Start by believing. Then go beyond belief.
The Digital Age has produced huge amounts of information that have radically advanced human learning. The amount of knowledge available to us is mind-numbing. In fact, information is multiplying so rapidly that textbooks, how-to manuals, and even daily newspapers seem perpetually outdated. But what do we know about God? Are we advancing as rapidly in our knowledge of Him?
People have used the explosion of social media primarily to inform friends and others about themselves and their lives. Therefore, we know more about one another, but do we really know one another? There’s a big difference between the two. The same is true when it comes to our relationship with God. We can learn more and more about God by studying His Word, but we also need to know Him in order for our lives to be changed.
Do we really know God?
Your life won't change unless you do!
“Beyond Belief” seeks to help us increase our knowledge of God by studying His character and moral attributes. But we don’t want to just know about God; we want to know Him intimately. We could spend a lifetime studying the character and attributes of God revealed in the Bible and still only begin to scratch the surface of understanding the sovereign God of all creation. Therefore, the lessons in this study will focus on six major attributes of God: His holiness, love, justice, forgiveness, wisdom, and faithfulness.
As we begin to understand what God is like and how He works in our lives, we will not only know God more, but we will also learn about ourselves and who we are in Christ.
Our third lesson in this series is entitled: "God is Just"
Remember this Commercial?
When we see or sense something's not fair or we are wronged by others, our typical response is to call for justice. However, when we are the ones who have committed the wrong, we cry for mercy. We demand fairness based on what we want. God is fair, in the sense that in His justice He holds all people equally accountable for their actions. God is completely just, but He is also merciful, showing mercy to those who choose to turn to Him.
The Point of this week's lesson: God is always just.
Our Passage: Ezekiel 18:21-24, 30-32
What's Happening: The prophet Ezekiel ministered during some of the darkest days of Israel’s history. In exile, the people believed they were being unjustly punished for the sins of their fathers. Ezekiel sought to help them understand the sin was theirs. In chapter 18 Ezekiel addressed the responsibility of all people to respond to the message of the Lord. God is just and does not allow the righteousness or unrighteousness of one person to dictate another person’s relationship with Him. Everyone is responsible for his or her own sin.
When it comes to fighting for justice, who is your favorite character?
We love the idea of justice triumphing over injustice. In The Count of Monte Cristo, Edmond Dante’s was a talented and handsome man of faith who was betrayed by three jealous and greedy men. Edmond was publicly declared dead even as his betrayers conspired to have him locked away in the terrible island dungeon called Chateau d’lf. Worst of all, one of the betrayers later married Edmond’s fiance’, Mercedes, as a way of offering comfort to her after Edmond’s loss.
Where was the justice? Hopeless, bitter, and forgotten, Edmond nearly lost his faith. Punished for a crime he didn’t commit, God seemed nowhere to be found. In the end, however, Edmond escaped. After many years, both he and the evil-doing trio received their just reward.
In this lesson, we’ll explore why we can have confidence that God’s justice will always win out in the end.
I. GOD IS WILLING TO FORGIVE – EZEKIEL 18:21-23
21 “Now if the wicked person turns from all the sins he has committed, keeps all My statutes, and does what is just and right, he will certainly live; he will not die. 22 None of the transgressions he has committed will be held against him. He will live because of the righteousness he has practiced. 23 Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked?” This is the declaration of the Lord God. “Instead, don’t I take pleasure when he turns from his ways and lives?
Have you ever known someone who lived a life of excess, yet seemed to suffer no ill effects? That’s the scenario that troubled the people of Judah. They saw Jerusalem lying in ruins from the Babylonian invasion. Those who survived the onslaught were forcibly taken to Babylon. The Jews cried out to God for answers.
