(Disclaimer: This transcript is auto-generated and may contain mistakes.)

Part of the chapter that I wanted to focus on there in Malachi was in verse 7 where the Bible says, For the priest's lips should keep knowledge, and they should seek the law at his mouth. For he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts, but you are departed out of the way. You have caused many to stumble at the law. You have corrupted the covenant of Levi, sayeth the Lord of hosts. Therefore have I also made you contemptible and base before all the people. Accordingly have you not kept my ways, but have been partial in the law. And I wanted to focus there at the end of that phrase there where the Bible says partial in the law. And that's where I get the title of the sermon tonight. And you know there's a lot of preachers out there. There's a lot of pastors in America. I mean what you can just say, I mean you go on every street corner there's a church. I mean there's people everywhere in this country preaching what they call the Bible. What they call being a prophet of God or the prophet of Jesus Christ. But we see that there's a lot of prophets back in the old times too. There's nothing new under the sun. There's always been a lot of prophets. There's always been a lot of priests. And we see that God is isolating a group of people and saying he doesn't like these priests because they're partial in the law. And he gives us four points in this text of what he kind of is talking about. But I first want to focus on what it means to be partial in the law. The word partial is only found in the Bible four times. And if you look up the definition of partial in the dictionary, the first definition says existing only in part or incomplete. So meaning that it's not whole, it's just in part. And the second definition says favoring one side in a dispute above the other. Meaning that you kind of have some kind of bias. So if there's two teams or there's two people or two groups, you kind of favor one over the other. Being partial. And so I'll read through a couple of verses. Turn to Matthew chapter 23. Turn to Matthew chapter 23. In 1 Timothy 5, the Bible says, I charge thee before God and the Lord Jesus Christ and the elect angels that they'll observe these things without preferring one before another, doing nothing by partiality. So when the Bible's using the word partial there, it was talking about having favor towards one person over another. In James chapter 2, probably the best example of this is talking about in verse 2, it says, for there come one under assembly, a man with a gold ring and goodly apparel. And there come in also a poor man and vile raiment, and he respect him that we're at the gate clothing, and saying to him, sit thou here in a good place, and say to the poor, stand thou there, or sit here under my footstool, are ye then not partial in yourselves and are become judges of evil thoughts. So again, those two places where the Bible's using the word partial, it's saying they're just favoring the rich guy, or they're favoring the person that they like over some poor person or some other person. But when the Bible's saying that the priests were partial in the law, I don't believe that it's necessarily saying that they were favoring people over another as much there, but more that they were incomplete. That they were only preaching the law in part. And there's one other place where the word partial is used in James chapter 3, it says, but the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceful, gentle, and easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy. And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace. So the Bible's saying, you know, what's pure and peaceable and gentle can't, shouldn't be done with partiality, meaning shouldn't be doing in half a heart. I mean, you tell your wife, well, I kind of half love you. I mean, is that going to mean very much to your spouse? You say, I love you with half my heart, you know, or you're saying I'm sometimes gentle under her. Sometimes I'm pure. Does that make something pure if it's part pure? I mean, you can imagine just taking a pure glass of water and then just dropping one little bit of arsenic or poison into it. Was that still pure? No, it has to be whole pure. It has to be all pure. And for a priest to be pure in the eyes of God, he can't be partial in the law. Even if you were to just let one little bit slip, that wouldn't be right under the God. He would say that's not pure. He wants them to be preached the whole Bible, to preach the whole law, to not be partial in any of what he's preaching, to preach all of it, the good parts, the fun parts, even the unpopular parts. Look at Matthew 23 verse 23. The Bible says, woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for you paid tithes of men and anise and cumin, and omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith. These are ye have done and not leave the other undone. Ye blind guides who have strained it and add and swallow a camel, woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for you may clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess. So we see the Pharisees, they were a great model of these false priests, of those that were partial in the law. Now the Sadducees and the Pharisees, they were tithing on everything. They were tithing on the smallest things, they were tithing on all of it, and the Bible is saying, Jesus is saying that should have been done. But they had omitted the weightier matters of the law. So there are other parts of the law they weren't preaching. They were just getting up and preaching about money. That sounds like a lot of preachers in this country, doesn't it? Getting up and thinking, oh, you got to preach, you got to tithe on everything. You got to tithe on the gross income, you got to tithe on every little gift, you got to tithe on the anise and the cumin and all the little pieces. And you know what? That's actually biblical. It's biblical that we should tithe on all of our increases, what the Bible says. But we shouldn't omit the weightier matters of the law. We shouldn't be partial in what we preach. We should preach the whole Bible. And that's what we're going to see that the book of Malachi is kind of talking about these priests. Go to, if you would, Nehemiah chapter 13, Nehemiah chapter 13. Matthew 15, the Bible says, this people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth and honoreth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. These priests will get up and they'll say all kinds of good things about God. They'll say the right thing, but their hearts not there because they're partial. They're partial in themselves, they're partial in what they teach, and you know, one of the confusing things sometimes is when you get right with God, when you start going to a good church, when you start listening to a good man of God, you sometimes struggle to say, well, you know, some of these false prophets, I've heard them say the right thing before. You know, I've heard them say good things. I've heard them say right things that, you know, that happens. I mean, the Pharisees and the Sadducees, they would say right things sometimes. Jesus would say, don't do as they do, but do as they say, basically. He was saying, look, they'll say right things, they'll say good things, they'll even explain things out of the law right, but they're partial. They're not going to explain the whole Bible. They're not going to explain the unpopular parts. They're going to admit the weightier matters of the law. They're going to preach on all the, you