By: Dr. Dale Weckbacher
Text:
Ezekiel
33:12-20
Ezekiel
33:17
“Yet
the children of your people say, ‘The way of the Lord is not [c]fair.’
But it is their way which is not fair!
(NKJV)
One of my favorite TV
shows when I was growing up was Perry Mason. It was fun to try to figure out
who the real murderer was knowing that it was not the person on trial. Most of
the programs ended with the real murderer confessing to the crime at the end of
the program. Unfortunately, this is not usually the case with the judge or jury
deciding the verdict and if the defendant is innocent, with investigators
having to start over to determine the actual criminal. Judges and juries in our
courts are also human and susceptible to human error and bias resulting in an
unfair judgment. However, God is a fair judge always judging fairly but maybe
not as we would like. Such is the case with the people of Israel who thought
God’s judgments were unfair.
This text presents some
hypothetical situations and tells us how God judges each of these situations.
It begins with God stating that one’s self-righteousness will not deliver
someone when they have committed a transgression against God and the wicked
will not fall when they turn from their wickedness (Ezekiel
33:12). The righteousness of a self-righteous person
committing iniquity will not save them on the day the sin (Ezekiel
33:13). In contrast, when a wicket person turns from his or
her sin and makes restitution for their sin, he or she shall live and not die,
with God forgetting his or her iniquity (Ezekiel
33:14-16).
However, despite this
fairness of judgment with each person declared righteous or wicked based on
their own actions, the people of Israel claim the Lord’s way is not fair (Ezekiel
33:17). God’s fair judgment is the righteous person who
sins dying for their sins and the wicked person who repents receiving
forgiveness (Ezekiel
33:18-19). However, despite this fairness of judgment, the
people of Israel claim God is unfair (Ezekiel
33:20).
God is the perfect
balance between grace and judgment. God demonstrated His grace to humanity when
he did not destroy Adam and Eve when they sinned but separated Himself from them
with the promise of a messiah who would crush the serpent’s head (Genesis
3:15).
The work of grace by God was finished on the cross when Jesus said it is
finished and the veil separating God from humanity was torn from top to bottom
(John
19:30; Matthew 27:51). However, God is also just and true (Revelation
15:3).
Zechariah foretold of Jesus coming to Jerusalem on Palm Sunday as the just one
bringing salvation, riding on the colt of a donkey (John
12:14-16; Zechariah 9:9). Jesus is just for he did not sin
and gracious because He took the judgment for our sins (2
Corinthians 5:21).
The extremes in the
Church are legalism and cheap grace. If the Church is to be an agent of
transformation in the world it must avoid the extremes of legalism and cheap
grace.
- Legalism
– The belief that one must obey all of God’s commandments to achieve
salvation. This is a selfish and work-based righteousness that ignores
salvation by God’s grace (Ephesians
2:8-9). James
2:14-17 does state that faith without works
is dead asking the question if someone says they have faith but do not
have works, can faith save them (James
2:14). The answer lies in whether one’s faith is a
confessing faith where one says the right words or faith in the heart that
genuinely believes Jesus died, was buried, and resurrected from the dead (Romans
10:9-10). All the legalism we may place on
someone or ourselves cannot achieve this faith in one’s heart.
- Cheap
Grace – In Romans
6:1, Paul asks if one should continue living a life
of sin so Grace may abound. The question is rhetorical for Paul answers
his question in Romans
6:2 where he says certainly not. If one genuinely
believes they have died to sin through the death, burial, and resurrection
of Jesus and understand the price paid by God for our salvation. Grace is
not cheap and came at a high price, the death of God’s son who knew no sin
(2
Corinthians 5:21). However, Salvation does not
require one performing good works but does require one making a confession
of Jesus as their Lord and believing that confession with their heart (Romans
10:9-10). After this genuine confession, there
should be a transformation away from conformity to the world and sin and renewal
toward Godly living (Romans
12:2).
Jesus called the Church
to make disciples (Matthew
28:19-20). Discipleship does not mean placing the burden of
adherence to a set of rules to achieve salvation because Jesus said his burden
was light (Matthew
11:29-30). However, to become a disciple one must determine to
abandon his or her life of sin and be transformed through the renewal of their
mind by the word of God (Psalm
119:105; Romans 12:2). John
3:16
expresses the balance between legalism and grace with grace God giving the
world his only Son who fulfilled the legal requirement of God’s justice on the
cross.
If you are reading this
and have not prayed for the forgiveness of your sins making Jesus the Lord of
your life, or have drifted away from your relationship with Christ, I invite
you to pray with me now,
Dear Lord Jesus, I know I have sinned (Romans
3:23)
and know that the penalty for my sin is death (Romans
6:23). I ask you to forgive me of my sin and cleanse
me as you promise in your Word (1
John 1:9). I believe
you died, spent three days in the grave, and resurrected from the dead and now
declare you Lord of my life.
May God challenge,
convict, and bless everyone reading this post.
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