Salem Church
Worthy of It All
Sacrifice with Specifics
Locations & Times
Clove Lakes Campus
634 Clove Rd, Staten Island, NY 10310, USA
Sunday 8:00 AM
Sunday 9:45 AM
Sunday 11:30 AM
Sunday, June 8, 2025
Dr. John Welborn
Worthy of It All
Sacrifice with Specifics
Malachi 2:10-3:12
Last week we started our series in the book of Malachi by seeing how God was Worthy of it All. He has made us in his image and saved us by his grace, so he is worthy of all praise, adoration, worship, and sacrifice. Specifically, we saw how sacrificing for God must take top priority in our lives rather than being merely the “leftovers.”
In an episode of The Office the insecure and lonely manager, Michael asks his super-cool and popular salesman Jim, “So if I were to hypothetically ask you to go camping with me, would you go?” Jim replied, “Absolutely, Yes!” Michael gets excited and asks, “Really? Do you want to go today?” Jim replies, “Oh, I can’t today. I’m donating blood.” Then, later when Michael wasn’t around, he said, “When Michael plays the hypothetical game, I always say yes. And I’m always too busy to actually do it.”
Many Christians approach worship much the same way! HYPOTHETICALLY, YES, God is worthy of sacrifice as my priority…but, when it comes to re-organizing our lives, families, time, and money around his word we never ACTUALLY do it. We keep things general and never get down to the actual details. Today, the prophet Malachi is going to cut through the vagueness and generalities to get very specific.
Main Idea: God’s Worthiness Calls for Sacrifice with Specifics
“Have we not all one Father? Has not one God created us? Why then are we faithless to one another, profaning the covenant of our fathers? 11 Judah has been faithless, and abomination has been committed in Israel and in Jerusalem. For Judah has profaned the sanctuary of the Lord, which he loves, and has married the daughter of a foreign god. 12 May the Lord cut off from the tents of Jacob any descendant of the man who does this, who brings an offering to the Lord of hosts! 13 And this second thing you do. You cover the Lord's altar with tears, with weeping and groaning because he no longer regards the offering or accepts it with favor from your hand. 14 But you say, “Why does he not?” Because the Lord was witness between you and the wife of your youth, to whom you have been faithless, though she is your companion and your wife by covenant. 15 Did he not make them one, with a portion of the Spirit in their union? And what was the one God seeking? Godly offspring. So guard yourselves in your spirit, and let none of you be faithless to the wife of your youth. 16 “For the man who does not love his wife but divorces her, says the Lord, the God of Israel, covers his garment with violence, says the Lord of hosts. So guard yourselves in your spirit, and do not be faithless. 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? 3:1 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. 7 From the days of your fathers you have turned aside from my statutes and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you, says the Lord of hosts. But you say, ‘How shall we return?’ 8 Will man rob God? Yet you are robbing me. But you say, ‘How have we robbed you?’ In your tithes and contributions. 9 You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing me, the whole nation of you. 10 Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need. 11 I will rebuke the devourer or you, so that it will not destroy the fruits of your soil, and your vine in the field shall not fail to bear, says the Lord of hosts. 12 Then all nations will call you blessed, for you will be a land of delight, says the Lord of hosts.” Malachi 2:10-3:12
God is Worthy of Three Specific Sacrifices in Malachi 2:10-3:12
I. God is Worthy of a Faithful Sacrifice – Malachi 2:10-16
God confronts the people for the way they were not honoring their vows, particularly in marriage. They were divorcing their wives to marry women of pagan tribes who didn’t worship God (strictly forbidden).
“Why then are we faithless (acting treacherously, betray, be a traitor) to one another, profaning the covenant of our fathers?” Malachi 2:10 – Detestable
The way we treat others, especially those closest to us, is a direct reflection on our view of God. Sadly, divorce is appropriate (and biblical) in very few circumstances, but ditching your spouse to get with someone else is not only treacherous to the spouse, but it’s a betrayal of God!
