You're turning to Ezekiel chapter
18. I want you to listen very carefully
as I remind you of some things with which you are very familiar. Sadly, not many people are familiar
with these things. Not many people in churches are
familiar with these things. But you, I'm thankful, are familiar
with them. You recall Moses prayed for God
to show him his glory. He said, I beseech thee, show
me thy glory. And when he did, the Lord God
said to Moses, I will make all my goodness pass before thee. And I will proclaim the name
of the Lord before thee. And will be gracious to whom
I will be gracious and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy. So these things are the things
by which God showed Moses his glory. He said, I will be gracious. I will have mercy on whom I will
have mercy. And I will be gracious to whom
I will be gracious. So my glory is my sovereign goodness. And then in Exodus 34, the Lord
descended in a cloud and proclaimed the name of the Lord to Moses. Now you'll notice as you read
the 34th chapter of Exodus, that God doesn't say anything about
his name. But he descended in a cloud and proclaimed the name
of the Lord to Moses. For the name of the Lord is but
the revelation of his essential character as God. A man's name
used to represent something about the man. A name like Taylor refers
to a man whose family is Taylor, Smith, a man whose family is
Blacksmiths or Goldsmiths or something of the kind. But now
we name folks just whatever we think sounds strange and cute,
you know, like Moonlight or Dwiddle Dee Dee or something of that
kind. But God's name represents who he is. God's name is his
character. Now listen to God declare his
name. The Lord passed by before Moses and proclaimed, the Lord,
the Lord God, this is who I am, merciful and gracious, long-suffering
and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands,
forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no
means clear the guilty. visiting the iniquity of the
fathers upon the children and upon the children's children
under the third and fourth generation. Now here's the essence of God's
character. God is sovereign. He's gracious to whom he will
be gracious. He's merciful to whom he will
be merciful. The God of this generation no
more resembles of the God of the Bible than a gnat resembles
an angel. For the God of this generation
knows nothing of sovereignty. This generation knows absolutely
nothing about God's absolute total sovereignty. And God's
sovereignty is the very essence of his character. Rob God of
sovereignty and you rob God of Godhood. Deny God's sovereignty
and you deny that God is God. God delights in mercy. This too
is essential to his character. He delighteth in mercy. He is
merciful, gracious, forgiving iniquity, transgression and sins
Merciful and gracious and he's careful to tell us he forgives
sin in every way sin is described Iniquity, transgression and sin
Open acts of rebellion transgressions against his law, missing the
mark, trying to do good but not being able, and what you are
by nature, iniquity, transgression, and sin. I forgive those things,
God says. He's merciful. This too is essential
to God's character. He's just. He's just. He's just. Now, almost everybody acknowledges
that God's merciful, that God forgives sin. But almost everybody
who claims to believe this book, almost everybody who professes
to believe in Jesus Christ, almost everybody who calls himself Christian
would rob God of these two essential aspects of his character, his
sovereignty and his justice. For they declare that God is
merciful at the expense of justice. And that justice really means
nothing to God. Declaring that God required of
his son payment for sin and then requires payment from those very
people for whom his son suffered and died. Telling us that God,
yes, he is just when he finally sends men to hell. But that's
the only way you see God's justice. Oh, no. No, no. Everything God
does, everything God does, everything God does in history,
everything God does in this universe, everything God does, especially
as it relates to the salvation of his people, shows him to be
these three things, sovereign, merciful, and just. a just God
and a Savior. God cannot save, except he save
justly, for he's a just God and a Savior. God cannot be merciful,
except he be merciful in a way that's totally consistent with
his justice, for he is a just God and a Savior. He says, I
will by no means clear the guilty. I will by no means clear the
guilty. Well, how can God forgive iniquity,
transgression, and sin, and at the same time by no means clear
the guilty? Only if he can put iniquity,
transgression, and sin into non-existence. If you get hold of what I've
got to say to you tonight, oh, there'll be a hallelujah in your
soul for days to come. God forgives iniquity, transgression,
and sin by putting iniquity, transgression, and sin into nonexistence
by his darling son, Purging away our sins. Putting away sin by
the sacrifice of himself. Now, turn with me if you will
to Ezekiel chapter 18. Ezekiel chapter 18. God makes the guilty not guilty. He makes the sinful sinless. He makes the unrighteous righteous. He makes the unholy holy. This is how God forgives iniquity,
transgression, and sin. He made his darling son to be
sin for us who knew no sin, thereby making us the very righteousness
of God in him. That's complete. free, perfect
justification in Christ. And that's the message of Ezekiel
18. I had not planned to preach to
you from this passage. I'd prepared a message from 1
John 5, and I'll come back to it another day, the Lord willing.
