Why Will You Die?

Psalm 119:33-40 / Ezekiel 33:10-20

Acts 17:30-31 “The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, 31 because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.””

God’s Justice

Ezekiel 33:17 “[God’s People] say, ‘The way of the Lord is not just,’ when it is their own way that is not just.”

Ezekiel 33:20 “ Yet you say, ‘The way of the Lord is not just.’ O house of Israel, I will judge each of you according to his ways.””

It is JUST for a rebel sinner to enter into eternal punishment for breaking the eternal law of The Eternal God.

God’s Heart

Ezekiel 33:11 “Say to them, As I live, declares the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live; turn back, turn back from your evil ways, for why will you die, O house of Israel?”

“Their just getting what’s coming to them.”

“Their getting what they deserve.”

Luke 9:54–56 NASB95

54 When His disciples James and John saw this, they said, “Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?” 55 But He turned and rebuked them, and said, “You do not know what kind of spirit you are of; 56 for the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them.” And they went on to another village.

What if we got justice instead of grace?

Individual Accountability

There's a man goin' 'round takin' names And he decides who to free and who to blame Everybody won't be treated all the same There'll be a golden ladder reachin' down When the man comes around

- The Man Comes Around by Johnny Cash

Ezekiel 18:20 “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.”

Herein lies the problem for us… we know we all sin.

Isaiah 53:6 “6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.”

Rewards and Punishment

Revelation 20:12 “12 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done.”

Matthew 12:36-37 “36 I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, 37 for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.””

Matthew 11:23-24 “23 And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? You will be brought down to Hades. For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. 24 But I tell you that it will be more tolerable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom than for you.””

Where is your trust?

The Proverbial Balance?

How has the good in my life countered the bad or evil?

Ezekiel 33:13 “Though I say to the righteous that he shall surely live, yet if he trusts in his righteousness and does injustice, none of his righteous deeds shall be remembered, but in his injustice that he has done he shall die.”

It is JUST for a rebel sinner to enter into eternal punishment for breaking the eternal law of The Eternal God.

The Gospel of Jesus?

Ezekiel 33:14-16 “Again, though I say to the wicked, ‘You shall surely die,’ yet if he turns from his sin and does what is just and right... none of the sins that he has committed shall be remembered against him. He has done what is just and right; he shall surely live.”

It is also JUST that a soul whose punishment has already been endured be set free, indebted only to grace

John 3 16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”

John 6:37 “All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out.”

God’s Justice will be satisfied. God calls all people everywhere to repent. All who are not trusting in Christ, why will you die? Why will you refuse the free gift of forgiveness and eternal life?You cannot save yourself. I can’t save you either. It is true that we will all be judged according to our ways. If you trust in yourself, you will have nothing but destruction to look forward to. If your way is trusting in the finished work of Jesus on the cross, and His resurrection, you will live forever. Forgiven.