“And this second thing you do. You cover the Lord's altar with tears, with weeping and groaning because he no longer regards the offering or accepts it with favor from your hand.”Malachi 2:13 – Tears of show, not repentance
If God is Worthy of it All, then it’s time to move past vague and general ideas to truly pursue faithfulness as a sacrifice. Resisting temptation is an act of worship (refusing to gaze or click, refusing to slander or demean, refusing to take for granted, refusing to mentally check out on my family, refusing to betray or abuse them for my own selfish purposes).
“But if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.”1 Timothy 5:8 – God cares about faithfulness to family because…
Main Idea: God’s Worthiness Calls for Sacrifice with Specifics
II. God is Worthy of a Fitting Sacrifice – Malachi 2:17-3:6
Astonishingly, after being confronted on their unfaithfulness they accuse God of being unjust for punishing them rather than other people they think deserve it more. This is a common posture for self-righteous people!
“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.” Malachi 3:3 – Bring to the Lord worship that is worthy of his name!
Scholars believe Malachi is referencing John the Baptist (messenger to prepare the way) and Jesus (refiner and purifier) that will be coming approximately 400 years later. God cares about the sincerity of our worship! In his seven rebukes, Jesus reserves his most severe words for the religious…
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within our full of dead people’s bones and all uncleanness. So you also outwardly appear righteous to others, but within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.” Matthew 23:27-28
III. God is Worthy of a Financial Sacrifice – Malachi 3:7-12
God now addresses their money with exceptional specificity.
“Return to me, and I will return to you, says the Lord of hosts. But you say, ‘How shall we return?’ Will man rob God? Yet you are robbing me. But you say, ‘How have we robbed you?’ In your tithes and contributions.”Malachi 3:7b-8 – Withholding that which belongs to another is robbery.
God is Worthy of it All So, he would be justified in making us give 100% of what we have and what we earn back to him (amen). But he doesn’t. This text tells us that he is calling us to give a firm 10% of everything we earn and offerings/contributions as we are able beyond it. Anything less is robbery, according to God through the prophet Malachi
Objections: Tithing isn’t a New Testament command; I can’t afford to tithe; you’re just fundraising; I don’t want my preacher to talk about money; Stick to Jesus (Jesus talked about money more than nearly anything else), it’s too expensive to live here.
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others.” Matthew 23:23 – Tithing does not outweigh mercy/justice/etc.
“Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need.”Malachi 3:10 – Storehouse = church, test me = only time.
“No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.” Matthew 6:24 – Don’t mess with my idol!
Like people in Malachi’s day, so many Christians talk a good game about devotion to the Lord but our selfishness with money betrays us. Return to the Lord today by bringing him your tithes and offerings!
We practice tithing as a church, too. It would be easy to be like many churches to hoard everything we collect for our buildings, our programs, our ministries, and our needs here. But, through our missionaries and church planters and community outreach efforts we give over 10% of what we collect every year because we believe in this principle corporately! We could have much nicer facilities and more staff if we didn’t, but we believe God’s word that we have been blessed to be a blessing!
How much more could be done to advance the kingdom of God if every family and individual at Salem Church practiced this principle? I don’t know, but I want to find out!!! You’re welcome to worship here, grow here, and be a part of our Salem Church family whether you ever give a single penny to the Lord through this church. However, you need to know that you will never truly live a life honoring the Lord and experience his best until you worship God with sacrificial financial generosity!
Main Idea: God’s Worthiness Calls for Sacrifice with Specifics
“For I the Lord do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed.”Malachi 3:6 – What they deserved vs. what they got!
“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus…it was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.”Romans 3:23-24, 26
He is worthy of it all, but we have fallen short of Sacrifices as a Priority and Specifics. Thankfully he has sent Christ as our atoning sacrifice so that we can avoid being consumed and have the chance to try again!
Surrender to Jesus, Give Glory to Jesus because he is Worthy of it All!