But when I started reading this morning, I got to this 18th chapter
of Ezekiel. I knew this is what I had to
deal with tonight. I've been delightfully, delightfully
working on it all day. Is not my way equal? Is God's question by his prophet
in this chapter. Is not my way equal? That's my subject. When we declare
God's sovereignty, men say that's not right. God's ways are not
equal, that's just not fair. When we assert that God's salvation
is to be had only by his mercy, only by his great grace through
the blood and righteousness of his darling son. Men say that's
not right. God's ways are not equal. That's
not fair. When we declare that God is just
in his judgment. that everything God does is just
and right. God sends tornadoes and people
die, old and young, and we say that's right, men say that's
not fair. God sends earthquakes and men die, old and young, and
we say that's God's judgment, and folks say you can't say that,
that's not fair. We see God send floods and tornadoes and tsunamis,
and people die old and young. And we say that's God's judgment.
And men say, you can't say that. God's not fair if that's the
way God does things. And God says, are not my ways
equal? Let's see. Let's see. May God
the Holy Spirit be our teacher as we read these 32 verses together. And I trust that he will inscribe
the message upon our hearts. This one thing is taught throughout
the chapter. God always does right. God is always just. Both in the execution of his
wrath in judgment and in the exercise of his mercy in salvation. God acts justly. God always does right. Now let's look at six things
in these 32 chapters. I'll give you my outline as I
go along. Number one, in verses one through four, the Lord God
here makes a declaration of his absolute sovereignty as God.
Whenever you start to think about God, this is where you got to
begin. When John Saw heavens open a door open in heaven when
he was in the spirit god gave him new life and faith in christ
The first thing he saw was a throne and god sitting on the throne
That's the first thing is all folks tell me all the time. Well,
I I will say for a long time Then I found out god was in charge.
No No, when god saves you you find out he's in charge You don't
know god till you know god on the throne. I'm in an absolute
throw The Lord God here declares his sovereignty. The word of
the Lord came unto me again saying, what mean ye that ye use this
proverb concerning the land of Israel? That is, he's asking
the children of Israel. They use a proverb concerning
the land of Israel. The fathers have eaten sour grapes
and the children's teeth are set on edge. Our fathers ate the sour grapes. When they were in Egypt, they
acted like the heathen. When they came out of Egypt,
they acted like the heathen. When you brought them into the
land of Canaan, they acted like the heathen. And they deserved your wrath,
but we didn't eat those grapes. Our fathers did that. And now
our teeth are set on edge from the sour grapes our fathers did
eat. Let me see if I can illustrate what I'm saying. This is how
they were talking. Most of us here are white folks. And we hear the news media yakking,
and they all the time make you feel guilty because of the slavery
that took place over 100 years ago. And I want to say, I never
bought one, never sold one, never beat one. I never did. That was
my daddy's doings. Why should I have to suffer anything
because of what my daddy did? That's exactly what the children
of Israel were saying here. And that would be a legitimate
argument. if they weren't guilty of the
same. We know. As I live, saith the Lord God,
ye shall not have occasion anymore to use this proverb in Israel.
I'm going to show you that what you experience is exactly what
you deserve, because my ways are equal. And then he declares
his sovereignty. Look at verse four. Behold, all
souls are mine. As the soul of the father, so
also is the soul of the son, is mine. The soul that sinneth,
it shall die. Quarter declaration. All souls
are mine. The father and the son. All are
mine. The children do not belong to
the parents, they belong to God. And you don't belong to yourself,
you belong to God. All souls are mine. And the Lord Jesus puts this
to that statement. Is it not lawful for me to do
with mine own what I will? God can and will do with you
exactly as he pleases. And you have no word to say in
the matter. All souls are mine. And then
he says, if you go to hell, you go to hell because you've said
the soul that said it, it shall die. The soul that said it, it
shall die. Understand this. Understand this. Nobody is going to hell because
of what Adam did in the garden. Nobody is going to hell because
of Adam's transgression. Oh, no. Yes, we sinned in our
father Adam. Yes, we came forth in mother's
womb speaking lies. Those things are true. Yes, we
were plunged into death and into a nature of sin when Adam died.
