Thru the Bible

Steve Schwetz: Are you really giving God your best? Well, that's the question Dr. J. Vernon McGee puts on the table as we dive into Malachi chapter 1. I'm Steve Schwetz, glad you're here coming along with us in the five-year journey through God's entire word.

So open your Bible, settle in, and get ready, because Dr. McGee is about to talk about something that he calls Sloppy Agape. Sounds funny, right? But his point really hits home, so let's listen now.

Dr. J. Vernon McGee: We have a lot of sloppy agape going around today. God loves the sinner, but God hates his sin. And we have seen that that is a fallacy. He made it very clear in Psalm 5:5, "Thou hatest all workers of iniquity." You can step over the place where you'll not know what the love of God nor could you experience it at all.

And this idea to try to separate the two is, as Thomas Fuller said, it was like starving the profanity of the beggar while feeding his body. You can't separate the sin that God hates from the sinner. But God loves us as sinners, and if there's any chance of us turning to God, I tell you, he'll save us.

Now we've had our thinking therefore colored by this flabby and flashy age. We've had creampuff and French pastry theology. We've been feeding on clouds buttered with oleomargarine. We have human and hot humanism today and pious platitudes and doublethink today, as Orwell put it, and despicable double talk, and it's meant spiritual suicide to tell the truth.

This over-emphasis of love, it's given a warped view of God. It's cutting the dog's tail off back of his ears, and we shouldn't do that. Love does not save you. Love provided the Savior for us, and then God saves us by grace. God was confronted with a pretty big problem, by the way, to save sinners.

He's holy. The soul that sinneth, it shall die. But God says I've loved you with an everlasting love, and sin threw two attributes of God out of adjustment. It's like a play years ago called Green Pastures, which evidently was blasphemous, and the one that played God said, "Gabe, it ain't no picnic being God."

The gods of the heathen never suffer. It's only the Lord Jesus Christ who came to this earth and lived and died. Why? Because thou art holy. And a holy God had to pay that kind of a price for you and me. God doesn't bring you into the back door of heaven, friends, when he saves you. He's going to save you by his marvelous grace, regenerate you, and make you a son of God. There's nothing more wonderful than that.

Steve Schwetz: Well, that's the heart of it, isn't it? God's love is holy and his grace truly transforms lives. Now one of our listeners in Kenya who tunes into our Swahili language program agrees. Here's his story. "Jesus Christ restored my faith through this program. For a long time I felt spiritually dry. Life's challenges overwhelmed me and I made choices I'm not proud of."

"After listening to this program, I prayed with a sincerity I had not felt in years. And I asked for forgiveness. I asked Jesus to restore my faith, to fill me with his peace, and to help me trust him again. Since that day, I've noticed God's presence in my life more clearly. My faith has grown stronger as I spend more time in prayer, listening to the program, and worshiping. All blessings from heaven be upon you."

Well, isn't that wonderful? May we all see God's presence more clearly in our lives as we study his word. Let's pray.

Father, thank you for your holy love and your saving grace. And we ask that you'd teach us to turn from sin and to walk closely with you every day. Open our hearts to your word. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Here's Dr. J. Vernon McGee with our study of Malachi 1 on Thru the Bible.

Dr. J. Vernon McGee: Now the little book of Malachi is a dynamic book. It is a brilliant satire and I think should be considered in that way. And we began with the fact that God said to these people, they have now returned, the remnant has returned, and they are settled upon their lees, they're very happily situated now each one of them.

They've been back now for over a hundred years, and the captivity is in the background and things are prosperous in the land and they've become just a little self-sufficient. Very frankly, I think that was Israel's problem in the war that began when they were celebrating the Passover. They call it, I think, the Passover war when the Egyptians and Arabs came in upon them.

And they were very self-sufficient. I discovered that as I'd visited there that very summer. They were indeed very self-sufficient. They felt that they were almost impregnable. They could not lose a battle, and then they found out that they suffered a great deal.