know, the carnal things that they can gratify the flesh with. Preaching things that they ought not for filthy lucre safe. So when you look at a false prophet, you say, well, I heard him say the right thing one time. That doesn't mean he's not a false prophet just because he said something right one time. Is he partial in the law? That's how we should be judging if he's a false prophet. The Bible says in 2 Peter 2, and through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not and their damnation slumbereth not. So the reason why a lot of these guys say the right thing, sometimes they really don't even believe it. They just, they just know if they preach these things, the money will pour in. They'll get people coming into their church. They can get people in the, in the building and they'll preach feigned words. The Bible says they don't really believe what they're saying. They'll say the right thing, but they don't even know what they're saying. They're just saying because they know it brings in the money. They're just pressing the button, oh, more tithes, more tithes, more tithes. We need to know that just because someone says the right thing one time doesn't mean that they're not a false prophet. The Bible says, uh, beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits where they have gone because many false prophets are gone into the world. So the Bible's saying, try it. We shouldn't just, you know, hear one thing and be like, oh, I believe him. He said the right thing one time, then we should try the spirits and we should see are they partial in the law? What did they say about the whole Bible? What did they say about this matter? We should be, you know, quick to hear, but we should also go back to the Bible and see what they have to say. And I'll read for you from Malachi, y'all stay there in Nehemiah chapter 13. We'll kind of flip back and forth, but in verse 11, Malachi said, Judah has dealt treacherously in abomination as committed in Israel and in Jerusalem. For Judah has profaned the holiness of the Lord, which he loved and has married the daughter of a strange God. And so the first point I think Malachi really points out where these priests are partial in the law is on the topic of marriage. Now marriage is something that affects almost every single person. I mean, most everybody's parents were married. They get married. Their friends are married. I mean, most people experience marriage as a big topic. So if some were going to be partial in something, they're going to be partial in something that's not going to offend very many people. So they'll preach the popular parts of marriage from the Bible, but they wouldn't want to preach the negative parts of the Bible. And so in Nehemiah chapter 13, look at verse 23, the Bible says, In those days also saw a Jews that had married wives of Ashtad, of Ammon, and of Moab. And their children spake half in the speech of Ashtad, and could not speak in the Jews' language, but according to the language of each people. And I contended with them, and cursed them, and smote certain of them, and plucked off their hair, and made them swear by God, saying, Ye shall not give your daughters under their sons, nor take their daughters under your sons, or for yourselves. Did not Solomon, king of Israel, sin by these things? Yet among many nations was there no king like him, who was beloved of his God. And God made him king over all Israel. Nevertheless, even him did outlandish women cause his sin. Can you imagine, you know, Pastor Anderson getting up there, plucking your hair out of your head? I mean, this guy got really angry. But why? Because they were transgressing God's law. But those priests that he's talking about in Malachi, they would never get up and preach about marrying strange women. Now of course, in the Old Testament, God said that the children of Israel were not to marry children of other nations, children of these wicked, godless nations, and it would be a symbolism unto us today that we shouldn't marry an unbeliever. Now I'm not going to take the time to explain all that point, but the Bible makes it clear that, you know, we can marry anybody of any nation. There's nothing wrong with being married from somebody from another nation, but we shouldn't marry an unbeliever. We shouldn't be married to someone who doesn't believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 6, be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? And what communion hath light with darkness? Turn to Hebrews chapter 12 in the New Testament of your Bible. And I'll read from you in Deuteronomy 7 where God actually gave this commandment. He said, when the Lord thy God shall bring thee into the land whither thou goest to possess it, and hath cast out many nations before thee, the Hittites and the Gergesites and the Amorites and the Canites and the Perizzites and the Hittites and the Jebesites, seven nations greater and mightier than thou. And when the Lord thy God shall deliver them before thee, thou shalt smite them and utterly destroy them. Thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor show mercy unto them. Neither shalt thou make marriages with them. And thy daughter, thou shalt not give unto his son, nor his daughter, shalt thou take unto thy son. For they will turn away thy son from following me, that they may serve other gods. So will the anger of the Lord be kindled against you and destroy thee suddenly. So we have some nations in the Old Testament that had just forsaken God. They hated God, they were worshiping false gods, they had committed all kinds of abominations worthy of death. And God said, don't marry these people because they'll turn you away from me. And just like that, we as God's people, we shouldn't ever marry some wicked godless heathen that's wanting to turn us away from God, because they will. I don't care how righteous you are today, if you marry some unsaved person, they're going to bring you down. You're going to be brought down to the lowest common denominator and it's going to ruin and wreck your life. It's going to cause havoc on your life and God doesn't want that for you. In the New Testament, we are not to be married unto an unbeliever. It'll only cause grief in our lives. But you know, in Malachi chapter 2, when he was talking about these priests, he said in verse 13, and this have ye done again, covering the altar of the Lord with tears, with weeping, and with crying out, insomuch that he regardeth not the offering any more, or receiveth it with good will at your hand. Now the interesting thing is there's a lot of sins in the Bible that you can commit and you can pretty much, you can repent, you can get right with God, and it's not really going to affect the long term life of your Christianity. I mean, we've all told lies before, right? I mean, is that really going to stop you from doing some great thing for God or stop you from being a great man? We see a lot of people in the Bible commit sins, but there are certain sins in the Bible that will ruin decisions for your future. I mean, you can commit a sin today that will cause you to not be a pastor tomorrow, to not be an evangelist tomorrow, to not be used greatly by God tomorrow. So we need to be careful that these sins are highlighted, that they're preached against, that we're not partial in the law. And even though you may come to God and say, oh God, I'm sorry, I really want to turn back, he doesn't say it's too late. And we look there in Hebrews chapter 12, when the Bible's talking about sinning, it says in verse 16, lest there be any fornicator or profane person