SERMON TITLE: God’s Justice
SCRIPTURE: Malachi 2:17-3:6 (ESV)
SPEAKER: Josh Hanson
DATE: 11-1-26
Sermon Discussion Guide
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As always, it’s a joy to be with all of you this weekend at Gateway Church. And there’s one thing I want you to know — and this is true if you’re worshiping with us for the first time or if you’re joining us at our North Main Campus — I want you to know that God loves you and that I love you too.
We’re continuing our series in the book of Malachi this weekend. As many of you now know, Malachi is a man called by God to speak on his behalf — for that’s what prophets, like Malachi, were called to do. During this time period, the Jewish people had returned to their homeland after living in exile for seventy years. But they were living under the rule of a foreign nation, and many of their hopes and expectations hadn’t come true.
The hope they had when they returned to their homeland began to fade, and their disappointment turned into distrust as they questioned God and his faithfulness toward them. And throughout the book, there’s a pattern that you’re probably familiar with if you’ve been with us during this series. God makes a statement. And the people respond by questioning God and his statement.
God says, “I have loved you.” And the people respond with, “How have you loved us?”
God says, “You’ve despised my name.” And the people respond with, “How have we despised your name?”
And in our passage for today, we come to another statement by God that the people question. We’ll be in Malachi chapter two today. Malachi chapter two, beginning in verse seventeen. And we’ll be reading through Malachi chapter three, verse six. In Malachi chapter two, verse seventeen, we read…
Malachi 2:17–3:6 ESV
17 You have wearied the Lord with your words. But you say, “How have we wearied him?” By saying, “Everyone who does evil is good in the sight of the Lord, and he delights in them.” Or by asking, “Where is the God of justice?” 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 in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts. 2 But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears? For he is like a refiner’s fire and like fullers’ soap. 3 He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, and they will bring offerings in righteousness to the Lord. 4 Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the Lord as in the days of old and as in former years. 5 “Then I will draw near to you for judgment. I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, against the adulterers, against those who swear falsely, against those who oppress the hired worker in his wages, the widow and the fatherless, against those who thrust aside the sojourner, and do not fear me, says the Lord of hosts. 6 “For I the Lord do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed.
Though there are a few questions in our verses, one will get most of our attention. It’s found in verse seventeen, where God tells the people, “One way you’ve wearied me with your words is by asking…
Malachi 2:17 ESV
17 “Where is the God of justice?”
Where is the God of justice?
Two people can ask this question in very different ways. And I’m going to do my best to navigate between these two groups so that — if you’re in one group, you don’t hear me saying that you’re in the other group. In fact, I’m not putting anyone in either group; I’m asking you to hear God’s Word and allow him to speak to you.
And as I describe the two groups to you, I think you’ll see why it’s important for you to recognize which group you’re in when you find yourself asking this question. And, let me admit, we’re complicated beings. So it’s not as if we’re always only in one of these groups all of the time. We float between them, depending on the situation.
And, again, my job today isn’t to police which group you should be thinking of — and it’s not your job to police the person sitting next to you. Let’s all just consider, and we’ll trust God to lead each of us, but let’s all just focus on which group we should be putting ourselves in when it comes to asking the question, “Where is the God of justice?”
So here are the two groups. The first group asks, “Where is the God of justice?” meaning, “God, don’t you see what those people are doing?” Here are some examples of the way this group asks the question.
Now hear me, if you think you may be in this group, Christian or not, I want you to know that what you’re asking about may be real evil. I’m not questioning the moral judgment you’re making. I’m not second-guessing your ability to spot what’s wrong. The danger for this group isn’t spotting the evil that’s “out there”; the danger for this group is thinking that evil is only “out there.” So my concern isn’t that you have strong convictions; my concern is that people in this group often think someone else’s evil is evidence of your righteousness — summed up by the often-said statement, “At least I’m not as bad as those people.”
This group wants a God holy enough to judge the evil you hate, but not so holy that his judgment exposes any evil that’s in you.
And my question for this group is: When you ask — “Where’s the God of justice?” — do you really want the God of justice, or do you want a God who will just prosecute those people?
Now, to the second group. This group asks the same question, “Where’s the God of justice?” But they mean, “God, did you see what happened to me?”