In response, God spoke through the prophet Ezekiel. In Ezekiel 18, God candidly addressed the charge that His actions against His people were unfair. To fully appreciate this passage, let’s focus on two key words:
- Justice. The biblical concept of divine justice is almost perfectly captured in the statue of Lady Justice at the U.S. Supreme Court Building in Washington, D.C. Blindfolded, she holds a double-edged sword on her right hand and a set of scales in her left. The blindfold signifies her impartiality. The sword illustrates the discerning character of truth (see Heb. 4:12), and the scales represent the exacting nature of justice (see Prov. 20:23). Scripture calls God the “righteous judge” (see Ps. 7:11). As such, complaints about His fairness are unfounded. God is just.
- Repentance. Repentance involves turning away from sin and committing to love and obey God. Here’s the great news: any person who approaches God in this way will receive pardon. God will always act favorably and mercifully toward the one who turns to Him with a repentant heart.
God is just in how He responds to the unrighteous who repent. Let’s not miss the wonderful truth about God’s character in verse 23. God doesn’t enjoy punishing people – not even His enemies. He delights in seeing the wicked turn from their evil ways. God desires for all to come to repentance (see 2 Pet. 3:9).
Why does it sometimes bother us when someone gets “let off the hook”?
Why is repentance necessary in light of God’s justice?
Ezekiel prophesied in Babylon where God’s people were exiled because of their sins. Ezekiel focused on the case of a sinner, a wicked person. How would a just God deal with the wicked? The obvious answer is found in two prior verses in this chapter (18:4b, 20a), “The person who sins is the one who will die.” The phrase “the one who will die” is emphatic in Hebrew. The result of sin is certain death.
Yet, in 18:21, we find a different scenario being presented – not one of certain death, but rather one of potential life. Ezekiel wrote, Now if the wicked person turns from all the sins he has committed. This statement forms the conditional part of a great theological declaration; because of His love, God provides an escape from spiritual death. The verb rendered turns often conveys the idea, repent. In view is a full “about-face” morally, spiritually, physically, and socially with regard to one’s actions. In order for the wicked to satisfy this condition, he must turn away from self-serving ways and turn toward the God-given, others-serving way prescribed in the Law of Moses.
With just and right, Ezekiel paired two important terms. To be just, a person had to treat neighbors equitably – not showing partiality or prejudice, irrespective of any external distinctions as race, education, or gender. Even more, the just person lives to ensure the rights of others. Unlike the wicked who lives for self-gratification, the just lives to serve others, to reflect the character of God who Himself is just. To be right, a person deliberately had to mold his life to God’s prescribed manner of living as set forth in His Word. Ultimately, we can adapt only with the aid of God’s empowering Spirit.
Ezekiel, however, was stressing the possibility of life in spite of one’s having been wicked. When the wicked turns, he will certainly live; he will not die. Ezekiel then stated the full implications of life for the wicked should they repent: None of the transgressions he has committed will be held against him. The term transgressions referred to any deliberate misdeeds and rebellions against God’s prescribed norms. Will be held against is literally will be remembered. The idea is that God deliberately chooses not to remember human rebellions once people turn from their sins.
Instead of the certain death prescribed for all sinners, the wicked person who turns from sin will live because of the righteousness he has practiced. A superficial reading of this statement might lead to the errant view that one can save oneself by doing good works. However, Ezekiel did not intend to suggest such an idea. The key is to understand correctly the term righteousness. In this context, righteousness does not refer simply to good deeds a person might do. Rather righteousness refers to specific deeds prescribed by God in His Law as normative for His people. The term carries the idea of willfully conforming to God’s norms or standards.
What are some lasting truths from Ezekiel 18:21-23?
- God will bless those who repent of their sins and turn to do that which is right in the sight of God.
- God forgives and forgets.
- God’s pleasure is not in meting out punishment but in granting forgiveness.
Verses 21-23 address unrighteous people who choose to repent. Let’s move to verse 24, which addresses those who are apparently righteous but choose to rebel.