That's indeed so. We were spiritually dead when
we came into this world. But nowhere in this book will
you find any example of anyone being punished for his father's
sins. No, sir. No, sir. God visits the iniquity
of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generation
of them that rebel against him because the sons continue to
walk just like their fathers. But nowhere in this book is any
man ever said to suffer the wrath of God because of what another
man did. No, sir. No, sir, the soul that
sinneth, it shall die. If you go to hell, you'll go
to hell because what you do and you'll suffer the wrath of God
because of your iniquity, your transgression and your sins.
The soul that sinneth, it shall die. All right. Here's the second
thing. Look at verses five, six, seven, eight and nine. Here,
the Lord Jehovah himself gives us a description of a just man. Just man You see it But if a
man be just if a man be just I'm interested in that a just
man. I Have told you many many times
We commonly refer to justification being justified and Old adage
is that means just as if I'd never seen and I've told you
no, that's not what it means. I Doesn't mean just as if I'd
never seen you see God Cody doesn't justify us by pretending that
we never said God doesn't play pretend God doesn't I don't want
it so hard folks get hold of God doesn't play pretend God
doesn't play pretend To be justified before God is to be without sin. To be justified means that I
never sinned. That I never sinned. Justification
is God making the sinner to have never sinned. It is God reversing
things, making the guilty guiltless, the unholy holy, the unrighteous
righteous, the sinful sinless. Let's see. Let's see if that's
so. But if a man be just, now what does that mean, Lord? And
do that which is lawful and right. And do that which is lawful and
right. Now you read the commentaries and they'll say, if a man will
be sincere in doing what's lawful and right, that's not what it
says. That is not what it says. A just man does that which is
lawful and right. He never does anything else.
He never does anything else. and hath not eaten upon the mountains. What's that talking about? He
never took a picnic in the Smoky Mountains. No, that's not what
he's talking about. Neither hath lifted up his eyes to the idols
of the house of Israel. He's never gone into the high
places of the heathen and worshipped the works of his own hands. He's
never gone and worshipped his own self. He's never gone and
worshipped an idol. Neither hath defiled his neighbor's
wife never committed fornication or adultery Hmm talk about just
man now a just man I Don't see anybody here who
meets the character Male or female is there one here
is there one in this house that who can lift his hand to heaven
and say, that's me. I can't. I'm a just man. God says I am. You can too, if you're in Christ
Jesus. Read on, read on. Here's a just
man. Neither hath, I take that to
mean at any time, come near to a mistress woman. What's that talking about? Exactly
what it says. Well, brother Don, no man can be raised in a house
with his mother or his sisters and not come near to a mistress
woman. That shuts everybody out. But she's declared unclean. Never
come near an unclean thing. A just man is one who's never
been defiled. He's never been defiled. Read
on. And hath not oppressed any, but hath restored to the debtor
his pledge, and hath spoiled none by violence, given his bread
to the hungry, and hath covered the naked with the garment. He's
taking care of the poor and the needy. And if he sees somebody
doing what's wrong, he never tells anybody. He covers it up. That's what it is. You know what
Noah's son did? Ham came and uncovered his father's
nakedness. He came and said, boys, let me
show you daddy's shame. I always knew the man was a hypocrite.
And his brother Shadman, Japheth being just men, went in backwards
and they covered their father's nakedness,
refusing to look upon it. Refusing to look upon his sin. Oh, children of God, a just man. He covers the naked one with
a garment. He that hath not given forth
upon usury, never let a fellow borrow a dime and charge him
six cents back, neither hath taken any increase and hath withdrawn
his hand from iniquity, hath executed true judgment, a just
man. between man and man, hath walked
in my statutes, hath kept my judgments to deal truly. He's a just man. He's a just
man. He shall surely live, saith the
Lord. What does that mean? What does that mean? It means
exactly what it sounds like it means. means exactly what it
sounds like it means. The just man has obeyed God's
law in Christ's surety. The Lord Jesus has put away our
sin by the sacrifice of himself. In the new birth, the Holy Spirit
put in us a holy seed, a new man, making us new creatures
in Christ, partakers of the divine nature, making every saved sinner
a new man created in righteousness and true holiness, a man that
cannot sin, but only does that which is lawful and right. That's
exactly what John told us about the new man, isn't it? He said,
born of God, he can't sin. Because it all he does what's
right the old man now, they can do a sin, but not that new man
He's just he just that means Christ Jesus in you None shall
enter into life in heaven who have committed any sin Read the book of Revelation the
last verse of chapter 21 If any man makes a lie or defiles That
man can't enter in Can't enter into the city. Can't go in. I've
told you many times about my friend Ruth Adkins, who's with
the Lord now. Am and Ruth were chartered members of the church
in Ashton where Brother Mayhem was pastor. They came with him
from Pollard over there. And the first time I drove down
to Ashton to preach on either Sunday night or Wednesday night,
I don't remember which it was. I was just a young man, 26 years old.
