Last week, I sent myself a message consisting of Matthew 21:28-32, Romans 2:28, and Ezekiel 18 with the note “New blog post idea.” I wish I’d given myself a few more notes about what I was thinking, because I don’t remember why I wanted to write about those verses together. I still don’t remember my original idea, but as I read them now the main things that strike me are the importance of just doing what God says and the danger of blinding yourself to ways you fall short of that goal.
At the core, Christianity is very simple: love God and love your neighbor. The plethora of commands in the Bible are all elaborations on how to love God and love our neighbors (Matt. 22:35-40; Rom. 13:8-10). We just need to believe what God says, and then do what He tells us to do. It’s people who make it complicated. We like to add things, or ignore things, or rationalize around things with a “but that can’t really be what God meant, right?” Then, if we are not careful, we can convince ourselves that we’re right while in reality we’re blinded to the truth that we’re in the wrong.
Now after Jesus entered the temple courts, the chief priests and elders of the people came up to him as he was teaching … Then he said to them …
“What do you think? A man had two sons. He went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work in the vineyard today.’ The boy answered, ‘I will not.’ But later he had a change of heart and went. The father went to the other son and said the same thing. This boy answered, ‘I will, sir,’ but did not go. Which of the two did his father’s will?” They said, “The first.” Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, tax collectors and prostitutes will go ahead of you into the kingdom of God! For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him. But the tax collectors and prostitutes did believe. Although you saw this, you did not later change your minds and believe him. …
I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit.”
Matthew 21:23. 27, 28-32, 43, NET
The chief priests, elders, and Pharisees realized Jesus was speaking this and other parables about them (Matt. 21:12-46). Rather than seeing their problem, though, they wanted to arrest and kill Him. They proved His words true by continuing to refuse to repent and believe. They thought they were already righteous because they said they were doing what God wanted even though Jesus told them they were wrong. In reality, it was the people who knew they were sinners, then repented and changed, that were doing God’s will.
Hypocrisy and Unrighteousness
Paul was still dealing with this attitude years later, when he wrote Romans. Now, though, the divide wasn’t between the Jewish elite and those Jews they considered too terrible of sinners for God to want them. Paul had to address the idea that Jewish converts to Christianity were in some way better than Gentile converts. As with the hypocrites Jesus dealt with, this attitude was especially egregious when the people who thought they are better/more righteous than everyone else didn’t even bother to obey God.
And do you think, whoever you are, when you judge those who practice such things and yet do them yourself, that you will escape God’s judgment? Or do you have contempt for the wealth of his kindness, forbearance, and patience, and yet do not know that God’s kindness leads you to repentance? But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath for yourselves in the day of wrath, when God’s righteous judgment is revealed! He will reward each one according to his works: eternal life to those who by perseverance in good works seek glory and honor and immortality, but wrath and anger to those who live in selfish ambition and do not obey the truth but follow unrighteousness. … For it is not those who hear the law who are righteous before God, but those who do the law will be declared righteous. …
For a person is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision something that is outward in the flesh, but someone is a Jew who is one inwardly, and circumcision is of the heart by the Spirit and not by the letter. This person’s praise is not from people but from God.
Romans 2:3-8, 13, 28-29, NET (bold italics mark a quotation from Ps 62:12; Prov 24:12)
It’s not enough to know what God says or to be part of a generational community of faith. You have to actually do what God says and practice what you preach. Then, you’ll truly be one of God’s people no matter what your background was. God wants wicked people to repent and live righteously. He wants righteous people to continue in their righteousness.
When We Judge God Instead of Hearing Him
God and His people have had disagreements about what He expects of us for millennia. When you distance yourself enough to think about it, it’s laughable that people would think they have a better idea of how to follow God than He does. And yet, we still charge Him with having unreasonable or unjust expectations. One of the clear places this happens is in Ezekiel 18. Here, God addressed ancient Israel’s belief that a son should be punished for his father’s iniquity, as shown by the proverb, “The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge” (Ezk. 18:1-2, 19). God said not to use that proverb anymore because it is His judgement that individuals are responsible for their own sins, not for those of their family members (Ezk. 18:1-20). Then, God elaborated on how He judges wicked people who repent and righteous people who fall away (Ezk. 18:21-32).
When a righteous person turns back from his righteousness and practices wrongdoing, he will die for it; because of the wrongdoing he has done, he will die. When a wicked person turns from the wickedness he has committed and does what is just and right, he will preserve his life. Because he considered and turned from all the sins he had done, he will surely live; he will not die. Yet the house of Israel says, ‘The Lord’s conduct is unjust!’ Is my conduct unjust, O house of Israel? Is it not your conduct that is unjust?
Ezekiel 18:26-29, NET
I think the attitude of those Israelites who didn’t want wicked people forgiven or formerly righteous people punished is the same as those that Jesus addressed in Matthew and Paul addressed in Romans. God “will judge each person according to his conduct” (Ezk. 18:30,. NET), but people who fall into this trap want Him to judge them generously and others harshly. They think their righteousness entitles them to preferential judgement while the unrighteousness of others should be punished no matter what they might do to grow and change. They don’t understand the gravity of their own sin nor the wonderous gift of God’s mercy offered to sinners.
Humility is essential for walking with God. We need humility to recognize the severity of our own sins, acknowledge our need for Jesus’s sacrifice, listen to God’s commands, strive to obey Him the way He wants us to, and continue repenting and turning back to Him when we miss the mark. Humility also helps us recognize we are no better than anyone else, and to adopt God’s attitude towards wicked people. He doesn’t want anyone to die, but would far rather they repent and live (Ezk. 18:23; 1 Tim. 2:3-4; 2 Pet. 3:9). That should be our attitude as well. Knowing that we are recipients of God’s incredible forgiveness, grace, and mercy, we should hope and pray that more people receive those gifts and rejoice–not judge–when they do.
Featured image by MarrCreative from Lightstock
Song Recommendation: “Jesus, Friend of Sinners” by Casting Crowns
Like An Anchor 