II. GOD HATES WICKEDNESS – EZEKIEL 18:24
24 But when a righteous person turns from his righteousness and practices iniquity, committing the same detestable acts that the wicked do, will he live? None of the righteous acts he did will be remembered. He will die because of the treachery he has engaged in and the sin he has committed.
After discussing the unrighteous who repent, God addressed the apparently righteous person who rebels. In this verse, God called out seemingly righteous individuals who become spiritually distracted and pursue a life indistinguishable from nonbelievers.
The scenario also points to the fairness and justice of God, even though it went against the common thinking of the Jews. The Jews were relying on their privileged heritage and past obedience to release them from divine punishment. They misunderstood what it meant to be God’s chosen people and expected their special standing to free them from any consequences.
Christians possess eternal security in Christ, but that doesn’t give us a free pass to sin. Believers and unbelievers alike will be held accountable for their actions. The only difference is that the believer’s eternal home with Christ in heaven is never in jeopardy (see 1 Cor. 3:11-15). Once obtained, salvation is secure. But Christians certainly can (and do) suffer the same earthly consequences for their sins as those who don’t know God.
The truth of eternal security should never result in taking a jaded or blasé attitude toward holy living. Sin is serious. While we sometimes fail to be controlled by the Holy Spirit and become disobedient to God, consistent sin should not characterize our lives.
God is just in how He responds to the seemingly righteous who rebel. God never produces a false verdict. He always knows all the facts, and He renders the right judgment. As such, God remains righteous and completely justified in whatever punishment and consequences He deals to the person He finds guilty. We can be assured that the approach God takes is always perfectly appropriate. Moreover, He always puts the offending person or party in the best possible position for repentance and restoration.
How do these verses serve as both good news and bad news?
Why don’t we take sin as seriously as we should?
Key themes here:
- Christians possess eternal security in Christ, but that doesn’t give us a free pass to sin without consequences.
- The truth of eternal security should never result in taking a jaded or blasé attitude toward holy living.
- God is just in how He responds to the seemingly righteous who rebel.
God’s hatred for wickedness and sin should stir our hatred as well. Will you ask God to give you a holy hatred for the things that displease Him?
In the previous passage Ezekiel dealt with the promise of life for any wicked person who repented from his evil ways. What happens when the opposite scenario occurs? What does it mean when a righteous person begins to do unjust and abominable things like the wicked person does? Did Ezekiel argue against the doctrine of “once saved, always saved” by intimating a righteous person could lose his salvation by practicing iniquity?
The answer is no. the problem lies in comparing apples to oranges. In the Old Testament, the covenant community deemed a person righteous based on his conformity to God’s written laws. No one could know the person’s heart, motives, or sincerity. In the New Testament, salvation is explicitly stated to be “by grace through faith” and not from works (Eph. 2:8-9). In the Old Testament, covenant members who did not conform to God’s laws or statutes threatened the security and identity of the community itself. We find a similar phenomenon in the New Testament (Acts 5:1-11). However, the key difference is for Old Testament members of the community of faith, death was final. They thought in terms of maintaining God’s blessings, the greatest of which was life itself, but life lived in this world. The New Testament concept of eternal life would have been foreign to Ezekiel’s readers.
Does this mean saved people today can get by with sin? No. Even believers will be recompensed according to their actions (1 Cor. 3:11-15). Does this mean Christians lose their salvation when they sin? No. Even believers are subjected to weaknesses of the flesh. As believers, we will fall short of God’s glory, but sin will never characterize the lives of true believers. Thus, the unsaved are judged because of sin and unbelief; the saved are judged based on the faith in Christ.
Thus the key to understanding Ezekiel 18:24 is to view the verse as the opposite side of the coin of repentance. When the wicked man turns/repents, he will live, but on the other hand, when the righteous man turns (same Hebrew word) away from righteousness, he will die. The concept is simple, straightforward Hebrew theology: in order to live a long life on this earth, one needed to conform to God’s norms; death was the just reward for all who turned from righteousness to live in sin and iniquity. No rainy day fund existed whereby past works of righteousness could cover current acts of evil.
