Word of Salvation – Vol.53 No.13 – April 2008

 

Is Being A Christian Really Worth It?

A Sermon by Rev Jack Kapinga

on Malachi 3:13-4:6

Scripture Reading:  Malachi 3:13-4:6

Suggested Singing:  BoW 198; 217; 387; 117; Rej 337; 523

 

Congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ,

Introduction

Do you sometimes wonder if it's really worth it? Is it really worth it to be a Christian? Is it really worth it to commit your life to the Lord? To truly live as a Christian comes at a high cost. For a start, God expects us to exchange our pride and self assurance for an attitude of humble repentance. He wants us to admit our own inability and to confess our sins to him.

And God expects us to give our whole lives to him. He wants us to no longer live for ourselves but to live for him and for his kingdom. He wants us to trust in him alone and to obey him in everything. God expects us to give up our time and our money and our energy to serve him. He wants us to devote ourselves to his church, to spend our Sundays worshipping him. He wants us to spend time in prayer and devotions. He wants us to do away with anything that stands between us and him.

And he expects us to get involved in different ministries. And he wants us to go out of our way to care for other people and to put their needs before our own. And on top of all that he expects us to stand up for him and to proclaim his message. He wants us to be different to the rest of the world. And as a result we may well face ridicule and discrimination and even persecution.

Congregation, there is no doubt that the road of Christian faith and service is a difficult road to travel. And so we may well ask, is it all really worth it? Is it worth it to follow Jesus? Is it worth it to be a Christian?

1. Is Being A Christian Really Worth It?

Well if you have ever asked this question, then be assured that you're not the first. In Malachi's day the people of Israel felt much the same way. In verse 13 of our text the Lord confronts them for the last time. He says, "You have said harsh things against me." They had been complaining about God yet again. But as is the case throughout this book, the people are not aware of what they have done wrong. The Lord says, "Yet you ask, What have we said against you?"

Well he tells them. Look at verse 14. "You have said, It is futile to serve God. What did we gain by carrying out his requirements and going about like mourners before the LORD Almighty?" They thought it was useless to serve God, to devote themselves to him. They thought it was a waste of time trying to obey his laws and commands. They thought it was pointless to mourn for their sin and live in humble repentance. In other words they wondered if it was all really worth it?

But more than that, they thought they'd be much better off if they didn't serve the Lord. See what it says in verse 15. They say, "But now we call the arrogant blessed. Certainly the evildoers prosper, and even those who challenge God escape." This issue has come up before in this book. These people looked at the other nations, those who didn't put their trust in God, those who hated the Lord. It looked as though these other nations were the ones who were blessed, they were the ones who prosper. Those who rebelled against God just seemed to get away with it. And so they came to the conclusion that it was all a waste of time. They decided that it was futile to serve God. It just wasn't worth it.

But we're not all that different are we? As we get bogged down in the drudgery of daily living, we can wonder if our Christianity is all in vain. When we face so many trials and struggles, we can wonder what the benefit is. When we look at our non Christian neighbours, we can wonder if we would be better off following the ways of the world.

But my friends, this is why we need to listen carefully to God's answer. For in the following verses God tells the people of Israel, and he tells us, that it most definitely is worth it. And he explains this by helping us to take a step back to look at the big picture. He reminds us that this life is not all there is and that we need to live in the light of eternity.

2. We Will Be God's Possession

We find the first part of God's answer in verses 16 to 18. In verse 16 we are told that, "Then those who feared the LORD talked with each other, and the LORD listened and heard." The people of Israel had been speaking against the Lord, they had concluded that it was futile to serve him. But there were still some in Israel who feared the Lord. I'm sure they had their questions too, just like we do. But even so they still feared their God. Even though things weren't going well for them, they still had the utmost reverence and respect for the Lord. Even when they could not see the benefit, they still believed in him.

