Lesson 408 - Senior
Memory Verse
"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" (Ezekiel 18:20).
Cross References
I God's Just Dealings with Man
1. The Lord reproves the parable of sour grapes, [EZE:18:1-3]; [ROM:6:23].
2. The Lord shows how He deals with a just father, [EZE:18:4-9]; [PS:15:5]; [AMO:5:4].
3. He shows how He deals with a wicked son of a just father, [EZE:18:10-13]; [LEV:20:9]; [DEU:21:18-21].
4. He shows how He deals with a just son of a wicked father, [EZE:18:14-19].
5. "The soul that sinneth, it shall die," [EZE:18:20]; [ISA:3:11]; [ROM:2:9].
6. When the wicked turns from his sins and doeth righteousness, he shall live, [EZE:18:21], [EZE:18:23-28]; [EZE:33:12], [EZE:33:16], [EZE:33:19].
7. When the righteous turns from his righteousness and commits iniquity, he shall die, [EZE:18:24], [EZE:18:26]; [EZE:33:11]; [2PE:2:20].
8. Israel claimed the way of the Lord was unequal, [EZE:18:25];[EZE:18:29].
9. Exhortation is given to turn from their sins and live, [EZE:18:30-32]; [EZE:33:11]; [JER:35:15]; [EPH:4:22-24].
Notes
Sour Grapes
The Children of Israel who were captive in the land of Babylon were using this proverb, "The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge." They were placing their blame for being in captivity on the sins of their parents. They were not looking into their own hearts and saying, "We have sinned, and because of our own sins the Lord has let us be brought into captivity."
It seems to be a mark of corrupt human nature to lay the blame for sin on someone else. Just as Adam placed his sin of disobedience on Eve, and Even on the serpent, so man has always been prone to blame someone else if he is in a sinful condition. The Lord's law of judgement has always been just and the same. "The soul that sinneth, it shall die."
Abraham realised God was just, and when the Lord was about to destroy Sodom, he pleaded with the Lord to spare Lot, saying, "That be far from thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked: . . . Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?" [GEN:18:25]).
The Lord was tired of their unjustly using this proverb of the sour grapes, so through Ezekiel he tells them their ways are unequal. He says, "All souls are mine," the soul of the father as well as the soul of the son. None shall die for another's crime, none shall be saved for another's righteousness.
God's Standard
"But if a man be just, and do that which is lawful and right, . . . hath spoiled none by violence, hath given his bread to the hungry, and hath covered the naked with a garment; . . . hath walked in my statutes, and hath kept my judgements, to deal truly; he is just, he shall surely live, saith the Lord GOD." That is God's standard for a just father.
The Lord then takes up the case of an unjust son of a just father. If a son does not live righteously but is a robber, a shedder of blood, hath oppressed the poor and needy, hath not restored the pledge, then in his iniquity he shall die: making it plain he shall die for his own sins.
Then the Lord treats the case of a just son of an unjust father. If he sees all his father's sins and considereth and does all that is lawful and right, he shall not die for the iniquity of his father; he shall live. The Lord is making it plain to them they need not suffer for their father's sins.
Now the Lord takes up the case of a sinner. If he will turn from his sins and do that which is lawful and right, he shall live. The penitent sinner is dealt with according to his new obedience and not according to his former sins. On the other hand, if a righteous man turns from his righteousness back to sin, he shall be punished for his sins and his former righteousness will be of no avail to him. He must expect, in justice, that his former goodness will not atone for subsequent sins.
Eternal Security
There is a false teaching in the world today that when once one has been born again he is always a child of God and will not be lost eternally regardless of how deep he may go into sin, and though he die in his sins. They call it "eternal security." Some say that people who have once been truly saved and have backslidden will eventually come back to God before they die, though they may wander in sin for a long time. It is true that they may get back to God, but there is danger that they will not. How they can ignore the plain teaching in this lesson is more than one can understand. In [JHN:15:1-6], Christ teaches that the unfruitful branches are cut off and destroyed. Every one of these branches had been attached to the vine at one time.
David's warning to Solomon, his son, in [1CH:28:9], says: "And thou, Solomon my son, know thou the God of thy father, and serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind: for the LORD searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts: if thou seek him, he will be found of thee; but if thou forsake him, he will cast thee off for ever."
These portions of Scripture plainly teach that a soul may have once known God and then backslide and be lost forever. No sin will ever enter Heaven. Jesus died that we might be saved from our sins.
The Truth of the Scriptures
A favourite text of those who believe in the so-called eternal security doctrine is [JHN:10:27-28], "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: and I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand." Notice Jesus said, "They follow me." Certainly when a soul backslides and sins, he is not following Jesus and is no longer a sheep.
Our late Brother Jack Robbins used to say, "No man can pluck you out of God's hand, but you can wiggle yourself out." 'Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation" [MAT:26:41]). When a soul yields to temptation and falls into sin, he removes himself from God's hand, just as Adam did when he yielded to the voice of the tempter in the Garden of Eden. "He that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved." [MAT:24:13]). It is the condition that we are in spiritually at the end of the race that will determine whether we have eternal life or will suffer eternal damnation.
"When a righteous man turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, and dieth in them; for his iniquity that he hath done shall he die." There is nothing in this verse to make us think that because he was once God's child the Lord will bring him back into the fold before he dies. As the tree falls, so shall it be.
The Lord declares His ways are equal and Israel's ways are unequal. So are the ways of the eternal security advocates -" they are unequal.
The Lord says He is married to the backslider, and He longs to bring him back into the fold, and will bring him back if he will repent and turn away from his sins. If one dies in his sins -- which many do -" he is lost, eternally lost. The Lord pleads with man to repent and turn from his transgressions so that iniquity will not be his ruin. He says, "Make you a new heart and a new spirit: for why will ye die, O house of Israel?"
Eternal Life
"As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel? Therefore, thou son of man, say unto the children of thy people, The righteousness of the righteous shall not deliver him in the day of his transgression: as for the wickedness of the wicked, he shall not fall thereby in the day that he turneth from his wickedness; neither shall the righteous be able to live for his righteousness in the day that he sinneth" [EZE:33:11-12]). What the Lord is looking for today is real born-again Christians -" those who have passed from death unto life, those who have forsaken the world, with its sin and folly, and have been washed in the Blood of the Lamb. They have a new life. Their life has been changed. They are no more children of the devil. They have changed masters and they follow the Lamb withersoever He goeth. They are the ones who will inherit eternal life if they continue steadfast unto the end.
Many in Israel fell by the wayside and perished while making the journey from Egypt to Canaan, but God wills that all men everywhere come to repentance and live. "For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord GOD: wherefore turn yourselves, and live ye."
Questions
1. What proverb were the Children of Israel using?
2. Name the different things the Lord says a just man will do.
3. In the day that a righteous man sins, what happens to him?
4. In the day that a sinner turns from his sins, what happens to him?
5. What false doctrine does this chapter in Ezekiel refute?
6. Explain how God's ways are equal.
7. How do we get a new heart?
8. Why does the Lord plead with the sinner to repent?