The 2^nd Sunday of Advent

SERMON

Text: Malachi 4:1-6

“For behold, the day is coming, burning like an oven. And all the proud, yes, all who do wickedly will be stubble. And the day which is coming shall burn them up,” says the LORD of hosts, “That will leave them neither root nor branch. But to you who fear My name the Sun of Righteousness shall arise with healing in His wings; and you shall go out and grow fat like stall-fed calves. You shall trample the wicked, for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day that I do this,” says the LORD of hosts. “Remember the Law of Moses, My servant, which I commanded him in Horeb for all Israel, with the statutes and judgments. Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD. And he will turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the earth with a curse.”

In Christ Jesus, Who once came in humility to suffer and die, but Who will come again in glory to judge both the living and the dead, dear fellow redeemed:

Trust is the most important element in any relationship, whether that be the relationship between a husband and wife, a teacher and student, an employer and employee, or a man and God. Without trust relationships are strained and quite often end. The most important element needed to maintain trust in a relationship is honesty. If someone is honest and keeps his promises, people know that they can trust him. The same is true for each of us. We humans, however, are frail and are not always honest, nor are we ever completely trustworthy. No matter how hard we try, we cannot always keep our promises. At times dishonesty all too easily creeps into our relationships. At such times our relationships suffer. When that happens, it takes time to heal the hurts and to reestablish the trust necessary for a good relationship.

Dishonestly, however, is never a problem with God in our relationship with Him. Moses wrote in the book of Numbers, “God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?” (23:19). We can be sure that God will always be honest with us. He will never lie, and He will always keep His promises! It is this truth, which we deduce from our text, the final words of the Old Testament Scriptures. In it we find three promises of our God, two of which He has kept and a third, which He certainly will keep. Let us consider an important truth today, which provides the basis for our relationship with God—OUR GOD KEEPS HIS PROMISES!

I.

He sent “Elijah”—let us listen to him! Our God, through the prophesy of Malachi, promised, “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD. And he will turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the earth with a curse.” Elijah, of course, was an Old Testament prophet who lived four hundred years before Malachi made this prophecy and over eight hundred years before Christ was born. He was one of just two people who never died, but was taken directly to heaven. Who is the Elijah of whom Malachi is speaking and whom our Lord God promised to send? He was none other than John the Baptizer, the forerunner of our Savior Jesus. When the angel of the Lord appeared to John’s father, Zacharias in the temple and announced John’s upcoming birth, he referred to Malachi’s prophecy while explaining to Zacharias John’s importance. He said, “He will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God. He will also go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, ‘to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children,’ and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord” (Luke 1:16-17). How was he to do that? John the Baptizer came and did that, according to the evangelist Mark, by “preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sin” (1:4).

Consequently, because John came as the “Elijah” promised by God, we should listen to him, for he seeks to prepare us as well through his messages recorded in the Scriptures! His message was two-fold—he came preaching that all people, no matter their station in life, no matter their economic status, no matter their supposed relationship with the religious community, should repent of their sins in preparation for the coming of God’s kingdom. Humble recognition of and repentance for sin is at the center of our relationship with God. To hide our sin or to deny our guilt is to call God a liar (cf. 1 John 1:10), but we may rest assured that, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 4:9). How is this possible? It is possible because of the redemptive work of Jesus Christ, which brings us to the second part of John’s message. He identified Jesus as the promised Savior Whom all should recognize and follow. At the height of his ministry when we are told that multitudes came from everywhere to hear and see him (cf. Matthew 3:5-6), we are told that John told his disciples when Jesus appeared, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). As Jesus’ ministry began to grow, John deferentially commented, “He must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:30). John recognized what Peter later confessed concerning Jesus, “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men, by which we must be saved” Acts 4:12). Let us, therefore, listen to John, for he came as “Elijah” preparing the way for Jesus just as our Lord God promised!

II.

