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TriuneUnity
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Text: Ezekiel 33:7-20
Grace, mercy and peace to you from God the Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
The Lord put His Word into the mouth of Balaam and the man could do nothing but speak of the blessedness of Jacob who was saved by the grace of God through faith in the Lord and who departed this life in peace. Balaam said of such a death and of such a man, “Let me die the death of the upright, and let my end be like his!” (Numbers 23:10). We hear the same Spirit-led prayer of faithful Simeon, “Lord, now lettest Thou Thy servant depart in peace, according to Thy Word.”
Ah, to die in faithful peace. That is dying unto eternal life. But alas, not all deaths are like this. Many are horribly tragic because they are so unnecessary and they end in everlasting destruction. For example, we think of Judas Iscariot who betrayed Jesus, died in despair and entered into eternal death. His was a useless death, accomplishing nothing but the opposite of God’s intended purpose of salvation. There are far too many Judases in this world, dying unto eternal death.
If, somehow, you were able to identify and speak to a person who was heading to eternal death; that is, if you were able to talk to that person before the separation of body and soul took place, you would try to warn him, wouldn’t you? And if that person would not listen and would not heed the warning, would you not plead with him: “Why, why will you die? There is hope and righteousness and peace forever for you. Why will you die unto eternal death?”
That, my dear friends, is God’s question in verse 11 of our text: “I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live; turn back, turn back from your evil ways, for why will you die, O house of Israel?”
Now, before we can get the Word out, we must get the Word straight. So let’s begin by having the answer to God’s question given right away. Why will you die? There is only one reason why people die eternally. Unbelief, which is not having the God-given gift of faith in Christ as your Redeemer and Savior.
There are two, basic reasons why people depart this life in unbelief. The first is because the person has never heard that Jesus is the Redeemer and Savior. The second is because the person has heard this Good News, but rejects it.
Consider the people of New Orleans a few days before Hurricane Katrina reached the city. Imagine that there was one person in charge of getting the word out to the people. What word? A two-fold proclamation—the warning of a killer storm and the promise of the evacuation to life. That was the “law and gospel” of what was to be proclaimed to the people.
But suppose the word doesn’t get out to the people. Katrina devastates the city and people die. The called messenger, who is authorized and obligated to speak the word to the people, neither warns of the coming death nor tells the people of the way to life. People die in unbelief because they do not hear the message. The messenger, however, is and will be held accountable.
Now imagine instead that the messenger does do what he was called, authorized, and obligated to do, and that the word of warning and the word of escape are declared. The message goes out to the citizens. The storm is approaching and the way to escape the death and destruction is to evacuate the city. In short, if you stay you will die; if you leave you will live.
Suppose those who heard this death and life message ignore it. The called messenger does what he was called to do; he is not responsible, nor will he be held accountable. Such people die because they reject the message. They do not believe the warning or trust in the promise.
In our text, Ezekiel’s warning is not about an approaching hurricane or an impending flood or even a powerful earthquake. It is about the end of the world on Judgment Day and applies to those who die the second death, which is the Lake of Fire. Compared to that Day, the category 5 Katrina was but a gentle breeze. The floodwaters in New Orleans were but a trickle. And the tremors that shook Haiti were a nervous twitch. Though these events may end life for people in this world, they are not able to touch anyone’s soul for eternity.
Please remember: It is not only unbelievers who depart this life as a result of such catastrophes, Christians do as well. However, there is a difference: faithful children of God who die as a result of hurricane, terrorist attack, flooding, earthquake, or disease leave this world and enter into Paradise to be with the Lord. They truly depart in peace.
The Lord God asks, “Why will you die, O house of Israel?” This question is directed to the Church and it deals with eternal death. “Why will you die eternally, O My people?” God does not desire that anyone be lost forever, especially those who are numbered among His people. The Lord doesn’t punish and discipline merely because He likes to, but seeks to turn people from their wicked ways, to turn them back to Him. He continues to call us to repentance. He wants us to shrug off death and live eternally.
Why will you die? Only one reason, remember? Unbelief. It may be unbelief because the pastor does not warn with the accusing Law of God and/or because he does not comfort with the soothing Gospel of the forgiveness of all sins on account of Jesus’ sin-atoning death and death-defeating resurrection.
The departure from preaching the Word of God in its truth and purity is an American epidemic. Pastors exchange their liturgical vestments for cheerleader outfits in order to entice and empower with the chants of manageable law. They become the hawkers of this world’s therapeutic, moralistic deism.
Such hirelings seduce with a conditional gospel, which is not the Gospel. Their messages are often no different than those non-Christian clergy who fail to acknowledge the sin of man and who call for hope and change without Christ. Congregations subjected to this sort of pastoral malpractice are left hungering for the Word. They become more and more anemic as the cleansing blood of Jesus, both in sermon and in the cup, is withheld from them.
Many members of such congregations have no idea what the Gospel is, or what the means of grace convey. And if they, perchance, would cry out like the house of Israel, “Surely our transgressions and our sins are upon us, and we rot away because of them. How then can we live?” well, tragically, the voice of the preacher is all too often silent about Jesus’ forgiveness, the Lord’s eternal life, and God’s salvation. For the many lost because of the failure to preach Law and Gospel, the pastor will be held accountable on the Day of Reckoning.
