Namely... all those that the Father gives to Jesus will come to Him. He will give His sheep eternal life. His sheep will never perish. He will lose none of His sheep.
Today, we find ourselves in the book of Ezekiel.
Ezekiel 18:24
But when the righteous turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, and doeth according to all the abominations that the wicked man doeth, shall he live? All his righteousness that he hath done shall not be mentioned: in his trespass that he hath trespassed, and in his sin that he hath sinned, in them shall he die.
Those who are full of unbelief towards the words of Christ see this old testament verse and say, 'see... it's plainly stated that we can lose our salvation".
This is one of the "big, go to" verses that they use (also called a proof text).
At first glance, it does seem to say that... but there's a problem.
The people who believe this is in relation to salvation don't apply this thought to the entire bible nor themselves.
Remember, Abraham, Lot, Noah, David, Ananias, Sapphira, etc... all sinned.
The bible testifies that until our death (or the rapture) we will continue to sin.
So, every christian must go to hell because they sin, if their interpretation of this verse is to be believed.
Remember, whoever says they have no sin makes God out to be a liar and the truth is not in us.
1 John 1:8-10
If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.
Never-the-less, we must have an explanation for this verse.
First, as always, we make sure to remember our foundation.
Second, we look at the context so we can understand what's going on.
In this chapter God is speaking to Israel.
Ezekiel 18:1-4
The word of the LORD came unto me again, saying, 'What mean ye, that ye use this proverb concerning the land of Israel, saying, The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge?
As I live, saith the Lord GOD, ye shall not have occasion any more to use this proverb in Israel.
Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die.
He starts off by saying that they are believing false doctrine.
They believed that the children were paying (or supposed to be paying) the sins of their fathers by default.
God tells them that this isn't true.
All souls belong to God, and God makes sure that everybody pays for their own sins by default.
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Although it's not what we're focusing on right now, we should... at the very least... acknowledge the implication of what God says here.
You see, there are people who believe that we must pay/repent/seek forgiveness for our ancestor's sins, like Adam.
God says that is wrong. All of us are responsible for our own sins. All of us are judged for our own sins and not the sins of others.
Yes, we are affected by the sins of our fathers, but God doesn't require our death for our father's sins.
But again, this is a topic for another time.
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As we continue reading, the next thing we see is God giving a description of someone who is just.
Ezekiel 18:5-9
But if a man be just, and do that which is lawful and right, and hath not eaten upon the mountains, neither hath lifted up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, neither hath defiled his neighbour's wife, neither hath come near to a menstruous woman, and hath not oppressed any, but hath restored to the debtor his pledge, hath spoiled none by violence, hath given his bread to the hungry, and hath covered the naked with a garment; He that hath not given forth upon usury, neither hath taken any increase, that hath withdrawn his hand from iniquity, hath executed true judgment between man and man, hath walked in my statutes, and hath kept my judgments, to deal truly; he is just, he shall surely live, saith the Lord GOD.
The people who believe our salvation is secure miss what is going on here.
God tells us that the person who will live is someone who is perfect.
Did you catch that?
The attributes of someone that God says will live, is that of a perfect person.
What christian... no... what person period, dares to claim that they match up to this description and are worthy to live?
God goes on to say, if this perfect person was to have a son who was completely opposite to his father, should the son live because of the righteousness of his father? No. He will surely die.
Ezekiel 18:10-13
If he beget a son that is a robber, a shedder of blood, and that doeth the like to any one of these things, and that doeth not any of those duties, but even hath eaten upon the mountains, and defiled his neighbour's wife, hath oppressed the poor and needy, hath spoiled by violence, hath not restored the pledge, and hath lifted up his eyes to the idols, hath committed abomination, hath given forth upon usury, and hath taken increase: shall he then live?
He shall not live: he hath done all these abominations; he shall surely die; his blood shall be upon him.
The righteousness of a father doesn't prevent a sinful son from not being judged by God for his sins.
Afterwards, God tells us that if this wicked man has a son, and this son sees all the wickedness that his father does and decides not to do those things, but instead, does all that the Lord tells him to do, that son will live.
Ezekiel 18:14-17
Now, lo, if he beget a son, that seeth all his father's sins which he hath done, and considereth, and doeth not such like, that hath not eaten upon the mountains, neither hath lifted up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, hath not defiled his neighbour's wife, Neither hath oppressed any, hath not withholden the pledge, neither hath spoiled by violence, but hath given his bread to the hungry, and hath covered the naked with a garment, that hath taken off his hand from the poor, that hath not received usury nor increase, hath executed my judgments, hath walked in my statutes; he shall not die for the iniquity of his father, he shall surely live.
Here again, God tells us the criteria for someone worthy of surely living... perfection. This son lives because he executes the judgements of the Lord. This son lives because he walks in the Lord's statutes.