as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright. For ye know how that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected. For he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears. So even though Esau, you know, he was upset that he lost his blessing. He even was, you know, crying, he was wanting it. He was wanting to get it back, but God's like, too late, the blessing's already gone. I mean, his father's only given one blessing, the first blessing, one time, and he already gave it to his younger brother. His younger brother had already received it. So could he get the first blessing anymore? No, it was gone. Just like when the door of the ark shut, it was gone. And there's certain decisions in your life that you can make that will impact the rest of your life. You know, it talks about the priest. The priest is not, the Bible says in the New Testament that the priest is to be the husband of one wife. So if you decide today, hey, I'm going to get married today and get divorced tomorrow, can you be a priest the next day? No. That's going to be a decision that affects your entire life. And you know, the priest, they're going to be partial in this. And you say, well, who in the right mind, what kind of priest would, you know, get remarried or get divorced and still try to be a prophet of God? Well, we actually see this coming in America, I mean, in our society. You know, it's interesting. Turn to Matthew chapter 19. The Bible makes it clear that God says that he hates divorce and divorce is always a sin. It's always wrong. And you know, if you're divorced, I don't hate you. The Bible says that we should, you know, forget those things which were hoped behind and reach forth unto those things which were before. That we should, you know, repent and get right with God and stay with our new spouse or stay celibate, you know, if we've caused a divorce or we've had that situation. But the Bible makes it clear that if you want to be a man of God, if you want to be a priest, that if you had made that decision, then you forfeited that right. I mean, you've made a decision that's going to impact your future. And in Matthew chapter 19, Jesus said, and I say it to you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committed adultery. And whosoever marry her which is put away, doth commit adultery. Now these priests that get up and say, oh, I've been divorced or remarried, are they confessing that they committed adultery in many cases? No. They're saying, oh, well, you know, she left me or this happened and this circumstance. They make all kinds of excuses. You know, and I think of one guy, Kent Hovind. You know, Kent Hovind, he forsook his wife. Go back to Malachi chapter two. Let's read it. Let's read a little bit here. Let's look at Malachi chapter two. I'll start reading verse 13. And this have you done again, covering the altar of the Lord with tears, with weeping and with crying out, insomuch that he regardeth not the offering anymore, receiveth it with good will at your hand. Yet you say, wherefore, because the Lord hath been witness between thee and the wife of thy youth, against whom thou has dealt treacherously. Yet is she thy companion and the wife of thy covenant, and did not he make one? Yet he hath the residue of the Spirit, and wherefore one, that he might seek a godly seed. Therefore take heed to your spirit and let none deal treacherously against the wife of his youth. For the Lord the God of Israel saith that he hated putting away. So the God of the Bible in the Old Testament and the New Testament says, look, he hates divorce. He never wants that as an option. And if you're going to ever leave your wife or forsake your wife, you're dealing treacherously with her. And notice he said the wife of your youth. Now Ken Open maybe had some extenuating circumstances or some bad life situations, but ultimately he allowed his wife to just depart from him and to get remarried. She didn't force him to get remarried. She didn't force him to forsake her completely, to deal treacherously with her. And you know, to get remarried, for me to think of my wife ever being remarried, I mean treacherous is not a harsh enough word. I mean, it's so awful, it's so wicked, it's so evil, but we see that priests are going to be partial in the law when preaching against this because there's so many pastors like this. Big name pastors like John Hagee. John Hagee is a man that has thousands of people that come to his church, but he's been divorced and remarried. He even had a statement after he's been divorced and remarried, he said, you know what, Christians don't steal or lie and they definitely don't get divorced or have abortions. Now what a hypocritical thing to say of a pastor that's actually been divorced and remarried. But we see, why do they do that? Why do these pastors get up? Because they're partial in the law. They're not going to go to these verses in the Bible that preach against, you know, the sin of a divorce, the sin of marrying an unbeliever, the sin of forsaking, you know, your wife and going after some strange woman. And we see, you know, I mean, if you look at Ken Oben, he married this married Toco lady. She even got up there and she was like saying stuff how she believed in evolution and she still thought the earth was hundreds of thousands of years old. We don't even know that she was in a church. She never even claimed anything. I mean, who knows if this woman's even saved? But we see even the man of God, even the priest, his eyes, the lust of the flesh can sometimes deceive him and he can get caught away with this strange woman. He can go after the strange woman. We see a lot of pastors sometimes, you know, and they're the false pastors, they're the false prophets, but there'll be some woman come along that'll catch his eye and he'll just go after her and he'll leave his wife, he'll go for the secretary, he'll go for the young, he'll go for the young lady in the church, he'll go for some lady he met at work or at some event or something. We see that the priest, so you say, well, how do I know he's a false prophet? Well someone that's been divorced for sure, because God said even if he got to the altar and was crying and begging God and saying, please God take me back, it's too late. He's not going to, he's not going to take your offering anymore. You're not pure anymore. You can't be the prophet of God if you've taken this situation. So you say, well, who do I need to know how to avoid? I mean there's all these preachers, there's all these prophets, well anybody that's been divorced, remarried, just be done with them. You shouldn't have anything to do with a priest or a prophet that's been divorced and then remarried or divorced at all. And you know, of course the Bible does give it, it says if your wife were to die and you were then to get remarried, the Bible said in the Old Testament for the priest to marry like another priest's wife and has certain, you know, allocations. The Bible's not necessarily saying that just because someone was a widower or whatever that they couldn't get remarried, but the Bible's making it very clear that if you were to divorce your spouse and to get remarried, that man is no longer qualified to be a man of God. And God's not going to take his offering as the priest, as the pastor, as the preacher. But let's look back at verse 16 there in Malachi. Let's look at the second half of this verse. He said, for the Lord the God of Israel saith that he hayeth putting away for one uncovereth violence with his garment, saith the Lord of hosts, therefore take heed to your spirit that ye