Now these people are back in the land, and this is according to old natural human nature, to the flesh, why you become self-sufficient. And they had a temple now and they went through the ritual of it, but they actually were far from God, as we've already begun to see. And they become almost insolent as they talk back to God when he says certain things to them.

They're skeptical, they're superstitious, and very sophisticated. And he begins on that very high place, and he says, "I have loved you," saith the Lord. And they now give this very sophisticated answer: "Well, in what way hast thou loved us? We don't think that you really love us."

And that, I would say, is the position today of a great many people actually in the church and of all people I guess outside of the church. And there's a great deal today being said about God is love. Well, that's an abstract statement when you say it like that.

And God doesn't say to them here that he's love. He says, "I've loved you," and I've demonstrated it. And we saw that God was a long time telling the human family that he loved them, but he demonstrated it long before he said it.

And you have to get to Leviticus and Deuteronomy before you find God saying that he loves anyone, but he demonstrated it from the very beginning, even in the life of Adam and Eve. Now we move out from that and we find in the history of these people God's action toward Israel reveals that he loved them.

And God's action toward Esau reveals that it's as if God hated them because he judged them and he actually blotted them as a nation from off the face of the earth up until the present time. Now they doubted that and they continued on in their merry way of departing from God.

And he comes back and he says why a son will honor his father. Of course, now you've got to go way back in uncivilized times to find children honoring their parents. The modern way and the civilized way today is they don't honor their parents. But back in that day, why they did.

And so he uses that as the illustration. Why a son, he says, will honor his father and a servant his master, but you don't honor me. This is something that should have got to them, but it didn't get to them because they have this hard shell about them of being a very arrogant and haughty and a self-sufficient people.

You couldn't tell them anything. And I'm of the opinion that that's the picture not only of youth today—we say that youth won't listen. Well, my friend, the older folks are not listening either, and they certainly are not listening to God at all.

And so he could say to them that you despise my name. And they act hurt. They act as if they really don't know what he's talking about. And very frankly, had you been in Israel in that day and had been at Jerusalem, you would have seen the crowds flocking to the temple.

They were bringing their sacrifices. They were going through the ritual. They were going through all that was outward. They gave an outward show of being very religious. Their pious performance was very impressive. And I'm sure great many of us would have said, "My, this is certainly a live group and they are certainly worshiping God."

Well, actually they were very far from God, to tell the truth. Down underneath, they actually despised his name. Now they act hurt about that. Why despise God's name when they were going to the temple so regularly? Well, he begins to lay it out for them and he makes it very clear what he's talking about.

He says, first of all, you're offering polluted bread. And as we saw last time, that didn't mean bread as we think of it. It meant the sacrifice that was put on the altar. Leviticus, Moses used that term for the offering. But it's made very clear in verse 8: "And if ye offer the blind for sacrifice, is it not evil?"

I don't think we speak of bread being blind, unless you're talking about a TV commercial. As we understand, bread is not blind. He's talking now: "And if ye offer the lame and sick, is it not evil? Offer it now unto thy governor. Will he be pleased with thee or accept thy person? saith the Lord of hosts."

Now God made it very clear to these people at the very beginning that nothing that was in any way maimed or defiled or that sort of thing was to be offered to him. In other words, God says when you give secondhand clothing to the mission, don't put that down on your book that you will get credit from me for that, because I won't give you credit for that.

I don't take secondhand clothing. Now don't misunderstand me. The missions can use secondhand clothing and they send them out to the Indians. I know when I was a pastor, every year we made up at Thanksgiving time box after box that went out to the Indians and also to Union Rescue Mission.

But I tried to tell the folk that you're not giving to God when you give that sort of thing. Now over in Leviticus, the 22nd chapter, verse 20, would you listen to this language here? "But whatsoever hath a blemish, that shall ye not offer, for it shall not be acceptable for you."

"And whosoever offereth a sacrifice of peace offerings unto the Lord to accomplish his vow or a freewill offering in beeves or sheep, it shall be perfect to be accepted; there shall be no blemish therein. Blind or broken or maimed or having a wen or scurvy or scab, ye shall not offer these unto the Lord nor make an offering by fire of them upon the altar unto the Lord."

