REPENT AND LIVE!

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

“Therefore, you Israelites, I will judge each of you according to your own ways, declares the Sovereign Lord. Repent! Turn away from all your offenses; then sin will not be your downfall. Rid yourselves of all the offenses you have committed, and get a new heart and a new spirit. Why will you die, people of Israel? For I take no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Sovereign Lord. Repent and live!”

Ezekiel 18:30-32

This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Today, we reach the end of what has been a fascinating chapter to study, Ezekiel 18. What we have learned is that there is no gray area when it comes to the ways we can live and how God will respond depending on what life we choose.

On one hand, there is living in wickedness, choosing to live in sin and thus in opposition to God. This life leads to God’s judgment and death.

On the opposite side of the spectrum, we have those who decide to live in righteousness, to live in obedience to God’s will, word, and way which will always lead someone to live right and just. This life is the life God rewards with His blessing and favor.

There is no middle ground. We either are living in wickedness or righteousness.

You’ll remember that the Israelites, the Old Testament people of God we are studying in Ezekiel, had chosen to live in wickedness. God had commanded them to not have other gods before Him and yet the Israelites chose to worship pagan gods and idols. Their idolatrous worship practices were deemed detestable by God and worthy of His most extreme judgment. But even down to the last moment, God did not wish for His people to perish in the midst of His punishment. As we will see in these closing verses from Ezekiel 18, He desired for His people to turn from their sins and back to Him so He could spare their lives. Look again at His words here:

God could have laid out the penalties and rewards for sin and righteousness respectively and left it at that but He didn’t. Instead, He closes chapter 18 with a plea for the Israelites to change their course, repent, and turn from their sins so they would not perish but live.

Don’t force God to send His judgment upon you for He does not pleasure in punishing anyone. Each one of us is a child of His. Turn away from sin and back to Him.

“Therefore, you Israelites, I will judge each of you according to your own ways, declares the Sovereign Lord. Repent! Turn away from all your offenses; then sin will not be your downfall. Rid yourselves of all the offenses you have committed, and get a new heart and a new spirit. Why will you die, people of Israel? For I take no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Sovereign Lord. Repent and live!” Ezekiel 18:30-32

Note that the Israelites had one shot to alter the final outcome of God’s judgment against them and God set out the criteria clearly. For after reminding them that He would judge them all individually according to the life they lived, God gave them the following command:

“Repent! Turn away from all your offenses; then sin will not be your downfall. Rid yourselves of all the offenses you have committed, and get a new heart and a new spirit.”

To repent is to simply turn your behavior around from sin toward righteousness and that begins when one’s heart and spirit feels regret, remorse, and sorrow for all sinful actions committed against God. That regret, remorse, and sorrow is what sparks a desire to rid one’s life of all iniquities committed, to reject sin as becoming a downfall, and to turn instead toward living the right way, the way that the Lord commands and expects.

You see, God does not want any of His children to ever perish. He said so in the closing verses in Ezekiel and He would go on to say so in these New Testament words from the Gospel of John:

For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16

Knowing that no man or woman could ever save themselves from the penalty of sin coupled with His desire for them to live and not perish, God offered up His only Son, Jesus, the Lamb of God who came to take away the sins of the world. When crucified to the cross of Calvary, Jesus bore the sins of all mankind on His shoulders, dying the death we should have died in order that we might be able to live. And that opportunity of life came as Jesus was resurrected in power by God, three days after His death, paving the way for all those who place their hope in Him as Savior to follow one day.

So what are the criteria in order for us to find our way to life?

God would say the same words to us today as He said to the Israelites with a slight twist. For He would tell us all to:

“Repent! Turn away from all your offenses; then sin will not be your downfall. Rid yourselves of all the offenses you have committed, and get a new heart and a new spirit.”

And then He would add, believe in my Son Jesus, follow in His ways, and you will live. He will help you have a new heart and will give you a new spirit, the Holy Spirit, who will lead and guide you all your earthly days until the day when you will come to be with me forever. He will help you live a life of righteousness, a life with which I will be well pleased.

Friends, as we close this chapter, where do you stand right now in your relationship with the God who is your Maker and Master? When He looks at your life, does He see one who is living in sin or one who is living in obedience and loyalty to His word, will, and way – a person who is living each day like His Son Jesus?

Only you and God know the answer to these questions.

Amen

In Christ,

Mark
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