Ezekiel

This is the sequel chapter 18 and starting at verse 1.

The word of the lord came to me. What do you people mean by quoting this proverb about the land of Israel? The parents eat sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge. Surely as I live declares the sovereign lord, you will no longer quote this proverb in Israel. For everyone belongs to me, the parent as well as the child, both alike belong to me.

The 1 who sins is the 1 who will die. Suppose there is a righteous man who does what is just and right. He does not eat at the mountain shrines or look to the idols of Israel, He does not defile his neighbor's wife or have ****** relations with a woman during her period. He does not oppress anyone, but returns what he took in pledge for alone. He does not commit robbery, but gives his food to the hungry and provides clothing for the naked.

He does not lend to them at interest or take profit from them. He withholds his hand from doing wrong and judges fairly between 2 parties. He follows my decrees and faithfully keeps my laws. That man is righteous. He will surely live declares the sovereign lord.

Suppose he has a violent son who sheds blood or does any of these other things, though the father has done none of them. He eats at the mountain shrines. He defiled his neighbor's wife. He oppresses the poor and needy. He commits robbery.

He does not return what he took in pledge. He looks to the idols. He does detestable things. He lends at interest and takes a profit. Will such a man live?

He will not? Because he has done all these detestable things, he is to be put to death. His blood will be on his own head. But suppose this son has a son who sees all the sins his father commits, and though he sees them, he does not do such things. He does not eat at the mountain shrines or look to the idols of Israel.

He does not defile his neighbor's wife. He does not oppress anyone or require a pledge for a loan. He does not permit robbery, but gives his food to the hungry and provides clothing for the naked. He withholds his hand from ill treating the poor, and takes no interest or profit from them. He keeps my laws and and follows my decrees.

He will not die for his father's sin. He will surely live, but his father will die for his own sin. Because he practiced extortion, robbed his brother, and did what was wrong among his people. Yet you ask, why does the son not share the guilt of his father? Since the sun has done what is just and right and has been careful to keep all my decrees, he will surely live.

The 1 who sins is the 1 who will die. The child will not share the guilt of the parent nor will the parents share the guilt of the child. The righteousness of the righteous will be credited to them and the wickedness of the wicked will be charged against them. But if a wicked person turns away from all the sins they have committed and keeps all my decrees and does what is just and right, that person will surely live. They will not die.

None of the offenses they have committed will be remembered against them. Because of the righteous things they have done, they will live. Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked declares the sovereign lord? Rather am I not pleased when they turn from their ways and live? But if a righteous person turns from their righteousness and commits sin and does the same detestable things the wicked person does, will they live?

None of the righteous things that person has done will be remembered. Because of the unfaithfulness they are guilty of and because of the sins they have committed, they will die. Yet you say the way of the lord is not just. Here you is your lights. Is my way unjust?

Is he not your ways that are unjust? If a righteous person turns from their righteousness and commits sin, they will die for it. Because of the sin they have committed, they will die. But if a wicked person turns away from the wickedness they have committed and does what is right and just they will save their life. Because they consider all the offenses they have committed and turn away from them, that person will surely live.

They will not die. Yet the Israelites stay the way of the lord is not just. Are my ways unjust people of Israel? Is it not your ways that are unjust? Therefore, you israelites.

I will judge each of you according to your own ways declares the sovereign lord. Repent. Turn away from all your offenses. Then sin will not be your downfall. Read yourselves of all the offenses you have committed, and get a new heart and a new spirit.

Why will you die people of Israel? For I take no pleasure in the death of anyone declares the sovereign lord. Repent and live. Allison, thank you for, reading that to us. Good morning, everybody.

My name Tom, and I'm 1 of the pastors here. And welcome. If you are visiting this morning for the first time, you join us as we continue to make our way, through this fantastic prophetic book, the book of ezekiel, and we've come now to chapter 18. So let's bow our heads and ask for the lord's help together. Father, we do thank you for this, book that we've been looking at together on these Sunday mornings.