Sources and Further Reading Opportunities:
CSB Study Bible – Trevin Wax, General Editor (2021)
Malachi: God’s Restored People - John L. Mackay (2003)
Wiersbe Expository Outlines on the OT – Warren Wiersbe (1993)
Cornerstone Commentary: Minor Prophets – Patterson & Hill (2008)
Notes from my Bible – Dwight L. Moody (1895)
Insight for Living: Malachi – Charles Swindoll (2025)
Tony Evans Study Bible – Tony Evans (2019)
The Spurgeon Study Bible – Charles Haddon Spurgeon (2017)
Dr. John Welborn
Worthy of It All
Sacrifice with Specifics
Malachi 2:10-3:12
Last week we started our series in the book of Malachi by seeing how God was Worthy of it All. He has made us in his image and saved us by his grace, so he is worthy of all praise, adoration, worship, and sacrifice. Specifically, we saw how sacrificing for God must take top priority in our lives rather than being merely the “leftovers.”
In an episode of The Office the insecure and lonely manager, Michael asks his super-cool and popular salesman Jim, “So if I were to hypothetically ask you to go camping with me, would you go?” Jim replied, “Absolutely, Yes!” Michael gets excited and asks, “Really? Do you want to go today?” Jim replies, “Oh, I can’t today. I’m donating blood.” Then, later when Michael wasn’t around, he said, “When Michael plays the hypothetical game, I always say yes. And I’m always too busy to actually do it.”
Many Christians approach worship much the same way! HYPOTHETICALLY, YES, God is worthy of sacrifice as my priority…but, when it comes to re-organizing our lives, families, time, and money around his word we never ACTUALLY do it. We keep things general and never get down to the actual details. Today, the prophet Malachi is going to cut through the vagueness and generalities to get very specific.
Main Idea: God’s Worthiness Calls for Sacrifice with Specifics
“Have we not all one Father? Has not one God created us? Why then are we faithless to one another, profaning the covenant of our fathers? 11 Judah has been faithless, and abomination has been committed in Israel and in Jerusalem. For Judah has profaned the sanctuary of the Lord, which he loves, and has married the daughter of a foreign god. 12 May the Lord cut off from the tents of Jacob any descendant of the man who does this, who brings an offering to the Lord of hosts! 13 And this second thing you do. You cover the Lord's altar with tears, with weeping and groaning because he no longer regards the offering or accepts it with favor from your hand. 14 But you say, “Why does he not?” Because the Lord was witness between you and the wife of your youth, to whom you have been faithless, though she is your companion and your wife by covenant. 15 Did he not make them one, with a portion of the Spirit in their union? And what was the one God seeking? Godly offspring. So guard yourselves in your spirit, and let none of you be faithless to the wife of your youth. 16 “For the man who does not love his wife but divorces her, says the Lord, the God of Israel, covers his garment with violence, says the Lord of hosts. So guard yourselves in your spirit, and do not be faithless. 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? 3:1 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. 7 From the days of your fathers you have turned aside from my statutes and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you, says the Lord of hosts. But you say, ‘How shall we return?’ 8 Will man rob God? Yet you are robbing me. But you say, ‘How have we robbed you?’ In your tithes and contributions. 9 You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing me, the whole nation of you. 10 Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need. 11 I will rebuke the devourer or you, so that it will not destroy the fruits of your soil, and your vine in the field shall not fail to bear, says the Lord of hosts. 12 Then all nations will call you blessed, for you will be a land of delight, says the Lord of hosts.” Malachi 2:10-3:12
God is Worthy of Three Specific Sacrifices in Malachi 2:10-3:12
I. God is Worthy of a Faithful Sacrifice – Malachi 2:10-16
God confronts the people for the way they were not honoring their vows, particularly in marriage. They were divorcing their wives to marry women of pagan tribes who didn’t worship God (strictly forbidden).
“Why then are we faithless (acting treacherously, betray, be a traitor) to one another, profaning the covenant of our fathers?” Malachi 2:10 – Detestable
The way we treat others, especially those closest to us, is a direct reflection on our view of God. Sadly, divorce is appropriate (and biblical) in very few circumstances, but ditching your spouse to get with someone else is not only treacherous to the spouse, but it’s a betrayal of God!
“And this second thing you do. You cover the Lord's altar with tears, with weeping and groaning because he no longer regards the offering or accepts it with favor from your hand.”Malachi 2:13 – Tears of show, not repentance
If God is Worthy of it All, then it’s time to move past vague and general ideas to truly pursue faithfulness as a sacrifice. Resisting temptation is an act of worship (refusing to gaze or click, refusing to slander or demean, refusing to take for granted, refusing to mentally check out on my family, refusing to betray or abuse them for my own selfish purposes).
