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The Justice of God
Keith
Sharp
Background
Three great Old Testament prophets were
contemporaries with differing roles: Jeremiah, Daniel, and Ezekiel. Jeremiah
(ministered 627 B.C. - ca. 586 B.C.), the eldest of the three, was the
prophet to the Jews in the land
of Palestine. Daniel
(ministered 605 B.C. - 535 B.C.) was the prophet in the court of Gentile
kings and prophesied to mighty rulers of empires about world rule. Ezekiel
(ministered 592 B.C - 570 B.C.) was the prophet to the Jews in exile (3:4-5).
His role was to preserve a faithful remnant to God from among the Dispersion
(33:10-11).
The prophet Ezekiel was among the captives taken
into exile by Nebuchadnezzar with King Jehoiachin
of Judah
in 597 B.C. (1:1). He was placed by the River Chebar
(probably a large irrigation canal from the Euphrates) at Tel Abib (1:3; 3:15) not far from the great Chaldean capital, Babylon.
No human tendency is more ancient and common
than that of making excuses for our sins. When the Lord confronted Adam with
his part in the first sin (Genesis 3:11), Adam replied, "The woman whom
You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate" (verse 12).
Men have been blaming their wives for their own mistakes ever since. In
blaming the woman whom God gave him for his sin, Adam was in reality blaming
God. Men have done this from then on as well.
The Jews in captivity in Babylon seemed to have good reason to blame
their forefathers for their woes. After all, the Lord God had expressly,
repeatedly, and emphatically stated that He visited "the iniquity of the
fathers on the children to the third and fourth generations" (Exodus
20:5-6; 34:6-7; Numbers 14:18; Deuteronomy 5:8-9). The Jews in captivity were
two generations removed from King Manasseh, and God expressly sent destruction
on Judah for the sins of this incredibly wicked king (2 Kings 23:26-27;
24:3-4; Jeremiah 15:4; Lamentations 5:7). What was perhaps even more galling
to this generation of Jews was that, when Manasseh finally repented of his
sins, God restored him (2 Chronicles 33:10-13), but here they were in Chaldea suffering from
Manasseh's sins.
But other passages explain more precisely the
meaning of this principle. It is the natural but not inescapable course for
children to follow the path in which their parents walk (Proverbs 22:6;
Ezekiel 16:44). Furthermore, succeeding generations tend to go further along
the trail blazed by their forefathers. It took four generations from the day
of Abraham for the Amorites to become sufficiently wicked to justify God in
expelling them from Canaan (Genesis 15:16).
Judah of Ezekiel's day fully partook of the sins of Manasseh, being more
wicked than her elder sister Israel, whom God cast off over a century
earlier, indeed, even more vile than Sodom, whom God utterly destroyed
(Ezekiel 16:45-52). Israel
of the day of Christ was more hardened in heart than Assyria
(Matthew 12:41) and fully partook of the rebellious attitude of their fathers
(Matthew 23:29-32). Upon them, therefore, came the punishment due a nation
who had utterly rejected the Lord and whom thus God had utterly rejected
(Matthew 23:33-36).
The
Forbidden Proverb
But the Jews of the day of Ezekiel and Jeremiah
sought to excuse themselves from guilt by a clever proverb. They claimed:
The fathers have eaten sour grapes,
And the children's teeth are set on edge (Ezekiel 18:2; Jeremiah 31:29).
Down South someone might say, The fathers have
eaten green persimmons, and the children's mouths have drawn shut. (You'd
just have to have had the misfortune to bite into a green persimmon.) This
just means they were suffering for what their parents did, but it implies God
was holding them accountable and punishing them for the sins of their
fathers. They were thus charging God with maintaining a standard of justice
less fair than He imposed upon them (Deuteronomy 24:16). Both Ezekiel and
Jeremiah rebuked the Jews for this blasphemous charge (Ezekiel 18:3; Jeremiah
31:29-30). Ezekiel forbid them to keep saying it (Ezekiel 18:3) and set out
to state in opposition to their charge the truth of the justice of God
(Ezekiel 18:4-29).
Principle
of Divine Justice
First, the prophet asserts the principle of
divine justice. It is based on the Lord's solemn declaration, "Behold,
all souls are Mine" (Ezekiel 18:4). God is sovereign, i.e., He rules
over all, and has the right to deal with each soul as He sees fit. No one can
escape divine justice.
Do not be deceived,
God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he
who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to
the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life (Galatians 6:7-8).
The Lord uses the same standard for all, fathers
as well as children (Ezekiel 18:4). Divine justice is impartial (Romans
2:11). The charge of Calvinism that God wills some individuals to eternal
damnation and others to eternal life is blasphemy.
For
this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all
men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth (1 Timothy
2:3-4).
The principle is, "The soul who sins shall
die" (Ezekiel 18:4). The Lord God holds each person accountable for
himself and for himself alone.
Of course, Calvinists assert that we all sinned
in Adam and thus are all held accountable for Adam's sin. When confronted
with Ezekiel's inspired assertion of divine justice, they claim our
connection to Adam is the exception. Thus, according to Calvinists, God made
at the very beginning of time an exception to His own principle of justice
and that exception has had unspeakably evil consequences on every soul since.