The criteria for this surety of life didn't change from the earlier verses. God condensed everything down into executing His judgements and walking in His statutes.
I ask again, what believer could honestly say that they were executing all of God's judgements and walking in all of His statutes?
As we continue reading, God says, even though the son will live, the father will surely die.
Ezekiel 18:18
As for his father, because he cruelly oppressed, spoiled his brother by violence, and did that which is not good among his people, lo, even he shall die in his iniquity.
God then repeats what He said earlier. The soul that sins shall die. The wickedness of the wicked will be upon that person just as the rightousness of the righteous will be on that person.
Ezekiel 18:19-22
Yet say ye, Why? doth not the son bear the iniquity of the father? When the son hath done that which is lawful and right, and hath kept all my statutes, and hath done them, he shall surely live.
The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him.
But if the wicked will turn from all his sins that he hath committed, and keep all my statutes, and do that which is lawful and right, he shall surely live, he shall not die. All his transgressions that he hath committed, they shall not be mentioned unto him: in his righteousness that he hath done he shall live.
Then God says, but if the wicked turns from their sins and keeps all of God's statutes and does what is right, he will live.
What must the wicked person do in order to live? They must be perfect.
Is this how a person becomes a believer?
Did we, in a moment of time, decide to turn from all our sins, and then lived perfectly?
Of course we didn't. So the question that needs to be answered is this... if we have not done what God says will cause a person to live, why do we think we will?
Keep that in the back of your mind as we continue.
God continues His thought by saying, if a person does this, none of his sins will be remembered, and because his righteousness... he will live.
Ezekiel 18:22Did you catch that?
All his transgressions that he hath committed, they shall not be mentioned unto him: in his righteousness that he hath done he shall live.
This previously wicked man, if he repents and becomes perfect, will live because of his righteousness.
Is this a believer? Is this the definition of a christian?
God then tells us that He doesn't take pleasure in the death of the wicked, but would prefer for them to turn and live.
Ezekiel 18:23Next, we come to the verse at hand.
Have I any pleasure at all that the wicked should die? saith the Lord GOD: and not that he should return from his ways, and live?
Ezekiel 18:24
But when the righteous turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, and doeth according to all the abominations that the wicked man doeth, shall he live?
All his righteousness that he hath done shall not be mentioned: in his trespass that he hath trespassed, and in his sin that he hath sinned, in them shall he die.
God tells us that if a righteous man should turn away from his righteousness, that he will die.
Remember, who is righteous? The one that is perfect.
If this perfect person sins, shouldn't he die? Of course he should.
Now, with everything that we read previously... is this a believer? Is this a believer turning from... again... his righteousness and comitting sin and losing his salvation?
Before we answer this question (and i'm sure people have already come to their conclusions), why are we stopping here? Aren't there more verses to read?
Continuing on... God then declares to us the mindset of Israel.
Ezekiel 18:25-28
Yet ye say, 'The way of the Lord is not equal'.
Hear now, O house of Israel; Is not my way equal? Are not your ways unequal?
When a righteous man turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, and dieth in them; for his iniquity that he hath done shall he die.
Again, when the wicked man turneth away from his wickedness that he hath committed, and doeth that which is lawful and right, he shall save his soul alive. Because he considereth, and turneth away from all his transgressions that he hath committed, he shall surely live, he shall not die.
They believed that if a person is righteous, and their definition of righteous is not the same as God's, and that person were to sin, that their previous righteousness should give them a pass.
Before we get all high and mighty, let's bring this into today for a second. Isn't this exactly what christians do?
There are plenty of people in positions of leadership in the body. They have a history of helping the poor, widows, orphans, etc. They have a history of doing righteous things. But when these people start to teach heresy and false doctrine, when they start to steal the congregations money, when they start to commit fornication and adultery - do we not defend them by putting forth all the righteous deeds that they've done?
Do we not believe that they should "live" because their righteous deeds were really appreciated and were desperately needed?
There are people in mega (and not so mega) churches today that do many righteous deeds. But they also have very public sins. And anytime someone points out the sin the believers jump on that person and say how we're not supposed to judge.
Isn't this the reason why the church is frequently said to be full of hypocrits?
We are just as guilty as Israel in thinking this way.
And, on the flip side, Israel believed that if someone was wicked, their children should pay for that person's sins.
They couldn't differentiate between the consequence of sin that affects the children and the payment of sins.
The person's entire family should have to pay for one man's sins.
Not only that, but a person couldn't repent and walk righteously. That person will forever stay the same and be treated the same because 20 years ago that person sinned.
Again, isn't this us today? Do we not throw past sins in a person's face. No matter how they've changed or how much righteousness they've done to undo the damage, we still hold them to judgment as if they've just committed the sin and are defiant not to repent.
God tells them again. The person that sins will be judged for their sins. The person that turns from their sins will live.
