Hallelujah!

Thus says the Lord GOD: If the wicked man turns away from all the sins he committed, if he keeps all my statutes and does what is right and just, he shall surely live, he shall not die. None of the crimes he committed shall be remembered against him; he shall live because of the virtue he has practiced. 

Do I indeed derive any pleasure from the death of the wicked? says the Lord GOD. Do I not rather rejoice when he turns from his evil way that he may live? And if the virtuous man turns from the path of virtue to do evil, the same kind of abominable things that the wicked man does, can he do this and still live? None of his virtuous deeds shall be remembered, because he has broken faith and committed sin; because of this, he shall die. 

You say, “The LORD’s way is not fair!” Hear now, house of Israel: Is it my way that is unfair, or rather, are not your ways unfair? When someone virtuous turns away from virtue to commit iniquity, and dies, it is because of the iniquity he committed that he must die. But if the wicked, turning from the wickedness he has committed, does what is right and just, he shall preserve his life; since he has turned away from all the sins that he committed, he shall surely live, he shall not die. (Ezekiel 18:21-28)

I must agree.  The LORD’s way doesn't seem fair!  None of my virtuous deeds shall be remembered, because I have broken faith and committed sin; because of this, I shall die?  One strike and I’m out, so to speak?  One slipup and I’m toast?

If someone who is life-long-wicked turns away from all that sin to be right and just, that person lives with none of his past crimes being remembered?  Well, I guess this is God’s way although the business of goats on the left and sheep on the right seems to imply that wrong-doers end up in a not-so-nice place, and suddenly becoming right and just does not erase the record of past serious transgressions and the goat designation. 

Ezekiel says: “None of the [wicked man’s] crimes he committed shall be remembered against him; he shall live because of the virtue he has practiced.”  I suppose this provides the motivation for a wicked man to repent.  It’s never too late to ask for forgiveness.  There is hope.  With a change of heart there is hope.   For all of us sinners and part-time wicked men and women (and some full-time), hallelujah! 

Deacon David Pierce