Ezekiel 18:30-32 Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways, said the Lord GOD. Repent… I. THE ASSUMPTION OF AN AWFUL FACT. Iniquity induces ruin. The term "ruin" occurs but seldom in the sacred Scriptures. It is, however, one of awful import and aspect; a word ever used in an evil sense to describe the fearful disaster which has befallen him who was the subject of it. In the text the word is employed to describe the eternal misery of the soul. 1. He who is ruined has lost something of which he was formerly in possession. When an individual meets with sudden reverses of a painful character in his circumstances, and is called to sustain an extensive deprivation of property, we are accustomed to say, that such an one is ruined. But of all the loss and forfeiture which men can sustain, none can possibly be compared with that which is experienced by him who is ruined by his iniquity. 2. We apply this term to the demolition or destruction of a fabric. In hell there is nothing witnessed but ruin. Some of the finest and most noble intelligences ever formed, are there irreparably and eternally ruined. "Morning stars" which once sang for joy around the Almighty's throne are in a state of wretchedness and perdition. This ruin is:(1) Indescribably great. It is the ruin of man; a dignified, exalted, and intelligent being. (2) Incapable of reparation. Cities may be rebuilt, and the waste of ages redeemed; habitations and palaces may be renovated, and shine forth in pristine magnificence and glory; but the ruin adverted to in the text cannot be repaired. The Most High would have accomplished this for sinners while they were on "this" world, and in a state of probation; but they "set at nought all His counsel, and would none of His reproof"; therefore: Proverbs 1:25-27. (3) Punitive and painful. The ruin of a building made with hands is the ruin of unconscious, inactive, and unfeeling matter, utterly insensible of the desolation that reigns around. When man is ruined, there are inflicted pain and destruction of the most fearful description. II. THE EFFICACY OF A DIVINE ADMONITION. 1. Repentance implies the existence of that which is sinful and erroneous (Romans 3:10-12, 23). 2. Repentance comprises a consciousness of having done wrong, a conviction of sinfulness. We are so accustomed to think of ourselves more highly than we ought to think, that we need pray earnestly to God to show us what we are, and to open our eyes to "behold wondrous things out of His law" (Psalm 119:18). 3. Repentance includes also sorrow for sin; a "godly sorrow" (2 Corinthians 7:10), a sorrow wrought in the heart by the Spirit of God. 4. Repentance is attended with confession of sin. This may be performed in a two-fold sense: first to God, and secondly to man. (R. Treffry.) Parallel Verses KJV: Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways, saith the Lord GOD. Repent, and turn yourselves from all your transgressions; so iniquity shall not be your ruin. |
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