Offerings in Righteousness That God Accepts

1“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; and the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, behold, he comes!” says Yahweh of Armies. 2“But who can endure the day of his coming? And who will stand when he appears? For he is like a refiner’s fire, and like launderers’ soap; 3and he will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi, and refine them as gold and silver; and they shall offer to Yahweh offerings in righteousness. 4Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasant to Yahweh, as in the days of old, and as in ancient years. 5I will come near to you to judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, and against the adulterers, and against the perjurers, and against those who oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow, and the fatherless, and who deprive the foreigner of justice, and don’t fear me,” says Yahweh of Armies. 6“For I, Yahweh, don’t change; therefore you, sons of Jacob, are not consumed.

Apart from God, a person’s spirit and body are formless and empty, as if lying in deep darkness, because their heart is like the world before creation, when there was no light. A heart that has not been clothed with God’s glory has nothing but this world, and so it cannot hope for the eternal Kingdom. We who have come out into the bright light of Christ must therefore take the gospel to those who have not yet met him. If we know the truth and do not lead people to the Lord, they can only fall into eternal death. People may fulfill their dreams and gain great wealth and power, yet they find no satisfaction, because emptiness still covers their hearts. So they commit the folly of racing toward the valley of death, looking for self-satisfaction in a world that is no more than a mirage. God took pity on humanity, deceived by Satan’s schemes and sunk in the second death, and the very first thing he gave them was light. That light was not the sun and moon that brighten the world but the light of glory that saves sinners. Since those imprisoned in death by sin can find life only in the light of God’s glory, it was that light he gave first of all.

John 8:12

12Again, therefore, Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the light of life.”

Jesus said that he had created all things and had come into this world as its light, and that whoever follows him will have eternal life. God the Son, who created heaven and earth by his word, had no choice but to come into the world himself, because sin stood as a barrier between God and humanity. Only Jesus, who is without sin, could tear down that wall of sin; that is why he came to atone for it. Until Jesus became the atoning sacrifice and made atonement once for all, the people offered sacrifices at the tabernacle according to the law Moses had received. Each time they sinned, they brought an animal without blemish and laid their hands directly on its head to transfer their sin to it, and the animal had to die for that person’s sin. The law required a sin offering every time someone sinned, and so countless animals could not escape death for human sin. Because the priests, whose work kept the people alive, had become corrupt, the sacrifices they offered could not be offerings in righteousness.

When God did not judge them immediately for their sin but showed them mercy, they despised and mocked him all the more and went on living wickedly. God would not accept the offerings and sacrifices of priests who had broken his law. He refused them because, although they were bound to offer sacrifices without blemish, they did not hesitate to offer polluted bread, and they brought the blind for sacrifice.

When the people sinned, they had to be forgiven; yet, absurdly, the very priests who presided over the sacrifices had become corrupt. The blood of the animals they offered could no longer bring forgiveness, and so God the Son took on a human body and came into the world himself. By offering his own body as the atoning sacrifice, Jesus caused all people to receive forgiveness of sins once for all. However good a life someone lives, and however earnestly they serve God, God does not accept a sacrifice offered without faith in Christ, for he accepts only the faith and devotion his people offer in the name of Jesus Christ. Because of this, we can now pray in Jesus’ name, and in that name come before God to repent and be forgiven.

Hebrews 5:8-10

8though he was a Son, yet learned obedience by the things which he suffered. 9Having been made perfect, he became to all of those who obey him the author of eternal salvation, 10named by God a high priest after the order of Melchizedek.

Jesus is God, and he is also high priest and prophet. He was made high priest after the order of Melchizedek, an order far above the one by which Aaron’s descendants had always become priests.

Those born into Aaron’s line were required by the law to take up the high priest’s duties. But every human life has its appointed span, and so the high priest could not help changing again and again. Some high priests were faithful and some were corrupt, depending on the man. Christ, however, who became high priest after the order of Melchizedek, is the eternal, living God, and so his office as high priest is eternal too. Because the high priest does not change, the law that goes with his priesthood does not change either.

Christ is worthy to receive glory, yet he became flesh to atone for original sin, and though he was without sin he became the sacrifice and died for us on the cross. But he overcame death and rose again, and by that power he was declared to be the Son. Those who believe in Christ no longer need to offer animal sacrifices; they can be forgiven simply by repenting. Christ accomplished the full work of salvation and became high priest after the order of Melchizedek. As a result, no one needs to become a priest any longer, and no animal needs to be sacrificed.

Genesis 14:18-20

18Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine: and he was priest of God Most High. 19He blessed him, and said, “Blessed be Abram of God Most High, possessor of heaven and earth: 20and blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand.” Abram gave him a tenth of all.

