Ezekiel chapter 18. In verse 23, God asked this question. 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? Look down at verse 32. For I have no pleasure in the
death of him that dieth, saith the Lord God. Wherefore, turn
yourselves and live ye. I'll turn over a few pages to
Ezekiel chapter 33, if you would. Ezekiel chapter 33, verse 11. God, again speaking, says, say
unto them, as I live, saith the Lord God, I have no pleasure
in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his
way and live. Turn ye, turn ye from your evil
ways, for why will you die, O house of Israel? Now, there are many
who think that because we believe in the election of God and that
we preach a God who is sovereign and in control and before the
foundation of the world had mercy on some and chose some, gave
them to Christ, that we somehow serve a God who delights in sending
people to hell. I had a man tell me one time
that my God resembled more the devil than he did God. Why else
would God not love them and elect them? Why else would he harden
their hearts? If God is merciful and gracious,
doesn't he love everybody? Didn't Christ die for everyone? But all God has to do to harden
a sinner's heart is to just leave them to themselves. We don't
need much help there unless God sovereignly intervenes in the
life of sinners while we would all die and perish in hell. One
of the most subtle devices of sin, in keeping the lost soul
under its power and from being turned to God, is the slandering
of God by misrepresenting his character. Sin goes to great
lengths to blind the fallen soul from seeing God aright and in
truth. Sin has the complete possession
of the unsaved heart. Sin digs in and it entrenches
itself in the soul of the lost. And though it is true that blessed
are the pure in heart for they shall see God, it's equally true
that the lost only see what they think God to be. For instance,
the unbeliever claims God to be unmerciful. How could he have
mercy on some and not on others? That's not right. But the believer knows that God
is plenteous in mercy, that our sovereign God delights to show
mercy. And it's this kind of misrepresentation
of God that causes men to stay alienated from God. Do you remember
what the man said in that parable, the one that hid the one talent
that his master gave him? He said, I knew you were a hard
man. Those who think God to be hard
and cold and unmerciful only view God as they think Him to
be. And when they get these false
ideas of God into their minds, They become hardened in their
heart, believing that it's useless to turn to God, and most of the
time, they just go on in their sin with even greater determination. I've seen that with my own eyes. You preach the election and the
sovereign choice of God to some men and women, and they'll declare
that this sovereign, omnipotent, all-powerful God is unforgiving,
and unappeasable, and that he somehow enjoys sending sinners
to hell so that he can somehow or another show you that he's
boss. Perish the thought. If God doesn't love everybody
and save everybody, they want nothing to do with this God.
And it is the God with whom they'll have to do God isn't subject
to their free will, then He's not a God that's of any interest
to them. But the believer loves the fact
that God is in control. The believer loves the fact that
God ordained and chose them before the foundation of the world and
that He put them in Christ and their righteousness is found
only in Him. And the reason I find such comfort
in that is that if I can do nothing to save myself, then I can do
nothing to be lost. It's all based upon what Christ
has done for me. A big reason why many think God
to be unforgiving and unmerciful, when you really get down to it,
is because they themselves are unforgiving and unmerciful, and
they believe God to be altogether one likened unto themselves.
They believe God to be a tyrant. Your God is a tyrant, they say. And this is one of Satan's greatest
devices to prevent repentance. When a man or woman believes
that there's no hope for them, the right way, they'll get all
they can out of the wrong way. And if they cannot please God,
they will at least please themselves. And I personally know people
who think this way. They say things like, well, if
it feels good, do it. And you only live once, so if
you do it right, once is enough. There are the same ones that
say, go for the gusto, which basically means go out and do
what you want to do. And all this thinking, friends,
comes down to a mistaken view of God. In most cases, if a man
believes that there's no hope for him and that he's going to
hell, his thinking is to be happy and merry as he can be while
on the road to destruction. But part of our business as servants
of God is to bear witness against the misconceptions and the ignorance
of those who dishonor God's goodness. Now, did you notice in the verses
that we read in Ezekiel, that the Lord declares that he has
no pleasure in the death of the wicked. No pleasure. The Lord first puts it in our
first text there in the design of a question. It seems as though
God was surprised that such a thing would even be said of him. He
asked, have I? Any pleasure at all that the
wicked should die and not turn from their ways and live? Can any think that God desires
the damnation of men and women's souls? Is man so depraved and
ignorant of the scriptures that he would think that God would
be guilty of such slander and defamation of character? Can
God for a single minute find pleasure in men and women being
sinners and ultimately destroying themselves by their sin and iniquity. Even common sense should teach
us that a righteous and good God is grieved to see men and
women destroyed by their sin. God asks, do you think, do you
really think that I would find pleasure that a sinner should
not turn from their ways and live. In verse 23 of chapter
18, God asked the question to show his disbelief that they
could think of him that way. But it's clear in the second
text, in verse 32, that God plainly and positively asserts that he
has no pleasure, none whatsoever in the death of the sinner that
dies without Christ. And this is why the Lord tells
unbelieving sinners to turn yourself. Turn yourselves and live. When
the Lord speaks, he is to be believed. He's not a man that
he should lie. He's not a son of man that he
should repent or change his mind. And he's worthy to be believed.