Ruth and Anne were the first ones there and we chatted a little
bit and finally she looked at me She's an old woman at this
time. She said She said better Don could I ask you a question?
I suppose sure she said how good do you have to be to get to heaven?
and I've been asked exactly that before and I looked at her and
said as good as God and She being from ear to ear just tickled
her to death to hear it. Oh, that's so good, isn't it?
How good do you have to be to get to heaven? David Burge, God
cannot touch you if you're not as good as Him. God will not receive you if you're
not holy as He's holy, righteous as He's righteous. He said, walk
before me and be thou perfect for I the Lord your God and perfect. All of God's elect in heaven
are pictured in Revelation chapter 14 like this. They are chaste
virgins. They have not defiled themselves
with women. Every one of them. They're described
this way. and without blame and unblameable
and unreprovable before God. That's how God's people described. He that is just, made just by
Jesus Christ. He is perfect before God. So that God looks at a fellow
like Joe and he says, come here, black dog of hell. Come here. Have you considered my servant
Job? There's not anybody on earth
like him. Perfect and upright. Perfect and upright. And he cannot
cast off his righteousness because it's in me. Perfect and upright. But the just man in this world
still dwells in this body of sinful flesh. And he brings forth
children, children who are just like himself by nature, vile
sinners. You can leave riches to your sons and daughters,
and you can leave a good reputation to your children. And you can
pass along the inheritance you got from your father to your
sons and daughters. But you can't pass along God's
grace and God's righteousness. You can't do it. You can't do
it. All you can give your children
by birth is your nature. Do you know why it's so hard
for fathers and sons to get along? Because the daddy can't stand
looking at himself. That's exactly why. You know
why it's hard for mommas and daughters to get along? Man,
that girl gets to be a teenage girl and you just want to pull
her hair out because she's just like you. That's why. That's
exactly why. That's exactly why. All you pass
along to your children by nature is you. Just you. So we see here in the next line
a picture of God's sovereignty and justice. Here, God displays
his sovereignty and his justice. In verses 5 through 9, we see
the son of the man here in verses 10 through 18, who was described
in verses 5 through 9. Ezekiel chapter 18, verse 10.
If he, this just man, begat a son that is a robber and a shedder
of blood, and that doeth the like to any one of these things,
that is, does everything his daddy didn't do, does everything
the just man doesn't do, and that doeth not any of those duties,
but even hath eaten upon the mountains and defiled his neighbor'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 live? He shall not live. He shall not live. But my daddy
was such a good man. That don't count for nothing.
But my daddy was a preacher. That don't mean a thing. But
my daddy served God all of his life. I was raised on the missionary
field. That don't mean a thing. Won't benefit you one bit. Not
one bit. Read on. He shall not live. He hath done
all these abominations. He shall surely die. His blood
shall be upon him. His blood shall be upon him. Oh, God help you to hear what
God has to say. Are you listening to me? Are you listening to me? The righteousness, the grace,
the mercy, the salvation that God has given to mom and dad
doesn't belong to you unless God gives it to you. And if you die in your sins,
if you rebel against God, you'll go to hell and your blood shall
be on your head. Not mamas and daddies or the
preachers somebody else's not on God's purpose and God's sovereignty
on your own head Now here's that same just man's grandson and
God's merciful to him He passes by one and saves another is the
grandson. He's saved by God's grace his
father's wickedness Couldn't destroy him and his own wickedness
is completely purged away by the blood of Christ verse 14
Now lo, if he, this wicked man, beget a son, that seeth 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 neighbor's wife, neither
hath oppressed any, hath not withholding the pledge, neither
hath spoiled by violence, but have given his bread to the hungry
and have covered the naked with a garment that hath taken off
his hand from the poor. and hath not received usury nor
increase, hath executed my judgments and walked in my statutes. He
shall not die for the iniquity of his father. I come from a long line of horse
thieves and crooks and murderers. Well, your family tree doesn't
mean anything for good or bad in the kingdom of God. He shall
not die for the iniquity of his father. He shall surely live. For as for his father, because
he cruelly oppressed and spoiled his brother by violence and did
that which was not good among the people, lo, even he shall
die in his iniquity. You see, I repeat, God has mercy