deal not treacherously. So the first point was what? That these false prophets are going to be parched on the law when it comes to marriage. That they're not going to regard the laws that God gave regarding marriage. About putting away, about marrying a strange woman, they're not going to preach that. They're not going to observe those laws. And we know the prophet of God should have more respect unto God than unto man. But we see he equates that. He equates that divorce and everything to murder. He says he's covering up violence with his garment. So he's not going to preach against certain violence. He's going to be partial in the law when it comes to violence. Turn if you would with me to, turn to Exodus chapter 21, turn to Exodus 21. He said, well, how are the pastors today? How are all these false prophets today? And what way are they covering up violence? Like what kind of violence would these guys be, you know, shielding from the law of God? Well to me the first one would just be abortion. I mean there's literally pastors out there that will be partial in the law about abortion. About the killing of babies. And in Amos chapter 1 the Bible says, thus saith the Lord, for three transgressions of Edom and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof. Because he did pursue his brother with a sword and did cast off all pity and his anger did tear perpetually and he kept his wrath forever. But I will send a fire upon Teman which shall devour the places of Bozrah. Thus saith the Lord, for three transgressions of the children of Ammon and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof. Because they have ripped up the women with child of Gilead that they might enlarge their border. So God said there was a sin that I could not pardon. They've done such a wicked sin, what did they do? They ripped up the women with the babies. And if you know anything about abortion, I'm not even going to speak about it in detail, but they're literally ripping up these people. They're ripping up these babies. It's a wicked and evil violence that's being covered up by these pastors. Why? They won't preach on it. They won't say it. They won't say abortion's murder. They won't, they'll be partial in the law. They'll excuse it. They'll say, well, you know, maybe if it was rape or maybe if, you know, she didn't really know the guy or maybe in this case they'll have all these extenuating circumstances. They won't say, no, it's a sin, no, abortion's murder, you need to keep your baby. That's how you can know it's a false prophet. That's how you can know he's not preaching the real word of God. He's partial in the law because look what Exodus 21 says, look at verse 22, if men strive and hurt a woman with child so that her fruit depart from her and yet no mischief follow, he shall be surely punished according as the woman's husband will lay upon him and he shall pay as the judge is determined and if any mischief follow, then thou shalt give life for life. So there's a lot of pieces to this verse, but first of all, what's inside a woman is a life. It's a life. It's a baby. It's a child. Second part is if there's any mischief, does it say like there's a lot of mischief or there was a lot of evil? No, just any mischief at all. Life or life. What, what do you think about these abortion doctors? Life or life? What do you think about a woman that would kill her own baby? Life or life? What about anybody that has any mischief, any involvement? Life or life? That's what the Bible says. Now that's not popular. That's not exciting. People don't get real excited about that kind of a sermon or about that kind of a, you know, part of the law, but I'm not going to be partial in the law because I don't care what man thinks. I care what God thinks and of course, you know, as a preacher, as a person that wants to be a pastor someday, I'm going to make mistakes. I might say something that's wrong and we can always trust what this Bible says, but you know, you can very clearly see someone who's a false prophet when they're just going to completely skip what the law says, when they're going to be partial in the law, when they're not going to preach parts of the Bible because it's unpopular. Turn if you would to Exodus 21, since you're right there to verse 12, look down to verse 12. I'll read for you Numbers 35. It says, Whosoever killeth any person, the murderer shall be put to death by the mouth of witnesses, but one witness shall not testify against any person to cause them to die. Moreover, he shall not, he shall take no satisfaction for the life of a murderer, which is guilty of death, but he shall surely be put to death. So the Bible says, look, when someone's deserving of death, we shouldn't take any satisfaction in that person's life. We should just allow them to be condemned under death. We shouldn't have any partiality in that person. We should say, look, if they're worthy of death, whoever they are, they're going to be put to death. No exceptions, no paying of fines. Oh, but, but he's a professional football player. Nope. Take no satisfaction in his life. Say, Oh, he's a great singer. Oh, he's a great movie star. Always really powerful. Nope. Put him to death. That's what the Bible says. And look at Exodus 21 verse 12. He that smited the man so that he died shall surely be put to death. Leviticus 21 verse 17 says, and he that killeth any man shall surely be put to death. You know, abortion is a big topic and I think for the most part, a lot of pastors, they just kind of don't talk about it or they'll say, you know, abortion is bad or whatever. But there's one topic that the Bible makes clear when it's talking about covering up violence that I think most all of these false preachers fall under is the fact that they won't support the death penalty. I mean, the Bible doesn't say just for abortion, it doesn't say for just these one things, just for murder. There's a lot of things in the Bible that say it comes with the death penalty and that our government should have the death penalty and that it's biblical to put people to death when they commit certain abominations. But you know, there's a lot of pastors, there's a lot of false prophets that get up there and they say, you know, they don't know what to say. So I found this interview. It's Piers Morgan and Joel Osteen. You know, when I think of a false prophet, I mean, come on, Joel Osteen? But Piers Morgan is asking him this question. He's asking about what do you think about the death penalty. So I'll read for you in a little bit and this is Piers talking. He says, what is your view of the state of executions? What do you think of the whole issue? You know, it's a complicated issue, Piers. I haven't thought a whole lot about it, but of course, and you know, I'm for second chances and mercy, yet the flip side is there's consequences for what we've done. And so I don't know what my total stance is because, uh, Piers, a life or a life, well, I don't, I don't know, that's, that, it's hard for me. You see, I don't think that you can say that. And I've had this debate with you before about these things. You can't be the man who influences millions of people and sit on the fence about key moral issues like that. Key moral stroke ethical issues. You've got to have a view, haven't you? You know, I think the thing is, we have a justice system and I believe in our system of justice, number one. Part of me, the human part of me, the merciful part of me is, wow, let's just give everyone a chance. And if there's any, you know, it's hard for me to say, yeah, let's kill this person because he's so bad. And