Ezekiel 18:4 “For every living soul belongs to me, the father as well as the son – both alike belong to me. The soul who sins is the one who will die.”

This whole chapter is an exposition of the second half of this verse, but the second half has no real teeth without the first half. God is here stating what should be obvious: everything belongs to Him. (The Japanese uses “life” where the NIV uses “soul.”) This is indeed obvious to a person who thinks about it with honest humility, but there are lots of people who decline to do that! The more vocal and adamant the atheist, the more he has trouble with this very point. We tend to hate accountability. Paul expressed this point of God’s ownership very clearly. “You are not your own; you were bought at a price.” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20) That of course expresses what could be called God’s “double ownership” of Christians: He created us, and then He paid the price of His Son to redeem us. When we are doubly His, you can be sure He will take care of us! However, that’s not to say that He pampers us and doesn’t expect us to do anything; quite the opposite, in fact. God wants mature sons and daughters, and He allows things in our lives to move us in that direction. We get through those things much better when we remember that we belong to Him, and He isn’t going to abandon us.

The two sides of this are both important for me to communicate as a pastor. Some people I deal with resist the Gospel because of the point of God’s ownership, and some Christians would rather God be Santa Claus than a wise Father. Just yesterday I saw a short educational video from 1951 that taught the importance and benefits of self reliance. The points were: 1. Assume responsibility. 2. Be informed. 3. Know where you are going. 4. Make your own decisions. Every one of these applies to salvation! To be saved, we have to assume responsibility for our sins. We have to know the facts of God’s love and Christ’s sacrificial death and resurrection. We have to know that without Christ we are going to hell, but that with Him we are going to heaven. We have to decide for ourselves that we will submit to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. I think that will preach! I am not to put people down for their immaturity, but I am constantly to be encouraging them to grow, remembering that I need to grow, too. If we will have that attitude, then we will experience the ever-increasing glory God intends for us. (2 Corinthians 3:18)

Father, thank You for Your very interesting guidance. I had no idea You were giving me a sermon when I was watching that video yesterday! I ask for wisdom and anointing in communicating the truth You speak to me, whether it is to a group or to an individual, so that Your truth may indeed set people free, for their salvation and Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!