Let me tell you before I read
it that this is a complicated chapter. And then let me also
add that it is a hard chapter to rightly divide and to exegete
and to put in its proper context. Part of that problem is because
of the twist that have been put up on it basically and mainly
by the Armenian. So in verse 19, we begin our
reading. And remember the prophet is rebuking
them and correcting them for a wrong conclusion that they
had drawn. We'll look at that in a bit.
So verse 19, Yet say ye, that is, you are saying this. Why? Does 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 sins, 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 turn from all
his sin which he hath committed, and keep all my statutes, and
do that which is lawful and right, he shall surely live, he shall
not die. And all of his transgressions
that he hath committed, they shall not be mentioned unto him
in his righteousness that he hath done, he shall live. 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? But when the righteous turneth
away from his righteousness, and commits iniquity, and doeth
according to all the abomination that the wicked doeth, shall
he live? all his righteousness that he
has 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. And yet you 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 turns
away from his wickedness that he hath committed, and doeth
that which is lawful and right, he shall save his soul alive. Because he considered and turned
away from all of his transgression that he hath committed, he shall
surely live, he shall not die. And 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, turn yourself from all
your transgression, so iniquity shall not be your ruin. That's a good sermon. 31, cast
away from you all your transgression, whereby you have transgressed,
and make you a new heart and a new spirit, for why will you
die, O house of Israel? For I have no pleasure in the
death of him that dieth, saith the Lord God. Wherefore, turn
yourself, and live ye. Now, we want to be looking at
verse 24 and verse 26 in this passage, when the righteous man
turneth away from his iniquity. Now this would be number 10 in
our series on the perseverance of the saints and looking at
those scriptures that are used against the perseverance of the
saints of God. Now, let's go back a little bit.
I've been here in the pulpit for a couple of Sundays. But
of all the sum of that we have said in the past, and all the
substance of what has gone before, we have learned that the elect
of God, redeemed by Christ, regenerated by the Spirit, and called by
the grace of God, are sealed with an indwelling of the blessed
Holy Spirit. They are preserved in Jesus Christ
and they are called, Jude verse 1. And Jude verse 24 speaks of
him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you faultless
before the throne of grace with exceeding and great joy. These will not totally and they
will not finally fall away from their state of grace. But an
old time quote says this, but shall certainly persevere therein
unto the end and be eternally saved. This in spite of indwelling
sin that abides in us all the days of our life, and the warfare
against the new life that is carried on until the end, so
that the saints of God never reach full and absolute perfection
in this world and in this life, and complete sanctification must
await the separation of the soul and of the flesh and of the spirit. But even in these circumstances,
grace is reigning unto eternal life. Romans 5 and verse 21,
through the righteousness of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. But at the same time, we concede
that sin yet dwells in the regenerate person. but it no longer reigns
in them and has absolute dominion over them. And oftentimes, they
and we do that which we do not approve of, and yet are they
kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation, ready to
be revealed in the last time. So we are aware that many hold
the premise that all promises of final salvation are conditional. That is that they are dependent
upon the believer fulfilling and keeping on fulfilling certain
conditions and persevering in his own strength and in his own
determination. And then, as one said, if that
be true, then the essence of all the gospel promises mean
absolutely nothing if it is cast back into the hand of the person
themselves. Robert L. Dabney wrote in his
chapter on perseverance in his great book on theology, quote,
to him that knows his own heart, the promise of perseverance is
worthless if God provide no help to overcome the personal weaknesses
in that individual. And isn't that true? Again, if
one's hope of perseverance is their own strength, then they
are sure and certain to fall away at some point in their lifetime. But one of the great ties that
bind is the covenant arrangement between God and His people, or
between Christ and His people. It is set forth in such great
text Prophecy as Jeremiah 32 38 through 40 again Jeremiah
31 and 33 and Hebrews chapter 10 and verse 16 that God will
change the heart give a new heart and a new spirit Here's what
it said. I will make an everlasting Covenant
with them and that includes two provision as we see in the scripture
number one I will not turn away from them to do them good. I
will not, says God, turn away from the covenant people and
will do them good. And number two, how will he secure
their perseverance and allegiance unto him? I will put my fear
in their heart, and they shall not depart from me." So God sets
up his fear in the hearts of his covenant people that, as
Thomas Goodwin said, quote, has a secret efficacy to the elect. Unquote. He binds them to himself
and his covenant with the cords of fear as he puts the fear of
God in their heart. Now this is not slavish fear,