you know, they can be redeemed, they can be forgiven, but you still, you know, they may still have to be put to death. That's hard for me. I don't know what's the right thing. I mean, there's people smarter than me that make all the laws. Now does that sound like a prophet of God? Does that sound like someone being partial on the law though? The Bible says the law of the Lord is perfect. Converting the soul, the testimony of the Lord is sure. Making wise the simple. Hey Joel, if you're not wise enough, get some more Bible. Cause it'll make you wise. Don't you have some confidence in God? Can't you have confidence that this book will make you wise? Oh no, these, these, you know, people that hate God, that make all these laws in their country, they're so much smarter than me. I don't know the Bible. I don't know what's the right thing. Then sit down and shut up like Piers Morgan told you. At least he got it right. It's like, how can you be influencing millions of people and not even have any idea what to say? He's just gonna sit up there and stutter, I don't know. That's someone who's a false prophet. Who's gonna be partial in the law. The Bible's very clear that the death penalty is part of the law. Go to Deuteronomy chapter 19. The Bible says in verse 21, Now unto the king eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen. You know why I believe the Bible's so good? Cause there's only one wise person, that's God. He wrote the Bible. How am I gonna know what's right? I'm just gonna trust the guy that's wise. I'm just gonna trust the guy that knows it all. Proverbs 21 says, Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, but the Lord pondered the hearts. Look, you can't ask Joel Osteen what's right. He's gonna say what's in his heart. You can't ask what everybody else thinks. They're all gonna just say, oh, it's all right. It's all good. Says, trust in the Lord with all thine heart and lean not on thine own understanding. The prophet of God shouldn't say, well, I think this. And I think that. They should say, the Bible says this and the Bible says that. We should have confidence in what God said, to get the wisdom from above. Not which is from me, that's earthly, sensual and devilish. I mean, I'm not gonna say the right thing. My personal opinion is not the right thing. This book is the right thing. So if he's gonna say, what do you think about the death penalty? Well, this is what the Bible says. That's what I think. I'm just gonna think whatever the Bible says. That's the right opinion of a priest. But you know, the false problem, he's gonna be partial in the law. He's gonna get his opinion. I had you turn to Deuteronomy chapter 19. Look at verse 11. But if any man hate his neighbor and lie in wait for him and rise up against him and smite him mortally that he die and flee them in one of these cities, then the elders of the city shall send and fetch him thence and deliver him into the hand of the avenger of blood that he may die. Thine eyes shall not pity him, but thou shalt put away the guilt of innocent blood from Israel that it may go well with thee. So we see, you know, Joel's saying, well, I'm merciful and I love people and give everybody a chance. We're not more merciful than God. You think you have more mercy and love and compassion than God? We can't even love without God loving us first. That's what the Bible says. But Joel Osteen, you know, he's more compassionate than God. He's more merciful than God. Go all the way to the New Testament. Because some people say, go to Matthew chapter 15. Some people say, well, you know, I know the Old Testament says that people should be put to death. And I know the law says it's a death penalty. But what about Jesus? What did Jesus say? You know, for those red letter Christians, for those that say, well, I only read the red letters. I only read the parts that are important or whatever. Mark chapter seven, the Bible says, this is Jesus speaking. And he said unto them, full well you reject the commandment of God, that you may keep your own tradition. For Moses said, honor thy father and thy mother, and whosoever curses father and mother, let him die the death. So when Jesus is asked, hey, what do you think? He said, let him die the death. Sounds like he's lifting up the, you know, the whole Old Testament law. And notice he didn't even give his own opinion. He was just like, hey, this is what the Bible says. That's what the priest should do. That's what the man of God should do. He's not even giving his own opinion. This is what the Bible says. Why don't you do what the Bible says? Look at Matthew chapter 15. Look at verse one. Then came to Jesus scribes and Pharisees, which were of Jerusalem, saying, why did thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? For they washed not their hands when they ate bread. But he answered and said unto them, why do ye also transgress the commandment of God by your own tradition? For God commanded, saying, honor thy father and mother, and he that curses father and mother, let him die the death. What was Jesus, you know, view on death penalty? Let him die the death. That's what he said. And notice again, he's saying, this is what God commanded. It's not just me. It's what God commanded. It's what Moses said. It's what the law said. The death penalty is biblical. You know, I'm talking about Joel Osteen, how he's so partial in the law. I just had to put this in. At the end of all of his like sermons or his like broadcasts, he says this. He says, we never like to close our broadcast without giving you an opportunity to make Jesus the Lord of your life. I just want you to pray with me real quick. Lord Jesus, I repent of my sins. Come into my heart. I make you my Lord and savior. If you prayed that simple prayer, we believe you got born again. Now, is that what we go out and teach people how to get saved? I mean, he doesn't even have the death penalty on resurrection. He doesn't have any people admitting the fact that they're sinners and they deserve to go to hell. He doesn't have anything about eternal life. He's saying, hey, I'm gonna turn from my sins, God. Guess what? I'm gonna live right. Why don't you come into my heart and why don't I make you my Lord and savior? I'm gonna do all the right things. Me, me, me, me. I, I, I. You know what? I don't even think that Joel Osteen has any understanding of what he just said. I think it's all feigned words because he says the exact same thing every single time. He never even changes it up one time. He doesn't know what a pen of your sins means. He doesn't know what anyone means. He's just saying the feigned words that people wanna hear so they say they can't criticize him for not giving some kind of altar call or some kind of plan of salvation in their mind. But we know that it's a false gospel that he believes. He's partial in all the law. He's a false prophet. He's a wicked person. And we know that we shouldn't have anything to do with these false prophets. Let's go to Malachi chapter two. We'll look at our third point. Look there at verse 17. It says, you have weared the Lord with your words. Yet you say, wherein have we worried him? When you say, everyone that doeth evil is good in the sight of the Lord. So our first point was these guys that are partial in the law, these false prophets, they're not gonna preach right when it comes to marriage. They're not gonna preach right when it comes to violence, when it comes to things that are violent, things that people are doing that are super violent or the fact that there's a punishment for being violent. They're just gonna cover it