David Bahn – Reflections

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Today’s readings: Ezekiel 16-18, Psalm 83.

Ezekiel 18:23-24, 30-32

Have I any pleasure in the death of the wicked, declares the Lord God, and not rather that he should turn from his way and live? ²⁴ But when a righteous person turns away from his righteousness and does injustice and does the same abominations that the wicked person does, shall he live? None of the righteous deeds that he has done shall be remembered; for the treachery of which he is guilty and the sin he has committed, for them he shall die.

³⁰ “Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways, declares the LORD God. Repent and turn from all your transgressions, lest iniquity be your ruin. ³¹ Cast away from you all the transgressions that you have committed, and make yourselves a new heart and a new spirit! Why will you die, O house of Israel? ³² For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the LORD God; so turn, and live.”

A friend and fellow pastor told me of a visit with a prospective member of his church. He felt compelled to share the gospel with this man, and as part of that he shared Ezekiel 18:4: “Behold, all souls are mine; the soul of the father as well as the soul of the son is mine: the soul who sins shall die.” He said that when he shared that verse, the man visibly gulped. He was shaken. It hit home. Hard.

When was the last time you’ve had such a reaction to the Law of God? Each Sunday we confess, “If we say we are without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.” That comes right out of the Bible in 1 John 1:8. Well and good. But do we realize the weight of those words?

There are other words about sin and death in the Bible. “The wages of sin is death,” Paul writes in Romans 6:23. James 1:15 teaches that “sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.” And Paul writes in Romans 5:12, “Sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned.”

And here in Ezekiel 18 the message is unmistakable: God calls sinners to repent and live. Yes, we must all repent, for “there is none righteous, not even one” (Romans 3:10). Ezekiel makes the point that if a person who has been living righteously turns toward wickedness, he will die. But if a wicked person turns from his wicked ways, he will live; wickedness will not be his ruin.

God’s great desire is that people turn from their evil ways and live. Too often we think that applies to other people—those who live immoral and ungodly lives and refuse to honor God. We think of drug lords, warlords, and slumlords. We imagine those who are obviously in need of a change in the way they’re living. But remember this: “If we say we’re without sin, we deceive ourselves.” Ugh. I guess that means God desires that we turn from our evil ways and live.

And that’s where the emphasis needs to land: God desires that we live. Unrepentant sin leads to death; wickedness unabandoned will be our ruin. But God calls us to turn from sin and turn to him. Repentance includes contrition over our sin, but it also embraces God’s goodness, mercy, and grace by faith.

That’s where Jesus comes in. He is the friend of sinners who took the wages of our sin—death—upon himself and rose again. In him, sinners find forgiveness, life, and salvation.

Follow the Word is a daily Bible reading and devotional ministry of St. John Lutheran Church, Cypress, Texas.