and it's not scary fear, but is that fear that is the main
part of divine worship. In fact, fear is so important
in our relation to God that it is often put for the whole of
salvation and of worship. They are called those that feared
God. We read of Job. He feared God,
and he eschewed evil. Job chapter 1 and verse 1. He
feared God, and based upon that, he avoided evil. But then there
are those passages, we admit, which some are using to claim
that final perseverance is not the truth of the scripture. And
so, as time allows this morning, we want to look at this passage
of the scripture. remembering some that we have
already looked at. Hebrews 6, verse 4 and 6. Hebrews 10, 25 through 29. We looked at 2 Peter 2, verse
18 through 22. And we looked in the book of
Jude, which proved that they were false believers and never
true ones at all. and became apostate from the
things of God. Now, with that said, one of the
favorite proof texts of the supporters and believers in falling out
of grace is the passage that I read from Ezekiel 18. And two of the more vocal ones
among the Armenians, with this being a case of righteousness
and salvation being lost, were the two Armenians John Goodwin
and John Whitby. And while two other Johns, I
think answered them well. John Owen and John Gill, some
of my favorite writers. In fact, John Gill wrote, rather
John Owen wrote this. The first scripture in which
they triumph with the greatest confidence of success is that
one in Ezekiel chapter 18. We read it. We're going to look
at it. John Gill wrote much the same
thing, saying the first passage, which is usually set out in the
front to lead the way of the saint's final falling out of
grace, is Ezekiel chapter 18. Therefore, since this is their
strongman, and since it is the first that we meet or encounter,
we best look at it and look at it in its context, looking at
it in its historical context. In fact, Gill wrote this, the
scope of the chapter should be attended to," unquote. That simply means we should look
at it in its context, in its historical context. Who is speaking? What is he saying? Who is it
being spoken unto? So what is the historical setting
of Ezekiel chapter 18? What is it that has gone before
that leads up to the statements in our text? And that, in verse
24, turning from righteousness, his righteousness shall not be
remembered. And so the question then becomes,
is this a proof text that an individual might at one time
be righteous and heaven ready and then lose all of that and
perish in their iniquity? falling out of a former grace,
or does it take us in another direction as we look at it in
its historical setting and context? Now as to the immediate context
and the historical setting, It finds a part of the Jew in Babylonian
captivity, and they're moaning and complaining at their lot,
and they're charging God with being unequal in his way, and
they make use of what Matthew Henry called an evil proverb
used by the Jew in captivity, unquote. And that proverb says,
in the first part of the chapter, the fathers have eaten sour grapes
and the children's teeth are set on edge. Which translated,
as they applied it, meant this. We are suffering for our present
troubles and our present miseries are the result of the sins of
our fathers. The sins of our fathers are visited
upon us and we are being punished for their sin. And here's the
proverb. Our fathers have eaten sour grapes,
and our teeth are set on edge." And what a picture. It was a
common proverb, evidently, in Israel that they used upon many
occasions. I want to ask you something.
Have you ever, if you came out and lived in the country, have
you ever been walking down in the pasture past a persimmon
tree, grabbed a green persimmon, and bit into that thing? I mean,
it will have an immediate effect. You can't whistle if you had
to, and it makes a feeling in your mouth that is indescribable
until you have tried it. But it seems here in this proverb
that they were using that they misapplied the old and that famous
proverb. We know they did because they
are here rebuked for their use of it as applicable to their
present situation. And that God was just in sending
the judgment that he did upon them. In other words, the proverb
was not relevant to their present situation, and it did not serve
their conclusion, and it did not answer the matter at hand. Why was the hand of God heavy
upon them? Why were they in captivity? Why
were they being judged? For their father's sins, they
say. Not for our sin, but for our
father's sin. They of course said, according
to the proverb, our fathers have ingested sour grapes and our
teeth have lost their feeling. or are set on edge. In effect,
their sins are visited upon us. The sins of our father have been
made to light upon our head. And it is clear they viewed this
as an injustice, an inequality on the part of God. And the charge
only increased their impudence in their situation and the hand
of God. Matthew Henry again wrote, they
intended it as a reflection upon God and as an impeachment of
his proceedings against them, unquote. But the prophet Ezekiel,
in the authority and name of God, cuts them off at the knee,
as the saying goes, strongly rejecting their frivolous objection,
making such arguments as that God will deal with each one of
them according to their own way, whether good or bad. A righteous
man will live and a wicked man will perish. The soul that sins
shall die, back in verse 4 of the chapter. It shall be ill
for the wicked and well for the righteous. And verse 20, the
son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall
the father bear the iniquity of the son. And let's make this
point, and amidst all of these things, you might be thinking
now to yourself. All of these things we read.
