Amen. Let us turn, we will go on to Ezekiel chapter 18. And I'm just going to take a moment to say a few things as you're turning there. Preaching the gospel is a great privilege and all of the Word of God is beautiful. That being said, I think there are sermons that a pastor can enjoy preaching more than others. And I very much enjoyed opening up texts that speak particularly about the character of God and the special joy in opening up those chapters of the Bible. So if you were to ask me, you know, what's my favorite sermon that I've preached, just a personal favorite, right at the top of the list might be a sermon on Micah 7 from some time ago. We talked about what is God's delight. God's delight is mercy. That was some time ago. And so I don't expect us to make all of the connections between that text and this one, Well, here we have a text where Micah 7 talks about what God's delight is to forgive sins, His steadfast love. Well, here's a text which speaks about what God does not delight in, namely judgment. And the part that I am especially excited to open up together with you tonight is that we're speaking about the character of God. And I think it's a beautiful thing to think about what God does delight in. mercy by His Sabbath. Certainly that shines through this text, even as the explicit statement is, what God does not delight in, what God does not have pleasure in, namely the death of the wicked. So with those few words, brothers and sisters, let us here, we're going to read the whole chapter. We're going to consider the whole chapter. We're going to build a list of virtues and vices from verse 5 to 9. It's been repeated a couple of times. We're not going to spend much time on that. And that, I think, will allow us to get the full scope of the chapter. But we will be reading and considering the scope of all of Ezekiel chapter 18. Let us hear the Word of God, Ezekiel 18, beginning at verse 1. The word of the Lord came to me. What do you mean by repeating this proverb concerning the land of Israel? The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge. As I live, declares the Lord God, this proverb shall no more be used by you in Israel. Behold, all souls are mine. The soul of the father, as well as the soul of the son, is mine. The soul who sins shall die. If a man is righteous, and does what is just and right, he does not eat upon the mountains, or lift up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, does not defile his neighbor's wife, or approach a woman in her time of ventral purity, does not oppress anyone, but restores to the debtor his pledge, commits no robbery, gives his bread to the hungry, and covers the naked with a garment, does not lend an interest or take any profit, withholds his hand from injustice, executes true justice between man and man, walks in My statutes and keeps My rules by acting faithfully, he is righteous, he shall surely live, declares the Lord God. If he fathers a son who is violent, a shedder of blood, who does any of these things, though he himself did none of these things, who even eats upon the mountains, defiles his neighbor's wife, oppresses the poor and needy, commits robbery, does not restore the pledge, lifts up his eyes to idols, commits abomination, lends at interest and takes profit. Shall he then live? He shall not live. He has done all these abominations. He shall surely die. His blood shall be upon himself. Now suppose this man fathers a son who sees all the sins that his father has done. He sees and does not do likewise. He does not eat upon the mountains or lift up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, does not defile his neighbor's wife, does not oppress anyone, exacts no pledge, commits no robbery, but gives his bread to the hungry and covers the naked with a garment, withholds his hand from iniquity, takes no interest or profit, obeys my rules and walks in my statutes, He shall not die for his father's iniquity, he shall surely live. As for his father, because he practiced extortion, robbed his brother, and did what is not good among his people, behold, he shall die for his iniquity. Yet you say, Why should not the Son suffer for the iniquity of the Father? When the Son has done what is just and right, and has been careful to observe all My statutes, He shall surely live. The soul who sins shall die. The Son shall not suffer for the iniquity of the Father, nor the Father suffer for the iniquity of the Son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself. But if a wicked person turns away from all the sins that he has committed, and keeps all My statutes, and does what is just and right, he shall surely live, he shall not die. None of the transgressions that he has committed shall be remembered against him. For the righteousness that he has done he shall live. Have I any pleasure in the death of the wicked, declares the Lord God, and not rather that he should turn from his way and live? But when a righteous person turns away from his righteousness and does him justice, and does the same abominations that the wicked person does, shall he live? None of the righteous deeds that he has done shall be remembered. For the treachery of which he is guilty, and the sin he has committed for them, he shall die. Yet you say, the way of the Lord is not just. Hear now, O house of Israel, is my way not just? Is it not your ways that are not just? When a righteous person turns away from his righteousness and does injustice, he shall die for it. For the injustice he has done, he shall die. Again, when a wicked person turns away from the wickedness he has committed and does what is just and right, he shall save his life. Because he considered and turned away from all the transgressions that he had committed, he shall surely live, he shall not die. Yet the house of Israel says, The way of the LORD is not just, O house of Israel, are my ways not just? Is it not your ways that are not just? Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel. Everyone according to his ways declares the Lord God. Repent, and turn from all your transgressions, lest iniquity be your ruin. Pass away from you all the transgressions that you have committed, and make yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. Why will you die, O house of Israel? For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Lord God. so turn and live. So far the reaming grass withers, the flower fades. The word of our Lord endures forever. Dear congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ, is there something in your job, which you do, but you have no delight in doing. A job that is not your favorite thing to do, but a job which must be done. Or maybe if you're not yet in the workforce, it's a job around the home. It's just this one job, the one task that you would rather not do. Maybe it's the dirty job, which has to be done, Or maybe, depending on the type of work, it is a communication which is hard to give. If we think about this in medical terms, we would think that it would be a terrible thing if a doctor would be delighted in pain and suffering death, and that a doctor would ever be delighted in communicating those things. No, a doctor of the body, rightly, delights in healing without having any delight in the pain of others or communicating about the pain of others. And so, a doctor might, without any delight, begin very difficult words to a family with a phrase like this, I must tell you something that I don't ever like to have to tell anyone. Or, to now give another example in medical terms, while a doctor would be wrong to delight in causing pain for the sake of pain, a good doctor will know that sometimes it is necessary to cause pain in order to bring healing. So a surgery is the use of a knife to inflict pain, but it is done with the purpose of long-term healing. Brothers and sisters, who is the Great Physician? Certainly Jesus Christ is the Great Physician. Does the Great Physician delight in the pain or the death of anyone? No, He does not. So the Lord says it so plainly in verse 32, I have no pleasure in the death of anyone. And our sermon title and sermon theme tonight is just a slight rephrasing of that. This is true both with regards to physical death and with regards to the spiritual death, but our theme takes it into that realm of the spiritual. God has no delight in the just judgment of the unrepentant. And then also as this text allows for it, our sermon points are direct quotes from the text. It is the phrases which are repeated twice each in our text. So our first point is, The soul who sins shall die. And that's the statement first given in verse 4, repeated in verse 20, at the very end of our first point. And then our second point is this, God does not delight in death. And that's quoted directly from verse 23, and then again in verse 32 at the end of our text. So let's begin with the first point, the soul who sins shall die. And this whole chapter begins with an introduction related to a popular saying of the day, what verse two calls a proverb concerning the land of Israel. Jeremiah, the older contemporary of Ezekiel, also quotes this proverb in Jeremiah 31. And he also speaks about how this is a proverb which should not be used. And so we know that this was a popular saying both in Jerusalem and among the Israelites in exile. This proverb can be understood in two different ways. We're going to talk about the first way for quite some time and then we'll get to the second way to understand it later. In short, both understandings are wrong. Both understandings are wrong. It's like, no matter how you say this proverb, no matter which of the popular ways of understanding it you have, it's wrong. You should not use this proverb. And that's how God says it in verse three. As I live, declares the Lord God, this proverb shall no more be used among you in Israel. Well, what's the first way that this proverb was understood? The first way was something like this. Our fathers have eaten sour grapes. They've done something bad. And now we, the children, will have our teeth set on edge. We will have to suffer unpleasant things. In other words, the first way that this proverb was used was a simple blame shift. Well, we're going to have to suffer judgment. And remember, the siege of Jerusalem has not happened yet, but there's already been many cities in Judah that have been destroyed. There's already been all kinds of destruction. And so the proverb was something like this. Well, our fathers have sinned, and now our teeth are set on edge. Now life is difficult for us. It was a simple blame shoot. It was putting everything back to others. After giving the clear declaration that the soul who sins shall die at the end of verse 4, God details with a series of hypothetical three generations that this attitude is absolutely wrong. You need to consider your own responsibility for sin. You cannot just blame shift and point everything back at others. And so the hypothetical begins with a righteous father, described in verses 5 to 9, who has an unrighteous son, described in verses 10 to 13. And then that unrighteous son has a righteous grandson of the