They are making precisely the same blasphemous charge as the rebellious Jews
of Ezekiel's day only on a universal scale.
No
Transfer of Guilt or Righteousness
In verses four through eighteen Ezekiel looks at
every possibility so far as guilt or righteousness being inherited. First, in
verses four through eight is the righteous man. Here is a description of one
under the old Testament whom God counted as righteous. He observed the law of
God faithfully (verses 5, 9a) in relationship to God (verse 6a; cf.
Deuteronomy 12:2; Exodus 20:3-6), and in regard to man (verses 6b-8; cf.
Leviticus 18:19-20; 19:13; 25:17; Exodus 22:26-27; Deuteronomy 15:7-11;
23:19). What is the divine judgment? "'He is just; He shall surely
live!' Says the Lord God." (Verse 9b). Thus, "... whatever a man
sows, that he will also reap." One cannot be "right" (verse
5), i.e., "just" (verse 8) unless he lives right (cf. 1 John 3:7).
But what if that just man has a wicked son? Will
his father's righteousness save him? No, if this man's son practices any of
the sins his father avoided or fails to do any of the good his father did,
"He shall surely die; His blood shall be upon him" (verses 10-13).
But what if the son (3rd generation)
of this wicked man does right? First, the very fact Ezekiel mentions this as
a possibility destroys the philosophy that children can't overcome a bad
environment. Yes, parents are obligated to bring up their children "in
the training and admonition of the Lord" (Ephesians 6:4), but young
people, regardless of their home background, have the ability and obligation
to remember their Creator in the days of their youth (Ecclesiastes 12:1).
Furthermore, God does not hold a child
accountable for the sins of wicked parents. If that child sees all the sins
which his father has done, "and considers but does not do likewise, ... He shall not die for the iniquity of his
father; he shall surely live!" (verses 14-17)
But will the wicked father of this just son
benefit from his son's righteousness? No, "he shall die for his
iniquity" (verse 18)
The
Principle Repeated and Emphasized
Why doesn't the son bear the guilt of the father
(verse 19)? Here is the unalterable, unavoidable, undeniable principle of
divine justice.
The soul who sins
shall die. The son shall not bear the guilt of the father, nor the father
bear the guilt of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon
himself (verse 20).
Each person is responsible for his own actions.
Neither righteousness nor guilt is inherited or transferred. We each stand
before God stripped and bared of all excuses. We
can't blame Adam. We can't blame our parents. We can't blame children,
husbands, wives, society, friends, or church. Nor do we get credit for their
good. God is perfectly just, and eternal judgment is strictly individual. The
Lord holds each of us accountable for his own life.
Ability
to Repent
Does this mean our present situation before God
is unalterable? No, "if a wicked man turns from all his sins which he
has committed, keeps all My statutes, and does what is lawful and right, he
shall surely live; he shall not die" (verse 21). This implies the sinner
is able to turn from sin to God. There is no need, as Protestants imagine,
for a direct, supernatural regeneration of the sinner's heart by the Spirit
of God to enable him to repent. Furthermore, this implies the grace of God,
for, even though we repent, we cannot live unless God graciously forgives the
sins of which we are guilty (verse 22; Romans 6:23). The prophet specifically
denies it is the good pleasure of God that any sinner be lost (verse 23).
This is a specific, plain, forceful denial of the Calvinistic doctrine of
particular election, i.e., that the eternal destiny of each man and angel was
unalterably sealed in the mind of God before time began.
This principle also specifically deals with King
Manasseh. Though his sins knew no bounds, late in life he repented, and God
forgave him (2 Chronicles 33:12-13). No sinner is so deep in sin nor has
lived therein so long but that God will forgive if he will repent. "O,
the depth and the riches of God's saving grace!"
Danger
of Falling
But what if "a righteous man turns away
from his righteousness and commits iniquity, and does according to all the
abominations that the wicked man does, shall he live?" No! "All the
righteousness which he has done shall not be remembered; because of the
unfaithfulness of which he is guilty and the sin which he has committed,
because of them he shall die" (verse 24). Thus, Calvinism
notwithstanding, it is possible for a righteous person, not simply one who is
justified in the eyes of men, but one whom God declares to be right, to fall
and be eternally condemned.
God's
Way Is Fair
The Jews, like spoiled children, accused God of
being unfair (unequal, unjust, unrighteous) for punishing them. The Lord
replied, "O house of Israel, is it not My way which is fair, and your ways which are
not fair?"(verse 25-28) What could be unfair about holding each person
accountable for himself? To deny the justice of such a principle is itself
unfair.
Repent!
So God will judge each of us according to his
own ways (verse 30). Stop making excuses. Stop complaining. "Repent, and
turn from all your transgressions, so that iniquity will not be your
ruin" (Ibid).
Don't claim you can't. Change your heart.
Repent. "Get yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. For why should you
die" (verse 31; cf. Jeremiah 27:13)?
God has no pleasure in the death of any lost
soul. It is His will that you live. "Therefore turn and live!"
(verse 32)
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