The son shall not bear the sin of the father and vice versa. And it might come into our mind,
wait, is this a contradiction of the teaching of the word of
God? Why would that thought come into
our mind? Well, did not Moses say, in giving
the law, In Exodus chapter 20 and verse 5, I the Lord thy God
am a jealous God, listen, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon
the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that
hate me. Now, this pertains first and
foremost to idolatry. Idolatry is to hate God. Any that bows to an idol is a
hater of God, and so it pertains unto that. Now this statement
is made again in Exodus 34 and 7 and in Deuteronomy 5 and verse
9 about the iniquity of the father being visited upon the children. But let's notice it in three
parts. Number one, visiting the iniquity. Number two, the iniquity of the
fathers upon the children, and number three, until the third
and the fourth generation. Here's some examples, I guess,
that we might mention. God visited and he manifested
his hatred for Esau upon his heritage and his offspring. Malachi chapter 1 verse 1 through
4 said, I hated Esau and I laid his mountains and his heritage
waste. You can see more about it Jeremiah
49 10 and 20 and Ezekiel 25 verse 13 and verse 14. Then there's
that case in 2nd Samuel chapter 12 and verse 10. When God told
David this, the sword shall never depart from his house for his
sin with Bathsheba and the iniquity of it. And what heartaches did
David reap in his family and in his children? We could name
some of them, Absalom dead in a tree limb, Amnon forcing himself
upon Tamar, his very own sister, and his wife scattered and taken
before all of the sun or all of the people. In 1 Kings chapter
21 and verse 29, Ahab's evil was visited upon
his son. God delayed it until he visited
it upon his son. Remember Achan's sin? Achan's
sin destroyed his family, his whole family and all that he
had because of his sin, Joshua chapter 7. Now these things Load
up the conscience with guilt when these things are brought
home, that we might be the cause of the trouble of someone that
we love so dearly, that the hand of God might be visited upon
them. But then secondly, we notice
that it affects others who had not committed the sin or the
sin, which is the cause of the judgment. Now, of course, the
greatest example of this kind is the sin of Adam or rather
the penalty of Adam, which is death, being visited upon all
of the race. You'll find that in Romans 5
and verse 12 and in 1 Corinthians chapter 15 verse 22, in Adam
all die. Now, returning to the text in
Ezekiel chapter 18, and again that same in verse 24. But when
the righteous turns from his righteousness and commits iniquity,
and doeth according to all the abomination that the wicked 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 has sinned, in them shall
he die. Allow me to read verse 26 again. When a righteous man turns away
from his righteousness and commits iniquity and dies in them, for
his iniquity that he hath done shall he die. Now, we have two
types of exhortation in this chapter relative to the people's
complaint that God had harshly and unduly judged them. So I take you back to verse 21
and read it again. But if the wicked will turn from
all his sin that he has committed, keep all my statute, do that
which is lawful and right, He shall surely live, he shall not
die. And basically, though I won't
read it, you have it repeated again, almost verbatim, in verse
27 and verse 28, of a wicked person who turns from his wickedness
that he would live and not die. Now you have another person of
such we read in verse 24 and in verse 26 who had formally,
listen to this now, done that which was lawful and right. Now you need to go back here
to verse 5 through verse 9 of this 18th chapter. They had observed the law and
now notice turns away from his righteousness and commits iniquity. And what happened? His former
righteousness cannot save him from the death and the hand of
the law. It will not be mentioned. It
will not be brought up. It will not be remembered. He
shall die when he turns from observing the things of God to
transgressing them. Now, the Arminian has drawn two
very wrong conclusion from the sayings and the word of this
chapter. Number one, they have concluded
that an unregenerate person without the spirit of grace, without
the spirit of God, is capable of turning themselves around
and onto God. And secondly, that a person,
once possessing a real saving righteousness, and for a time,
and I'm using this statement, be heaven ready, and then turn
from that righteousness and eternally perish forever and forever. Fall away, fall short, miss heaven
after a time of righteousness. Now, I say again, this is why
it is so important to consider the historical setting of this
chapter. And when we do, we learn. What is here stated is peculiar
and unique unto the Jew. We read it again and again. Verse
2, concerning the land Canaan and the house of Israel and you'll
find that statement house of Israel in verse 6 15 25 29 and
30 in all of those verses the house of Israel is mentioned. Reminds me of Peter's Pentecostal
sermon, ye brethren, ye house of Israel, ye men of Israel,
as he speaks to them in that light. And so as Owen and Gil
and others point out, these exhortation, these instructions, these threats,
these admonitions, and so forth, are peculiar to the house of
Israel living in the land of Canaan under the covenant of
the law. Should I say that again? They
are peculiar to the house of Israel, living in Canaan under
the covenant of the law. In fact, let me share a quote
from Owen on the passage as to the context and the historical
perspective of the passage that we have read from and are studying. He wrote that it is not God's
dealing with the elect here, in the covenant of grace as to
their eternal condition, quote, but the manifestation of the
righteousness of God in dealing with a Jew in a particular dispensation
of his providence toward the nation in general, unquote. And I think that will cast it
in a proper context for our considering it. And John Gill wrote, that
the repentance exhorted to here is not evangelical repentance,
that is, like a real saving repentance. That requires, that he said,
requires an internal work of grace. None will repent savingly
until there is an internal work of grace. And here's what Gil
said. but of a national one for national
iniquity to prevent national judgments." Gil also wrote that
the ruin threatened on Israel and the death meant is temporal
and not eternal. In fact, both the living and
the dying in this chapter are temporal or physical. And as
an example, let's look back to verse 5 through 9 of this chapter. I mentioned it a moment ago.
