The Unfaithful Minister

Well, grab your Bibles and go back to the old part of the book. You go to Matthew and go one book back. into the Old Testament. We're looking at Malachi. And we come to Malachi chapter 2.

Interesting enough, this is about the priest. It's a strong and harsh correction and threat. against these unfaithful ministers. And by the way, that's what I've entitled this. Exposition.

Chapter 2, verses 1 through 9, unfaithful. Ministers or the unfaithful minister because there are powerful parallels here. Matter of fact, um It'd be hard for me to think of a New Testament section of Scripture. that has a more clear and important exhortation to Faithful ministers of our day than this particular text. Is it not amazing how all of this book is just one book?

And this whole book centers In the premier person, Jesus Christ. And it centers on the premier work. of the premier person building this church. If you can get those two things right, you get the rest of the Bible. The premier person, Jesus.

and his premier work. building his church. Look at it there with me, Malachi chapter 2, beginning in verse 1. And now, this commandment is for you, O priest. He makes it very clear, doesn't he?

I'm talking to you guys now, so listen up. Verse 2. If you do not listen. And if you do not take it to heart to give honor to my name, says the Lord of hosts. Then I will send the curse upon you.

And I will curse your blessings, and indeed I have cursed them already because you are not taking it to heart. Behold, I'm going to rebuke your offspring. And I will spread refuse on your faces and the refuse of your feast, and you will be taken away with it. Then you will know That I've sent this commandment to you. Pause here for just a second.

He said, Has your parents ever done this? I'll make a believer out of you. That's what the prophet's saying. It's going to get tough for you guys. Because of your unfaithfulness, your sin, your wickedness.

And I'm going to make a believer out of you, first part of verse 4. That's the Larsburg, Tennessee Southern translation of that text. Into verse 4, that my covenant may continue with Levi, says the Lord of hosts. Verse 5, my covenant with him. was one of life and peace.

And I gave them to him as an object of reverence so that he would be revered, or that he would revere me, and stood in awe of my name. Verse 6. True instruction was in his mouth, and unrighteousness was not found on his lips. He walked with me in peace and uprightness, and he turned many back from iniquity. For the lips of a priest should preserve knowledge.

And men should seek instruction from his mouth, for he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts. But But verse 8, as for you, you've turned aside from the way. You've caused many to stumble by the instruction. The idea is, by the kind of instruction you're giving, you're causing many to stumble. You have corrupted the covenant of Levi.

That's their forefather, says the Lord of hosts.

So I have made you despised and abased before all the people. Just as you are not keeping my ways, but are showing partiality in the instruction. Unfaithful ministers. Roman numeral one, as we unpack the test text. The Lord corrects and threatens them.

The Lord corrects them. And he threatens them. Look at it again in verse 1. Very pointed, very clear who he's talking to you. And now this commandment is for you, O priest.

Now in the previous chapter there was instructions, commands, corrections to the priests, but it generally covered all the people. But now here he's narrowing down to the ministers of the nation. These priests or these ministers were guilty in the great apostasy of the age.

Now remember the context. Malachi is a post-exolic. Profit. The people have been in exile and Babylonian captivity, then Persian captivity. And Osiris, the person they're released to go back to the promised land.

They've rebuilt the walls, they've rebuilt the temple, they're supposed to be setting up a godly and spiritual national life. But the people are disgruntled. They don't feel like God has blessed them properly. They've gone through a famine. And the hearts become wicked and unbelieving, and the priests themselves, as we see here, have fallen into grievous error and sin in their own lives and in the fulfillment are living out of their ministry purpose.

and work.

So it's a great time of falling away from faithfulness and fidelity to God's law, God's word, and to the ministry God has given them.

So he singles them out here for correction. and gives them a strong corresponding threat. That should remind us in our day and age that ministers carry. a more weighty responsibility than the congregants do. That's something I've told you over and over again as we've developed and reformed this church, that the elders of the church.

It's not all that important that they have authority. God does give elders authority, but what's really important is they have more responsibility. They have a higher bar. A higher Responsibility in answering for God for their conduct, their teaching, and their actions. Why?

