Let's return to Thursday's lesson where I asked about the importance of the message given to Ezekiel. Some will not understand that this message is THE message that not only Israel needed, but we need today. Let's take a more thorough look at it in the light of this week's lesson on "words of truth".
God repeated the message three times through His prophet Ezekiel. Here is the message first given in chapter three and then repeated in chapters eighteen and thirty three.
3:4 And he said unto me, Son of man, go, get thee unto the house of Israel, and speak with my words unto them.
3:5 For thou [art] not sent to a people of a strange speech and of an hard language, [but] to the house of Israel;
3:6 Not to many people of a strange speech and of an hard language, whose words thou canst not understand. Surely, had I sent thee to them, they would have hearkened unto thee.
3:7 But the house of Israel will not hearken unto thee; for they will not hearken unto me: for all the house of Israel [are] impudent and hardhearted.
3:8 Behold, I have made thy face strong against their faces, and thy forehead strong against their foreheads.
3:9 As an adamant harder than flint have I made thy forehead: fear them not, neither be dismayed at their looks, though they [be] a rebellious house.
3:10 Moreover he said unto me, Son of man, all my words that I shall speak unto thee receive in thine heart, and hear with thine ears.
3:11 And go, get thee to them of the captivity, unto the children of thy people, and speak unto them, and tell them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear......
3:17 Son of man, I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel: therefore hear the word at my mouth, and give them warning from me.
3:18 When I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; and thou givest him not warning, nor speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life; the same wicked [man] shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand.
3:19 Yet if thou warn the wicked, and he turn not from his wickedness, nor from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul.
3:20 Again, When a righteous [man] doth turn from his righteousness, and commit iniquity, and I lay a stumblingblock before him, he shall die: because thou hast not given him warning, he shall die in his sin, and his righteousness which he hath done shall not be remembered; but his blood will I require at thine hand.
3:21 Nevertheless if thou warn the righteous [man], that the righteous sin not, and he doth not sin, he shall surely live, because he is warned; also thou hast delivered thy soul.
Do we see what is being said? Few professing Christians truly believe what has been plainly stated. Most believe they can sin and retain their salvation. But, they cannot. Sin reveals a separation between man and God.
This important message of truth is repeated.
18:20 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.
18:21 But if the wicked will turn from all his sins that he hath committed, and keep all my statutes, and do that which is lawful and right, he shall surely live, he shall not die.
18:22 All his transgressions that he hath committed, they shall not be mentioned unto him: in his righteousness that he hath done he shall live.
18:23 Have I any pleasure at all that the wicked should die? saith the Lord GOD: [and] not that he should return from his ways, and live?
18:24 But when the righteous turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, [and] doeth according to all the abominations that the wicked [man] doeth, shall he live? All his righteousness that he hath done shall not be mentioned: in his trespass that he hath trespassed, and in his sin that he hath sinned, in them shall he die.
18:25 Yet ye say, The way of the Lord is not equal. Hear now, O house of Israel; Is not my way equal? are not your ways unequal?
18:26 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.
18:27 Again, when the wicked [man] turneth away from his wickedness that he hath committed, and doeth that which is lawful and right, he shall save his soul alive.
Do we understand how important this truth is? That it contradicts the lie that one has salvation when he does one known sin? How many times do we need to hear it before we believe it? Well...coming from Ezekiel three times. But, the same message is found from Genesis to Revelation. Speaking of Revelation, what does Jesus have to say to us today about our sins and salvation? Read chapter three, the message to the Laodicean Church and you will see our need of the message given through Ezekiel.
And now God repeats the very same message in chapter thirty three.
33:1 Again the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
33:2 Son of man, speak to the children of thy people, and say unto them, When I bring the sword upon a land, if the people of the land take a man of their coasts, and set him for their watchman:
33:3 If when he seeth the sword come upon the land, he blow the trumpet, and warn the people;
33:4 Then whosoever heareth the sound of the trumpet, and taketh not warning; if the sword come, and take him away, his blood shall be upon his own head.
33:5 He heard the sound of the trumpet, and took not warning; his blood shall be upon him. But he that taketh warning shall deliver his soul.
33:6 But if the watchman see the sword come, and blow not the trumpet, and the people be not warned; if the sword come, and take [any] person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at the watchman's hand.
33:7 So thou, O son of man, I have set thee a watchman unto the house of Israel; therefore thou shalt hear the word at my mouth, and warn them from me.
33:8 When I say unto the wicked, O wicked [man], thou shalt surely die; if thou dost not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked [man] shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand.
33:9 Nevertheless, if thou warn the wicked of his way to turn from it; if he do not turn from his way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul.
33:10 Therefore, O thou son of man, speak unto the house of Israel; Thus ye speak, saying, If our transgressions and our sins [be] upon us, and we pine away in them, how should we then live?
33:11 Say unto them, [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?
33:12 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.
33:13 When I shall say to the righteous, [that] he shall surely live; if he trust to his own righteousness, and commit iniquity, all his righteousnesses shall not be remembered; but for his iniquity that he hath committed, he shall die for it.
33:14 Again, when I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; if he turn from his sin, and do that which is lawful and right;
33:15 [If] the wicked restore the pledge, give again that he had robbed, walk in the statutes of life, without committing iniquity; he shall surely live, he shall not die.
33:16 None of his sins that he hath committed shall be mentioned unto him: he hath done that which is lawful and right; he shall surely live.
33:17 Yet the children of thy people say, The way of the Lord is not equal: but as for them, their way is not equal.
33:18 When the righteous turneth from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, he shall even die thereby.
33:19 But if the wicked turn from his wickedness, and do that which is lawful and right, he shall live thereby.
God cannot make it any plainer. The wages of one known sin is death, eternal separation from God. God takes no pleasure in this. He sent His Son that we might be converted and live. There is no excuse because we have been given a Savior that will indwell our hearts and empower us to keep His laws. He will write them upon our hearts if we will make a full surrender to Him.
Jesus is coming soon! The trumpets are blowing. Warning is being given. Let Thursday's lesson be our warning that God is not deceived about our hearts. He wants the whole heart, not a part of it. If we have truly been converted then we need to maintain our spiritual connection with Christ so that we do not sin. If we have not been converted, then we need to gain faith so that we might trust Jesus with all that we are and all that we have. Islam is on the march, the seventh trumpet is sounding. Jesus stands at the door knocking while there is still time.