In various, subtle ways, the people of the earth can mistake God’s kindness for weakness. Now, the Christian may not dare to say such a thing, but at times, this is actually what is taking place in his mind. One of the ways that this is manifested can be seen in the way that people talk about God. Oftentimes, people are not thankful for what they have. They may live a life in which they find themselves seeking to live for God and serve God, but things do not turn out the way in which they had imagined, hoped, and desired.
When this happens, the tendency can be to change focus. Rather than focus on the positive, the Christian can begin to focus on the negative. Rather than focus on what he does have, he begins to focus on what he does not have. As this starts to take place, critical words arise in his heart concerning God’s will and God’s plan for his life. If he is not careful, these thoughts will grow, and they will become words that he uses in conversations with others. This man is far from the heart of God and must realign himself with the truth of Scripture.
God is patient with His people. The normal flow of life is not to see people like Ananias and Sapphira drop dead on the spot for breaking a command of God. As a result, many can become complacent in their obedience and think that they will live to see another day. “God is gracious, so it doesn’t matter,” is the underlying condition of the heart that many Christians, although they would never speak it aloud one to another. Yet all the while, the deceptive lie is cherished in their hearts.
The Christian must take special care in how he chooses to talk about God. In the Gospels, Jesus tells us that every word that is spoken will be judged. The words that God’s people use in talking about God are important. The Israelites began to relax on this point, and they fell into sin. God rebuked them through the prophet Malachi.
Malachi 3:13-15 tells the story.
Hard words spoken
Scripture says, “Your words have been stout against me, saith the Lord…” (Mal. 3:13). The word “stout” in the Hebrew is “chazaq,” which has a wide array of uses. It can mean to repair or cure. The word “chazaq” can also mean to be hard, to constrain, to make hard or to harden, to be (wax) sore, or to behave self valiantly. It is as though the word “chazaq” can either be used to come against something or to be for something. However, the context is the best guide here to determine a proper fit.
In the context, the people were using words “against” the Lord, not for the Lord. Thus, the words would have been deemed “hard” words, not words that would have repaired or cured. The word “against” is a good indicator of how the people were speaking. They were opposed to God in their thoughts and in their communication one to another. God sought to bring this sin to the light.
Hard words denied
However, as is the case all throughout the book of Malachi, the people were in denial about their sin. Scripture says, “…Yet ye say, What have we spoken so much against thee?” (Mal. 3:13) When David committed his sin and then later murdered Uriah the Hittite, he did not see his sin. He needed Nathan to come along and shed light on the sin that needed to be repented of.
This is the case for Christians today. Not just some Christians – all Christians. In some form or fashion, there is a way in which each and every Christian is blind to his own sin. He does not see it for what it truly is. This is the great mystery of sanctification. Over time, God exposes the darkness in a gracious, patient, gentle, and loving manner.
Another issue that arises in the life of God’s people is that they justify their sin to the point in which they almost start to believe their own lies. If someone habitually uses “hard” words against the Lord, they may actually begin to believe that their sin is not sin at all.
Finally, if a Christian is confronted in his sin, he can also become defensive. People do not like being exposed. Sometimes, people will go to great lengths to defend themselves and their “reputations” to their own demise. When confronted with a sin issue, the Christian must seek to humble himself and not be on the defensive.
Hard words exposed
God wanted to be pointed in His approach in dealing with the Israelites. In response to their supposed question, Scripture says this, “Ye have said, It is vain to serve God: and what profit is it that we have kept his ordinance, and that we have walked mournfully before the Lord of hosts? And now we call the proud happy; yea, they that work wickedness are set up; yea, they that tempt God are even delivered” (Mal. 3:14-15). At the outset, the people had been saying that it was “vain to serve God.” This was one of the chief characteristics of their talk one to another.
You can almost see what was taking place. The people were seemingly trying to do what the law said in some respects. Yet as they were doing this, they also began to believe that the law was limiting them in the world. They looked out and saw others who were not seeking to abide by the law, and these other people were the prosperous ones. A careful reading of the book of Malachi would show that the Israelites had a lot of problems. They were not living for the Lord.
But nevertheless, here we see a temptation that the Christian will face. As the Christian seeks to live for the Lord and align himself with God’s Word, it may mean that he will not prosper in this life. Look at Jesus; look at the disciples; look at a vast number of people who laid their life down for the Lord. Often what came was not earthly riches, but brokenness and poverty.
The Israelites were tempted to look at the rise and success of the ones who “work wickedness.” They fell into the snare of the devil in which they wanted more than what was allotted to them. Serving the Lord must never be done begrudgingly; such service will never yield satisfaction in the Lord but will only birth bitterness and discontentment.
When someone serves the Lord, the Psalms tell us that he must do it with gladness in his heart. The Israelites said it was vain to serve the Lord, but in actuality, they were not serving the Lord at all. God is not concerned with an outward appearance of righteousness. That is what the Pharisees were condemned for. God is concerned with service from the heart. Jesus told the Christian to love God with the heart, soul, mind, and strength. It is interesting to note that three of those four areas with which man is to love God are internal rather than external (and a case could even be made for strength being internal, as well).
The people were exposed. Their sin was laid before them. They had no more excuses to bring to the table. They would either repent of their careless words, or their careless words would be held against them on the Day of Judgment.
Application
Take an inventory of your life. Are you careful about the words that you use in reference to the Lord? Maybe better yet, what words do you speak about the Lord in your heart? Two thousand years ago, Jesus came to the earth. People spoke poorly about Him. They slandered Jesus with their words. They accused Jesus in many ways of crimes that He did not commit. Guard your words before the Lord. Guard the words of your heart. Know that, despite all of the words that were thrown at Jesus and that swirled around His ministry, He died for you that you might be forgiven. Repent of your words and trust in Jesus for the forgiveness of sin.
Final prayer
Father, I thank You that I can be forgiven in Christ. Help me to cherish the work of Christ today. Forgive me for when I come against You. You are worthy of praise. In Jesus’ name, Amen.