15th January 2025

15th January 2025


Pray (ACts)


Read (Ezekiel 18:5-20)


Message (Alan Burke)


Are you righteous? Let’s start with an easy one, are you righteous? What it means to be righteous is that we have right standing before ether Lord.  We have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Rom 3:23), we are without excuse, each one of us here are sinners, completely sinful although not as sinful as we could be. Those who are righteous, they are those who live by faith, (Hab 2:4, Rom 1:17). Those who have faith in the Lord, are those in the Old Testament were those who had faith in the promised one who would come, Hebrews 11 makes it clear that it was the Christ that they looked to, the one who has come, Jesus Christ the one who came to save his people from their sins (Heb 11:26, Matt 1:21). 


Well here the people are given examples of a grandfather, his son and grandson. Three generations of one family to confront them with how erroneous the proverb is how they were accusing the Lord of not treating them fairly. 


Example one is given in v5-9. Suppose a righteous man and v5-9 detail how the righteous man lives, none of these things earn his righteousness, they are not what makes him right before the Lord but how he lives in response to the Lord, as Jesus said “If you love me, keep my commands” (Jn 14:15). Here it is clear that the righteous are those who live in response to what God has done, they live accordingly and the verdict of God is that this righteous man will live. This man has life because God has given him life, God had brought him life spiritually (see Eph 2:3-4) and he would receive eternal life, in the presence of God. He will live, he will escape the judgement of God that is due to all, what Ezekiel holds out for all who have faith is life, life in God now and eternally. That is the hope of all who believe, who have faith in the Lord’s Christ. 


Example two is that of his son v10-13. So in contrast to the righteous father we are given that of the unrighteous son. The son of the father but he isn’t like his father, he’s not a chip of the old block as the saying goes. He is one who demonstrates in how he lives that he is unrighteous that he does not have faith. The son does not live as his father did, his father who did what was just and right, who did not worship false idols, who took the marriage bond seriously, and the purity laws, who didn’t oppress others, who didn’t take interest, who didn’t commit robbery, who gave to those in need, he didn’t do wrong, judged fairly and he followed the degrees and laws of the Lord. The son though does the opposite. 


This isn’t meant to be understood as the son does all of these things but any of these things and the Lord rhetorically asks, will such a man live? He will not declares the Lord. He will die, he will be put to death, his blood will be on his own head. The responsibility falls at the feet of the son not the father. Each and every one of us will stand before the Lord our God, we are accountable for our sin each and every one of us. 


The third example in v15-18 the Lord makes it clear to his people and to us here today that it doesn’t need to be this way, we all have a responsibility. The violent mans son who has seen his father commit all these sins, he has grown up and has not followed in his father's footsteps. For while he had seen them all he chose not to do them, he was like his godly grandfather for he does not follow in the unrighteousness of his father, he kept the laws and followed the decrees of the Lord. The Lord makes it clear that this son would not die for his father’s sin, he will surly live, he would live because he was a righteous man, he is one who had faith in the Lord and his promises. But his father would die for his own sin. 


As the Lord continues he underlines that point to his people and to us, for while they might object, saying v19, ‘Why does the son not share the guilt of his father?’ In a sense they were looking for the son to be punished for the sins of the father, the exact same thing that they accused God of doing but the Lord judges each person individually, they are either righteous by faith and they shall live or they shall die because they have rejected the Lord and have sinned. The Lord does not punish us for someone else’s sins and we cannot and should not use their sin as an excuse for our own. Each of us have a choice, either we trust in the one who forgives our sins the Lord Jesus and live in response knowing his righteousness or we live in sin and no matter how good we may appear without faith it is impossible to please God (Heb 11:6).  


Pray (acTS)


Sing


WSC
Q88. What are the outward and ordinary means whereby Christ communicateth to us the benefits of redemption?
A. The outward and ordinary means whereby Christ communicateth to us the benefits of redemption are, his ordinances, especially the Word, Sacraments, and prayer; all which are made effectual to the elect for salvation.
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