God commanded Abram to leave his country, his relatives, and his father’s house, and to go to the land he would show him. As soon as the command came, Abram set out from Haran without hesitation, taking his nephew Lot with him. On the way to Canaan their possessions grew so great that the two of them could no longer stay in one place, so Abram told Lot to choose first where he would go. Sodom and Gomorrah looked to Lot as lovely as the Garden of Eden; he chose that land, parted from Abram, and headed toward Sodom.

Abram could give Lot the first choice because his heart was at ease. He was able to yield because he believed without doubting God’s promise to make him a great nation, to curse those who cursed him, and to bless those who blessed him. Abram trusted God’s word without wavering and was sure that whatever he chose, God would help him; that is what freed him to step aside. He was convinced that everything he owned had come from God and that God would lead the rest of his life as well, and from that conviction came his untroubled heart.

If you truly believe in God, you too must have the faith and the assurance that even where you cannot, God will certainly work. Because your decisions spring in the end from your faith, a genuine faith will not, like Lot, choose the world for how it looks.

Sodom and Gomorrah had served Chedorlaomer king of Elam for twelve years, and they went to war against him to break free of his rule. But the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah were badly defeated. Not only the people living in those cities but Lot and his family, who lived there too, were carried off as captives. When Abram heard that Lot had been taken captive, he did not hesitate for a moment; he took the 318 trained men of his household and pursued the enemy as far as Dan. Victorious in battle, Abram brought back his nephew Lot, the people who had been captured, and all the goods that had been taken. Lot had made a selfish choice, but Abram rescued him anyway, because Abram was a man of great spiritual stature. As Abram returned with Lot, the high priest Melchizedek came to meet him. Melchizedek is king of righteousness and also king of Salem, that is, king of peace. He was without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life; made like the Son of God, he remains a priest continually. Melchizedek king of Salem brought bread and wine and prayed that God would bless Abram. Then Abram gave the high priest who had blessed him a tenth of the spoils of war. That Abram gave a tenth of the spoils to the high priest Melchizedek clearly shows that he knew Melchizedek was God.

Abram gave this tithe before Moses received the law. No law required a tenth of the spoils to be given to God, yet Abram gave a tenth to Melchizedek. God’s people tithe honestly because they know that everything they have was given by God. The tithe is an offering made in faith by people who believe that their life, their possessions, the people they love, and even their time are all gifts of God’s grace.

If we believe God is our master, then even our health is not our own. We must take care of it, eating what is good for us and keeping our surroundings wholesome. We must cherish the people God has given us, and fill our time with holiness by spending it on prayer, praise, and good works that others can see.

The tithe is giving back what we have already received from God, so it is wrong to think that tithing honestly will bring us more in return. Still, it is true that when we give in the belief that everything we have came from God, he accepts that sincere faith and leads us into better circumstances and a better path.

Abram tithed of his own accord because he believed God had helped him, and in the same way our tithe can be our confession of faith. Numbers 18 tells us that God gave the tithes of the children of Israel to the descendants of Levi, who had no inheritance and so no income. But at the time Abram gave his tithe, not only Isaac but Jacob and Levi had not yet been born. Abram recognized Melchizedek, who had blessed him, and gave him a tithe because he already knew God’s will. Melchizedek could bless Abram because he became high priest not by the law but by God’s oath.

The name Melchizedek means king of righteousness. That righteousness was not had for nothing; Christ received it because he bore the sins of humanity, died on the cross, and then overcame death and rose again. So God has called those who believe in Jesus’ incarnation, his death on the cross, his resurrection, and his second coming righteous, and we call them saints. Being declared righteous is like hearing a judge pronounce, “You are not guilty.” We could receive a verdict that sets us completely free from original sin only because of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is God: our high priest, the king of righteousness and king of Salem, prophet, Savior, Judge, the Lord who came and the Lord who will come again.

Genesis 2:17

17but you shall not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil; for in the day that you eat of it, you will surely die.”

God already knew that Adam and Eve would fall for Satan’s scheme and sin, and so he told them beforehand not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Because God’s revelation holds both the beginning and the end, just as a seed holds the whole tree and its fruit, we must obey his word when we hear it. God knew how wicked the serpent was, and he told it that he would put enmity between it and the woman, and between its offspring and her offspring; her offspring would bruise its head, and it would bruise his heel.

This prophecy was fulfilled in full as Jesus went to the cross. Scripture is one long pattern of God foretelling and then fulfilling. Melchizedek king of Salem brought bread and wine to Abram, who was to become the source of blessing, and blessed him in God’s name.

