KNOWING GOD IN HIS GLORY
It is not better to have sinned
Ezekiel 4-5:4
Jerry A Collins
4/1/01
SCC
¨ Does God
take sin seriously?
¨ How can
I expect God to respond to sin in my life?
¨ Is it
better to have sinned and been delivered or not sin?
One of the motivations for our sinning is birthed
from the concept that if we disobey we think we will somehow be better off than
if we obey. The decision to obey or disobey is often a factor of pain. If the
perceived pain of obedience is higher than disobedience then you disobey and
vice versa. Before beginning a flight you do not struggle with the attendant
over wearing a seat belt. It’s benefit is apparent to you. Most laws seem
reasonable and you have no problem obeying them. The true test of obedience however
comes when you, like the Lord Jesus in Gethsemane, face one of God’s
commands you do not want to obey. How do we decide whether you are going to
obey or not? The answer usually pivots on your perception of the pain involved
with the choice. You do not want to obey because in some form there is pain
involved physical, mental, time, relational. Weighing the options, you live
your life believing that within limits you can disobey authority, whether Gods
or anothers, without suffering negative consequences. It may be because of the
minimum risk of getting caught of that the potential price is not that high.
Even though you may be smart enough to disobey earthly, temporal authority, and
you are, you are not clever enough to avoid spiritual and eternal consequences.
Actually, the price of disobedience is higher than the price of obedience!
If not here in this world, for sure in the eternal and with an omniscient,
omnipresent God who will call you to account in the day when God shall judge
the secrets of men by Jesus Christ (Romans 2:16). It is never better to
have sinned. When we use someone who has sinned as a testimony about
avoiding the sin they have repented of, it usually means learning the lesson of
avoiding the consequences they have had to deal with because of their sin. That
is not the kind of testimony a person has who has not sinned that way!
Ezekiel becomes God’s drama lesson to His people
about this very thing. Ezekiel is Gods watchman responsible to sound the alarm
about his peoples disobedience. The only testimony they are going to have is a
sinners testimony about the consequences of their sin! Chps 4-24 are the
watchman’s cry to this nation. In 4-11 we will see the need for judgment
because of disobedience. In 12-19 the watchman will attack the futility
of the peoples false optimism about their sin. In 20-24 the watchman
places their disobedience and future judgment in perspective by reviewing their
900 plus years of disobedience and corruption as Gods people! In 4-11
the need for judgment is divided between 4 signs of judgment 4-5:4,
then 2 sermons of judgment chaps. 5-7, finally 4 visions
of judgment chaps. 8-11. Since Ezekiel is confined to his house and mute
(3:24-26) God uses Ezekiel as an object lesson for the people arouse interest
by the use of objects and actions about the consequences coming because of
disobedience!
1. SIN RAISES A BARRIER BETWEEN YOU AND GOD
Ezekiel built a model of the siege of Jerusalem
with enemy siege works, an earth ramp, camps of soldiers around the city and
battering rams much like a small boy uses toy soldiers and models of tanks and building to
play war today. With the outline of Jerusalem recognizable on the model the
people would comprehend his intent. The iron plate between himself and the
model city was a sign to the people of what God would do to the real Jerusalem.
This drama represents Gods determined hostility against Jerusalem, the barrier
of sin that they had raised between themselves and God. He probably did this
just outside of his house. God is perfect holiness separate from anything evil
and when you sin against Him separation results. This the Bible calls spiritual
death. Sin separates, it always has it always will. Two men are in a
partnership where one steals from the other. The result is separation. When a friend has lied to you an
environment of alienation results. Because of Adams sin you were born dead in
your sin. In Christ, your converted made spiritually alive. The only death left for you is physical. Although
death is separation not all separation is death. As a child of God when you sin
you do not spiritually die but you are separated from the Lord. You cannot be
knowingly disobedient to Jesus and experience fellowship with him. Your prayer
for forgiveness, after salvation, is not to be saved again, but for restoring
the relationship. Your sin has separated you from Him and you must repent for
restoration. So this first sign is a simple object lesson of what will be described in detail. The successful
Xian life is to live a repentant lifestyle. It does not matter where you are in
your walk with God you never grow out of the need to repent. No barrier
Christianity.
2. THE FAILURE TO REPENT CARRIES WITH IT JUDGMENT.
By
lying on his left side, probably not all day since activity of vss 9-17
requires other actions Ezekiel was to do in this time, illustrated the sin
of the Northern kingdom, Israel, over 200 yrs, 19 kings and all bad. When
lying on right side the sin of the Southern Kingdom, Judah, 19
kings 1 queen, some good, some bad over 300 yrs. These numbers may represent
the days corresponding to the years of their sin and signify the length
of the siege of Jerusalem by Nebachadnezzar and Babylon. God would restrain
Ezekiels movements during the times of this drama as though ropes bound him in
position there. Gods judgment is inevitable. John the Baptist when prophesying
to Israel 500 yrs later said ‘repent for the kingdom of God is at hand...even
now the axe is laid to the root of the tree;; every tree therefore that does
not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire (MT 3:2, 10). Notice
that John carefully articulates judgment. The Axe sits at the root of the tree
perhaps having already been imbedded making judgment absolute. Mere
acknowledgment of your sin is not enough. You must be willing to change. If you
believe Gods wrath is directed at you and you want Gods grace, then the fruit
of repentance forthcoming. As long as you sin you need to repent. Never deceive
self into believing that because you are a child of God you no longer need to
repent.
3. JUDGMENT COMES IN THE FORM OF THE CONSEQUENCES
MY SIN PRODUCES
This
third sign of unclean food, scarce food, rations and excrement show the
pollution and defilement of the people in Gods eyes as well as the severity of
the siege they will experience. This form of
judgment is what the Law taught would result from their neglect of their
relationship with God (Deut 28 & 30:15-20). There is a law of the harvest be
not deceived God is not mocked for whatever a man sows that shall he also reap
(Gal 6:7). For example, if your obese you can expect to have heart and
blood pressure problems. If unbelief you cannot please God. These are inevitable
consequences consistent with what the Bible says we will sow when we reap. Men
may reap in this life but there is no guarantee. But the law of the harvest
guarantees there are eternal consequences for temporal behavior in our lives
and that those consequences are both apparent and appreciable. You will carry
into eternity the product of your investment in this life. Life is too short
the stakes too high to live mediocre lives.
4. NO REPENTANCE NO FORGIVENESS
This
fourth sign of burning, chopping, scattering hair indicate 2 of 3 will be
killed & 1/3 scattered and even
remnant would be oppressed. Here are people facing no forgiveness since there
is no repentance. Ever think about not being able to be forgiven? God does not
forgive unrepentant sin. Sin in final analysis is opposition to God. You can
only be forgiven if you acknowledge your guilt before God and God knows your
heart. It is never better to have sinned!