God tells them that He will judge each of them according to their ways. He tells them to repent and turn from their sins so that they won't die.
Ezekiel 18:29-30
Yet saith the house of Israel, 'The way of the Lord is not equal'.
O house of Israel, are not my ways equal? are not your ways unequal?
Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways', saith the Lord GOD.
Repent, and turn yourselves from all your transgressions; so iniquity shall not be your ruin.
God finishes by telling them to cast away their sins and make themselves a new heart and a new spirit. Why die when they can live.
Ezekiel 18:31-32
Cast away from you all your transgressions, whereby ye have transgressed; and make you a new heart and a new spirit: for why will ye die, O house of Israel?
'For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth', saith the Lord GOD: wherefore turn yourselves, and live ye.
Isn't that a strange thing to say? God wants them to make themselves new hearts and new spirits.
Is that what believers do?
Many people simply focus on verse 24, but when you read the entire chapter, you get a much bigger picture.
Is this chapter talking about someone who is saved, losing their salvation like those who deny God's security say? No, it's not.
Is it talking about someone who looks like their saved from the outside but aren't saved at all like some of those who do believe and trust in the Lord's words regarding the security of salvation say? No, it's not.
When we read the entire chapter, we see that God is laying out the standard of those who will live.
Every soul that sins will die, but only those who are just/righteous will live. And those people do everything that's right including following all of God's statutes and adhering to all of God's judgment's.
Who are these people? They are those who are perfect.
These are the ones whose righteousness will save them so that they shall live.
And the wicked, if they want to live, must become righteous... perfect.
Once the wicked do this, their wickedness will not be mentioned, but their righteousness will save their soul such that they shall live.
On the flip side, if a perfect person sins, he will die.
This is the standard that God has pushed from the beginning. It has never changed.
Everyone will answer for their own sins and will die for them.
But those who are perfect will live.
Is that fair? Of course it is. There are no exceptions. Everyone gets treated the same way.
The problem is that it means everyone will die. And that is the point.
God was highlighting His standard of Holiness to Israel. They were living and judging by their own standard.
And those who try to use verse 24 are doing the exact same thing.
When we try to say that these verses are talking about a saved person we actually change what makes a christian saved.
A christian isn't one who is perfect and believes that their righteousness will save them
- No one is perfect. We all have sin and are not able to do everything the Lord says.
- Our righteousness doesn't save us. If anybody says that its their righteousness that saves them, their is a very good possibility that they aren't saved.
Romans 3:10This chapter should have us longing for the saviour.
As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:
One of the reasons why Israel believed that God's standard was unfair was because they realised it was unattainable.
But remember, the law wasn't given to justify anybody, but to show us where we sinned.
God lifts up His standard before Israel and says these are the only people worthy of life. It's these people whose righteousness will cause their souls to live.
And He even goes so far as to tell them that they should make a new heart and spirit for themselves so they should live.
The response of Israel should have been one of humbleness, once they realised they couldn't save themselves.
And when we read this chapter, we should remember the good news of the Kingdom of God.
All of us have gone astray. We've all willfully sinned against the Holy God.
We've enjoyed living in sin, the very thing that is 100% contrary to this God. The very thing that God says is an offence to Him, we take pleasure in.
In His mercy and grace, God reveals to us that if we continue in sin that we will die. He, the good judge, will have to kill us.
How can we expect to live with Him when we constantly show we detest everything about Him by sinning?
He lifts up His standard for life and tells us that in order to be worthy of life, we must be perfect.
He says that He doesn't get any pleasure from our deaths and that He wants us to live. Why die when we can live? Become perfect so you can live.
When we hear this, those whom the Holy Spirit convicts, will see their mountain of sin before them, realise they can't be perfect and therefore aren't worthy of life... but death.
They should fall to their knees before God... broken. They want to live but can't.
At that point God would tell them the good news. While we were still sinners... while we didn't care about God or the life He offers... that He died for us, paying for our sins on the cross, and rising from the dead in order to show that He stands triumphant over our sins.
Now, if we believe that God has done this, He will give us His life. It will no longer be our righteousness that saves us, but all of our trust is in His righteousness.
God will then create a new heart and a new spirit within us.
Ezekiel 18:24 is a small portion in God's sermon created to direct Israel, and those who read it today, to His plan of salvation.
When we rip a verse out of a chapter like this, we can completely miss the intent of the writer/speaker. And in doing so, come to many wrong conclusions, as a lot of people do with this verse and chapter.
Join us next time as we continue to examine various places that people run to in order prove that Jesus is wrong.
We should be confident in the knowledge that Jesus is the truth and only speaks truth.
So, try as they might, Jesus' words will come to pass, as He always does the will of the Father.
And the will of the Father is this...
Everybody whom the Father gives to Jesus, will come to Him. He will give them eternal life. They will never perish. And He will lose none of those whom the Father gives to Him.
Amen
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