We thank you for how you have been speaking to us in in startling sobering ways. And yet for all the condemnation and the exposure of sin and the judgment it deserves that we've seen, we thank you that you continually reveal yourself as 1 who loves to save sinners. And 1 who would rather that no wicked person perished, but that all would come and live. And we pray that you would impress that truth on our hearts and minds this morning in Jesus' name. Our men.

The first time Adam speaks in the Bible, he is gushing with praise. These are the first recorded words of man as he looks at his newly created wife. And here's what he says. Here at last, is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh. He's thrilled, and he's thankful for what god has done for him and provided him with.

But the second time he speaks, he looks at the ground, and he points his finger at that same wife, and he says in effect, the sin that I've just committed is her fault. The woman that you put here with me. She gave me some of the fruit. It's her fault. And so then in Genesis 2 verse 13, The lord says to the woman, what is this that you have done?

And she points her finger at the snake and says it was the serpent who deceived me, and I ate. And over the years and have the generations have gone on, we haven't been able to shake that blame culture, have we? What is our defense mechanism? When faced with our sin. What do we do when we're embarrassed of the consequences of our sin?

We blame it on other people, and we always have. If you hadn't done that to me, I wouldn't have responded the way I did. The only reason I did that is because you did that first. I'm treating you this way and creating this atmosphere in our relationship because you said that thing about me. My sin, your fault.

Now I'm not suggesting that the sins people commit against us are easily shaken off. And that they they don't matter and they don't need to be dealt with. But just like our first parents, isn't it true that we so quickly port the blame onto others instead of facing up and taking responsibility and repenting of our own sin, and in doing so, finding the life that god has for us. Well, in ezekiel chapter 18, that is basically the message. That that is the main message of chapter 18.

Come with me to verse 1, and let's have a look at this issue. K? Now here's the first point if you're taking notes. The first point is this, the exiles make a case. And that might appear on the screen that first point.

The exiles make a case. Here's verse 1. The word of the lord came to me. What do you people mean by quoting this proverb about the land of Israel? The parents eat sour grapes and the children's teeth are set on edge.

So what do they mean by this proverb? That's the question. What do what do they mean by this proverb? Well, when you cut through it, they mean what they actually say in verse 25, which is the way of the lord is not just. That's what they mean by this proverb.

The way of the lord is not just. And so the exiles are here in Babylon, and they're saying to 1 another something like look look at I mean, just look at us. Look look at where we are. Okay? Here we are, and we're a thousand miles from home.

And we are stuck fast in Babylon when not where we should be, and and none of this is our fault. This is not our fault, but we hit that we are here. In all of this, we exile, sir, we're the innocent ones. It's the parents you gave us lord. The woman you put here, the parents you gave us.

It's their fault. That we're here. That's what the proverb is all about. Who ate the sour grapes? Who sinned?

Who ate the sour grapes? The parents, and so you would think that they would have to deal with the sour taste. You eat the sour grape, you get the sour taste. That's fair. But not with you, Lord, they're saying, you've given that sour taste, that punishment to us.

And we've gotta deal with it now. Our parents ate the sour grapes. That was their choice, but whose teeth are set on edge and who's got the sour juice in their mouth is us? We're paying. You're punishing us for a sin that they committed and a sin that we did not.

You see that? That's the proverb. And it was actually obviously quite a popular 1 because it's quoted in Jeremiah. It comes up in some other place. I I can't remember lamentations or something like that.

So this proverb was going around. It's 1 of the ways that the word of the lord is easily dismissed in every culture, isn't it, with a little pithy proverb or a cliche? Ah, the parents ate the subject, the children's teeth, we god's not fair. We don't have to listen to him. And so behind their proverb is the same thing we see in Genesis.

The woman you put here, the parents you gave us, it's not our fault verse 25. The way of the lord is not just. But just look at how he responds in verse 3. As surely as I live declares the sovereign lord, you will no longer quote this proverb in Israel. This proverb is done.

