Introduction: Grace be to you and peace, from God our Father, and from our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ. Our text is the Old Testament Lesson just read, from Ezekiel 18. We begin with prayer.
Dear fellow disciples of our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ:
- One of the ongoing challenges for human beings living in a fallen world of sin, amidst people who commit sins – in thought, word, and deed, is retaining an accurate distinction between right and wrong, good and evil.
- Many of our conversations have to do with just such issues, and there are many things which have been universally condemned as evil in the past which are now touted by many, perhaps even the majority of Americans, as not being evil but morally neutral or even good. Included among these “behaviors” are sexual relations outside of marriage, divorce, abortion, and homosexual behavior.
- Of course, there has always been some ambiguity in America in regard to a number other evils, such as greed, selfishness, gossip, slander, anger, hatred, prejudice and discrimination, and religion that is contrary to God’s Word, Holy Scripture.
- We recognize evil when it is perpetrated against us, but are less likely to recognize the evil that we commit and participate in. And this is a huge problem that creates animosity, hatred, and perhaps even vengeful crime. It is bad enough when someone sins against us; it is exacerbated when the person isn’t even sorry for the harm they have done, and when they refuse to admit that they have even done anything wrong.
- This is an issue that is accelerating today. On the one hand we have an increasing “hypersensitivity” to mere “offenses” – people doing or saying something that “offends” us and we are easily incensed; and at the same time we have an ever increasing list of evils that we are no longer allowed to even speak against.
- The end result is that people are unwilling to be confronted for personal sin and evil, and remain impenitently committed to such sin, and are angry if anyone dares to even speak against their sin. We see this “hardening of heart” in our text. And God is clear in expressing the reality that:
I. Those Who Remain Committed To Ongoing Evil Will Perish
A. This Is The Case Even For Those Who Were Previously Repentant And Committed To Good
Text: “When a righteous person turns away from his righteousness and does injustice, he shall die for it; for the injustice that he has done he shall die.”
B. And We Recognize This As Just And Right When We Are Being Sinned Against – That Wrong Should Be Rectified And We Should Receive Some Kind Of Relief
In the book of Revelation, the Apostle John’s vision of heaven, we read:
Rev. 6:9,10 “I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the Word of God and for the witness they had borne. They cried out with a loud voice, ‘O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before You will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?’”
Statement: Again, it is bad enough when evil is perpetrated against us and we have to endure it without any relief. It is intensified when those who have perpetrated the evil are not even repentant or sorry for the evil they have committed against us. This makes the evil even more intolerable. And this is no different with God. It is one thing when we sin against God, when we do evil and harm to others; the evil is greatly intensified and exacerbated when we reject God’s admonition and His call to repentance, when we refuse to confess our sin and sorrow over the harm we have done, when we take the position that God is wrong in confronting us and that we are right, so that we remain committed to continuing to do the evil over and over again.
Application: So we need to take careful consideration of what comes naturally to our fallen sinful nature – our propensity to react to God’s admonition defensively, to justify our sinful behavior and to argue that God is wrong, and to insist that we have nothing to repent of. The message of our text, and from God, is that this posturing and commitment to impenitence will not be successful, and will not yield freedom and justification for us but rather death and condemnation.
Transition: And the message of our text is that even if we have fallen into sin, and even if we have been stubborn in defending our sin, stubborn in our commitment to sin, that the door is not closed to us, or that God has deserted us or given up on us. Rather, the assurance of our text – written to those who had asserted that “the way of the Lord is not just” – is that “THE WAY IS ALWAYS OPEN.” For we are assured by God that:
II. Those Who Repent Of Their Sin And Evil Are Restored To God And To Salvation
A. Those Who Repent Are Abundantly Forgiven Regardless Of Their Past
Text: “Again, when the wicked person turns away from the wickedness he has committed and does what is just and right, he shall save his life. Because he considered and turned away from all the transgressions that he had committed, he shall surely live; he shall not die.”
B. Those Who Repent Are Restored To Goodness – Their Orientation And Commitment Is Changed
Text: “He considered and turned away from all the transgressions he had committed.”
C. And Those Who Repent Are Restored With A New Heart And Spirit
Text: “Cast away from you all the transgressions that you have committed, and make a new heart and a new spirit.”
Of course, this is really the work of God in our hearts and minds, which He effects within us through His gracious love, mercy, and forgiveness, when we repent and receive His love:
Psalm 51:6-12 “Behold, You delight in truth in the inward being, and You teach me wisdom in the secret heart. Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones that You have broken rejoice. Hide Your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from Your presence, and take not Your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit.”
The apostle Paul wrote about this renewing of our hearts and spirits:
Rom. 12:2 “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind.”
2 Cor. 3:18 “And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. This comes from the Lord Who is the Spirit.”
D. And We Can Be Certain That This Is Always God’s Will For Us
Text: “Why will you die, O house of Israel? For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Lord God; so turn, and live.”
Statement: The Word of God is clear that if we remain committed and oriented toward sin we remain in a living death, and we remain under sentence of death and condemnation. The Word of God is equally clear that “THE WAY IS ALWAYS OPEN,” and that God desires for every human being to repent, to be sorry for the evil and harm that our sin brings about, so that we may be forgiven, our sin washed away, and we be “reoriented” to what is just, good, right, and loving. This should also be our prayer for every human being, beginning especially with ourselves.
Application: So “THE WAY IS ALWAYS OPEN” also for us – if we allow God to extricate us from erasing distinctions of good and evil, and to bring us to repentance and His forgiveness. And as surely as we desire retribution and justice when others sin against us, so strongly should we also sorrow over our sins and repent, so that our orientation and commitment not be to sin but to justice and goodness.
Conclusion: Not much changes in the world, from the days of Ezekiel to our own. And certainly God’s commitment to good, and His warning to all to repent, hasn’t changed. It is certain that God’s ways are just and right – including His provision for our forgiveness and restoration of heart and spirit! Let us not rebel and perish, but repent and live! The way is always open, and God’s will for us is clear! Amen.
Votum: And the peace of God, which surpasses all human understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds in the true faith, which is in Christ Jesus, even unto life everlasting, Amen.