Look at how he brought bread and wine to Abram, and you can see that he already knew he was the Lamb who must die for sinners, and that he brought them to forgive Abram’s sins. The reason is that the bread is the Lord’s body and the wine is his blood. God had made Abram victorious in battle so that he could rescue Lot, but much blood had been shed, and all of it had become sin before God. This is how we know that the high priest Melchizedek forgave Abram’s sins with bread and wine.

Malachi 3:1

1“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; and the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, behold, he comes!” says Yahweh of Armies.

God the Son decided to come into this world himself, because he could no longer entrust the people to corrupt priests. The time had come to fulfill what he had said to the serpent: her offspring would bruise its head, and it would bruise his heel. The messenger spoken of here is John the Baptist. After the prophet Malachi, no prophet proclaimed God’s word for four hundred years. Called in that dark age, John the Baptist urged people to repent so as to prepare the way for the Messiah.

Mark quotes Malachi 3:1 and Isaiah 40:3 to introduce John the Baptist in this way. John told all the land of Judea and the people of Jerusalem that because the Messiah was coming, they must confess their sins and be baptized in the Jordan River. He wore clothing of camel’s hair with a leather belt around his waist and ate locusts and wild honey; he had given up of his own accord everything the world could have offered him. John said that one mightier than he was coming after him, whose sandal strap he was not worthy to stoop down and loosen. He himself baptized with water, he said, but Jesus the Savior is the Almighty One, who baptizes with the Holy Spirit. Jesus’ first coming into the world, he proclaimed, meant that the ax already lay at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not bear good fruit would be cut down and thrown into the fire. He called people to repent, warning that those who do not believe in Jesus would fall into the unquenchable fire of hell like chaff that never reaches the barn. As Yahweh’s messenger, John the Baptist proclaimed the word until the day he died and was faithful to the calling God had given him.

John 3:16-18

16For God so loved the world, that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life. 17For God didn’t send his Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world should be saved through him. 18He who believes in him is not judged. He who doesn’t believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the one and only Son of God.

These verses show that the world already stands judged. Jesus saw people living as Satan’s slaves, imprisoned in death, and by becoming flesh he accomplished the work of salvation. Yet people sinned by loving the darkness rather than the light, because their deeds were so filthy and evil. They cannot come out to the truth, afraid that if they step into the light, every sin by which they have defiled and mocked God’s name will be laid bare. But whether people repent and come into the light or stay where they are in the darkness, the work of salvation and judgment has already begun.

Hearing this sermon right now is the opportunity God has given you. If you take what you have understood today as your opportunity to repent and return to him, the God who led you into the light will keep you safe.

Malachi 3:2

2“But who can endure the day of his coming? And who will stand when he appears? For he is like a refiner’s fire, and like launderers’ soap;

Everyone born into this world is a sinner. People may insist that they have lived good lives, and they may in fact have lived as well as they say, yet because they are descendants of Adam, they are sinners from the start. Apart from the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or spot, that sin cannot be forgiven, and no one can ever be saved. Since Jesus in his first coming bore the cross and accomplished salvation, we must now be made holy. Just as gold is put through the fire to become pure gold, there may be a refining, a process of being born again, until we are sanctified as children of Christ. Only then will God gladly accept the faith offered by those who are born again, just as Yahweh gladly accepted the offerings in righteousness brought by the sons of Levi.

God’s aim is not to collect offerings. Our offerings and our service are simply where our faith shows itself — the faith that acknowledges that God is alive and that we live by his grace. We must understand this clearly if our faith is not to be shaken. The offering in righteousness that God accepts is a believer like pure gold, thankful for the blood Jesus shed. Satan tempts God’s people as he tempted Adam, but those who rely on Christ look to God alone and are not shaken. Those who know God’s will and still practice sorcery, commit adultery, swear falsely, oppress the hireling in his wages, oppress the widow and the fatherless, deprive the foreigner of justice, and do not fear God are certain to be judged by him. If we confess faith with our lips while holding no honest faith, we will come under God’s wrath. So I hope that none of you will test God with a pretended faith.

Malachi 3:6

6“For I, Yahweh, don’t change; therefore you, sons of Jacob, are not consumed.

Those who hold fast to the word never lose heart, never grumble, never doubt. God will never alter the covenant he has made with his children, so those of us who wait for Jesus’ return have nothing to fear. But if you do not believe that promise and choose another way, God will no longer keep it for you. That is why I urge you to offer him a holy faith and a godly life and to receive his overflowing grace to the full. May you know that God is all the more to be feared because he does not change, and may your faith in him stay true at all times.