Malachi 4:1-2a *
Dear
Friends in Christ,
We are
now in that portion of the Church Year known as “End Times.” Beginning last week with Reformation Sunday and
continuing for the next two weeks, our Scripture readings will be turning our
thoughts to what the Bible has to say about the last things. Today is designated as “Last Judgment”
Sunday, and that is what we’ll be talking about. But before we do, one preliminary remark may
be in order…
Those
of us who have grown up in the church will remember hearing from young on
(usually at this time of the year) that the end is coming soon; that Jesus
could return at any future day, hour or moment.
And although we know this to be true (because this is what Jesus tells
us in the Bible), with each passing year there is the possibility that the
return of Christ becomes, unintentionally, a remote doctrine for us. In other words, it is something we know and
affirm to be intellectually true, but in reality has little bearing on our
everyday life and the way we go about it…
Really,
this is nothing new. Already in the
first century the Apostle Peter warned us about falling into this mindset. In his second letter he talks about scoffers
who needle believers by saying, “Where is this ‘coming’ he promised? Ever since our fathers died, everything goes
on as it has since the beginning of creation.” Peter then goes on to remind us that the
Lord’s timetable and ours are vastly different, and encourages believers to
understand the Second Coming as a living
reality.
The
Old Testament prophet Malachi echoes that same thought in our text for
today. “Surely the day is coming” he tells us as he clearly points out
THE REALITY OF
GOD’S JUDGMENT
1. The perspective it provides 2.
The direction it demands
“Surely the day is coming…” We’ll begin by talking a
little about the prophet Malachi, as well as the “day” the Lord speaks about through him.
Malachi
was the last of the Old Testament prophets (a “prophet” is a man who spoke for
and on behalf of the Lord) that God chose to use as an inspired writer. He lived and worked approximately 400 years
before the birth of Christ. The name
Malachi means “messenger,” and God indeed used him to send the people of His
day a message.
This
was the historical situation. After
centuries of upheaval, unrest, conquest and captivity, God’s people were
finally back in the area that today we know as Israel. Under the guiding hand of God and faithful
leaders, they had rebuilt the walls and the temple at
But
all was not well. Things were not
happening as fast as some would have liked.
God didn’t seem to be visiting them with the same power of His presence as
in former times, and the people began to wonder out loud if God had forgotten
them. Driven by their “disappointment”
in God, they had lapsed into a “going through the motions” kind of
spirituality. Outwardly they were still
religious, but inwardly they failed to give God His due in their lives and
offerings. Their lives had become
self-centered rather than God-centered.
And sad to say, leading this downward charge were the spiritual
leaders. So God raised up Malachi to
warn the people and address these issues.
Malachi
assures the people that God had not forgotten them. He promises them that God would indeed visit
them – and all people – and present Himself in an unmistakable way. Malachi warns the people to be prepared for
this visit. It is in this context the
Lord talks about the “day” that is surely coming. It will be a day of judgment. And it will cut in one of two ways…
For
those not spiritually ready, it will be a terrible, irreversible occasion. That “day”
for them “‘will burn like a furnace. All the arrogant and the 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.’” This is not a
pleasant picture. It is a picture of
destruction and damnation.
On
the other hand, those who are ready (the faithful) have nothing to fear. “But
for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in
its wings.” Interesting term. Who or what is meant by the sun of righteousness? Perhaps the familiar words of the Christmas
hymn, “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing” can be helpful. Verse 3 goes:
Hail, the heavn’ly Prince of Peace!
Hail the Sun of Righteousness! Light and life to all he brings, Ris’n with
healing in his wings…
The
sun of righteousness is a reference
to the coming of Christ. At Malachi’s
time, that was still some four centuries away, but the day of Christ’s first visit to our planet as the Savior born as
a baby in
There are three basic truths that we can glean from this text. First, that Judgment Day is indeed a reality. Secondly, both heaven and hell are realities. And thirdly, the faithful have nothing to fear on that day. Let’s expand on these thoughts…
As
mentioned earlier, those of us who’ve grown up in the Christian faith have
heard from young on about the inevitable return of Christ. When
this will take place, we don’t know. That it will take place we do know. This is simply a Scriptural reality. Ancient Malachi presents us with a contemporary,
relevant and necessary message when he reminds us: “Surely the day is coming.”
In
fact, we refer to the Second Coming as an “article of faith.” Each Sunday we confess in one of our creeds
our belief that Jesus will come again to judge the living and the dead. We call that day Judgment Day. On that Day the bodies of all people who have
died will be raised to join their souls in either heaven or hell, there to
reside for eternity. Since personal judgment has already taken
place at the moment of death (recall our epistle lesson for today), it will be
a day of public judgment for those
who have already died…
But
for those who are alive when Christ returns, it will be a day of both personal and public judgment. And for those who have rejected Christ or do
not know Him, it will not at all be a happy occasion. Our text is very graphic in portraying the
wrath of God’s judgment against those who have spurned Him.