"Either a bullock or a lamb that hath anything superfluous or lacking in his parts, that mayest thou offer for a freewill offering, but for a vow it shall not be accepted." God says that offering that you offer is really a picture of Christ, and he is perfect.

And every offering like that was an insult to the Lord Jesus Christ. It's amazing in our day how folk despise the name of God. We despise his name in our offering. We despise it in another way as we're going to see now in just a few moments.

Now, in case that they missed it in Leviticus, Deuteronomy is God interpreting the law for them and he's making it very clear to them. He says in Deuteronomy, the 15th chapter, verse 21, "And if there be any blemish therein, as if it be lame or blind or have any ill blemish, thou shalt not sacrifice it unto the Lord thy God."

Now these people were being very clever. When an old cow got sick or a lamb broke his leg, why they'd patch it up and then rush him off to the temple to offer as a sacrifice to God. Now God says I won't accept that.

I'm wondering today how many offerings are really made acceptable to God. Because we're told today that an offering that we make to God is like a priest making an offering back in the Old Testament. That we're a priest before God and that we're to give today by grace.

But grace doesn't mean that you give as little as you possibly can. I'm of the opinion that today we're seeing actually sacrilege committed in the church every Sunday. Now somebody says wait a minute, sacrilege means that somebody steals something in the church.

Well, may I say to you that is really the meaning. But you see, they were guilty of sacrilege. Their offering really cost them nothing. It was valueless, though it may be large. And somebody says but sacrilege is when one man enters a church and steals something.

My friend, no. Sacrilege is entering a church and putting something into the offering when there's no blood or sacrifice on your gift. That's the thing. Actually I think it's wrong sometimes to give. Why a great many people go to a football game, why they put down a ten-dollar bill, or a baseball game, or to some of these other games, and they put down money like that.

May I say to you that God says that if you can pay that kind of money and then you come into my house and you drop a one-dollar bill in the offering and think you've done something for me, why you didn't even give me the kind of a tip that you give to the waitress.

May I say to you this is pretty strong language, is it not? Now let's move on here because, my, we can get hurt here. Now I want to read verse 9. God says, "And now I pray you beseech God that he will be gracious unto us; this hath been by your means; will he regard your persons? saith the Lord of hosts."

Now is it possible that these people could continue in that sort of thing, giving an outward show and not realizing that in their heart that they actually were not right with God? Now will you notice he says in verse 10, "Who is there even among you that would shut the doors for nothing? Neither do ye kindle fire on my altar for nothing."

"I have no pleasure in you, saith the Lord of hosts, neither will I accept an offering at your hand." God says all this ritual that you're going through is absolutely meaningless. It's for nothing. It doesn't profit. And now they continue on and I want you to notice this.

"For from the rising of the sun even unto the going down of the same my name shall be great among the nations." Now Israel was bringing the name of God into disrepute by the way they were serving him. And they were not serving him as they'd done in the days of Solomon, for instance.

The Queen of Sheba was greatly impressed. But at this time nobody was impressed by it. It was just a form and a ceremony. And God says, but among Gentiles, the day is coming. Now that's not today. If you think that's being fulfilled today, you're entirely wrong.

It will be in the millennium, but not today. At least we're sure not seeing it today because God's name is not great among the nations. "And in every place incense shall be offered unto my name and a pure offering." And incense speaks of prayer and a pure offering, and that pure offering is Christ.

"For my name shall be great among the nations, saith the Lord of hosts." You see, God's purpose in choosing them was that they might witness to the nations of the world. Now he says, "But ye have profaned it, in that ye say, The table of the Lord is polluted; and the fruit thereof, even its food, is contemptible."

And now notice verse 13. "Ye said also, Behold, what a weariness is it! and ye have sniffed at it, saith the Lord of hosts." Now they said it makes us tired to go to church and to go through all of this thing. Ye say, "Oh, what a weariness!" My friend, when the heart is not in a thing, it becomes weariness.