Yes, OUR GOD KEEPS HIS PROMISES! He, secondly, sent the “Sun of Righteousness”—let us rejoice in Him! Malachi recorded this promise of our Lord, “But to you who fear My name the Sun of Righteousness shall arise with healing in His wings; and you shall go out and grow fat like stall-fed calves.” The “Sun of Righteousness” is none other than Jesus Christ, and what a beautiful name this is. Charles Wesley included it and comments on its significance in the third verse of his famous Christmas hymn, “Hark! the Herald Angels Sing”:

“Hail, the heav’nly Prince of Peace! Hail, the Sun of Righteousness!
Light and life to all He brings, ris’n with healing in His wings.
Mild He leaves His throne on high, born that man no more may die;
Born to raise the sons of earth; born to give them second birth.
Hark! the herald angels sing, ‘Glory to the new-born King!’” (TLH 94:3)

Jesus brings to the souls of men, burdened by the guilt of sin and the fear inspired so frequently by religious groups establishing conditions for salvation, a glorious freedom and joy. It can aptly be described like a glorious sunrise, which dispels the darkness of night and sheds the light of day! To know that God loves us in spite of our sin; to know that God has declared us righteous for Jesus’ sake; to know that as we confess our sins our God promises both to forgive and to forget our sins—refreshes and restores us!

While we may not appreciate in our day Malachi’s description of us “go(ing) out and grow(ing) fat like stall-fed calves,” it is a striking picture on health and contentment. When I grew up in Sleepy Eye, I lived next to a pasture in which the farmer kept a small herd of Hereford cattle. They were kept in a small barn across the field during the winter months, but come spring when they were let out to pasture, the newborn calves would run and frolic in the spring air as their mothers calmly munched on sweet, tender spring grass.

My dear friends, our God sent Jesus Christ, His dear and only-begotten Son to “heal” us. That word in the original means literally to “deliver” us. This He did. He delivered us from sin, from death, from the power of Satan, from fear, from shame, from spiritual ignorance and uncertainty. Let us, therefore, rejoice in Him!

III.

Truly, OUR GOD KEEPS HIS PROMISES! We see, finally, that He will send the “Sun of Righteousness” again—let us prepare for Him! Malachi begins our text with a reference to a future day of judgment. He say, “‘For behold, the day is coming, burning like an oven, and all the proud, yes, all who do wickedly will be stubble, and the day which is coming shall burn them up,’ says the LORD of hosts, ‘That will leave them neither root nor branch.’” After announcing the coming of the “Sun of Righteousness” he assured his believing readers, “‘You shall trample the wicked, for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day that I do this’ says the LORD of hosts.” Within the context of Malachi’s words, it would appear that the day of judgment and the coming of the “Sun of Righteousness” would be simultaneous, but as Jesus informs us this was not to be the case. Jesus came as the “Sun of Righteousness” when He was born in Bethlehem on that first Christmas day. He stated, however, during His ministry that the day of judgment was still in the future. It would come, for He would return in glory with His angelic host to judge the living and the dead, but that day would be postponed until the end of time.

This proved somewhat confusing for the believers of Jesus’ day. In fact, John the Baptizer could not understand the path of Jesus’ ministry and, it would appear, began to have some doubts while imprisoned. He sent two of his disciples to inquire of Jesus, “Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?” (Matthew 11:3). Jesus responded by pointing John and his disciples to the fact that He was fulfilling all of God’s prophecies concerning Him. He urged them simply to trust in Him and rest in the confidence that Jesus would fulfill His mission of grace as well as His future mission of justice. The Scriptures assure us that “when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. All nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats” (Matthew 25:31-32).

What should be our response? Obviously, we should prepare for His coming! How do we do that? The Lord urges us through Malachi, “Remember the Law of Moses, My servant, which I commanded him in Horeb for all Israel, with the statutes and judgments.” Malachi pointed the minds and hearts of the believers of his day to the Word of God found in the Old Testament. The “Law of Moses” as mentioned here should not be restricted to the Ten Commandments, but rather alludes to the entire testimony of God given through Moses, which included both law and gospel. Malachi wanted the believers of his day to hold before their eyes the precious promise of the coming Savior, Who would as Isaiah had earlier prophesied offer Himself as a substitutionary sacrifice for the sins of all people. This message of God’s love would then move them to strive to fulfill God’s will in their lives as a tribute to His grace and as evidence of their faithful hearts. Our blessed Savior, Who urged John and his disciples to consider the Scriptures, urges us to do the very same thing. He promises us, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:31-32).

My dear friends, as we continue during this Advent Season to prepare to celebrate once again our Savior’s first coming and all of the blessings which accompanied it, may we be led back time and time again to God’s precious Word! We can trust our God for OUR GOD KEEPS HIS PROMISES! In that Word we will find promises fulfilled and promises to be fulfilled. In that Word we find strength, hope, guidance, joy, and confidence as we await our blessed Savior’s return at the time of His second coming in judgment unto glory! May He find us listening to His Word, rejoicing in His redemption, and prepared for His coming! Amen.

—Pastor Paul D. Nolting