Ezekiel 33:7-11 English Standard Version <\/b>Copyright \u00a9 2001 by Crossway Bibles<\/span><\/p>\n 7 \u201cSo you, son of man, I have made a watchman for the house of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you shall give them<\/b><\/p>\n warning from me. 8 If I say to the wicked, O wicked one, you shall surely die, and you do not speak to warn the wicked to turn from his<\/b><\/p>\n way, that wicked person shall die in his iniquity, but his blood I will require at your hand. 9 But if you warn the wicked to turn from his<\/b><\/p>\n way, and he does not turn from his way, that person shall die in his iniquity, but you will have delivered your soul. 10 \u201cAnd you, son of<\/b><\/p>\n man, say to the house of Israel, Thus have you said: \u2018Surely our transgressions and our sins are upon us, and we rot away because of<\/b><\/p>\n them. How then can we live?\u2019 11 Say to them, As I live, declares the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the<\/b><\/p>\n wicked turn from his way and live; turn back, turn back from your evil ways, for why will you die, O house of Israel?<\/b><\/p>\n Salvation: Status or Relationship?<\/b><\/p>\n Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.<\/p>\n We have a lot of churchy words that we tend to use without thinking about them:<\/p>\n \u2013 salvation,<\/p>\n \u2013 redemption,<\/p>\n \u2013 deliverance<\/p>\n \u2013 and we often wrongly think of these particular three as states of being.<\/p>\n We might say \u201cI am saved\u201d, for example \u2013 as though \u201csaved\u201d is like having brown eyes or<\/p>\n freckles. As though nothing can change it.<\/p>\n But that is not how the Bible uses these terms.<\/p>\n Instead, they are relational terms<\/b>.<\/p>\n \u2022<\/span> Salvation happens,<\/p>\n \u2022<\/span> deliverance happens,<\/p>\n \u2022<\/span> redemption happens in the relationship God has with us;<\/b><\/p>\n \u2022<\/span> that is, we cannot refer to salvation, redemption, or deliverance apart from<\/p>\n relationship with God.<\/p>\n For example, 2 Sam. 22:4: I called on the Lord, who is worthy of praise,<\/i><\/p>\n and he saved me from my enemies<\/i>.<\/p>\n Or Isaiah 51:1:God says \u201cListen to me, all who hope for deliverance\u2014 all who seek the Lord!<\/i><\/p>\n Or Ephesians 4:30: And do not bring sorrow to God\u2019s Holy Spirit by the way you live.<\/i><\/p>\n Remember, he has identified you as his own, guaranteeing that you will be saved on the day of<\/i><\/p>\n redemption.<\/i><\/p>\n It is relationship with God that gives these terms meaning and effectiveness.<\/b>The conversation the Lord God has with his people through the Prophet Ezekiel underscores this.<\/p>\n Today\u2019s reading from Ezekiel 33 sounds almost like session with a therapist:<\/p>\n \u2022<\/span> What\u2019s the problem?<\/p>\n \u2022<\/span> The people admit guilt and shame, \u201cOur transgressions and our sins weigh upon us, and<\/i><\/p>\n we waste away because of them; how then can we live?\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n Listen carefully now.<\/p>\n \u2022<\/span> God responds: As <\/i>I<\/i><\/b> live, says the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked<\/i><\/p>\n but that the wicked turn from their ways and live;<\/i><\/p>\n Notice that use of \u201clive\u201d \u2013<\/p>\n \u2022<\/span> Sinners are dying, perishing, because of their sin \u2013 they cannot live.<\/p>\n \u2022<\/span> In contrast, God is<\/i> living. \u201cAs I live\u201d says the Lord.<\/p>\n And the living God points the way from death to life for sinners.<\/b><\/p>\n You and I are sinners. We are the wicked to whom God speaks with love.<\/p>\n God our Father never gives up on sinners \u2013 He never abandons the wicked to destruction.<\/p>\n \u2022<\/span> God does not gloat when people refuse to turn from sin and suffer the<\/p>\n consequences.<\/p>\n \u2022<\/span> He does not create a victorious spectacle for the execution of the wicked, like the<\/p>\n Romans did.<\/p>\n Sinners who persist in their rebellious behavior suffer consequences, but not because God makes<\/p>\n an example of them or punishes them:<\/p>\n \u2022<\/span> It is because they refuse to turn toward God and live.<\/p>\n \u2022<\/span> It is because they choose to do the wrong and ignore the judgment of God.<\/p>\n As long as a sinner breathes, there is time to turn away from sin and trust in the mercy of God.<\/p>\n For even when God judges sinful behavior, God\u2019s relationship with humanity is always<\/b><\/p>\n rooted in love<\/b>. And so, our dear loving Father persists in urging sinners to turn away from<\/b><\/p>\n sinful behavior and toward his love.<\/b><\/p>\n \u2026<\/p>\n Now, many English translations of the prophet Ezekiel are not helpful in one particular point:<\/p>\n they substitute \u201cmortal\u201d for the Hebrew \u201cson of man\u201d. And while that may be a commonplace<\/p>\n usage of the term ben adam, <\/i>it obscures the connection to Christian faith.