Because their teaching multiplies to affect many others. James 3, chapter 1, for example, says, Let not many of you become teachers, my brethren. knowing that as such we will incur a stricter judgment.

So the New Testament pastor here is the one referred to, when he says not don't be a teacher, he doesn't mean a lay teacher in the church. He means that office of guarding sound doctrine, the office of elder. Elders have to be careful about doctrine. They can't just go by warm fuzzies or what feels good or what attracts the crowd or what makes people happy. They got to be careful.

God will cause them to answer for their teaching. And they'll incur a stricter judgment. And that's what we're seeing here in our text. Malachi is basically saying, you guys have gone wrong. You guys have sinned.

You failed in faithfully administering your ministry as priest, and you are corrupting many others.

Now, there's a word here for lay teachers, is there not? We have a lot of lay teachers in this church, a lot of folks in this church who are capable expositors on their own. But can I give you this charge and reminder this morning? You're not a pastor. When you go in that small group, that's not your flock, that is not your congregation, and you must not go rogue on us.

You must not become a loose gun on the deck that says, I'll teach what I want and the way I want to teach it. You don't have that privilege because you don't have that responsibility. And I do believe this would be true. If you have the pattern of doing your own thing and not closely following the teaching instruction that your elders are giving you for your small group, then you step up in front of the elder and say, okay, God, judge me now. I'm playing the role of elder.

Give me stricter judgment. And here's the problem: you haven't been given the calling or the grace to handle that responsibility.

Now we do not want our lay teachers in small groups to be robotic. and just verbatim give a lesson back. It's okay if that works for you. But generally speaking, you're to follow the outlines you're given.

So, I, as your preaching pastor and the body of elders, can know what's been taught in our church and what hasn't been taught, what's been communicated and what hasn't been communicated, and how is it being taught.

Now, overall, you do a great, great job, but I just was impressed meditating on this in my study. Hey, it's a good time to remind the folks out there we don't need 75 John MacArthurs. There's only one of those, and he's in heaven. Submit to and follow the leadership. of your church elders, even in leading your small group.

Now We notice As the Lord is correcting these guys and threatening these guys. First of all, he points out very clearly they had abandoned scriptural ministry. They'd abandoned being what we call Bible saturated in their ministry. You see, I don't care if something works and just has a little facade of Bible on it somewhere. We want to be thoroughly biblical in the totality of what we do and how we do it.

He rebukes them in verse 8. Look down there, if you will. He gives that conjunctive word as he's moving from commending their forefathers, Levi and others. And he's coming to the priest of this day, and he says, verse 8: But as for you, you have turned aside from the way. That is, you've turned aside from the way prescribed by God.

You see, priests, like modern-day pastors, now listen to me, were not allowed to innovate or adapt things to fit the culture. They were to follow the once-for-all faith delivered to the saints. You see, prophets proclaimed the knowledge of God, i.e., the doctrine of God, but the priests maintained. The knowledge of God, the doctrines of God. And that's what New Testament pastors say.

I cannot come to you with any authority on my own. The only authority I have is the word of God. Period.

Now, in balance, there are things that churches in the modern culture have to wrestle through that the Bible doesn't speak to. The Bible doesn't promote electricity, but we're not turning the lights off until we find a verse.

So, the things we can decide to do and how to do them, and that's why you need church elders.

Some things are not explicitly spelled out. For the foundational element of our ministry work, like these priests, we're to stay with. The way. The early Christians were called those according to the way. They followed the scriptures.

He amplifies this in verse 8 by the instruction. He's talking about. You're leading people astray by the type of instructions. What he means: the unbiblical, unsound instruction you're giving. It's leading people away.

You've abandoned the biblical text. You've chosen to please people rather than pleasing God and honoring my word. Yeah. What this is actually is a sign of the fear of man. God helped the New Testament pastor.

who is enslaved by the fear of man. Proverbs 29, 25 says, And the fear of man brings a snare. But he who trusts in the Lord will be exalted. In other words, if you as a minister get up in the morning and say, oh no, I got to find out what's going to keep these people happy. I don't want any trouble at the next deacon's meeting.

