The Justice of God

SCRIPTURE: Ezek. 33:11-20
¹¹ Say to them, ‘As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign LORD, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their ways and live. Turn! Turn from your evil ways! Why will you die, O house of Israel?’

¹² “Therefore, son of man, say to your countrymen, ‘The righteousness of the righteous man will not save him when he disobeys, and the wickedness of the wicked man will not cause him to fall when he turns from it. The righteous man, if he sins, will not be allowed to live because of his former righteousness.’ ¹³ If I tell the righteous man that he will surely live, but then he trusts in his righteousness and does evil, none of the righteous things he has done will be remembered; he will die for the evil he has done. ¹⁴ And if I say to the wicked man, ‘You will surely die,’ but he then turns away from his sin and does what is just and right— ¹⁵ if he gives back what he took in pledge for a loan, returns what he has stolen, follows the decrees that give life, and does no evil, he will surely live; he will not die. ¹⁶ None of the sins he has committed will be remembered against him. He has done what is just and right; he will surely live.

¹⁷ “Yet your countrymen say, ‘The way of the Lord is not just.’ But it is their way that is not just. ¹⁸ If a righteous man turns from his righteousness and does evil, he will die for it. ¹⁹ And if a wicked man turns away from his wickedness and does what is just and right, he will live by doing so. ²⁰ Yet, O house of Israel, you say, ‘The way of the Lord is not just.’ But I will judge each of you according to his own ways.”

OBSERVATION/APPLICATION: People haven't changed much since the time of Ezekiel. I think most of us still do not understand the way God thinks about forgiveness and judgement. We tend to make judgements of others on the basis of comparison and intent. "If I do less wrong than another person, I don't deserve the same punishment" is the thinking of most. If I look around and can find people a lot "worse" than me, I deserve kudos for living a good life. Also, if my intention is to be a decent person, the wrong I do should not be counted against me. But God does not think like that. We are told we cannot trust in our own righteousness to cover over any sins we may commit. Our trust has to be in God. He is the only one who can forgive; and his heart is to do that. As it says, he takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked. His desire is that we turn from our sinful ways. And we cannot justify ourselves by comparing our righteousness to others who are more sinful than we are. Our standard is to be what God says is just and right. We are to compare ourselves only to that standard. The key is to remember that my relationship with the Lord has to be daily and stay current "in the moment". I must not depend on what I have done in the past. I need daily grace to obey and serve my Lord.

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, I thank you for loving me so much that you desire daily communion with me. I ask that you continue to teach me your ways and show me your will for my life. Help me to understand how you view things and give me your wisdom. In Jesus' Name, Amen.