For everyone belongs to me, the parent as well as the child, both alike belong to me, the 1 who sins is the 1 who will die. Repeated again in verse 20. Have a look. The 1 who sins is the 1 who will die. In other words, you, exiles, look.

You sent you sins, you need to face up to it, and you need to stop blaming it on other people. Take responsibility for what you have done and continue to do, repent, and live. Now in a moment, we're going to see how he fleshes this argument out in the chapter. But before we get there, can we just consider this proverb together a little bit more? Because in fairness, it's not completely wrong what they're what they're saying or there's some truth in what they're communicating here.

You see, if you think of it this way, if if a generation like ours, or the ones that we represent at least in this room. If a generation like ours takes god's word and rejects it or makes a terrible decision or looks at the revelation of god as it speaks to issues like marriage and like human ********* and like what it actually means to be male and female. And as the word of god speaks to issues like the sanctity of life, both in the womb and then very late on in life, right to the end of life as well. If we choose if a generation chooses to abandon those foundations and to pull away from those foundations, which we have done, and which we continue to do, then our children will inherit the chaos and the confusion of those decisions. They are the ones who are gonna have to live with the consequences of what we, in our moment of power, chose to do with the power that we had.

That's true, isn't it? They they are going to live with those consequences. And of course, look, you know, you don't have to be an expert in culture. To see that that is exactly what is is happening. There are thousands of of young people in this country who are trying to live in this world and navigate what in some ways are basic questions about who they are and what they have been made to be, and they are utterly confused because biblical foundations have been rejected in past generations and instead they have been handed down this confusing mix of atheism and self obsession.

That's the gift that we've been working on for generations. We've given it, and now they reap the bitter fruit of decisions made in past generations. And so the Bible talks very honestly about that. There there are consequences, aren't there? If a generation chooses to forsake the lord, then the ones who come after will will have to breathe that air and inhabit the the mess of that decision.

But that is not the same thing as punishing that new generation for decisions made by a previous 1. That's a very important distinction, I think. Consequences there are but holding that generation legally accountable before god for what another generation have done. That is something that the god of the Bible absolutely resists. Consequences, yes, but punishment for them for what they did, he forbade in the law.

Have a look with me at this text. Here we are due to drawing on me 24 16. This is the principle enshrined in the law of god. Parents are not to be put to death for their children nor children put to death for their parents, each will die for their own sin. So that is a very helpful way of putting the distinction.

Consequences is 1 thing, but to hold a future generation accountable for what we have done is something god will not do. And that is why he says in verse 3 of chapter 18, I've had enough of that proverb. I've had enough of that proverb because it's distorting this truth from my word. Did your parents sin? Yeah.

They did. And with their sin, did they draw down my judgment and this exile? Yeah. They did. And are you having to live with the mess of that?

Yeah. I'm afraid you are. And have I forgotten what they have done? Have I just decided not to deal with that? No.

I haven't. But I want you to hear me now, says ezekiel, to the generation in front of him. Your unbelief cannot be blamed on them, and it cannot be blamed on me, that's on you. I am holding you accountable. I'm not holding you accountable for what they did, but I am holding you accountable for what you are doing.

Now with my word. And you remember in chapter 3 verse 7, I didn't put it on the screen. I'm afraid, but the lord says to exeke ezekiel exactly what this generation are doing. The people of Israel won't listen to you, ezekiel, any more than they listen to me. For the whole lot of them are hardhearted and stubborn.

That's not the parents fault. That's on them. And it strikes me at least, and I don't know if you'll agree with this. I hope you I hope you will. But this principle here is very, very important.

When it comes to engaging with our culture on on lots of different levels. Here's a, a quote I picked up from an article on, on victimhood. It's written by a, it was written by a Mormon lady, I think. So, not clear on every issue, but certainly clear on this issue. And, I think she makes a very helpful observation here.

