But if the wicked will turn from all his sins that he hath
committed, and keep all my statutes, and do that which is lawful and
right, he shall surely live, he shall not die. All his
transgressions that he hath committed, they shall not be mentioned
unto him: in his righteousness that he hath done he shall live. Have
I any pleasure at all that the wicked should die? saith the Lord
God: and not that he should return from his ways, and live? But when
the righteous turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth
iniquity, and doeth according to all the abominations that the
wicked man doeth, shall he live? All his righteousness that he hath
done shall not be mentioned: in his trespass that he hath
trespassed, and in his sin that he hath sinned, in them shall he
die. Yet ye say, The way of the Lord is not equal. Hear now, O house
of Israel; Is not my way equal? are not your ways unequal? When a
righteous man turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth
iniquity, and dieth in them: for his iniquity that he hath done
shall he die. Again, when the wicked man turneth away from his
wickedness that he hath committed, and doeth that which is lawful
and right, he shall save his soul alive. Because he considereth, and
turneth away from all his transgressions that he hath committed, he
shall surely live, he shall not die. Yet saith the house of Israel,
The way of the Lord is not equal. O house of Israel, are not my ways
equal? are not your ways unequal? Therefore I will judge you, O
house of Israel, every one according to his ways, saith the Lord
God, Repent and turn yourselves from all your transgressions; so
iniquity shall not be your ruin. Cast away from you all your
transgressions, whereby ye have transgressed; and make you a new
heart and a new spirit: for why will ye die, O house of Israel? For
I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord
God: wherefore turn yourselves, and live ye (verses 21-32).
They had accused the Lord of injustice. "The way of the Lord is not
equal" (verse 25). And Jehovah answers, "Hear now, O house of Israel; Is
not my way equal? are not your ways unequal?" He promises that the
wicked is surely to live, if he turns from all his sins. Jehovah has no
pleasure in the death of the wicked. He desires his return so that he
might live. How then would He punish them for the sins of others, if He
was ready no longer to mention even their own transgressions? But if the
righteous abandons righteousness and committeth iniquity, then "in his
sin that he hath sinned, in them shall he die." The latter case has
often been used to defend the teaching that a truly converted and
therefore saved person, may, by sinning, be lost. If only the Word of
Truth were rightly divided such, and other misinterpretations, would
cease. Here we are on the ground of the law dispensation, and, as
already pointed out, the Lord answers Israel, who were in relation to
Him through the law covenant and who refused to own their sins and their
guilt. The dispensation of Grace, in which Grace reigns through
righteousness has a different message. This is fully illustrated if we
compare the call to repentance in verses 30-31 with the promise given in
chapter xxxvi:26-17. The Lord pleads with them to acknowledge their
sinfulness; He speaks to their conscience. "Repent, and turn yourselves
from all your transgressions, so iniquity shall not be your ruin. Cast
away from you all your transgressions, whereby ye have transgressed, and
make you a new heart and a new spirit; for why will ye die, O house of
Israel?" But in chapter xxxvi Grace speaks and promises to bestow, as a
gift, what a righteous God demands. "A new heart also will I give you
and a new spirit will I put within you; and I will take away the stony
heart of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. And I will
put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye
shall keep my judgments and do them." The result of this gift of grace,
a new heart and His Spirit, is true repentance. "_Then_ shall ye
remember your own evil ways, and your doings that were not good, and
shall loathe yourselves in your own sight for your iniquities and for
your abominations" (chap. xxxvi:21). It was Augustine who said, "Give
what Thou requirest and then require what Thou will." All what God
requires He bestows in His infinite Grace through Jesus Christ our Lord
and then in possession of what Grace gives we can be what God requires.
But the thirty-sixth chapter, where God no longer saith "make you a new
heart," but promises to give a new heart to His people, awaits, as
regards God's chosen people, its fulfilment. Here God pleads with them
to convince them that they were a sinful people and that He is a just
God.
In the last verse of this chapter the Lord answers the question of verse
23, "Have I any pleasure at all that the wicked should die?" His own
answer is, "For I have no pleasure in the death of Him that dieth, saith
the Lord God, wherefore turn yourselves and live." And yet all these
gracious pleadings were not heeded.