If any of that resonates with you, I don’t want you to take what I just said to the other group and pile more shame and guilt on yourself. If you’re in this second group, any shame or guilt you’re experiencing isn’t yours to own — that shame and guilt belong to the person who sinned against you.
But that doesn’t mean Jesus doesn’t offer you hope and healing for your wounds; he does. Right now, I just want you to see that the lack of hope and hurt you may be experiencing is a consequence of the other person's sin. And you’re not guilty because of their sin.
So, with these two groups in mind, let’s return to our text and see how God responds to our desire for justice.
Our passage begins with…
Malachi 2:17 ESV
17 You have wearied the Lord with your words. But you say, “How have we wearied him?” By saying, “Everyone who does evil is good in the sight of the Lord, and he delights in them.” Or by asking, “Where is the God of justice?”
As I mentioned earlier, the Jewish people are living under the rule of a foreign nation. Things haven’t turned out how they thought it would or should. The Temple — their place of worship — had been destroyed, but it’s been rebuilt. And it’s a disappointing replacement for the glorious Temple that once stood there. Add to this disappointment that evil and corruption still run rampant in both the people — though they're blind to it — and in their spiritual leaders.
And all of this leads to their first statement, which is wearying, God. A statement I misunderstood when I first read it. The statement is this.
Malachi 2:17 ESV
17 “Everyone who does evil is good in the sight of the Lord, and he delights in them.”
At first, I read this to mean that the Jews were saying that people doing evil were good in God’s sight. But when I read their first question with the second, “Where is the God of justice,” I realized my mistake. They ask the second question because they’re seeing people who do evil prosper. And they assume that these people are prospering because God approves of the evil they’re doing. And the Jews aren’t good with evil people prospering, but since God’s not doing anything about it, they conclude he must be OK with evil behavior. This is why they ask, “Where’s the God of justice?” For the God of justice they believe in isn’t aligning with their experience.
It’s like they’re asking, “God, don’t you distinguish between the righteous and the wicked? Between those who do good and those who do evil? I mean, that’s who we thought you were, but what we’re experiencing is making us second-guess if that’s who you really are.”
So here’s the question beneath their question: Does the existence of evil — and the apparent success of those who do evil — mean that God approves of it?
Malachi, speaking on God’s behalf, gives us a clear answer: No! The existence and even apparent success of evil does not mean that God approves of it. That’s the answer we get in our verses. But the questions we don’t get answers to are questions like: Why does God allow evil to exist? And why doesn’t he just stop it?
We don’t get those answers, but the answer we do get reminds us of God’s faithfulness to his people: Evil will not prevail or prosper because God opposes it.
This leads us to something else Malachi tells us about God’s justice. We’re in chapter three — beginning in verse one. There we read…
Malachi 3:1–5 ESV
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 in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts. 2 But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears? For he is like a refiner’s fire and like fullers’ soap. 3 He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, and they will bring offerings in righteousness to the Lord. 4 Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the Lord as in the days of old and as in former years. 5 “Then I will draw near to you for judgment. I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, against the adulterers, against those who swear falsely, against those who oppress the hired worker in his wages, the widow and the fatherless, against those who thrust aside the sojourner, and do not fear me, says the Lord of hosts.
For now, I want us to focus on the words at the end of verse one and the beginning of verse five.
Malachi 3:1 ESV
1 And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts.
And in verse five we read…
Malachi 3:5 ESV
5 Then I will draw near to you for judgment.
The people ask, “Where’s the God of justice?” And what’s God’s response? He says, “The Lord is coming to his Temple. And he will draw near to you for judgment.”
To which I imagine a response like…
“Now, wait a second, God.” This is for folks in that first group. “God, I was asking when you’re going to come deal with all of this evil. And, obviously, I mean the evil that’s out there. The evil in those people. So, I’m a bit uncomfortable with your response. For it sounds like you’re saying that, instead of going to those people, you’re coming for me.”
To which I could imagine God saying, “Well, do you or do you not want me to deal with all of the evil in my creation — including the evil in you?”
“Well, God, I meant — I mean — well, look around. Don’t you see all of the evil?”
“I do. That’s why I’m drawing near to you.”
Here’s what our text forces us all to wrestle with. Christian or not, if we really want God to deal with evil — if we really want justice to prevail — we have to be willing to let him start, not just out there, but a bit more uncomfortably close to home. Right here — with us.