Hopefully, we can get this up really. Here's a quote. It's the article is called the consequences of victimhood culture. And she makes this point victimhood culture generates a society of people who identify foremost as being oppressed. The most important parts of one's identity should not be based on what injustices 1 has faced.

In a research study at Tel Aviv University, professor Rahab Gabby, found that individuals who defined themselves by their victimhood, were more likely to shift blame to others and to see themselves as victims in all interpersonal relationships. This identity shift unfortunately perpetuates a fixed victimhood mindset. That stunts individuals from being able to progress past their current circumstances. As a result, victimization becomes a central part of the individual's identity. And so here's the thing, some of you and some of you in your communities and the nations that you're from will will know this very keenly.

There are, of course, some dreadful sins that have taken place in previous generations, sins of discrimination, and sins of racism and sins of segregation and sins of ethnic abuse and ethnic cleansing, and those, and she's absolutely saying this, those need where they can facing up to and dealing with. And if justice can be done for those wrongs, then it ought to be done. But here's the problem, the line between fighting for a victimized community and promoting this culture of victimhood. Is easily blurred. That's her point.

And if you have a culture where everyone is the victim of some kind of oppression, everybody, everyone is in a community that is being oppressed by another community all the time, and you hear that language everywhere. We belong to a victimized community. We're in a press community, and people define themselves by the oppression and the victimization that they face. If you have a a culture like that rolling out, She says that that is both dangerous and disabling. It's disabling because if you stay with that identity, you're stuck there.

You're stuck. You're stuck as a victim. Dangerous because, and this is the point for ezekiel, they will not easily understand that they too are sinful before god, and that they too need to repent of the wrongs and the injustices that they have done. And so here is a text, 2700 years old. And it's touching on issues that are so alive today.

The exiles are living in this victimhood culture. It's not us. We're an oppressed minority. It's not us. We're the victims, but god is saying no.

You need to repent. You need to repent. And for us today, it seems to me that that is that's that's mega helpful. Because as Christian people, we can say that the chaos of past generations is absolutely real, and that there are communities who have been horribly victimized. But nonetheless, before god, we are all accountable, and we are all sinful, and every individual has to reckon with their own wrongdoings.

And their own sins before the lord. And so with that in mind, and this won't take very long, just just trace that principle with me. Down through the passage. And so here's the second point. Firstly, the exiles make their case.

Secondly, the lord gives a response. Now the lord is going to respond by taking us down a family tree. So verse 5, you've got this first generation. Suppose there is a righteous man who does what is just and right, and then you basically get a whole list of things. Suppose you have a just and righteous man.

What will he do? He'll worship the right god. He'll love his neighbor. He'll look after his wife. He won't be exploitative.

He'll have righteousness running through all of his relationships. That's who he is. And then in verse 9, we come to the conclusion. That man is righteous. He will surely live declares the sovereign lord, but then look verse 10.

Here's the second generation. Suppose he has a violent son who sheds blood or does any of these other things, though the father had done none of them. And then you get a whole list of things, which are basically the polar opposite of what his dad was into, and then come to the conclusion with me verse 13. Will such a man live? He will not?

Because he has done all these detestable things, he is to be put to death. His blood will be on his own head. And if you remember, if you've been with us for a number of months, Back in chapter 8, we saw an example of exactly this, didn't we? Remember that priest, Jasaniah, who was in the temple leading pagan worship. Remember that lee leading the priests in pagan worship?

Well, his father, you might remember, was a man called Shafan who served in the administration of King Josiah and was part of his reforming god honoring work. So here's a dad working for King Josiah feasting on the word of the lord, and here's the son, Jasania, who has done the exact opposite. The point is what he's saying here is not theoretical. This this kind of thing really does happen. And when it does, who does the lord consider to be responsible?

Is it the father's fault? Is it dad's fault? No. No. If the son chooses wickedness, that's on him.

