims not only of their choices, but the choices of the people around them. And God says, I am the great vindicator. God says, a time will come, a day has been appointed when every wrong will be redressed.

You and I want that in a sense to be today. God says, it is coming. It is coming soon. When it comes, every ounce, every drop, every bit of sin will be redressed.

God has heard. God will respond. That's what we see in these verses.

The Great White Throne: The Books Are Opened 22:53

Let me fast forward just for a moment here with our remaining moments. Revelation. Revelation 20, we read this. Then I saw a great white throne and Him who was seated on it.

There's a picture of a throne that transcends all other thrones, a courtroom that transcends all other courtrooms. There is such a place and there is a white throne that depicts the holiness of the one who sits upon it. John here says, I saw a great white throne and Him who was seated on it.

And from His presence, the earth, the heavens, the stars, the skies, they fled away. Before His presence, the entirety of the created realm fled, and no place was found for them. And then I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life.

And the dead were judged by that which is written in the books according to that which they have done. You see, in the first century, Christ consistently preached a message that elevated the widows, the orphans, the victims of his day, while simultaneously condemning those who would exploit or hurt or kill them. In His time, God consistently, Christ consistently described what justice is in the eyes of God.

In due time, Jesus Christ is going to return, and on that day, He will hold people accountable to what He said back then. In other words, back in the day, Jesus looked at the widows, the orphans. He looked at those who were hurting. He looked at those who were aggrieved.

He looked at those who were victims. He looked at those who were abused by others in the world around Him. And He says, I am your advocate. And a day is coming when I will deal.

When I will deal with the wicked. I come near you for judgment. It is not far off.

God's Forbearance Gives Time to Repent 24:35

Why is there any time between now and then? Because God in His grace and His forbearance gives us time to repent. It gives us time to turn, change. And that's what He wants.

That's what He wants.

"I Do Not Change": God Keeps His Covenant Promises 24:52

“For I am the LORD, I do not change; therefore you are not consumed, O sons of Jacob. Yet from the days of your fathers you have gone away from My ordinances and have not kept them. Return to Me, and I will return to you, says the LORD of hosts.”

— Malachi 3:6-7 (NKJV)

Let's look at verses 6 and 7 as we look to close here this morning. God says, I'm the Lord. I do not change. Therefore you are not consumed, O sons of Jacob.

Yet from the days of your fathers you have gone away from my ordinances. You have not kept them. Return to me. Return to Me and I will return to you, says the Lord of hosts.

I see this as God speaking in a whisper into the ear of His people. He says, look, I made promises way back, way back, even in the garden. I made promises, a covenant of grace was forged, even in the wake of Adam's sin. I have been with your forefathers.

I have been patient and long-suffering. My object in My patience is that you would turn. Return to Me. I'll return to you.

But then unfortunately, verse 7 closes, the people ask this question: In what way shall we return? There's obstinance, even in the face of God at that moment. Verse 6, God said, I don't change. You know the reason I have hope for tomorrow?

Because God's not going to change His mind about what He said in the past. See, something that's neat about our faith is that it's forged on a series of covenants. God made promises to our forefathers, and He kept the promises that He's made. Well, the good news for you and I is He's made promises for us as well.

He promises us that He will deal with evil. We don't have to worry about it. There will come a time — if you could fast forward now to the end of the book and see just how He deals with it, you would feel fully vindicated. You would feel absolutely satisfied that he dealt with it.

You would have no qualms whatsoever that He dealt with every drop of evil, every drop of wickedness.

The Wrath Poured Out on Another: Calvary and Our Call to Prepare the Way 26:45

And yet at the same time, when the books are open — Revelation — and you and I come face to face with the deeds, with what we've done, with what we've said, with what we've thought. When we see the mountain of iniquity we've caused, at that moment we'll fall down and thank God that He has not dealt with us.

But rather, rather, the wrath that our sins had treasured up was poured out on another. Now, Jesus Christ on Calvary. The good news of Scripture is that God keeps His promises. He promised that He would send one.

He promised a messenger. He promised a seed. He promised a Savior. In due time, that Savior came.

In fact, He came right on schedule. Well, here's the thing. God promised He's coming back. Your job, my job, and the time before us, in a sense, is to prepare the way.

We are the priesthood of believers. We are those called to prepare the way, to shine the light on the path, to point to this one. To say, come, Lord Jesus. Not just be bystanders and look around and hope he shows up someday.

Now His ultimate return, that could be a thousand years in the future. Who knows? But you and I should live with a desire, a great desire, to clear that path as if He's coming tomorrow. To live in such a way that we're not catnapping in a graveyard.

That we're not lying down on a battlefield. That we're fulfilling our mandate. That means preaching a gospel of truth, preaching a gospel of justice and equity, preaching a gospel that is not bifurcated into those parts we like and those we don't, giving people a well-rounded presentation of the problem we have with sin and the hope that is found in Christ.

We look forward to His return. Let's pray.