on whom we will have mercy. He saves the one and passes by
the other. as seems good in his sight. And
if a man is lost and perishes, it'll be his fault because of
his own shame and transgression and sin alone. If a sinner is
saved, it's God's work and God's work alone. He's made righteous
by the justice of God through the merits of God's son and God
in his law declares him righteous. Now, please hear this. Understand
it. Understand it. A judge downtown may declare
you righteous when he knows you're not. He may declare you innocent
when he knows you're guilty. A jury may declare you innocent
when they know you're guilty. Not God. For God to declare one righteous
is for that person to have voice from God saying he is righteous. And God doesn't lie. God doesn't
declare what's not so. The just one is made just by
God making him just. Made righteous by God making
him righteous through the Lord Jesus his substitute. All right,
look at verses 19, 20 and 21. Here's the fourth thing. God
displays both his mercy and his justice. Yet you say, 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, God says. Verse 20. 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. Now, watch this. There's hope
for the wicked. Believe on the Son of God, and
thy sins are forgiven thee. The book says, verse 21, if the
wicked will turn from all his sins that he hath committed,
and keep my statutes, and do that which is lawful and right,
he shall surely live. He shall not die. Rex, that sounds an awful lot
like works, doesn't it? Boy, that sounds like works. Man,
turn from his wicked way? No, not just turn. Say, well, I'm not going to cuss
like I used to. I'm going to be honest. Now, that doesn't mean I'll be
completely honest, but I'm going to act honest. No, turn from
all his wickedness. to perfect righteousness. That's
called repentance. It's called faith by which we
establish the law. Faith in Jesus Christ. Then that
wicked one shall live. He shall not die. You see, the
only way a sinner can do that which is lawful and right is
by faith in Christ. We don't have the ability Even
now, being born again by God's Spirit, while we live in this
body of flesh, to do right, we don't have the ability. It's
impossible for Don Renneri to be completely honest. You can't
do it. And you know it, don't you? You
can't do it. You can't do it. So I'm being
completely honest with you now. When a fellow says that, I start
to back up and say, I wonder which pocket he's reaching into.
Completely honest, you can't do it. Which one of you can? Raise your hand. I promise you,
I'll sit down and let you stand up here and tell us about it.
Completely honest. Not possible. The only way you
can do what's lawful and right is by faith, presenting to God
a perfect sacrifice, a perfect righteousness, that which Christ
has done in our room instead. He is that righteousness of the
righteous that shall be upon him. Every tongue that shall
rise against thee in judgment, thou shalt condemn, the Lord
says. This is the heritage of the servants
of the Lord. Now, what's all that got to do
with this righteousness? Their righteousness is of me. Now, what do you got to say against
that? Let hell say what it will. Let men say what it will. Their
righteousness is of me. Who is he that condemneth? Now,
read verses 21 and 22 and shout for joy. Here's a soul recovered
by grace out of the snare of the devil. But if the wicked
will turn from 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. And his transgressions that he
hath committed, they shall not be mentioned unto him. In his
righteousness that he hath done, he shall live. Here's the fifth
thing. Verses 22 through 30. We're assured
of our God, of his strict justice in the execution of his wrath
and judgment. Verse 23, 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? God has pleasure in mercy. He
delighteth in mercy. His justice can never be satisfied
by punishing sinners for sin. Hell is everlasting because finite
creatures can never satisfy the justice of God by their suffering
anything, even hell forever. And in hell, the sinner just
goes on sinning. Nothing is changed. He continually
heaps upon himself reasons more for everlasting judgment. Well,
where does God find pleasure? God looks on his son and he sees
of the travail of his soul and is satisfied. He's satisfied
with the righteousness of His Son. He's satisfied with the
sacrifice of His Son. He's satisfied with the salvation
brought by His Son. He's satisfied with His Son.
Blessed be His name. God's satisfied with me in His
Son. Oh God of all grace! He's satisfied
with me in His Son. For He has made me the very righteousness
of God in His Son. And my iniquity, my transgressions,
and my sins shall not be remembered by God again forever. Forever. He hath not beheld iniquity
in Jacob, nor sin in Israel. He hath not beheld iniquity in
Don Fortner or Bob Potts. He beholds us in his Son. He
beholds us in his Son, not because Bob, he pretends we're in his
Son. Not because He treats us as though we were His Son. Not
because He makes it appear that we're His Son. No, no, no, no.