Ezekiel employed several terms to depict the sinful life: iniquity, detestable acts, treachery, and sin. From the standpoint of the community, any person practicing such behaviors was destined to die. Sin was viewed as a shortcut to death. In turn, death was viewed as God’s just sentence on the wicked. God is just in how He responds to the seemingly righteous person who rebels. Every person chooses either the way of life or the way of death; nothing could be more just.
What are some lasting truths from Ezekiel 18:24?
- Some who know what God expects still may choose to turn from a life of godliness to a life of unfaithfulness.
- Goodness cannot be stored up to be weighed against wickedness as an attempt to “balance out” one’s life before God.
- God does not bless the unfaithful.
When we skip to verses 30-32, we see both a command to repent and a hope-filled offer of forgiveness.
III. GOD IS EAGER TO GIVE LIFE – EZEKIEL 18:30-32
30 “Therefore, house of Israel, I will judge each one of you according to his ways.” This is the declaration of the Lord God. “Repent and turn from all your transgressions, so they will not be a stumbling block that causes your punishment. 31 Throw off all the transgressions you have committed, and get yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. Why should you die, house of Israel? 32 For I take no pleasure in anyone’s death.” This is the declaration of the Lord God. “So repent and live!
Ezekiel 18 helps us see two important things about God:
1. God always gets justice right. While earthly courts may attempt to be fair and unbiased, God’s court always renders exacting, authoritative, and sound justice.
2. God always wants our best. His judgment is undergirded by a heart of compassion. God is not only our Judge; He is also our Defender and Mediator (see 1 Tim. 2:5-6).
All God requires is that we repent and turn from our transgressions. When we confess our sin, God completely forgives us. That’s amazing news for two reasons:
1. When God forgives, He forgets. Jeremiah gave this declaration from God: “For I will forgive their wrongdoing and never again remember their sin” (Jer. 31:34).
2. God relieves us of guilt. There is nothing more painful than a guilty conscience. Guilt can affect us spiritually, emotionally, physically, and relationally. Thankfully, a person who repents is not only set free from his or her sin, but also from the guilt associated with that sin (see Ps. 32:5). If you are forgiven, you can release the guilt that you – and others – hold over you.
Forgiveness doesn’t remove the effects of our sin on either ourselves or victims of our behavior. What’s done cannot always be undone. Therefore, a forgiven person takes full responsibility for the past, acknowledges his or her actions and any pain that was caused, and seeks to correct any damage caused by his or her actions as necessary. But that’s where it stops. There is no obligation to bear false guilt for already forgiven sins that Christ has paid in full.
God is just. He dealt with your sin through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. And now that your sin has been dealt with, it’s over. Justice is done. Furthermore, the completed justice of God means that you won’t have to carry the burden of your sin any longer. You’re free to live in Christ.
God is both just and forgiving. How does that combination lead to a full life for those who follow Him?
“God acts justly from within, not in obedience to some imaginary law. He is the Author of all laws, and acts like Himself all the time.” – A. W. Tozer
Let’s just walk through once again two reasons why forgiveness is an amazing gift from God:
- When God forgives, He forgets.
- God relieves us of guilt.
What Do You Say?
Choose one of the following statements. How would you respond in light of what you’ve learned about God’s justice?
“I know I’m going to heaven because I’ve done more good than bad.”
“God can’t love me because He knows what I’ve done.”
Response: __________________________________
As you think of God’s passion to impart life, let it shape your passion to offer the Gospel to all who will hear it.
Though the sinner never deserves a reprieve, God none-the-less offers restoration. We are to respond to God’s justice with repentance and a heart of loving devotion. In these verses, the Lord offered several assertions. First, each person will be judged according to his ways. Ezekiel covered every scenario possible in 18:5-20 to reinforce the point God is just and only the one who sins will die.