I don't want some sort of uprising at the next church business meeting. I better temper this truth or cut the corners off of that next truth because, you know, I don't want to get in trouble here. I've got to feed my family. No, God's going to feed your family. The fear of man is a snare.

If a pastor ever starts down that road, it's not long before he's so far down the funnel he can't get back up again. You see, what you begin to build it on, you'll have to continue to build it on. What you begin with, you have to continue with. And that's why we have literally bizarre shenanigans going on in churches today, because two or three generations ago, their fathers allowed compromise in minimum, and now their children are excusing compromise in the excess. That's the way it always goes.

And so that's pretty much where these priests are. There's been generation after generation, looser and looser, fear of man, keep the people happy. Remember last week's text? Go ahead and accept blind sacrifices. Go ahead and accept lame sacrifices.

Go ahead and accept sickly sacrifices. Which was a gross dishonor to God because he said, I want the first and the best. Because I'm God, I'm first place. And they gradually condoned, gradually gave in fear of man, and down the funnel they go. Here's a good reminder, Ezekiel 2, 5 through 10.

If you think God's calling you into the ministry, or if you're in the ministry, as for them, whether they listen or not, they are a rebellious house. And they will know that a prophet has been among them. They may not listen to you, they may not repent, they may not follow you, but in their heart of hearts they know a man of God. Has been teaching them. And you, son of man, neither fear them nor fear their words.

Though thistles and thorns are with you, and you sit on scorpions. If it gets rough and difficult and hard and they abandon you to the wilderness, so be it. Stay faithful. Neither fear their words, nor be dismayed at their presence, for they are rebellious house. But you shall speak my words to them, whether they listen or not, for they are rebellious.

What a good word.

Well They had not been living out the exhortation of Ezekiel chapter 2. in this uh post-exilic state therein in Israel.

Now he continues on in verse 8 and says, you've caused them to stumble. Caused many to stumble, actually. The idea is in the way you're carrying out your ministry and the way you quote preach the word. Because notice how it's worded there in verse 8. But as for you, you've turned aside from the way.

And you've caused many to stumble by the instruction. I think you can amplify that out and say, by the way, you're twisting and perverting and leaving out sound doctrine. Because you're functioning afraid of men. instead of first being afraid of God. You're using your place as a minister to lead people to dishonor God.

and literally to lead people into sin. The life of these priests and their ministries were marked by unsound doctrine and unsound practice. Instead of lighting the way, they literally are pushing men into darkness. And they've corrupted the office. A ministry.

He goes on in verse 8 and says, You've corrupted the covenant of Levi. There in verse 8. And you have corrupted the covenant of Levi, says the Lord of hosts, giving some authority to it. Malachi is not saying, I'm saying this, he's saying, God is saying this.

Now So they have been chosen by God.

Now, remember the history here. God chose the tribe of Levi for the priesthood. They couldn't have land like other people. They were to live off the tithes of the other people. They were set apart for a unique and special role.

Now, there were categories within this.

Some were directly involved in priestly work. Others were to look after keeping up the temple and keeping up the ceremony implements and utensils, et cetera, et cetera. There was a lot of work combined to it. But you can only be a priest. If you're of The family Of Levi.

It began with him. And God made a special arrangement, covenant with that family. And God said, I'm going to be faithful to my partner. You've got to be faithful. To exercise and live at your office according to my word, my law.

So, generally speaking, these spiritual leaders, these who were to maintain things, had the idea of maintaining the tabernacle, later the temple. Teaching the law and guarding the Word of God, the law from error. Thirdly, they were to perform the temple services. centered around the sacrificial system. And then they were supported by the tithes of the people.

But they had corrupted this covenant. They had begun to do it their way and not God's way. They had backslidden into a self-serving, sinful, corrupt ministry. Service. And again, what a What an application into our day.