Verse 5 through verse 9. We won't read it, but we read
the first part and the last part. if a man be just and do that
which is lawful and right. And then in verse 6 through verse
9, it describes some of the precepts of that which is lawful and right. Then in the end of verse 9, he
is just, he shall surely live, saith the Lord. Now let's go
back to verse 5. If a man is just and doeth that
which is lawful and right, he is just, he shall surely live,
saith the Lord. Now the question is this. Is
this living? Is this life? Of what sort is
it that is meant? Is it spiritual? Is it eternal? Or is it temporal and physical? Now, we know from the New Testament
that Paul tells us in such places as Romans chapter 3 and verse
20. And again in Romans 3 and 28 and Galatians 2 and 16. is not justified by the works
of the law. Galatians 3 and 11, that no man
is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident. Not even before Christ appeared
in the flesh, became incarnate, not even in that period were
any justified in any way except by faith and grace. You have Noah and you have Abraham. Abraham being the grand model.
In Genesis 15 and verse 6, Romans chapter 4, Abraham believed God
and it was imputed unto him for righteousness. And by the way,
that was before the law was ever given. So as Gil wrote, this
issue such living or dying in relation to observing or not
observing God's holy statute refers so often not to eternal
life or death but to the physical or the temporal life and as an
example blasphemers, adulterers, rebellious children, incestuous
persons, idolaters, homosexuals, bestials, wizards, and any that
sacrificed their seed unto the god Molech were some that were
put to death by the penalty and under the law. Fortune tellers,
for example, were put to death, including those that consumed
blood under the law. Sabbath desecrators, a man picking
up sticks, stoned to death, died a physical death for that. Let's drop back to Leviticus
chapter 18, if you would, and let's look at verses 1 through
5 to sort of give us a better perspective on our text and where
it might take us. In Leviticus chapter 18, 1 through
5, I'm reading, And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak
unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, I am the Lord
your God. After the doings of the land
of Egypt, wherein you dwell, shall you not do? And after the
doings of the land of Canaan, whither I shall bring you, shall
you not do? Neither shall you walk in their
ordinances. Ye shall do my judgment and keep
my ordinances to walk therein. I am the Lord your God. Now watch verse 5. Ye shall therefore
keep my statutes and my judgments, which if a man do, he shall live
in them. I am the Lord. Three times in Ezekiel chapter
20, we read much the same. Verse 11, I gave them my statutes,
made them to know my judgment, which if a man do, he shall even
live in them. Verse 13, they walk not in my
statute, despise my judgment, which if a man do, he shall even
live Them and then verse 21 They walk not in my statute Neither
kept my judgments to do them Which if a man do he shall even
live in them and Leviticus 18 and 5 I want to remind you us
that Paul twice quotes this in the New Testament. Romans 10,
5 and Galatians 3 and verse 12. Paul's reasoning in Galatians
3, 11 and 12 is of this sort. Number one, he said, it is clear
that no one is justified by the law in the sight of God. Number two, this is clear because
scripture connects justification with faith. Habakkuk chapter
2 and verse 4, the just shall live by faith, quoted three times
in the New Testament. And number three, the law is
not of faith. The law is not a matter of believing,
the law is a matter of doing or of obey. Law is not an adherent
to grace, but of works. Law has no tolerance None at
all for sin, but grace pardons a multitude of sin by the supply
that it is made. But getting back again to Ezekiel
and chapter 18 that we are considering for our study of the morning. in verse 24 and in following,
verse 26. Here is the question now. What
is the nature and what is the essence of this righteousness? We need to deal with that and
we need an answer. Who are they called righteous
and why are they called righteous? In verse 5, they are called just. Now is this a saving, imputed
righteousness as was reckoned to Abraham and to all of the
elect who are in Jesus Christ? If so, may it be lost. Or was it the righteousness of
the law? Is this the righteousness of
law or the righteousness of faith? We know that one can be abandoned
and lost. The other cannot. Now consider
the contrast of the two made by Paul in Romans chapter 10,
verses 5 through 10. In the fifth verse, Paul writes,
Moses described the righteousness which is of the law, and that
is that the doer of the law shall live by them. Leviticus 18 and
