“Say to them: ‘As I live,’ says the LORD God, ‘I have
no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way
and live. Turn, turn from your evil ways! For why should you die, O house of
Israel?’” Ezek. 33:11; “When I say to the righteous that he shall surely live,
but he trusts in his own righteousness and commits iniquity, none of his
righteous works shall be remembered; but because of the iniquity that he has
committed, he shall die,” Ezek. 33:13, NKJV.
Wickedness is the natural
state of the human spirit, manifested by the activity of body and mind. It is
in this state that we are first placed before the perfect, sinless God, who
accordingly pronounces upon us the awful judgment: “O wicked man, you shall
surely die!” Nevertheless, God does not intend to completely annihilate His
creation. Having originally created only good things, although that creation
fell (a discussion for another time), He, being almighty as well as all-good,
is able to redeem it. And this He does by imparting His own goodness to
us—viz., through the victory of the cross, bestowing His Holy Spirit upon us,
thus placing us in a spiritual state of righteousness, which is (or ought to
be) manifested by the activity of body and mind.
Ezekiel 33:12-13 states
the following: “Therefore you, O son of man, say to the children of your
people: ‘The righteousness of the righteous man shall not deliver him in the
day of his transgression; as for the wickedness of the wicked, he shall not
fall because of it in the day that he turns from his wickedness; nor shall the
righteous be able to live because of his righteousness in the day that he
sins.’ When I say to the righteous that he shall surely live, but he trusts in
his own righteousness and commits iniquity, nonce of his righteous works shall
be remembered; but because of the iniquity that he has committed, he shall
die.”
First of all, according to
the teaching of the New Testament, we know that the gift of the Holy Spirit
cannot be revoked, regardless of the failing of the flesh. For mind and body
are but passing shadows, and their activity will not be remembered. Rather, it
is the spirit, which instigates that activity, that we ought to be concerned
about. Again, the natural spirit of man is wicked, thus, his natural actions
are also wicked. But God promises not to impute that sin against him if he
turns from his wickedness, i.e., if he humbles himself before God, that he may
receive the Holy Spirit. On the other hand, God says: “When I say to the
righteous that he shall surely live, but he trusts in his own righteousness and
commits iniquity, none of his righteous works shall be remembered; but because
of the iniquity that he has committed, he shall die.” To begin with, examine
the phrase: “but he trusts in his own righteousness and commits iniquity.” To
commit iniquity is obviously a failure of the flesh, but to trust in one’s own
righteousness is to believe that one’s natural spirit is righteous of itself,
which is not merely a failure of the flesh but a denunciation of the Holy
Spirit—in short, a rejection of God. A man may be righteous in works, indeed,
blameless according to the law, but unless he recognizes God as the only source
of righteousness and his own spirit as wicked, he will fall, and will surely
die. Therefore, when God says: “When I say to the righteous that he shall
surely live…” we can only assume, based on the irrevocability of salvation,
that He is speaking to the morally righteous man, or else, “the man who is
righteous in his own eyes,” who recognizes virtuous activity, but does not
possess the spiritual righteousness given by the Holy Spirit. To this man, the
LORD presents the following: 1) the reality that his spirit is naturally
wicked, and 2) the offer of spiritual salvation.
If he recognizes the truth
and submits himself to God, he shall surely live. But if he trusts in his own
righteousness, he will inevitably commit iniquity and die. His “righteous
works” will not be remembered. Ezekiel 33:12-13 simply indicates that morality
does not save, for it is but virtuous actions of body and mind, which will pass
away, while the spirit remains in wickedness. Rather than striving for moral
perfection, which man can never attain, we ought to recognize our wickedness,
humble ourselves before God, and thus receive the Holy Spirit and live. Having
established this, the LORD goes on to repeatedly promise the bestowal of the
Holy Spirit and describe, allegorically, the transaction of redemption:
“Then I will sprinkle
clean water on you, and you shall be clean; I will cleanse you from all your
filthiness and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new
spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give
you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in
My statutes and you will keep My judgments and do them…And I will multiply the
fruit of your trees and the increase of your fields, so that you need never
again bear the reproach of famine among the nations. Then you will remember
your evil ways and your deeds that were not good; and will loathe yourselves in
your own sight, for your iniquities and your abominations,” Ezek. 36:25-27,
30-31, NKJV.
“Thus says the Lord God:
‘On the day that I cleanse you from all your iniquities, I will also enable you
to dwell in the cities, and the ruins shall be rebuilt. The desolate land shall
be tilled instead of lying desolate in the sight of all who pass by. So they
will say, “This land that was desolate has become like the garden of Eden; and
the wasted, desolate, and ruined cities are now fortified and inhabited.” Then
the nations which are left all around you shall know that I, the LORD, have
rebuilt the ruined places and planted what was desolate. I, the LORD, have
spoken it, and I will do it,’” Ezek. 36:33-36, NKJV.
“’I will put My Spirit in
you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall
know that I, the LORD, have spoken it and performed it,’ says the LORD,” Ezek.
37:14, NKJV.
“’And I will not hide My face from them anymore;
for I will have poured out My Spirit on the house of Israel,’ says the Lord
God,” Ezek. 39:29, NKJV.“’Not for your sake do I do this,’ says the Lord God, ‘let it be known to you. Be ashamed and confounded for your own ways, O house of Israel!’” Ezek. 36:32, NKJV.
Amidst the lengthy
passages in which God speaks of redeeming and cleansing His people, just when
we are beginning to feel quite special, He inserts this verse. What does He
mean—He does not do it for our sake? What other motive could He possibly have
for sacrificing His own Son?
To begin with, after saying
“Not for your sake do I do this,” the LORD says: “Be ashamed and confounded for
your own ways.” The implication here is that God was not merciful to His people
because He saw anything worth saving in them—indeed, we know that in our
natural state of wickedness, we are completely alienated from God, and in us
“dwells no good thing.” “There is none who does good.”
Rather, God loved His creation—the creation that
He pronounced good—and would redeem it for His namesake. Salvation is the gift of God, and is by no means earned.
We are not redeemed because of anything praiseworthy in us. Our righteousness
is as filthy rags in God’s sight, and He reminds us of this, that we may be
humble: “Not for your sake do I do this…Be ashamed and confounded for your own
ways!”
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