Grace, mercy and peace to you from God the Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
The Lord put His Word into the mouth of Balaam and the man could do nothing but speak of the blessedness of Jacob who was saved by the grace of God through faith in the Lord and who departed this life in peace. Balaam said of such a death and of such a man, “Let me die the death of the upright, and let my end be like his!” (Numbers 23:10). We hear the same Spirit-led prayer of faithful Simeon, “Lord, now lettest Thou Thy servant depart in peace, according to Thy Word.”
Ah, to die in faithful peace. That is dying unto eternal life. But alas, not all deaths are like this. Many are horribly tragic because they are so unnecessary and they end in everlasting destruction. For example, we think of Judas Iscariot who betrayed Jesus, died in despair and entered into eternal death. His was a useless death, accomplishing nothing but the opposite of God’s intended purpose of salvation. There are far too many Judases in this world, dying unto eternal death.
If, somehow, you were able to identify and speak to a person who was heading to eternal death; that is, if you were able to talk to that person before the separation of body and soul took place, you would try to warn him, wouldn’t you? And if that person would not listen and would not heed the warning, would you not plead with him: “Why, why will you die? There is hope and righteousness and peace forever for you. Why will you die unto eternal death?”
That, my dear friends, is God’s question in verse 11 of our text: “I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live; turn back, turn back from your evil ways, for why will you die, O house of Israel?”
Now, before we can get the Word out, we must get the Word straight. So let’s begin by having the answer to God’s question given right away. Why will you die? There is only one reason why people die eternally. Unbelief, which is not having the God-given gift of faith in Christ as your Redeemer and Savior.
There are two, basic reasons why people depart this life in unbelief. The first is because the person has never heard that Jesus is the Redeemer and Savior. The second is because the person has heard this Good News, but rejects it.
Consider the people of New Orleans a few days before Hurricane Katrina reached the city. Imagine that there was one person in charge of getting the word out to the people. What word? A two-fold proclamation—the warning of a killer storm and the promise of the evacuation to life. That was the “law and gospel” of what was to be proclaimed to the people.
But suppose the word doesn’t get out to the people. Katrina devastates the city and people die. The called messenger, who is authorized and obligated to speak the word to the people, neither warns of the coming death nor tells the people of the way to life. People die in unbelief because they do not hear the message. The messenger, however, is and will be held accountable.
Now imagine instead that the messenger does do what he was called, authorized, and obligated to do, and that the word of warning and the word of escape are declared. The message goes out to the citizens. The storm is approaching and the way to escape the death and destruction is to evacuate the city. In short, if you stay you will die; if you leave you will live.
Suppose those who heard this death and life message ignore it. The called messenger does what he was called to do; he is not responsible, nor will he be held accountable. Such people die because they reject the message. They do not believe the warning or trust in the promise.
In our text, Ezekiel’s warning is not about an approaching hurricane or an impending flood or even a powerful earthquake. It is about the end of the world on Judgment Day and applies to those who die the second death, which is the Lake of Fire. Compared to that Day, the category 5 Katrina was but a gentle breeze. The floodwaters in New Orleans were but a trickle. And the tremors that shook Haiti were a nervous twitch. Though these events may end life for people in this world, they are not able to touch anyone’s soul for eternity.
Please remember: It is not only unbelievers who depart this life as a result of such catastrophes, Christians do as well. However, there is a difference: faithful children of God who die as a result of hurricane, terrorist attack, flooding, earthquake, or disease leave this world and enter into Paradise to be with the Lord. They truly depart in peace.
The Lord God asks, “Why will you die, O house of Israel?” This question is directed to the Church and it deals with eternal death. “Why will you die eternally, O My people?” God does not desire that anyone be lost forever, especially those who are numbered among His people. The Lord doesn’t punish and discipline merely because He likes to, but seeks to turn people from their wicked ways, to turn them back to Him. He continues to call us to repentance. He wants us to shrug off death and live eternally.
Why will you die? Only one reason, remember? Unbelief. It may be unbelief because the pastor does not warn with the accusing Law of God and/or because he does not comfort with the soothing Gospel of the forgiveness of all sins on account of Jesus’ sin-atoning death and death-defeating resurrection.
The departure from preaching the Word of God in its truth and purity is an American epidemic. Pastors exchange their liturgical vestments for cheerleader outfits in order to entice and empower with the chants of manageable law. They become the hawkers of this world’s therapeutic, moralistic deism.
Such hirelings seduce with a conditional gospel, which is not the Gospel. Their messages are often no different than those non-Christian clergy who fail to acknowledge the sin of man and who call for hope and change without Christ. Congregations subjected to this sort of pastoral malpractice are left hungering for the Word. They become more and more anemic as the cleansing blood of Jesus, both in sermon and in the cup, is withheld from them.
Many members of such congregations have no idea what the Gospel is, or what the means of grace convey. And if they, perchance, would cry out like the house of Israel, “Surely our transgressions and our sins are upon us, and we rot away because of them. How then can we live?” well, tragically, the voice of the preacher is all too often silent about Jesus’ forgiveness, the Lord’s eternal life, and God’s salvation. For the many lost because of the failure to preach Law and Gospel, the pastor will be held accountable on the Day of Reckoning.