And so they talked with each other. What this seems to mean is that they reminded each other of God's promises and they encouraged each other to stay faithful. And when they did, the Lord heard them. He listened and he recognised that they still trusted him and they still served him.

And then we are told the most amazing thing. It says, "A scroll of remembrance was written in his presence concerning those who feared the LORD and honoured his name." The people may have thought that God had forgotten about them. But nothing could be further from the truth. The Lord was listening to those who feared him and honoured him. And he had their names written on a scroll. The Lord God, the Creator of the universe, he made a list of all who did not rebel but were devoted to him.

But what's the significance of that? What's the significance of being written in the scroll? Well in verse 17 it says, "They will be mine, says the Lord Almighty, in the day when I make up my treasured possession. I will spare them, just as in compassion a man spares the son who serves him. And you will again see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between those who serve God and those who do not."

Those whose names are written on the scroll of remembrance belong to the Lord. He says they are his. God says that this will become apparent on the day when God makes up his treasured possession. God is talking about that day when he will make everything new, the last day, the day of judgment, when his perfect kingdom will be complete. And on that day God will take those who honoured him and make them his own. He will spare the righteous, those who trusted and served him, and he will take them into the glory of the new heaven and the new earth.

This is such an important truth for us! Yes, the Christian life can be very hard, it comes at a big cost, and sometimes we wonder if it's all worth it. But God reminds us to live life in the light of eternity. What happens on the day of judgment all turns on your relationship with the Lord? If you fear him and trust him and honour him and serve him, then your name is on the list. God has not forgotten you - no, he has written your name on the scroll of remembrance.

And if your name is on the scroll, then on that day the Lord will take you as his own. On that day our salvation will be complete and our faith will be sight. On that day we will know the indescribable joy of eternal life with the Lord. Is it worth it brothers and sisters? Is it worth it to serve the Lord? Oh yes it is. It's definitely worth it. For we will be God's own possession, his treasured possession, and he will never let us go.

3. We Will Be Saved From Destruction

But just in case we're still not sure, the Lord adds something else in chapter 4:1-3. For here he explains the day of judgment a little further. In the previous verses the Lord told us what would happen to his people on the last day. But now he also tells us what will not happen to us on that day. It says, "Surely the day is coming; it will burn like a furnace. All the arrogant and every 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."

Congregation, at this present time, the righteous and the wicked are mixed together. Those who love the Lord and those who hate him live side by side. Those who trust the Lord and those who reject him share life on this earth. But on the day of judgment there will be a great separation. Mankind will be divided into two groups. There will be no sitting on the fence; every person who ever lived will be on one side or the other.

And on that day the wicked will be destroyed. In his grace God gives us time to repent and turn back to him. But for those who don't, for those who despise his grace, it will be too late. God warns us that that day will burn like a furnace. And those who arrogantly rejected him, and those who lived in rebellion against him, they will be burned up, they will be completely destroyed.

The rest of Scripture explains to us that they won't be destroyed in the sense that they will no longer exist. But they will be destroyed in the sense that they will be banished from God's presence, banished from the source of life and of love and of all things good. And they will suffer eternal misery.

This is the most serious warning. If you don't want God in your life, if you have no time for him, if you do not love him or trust him or serve him, if you reject his free offer of salvation, then this is what will happen. You cannot say you were not warned. And so if you have not yet repented of your sin, and if you have not yet put your faith in Jesus Christ, then I urge you to do it now. For one day it will be too late.

But you know congregation God doesn't only tell us about the fate of unbelievers as a warning, but also as a reminder of what we have been saved from. For let us never forget that we are all sinners and we all deserve condemnation. But by the grace of God, though our faith in his Son, we have been saved.

And so in verses 2 and 3 it says, "But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings. And you will go out and leap like calves released from the stall. Then you will trample down the wicked; they will be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day when I do these things, says the LORD Almighty." On the day of judgment, those who honoured the Lord will not be destroyed. For they belong to him and he will spare them. Instead on that day the Lord will heal us and make us whole, we will be made completely righteous.