And perhaps that is a helpful word to anybody here who has older children who are not yet following the lord Jesus Christ. There will be thousands of Christians in this country who tried as best as they could within their limitations to raise their children in the faith. And to love them, and to pray for them, and to sow gospel seeds into them. And there will be thousands of Sunday school teachers up and down the country who did exactly the same for a generation of children, love them, prayed for them. Sowed the seed into them.

And those people may feel like failures, if that doesn't bear fruit in the lives of those children. And of course, look, you know, there are always things that we could have done differently. But ultimately, if a person scorns those gospel blessings, and will not take them for themselves, then that's on them. What we can do is to sow in faith. But every individual must answer for what they do with the seed.

And perhaps you're here, and you're in the position of that child or that next generation. And as you look back at your life, for all the mistakes and failures of the people who had responsibility over you, you look back at them and you think, okay, they were a people, and that was a church. Who wasn't perfect, but they taught me the truth about Christ, and they prayed for me, and they wanted me to follow Jesus. They encouraged me to follow Jesus. Well, praise the lord.

Praise the lord for that. But friends, you see here, when we stand before Christ 1 day, if we have despised those gospel blessings by not repenting ourselves, then we will find no help on that day from future generations or past generations rather. We won't be able to say. Lord, look, I know I wasn't interested in Jesus, but my dad was. My dad was a Christian, and my mom was a Christian, and And so I was part of a Christian family, and so surely there's a kind of umbrella righteousness that I can come under.

Or I know I wasn't a Christian, but my Sunday school teachers were. And so, look, can I sail on their ship? You know, can can we all go together? The Lord says, no. No.

The soul who sins is the soul who will die each individual. Stands or falls as they are before the lord, and it is down to all of us to get right with god through Christ. And so then look with me at the third generation verse 14. But suppose this son has a son who sees all the sins his father commits, and though he sees them, he does not do such things. Verse 17, what's gonna happen to him?

He will not die for his father's sin. Now he won. He will surely live. Now will he bear the consequences of his father's sin? He might do.

He might do. But notice he's not accountable for the sin of his father, and neither is he condemned to repeat it. If he trusts, he will live. A very good friend of mine, who was 1 of the best men at my wedding, actually, had a had a father growing up that nobody in this room would would choose. And although they did reconcile later in life, and he's now died the father, and they did, in the end, have something of a relationship.

After the upbringing that this my friend had had, they were they were never going to be. Were never gonna be best friends. And I remember him saying to me when he came to Christ and had kids of his own that by the grace of god, he was not going to do what his father had done. That he was going to give his own kids something much, much better than he had experienced. And it might be that there are people here who need chapter 18 from from that angle.

Now if you've grown up in an abusive context of any kind, people often feel condemned by that past. You know, feeling if the people who were supposed to love them most in the world did not, then how could anyone love them? And they feel condemned by a generational sin that has been committed. And the hopeful thought here is that god doesn't see you that way. You're not you're not stuck in a generational sin.

God loves you as an individual, and he invites you to turn and live. So we see he doesn't just feel sympathy for those people, although he does. He feels sympathy for those people, but he actually does something much more wonderful and life giving. He feels sympathy for them and he calls them to repent. He calls them to repent of their own sin and in doing that to find life.

I remember hearing a, a friend of mine talking about the, the 12 steps program that they use in alcoholics anonymous, the 12 step program, helping people to to get free and to stay free of addictive substances and behaviors. And 1 of the things in that program, which is linked to this, is that not only do they ask you to go back over your past and to think about the sins that have been committed against you. But 1 of the crucial steps is also to go back and to think about the sins that you have committed against other people, and that how that might have made the problem more complex and worse. So there's an acknowledgement of there was maybe some victimization, but there's also a hold on. No.

You need to take personal responsibility and you're accountable for what you've done. And that's all of that flowing out of this chapter. And so now after the third generation, we come back to the principle in verse 20. Here it is. The 1 who sins is the 1 who will die.