“But if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.”1 Timothy 5:8 – God cares about faithfulness to family because…
Main Idea: God’s Worthiness Calls for Sacrifice with Specifics
II. God is Worthy of a Fitting Sacrifice – Malachi 2:17-3:6
Astonishingly, after being confronted on their unfaithfulness they accuse God of being unjust for punishing them rather than other people they think deserve it more. This is a common posture for self-righteous people!
“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.” Malachi 3:3 – Bring to the Lord worship that is worthy of his name!
Scholars believe Malachi is referencing John the Baptist (messenger to prepare the way) and Jesus (refiner and purifier) that will be coming approximately 400 years later. God cares about the sincerity of our worship! In his seven rebukes, Jesus reserves his most severe words for the religious…
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within our full of dead people’s bones and all uncleanness. So you also outwardly appear righteous to others, but within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.” Matthew 23:27-28
III. God is Worthy of a Financial Sacrifice – Malachi 3:7-12
God now addresses their money with exceptional specificity.
“Return to me, and I will return to you, says the Lord of hosts. But you say, ‘How shall we return?’ Will man rob God? Yet you are robbing me. But you say, ‘How have we robbed you?’ In your tithes and contributions.”Malachi 3:7b-8 – Withholding that which belongs to another is robbery.
God is Worthy of it All So, he would be justified in making us give 100% of what we have and what we earn back to him (amen). But he doesn’t. This text tells us that he is calling us to give a firm 10% of everything we earn and offerings/contributions as we are able beyond it. Anything less is robbery, according to God through the prophet Malachi
Objections: Tithing isn’t a New Testament command; I can’t afford to tithe; you’re just fundraising; I don’t want my preacher to talk about money; Stick to Jesus (Jesus talked about money more than nearly anything else), it’s too expensive to live here.
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others.” Matthew 23:23 – Tithing does not outweigh mercy/justice/etc.
“Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need.”Malachi 3:10 – Storehouse = church, test me = only time.
“No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.” Matthew 6:24 – Don’t mess with my idol!
Like people in Malachi’s day, so many Christians talk a good game about devotion to the Lord but our selfishness with money betrays us. Return to the Lord today by bringing him your tithes and offerings!
We practice tithing as a church, too. It would be easy to be like many churches to hoard everything we collect for our buildings, our programs, our ministries, and our needs here. But, through our missionaries and church planters and community outreach efforts we give over 10% of what we collect every year because we believe in this principle corporately! We could have much nicer facilities and more staff if we didn’t, but we believe God’s word that we have been blessed to be a blessing!
How much more could be done to advance the kingdom of God if every family and individual at Salem Church practiced this principle? I don’t know, but I want to find out!!! You’re welcome to worship here, grow here, and be a part of our Salem Church family whether you ever give a single penny to the Lord through this church. However, you need to know that you will never truly live a life honoring the Lord and experience his best until you worship God with sacrificial financial generosity!
Main Idea: God’s Worthiness Calls for Sacrifice with Specifics
“For I the Lord do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed.”Malachi 3:6 – What they deserved vs. what they got!
“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus…it was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.”Romans 3:23-24, 26
He is worthy of it all, but we have fallen short of Sacrifices as a Priority and Specifics. Thankfully he has sent Christ as our atoning sacrifice so that we can avoid being consumed and have the chance to try again!
Surrender to Jesus, Give Glory to Jesus because he is Worthy of it All!
Sources and Further Reading Opportunities:
CSB Study Bible – Trevin Wax, General Editor (2021)
Malachi: God’s Restored People - John L. Mackay (2003)
Wiersbe Expository Outlines on the OT – Warren Wiersbe (1993)
Cornerstone Commentary: Minor Prophets – Patterson & Hill (2008)
Notes from my Bible – Dwight L. Moody (1895)
Insight for Living: Malachi – Charles Swindoll (2025)
Tony Evans Study Bible – Tony Evans (2019)
The Spurgeon Study Bible – Charles Haddon Spurgeon (2017)
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