On
the other hand, those who know Jesus Christ as their Savior from sin have nothing
to fear. In the Gospels when Jesus talks
to His disciples about His Second Coming and the signs that will accompany it,
He tells them – and us – not to be scared.
Rather, He says, “lift up your heads, because your redemption
is drawing near.” Meaning, we
have nothing to be frightened of on that last, great day… and everything to
look forward to.
At
this point it might be good for us to consider some issues related to this
teaching that at times are raised by the skeptic, and to some degree may even
be troubling for us. There are those who
find the idea of Judgment Day and the prospect of eternal damnation in hell for
the unbeliever as being both excessive and inappropriate on the part of
God. After all, (so it is reasoned) God
is love, and such punishment seems inconsistent with His nature. Maybe you’ve been personally challenged at
one time or another by someone who makes God out to be a terrible, vengeful
deity by asking: “How can a loving God send anyone to hell, especially if they’ve never
had the chance to hear about Him?”
How
do we respond to that? The answer is not
found in trying to logically defend the character or the actions of the
Almighty. God doesn’t need us to be His
lawyer. Rather, what we must always understand
is that God is God, nothing less, and man is man, nothing more. Therefore, instead of subjecting God (the
Creator) to our (the creature’s) ideas of right and wrong, fairness and
justice, we simply bow before Him and believe what He tells us in His
Word. Yes it is true that He speaks to
us about His righteous wrath and anger against sin and unbelief; but He also
speaks to us about His limitless love and forgiveness and patience with
mankind.
And
most importantly, He speaks to us about the solution
to judgment. That, of course, is His
Son, Jesus Christ. He is the One God sent to bear our sins, take away our
transgressions, wash away our iniquities, and restore us into a right
relationship with Him. The Gospel writer
John’s beloved and well known words say it all:
“God so loved the world that He
gave His one and only Son that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have
everlasting life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but
to save the world through him.”
And we know where and how this salvation played itself out. On the cross.
So we have this rather unequal equation at work: His pain, our
gain. His death, our life.
And
you know what? If we wish to borrow a
line from the skeptic: That’s not fair! Yet
this is what God did for us. As a
result, for those who are in Christ through faith Judgment Day presents not a
terrible earthly end, but a wonderful heavenly beginning.
But
let’s take the next step. While we are
waiting for this inevitability to unfold, how do we apply this knowledge to our
lives today? I would suggest the reality
of Judgment Day presents us as Christians with both perspective and direction.
Perspective
in this sense: we live out our lives in
the knowledge that the end could come at any time. And when it comes, everything will be made
right. Are there difficulties and
frustrations in our lives? Yes. In the world in which we presently live do we
see evidence of inequity and unfairness and injustice and times when the forces
of evil seem to be gaining the upper hand?
Yes. But… “Surely the day is coming…”
And
when it comes, there will be an accounting for those who have rejected
Him. And when it comes, the “Sun of Righteousness” will complete
the healing task He began by redeeming our souls as He transports us both body and soul to live with Him in
heaven forever. That’s what we look
forward to. That doesn’t erase the pain
and hardships that sometimes come with living on planet earth, but in comparison
to what will be, it certainly minimizes them – and gives us the strength to
endure.
Along
with perspective on life, the
impending Coming of Christ also demands a renewed direction in life. The end
could come at any time. This is a
Scriptural reality. So in view of this,
how are we going to use our time? Our
energy? Our resources?
Let’s
put it this way: How would you live if
you knew the end or your end would come exactly one week from today? Would you have to scramble to get your
spiritual house in order? Would you have
to mend some fences? Would you have some
people you’d need to grant forgiveness to or seek forgiveness from? Would there be some acts of Christian
kindness or consideration that you’d finally get around to if you knew you only
had a week left? Each of us will have to
answer those questions for ourselves.
Where repentance is called for, let us repent. Where action is called for, let us act.
But
there is an even wider direction demanded.
Because we are in the end
times and because we have the only
truth that can change Judgment Day from being a negative to a positive
experience for those who don’t know that truth, we must renew ourselves
personally and as a church to mission work.
What can we do? Pray. Support.
Contribute. Witness. Look for opportunities. Pray for opportunities. The fact of the matter is, we don’t know how
much time is left. We have Jesus. Others don’t.
And so we must proceed in our work with a sense of energy and urgency…
The season of the church year and today’s text dovetail nicely. The message of both is clear: we are in the end times. Judgment Day will happen. This is neither a scare tactic to produce good behavior nor a guilt statement to manipulate change. It is a simple Scriptural reality. And a living reality which calls for a response in each of us.
Consequently,
may God grant us clear thinking so that we live our lives according to the perspective the Last Judgment provides, and order our lives according
to the direction it demands. Because “surely
the Day is coming…” Amen.