You don't have to look at religious or spiritual Instagrams or whatever it might be on the Internet until you see somebody standing up in what was once a vibrant, Bible-believing denomination, and they are espousing everything but Bible truth.

Now, shifting gears a little bit here, those are some of the corrections and condemnations, if you will. But notice now the sobering threats. This is all under the same main point, but the sobering threats. Look at verse 2, if you will. He said, if you do not listen.

If you do not take it to heart. to give honor to my name. Following on, then I will curse you.

So, you've got to take it to heart to honor my name.

Now, the idea here is to honor God's word because his word is synonymous with his name. In the Old Testament, especially, well, Old and New Testament, one's name represented his very person, one's name represented his very character.

So here's what God is saying. You willfully violate my word, and therefore you personally violate me. And did you hear that, church? When you think you're smarter than the word of God and doing God's work. You not only violate the word, you violate the God of the Word.

It's a personal attack. On God Himself to violate His Word. It's not a small thing, it's a great and grave offense to God Himself. And that's what He means where He says here in verse two, if you will not listen, if you do not take it to heart to give honor to my Name. Same thing as my word, my law.

For example, in numbers 23, 19, God is not a man that he should lie. What's the point there? God's given us His word, and there's no element of untruth in it. It's impossible for God to lie.

So hold it with that kind of conviction. His word has the same dignity and excellence as his person. Psalm 138, verse 2. For you have magnified your word according to all your name. In other words, the totality of who you are is expressed in the totality of the Word of God.

I'm not saying exhaustively that everything, but everything that is true about God is true in the Word, and everything that's true in the Word is true about God Himself. They're the same difference. God has Bound his own reputation to the absolute truthfulness and reliability of his word.

So these priests were not doing a small thing. When they said, Oh, we don't have to dot every I and cross every T of the instructions and the precision of the sacrificial system. We can bend the rules here. As your pastor, it's been amazing to me how many people I've run into who've sat under my ministry for many years who believe they are the exception to certain truths. Yeah, I know the Bible teaches that, but you know, I'm kind of elite.

I don't have to really. Follow that. That kind of thinking was all in the priesthood of this day.

So these priests had stopped striving to be thoroughly biblical in their ministry and actually began to wantonly deny and disobey the word of God and all to accommodate men. All for popularity. A pastor has to decide early on: does he want to be popular or does he want to be respected?

Now, sometimes God allows you to be popular because you're respected. That's good. God forbid a pastor becomes popular. But people kind of have to say under their breath, but you know, he's kind of loose here and loose there and loose here and loose there in the way he administers. His ministry.

You're gonna blunder enough. You're going to fall short enough as a minister. Trying to do it right. And God forbid you get up in the morning purposing. to compromise.

Note something here that's important in verse 2, and that's the mention of the heart. Verse 2 again, if you do not listen. If you do not take it to heart. That I will send a curse upon you, and I'll curse your blessings. Indeed, I've cursed them already.

Here it is again, because you are not taking it to heart. You see, I think the Lord would be saying here. I don't have any perfect ministers. I don't have any perfect Levites. But from the heart, it ought to be the purpose and pattern of your life.

to please me. And to honor me. Don't try to figure out what's going to work. As a priest, your job is to figure out what's true. And trust the Spirit of God to draw men to the truth.

I'm telling you, after being at this for 45 years of pastoring, It's wonderful having a congregation that is drawn to your ministry because of the truth. Then it's not you. Can I tell you something most of you know very well? I will disappoint you. But he will not.

So, I want you to know him, and I want you to treasure him, and I want you to joy in him. Malachi's word from the heart. From the heart You know, when the heart is not right with God. It's only a matter of time. Before the outward veneer of pretense starts cracking.

In the blackness of the heart. Then comes shining through. And that's where these ministers were. Their hearts were not loving the Lord their God. With all their Heart.

All their soul and all their might, Deuteronomy six five said. Then, some specific threats here in verse 2. He says, if you don't start honoring me, following the scriptures and what you're doing. Then I will, middle of the verse, I will send the curse upon you. Then I will curse your blessings.