And if I were to state that this was my opinion of God, then you
might have reason to doubt it. But as God's creatures, we must
believe our creator and never question his will and his purpose. Where the word of God is, there
is power. Power to silence all debate upon
the willingness of God to say. Our third text in Ezekiel 33
ought to remove all doubt concerning God's unwillingness to see sinners
perish. God here in this verse seems
to lift his hand to the heavens, and he swears by his own life.
By his own life. He can't swear by no greater. And he swears, as I live, saith
the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but
that the wicked should turn from his way and live. And my question
to those who think this way is do we dare doubt the oath of
God? Is God guilty of perjury? We
should tremble at the thought of such a thing. Now I only have
two points this morning and I'll be as brief as I can. The first
point is this, God finds no pleasure in the wicked's death. Do men
and women dare suggest that God is such a terrible being that
he would actually delight in a soul's damnation? Just because
God's sovereign doesn't mean that God would carry on or think
this way. And God swears to the contrary.
If God had taken any pleasure in the death of the wicked, I'm
telling you, and you know it so, child of God, you and I both
would have long ago been sent to hell. There's no greater proof
that this is not so than the patience and the long-suffering
of God to sinners. There are some of you I know
that have heard the gospel for many years, and yet you continue
to reject Christ as the substitute for sin. And is it not great
proof that God finds no pleasure in the death of the wicked as
he continues to remain patient and long-suffering And it's only
because His compassions fail not and His infinite patience
and grace still reasons with sinners in their sin and unbelief. I love that passage in Isaiah
chapter one, where God says, come now and let us reason. That word reason means let us
find an answer to a problem. Let's reason, let's find the
answer to a problem. That's what it is to reason.
Let us find an answer together, saith the Lord. God is willing
to reason and help sinners to find the answer as to how their
sins, which are scarlet, can be made white as snow. That's
amazing. God says, let's find a way that
your sins, though they be red like crimson, can be white as
wool. God has purposed a way that this
can be accomplished. God being the judge of all must
do right. Yet any judge of the world who
would take delight in the harsh punishment of offenders ought
to be removed from that position at once. Now let me quickly say
this. If someone took the life of someone
that I love, my wife or my children or even my grandchildren, I would
want justice. We all would. But if the sentence
of justice was execution, We shouldn't rejoice in what justice
brings. A judge who would take pleasure
in a criminal's execution would be a wrong breed of judge. And how much more would it be
wrong for God who does all things well? What if God Almighty, would
he find pleasure in the execution of a sinner? God forbid. Oh, God takes no pleasure in
the sin and the punishment of sin, which is sin's consequence.
He only condemns those who in the end refuse to bow to his
beloved son. And only then it seems when all
else has failed, God is so patient. Oh, I know that from experience.
Our text this morning, reveals God's reluctance to condemn,
but a just God and judge must be just. We talk about this all
the time. The justice of God's perfect
law has got to be honored. God cannot be just if he just
sweeps sin under a rug. But God shows us in these verses
that we're considering this morning, that the great judge of all,
he descends from the glory of his judgment seat. And he says,
I have judged and I have condemned and I have punished, but as I
live, I find no pleasure in all this. God's pleasure comes when
sinners turn to him and leave. What grace and what pleasure
He displays in saving those who do turn from their evil ways.