This is where we move from being a people who want a God who’s holy and just at a distance, and become a people who want to be near that same holy and just God — knowing that there’s going to be work — and probably a lot of it — that needs to be done for us to be able to live in close proximity to this holy and just God.
This is when we begin to see that God doesn’t grade our worthiness, holiness, and righteousness based on those people. He grades our worthiness, holiness, and righteousness against his standard — which is perfection.
Where, all of the…
Malachi 3:2 ESV
2 But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears?
“God, if you’re going to draw near to me to bring justice to the evil that’s in your creation — even in me — then how can I endure?”
But if you’re in that second group of people — the group that’s been hurt by the evil others have committed against you — what I want you to hear is that God is coming because he knows the injustice you’ve experienced. He knows what happened to you.
And though you may wonder…
Verse five makes it clear that God knows all that happens. He knows the sins of the sorcerers, and adulterers, and liars, and those who oppress their workers and widows and orphans, and those who deprive foreigners of justice. God knows, and he’s never confused about the details when it comes to who did what.
Though they may deny what happened. And though others may misunderstand what happened. And though you may struggle to make sense of what happened. God knows. He knows who’s responsible for the sin that was done to you. And yes, you’ve got your own sin that needs God’s grace — but I don’t want that to excuse or dismiss the sin that’s been done to you. God calls it what it is — and he wants you to know that, in the case of this particular sin done to you, the one who did it will have to answer to the God of justice.
Which leads us to another question that I asked a moment ago: Who can endure the day when the God of justice comes? Who will endure that day?
The one without evil. Which leaves all of us in a predicament, but not a hopeless one.
For God continues by saying…
Malachi 3:2–4 ESV
2 But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears? For he is like a refiner’s fire and like fullers’ soap. 3 He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, and they will bring offerings in righteousness to the Lord. 4 Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the Lord as in the days of old and as in former years.
Here we have two images: The refiner’s fire and the fuller’s soap. A refiner’s fire removed impurities from metals. A fuller’s soap removed contamination from cloth. So both images speak to the purification God is bringing to his creation.
The image of a refiner’s fire reminds us that fire both destroys impurities and restores the metal. Similarly, God purifying his people — him growing us in holiness — may feel destructive at times as impurities in our lives are destroyed. Yet it’ll also feel restorative as we come out of the fire purer and holier than before.
And a key part of this purifying process is when God’s people stop justifying and defending our impurities — aka our sin — and instead, allow God’s purification process to work in and through us.
I mean, imagine taking metal to a refiner because you want him to purify it and restore it to perfection. And as he puts it in the fire, a bunch of impurities become visible. How silly would it be if you started defending all the impurities?
Imagine taking metal to the refiner to remove impurities, and yet arguing with him every time he points them out. Even arguing that he should leave some of the impurities in the metal, because…well…
What impurities in your life have you justified, defended, or explained away that God wants to remove?
Again, who can endure the day of the Lord’s coming — who can stand when he appears? There’s only one answer. The person who’s been purified — who’s been made holy — who’s been made righteous or right with God.
And how are we made right with God? Through faith in the Lord who fulfilled the promise in our verses — the Lord who came to earth nearly two thousand years ago.
The Lord who came to give himself as the atoning sacrifice for the sins of his people. And his sacrifice is what cleanses his people of their evil and sin, washing them, purifying them, and making them holy. And this Lord’s name is Jesus, if it isn’t already obvious.
For the God of justice is the God who justifies his people and declares them to have a right standing with himself because of the work that Jesus accomplished in his life, death, and resurrection. Yet the God of justice is also the God who is sanctifying his people — purifying them of the sin that remains in them until the Day when their Lord comes again. And this God of justice is transforming us into a people who don’t need to justify the sin and evil that still remain. Transforming us into a people who can say…
This is the result of being purified by his refining fire. Impurities of self-righteousness and defense of our sins are removed, leaving confession and repentance on our lips.
That’s what it means to be people who are saved by grace. For grace doesn’t mean that God just forgives us of our sin; grace also means that he’s determined to purify us of our sin. God’s grace exposes sin in our lives so he can remove it.