up with their garment. They're gonna say, oh, let's give everybody a chance. I know he killed 10 people, but God loves him. He's so great. Let's just give him a second chance so he can kill 10 more. But we see third point is that they call evil good. And these false prophets are all the same. The Old Testament false prophets and the New Testament all false prophets. And even now today, the latter time false prophets. They call evil good. Go to Isaiah chapter five. Isaiah chapter number five. In Proverbs, the Bible says, he that justifieth the wicked and he that condemneth the just, even they both are abomination to the Lord. So God makes it very clear, if you're gonna call any wicked person, any evil person, good, that's an abomination to God. He's not gonna like that. Look at Isaiah five verse 16. But the Lord of hosts shall be exalted in judgment. And God that is holy shall be sanctified in righteousness. Then shall the lambs feed after their manner. And the waste places of the fat ones shall strangers eat. Woe unto them that draw iniquity with cores of vanity and sin as it were with the carp rope. That say, let him make speed and hasten his work. That we may see it. And let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel draw nigh and come. That we may know it. Woe unto them that call evil good and good evil. That put darkness for light and light for darkness. That put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter. Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes and prudent in their own sight. Woe unto them that are mighty to drink wine and men of strength to mingle strong drink. Which justify the wicked for reward and take away the righteousness of the righteous from him. So we see these wicked false prophets. They're everywhere in the Old Testament. And they're calling evil good. They're lifting up the wicked people. And they're taking away the righteousness from the righteous. They're trying to, you know, condemn the righteous guy. They're calling what he's doing wrong. They're putting sweet for bitter. You know, I picked up a couple of different false prophets that I found. You know, they're all the same. How about Rick Warren, who inaugurated our President Obama? This is what he had to say about President Obama. Now, when President Obama was gonna have his inauguration, he invited several different pastors, several different people. And he invited a homosexual bishop. And so Rick Warren was, you know, asked, what do you think about that? So this is what he said. He said, President Elect Obama has again demonstrated his genuine commitment to bringing all Americans of good will together in search of common ground. I applaud his desire to be the president of every citizen. So now he was saying with, you know, a lot of fancy words that look, I think all people are great. And I'm glad he's representing the homosexual community. And there's all kinds of articles that came out and said, Rick Warren praises Obama for inviting homosexual bishop. I mean, can you imagine Rick Warren saying he's a prophet of God and he's saying it's a great thing that some homosexual bishop is coming to inaugurate the president, that's gonna come be a part of that celebration. He's gone, I mean, I can't think of a more wicked person than a homosexual bishop who's gonna lead people straight to hell. I mean, this guy can't preach anything but lies and wickedness and false corruption. All the evil is gonna come out of this guy's mouth. I mean, what could be more wicked than this guy? And Rick Warren's gonna, oh, I think that's great. Oh, I think that's wonderful. He's gonna represent everybody in America. How about Pastor Mark Burns? I never heard of this guy, but he said that he had voted for presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton. Great. Says that he understands the skepticism people have about Trump's faith. Now this guy, he had already voted for some Democrats, but he says he's now on Trump's side, okay? And you know, when I think about someone who a lot of people just this year got up and just said, this guy's so great and this is such a good guy and calling his evil good, how many pastors fall over themselves this year to call Trump good? Call him a good man. To say that he's on good deeds. Say that he'd be a good person to be in the president. The good person to lead our nation. This guy says, I believe Donald Trump, not from what I've read in the paper, but in conversations I've come to the conclusion that Trump has a personal relationship with God. So this guy says he met with Trump and he feels very convinced that Trump has a personal relationship with God. As much as Trump often proclaims that he's a good Christian during rallies. Last year he told Republican pollster Frank Lutz that he tries to correct himself. This is Trump speaking about himself. He says that he often tries to correct himself. He's trying to be better. He says though he does it without asking for forgiveness, a core tenet of Christianity. I'm not sure I have, I'm not sure I have ever, when they said, have you ever like asked for forgiveness? He said, I'm not sure that I've ever done it. He says, I just go on and try to do a better job from there. I think if I do something wrong, I just try to make it right. I don't bring God into that picture, I don't. So what Trump says is look, anytime that I've ever made a mistake, I've never confessed that to God. I've never asked God to help me. I've never asked for any kind of forgiveness from God. But he has a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. The Bible says if we confess our sins, he's faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. So what does the Bible say? Look, if you do something wrong, you can go to God, confess it to God, get on your knees and pray to God, and he can cleanse you. He can make you holy, he can make you righteous, and you know, in his sight. But guess what? Trump's never been righteous. He's never been righteous in God's sight because he's never asked God anything. He's never convinced any of his sin. And if you're not willing to confess any of your sin, it tells me he's not saved for one. Tells me secondly, even if he were saved, he's not living a righteous life because we probably sin every day. I mean, and we know this guy's going out, you know, spewing all of his adultery, all of his lies, all of, you know, his whoremongering, all of his, you know, private businesses, the fact that he's owned all kinds of wicked corporations and evil things, and you say, oh man, this guy's such a good guy. You know, when he makes a mistake though, he just corrects himself. He's got it all under control. What about Joel Osteen? I mean, I can't leave this guy alone, but he just has some of the best quotes. When he's talking about Trump this year, he said he's an incredible communicator and brander. The pastor said of Mr. Trump at the time, he's been a friend of our ministry. He's a good man. So I mean, I couldn't get a better quote, but he's literally calling an evil, adulterous, wicked guy a good man. He's saying, oh, I think Trump's a really good guy. I think it's great that he's been married and divorced three times. I think it's great that he just sleeps with anything that walks, basically. Well, in his eyes, you know, he has high standards. You know, he only sleeps with the girls that he thinks are attractive or whatever. They're all a bunch of whores is what they are. Joel Osteen also said, or no, Mr. Trump, when he heard these great quotes from Mr. Osteen said, I'm so glad I'm being associated with Joel. It's a great honor. He's a