The child will not share the guilt of the parents, and nor will the parents share the guilt of the child. The righteousness of the righteous will be credited to them, and the wickedness of the wicked will be charged against them. That's the principle. After the family tree. In Romans 14, and hopefully this will come up on the screen, Paul makes the same point, and this verse here is really the conclusion of the matter this morning.

Romans 14 verse 10. You then, why do you judge your brother or sister, or why do you treat them with contempt for we will all stand before god's judgment seat? It is written as surely as I live says the lord, every knee will bow before me, and every tongue will acknowledge god. And so then each of us will have to give an account of ourselves to god. Therefore, let us stop passing judgment on 1 another.

In other words, don't worry about them and certainly don't blame them. You worry about yourself. You worry about yourself. And so thirdly and lastly, after the exiles have made their case, and after the prophet has made a response, thirdly and lastly, the lord shows his heart. The lord shows his heart, and it starts with a word of warning in verse 24.

Have a look with me at verse 24. But if a righteous person turns from their righteousness, and commits sin and does the same detestable things the wicked person does, will they live? None of the righteous things that person has done will be remembered. Now look, with our whole bibles open in front of us, we know that every good work the lord begins in an individual, he will bring to completion at the day of Christ Jesus. We know that every child of god truly born again will make it home 1 day.

And yet verse 24 is absolutely clear that no person. Ever has the right to say because I was righteous once, I can plunge myself into sin now, and it won't matter. If that is the attitude, and if we turn away from Christ like that in our hearts, then we can be sure that none of the righteous things we have done. Will be remembered. It's a bit like that illustration Pete gave a couple of weeks ago from ezekiel 16.

Remember he told us about those 2 couples that he knew, where on the honeymoon itself, so soon after binding themselves together in covenant, 1 of them committed adultery on the honeymoon in 2 occasions. Well, if that is to happen, Then all the dates leading up to the wedding, and all the cards written, and all the loving texts, all that went into the relationship before that. There's a sense in which how could any of that be remembered? How how could any of that now be remembered in light of this last decision? The lord is saying something like that in verse 24.

If they turn, they won't live. But now look at verse 31. Here's the here's the close of the chapter. With all this said, rid yourselves of the offenses that you have committed. Stop going on about them.

Rid yourselves of the offenses that you have committed, and get a new heart, and get a new spirit, and get born again, and get me living within you and writing my law upon your heart, and making your dry bones live and coming to me and knowing that you do that, cleanse yourself of those offenses and get you before me. Why will you die my people of Israel? For I take no pleasure in the death of anyone declares the sovereign lord. Repent and live. And so here, right at the end of the chapter.

It's as if the heart of god comes bursting bursting through for his people. This is what I want for you. I'm not just here giving you a salvation equation. Yeah. Some die.

Some live. Some die. Some live. Some die. Some live.

Makes no odds to me. No. No. As he looks at people, he's I don't want any of you to perish. None of you.

I'm not treating salvation in that cold mechanical, some die. Some live. Some die. Some live. No.

I want you to live. Turn and live. Whoever you are. Turn and live. Repent.

And find life in me. That's what he wants. I remember last year I went to a swimming party. Not for myself. It wasn't my own swimming party, but it was, 1 of our kids got invited to a swimming party.

And, after all the boys had got changed, they were lining up on the side of the pool. It was only a shallower pool, but they're only about 6, 5, 6, 7 years old. They're lining up on the side of the pool. And before the party started, the lifeguard comes out, and says, right. Just so we've got an idea of how competent you all are, we want you all to get in 1 at a time and just swim 1 width.

That's all we have to do. Just swim 1 with, and then we can get on with the party. And so that began to happen. And the the boys got in 1 after the other, and I have to say in that moment as a dad observing on the side, you found out quite quickly, who could actually swim and who couldn't. I mean, to begin with, there they all are standing on the side.