And God’s people, in knowing that our sin doesn’t define us, are free to ask, “God, what sin and evil in me are you exposing, even right now, in order to purify me?”
And God’s people also know that the sins of others are not our sins, which frees us to believe that God’s work in purifying you isn’t because you’re guilty of someone else’s sin, but because he wants to wash you with his love — cleansing you of guilt and shame that isn’t yours to bear.
And to both groups, God says…
Malachi 3:6 ESV
6 “For I the Lord do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed.
God tells the people who are questioning him, “O children of Jacob, the reason you haven’t been consumed is because I don’t change.”
Friends, God is always faithful. Though we’re often faithless, God isn’t wishy-washy in his relationship with us. Though we often oscillate back and forth like a fan trying to keep a room cool, God is steady and sure in our relationship with him.
This means that our hope — just like the people Malachi was speaking to — our hope is that God doesn’t preserve us because we’re sinless. And he doesn’t preserve us because we’ve finally gotten our act together. And he doesn’t even preserve us because we’re just slightly less evil than those people. No, God doesn’t consume us because he’s faithful and he always keeps his promises to his people. And his promise to those who believe in his Son is this: You will not be consumed.
Thus this God of justice who exposes the sin in you is the same God who’s committed to finishing the perfect work his grace has begun in you.
I’ve mentioned Jesus today, but I haven’t shown you directly where we find him in our passage. So how about we end this sermon with what all of life is ultimately about — Jesus? We find him in verse one.
Malachi 3:1 ESV
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 in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts.
In the New Testament, a man named John — the John known as the Baptist — was once imprisoned. And this is what we read in Matthew’s gospel.
Matthew 11:2–10 ESV
2 Now when John heard in prison about the deeds of the Christ, he sent word by his disciples 3 and said to him, “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?” 4 And Jesus answered them, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: 5 the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them. 6 And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.” 7 As they went away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds concerning John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? 8 What then did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Behold, those who wear soft clothing are in kings’ houses. 9 What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. 10 This is he of whom it is written, “‘Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way before you.’
Did you see it? In speaking about John, Jesus quotes our verse from Malachi. John was the messenger who prepared the way before the Lord — the God of justice in our verses. And on the cross, God’s justice and mercy met — and neither his justice nor mercy was compromised. And, until the day when the God of justice returns — the day when Christ comes again to his creation — he is purifying for himself a people. Saving us not just from the penalty of our sin, but cleansing us from the sin that remains in us.
And when he returns, Jesus will come with eyes that are like flames of fire. And all of creation will be exposed to his refining fire, as all impurities — all remnants of evil and sin and wickedness are forever removed from God’s creation. And on that day…
But until that day, some wrongs may never be made right in this life — and you may never get an apology or receive the justice you deserve — but that doesn't mean your story will end unresolved. For vengeance is mine, says the God of justice.
What happened to you matters, and you can trust Jesus to make it right. For he sees. He cares. And he is coming soon. And until the day of his return, may he find us all living pure and holy lives. Let’s pray.
Our Father in Heaven, the God of justice, we come before you in fear and awe. Who can stand before you? On our own, none of us can. For you are no fool, and you know the sin and evil that’s within each of us. Father, forgive us for our arrogant tendency to base our righteousness and goodness by comparing ourselves to the sins of others instead of to your holy standard.
Holy Spirit, thank you for your grace which not only saves, but continues to purify your people. You don’t just want to save us; you want to cleanse us, and sanctify us, and grow us in our holy obedience to your Word. And you have guaranteed that the perfect work you’ve begun in us will be completed one day. And that’s grace. Sweet, compelling, inspiring grace.
And, Jesus, this grace we experience is possible because of the work you did on our behalf in your perfect life, death, and resurrection. May we never forget that it’s your perfect work that saves us. Our work, our living, our obedience, and spiritual growth are in response to you and your love for us.
Father, Son, and Spirit, may your purifying fire and fuller's soap cleanse us right now. Cleansing some with the forgiveness of their sins as they turn to Jesus in faith for the first time — while cleaning others as they return to Jesus, their Savior whom they love. And we pray all of this in his name. Amen.
May you go knowing that the God of justice sees you, knows you, hears you, and is working in you to purify you so that you will endure the day when he returns. Amen.
God loves you. I love you. You are sent.
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