Repent and Live!

Repent and Live!

Ezekiel 18:29 – Yet the house of Israel says, ‘The Lord’s conduct is unjust!’ Is my conduct unjust, O house of Israel? Is it not your conduct that is unjust? 30 – “Therefore I will judge each person according to his conduct, O house of Israel, declares the sovereign LORD. Repent and turn from all your wickedness; then it will not be an obstacle leading to iniquity. 31 – Throw away all your sins you have committed and fashion yourselves a new heart and a new spirit! Why should you die, O house of israel? 32 – For I take no delight in the death of anyone, declares the sovereign LORD. Repent and live!

The house of Israel had a very twisted morality.  They lived by the proverb: “The fathers eat sour grapes And the children’s teeth become numb.”  They believed that the children should be held accountable for the deeds of their parents and the parents should be held accountable for the deeds of their children.  God said:  No more!  

The person who sins is the one who will die. A son will not suffer for his father’s iniquity, and a father will not suffer for his son’s iniquity; the righteous person will be judged according to his righteousness, and the wicked person according to his wickedness. – Ezekiel 18:20.

Imagine being judged according to Israel’s view of morality:  the children would suffer for the sins of the parents and people would be condemned for all the wrong they’ve done despite any attempts at turning to the right.  Conversely, others would be saved for any good they did regardless of whether they were presently in rebellion.  No wonder the whole nation was condemned with only a remnant escaping!

God is not out to kill everyone!  He wants as many as possible to live!  “But if the wicked person turns from all the sin he has committed and observes all my statutes and does what is just and right, he will surely live; he will not die. None of the sins he has committed will be held against him; because of the righteousness he has done, he will live.” – Ezekiel 18:21-22.

Pay attention to this chapter and read it in full because He also says that if a person turns from his righteousness and becomes wicked, none of his past righteousness will be remembered.  Why should it be if that person has abandoned his righteousness and turned to wickedness?  God wants to encourage people to turn from the bad to the good, not the other way around!  It is far better to have your wickedness forgotten and your life saved!  Let’s throw away our sins and have God fashion for us a new heart and a new spirit.  Let’s repent and live abundantly in the Lord Jesus Christ today!