以西结书18:25-32

愿恩惠、平安从父神和救主耶稣基督归于你们所有转离自己的罪恶，归向神并且靠祂的恩惠怜悯行在公义中的人。阿们。

主耶和华说：“犯罪的，他必死亡。”以色列百姓的反应是：“主的道不公平！”什么是公平？公平这个词，希伯来文原文就是称一称，看秤的准不准，有没有缺斤短两。以色列人或者说我们按照人的标准，人的意思，为什么会认为主的道不公平？

因为我们的公平是交易思维，这个交易的天平/秤的两端是什么呢？一端是我的善行，另一端是我的罪恶。如果我的善行大过罪过，哪怕只要稍微多一点点，天平或者我们的命运结局都会向善行这边靠拢，这也就是为什么许许多多不信主的人都希望自己能够积德行善，以致足够弥补罪过，进而可以进天堂。

“犯罪的，他必死亡。”这不公平，难道上帝不考虑这个人犯罪之前的所有善行吗？用中国人的话说：没有功劳也有苦劳吧。这就是以色列人发牢骚的原因：“主的道不公平。”

然而耶和华神藉着先知以西结告诉他们什么是公平，什么是不公平。“义人若转离义行而作罪孽死亡，他是因所作的罪孽死亡。再者，恶人若回头离开所行的恶，行正直和合理的事，他必将性命救活了。”（结18:26-27）换句话说，在神眼里或者说神的审判天平上，义人如果转离去作恶，那么他之前的义就什么也不算，帮不了他什么忙，在得救的事上毫无益处；如果恶人转离恶，去行善，那么他之前的恶就一笔勾销了，要记住，并不是抵消，而是不再计算，抹去，抹得干干净净。

这是很奇怪的，对常人来说是不可思议的，事实上，世上的法律不是，也不能这样运作的，对不对？一个杀人犯不可能因为悔改马上去做了一件善事就被释放了，对不对？

在神的公平审判天平上，有一件事隐藏在这个判断当中，那就是主的道/那位道成肉身的主耶稣基督，“祂本有上帝的形象，取了奴仆的形象，成为人的样式，谦卑顺服天父上帝的旨意，以至于死，且死在十字架上。”（腓2:6-8）

祂在天平的一端，我们在天平的另一端；祂的义要远远大过我们的罪。事实上，耶稣基督的义大过全人类所有的罪，包括你全部的罪。没有什么罪是主耶稣不能赦免的。祂在天平的一端下沉，为的是让我们这一端的人上升，得救。

我们把耶稣放在其中，再看一下上帝的道和审判的规则就明白了。“我必按你们各人所行的审判你们。你们当回头离开所犯的一切罪过。这样，罪孽必不使你们败亡。”（结18:30）因为我们回头离开所犯的一切罪过之时，就是神赦免之时，如此罪孽就不能毁坏我们了。相反，如果我们行在公义、善行、圣洁当中，却离弃这些，去重新回到老路上，继续作恶，那么我们就是离弃了主耶稣和祂的救恩，就失去了信心，那么之前的善行又怎能拯救我们呢？因为我们离弃了怜悯我们，赦免我们，更新我们的救主，唯一的救主耶稣基督。

先知以西结继续宣告说：“你们要将所犯的一切罪过尽行抛弃，自做一个新心和新灵。以色列家啊，你们何必死亡呢？”（结18:31）我们死了的人可以靠自己活过来吗？我们污秽的心灵可以自己重新做一个新的心、新的灵吗？我们靠自己不能，然而主耶稣来到我们的心中，就像祂到圣殿赶出许多交易和罪恶把它打扫干净一样，祂藉着教会所传讲的道和施行的圣洗礼洁净我们，赐给我们一颗新心和新灵。

新心和新灵是神的礼物，以西结36章继续说：“我也要赐给你们一个新心，将新灵放在你们里面，又从你们的肉体中除掉石心，赐给你们肉心。奸淫和酒，并新酒， 夺去人的心。”祂甚至把自己的圣灵赐给我们，生命和救恩都因此属于我们了。感谢上帝，今天我们再一次来到神的殿中，就是以色列家中，继续聆听主“不公平”的道，领受主的公平和公义，生命和救赎，作为称义的人来到主的圣餐桌前，亲近主，在祂的家中吃喝团契。奉耶稣基督的名。阿们。

Ezekiel 18:25–32

Grace and peace to you all from God our Father and our Savior Jesus Christ—to all who turn from their sins, return to God, and by His grace and mercy walk in righteousness. Amen.

