(Please read Ezekiel 36:22-28)
Those who follow Jesus will have enemies.
First, there’s the devil. He’s determined to do you everlasting harm. He “walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.” (1 Peter 5:8b)
Then there’s the sinful world filled with temptations.
“Whoever . . . wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.” (James 4:4)
Note well that James warns us not only about the world; he also warns us—about us.
We have our sinful nature. We don’t always notice the danger in what the world offers us. Feeling “free to do whatever we want to do” may sound appealing. But from where does that feeling come?
“For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish.” (Galatians 5:17)
“Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul.” (1 Peter 2:11)
When our flesh tells us it’s okay to crack the door open for it just a little—look out! Our most dangerous enemy may well be us!
In Ezekiel 36 God was talking to people who had profaned His name and followed idols. It may come as a shock, then, to realize He was talking to people He still considered to be His own. They were, in fact, “church-going folks”—but they didn’t realize how far they had gone off-track.
God, nevertheless, called them His people, remained invested in them, and still loved them. Yes, His grace was still active even while He scolded them! Why? Because His name is the Lord, that is, Jehovah or Yahweh. That name emphasizes His grace and mercy. His desire is to save His people from the devil, the world, and, yes, their own sinful flesh. By taking that name for Himself, the Lord made a pledge to rescue them.
His people back then, and His people now, don’t deserve to be rescued. But when it comes to the grace of God, deserve has nothing to do with it! His name has everything to do with it!
“The Lord is gracious and full of compassion, slow to anger and great in mercy.” (Psalm 145:8)
“Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not.” (Lamentations 3:22)
Saving sinners—that’s what the Lord does! Both John the Baptist and Jesus preached, “Repent!” That requires reexamining our actions and reconsidering our motives. Am I being driven by pride? Am I being self-centered? Am I truly operating from love?
“I will cleanse you from all your filthiness.” (Ezekiel 36:25)
We all need to be cleansed from our sins and misplaced affections.
“I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.” (Ezekiel 36:26)
We may still be going to church, but are our hearts becoming like stone that has no life? A beating heart is alive. God wants our hearts to live!
Regeneration and sanctification are entirely the work of the Holy Spirit. Because of His work, the followers of Christ will not be bystanders when it comes to working in God’s kingdom.
“I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them.” (Ezekiel 36:27)
His statutes are His divine principles, and His judgments are based on what His Son has done for us.
God’s verdict, therefore, is “Not Guilty.” That’s how God rescues us from us!
We may still be going to church, but are our hearts becoming like stone that has no life?
is pastor of Gift of God Lutheran Church in Mapleton, North Dakota, and St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Ponsford, Minnesota.
