Judgment According to You

​3rd Sunday in Lent – C                                                                      LSB #’s 609:1-3; 579, 609:4-7
Text – Ezekiel 33:20b
 
O house of Israel, I will judge each of you according to his ways.
 
JUDGMENT ACCORDING TO YOU
 
 
Years ago,  it was well-known among college students  that certain courses were meant to “weed-out” the average  scholar.  They were made to be difficult to pass  & even more difficult to earn a top grade.  Tests had to be graded on a curve  so that some students would survive.  The courses were that tough,  & for obvious reasons, they were the object of much criticism. 
Students complained that they were impossible.  The administration warned departments against having them,  because they tended to hamper  enrollment.   Nonetheless, the courses were useful.  They produced humility in students who need to be humbled.  They crushed dreams that were unrealistic or misguided.  
Something like that is going on in Jerusalem around 600 B.C.   The prophet Ezekiel had been sent by Yahweh to teach a “weed-out” course  to the nation of Judah.  For many years those people had struggled with a lack of humility & a profusion of arrogance.  Against Ezekiel’s better advice  they were willfully violating the 1st commandment on a routine basis. 
“You shall have no other gods” had become merely an old-fashioned suggestion  to the people whom Yahweh had rescued from slavery in Egypt.   After years of decline, due to ignoring the true God,  & then years of suffering under His discipline,  many of the people were saying, “The way of the Lord is not just.”  (Ezekiel 33:17 ESV)   They were rejecting His discipline. 
That follows right in line with their rejection of Yahweh as the only true God, but another portion of the nation did accept His discipline.  Their problem was despair.  They no longer believed in Yahweh’s love for them & had given up all hope.  As they said, “Surely our transgressions & our sins are upon us, & we rot away because of them.  How then can we live?”  (Ezekiel 33:10 ESV)  What reason is there to trust in God  if you’re going to end up dead  anyway?   Those who rejected God’s discipline & those who despaired, neither group was putting faith in their Creator.  This in spite of His statement in V. 11:
“As I live, declares the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked,  but that the wicked turn from his way & live;  turn back,  turn back from your evil ways,  for why will you die, O house of Israel?”  (Ezekiel 33:11 ESV)   To turn back from sin is repentance.  A repentant heart trusts in God,  & that brings life instead of death. 
God’s commandments are the way of life for those who are already saved.  They are not a way of salvation  for those who are lost.  People who overlook their sin & charge God with injustice  are merely demonstrating that they are already  dead.  Only the true God can bring them back to life.  If you reject the Lord’s offer of life  you bring judgment upon yourself. 
 That’s what God means when He says, “…why will you die, O house of Israel?”  (Ezekiel 33:11 ESV)   Yahweh is offering them life.  He’s pleading with them to accept His gift,  & He pleads with you & me  as well, “…why will you die, O house of St. Matthew Lutheran?” 
You see,  even if we are doing good,  especially  if we are doing good,  the Devil will be stalking us,  always looking to take us down.   And the life that Christ gives to you is not something you can store up  for a rainy day.   We need a new supply of life from our Savior every single day.  That’s what the manna in the wilderness illustrated so well: 
“This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Gather of it, each one of you, as much as he can eat.  You shall each take an omer, according to the number of the persons that each of you has in his tent.’  And the people of Israel did so.  They gathered, some more, some less.  But when they measured it with an omer, whoever gathered much had nothing left over,  & whoever gathered little had no lack…  And Moses said to them, ‘Let no one leave any of it over till the morning.’  But they did not listen to Moses.  Some left part of it till the morning, & it bred worms & stank.”  (Exodus 16:16-20 ESV) 
 
If the people tried to gather more than they could eat in a meal, to store it up & save it for
the next day,  then it got wormy & stank.  Instead, except for the Sabbath, they needed to gather more manna  each morning.  They needed a new supply every day.   You & I need to turn back to our Lord & Savior each day.  If we don’t, the fruit of our labors will stink.  We cannot store up the life God gives to us  & then take a day off  from turning back to Him. 
It is our Lord’s desire that we do good  out of love for Him,  but He understands all too well  that our sinful nature will never love Him.  Jesus recognizes that we need to relate to Him as our Lord  as well as our Savior.  All three readings for this Sunday in Lent  are meant to put fear into our hearts,  that we shy away from our evil ways  & do good instead. 
In the Gospel lesson, people were being tempted to judge others as inferior.  So Jesus said, “…those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell  & killed them: do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem?   No, I tell you; but unless you repent,  you will all  likewise  perish.”  (Luke 13:4-5 ESV) 
It’s not a warm & fuzzy thing for Jesus to say,  but He’s highlighting that there should be an aspect of fear when we think of Him as Savior.   It’s not fear because Jesus is cruel.  There should be an aspect of fear  because we are evil  while Jesus is holy & righteous & almighty.  On Judgment Day, anything evil that is not covered by the blood of Jesus  will be sent to hell. 
On the far  other hand,  anything that is covered by the blood of Jesus  will be holy & righteous  just as He is now.   Anything covered by the blood of Jesus  will be in paradise,  & will be there for how long?    Heaven  will never get boring  &  it will never end.   Yes, a huge aspect of love  is involved in thinking of Jesus as Savior,  but He is our almighty Lord as well. 
This text from Ezekiel is emphasizing repentance & God gives repentance to His children as a gift.  Ezekiel is strongly encouraging us to use that gift.  It is the way of life.  The people of Judah despair because they realize they have rejected that path.  Any other “way” certainly leads to death.  There are not many paths to heaven.  There is one.  That way is the grace & mercy of Jesus Christ, Son of God.  It is easy for us to ignore, especially because of our comfortable lives, but the Day of Judgment is on its way.   Not knowing when that Day will arrive  also adds to our complacency.   As our Creator,  Lord  & Savior,  Jesus is concerned  even if we are not! 
As a nation, we have not experienced the crush of God’s judgment on sin  the way that Judah did.  As a result, many people sitting in the pews & many preachers, will frown upon calls to repentance & “threats” of punishment from God; they are too “unfriendly” & not “uplifting.”  What will the visitors think?   They may never come back again. 
Lent itself is optional in many circles today.   A danger we face regularly – just as did Judah in exile – is to minimize or rationalize our sin,   to think too highly of our “righteous deeds,”  & to dismiss the reality of God’s judgment.   Nevertheless, His basis of judgment is unavoidable: “…I will judge each of you according to his ways.”  (Ezekiel 3:20b ESV) 
The following verse is the purpose of any warning & judgment = “As I live, declares the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way & live; turn back,  turn back from your evil ways, for why will you die, O house of Israel?”  (Ezekiel 33:11 ESV)   The words of Ezekiel, while sharp & uncompromising, are also words of urgent joy. 
We can live & thrive,   forever,  if we accept the Holy Spirit’s gift of turning back to our Creator & Savior  each & every day.   In Jesus,  there is life everlasting.  He has no desire to “weed-out” anyone.  Why will you die, O house of St. Matthew Lutheran?  Amen. 
 
The Law of God is good & wise  & sets His will before our eyes,   shows us the way of righteousness,  & dooms to death when we transgress.    It’s light of holiness imparts  the knowledge of our sinful hearts  that we may see our lost estate  & turn from sin before too late.    But those who scornfully disdain  God’s Law shall then in sin remain;  its terror in their ear resounds  & keeps their wickedness in bounds.    To Jesus we for refuge flee,  Who from the curse has set us free,  & humbly worship at His throne,  saved by His grace through faith alone.  Amen.  LSB 579:1-2, 4, 6.