T H E K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S
May, 1940
188
not to be obtained by one’s ceasing to commit wrong deeds. What is required is that one shall confess that Christ has borne the individual’s sins in His own body at Calvary, and then to ac cept the risen Christ as his own per sonal Saviour. m. T he C onclusion (13-16) These verses—and indeed the entire passage—make clear that the righteous ness of any individual falls short of perfection. For example, the man called “ righteous” could not balance his evil against his former good; his righteous ness would be forgotten when he turned into the ways of sin, and in those evil ways he would die. As for the wicked one—if he made restitution for wrongs done and walked in the statutes of the Lord, he would be free from the consequences of his wrong doing. But what man could reach this high standard perfectly? We must exercise care lest we use this lesson to teach a method of secur ing eternal life. No amount of human goodness will avail to save the soul. It is the righteousness of God received by faith alone that ail sinners need, and that righteousness is God’s free gift to all who will accept it. Points and Problems 1. “If thou dost not speak . . . if thou warn the wicked . . . if he do not turn from his way, he shall die” (8,9). Here the divine Speaker lays down the principle that ignorance of the warning of the “watchman” will not excuse the sinner. No failure on the part of the watchman will save the lawbreaker from the penalty of his deeds. But when we say this,'we are not saying that ignorance of the law is no excuse. To talk about “ignorance of the law” is to talk about something which has no objective existence. All men have some knowledge of the moral law of God. Some are not acquainted with a written law, but even these “ show the' work of the law written in their hearts,” so that all are without excuse (Rom. 2:15). The men of Ezekiel’s generation knew the Law of God, and they also knew that the penalty for. breaking it was death. But God in His grace went the “second mile” in setting a watchman to warn and remind them of what they had already been told. They are not BLACKBOARD LESSON
iniquity; he shall surely liv e, he shall not die. 16 None o f his sins that he hath com m itted shall be mentioned unto him : he hath done that w hich is law ful and righ t $ he shall surely live. LESSON T E X T : E zek. 33:7-16. GOLDEN T E X T : “ So then every one nf us shall give account o f him self to GodM (R om . 14:12). DEVOTIONAL READ ING : 2 Cor. 5:6-10. Outline and Exposition I. T he M essenger (7) E ZEKIEL, was appointed to be a give warning. He was given a commis sion to hear the word of the Lord and pass that word on to the people. His was a solemn but simple business — solemn, because he stood between his people and their danger; simple, be cause he had merely to hear the word and repeat it. Above all other qualifica tions, such a messenger as this stood in need of faithfulness. God’s choice of Ezekiel was both disturbing and honoring. It was disturbing because of the danger of unfaithfulness on the 'messenger’s part. It was honoring be cause of the high privilege that it car ried, the privilege of standing, as it were, in the place of God Himself. Today Christians also are called to a solemn and simple task. As His witnesses, they stand in the place and stead of the Lord, and they are com missioned to hear His Word and re peat that Word to the people. Hence, above all else, the Christian needs to be faithful to the trust reposed in him by the Lord. IL. T he M essage (8-12) The message was not the word of Ezekiel; It came through him, direct from God. Ln this lesson, we should remember that the death and life of which it speaks do not refer to eternal conditions. No one ever missed eternal life, nor gained it, by the performance of either evil or good works. Salva tion is obtained through faith alone, and it is the gift of God (cf. Eph. 2 : 8 ) . The people had been saying that it was useless for them to turn from their evil ways because they had already fallen into sin, and therefore their in iquities surely would bring death. But Ezekiel was to tell them that, by turn ing from their evil ways, they could preserve their lives. God further declared that He had no pleasure in the death of the wicked, and He enforced this declaration with an oath: “As L live, saith the Lord God” (v. 11).' It is always God’s desire that the sinner shall turn from his evil way and live. “Why will ye die, O house of Israel?” Let us remember that the avoidance of the eternal consequences of sin is
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watchman. In a spiritual sense, he was one set upon a high place to observe approaching danger and to
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