fantastic man. So I see all these false prophets and all these evil people, they just repay each other with good compliments. They love to be in association with one another. They love to talk good about each other. They love to lift each other up. So he said, man, I'm having a hard time trying to figure out who's a false prophet. Well, so far, the Bible's giving us three really good indications. One, if they're not preaching right about marriage, if they're not, you know, condemning the fact that putting your wife away is adultery, that divorce is adultery, if they're not preaching against the fact of marrying an unbeliever, making it important that you believe someone who has faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. If they're covering up violence with their garment is what the Bible says. And thirdly, what we see here, the Bible's saying if they're calling evil good, if they're lifting up these evil wicked politicians, if they're calling evil people somehow righteous or doing good things, then why are they doing that? I mean, are they doing it because they really think this guy's a great person? Do you really think all the pastors in this country that got up and supported Trump, they think he's their best bud? They think he's such a great guy? No, just out of fear or the fact that they just want some kind of advantage. They want to get some political advantage or they want some kind of notoriety for going out and supporting Trump. They're not doing it because of what the Bible says. They're not going to the Bible first and then saying, hey, according to this book, this guy must be a good guy to follow. This guy is a righteous guy. This guy's the one living for the Lord. They're just going out of their own heart, out of their own desires. And they're partial in the law. But let's look at the fourth point. Going back to Malachi. Look at verse 17 and look at the last part. Said, you have weirred the Lord with your words. Yet he say, wherein have we weirred him? When he say, everyone that doeth evil is good in the sight of the Lord. And he delighteth in them. Or where is the God of judgment? So even that last phrase is the last point. Where is the God of judgment? But look right at that other verse. He says, and he that delighteth in them. You know, there's a book written by Joyce Meyer says, God's not mad at you. I mean, look, when you're sinning, when you're against God, when you're not following his commandments, he's mad at you. It doesn't matter if you're saved or unsaved. But you know, the evil false prophets, they're gonna say, oh, God's not mad at you. Keep fornicating, keep lying, keep stealing. Don't come to church. Don't do these things. You know, the only thing they might say is you gotta tithe. If you're tithing, you're right with God. You know, the reason you have problems in your marriage is because you're not tithing. And the reason your kids are walking out on you is because you're not tithing. And the reason why you're gonna get divorced is because you're not tithing. I've heard so many sermons like that, it's garbage. It's not right, they're partial to the law. They're just focused on the part that they like. They're like the Sadges and the Mercies. Tithe on that anus, tithe on that cumin. But don't worry about love, mercy, and judgment. Let's not worry about those pieces. But you know, you can take the one extreme to get the guys that are calling evil good. And then the Bible kinda contradicts that with, or not contradicts, but compliments that with the other side, where people go so far as to say, well, where is the God of judgment? I mean, we see all these wicked false prophets out there and they're saying all these lies. And I mean, to be honest, they're getting rich while doing it. I mean, these guys are loading their pockets. They're driving fancy cars, they're in mansions, they're living the high life. You can see that a lot of pastors, a lot of Christians, a lot of preachers even, maybe get to the point and say, well, where is, I mean, the God of judgment? I mean, I'm trying to do the right thing. I'm trying to follow the Bible and I'm not getting my pockets loaded. Why is this guy getting his pockets loaded? But you know, that's a preacher that's kind of falling back to the carnal things of life. You know, he's not laying up for himself treasures in heaven for where your treasure is, then your heart be awesome. You know, the pastors that stopped soul winning, that stopped trying to grow their church, that stopped doing the things of God, they might start getting their eyes on the things of this life and start saying, well, I mean, our church isn't growing and we're not getting all the money pouring in and I don't have a fancy house. Where's the God of judgment? You know, they're not focused on the spiritual things of life to say, hey, I got 10 people saved today. You know, that's way better than these guys getting a million dollars and these mansions and all these things. I mean, if we're focused on the right thing of God, we won't have this attitude. But we can see that even pastors, even these guys that maybe have done some things right, maybe they're preaching some right things, but now they're gonna be parched on the law. They're gonna say, they're gonna start forsaking God's commandments. They're gonna forsaking the Bible by saying, where is the God of judgment? I mean, they start losing the faith. They start getting a bad attitude. They start feeling like down on themselves and they start preaching the judgment. Because if you keep preaching the judgment of God, what happens to these godless, you know, heathen and these false prophets? You're not gonna wonder what's gonna happen. I mean, we talk about hell burning a lake of fire for all of eternity where there's weeping and gnashing of teeth, where the world die if not, outer darkness. That doesn't sound like they're getting away with it. I mean, I can't even imagine someone being there for five seconds, let alone an hour, let alone a year, let alone a decade, let alone a lifetime, let alone a eternity. We should get an understanding of the Bible. But let's go to Jeremiah chapter 12. We'll finish in Jeremiah. I think Jeremiah kind of struggled with this. He struggled with this idea of where is the God of judgment? I mean, I'm doing all these right things, God, and there's all these false prophets and they're saying all this stuff and everything great happens for them. Look at Jeremiah chapter 12, verse one. Righteous art thou, O Lord, when I plead with thee. Yea, let me talk with thee of thy judgments. Wherefore doth the way of the wicked prosper? Wherefore are all they happy that deal very treacherously? Thou hast planted them, yea. They have taken root, they grow. Yea, they bring forth fruit. Thou art near in their mouth and far from their reins. But thou, O Lord, knowest me. Thou hast seen me and tried my heart toward thee. Pull them out like sheep for the slaughter and prepare them for the day of slaughter. How long shall the land mourn in the herbs of every field with it? For the wickedness of them that dwell there. The beasts are consumed in the birds because they said he shall not see our last end. So we see Jeremiah, he's struggling. He's saying, look, God, I know you're righteous. I know you're a good God, but what's going on? I mean, these guys, everything they do is prospering. I mean, the wicked are literally prospering. They're going out committing adultery. They're going out and doing all these wicked things, maybe covering up murder, covering up a child molester or something like the Catholic priest do. And