How graciously God deals with the prodigals that come to their
senses and return to Him. And doesn't this prove that He
finds no pleasure in their sin, but finds great delight in their
salvation? To prevent the death of the wicked,
the Lord and His purpose of grace before the world began, devised
a way, purposed a way to remain just and still justify the ungodly. He did so by providing a substitute. He provided the substitute in
the person of his own dear son. And his son bore the penalty
of sin for all who would trust in him, for all whom God gave
him. And I've said many times that some people take the sovereign
choice in the election of God to justify in their own minds
that God somehow, someway finds pleasure in the condemnation
and the judgment of unbelieving sinners. But if salvation is
only given to those whom He elected, men ask, why do you preach? You
ever had someone ask you that? Well, if you believe in election,
why do you preach? evangelize, why do you even pray
for sinners? Someone asked Mr. Spurgeon that
question one time, said, if you believe in election, he said,
why don't you just preach to the elect? And Mr. Spurgeon being much brighter
than me and quick on his feet said, well, if you go around
and pull up everybody's shirt tails so I can see if there's
a big E, stamped on their back, and then that's who I'll preach
to. But we don't know who God's elect are, but we can be certain
that God does, because he did the choosing, he did the electing.
We preach to all men. We plant, we water, and God gives
the increase. That's God's business. So if
God deals patiently with a man or a woman, Oh, as he did me. Oh, I can't, he so patiently
deal with me. It's a wonder, I'm telling you,
it's a wonder of God's mercy and grace that I even stand before
you today, that I'm even alive, much less one who is endeavoring
to try to preach the truth. Oh, he had so much patience with
me. But those who do turn from their
evil ways prove to be the elect of God, and those who will not
turn prove to be reprobate. But the doctrine of election
should cause each of us to treat every hardened sinner with hope,
since it's God who calls the dead to life. And if God is patient
and long-suffering with a sinner, so should we be. Well, I confess I get impatient
with folks. It's such a good thing that I'm
not God. But as long as a sinner still breathes, hear me on this,
and as long as God deals patiently with the sinner, there's hope
that they're one of his. To me, that makes God's absolute
sovereignty in the matter of salvation a motivation. to preach
and not to be discouraged at all. In Acts chapter 18, Paul
was preaching to the church at Corinth and his message was rejected
by the Jews. And Paul got discouraged. And
you know how God encouraged him? God spoke to him and the middle
of the night. And he said, be not afraid, but
speak and hold not thy peace. Just keep on preaching. Just
keep on preaching, Paul. He said, I'm with you. No one's
going to harm you. And then he said this, for I
have much people in this city. In other words, keep on preaching. We plant, we water, but God gives
the increase. And in that, God assures Paul
of his presence, his protection, and his election. And the point
that I make is this. When you pray, or when you share
the gospel with someone, it may prove that they are one of God's
elect. And your prayers and your sharing,
your witnessing of Christ to them may be the very ordained
means that God uses to bring them to faith in Christ. The
fact that they're still breathing, the fact that God is still providentially
and patiently crossing their path with the gospel proves that
God is patient and still may intend to do a work of grace
in their hearts. God is many times found of them
that sought him not. And he often sends his grace
to those who cried not after it. And I'm so glad that's true,
because I was one of those. God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering. The charge that God somehow finds
pleasure in the death of an unregenerate soul It's ridiculous, it's a
ridiculous conclusion. And to prove God's desire that
men should live, God has dealt with great longsuffering to men
and women for thousands of years. Christ dwelt on this earth for
33 plus years, and he never once turned his back or rejected anyone
that came to him for rescue and redemption. Not one time. You
can't find it in the scripture. Those that came to him for help
received it. And that's strong proof that
God delights to show mercy. Now, my second point is this.
There is no alternative to salvation, but that sinners turn from their
wicked ways or die. God finds no pleasure in the
death of the wicked, but, that the wicked turn from his way
and live. You see, it's one or the other.
Sinners cannot keep their sin and still be saved. Just can't. You cannot keep your sin and
still be saved. Your sin must be put away. The sin must die or the sinner
must die. One or the other. Now God proclaims
mercy to sinners upon this condition. And what is the condition again?