Because we are His Son. One with His Son. Holy as His
Son. Righteous as His Son. Sinless
as His Son. In His Son. You understand that?
One with Christ. One with Christ. And until God
finds sin on the substitute, He can't find sin on any who
are in Him, the substitute. Now, watch this. Here's a self-righteous man. A self-righteous soul forever
lost because of his sin. Gotta hurry, but when the righteous
turneth away from his righteousness Hmm Well, you see you could be
righteous and then then lose it well if it's yours you can
if it's yours you can but God's righteousness is such that you
can't turn from it God's righteousness is not something
you produced and you can't destroy it. God's righteousness is not
something you caused and you can't undo it. I don't know.
What's he talking about there? He's talking about the fellow,
the man, the woman who thinks he's righteous. Who thinks he's
good. Too good to need a substitute.
Too good to need a savior. Too good to need a sacrifice.
Too good to need one to make him righteous. Too good! So he
stumbles over his righteousness and stumbles over the stumbling
stone, going about to establish his own righteousness and forgets
Christ. All that real. But when the righteous
man, read it, the self-righteous, turneth away from his righteousness,
he's been a good Joe all his life. Man, he's just, he's always
done good. He's just, he has always done
good. He kept the law, paid his bills,
kept the Sabbath day, went to church, read his Bible, didn't
cuss, didn't drink, didn't chew. He dressed just right. He combed
his hair just right. Everybody said, oh, son, why
can't you be like him? Everybody said, I sure wish I
had a son like that. Perfect fellow. And then all of a sudden,
all of a sudden, right thing comes along and he falls. Just a little. Just a little. Just a little. He didn't really
commit adultery, he just wanted to. It ain't the same, is it? He didn't really steal anything,
he just coveted. It ain't the same, is it? He
didn't really commit murder, he just got angry and wanted
to. It ain't the same, is it? Oh yeah, it's the same. That's
the same. Read the book of God and find
out. What now? What now? He commits 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. His righteousness? Why, it's
just filthy rags. in his trespass that he hath
trespassed, and in his sin that he hath sinned, in them shall
he die. Yet you say, the way of the Lord
is not equal. That's not fair. That's not fair. 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,
he shall die. Now here's a sinner who saves
his soul alive by perfect righteousness. Verse 27. 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 his transgressions
that he hath committed, and he shall surely live, he shall not
die. Do you understand what you just
read? God's ways are equal. Look at 29. He always does what's
right. Yet sayeth 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. Watch this. Everyone
according to his ways. Everyone according to his ways. God's going to judge every one
of us according to our works. Every one of us. And we will
be saved or damned on the basis of absolute strict justice. Pastor, that can't be. What? Well, you know it is. God's just. God's just. He won't take you
to heaven if you don't deserve it. He won't take you to glory
if you don't deserve it. Well, brother Don, nobody does.
If you're in Christ, you do. If you're in Christ, you do.
That's the reward of his obedience. Read on. Repent and turn yourselves
from your transgressions, so your iniquity shall not be your
ruin. And so he shows us the justice
of God in salvation. This magnificent chapter closes
with a call from God to sinners like us. Cast away from you all
your transgressions, whereby you have transgressed, and make
you a new heart and a new spirit. For why will you die, O house
of Israel? Well, how on earth can a dead
man cast away his transgressions and make himself a new heart
and a new spirit? You can't. Any fool ought to know that.
What's this talking about? The Lord commands it. And what
God commands, God performs. What God commands, God performs. And the sinner, believing on
the Lord Jesus, casts away his transgressions. He throws them away. Likewise,
reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed to sin. Is that what the book says? Cast
away your transgressions. God has. God has. Oh, yes, remember
them and loathe yourselves because of them, but cast them away.
God has. He won't loathe you because of
them. The sinner, believing on the Lord Jesus, finds in himself
a new heart. a new spirit, a new nature. Believing on Christ, he finds
himself new, made new by the grace of God. Read on. For I have no pleasure in the
death of him that dieth, saith the Lord, the Lord God. I have no pleasure. I can never, ever, ever be satisfied
with punishing sinners for their sin. But I have pleasure, I delight
in mercy! I find complete pleasure in receiving
sinners through the merits of my darling Son, by whom I am
well pleased. Amen.