<\/p>\n When the Lord commands the prophetic message to be given to the people, it is not \u201cmortal\u201d he<\/p>\n addresses, but \u201cson of man\u201d. My rendering, for emphasis, goes like this:<\/p>\n O son of man, tell the people I have heard their cry of guilt and fear of destruction.<\/i><\/p>\n Son of man, Tell them I am the living God and I don\u2019t want anyone to perish;<\/i><\/p>\n Tell them, son of man: I want sinners to turn away from sin and toward me and live with me.<\/i><\/p>\n Do you remember what Jesus said about himself? For the Son of Man came to seek and save<\/i><\/p>\n those who are lost.\u201d (<\/i>Lk. 19:10) And again: the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve<\/i><\/p>\n others and to give his life as a ransom for many<\/i>.\u201d (Matthew 20:28) Jesus is the Son of Man sent<\/b><\/p>\n by God \u2013not just <\/b>with<\/i><\/b> a message, as a prophet \u2013 but <\/b>as<\/i><\/b> God\u2019s message of reconciliation for<\/b><\/p>\n all people!<\/b>God wants relationship with us so that our sins do not kill us, and this relationship he<\/b><\/p>\n establishes through his Word \u2013 spoken through the prophets and embodied in Jesus<\/b>.<\/p>\n Jesus accepts the penalty of death for our sins and lives risen from the dead to invite, urge, and<\/p>\n accept our faith in him as the relationship with God that gives us life.<\/p>\n \u2026<\/p>\n There is one other important thing about relationship with God.<\/p>\n It is not just between the two of us. It is not one-dimensional.<\/b><\/p>\n In the biblical understanding, there is no such thing as (pardon my grammar) \u201cjust me and<\/p>\n Jesus\u201d. We are not meant to live in individual religious bubbles.<\/p>\n If someone were to go to church every Sunday and pray and sing, and give offerings, and receive<\/p>\n Communion, but then go out of church and slander others, abuse the spouse, berate the children,<\/p>\n and treat employees unfairly, that person would be numbered among the wicked condemned to<\/p>\n death for their sins, no matter how religious they may be.<\/p>\n Now, that is an extreme illustration, but the point is this: saving relationship with God includes<\/b><\/p>\n how we behave with others. <\/b>As Jesus and the apostles remind us, we cannot love God without<\/b><\/p>\n also loving our neighbor. <\/b>And, conversely, it is our relationship of love with God that enables<\/p>\n us to love our neighbor. Both go together. Cross-shaped — Vertical with God our Father and<\/p>\n horizontal with others. Where the vertical relationship with God our Father and the horizontal<\/p>\n relationship with others intersect is the act of forgiving\u2014of Jesus forgiving us with his death<\/b><\/p>\n and of us forgiving others with our sacrifice of ego.<\/b><\/p>\n But let\u2019s be clear \u2013 the forgiveness Jesus teaches in Matthew 18:15-20 comes when a sinner is<\/p>\n held accountable for the sin. Jesus\u2019 forgiveness is not a sloppy \u201cIt\u2019s okay\u201d, but rather a<\/p>\n conversation \u2013 or several\u2014in which the sinner<\/b> is loved by being told how the sinful behavior<\/b><\/p>\n is harmful<\/b>, leading them to destruction and to alienation from God and the community; and then<\/p>\n by the sinner being invited \u2013 no, urged \u2013 to leave the behavior behind and turn back to God and<\/p>\n receive reconciliation. This is where true life and peace are found.<\/p>\n Such conversations of accountability, forgiveness, and reconciliation can take place in various<\/p>\n ways:<\/p>\n \u2022<\/span> between two believers,<\/p>\n \u2022<\/span> among several believers,<\/p>\n \u2022<\/span> within the whole congregation,<\/p>\n \u2022<\/span> as well as in the confessional, between the penitent and the pastor who speaks the word<\/p>\n of God.<\/p>\n As I live, says the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked but that the wicked<\/i><\/p>\n turn from their ways and live;<\/i><\/p>\n So, dear brothers and sisters, this week, talk with God about your relationship with him. Ask him<\/p>\n how to love him more deeply. Consider going to a pastor for confession and forgiveness, andseek opportunities to forgive others. And ask God for help to leave your sins behind and to love<\/p>\n others.<\/p>\n As St. Paul reminds us in Romans 13: 8-14, there is no time to waste, for Christ is coming soon.<\/p>\n In the name of the Father, and of the +Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.<\/p>\n \u00a9The Rev. Beth A. Schlegel, STS<\/p>\n pastorschlegel@live.com<\/p>\n St. Peter\u2019s Lutheran Church, York PA, USA<\/p>\n Christ Lutheran Church, Manchester PA, USA<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost | 6 September 2026 | A Sermon on Ezekiel 33:7-11 | by The Rev. Beth A. Schlegel Ezekiel 33:7-11 English Standard Version Copyright \u00a9 2001 by Crossway Bibles 7 \u201cSo you, son of man, I have made a watchman for the house of Israel. 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