I think the idea here: see, the priests ministered on behalf of God. And when the priest would minister the sacrifice, you bring in your lamb or goat or whatever it was appropriate for that particular sacrifice. When you brought that in, you did a ministry for the people, and you were bringing a blessing to them. You were affording a service to them that God required that they could not do for themselves. But God said, I've had enough of you.

I'm not going to receive any ministry from you. No longer will it be a blessing. I'm going to make it a curse. The idea here is that he says, like he said to the church at Ephesus in Revelation, I'm going to remove your lampstand. You'll no longer have an effective ministry.

And again, to our day and time, what happens in Baptist churches and in evangelical churches, if we go long enough and far enough in doing it our way instead of the biblical way, God removes the lampstand, God removes the Spirit's power. And then you're left with whatever you can whip up. Our former pastor used to say the Holy Spirit could leave most Baptist churches and they wouldn't miss him for six months. What he meant by that was, so much of what we're doing doesn't require God.

Well, that's where they were. God is not going to bless. their kind of compromise. an unbiblical ministry. Then he says, I'm going to verse 3.

Look there, there it is. Behold, I'm going to rebuke your offspring. Not only get. Too mired up here, but I spent a lot of time on that phrase because these so-called Hebrew scholars and biblical interpretators, and interpreters, rather, and they're very helpful, and we thank God for them. But they're all over the place.

For example, the word offspring means seed. And it could literally mean agriculture. I'm going to rebuke your crops. God did that a lot when He brought judgment on ancient Israel. But these Levites had no fields and had no lands and had no crops.

They were set aside for the priesthood. That's probably not right, but it can mean seed, as you know, can mean descendants. I'm going to rebuke your descendants or your offspring. That's possible. And we do know the iniquity of the fathers is visited upon the children to the second and third generation.

of those who hate him. But one key insight I think carries more weight, and that is the word arm here is very closely our word seat here is very closely related to the Hebrew word for arm. And that was prominent in a priest's ministry. He would raise his arms and he would declare a blessing. It's so prominent that if you had a deformity and couldn't raise your arm, you were not qualified to be a priest.

And I think what God's saying is: I'm going to remove my power from you completely. And you'll not be able to raise your arm. And be a conduit, if you will, of my blessing to the people. And we see this over and over in the Old Testament as. The priests would often compromise and they would fail.

And then God would as such Put them aside for a time and bring prophets in to restore the people. and restore them back to the way. I think that's something of what we're seeing here. And the arm, a raised arm particularly, was a symbol of one's strength in Jeremiah 27:5. I have made the earth by my great power and by my outstretched arm.

The strength of their ministry is going to be gone.

Now, if that's not your interpretation, it doesn't change any sound doctrine for you to disagree. And we'll all get to heaven together. Amen. But I think without a doubt The power of the Spirit is included in what is being removed from them in this curse.

Now, you're ready for the rest of this? Look at verse 3. These threats get really heavy duty. Verse 3: Behold, I'm going to rebuke your offspring. And I will spread refuse.

Dong Manure On your faces. The refuse of your feast. And you will be taken away with it. You can only picture this massive area called the Court of the Gentiles. That had literally become a livestock market because all of these untold thousands of Jewish pilgrims would come into the city.

And have to go to that market and buy a sacrifice for the or an animal for the sacrifice. And so there was dung and manure everywhere. And God is saying, This is what I think of you, and this is what I think of your ministry. I'm going to take the manure of those livestock and spirit in your face. And more than that, It was required among many of the Levites that their job was to gather up all of that manure continually and take it outside the city to an unclean place.

And he said, I'm just going to wrap you up and bundle you up in all of that dung and take you out with it. You think God's serious about following his word in your ministry? I've never said it before. I don't know that I'll say it again. I don't know that it will be a pattern of my speech, but it could be proper.

When looking at some of what's called Christian ministry in some so-called evangelical or Baptist churches. To look at it and say, looks like dung to me. Looks like manure to me. Because God said, that's what your ministry looks like. to me.