then they're prospering. You're like, what's going on? You get upset. But you know, that could be the downfall of a pastor. That could be the downfall of a preacher. That could be the downfall of a man of God. If you just get so focused on the fact that these guys are prospering, that they're having some kind of earthly success, some kind of temporal success, we need to understand that there is going to be a judgment. They are going to be brought to destruction. And we see even Jeremiah, it almost seems like he corrects himself in the middle of him speaking, where he's just like, you know what? Just pull them out like sheep for the slaughter and prepare them for the day of slaughter. He's like, I remember, you know what? There's going to be a day of slaughter and they're going to be done with. We should always have that attitude. We should never have the attitude that there's not going to be a judgment, that there's not going to be a punishment for these wicked people. It says in verse five, if you look there, it says, if thou has run, this is God talking back to Jeremiah. If thou has run with the footmen and they have wearied thee, then how canest thou condemn with horses? And if then the land of peace, wherein thou trustest, they wearied thee. Then how wilt thou do in the swelling of Jordan? For even thy brethren and the house of thy father, even they have dealt treacherously with thee. Yea, they have called a multitude after thee. Believe them not, though they speak fair words unto thee. I have forsaken mine house. I have left my heritage. I have given the dearly beloved of my soul unto the hand of her enemies. So it says, look, I have forsaken these guys. I have given up on them. Don't worry, even though they speak fair words unto thee, even though they come up and say, oh, God's with us. Oh, God bless me and I'm so great and God loves me and you know, we're doing so good and amen. Don't worry about their vain words. Don't worry about their fair words. God's already forsaken them. I mean, if some guy, some divorced guy, you know, rolls up in a Rolls Royce and he's like, you know what? I don't think there should be a death penalty. And you know what? Donald Trump's my best friend and Hillary Clinton. I mean, don't worry what that guy has to say. Don't even care. The God of judgment has forsaken him. He's left him. You know, we should be cognizant of the fact that we shouldn't fall under some strange idea that just some guy that's having earthly riches is being blessed by God. The Bible says, you know, they suppose gain is godliness. How many people in this world today look at the big church, they look at a successful pastor and they say, God's hand of blessing must be on that man. Look at all the money pouring in, look at all the people coming. They're thinking that gain is godliness. That's not godliness. Now, of course, the Bible does teach that, you know, God's church will grow and God will build the house and that we should, you know, we're gonna be getting multitude saved if we're doing what the Bible says. I'm not looking for a small God, but I'm not gonna suppose that gain is what's godly. You know, just because there's gain there doesn't automatically make it godly because it says that the wicked will prosper. So just by looking at someone prosper doesn't mean that they're godly. They can be wicked. They can be a sign that they're a false prophet. Let's go to Jeremiah 23 and we'll finish there. I'll read for you in James 3, it says, my brethren, be not many masters, knowing that we shall receive the greater condemnation. God's making it very clear that, you know, these false prophets, when they're partial on the law, he's just gonna forsake them. You know, you shouldn't wanna be a master if you're gonna be partial on the law because you're gonna receive a greater condemnation. When you're partial on the law, it's because you don't really fear God. It's because you have more respect on the man or you have, you know, more respect on yourself. You think more highly about your ideas and your thoughts and let me tell you what I think. Let me give you my opinion. Let me give you what my heart says. You know, a man of God needs to decide in his heart. You know what, I don't care what the world thinks. I don't care what the world does. I'm just gonna preach the Bible and let the chips fall where they may. I'm just gonna put all my trust on this and I'm just gonna believe what this says and I know that God's gonna take care of me. I'm not gonna be partial in his law because it's all perfect. Why in the world would you be partial on a perfect law? I mean, that doesn't make any sense. If you think it's perfect, if you believe his word, preach all of it. Have confidence in all of it. Know that all of it's God's word and it's all gonna do the right thing. It's all gonna accomplish his mission. There's not a part of the Bible that's not gonna accomplish God's mission. God wasn't like, ooh, you know that part of Leviticus? You know those few chapters that are kinda ugly? Maybe we should just skip over those parts. He's like, I wish they hadn't put that in there because it's gonna, you know, it's deterring people from God. It's stopping people from getting right with God. No, in Malachi chapter two at the beginning, he said, for the priest's lips should keep knowledge that they should seek the law in his mouth, for he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts. And the verse before it said the law of truth was in his mouth and iniquity was not found in his lips. He walked with me in peace and equity and did turn many away from iniquity. The priest's goal is to turn people away from sin. How do you do that? By fear of God. How do they get the fear of God? By hearing his word, by hearing the commandments, by hearing what God said. Then you can get the fear of God in your life. Then with the fear of God, you can get the sin out of your life. But no one's gonna get turned away from sin unless they hear God's word. I can't give you, oh, this is my opinion. That's not gonna help you get right with God. What's gonna help you get right with God is what God said. It's God's laws. It's God's words. Jeremiah 23, I had to turn to verse one. Woe be unto the pastors that destroy and scatter the sheep of my pastor. You know, a pastor has great influence. And when he gets up there and he's partial to the law, he's gonna destroy God's work. He's gonna destroy the sheep's lives. He's gonna destroy people's lives. That's why it's such an important job. That's why he should, you know, be focused and preach the whole law. He should not be partial in anything. He should not be partial in any part of the law. He should be confident to preach all of it. And in Romans 14, it says, but why dost thou judge thy brother? Why dost thou set it not thy brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. There will be a judgment and we will all stand in judgment to account for our works. Let's close in prayer. Thank you, Jesus, for this chapter. Thank you that there are good pastors in this world. And thank you for giving us so many good warnings and so many clear indications of people that we can avoid. People that we know that would be partial in your law that we can avoid, that we could seek your whole word, that we could seek your whole law, that we could find a man of God that would preach your word without fear of man, but would have fear of you and want to not preach anything impartiality, but preach the whole Bible. Thank you, God, for this church and everyone in this room. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.