The Lord GOD says, “The soul who sins shall die.” The reaction of the people of Israel is: “The way of the Lord is not just!” What is justice/fairness? The original Hebrew word for fairness or justice relates to weighing something on a scale—checking whether the scale is accurate and whether full weight is given. Why did the Israelites—or why do we, according to human standards and human thinking—consider the way of the Lord to be unjust?

Because our concept of justice is based on a transactional mindset. What sits on the two sides of this transactional scale? On one side are my good deeds, and on the other side are my sins. If my good deeds outweigh my sins, even by just a tiny bit, the scale—or our ultimate destiny—will tip toward good deeds. This is why so many unbelievers hope to accumulate merit and do good deeds, believing it will be enough to make up for their sins so they can enter heaven.

“The soul who sins shall die.” They say this is unfair—does God not consider all the good deeds this person did before committing the sin? As the Chinese saying goes: “Even if there is no merit, at least there was hard work.” This is why the Israelites grumbled: “The way of the Lord is not just.”

Yet the LORD God showed them through the prophet Ezekiel what is just and what is unjust. “When a righteous person turns away from his righteousness and does injustice, he shall die for it; for the injustice that 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” (Ezekiel 18:26–27). In other words, in God's eyes—or on God’s scales of judgment—if a righteous person turns away to do evil, his previous righteousness counts for nothing. It cannot help him, nor is it of any benefit regarding salvation. But if a wicked person turns away from evil and does what is good, his previous evil is wiped clean. Remember, it is not balanced out or offset; it is no longer counted—it is erased, wiped completely clean.

This is very strange and unthinkable to the average person. In fact, worldly laws do not—and cannot—operate this way, right? A murderer cannot be released simply because he repented and immediately performed a good deed, right?

On God’s scale of righteous judgment, there is one thing hidden within this declaration: the Way of the Lord—the incarnate Lord Jesus Christ Himself. “Who, though he was in the form of God... emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men... he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross” (Philippians 2:6–8).

He is on one side of the scale, and we are on the other. His righteousness far outweighs our sin. In fact, the righteousness of Jesus Christ is greater than all the sins of all humanity, including all of your sins. There is no sin that the Lord Jesus cannot forgive. He sinks down on His side of the scale so that we on our side may be lifted up and saved.

When we place Jesus in the center of this, God’s way and rules of judgment become clear. “I will judge you... every one according to his ways. Repent and turn from all your transgressions, lest iniquity be your ruin” (Ezekiel 18:30). Because the moment we turn away from all the transgressions we have committed, God forgives us; thus, iniquity can no longer ruin us. Conversely, if we walk in righteousness, good works, and holiness, but then abandon these to return to our old ways and continue in evil, we are abandoning the Lord Jesus and His salvation, forfeiting our faith. How then could our past good deeds save us? For we would have abandoned our Savior—the only Savior, Jesus Christ, who has mercy on us, forgives us, and renews us.

The prophet Ezekiel continues to proclaim: “Cast 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?” (Ezekiel 18:31). Can those of us who are dead bring ourselves back to life by our own effort? Can our defiled hearts fashion a new heart and a new spirit on their own? We cannot do it by ourselves. Yet the Lord Jesus comes into our hearts—just as He entered the temple, drove out the trade and sin, and cleansed it—and through the Word preached in the Church and Holy Baptism, He cleanses us and grants us a new heart and a new spirit.

A new heart and a new spirit are gifts from God. Ezekiel chapter 36 continues: “And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.” He even gives us His own Holy Spirit, so that life and salvation belong to us through Him. Thanks be to God! Today, as we come once again into the house of God—into the house of Israel—we continue to hear the Lord’s “unjust” way, receiving His justice, righteousness, life, and redemption. As justified people, we approach the Lord’s Table to draw near to Him, eating, drinking, and sharing fellowship in His house. In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.