I'm going to smear your face in the refuse of those. blind, lame, crippled animals you're offering, and then I'm going to grab up all the manure and you with it and take you out. You in your ministry has become as vile and disgusting to me, God is saying, as a manure pile. Both need to be thrown out. You?

and your ministry.

So the public shame and disgrace God is threatening them with is. exceedingly great. But then in verse 9.

So I have made you despised and abased before all the people. Just as you are not keeping my ways, but are showing partiality and instruction. Yeah, here's the thing. And this is foundational in our pastoral training institute, and that is this. Who gives you the right, Pastor?

to mess with his bride. You don't get to decide. What church is going to look like, or be like, or be structured like, or function like. That's his church, it's his bride, it's his building, it's his prize purchase.

So God is saying I don't need your stinking manure ideas. Pun intended. I need you to follow my word. And like I said, it's It's been quite a journey for us, has it not, as we've striven to try to be thoroughly biblical? And we're not there yet, by the way, but we are striving.

And there's blunders and failures and weaknesses, but God forbid we get up and try to be a. From the first day, we're going to be cool, we're going to be clever. We're going to be attractive to the culture. That's something else, and it should not be allowed in the church.

So, in point, God is saying you've abandoned the scriptural criterion for ministry. You've abandoned the covenant I had with you, Levi, and the tribe of Levi.

So I'm going to abandon you. John Dagg was one of the first. Baptist scholars in America. John Dagg has a very good systematic theology. Baptist guy.

And he has a very good church manual. And in this church manual in ordering those Early Baptist churches of the American colonies and a little later. In that church manual, he exhorts the pastors to stay biblical. Especially in the area of corrective discipline. And John Dagg has this simple statement that we've used a lot in our training here.

When discipline leaves the church. God goes with it. Basically, that's where Malachi's getting. You've left God. You've left his word.

You've left his way. You're corrupted in your own hearts, and you've corrupted the ministry you exercise and perform. You've abandoned me. I'm going to abandon you. I I cannot fathom.

At my age. To think. If I had knowingly And willfully. built something here that wasn't according to his word. Because by this time By my age, it's too late to fix it.

What a tragic and horrible way to end your ministry.

Now All this public dishonor, this public disgrace, this public shame that God's threatening them, this did happen. Nehemiah chapter 13, just a few years later, Nehemiah the governor comes in and he sees this sinful compromise among the priesthood and he cleans house, he purges it. He perfects it and he runs off those who are not acceptable. Then you come up to verse 4. And he says Then you will know I have sent this commandment to you.

You've gotten by with it. You've gotten by with it. You've compromised and you've compromised. Generation after generation after generation of Levitical priests. even compromised more.

You're dishonorable in your heart. You're dishonorable in your ministry. But there's coming a day. But I'm going to make a believer out of you. That's what he's saying.

There's coming a day when you you g you're gonna know. This was a serious thing. No light. thing. That's why I'm so humbled and grateful to you as a church.

There has not been one point A biblical doctrine. Or biblical local church practice that I've tried to lead you in that you didn't say. Perhaps you said it this way. Pastor, we do not know quite how that works, but if it's scriptural, We're with you. You've basically said that.

Yeah. Right at 40 years. Forgive me. But let's do not um Congratulate ourselves. Let's do not commend ourselves.

Matter of fact, this would be a good morning to leave church with a little bit of Woe is me. Help me, Lord, to continue well. Repent where I'm not doing well, either in my thinking or my behavior. And reaffirm with my pastor and elders: let's keep striving to do it his way. for his glory.

Well, that's part one, but I'm going to tell you, part two gets glorious. Because we're going to wade deep into the unavoidable, undeniable, clarion, clear truth. Of Malachi 2, 1 through 9. That there is only one true priest. Only one.

And he's the fulfillment of everything these guys were supposed to be, but couldn't be. But I don't have enough time to wade into it this morning. Because it's spring break, and some of you are already thinking about what you ought to be doing instead of sitting here.

So we'll pray. And we'll say, Lord, help us. Stay humble. Help us to continue to be repenters. Help us to stay with.

His way. In his work. Can I get amen there? Mm-hmm.