5. While the righteousness of faith
speaks in a different dialect altogether. The righteousness of the law
says do this and you will live. But the righteousness of faith
says believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. Now Gill called the righteousness
in Ezekiel 18 and 24 a mere external moral righteousness having an
appearance and degree of obedience in it. That is one who practiced
or refrained from at least externally the statutes and precepts of
the covenant of the land of Canaan given only unto the Jew, and
Owen speaks that kind of righteousness then under consideration." that
righteousness that was practiced. If that be the case, then this
text will not serve the Arminian as a proof text for falling out
of grace and losing salvation. For the loss of salvation after
a time as a true believer And this is not the emphasis in the
chapter. This is not what the prophet
is emphasizing and is saying unto them, that you will lose
your salvation if you turn away from the observant of the law. And two truths are emphasized
in this chapter. Number one, we've said it so
many times, if a wicked one turns from his wickedness, He would
live and not die. Verse 21, 27, and 28. Number two, if a man walked in
the precepts of the law and then turned to wickedness, he would
die. You have that in verse 24 and
in verse 26. Even saying that former obedient
cannot hold off this death that he would experience. Each stands
answerable to God individually. Verse 30, I will judge everyone
according to his way. In verse 4 and in verse 20, the
sinning soul or person shall die. The son shall not be punished
for the sin of his father and vice versa. That's in verse 20.
So let's say if we might a few quick words about national repentance. What we might call temporary
repentance or respite is a word we sometimes see in the scripture. Consider Nineveh as an example. A large, large city in its time,
and a city mostly inhabited by Gentiles. Nineveh, a city of
the Gentiles. We notice something in the book
of Jonah. Jonah 1 and verse 2. Their wickedness
came up before God. Their wickedness came up in the
nostrils of God as we read in other places in the scripture.
Secondly, we notice chapter 3 and verse 4 of Jonah, tell them 40
days and Nineveh will be utterly destroyed and overthrown. And
then the third thing that we notice is in the third chapter,
verse 5 through verse 9. Lo and behold, the people heeded
the message. Jonah, and they believed God,
and they reformed, and they sat in sackcloth and in ashes, and
gave certain statues to be observed for certain days. And the fourth
thing that we notice is in Jonah chapter 3 and verse 10. And God
saw their works, that they turned from their evil works, and repented
of the evil threatened against them. So God spared the city
for a time. Remember Ahab. When Ahab humbled
himself, God deferred judgment to his son's generation. 1 Kings
21, 25-29. Even wicked Pharaoh found a short
respite in the judgments of God. That is, he found some relief.
He found some breathing room, I think the Hebrew word means.
He confessed his wickedness and asked Moses to pray for him. You'll find it in Exodus 8 and
9 and 10. And yet, when Moses removed the
plague, God's Hardness came again upon the heart of Pharaoh for
God's will was to destroy him. Now this is not to imply that
outward reformation or half-hearted repentance is meritorious. This does not mean that if one
will humble himself like Ahab which wasn't real or Pharaoh
which wasn't real or Nineveh that God is obligated to bestow
saving grace upon them. They cannot acquire grace by
any act of their own. For the living and the dying
here in Ezekiel chapter 18 are, I think Gil and Owen are right,
neither one of them eternal. And so the text has nothing to
do with falling out of a state of grace or of salvation and
should never be brought up in opening the message that is set
forth in this chapter. The subject here is the justification
of God in dealing with them for their sin. This is called in
theology a theodicy, that is, a justifying, that is, God is
right, God is righteous to do what he does even in sending
those particular judgments. So the law deals with a person
different than grace deals with a person. Grace deals with our
sins or a person's sin different than grace deals with our sin. The law can only punish. The law can only exert strict
justice. Grace is able and has provided
a remedy and therefore is able to put away our sin and to make
us stand not guilty and justified before God Almighty. So I hope
that this passage boggles my mind. for two weeks and I hope
now that it's a little bit clearer both for me and for you. You
might want to study it and read it some more. I admit it's hard
and it's complicated. May the Lord enable us to understand.