God’s second assertion was that repentance could prevent a rebellious person from being punished. Transgressions render a Hebrew word reflecting deliberate violation of a known boundary or willful violation of a known authority. As such, transgressions are the exact opposite of righteousness, willfully adapting one’s life to God’s ways. Those who rebelled and refuse to repent allowed their transgressions to become a stumbling block causing their own punishment. Stumbling block referred to an obstacle or hindrance of any kind. Punishment reinforces the idea that the retribution people received was the harvest of the sinful seeds they sowed. Through repentance, transgressions are removed and do not present themselves as obstacles any longer.
God’s third assertion was that a new heart and new spirit were available for all who repented. The important aspect of this verse is the double imperatives used. The first imperative commanded sinners to throw off all their transgressions. The second imperative was for them to get themselves a new heart and a new spirit. By this double command, God was issuing an invitation to life and a warning of death. Obedience resulted in life; disobedience resulted in death. People had to choose.
God’s final assertion concerned His own displeasure with a sinner’s death. God stated, “For I take no pleasure in anyone’s death.” The phrase in Hebrew is literally “in the death of one dying.” The distinction is important because it portrays life without Gos as “dying.” Thus, unrepentant sinners not only face death in the ultimate sense, they are dying every day, a sort of living death.
This final assertion was underscored by Ezekiel’s statement, “This is the declaration of the Lord God” (see also 18:3, 9, 23, 30). This time God commanded His people to repent, a parallel to the prior command to throw off their transgressions. The Hebrew verb once again means turn. To avoid a living death, rebels had to repent from their sins and turn back to God. He also commanded them to live, a parallel to the prior command to get a new heart and a new spirit. Yet, how do you command someone to live? The use of the imperative form of the verb to live served to underscore the result of genuine repentance. Though repent and live are both commands, they express a single directive. The commands are synonymous with each other. the use of the double imperative placed a divine urgency on Ezekiel’s readers. The only opportunity rebels had to repent was the present one.
What are some lasting truths from Ezekiel 18:30-32?
- Judgment is inevitable, but it will be rendered by the Lord who Himself is righteous and gracious.
- Every person has the opportunity to choose the way of repentance.
- Those who choose repentance will live.
God is always just.
Live it Out
How will you respond to God’s justice?
1. Choose freedom. Confess a specific sin or sinful pattern to God. Receive His forgiveness and choose to move forward with the knowledge that He has set you free from that sin.
2. Seek justice in the world. Look for situations where justice seems to be lacking. Use these situations as reminders to pray that God would carry out His justice in the world.
3. Close the gap between your reputation and character. Ask a fellow believer to hold you accountable in areas where you struggle with sin. Commit to integrity between how others know you and how God knows you.
You may be experiencing unfair circumstances in your life, but rest in the fact that God is always just and He always delivers. Whether in this life or the next, God’s righteousness will triumph.
Ezekiel’s message both warns and woos. Be warned! The Lord will judge. Every individual needs to be prepared for it. Each person will be judged according to his or her own choice – a life of righteousness or a life of wickedness. No one pays for the sins of his or her ancestors. If punishment comes it will be for one’s own sin.
Give heed to the Lord’s gracious appeal. The path of life begins with repentance. Therefore, He calls on each person to repent. God’s great desire is that people choose the way of righteous living and benefit from the kind of life He gives. He is just; therefore, His judgment will be administered with fairness according to His righteous standard and in love. Over and over the Lord declares repent and live!
What personal sins do you need to confess and repent of so you can be in right stead with the Lord?
Prayer of Commitment
O Lord, You are just and right. I want to bring You pleasure by my repenting of my sins and claiming the life You are gracious to give. Amen.
O Lord, You are just and right. I want to bring You pleasure by my repenting of my sins and claiming the life You are gracious to give. Amen.
Another great message about the character of God. Hope to see everyone this Sunday.
Happy Father's Day!
In His Love,
David & Susan