They're in their trunks. They've got their goggles on. They all look like swimmers. Everyone's a swimmer in that moment. But a moment comes when you do find out.

Who can swim and who can't. And in that moment, it doesn't really matter if your mates can swim. And it doesn't matter if your dad standing on the side can swim. What matters is can you? Can you swim?

When the moment of your entrance into the water comes, can you swim? And so as they got going, most of the kids could actually do a length, but there was a width rather, but there was 1 boy who clearly couldn't swim. And about halfway across, he started to panic and to go under and to be in need of help. Now strangely, and I still don't know why the lifeguard had gone off at this point. So he he was very strange.

He'd set them his task and then he'd he'd got off, I think assuming that all boys would be fine. And so it was down to 1 of the dads, and it wasn't me. I'm not I'm not the hero in this story. I'm afraid. And so it was down to 1 of the dads to jump in and to paddle over.

And to save the kid. And he did that straight away. Straight away. He's off off the side to rescue this kid. And that was just and that was just his instincts.

That was his instinct. That was his instinct. He's not standing there on the side, saying, some of you boys will drown, and some of you boys will not. And, I'm afraid that's it. And it doesn't make any odds to me.

It doesn't matter whether you drown or whether you don't. It's it's all the same to me. It doesn't really matter. No. It's not no.

Is instinct is that they would be in and that they would all swim and that they would all live and that they would all flourish and make it to the other side and not drown and not die and not perish. And I think in that little illustration, there is something of the heart of god here in ezekiel 18. He's not just standing there in heaven, saying some will drown and some will survive, and it makes no odds to me. No. He's sending Christ into the water.

Christ throws himself in, and he jumps in, and he's gonna do everything he can. Everything he can. If you drown, that's gonna be on you. That that's gonna be because you utterly resisted and determined to drown. That's gonna be on you, but he's getting in the pool.

And he's gonna swim to everyone and say, rather that you live, rather that you live, that you float, that you survive, that you make it to the other side, that you have a great time, and that you come home with me. I mean, you think would would would the lord Jesus Christ? Here's the question. Would the lord Jesus Christ? Have come to this earth and in endured such brutality and endured such a death on the cross if he did not want to throw absolutely everything at saving the wicked.

Would he have done that if he did not want everyone to be saved and not to perish? And so we know that everything god does ultimately, salvation and judgment. Will be to his glory. But if you ask, yeah, but what is his greatest passion? What is what is where's his heart?

Verse 32. For I take no pleasure in the death of anyone declares the sovereign lord, repent and live. And so we are here this morning as a gathered people, and the lord loves the gathered people. But on every chair, on this chair, this chair, and this chair, and this chair, is an individual, who must 1 day stand before god, and the lord looks to all of us this morning, and he says life is better than death. Life is better than death.

So turn and live. Turn and live. Determine it now, friends. Determine it now. I'm not going that way anymore.

I'm not blaming. I'm not escaping. I'm gonna face up to what I've done to the lord this morning. I'm gonna ask for his mercy, get a new heart, get a new spirit, and I'm going that way. Determined as an individual.

Don't think that just being here, that you will by osmosis, just pick that up somehow, that it will just come into you in the air because you're here. Determine it this morning. Turn and live. Turn and live. Let's pray.

If a wicked man turns away from all the sins he has committed and keeps all my decrees and does what is Justin right, he will surely live. He will not die. None of the offenses that he has committed will be remembered against him. Evidently father what marvelous news that is, that if we will turn this morning from our wickedness and believe in the lord Jesus Christ who died and rose for us, then none of the wicked things that we have done will be remembered. They will all be paid for, all cleansed, all forgotten, not a single 1 remembered before you.

And we will stand before you 1 day as perfect in your son, the lord Jesus. Father how foolish we are to choose death instead of that. To choose drowning instead of swimming. To choose perishing instead of living. Forgive us and help each 1 of us individually this morning we pray to turn and live.

And we ask it in Jesus' name. Oh, man.