I told my daughter one morning we were driving into Los Angeles, that's when I was a pastor downtown, and I couldn't wait to get to the church that morning. I had a broadcast to do and tapes to make and I was looking forward to it. And I said, "Look at the faces of all these people in this big traffic jam. Bored to tears. Dreading to go to the place of work."

I said the worst thing in the world that I can think of is to be doing a job that you hate to do, and it makes the hours long. There's no joy in it whatsoever. And I said to her, you know, going to church is just as boresome to a great many people today.

And that's the reason that you hear today in the churches, "What can we do to interest our people in the church?" Did you ever hear of that talked over? "Now what can we do to get people to come on Sunday night? Or how can we get them to come?"

Well, somebody says, "Let's serve a dinner. Let's have a banquet. Let's have a little different service. Instead of all this boring Bible study, let's have some music, some special music, and let's put on an entertaining program. We could have some sort of a pageant, you know."

What's wrong, folk? Well, people are saying God is becoming boring today. He bores me. My friend, why do you think men ever adopted a ritual to begin with? Why do they wear robes and chant and burn incense and march around?

They're tired of spiritual worship, that's it, and they needed something to tickle the flesh. Somebody says, "But I love an orderly service." I do too. But there's a danger of loving order, and there's a danger of loving a ritual.

Now I recognize that ritual can have its place and a great many people brought up that way can be fine folk. I remember when I first went to downtown Los Angeles, there was a lovely couple. They really loved the word of God, but they were members of a very formal church, very high church if you please.

And actually he was enraged by my informality, the way I begin the service, because I'm very informal. And he got so that he and his wife would not come until after we got the brief preliminaries over with. And he very frankly told me, he says, "I just can't stand that informality."

But he loved the word of God and I always forgave him for that. Now way back in the stern days of our fathers, the Puritans, they sat on log benches. They listened for two hours. Now there are today people that will sit for three hours out in the hot sun in bleachers watching a ball game.

There are folk that will sit in the cold watch a football game. And there are those that will sit for three hours listening to an opera, two hours in a movie, it takes four hours for Hamlet. And I'll be very frank with you, I find it thrilling to sit and listen to a Shakespearean play.

My wife and I, when we were at Stratford-upon-Avon, we went one night to see Richard III. Three hours. Why, I didn't sit on the edge of my seat, but I sat back relaxed and thoroughly enjoyed it. My friend, why are you weary when your preacher speaks for one hour?

I'm a long-winded preacher, always have been. And when I used to speak an hour, do you know who complained about it? It wasn't the average person. Many people said they didn't think it was too long. It was some of the leaders, the so-called spiritual leaders of the church.

They complained. What is it that's wrong today? My friends, we love the ritual and we love the form and we go to church and we stand up and sit down and we sing the doxology loud. But really where's our heart today?

Is our heart in this? Is it because of a love for him? Do we desire to worship him? Oh may I say that we can sing, "Were the whole realm of nature mine, that were a gift far too small." Wait just a minute. May I say to you, is that a gift far too small? It sure is.

Then why did you put just a dollar in the offering plate? If the whole realm of nature wasn't a big enough gift to God, then what about that dollar bill? And that dollar bill's not worth very much today. Oh, it's so easy to get tired, weary, in church work.

D.L. Moody came home one time very weary and he was going to another meeting without taking time out to rest and his family begged him to cancel it because he was so weary. And he made this statement. He said, "I get tired in the work, but I never get tired of the work."

Oh today, friends, to be able to say that. I'm afraid we got a lot of lazy folk that are serving the Lord. And I know that and I'm going to save this till next time.

When I was ordained to the ministry, there were three sins of the ministry that were given to me at that time, and I've never forgotten them since then. So we'll have to wait till next time to consider those. And until then, may God richly bless you, my beloved.

Steve Schwetz: Well, Dr. McGee warned us. He said this little book of Malachi might be rather uncomfortable. Well, instead of pointing the finger at somebody else, we should each take a serious look at our own hearts.

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