first man, and he's described, that third generation is described in verses 14 to 17. We're not going to cover the list of virtues and vices. We will just dig into a couple things. So the list is first given in verses 5 to 9. It's repeated in a little bit shorter form and a little bit different order for the next two generations. So just looking at verses 5 to 9, Let's just notice that it's a list that touches on many areas of life, from religious practice, the beginning of verse 6, to sexual sins, the end of verse 6, and then a whole number of social sins in verses 7 and 8. If we zoom in just on sexual sins for a moment, we'll notice that sometimes in the Old Testament a ceremonial law is listed right alongside a moral law. There was a real distinction. God says that he delights finally in mercy and not sacrifice, but that doesn't mean sacrifice is unimportant. And so sometimes we see Moral laws listed right alongside ceremonial laws of sacrifice or the other laws of cleanliness related to that in the ceremonial category. Highlighting just one more verse, looking at verse 8, It's concerned especially with justice and charity. It is not an absolute rule against lending money with interest. Deuteronomy chapter 23 forbids the lending of money at interest to a brother. And then it specifically mentions you cannot lend at interest for food. In other words, if a brother is in need, then you don't lend at interest, you give charitably. That is the thrust of Deuteronomy 23. Deuteronomy 23 verse 20, that Israelite could lend money at interest to a foreman. So verse 8 is concerned with, you need to be doing true justice, you need to be doing true acts of charity and aid for others. And then just a couple other things about these lists of virtues and vices. The main point, summarized in verse 17 and 18, it's repeated again in verse 20, the main point is all about this. Each person, each generation is responsible for their own sins. And that's what he keeps coming back to. And it is not as though the righteous grandson will suffer because of his unrighteous father. And it is not as though the unrighteous middle generation will be saved by the righteous men on either side of him. Each person is finally judged for their own sin. and for their own relationship with God. And just one more thing to say about this. This is a passage which is, it's like the book of James. It's focusing on the fact that good works, good fruit is necessary evidence of faith. It's not a passage speaking about the foundation of faith. But those who have been saved will begin to demonstrate the good fruits of true righteousness. All of this relates to a systematic rebuke of the attitude that you would just make a simple blame shift. You know, we have to have our teeth set on edge because our fathers ate sour grapes. Now, there's another way to misunderstand, there's another way to wrongly say that proverb. This is a short part of our task. It's basically just verse 19, but we're going to look very carefully at verse 19. The other way to understand this proverb was to say, well, when the fathers have sinned, why shouldn't the children also suffer? In other words, the proverb was vague enough that some people said it this way, the fathers have had sour grapes, and the children are going to have their teeth set on edge, and that's just the way it is, and why shouldn't it be that way? In other words, it was not just a simple blame shift. There was still a blame shift going on, there was still a look at what our fathers did going on. But it went one step further than that. It was a blame shift and then uh and why shouldn't it be that way? Okay. Why? Why would this be? Stay with me. This is this is this is important and it's going to pull us into our second point. The attitude of the day and the view of god in that day was that the gods were just whimsical, wrath-filled beings. They were just looking for chances to execute judgment. They were just looking for chances to wipe people out. Their wrath was poured out Because there was some sin and there wasn't any real justice in how it was poured out. It was just, well, there's some sin and now wrath is going to be poured out. And the objective of the false religions of the day was, well, we just have to work hard to appease these whimsical, wrath-filled beings as much as we can. That was the general picture of God in the ancient Near East. And for those who say in verse 19, well, why shouldn't the Son suffer? What are they saying? They're saying, well, we're not just flame-shifting. They're still doing that. But they're even going a step further. And they're saying, and so what? Isn't that how gods are? Aren't gods just whimsical, wrath-filled beings? who will execute their power and wipe people out at one time or another, and we just have to try to appease them as much as we can? You see, this was actually worse than the first misunderstanding. It goes beyond the simple blame shift of the previous generation, and it goes into an error concerning the character of God. It is an attitude which says, well, this is how the world understands divine beings to be. And therefore, isn't that just how it is? Why shouldn't the children also suffer? Aren't God's just wrathful beings waiting to pour out their anger on us? That's the attitude of verse 19. The first way, the first simple blame shift, that was wrong enough. But here, the very character of God is abused, misunderstood. And in some ways, verses 21 to 32 are now gonna be the response to that. We're gonna get into that for our second point. But before we