There's A Thief In The Church

Then God says something to Israel that we need to hear.

Malachi 3:8, “Will a man rob God?” This is meant to get an answer that is emphatically NO! God is God. He sits upon a Holy, Righteous and Eternally Secure Throne in Heaven. He has all power, all knowledge and all wisdom and He is present every where at once. How could a thief possibly sneak into Heaven and steal from God - it’s just an impossibility – OR IS IT? The Israelites would have quickly said, “NO, no one can rob God.” And we today would think, “NO, how could anyone rob God.”

But look at what God says next.

Malachi 3:8, "… Yet ye have robbed me.” Israel, you might not think it was possible but you have been a thief. You have stolen from God. Even though you might not think it was possible, you have found a way to do it. It’s just one more sin in a long list of sins, born out of a heart of rebellion against God’s Law. It starts with your pride thinking that you deserve it for yourself, and you refuse to give to God that which belongs to Him. It’s that same pride that caused man to fall in the Garden and is still causing you to be a thief of that which belongs to God.

I want you to know that there are some thieves that come to this church. There are thieves in every church. You don’t know who they are. (Look at your neighbor and ask them if they are a thief.) Of course none of us will want to admit it, but still there are thieves among us. Who are they? You may never know. But God will know, and there will probably be someone in the church who will know but they won’t tell because they don’t want to make anyone angry.

God knows whether you are stealing from Him or not. You can’t fool him. He knows when you steal from Him and He knows when you don’t. Who is it in the church that could also know; it’s the church Treasurer and sometimes the pastor. I really don’t want to know who the thieves are because I don’t want that knowledge to sway my messages. But whether I know or not doesn’t matter, because God knows the thieves and He will withhold many of your blessings until you learn to quit stealing from Him.

Now if God, or someone in the church were to point to those who are thieve and tell them that they are stealing from God, most would probably say, “No, I’m no thief. I’m good, honest and sincere. I wouldn’t steal from anyone.” And most of us would probably think that they are telling the truth and just pass over it. But God doesn’t forget and He knows the real truth.

You see, I don’t believe that there are thieves in this church that will take anything that doesn’t belong to them. You don’t have to worry about them taking things from your purse, or stealing your Bible, or taking your umbrella or robbing you of anything. We have a lot of trustworthy people in our church and we have never had anything missing from the church unless it was picked up by accident and returned quickly. We have never had that problem and I hope we never will. But in spite of the honesty of everyone here, some of us are still thieves.