How will we survive?

“Now as for you, son of man, say to the house of Israel, Thus you have spoken, saying, ‘Surely our transgressions and our sins are upon us, and we are rotting away in them; how then can we survive?’”

Ezekiel 33:10 NASBS

When God’s elected nation, Israel, turned away from the truth handed down to them from Moses, they came under the penalty of God’s judgment.

They found themselves in a place they never thought was possible. They were swept away from their land, their temple, and their homes were destroyed. In the Lord’s gracious mercy, He would not allow His people to continue in sin. By His sovereign will, He allowed them to be held captive in the land of Babylon for a period of time.

The Lord used the Babylonians to teach His people to acknowledge their sins and return to Him in repentance. The scriptures tell us, “For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish hearts were darkened.”

The people of God confessed to themselves, “Surely our transgressions and our sins are upon us, and we are rotting away in them; how then can we survive?” Understand, it is far better to come under the afflictions in this life than to reap the eternal consequences of damnation, for the Lord disciplines those whom He loves.

How blessed it is to be awakened by The Lord to the sinfulness of our deceitful hearts. Sin is literally defined as missing the mark of God’s perfect righteousness, wandering off the path of uprightness, and violating the character of The Lord Himself, which is defined to us in His perfect law. For we know that the law of God is holy and perfect, and has brought all humanity under its condemnation.

When Paul assesses humanity in its sinful state, he writes a very vivid description: “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.”

“Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive.” “The venom of asps is under their lips.”

“Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.”

“Their feet are swift to shed blood; and the way of peace they have not known.”

“There is no fear of God before their eyes.”

By carefully examining the law, it reveals the corruption that is deeply embedded within the heart of all people. It’s a mirror that reveals the true nature of every person. By looking into the law, one can clearly see all the impurities in the heart, bringing everyone under its penalty and condemning them before the Lord. But the law does more than just show us our incompleteness in this life. Through the law, the Holy Spirit convicts us and drives us to seek the remedy, leading us to the foot of the cross.

This is where the eyes of your heart can see the Lord Jesus Christ hanging between heaven and earth in all of His glory. Jesus achieved what was beyond man’s ability. As God in the flesh, He came to earth as a man and fulfilled the righteous demands of God’s law without ever committing any sin through thought or deed.

He was crucified, laid in a tomb, and was raised from the dead on the third day. The resurrection is a declaration that God accepted His offering. He now stands in the presence of God, bearing the wounds on His body, for all who come to Him in faith and repentance.

So apart from His shed blood, there is no forgiveness of sins, but only fiery threats of divine judgment. The author of Hebrews affirms this, “For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries.”

Come now, poor sinner, the word of God comes to convict you of your sin. You have been tried, found guilty, and condemned in the court of your own conscience, and now you are waiting in distress for the sentence of the law to be executed upon you.

Why will you perish? Jesus bore the sins of the world on the cross, so that all who come to Him in faith and repentance might die to sin and live to righteousness.

“Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts,” but come to Christ and receive eternal life.