do that, let's just say this. Sometimes popular sayings and wisdom of the world, sometimes they have something we can glean from. Sometimes there's a proverb of the day that has something generally right to it. But often we need to examine the popular sayings of the day and reject them completely. For this saying, there was two different ways to say it. One was wrong, the other one was completely wrong, and really blasphemous. as it would misjudge the character of God. So no matter how you set it, get rid of this proverb. Do not speak this in my land. Verse 3. Now, what's the modern proverb of today about who God is? Well, there is not this general belief in whimsical, wrathful gods anymore. Now what's the attitude? Now the attitude is this. Well, if there is a God, He's a God of love. He would never judge anyone. So now, if we were to roughly remake the parable for our own day, it might be something like this. Our parents ate whatever grapes they wanted. We sink our teeth into whatever we want. And no God would ever judge anyone, because if God exists, He can only be a God of love without any judgment. So what does it matter? Brothers and sisters, let us not make God in the image of ancient idols. Let us not pretend that God is unpredictably full of wrath, always angry and ready to destroy for reasons just or unjust. And let us also not make God in the image of modern idols. with the popular conception of a God who is supposedly all love with no idea of just judgment. Let us be both confronted and comforted by the one true God and who He is as He has revealed Himself to us in His will. And now we come to our second point. God does not delight in death. The first 20 verses make it so clear that only the soul who sins shall die, but God does not delight in death. And it is also true that the sinner who repents will not die, the sinner who repents will live. And so we can say it further, it is only the soul of the one who dies in sin and rebellion, without repentance, who will die. God's judgment is not arbitrary or whimsical or full of ground for no good reason. God's judgment is just, and God does not delight to bring that just judgment whatsoever. God desires that all would repent and live, however many sins have been added up. God desires that all would repent and live. God does not delight in the death of the wicked. key statement of verse twenty-three where it's a rhetorical question. So, plainly answered in verse thirty-two. You know, sometimes the rhetorical question just states a rhetorical question. We actually have that verse twenty-five and twenty-nine but sometimes it's like god, I'm not, I'm not gonna leave any room for doubt. I'm just gonna answer the rhetorical question and so the question of verse twenty-three which assumes the answer. God just says it plainly in verse thirty-two. I I have no pleasure in the death of anyone. Well, let's as we're working through it, let's let's think about two questions. First, we'll ask if there is any corporate reality to god's judgment of Israel and then our second question we'll get to is Is God speaking about physical or spiritual life and death here? What is mostly in view? Physical or spiritual life and death? Well, first, is there any corporate reality to God's judgment? Yes, there is. Now, this chapter is a corrective against the false idea that there was only corporate judgment. that they were only judged for what their fathers and the people as a whole did. But there are other places, even within the book of Ezekiel, such as Ezekiel 4, which speak about the weight of past sins being added up. We're going back quite a ways here. Remember, that was the days and days and days of Ezekiel laying on his side. It was a symbol of years and years and years of the weight of sin adding up. At this point, we might also think of the Second Commandment in the Decalogue, where God says, I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the followers of the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments. Now, let's notice a couple things about that. In the context of the Second Commandment, which is especially about raven images, If the first generation had a Bible, then there are three or four generations that are gonna have to live with that Bible. That's part of what's going on in the description of the second commandment, because they usually live together, Israelite families, three or four generations in a single home. So that's one thing to notice, but what's even more important to take out of Exodus 20 verses 5 and 6 is these key phrases. Of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me. In other words, right there already in the second commandment, there's this The iniquity will be visited on those who hate me. My steadfast love will be showered in thousands on those who love me. In other words, it's fully consistent with the three-generation example from the beginning of Ezekiel 18. So there is some corporate element, but finally it comes down to individual. Now the second question The second question really sorts it out further, because the second question is this, is God speaking about physical or spiritual life and death here? And it's a little bit of a trick question, because both, but ultimately, God is speaking about spiritual life and death. So we can speak about it this way. We know that the description of Jerusalem, where the Babylonians came, is that the righteous were surrounded by the wicked. That's the description given in Habakkuk chapter 1. And what's the key statement in Habakkuk chapter 2? What's the key statement