That they turn, they turn from their ways. This proclamation
from God is issued out of pure grace. Repentance, listen to
this, repentance does not bring mercy with it. Does a murderer
receive pardon because they regret their deed of murk? Does a thief
get out of prison because he or she becomes sorry that they
stole? Repentance makes no amend for
the evil which was done. The act of evil still remains
and the punishment still must be executed. God's reasoning
for turning is great grace. Do you want to know why? Because
behind this repentance of sin, this act of turning, there's
a great sacrifice to be made by God. It is through an all-sufficient
Savior and His atonement, a qualified, a suitable substitute, that our
repentance becomes acceptable. The Son of God has bled and died. He's made an appeasement for
the repentant sinner's sin, and Christ is now exalted upon high
to grant repentance and remission of sins. The word today is repent
and believe the gospel. Turn and believe. If we confess
our sins, he's faithful and just to forgive us our sin, and to
what? Cleanse us from all unrighteousness. All my unrighteousness has been
cleansed. The holy law of God gives no
room for repentance. The soul that sins, it shall
die. A holy and just God cannot, by
any means, clear the guilty. The wages of sin is death. Now
what are we gonna do? Well, we're gonna lean upon the
mercy and grace of God. This turning to repentance is
a pure matter of grace. God saves you not because there's
any merit in your turning, but in the fact that he'll have mercy
on whom he'll have mercy, and he's agreed to save all who turn
from the path of evil. As I said, our sins must be punished,
But that's what makes the gospel of substitution so glorious. In the substitution of the perfect
God-man, Jesus Christ, God can still be just and justify the
ungodly. And this is our only hope of
redemption in Christ. God's law has been honored. God's
holy justice has been satisfied. And I love how Augustus' top
lady put it. He said, if thou hast my discharge
procured and freely in my place endured, the whole of wrath divine,
payment God will not twice demand, first at my bleeding surety's
hand and then again at mine. If Christ has died for your sin,
your sin has been put away. And you stand before God, holy
and perfect without sin. Unblameable and unreprovable. And they say, don't you like
that? I'm unblameable before God, above blame. I'm unreprovable,
above reproof. Oh, when you see what you are,
what you truly are, you'll be thankful for that great truth.
Now turning from your sin, let me make this clear before I finish. Turning from your sin is not
living a moral life. It's not straightening up and
flying right like folks say. Turning from your sin is definitely
not to become religious. Turning from your sin is to be
sorry for your sin. Turning from your sin is a total
regret of your sin. Oh, I regret my sin. Turning
from your sin is taking sides with God against yourself. When
your heart is sick of sin and you hate your sin, that's when
you've turned. When you despise the thought
of doing evil, that's when you've turned. When you feel as though
you cannot get away from sin, when you realize that death and
judgment is what you deserve, When there's a will to obey and
believe, that's when God looks upon you with a eye of pity. When he hears within you a moaning
and a groaning and a sighing, it's then that a work of grace
has already been done. Oh, the Lord taketh pleasure
in them that fear him and those that hope in his mercy. Psalm
147, 11. And that's when the Lord takes
pleasure in a sinner. When a sinner is brought to say,
God, be merciful to me, the sinner that I am, it's then that God
is well pleased. For years, I tried to conquer
sin to no avail, tried to do it my way. But at the end of
the day, I'd just cry over my failures. Couldn't do it. How many times I said, I'll never
do that again, only to do it time and time again. Well, the Lord's watching and
he observes your desires. He pays attention to your lamenting. And trust me when I tell you
that he takes pleasure in your attempts after holiness. God
takes pleasure in your longing to overcome sin. God takes pleasure
in your desire to be delivered from the bondage of corruption.
But this is what pleased God most of all. When you come to
Christ and say, I see that in me there is no hope, but also
see that you never cast out any that called upon you. And I see
that there is forgiveness with thee. In closing, I just wanna
declare to you first the warning that God gives here. Don't feel
like that I'd be doing justice to my love for you if I didn't.
God says, turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways. And then he adds
this, for why will you die? Why will you die? Notice that
God puts this in the present tense. He says, turn ye, turn
ye. Not tomorrow, but now. Nobody will be saved tomorrow.
All who are saved are saved today. Saved right now, now is the accepted
time. And notice that this turning
is a matter of life and death. Notice that the Lord says it
twice, turn ye, turn ye. This proves the urgency of the
matter. And this proves that he has your
good at heart. Certainly God takes no pleasure
in your death. When he repeatedly urges you
to turn, the question is, why will you die? To not turn is
to die. Can there be any gain to losing
your own soul? Can you profit in going away
into everlasting judgment? Don't neglect so great a salvation,
for how shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation? So let me say this, those of
you who are yet without Christ, would you not trust in the Lord
Jesus? Why will you die? Rest in the
finished work and your work will be finished. Well, I'm trying
to straighten up and fly right. Trust in the finished work of
Christ, and your work's finished. And I hear many say, well, I'll
pray about it. Pray as much as you like after
you've trusted. What good is an unbelieving prayer?
Cast yourself on Christ. That's what I'm endeavoring to
do every day, every moment of every day. I just keep casting
myself on Christ. Lord, help me. Have mercy on
me. Oh, may God enable you to do
just that.