If the wicked man turns away from all the sins he has committed, if he keeps all my statutes and does what is just and right, he shall surely live. He shall not die! 22 None of the crimes he has committed shall be remembered against him; he shall live because of the justice he has shown. 23 Do I find pleasure in the death of the wicked—oracle of the Lord God? Do I not rejoice when they turn from their evil way and live? 24 And if the just turn from justice and do evil, like all the abominations the wicked do, can they do this evil and still live? None of the justice they did shall be remembered, because they acted treacherously and committed these sins; because of this, they shall die. 25 You say, “The Lord ’s way is not fair!” Hear now, house of Israel: Is it my way that is unfair? Are not your ways unfair? 26 When the just turn away from justice to do evil and die, on account of the evil they did they must die. 27 But if the wicked turn from the wickedness they did and do what is right and just, they save their lives; 28 since they turned away from all the sins they committed, they shall live; they shall not die.
God finds no pleasure in the spiritual death of the wicked which separates them from God for all eternity. He wants the sinner to sincerely repent and live in accordance with His commandments. When a person is condemned to spiritual death because of past sins and then has a change of heart, repents, and keeps God’s statutes, God rejoices and that person will live. His past sins will not be held against him. But if a good person turns to evil, that person will be held accountable for his present evil attitude and die. The good that person did before shall be forgotten. The person is condemned not because of God, but because of his own personal sin so God should not be blamed. God’s judgment is based on individual behavior.
Almighty God, we come before you with humble and contrite hearts seeking your mercy and forgiveness. Do not hold our past sins against us but create new hearts and spirits within us so that our salvation may be restored. This we pray through Christ our Lord. Amen!
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References
Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.
Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.
Orchard, Bernard, et al. A Catholic Commentary on Holy Scripture. Feb. 1953.
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