regarding, well, what happens to those righteous surrounded by the wicked who What is the answer? It is the answer that is quoted multiple times in the New Testament, which God used to help spark the Reformation. It is this answer. The just shall live by faith. And if we speak in terms of the book of Ezekiel, and if we think forward to Ezekiel chapter 37 in the valley of dry bones, what does that vision mean? Does that mean that the righteous people who were slaughtered as the Babylonians came in, does that mean that their dry bones are gonna be given muscle and sinew and that they're gonna stand when they come out of the grave? No, it's an image of spiritual life coming to spiritually dead people. And so ultimately, even though there is something here about physical death, ultimately, when we read that the soul who sins shall die, and the one who repents shall live, ultimately this is spiritual reality. Or if we use the older English phrase, Ezekiel 18, with its repeated calls to repentance, and that's what That's what the last half of Ezekiel 18 is. It's that key statement, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, and all surrounding that, and before and after that, including the very last verse, is all these calls to repentance. Turn, turn, turn, turn, repent and turn. So turn and live. Ultimately, all of this is about repentance unto life. That older English phrase found in the King James Version of Acts 11-19, the ESV says it this way, repentance that leads to life. That older phrase, Repentance Unto Life, is found in the Westminster Confession. It's the title of one of the chapters of the Confession. Chapter 15 of the Westminster Confession, which you can find on page 828 in the back of the Trinity Psalter Handbooks. It's chapter 15 of Repentance Unto Life. And just to read a couple of the sections of that chapter. 1. Repentance unto life is an evangelical grace, the doctrine whereof is to be preached by every minister of the gospel, as well as that of faith in Christ. Why is it that we must preach this word? This is what God desires. This is the character of God. Yes, there is judgment on the wicked, but I do not desire that any would perish. I desire that all would live, that there would be repentance unto life. And so that is what we must preach, and that is what we are all called to hear. Westminster Confession 15.3 Although repentance is not to be rested in as any satisfaction for sin or as though it was the cause of the pardon, which is the act of God's free grace in Christ, yet repentance unto life is of such necessity to all sinners that none may expect pardon without it. And then, Westminster Confession 15.4 speaks about the fact that there is no sin so great that it would bring death, but there is true repentance. Or, to say that positively, where there is true repentance, there will be life. As Jesus said, those who come to me, I will in no wise cast out. So, people of God, bringing it back together, this proverb, the Lamb, must be discarded. You cannot say it, especially because of this, because there's a further level in describing the verse 19, where there's even this idea that maybe God desires to bring this wrath upon us, and it is all just random. That is not God's character. God takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked. It has never been God's character. God is unchanging. And so let's come to our conclusion by hearing how God has spoken this word to us throughout the centuries of His Holy Word. Moses said it this way in Deuteronomy 30 verse 19, I call heaven and earth to witness against you today that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore, Choose life. Micah, speaking about what God does delight to do, said it this way in Micah 7, verses 18-19, 18-19, 18-19, 18-19, 18-19, 18-19, 18-19, 18-19, 18-19, 18-19, 18-19, 18-19, 18-19, 18-19, 18-19, 18-19, 18-19, 18-19, 18-19, 18-19, 18-19, 18-19, 18-19, 18-19, 18-19, 18-19, 18-19, 18-19, 18-19, 18-19, 18-19, 18-19, 18-19, 18-19, 18-19, 18-19, 18-19, 18-19, 18-19, 18-19, 18-19, 18-19, 18-19, 18-19, 18-19, 18-19, 18-19, 18-19, 18-19, 18-19 in steadfast love. He will again have compassion on us. He will tread our iniquities underfoot. Then moving to the New Testament, the Apostle Paul then said it this way, This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth. Then finally the Apostle Peter said it this way, The Lord is not slow to fulfill His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient towards you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance." God does not desire the death of anyone. He desires that there will be repentance unto life. So the call repeatedly throughout Ezekiel 18, the call now is this, repentance. repent and live, and know the character of God. Know that this is what God desires. This is what God draws us to. This is what God finally does Himself, even as Scripture does speak in the language of our own responsibility. God desires our repentance and His alighting. And certainly, not just need to quote the word from Moses and Micah and Paul and Peter, you can just look at the cross. And we can see where is the repentance and the life based on? It is based on the death until life, resurrection of Jesus Christ. That is all the plan of God. That is what God does. Why? Because God desires us to live a true faith in him. Amen. Let us pray. O Lord God, may we, by the light of your revelation, See your character. See who you are. You are truly just. You have no pleasure in the death of anyone. to repentance and to life. In the name of Jesus Christ, we pray.