This week, we are looking at a section of a letter in the Bible called the book of Malachi, where Malachi confronts the pastors of his day for failing to fulfill the roles and responsibility that they have as pastors to make much of God in a way that gives God the glory and honor that He so rightly deserves as the One True God. Yesterday, we discovered a pastor’s job description is to live a life of Christ-like character and integrity that calls people away from selfishness and rebellion and to follow his leadership as He follows Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit through the preaching and teaching of the word of God. Today, we will see Malachi contrast God’s expectations with the pastors of his day’s performance in verse 8:
"But as for you, you have turned aside from the way; you have caused many to stumble by the instruction; you have corrupted the covenant of Levi," says the LORD of hosts.
Here we see Malachi reveal the reality that instead of walking with God in integrity, the pastors of his day had now walked away from God. Instead of helping the Jewish people turn away from selfishness and rebellion, the pastors of his day were now causing the Jewish people to fall into selfishness and rebellion. Instead standing in awe of God and honoring God, the pastors of his day thought lightly of God and dishonored Him. And as a result, the pastors had violated and broke the covenant that they had entered into with God. Malachi then concludes by revealing the consequences that had already begun to occur for the pastors of his day in verse 9:
"So I also have made you despised and abased before all the people, just as you are not keeping My ways but are showing partiality in the instruction.
As a result of the pastors failure to make much of God in a way that gives God the glory and honor that He so rightly deserves; as a result of the pastors being unimpressed with God and looking lightly upon God, Malachi proclaims that God was making the pastors despised and abased before all the people. When Malachi uses the phrase “showing partiality in judgment” this phrase in the language that this letter was originally written in, literally means to carry more than one face.
The pastors were two faced when it came to the teaching and carrying out of the message and teachings of the Bible. The pastors began to look for loopholes when it came to what the message and teachings of the Bible called people to do and live. The pastors were no longer following the way of the Lord of teaching the word of the Lord. And people began to see through the hypocrisy; people began to see through the false teaching.
And as a result, the pastors began to lose the amazing status and respect that they had previously held with the Jewish people. By the time Jesus appears, the pastors had only the level of the respect that their position required. By the time Jesus arrived, the pastors were positional leaders who had either no influence or faulty influence. The pastor’s failure to honor the Lord resulted in their loss of honor. The Jewish people were no longer impressed with their pastors and though lightly of them.
And it is here that we see revealed for us a timeless detour that can get us off track when it comes to our relationship with God and can result in us living a life that dishonors God. And that timeless detour is that we take a detour when pastors do not live or lead in a way that honors God.
Now you might be thinking to yourself, “well that’s fine Dave, but how does this detour impact me? What does this have to do with me?” If I have just described the thoughts that are running through your mind, here is my answer: This has everything to do with you. This has everything to do with you because you are reading this. And the reason that you are reading this is because at some level you are either exploring faith or growing in your faith. And at some level, you will be impacted and influenced by what you have read this morning.
Every Sunday morning, and in environments throughout the week, people are listening and watching me. And what you see or hear from me will influence, at some level, how you view God and how you live with God. So this has everything to do with you. This message is a warning to you from God to make sure that your pastor is actually doing what he is supposed to be doing. Because, chances are, if I begin to take a detour by not living or leading in a way that honors God, your lives can also end up taking a detour.
John Maxwell says it this way: leadership is influence, plain and simple. And based on the level of involvement that you have with me, my words and my actions will have influence in your lives. And to be honest, that is incredibly humbling and incredibly scary for me. The fact that my words and my actions could result in you taking a detour that dishonors God- that is a responsibility that I must continually keep in the forefront of my life. And you need to know what God expects of me and pastors when it comes to their roles and responsibilities.
Because we all take a detour when pastors do not live or lead in a way that honors God. So now you know.
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