And do you know how that will feel? God says we will leap like calves released from the stall. When a calf has been locked up and is finally released, it jumps for joy at the relief and the pleasure of being set free. And that will be us. Of course we know already now that we are saved in Jesus Christ. But yet we are still living in a sinful world, and we are still fighting our sinful natures. And we are still struggling with frustrations and sickness and tragedy and pain.

But on that day we will be free. We will be free from sin and all of its effects. We will be free from the troubles of this world. We will be free from our sinful natures. All that is evil will be taken away and God's justice will finally be done. And so we will be like calves released from the stall. We will be released from every frustration and misery and struggle. And we will jump for joy for that will be the most wonderful day that we can ever imagine.

My friends: Is it worth it to be a Christian? Of course it is. For those whose hope is in the Lord, those who revere his name, they will not be condemned. We will be saved from that fate far worse than death. And we will be healed, we will be made whole, and we will be set free.

4. So Prepare For That Day

But now there's one last thing that God teaches us in this passage. And that is how we should prepare for the day of judgment. In verses 4 to 6, the last three verses of this book, we are reminded of two things that we must do. In verse 4 the Lord says, "Remember the law of my servant Moses, the decrees and laws I gave him at Horeb for all Israel." In other words, the first thing we must do is listen to God's Word. If we want to be ready for that day, then we need to be people of the Book, people who devote themselves to reading God's Word and living out God's Word every day.

It is the Bible that tells us just how sinful we really are. It is the Bible that tells us the only way we can be saved. And it is the Bible that tells us how we now have a duty to obey God and follow his ways. The Bible is God's own message to us and so if we want to be ready for his day of judgment, then we must listen to his Word.

But the other thing that we must do is trust in his Son. And this is revealed in the last two verses. The Lord says, "See, I will send you the prophet Elijah before that great and dreadful day of the LORD comes. He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers; or else I will come and strike the land with a curse."

Elijah is that messenger who is mentioned earlier in the book of Malachi. Elijah represents the one who would prepare the way. And we now know that this prophecy was fulfilled in John the Baptist and that the one he prepared the way for was Jesus Christ, the Son of God. When Jesus Christ was born into this world, he came to fulfil God's promise of salvation. He came to pay the price for sin when he died upon the cross. He came to make redemption possible.

But we also know that the day is coming when he will return, and that's the day that is spoken of in this verse. It is that great and dreadful day when the Lord comes. It will be a dreadful day for those who did not repent. But it will be a great day for those who did repent and who accepted the salvation of the Lord. And so if we want to be ready for that day, we need to trust in God's Son.

Conclusion

Brothers and sisters, today we have seen that in Malachi's day the people of Israel were struggling in their relationship with God. They thought it was futile to serve him, they couldn't see the benefit, they thought they'd be better off following the ways of the world. And we can go through the same struggles. But when we do, then let us remember God's answer, let us remember the big picture, let us remember the eternal perspective.

God reminds us in this passage that those who fear him have their names written on the scroll. And if we have our names written on the scroll then we belong to the Lord, we are his treasured possession. But he also reminds us that those who belong to the Lord will not suffer the condemnation they deserve on the day of Christ's return. Rather we will be set free, released from sin and all of the misery that it causes us. And that will be the most wonderful day of all.

And so we must be ready for the day of judgment when these things will be made clear. We must listen to God's Word, to his message of salvation. And we must trust in his Son, for faith in Jesus is the only way to God.

Congregation, the Christian life can be a hard life. After all, didn't Jesus say that we must deny ourselves and take up our cross and follow him? But is it worth it? Is being a Christian worth it? It most certainly is. For what could be better than belonging to the Lord? And what could be better than salvation from sin and the glory of everlasting life with God. There is nothing better, so let us serve the Lord, let us be ready for Jesus' return, and let us live in the light of eternity.

Amen.