Malachi 3 - Who Are We Really Before God?
Introduction: Reputation is what others think or believe about you. Integrity is what you know or believe about yourself. We can look good before people, but how do we look like before God? 100 years after the people have settled back in Jerusalem from exile, God's people have once more forgotten him. They were far away from God spiritually compared to the time when they just arrived in Jerusalem from Exile (Neh 7-9). In Malachi 3, not only did they not see their sin, but they questioned God when they sinned. The Sin of Man How were God's people blinded? Examine these verses in Malachi and see how they saw themselves before God. Mal. 1:6-7, They have dishonored God but they asked, "In what way have shown contempt (defiled) for your name?" Mal. 2:17, God was ever patient, but they kept on disobeying enough for God to just give up but they insisted, "How have we wearied you (run you down)?" Mal. 3:8, God saw the gifts but they were imparti