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Day 15 Ezekiel 14:12 Ezekiel 14:12 The word of the LORD came again to me, saying, 13 Son of man, when the land sins against me by trespassing grievously, then will I stretch out mine hand upon it, and will break the staff of the bread thereof, and will send famine upon it, and will cut off man and beast from it: 14 Though these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they should deliver but their own souls by their righteousness, says the Lord GOD. 15 If I cause noisome beasts to pass through the land, and they spoil it, so that it be desolate, that no man may pass through because of the beasts: 16 Though these three men were in it, as I live, says the Lord GOD, they shall deliver neither sons nor daughters; they only shall be delivered, but the land shall be desolate. 17 Or if I bring a sword upon that land, and say, Sword, go through the land; so that I cut off man and beast from it: 18 Though these three men were in it, as I live, says the Lord GOD, they shall deliver neither sons nor daughters, but they only shall be delivered themselves. 19 Or if I send a pestilence into that land, and pour out my fury upon it in blood, to cut off from it man and beast: 20 Though Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, as I live, says the Lord GOD, they shall deliver neither son nor daughter; they shall but deliver their own souls by their righteousness. 21 For thus says the Lord GOD; How much more when I send my four sore judgments upon Jerusalem, the sword, and the famine, and the noisome beast, and the pestilence, to cut off from it man and beast? 22 Yet, behold, therein shall be left a remnant that shall be brought forth, both sons and daughters: behold, they shall come forth unto you, and ye shall see their way and their doings: and ye shall be comforted concerning the evil that I have brought upon Jerusalem, even concerning all that I have brought upon it. 23 And they shall comfort you, when ye see their ways and their doings: and ye shall know that I have not done without cause all that I have done in it, says the Lord GOD. How often do you hear about how good people are? They can give you a list of the many things they have done, and it all sounds so good and praiseworthy. You might even compare yourself to their goodness, and think you fall short. God showed Ezekiel that there were only three people whose righteousness he considered, but even they could not deliver anyone else by their righteousness, from the judgment God would bring on the land. Let’s consider for one moment who Noah, Daniel, and Job were. God saved Noah and his family when he brought the flood on the earth. He did so because of his righteousness. No one else caught God’s attention, which is why he brought the flood that destroyed all the people of the earth. Daniel was a man of prayer. He trusted God no matter what, and proved his faith when cast to the lions, and God closed the mouth of the lions, so he was unhurt. Then there is Job, whose life Satan wanted to snuff out because he thought if God took his hedge of protection from him, Job would curse God, yet Job remained faithful to God when his wife and friends came against him for all the trouble Satan caused, and God increased him in the end of his trouble by giving him twice what he had before. Yet, God told Ezekiel that they could only save themselves, they couldn’t save anyone else. As Christians, you hear many messages telling you how you are the only person you can save, you can’t save anyone else. It is the Holy Spirit who saves, you don’t. You can bring a message to people. You can tell them how much God loves them, but it is the Holy Spirit who saves. No one is good, for all their good deeds, if a person has not accepted Jesus as Savior and Lord, they will still go to Hell when they die. Psalm 14:1 < The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that does good. 2 The LORD looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God. 3 They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy: there is none that does good, no, not one. Matthew 7:21 Not everyone that says unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that does the will of my Father which is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? And in thy name have cast out devils? And in thy name done many wonderful works? 23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. Matthew 16:24 Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. 25 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. 26 For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? 27 For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works. Pay attention to what that last verse says. Jesus said he will reward you for your works. He did not say your works would save you. Your works won’t save you from God’s judgment. You can still lose your life with all the good you do. Romans 3:10 As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: 11 There is none that understands, there is none that seeks after God. 12 They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that does good, no, not one. 13 Their throat is an open sepulcher; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips: 14 Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness: 15 Their feet are swift to shed blood: 16 Destruction and misery are in their ways: 17 And the way of peace have they not known: 18 There is no fear of God before their eyes. It doesn’t matter how good a person is, if they don’t believe in God, or accept Jesus as Savior and Lord, they will still go to Hell. God told Ezekiel he sees the righteousness in a person’s life, and will bring a remnant out of captivity. They would not see the judgment God would bring against his people because of their disobedience. Therefore, it isn’t how good you are, but whether you accepted Jesus as Savior and Lord, that saves you. Titus 3:5 Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; 6 Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour; 7 That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life. 8 This is a faithful saying, and these things I will that thou affirm constantly, that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable unto men. (KJV) James 2:14 What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? Can faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, 16 And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit? 17 Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. 18 Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: show me thy faith without thy works, and I will show thee my faith by my works. You need both faith and works, one saves – faith, one shows your faith and the love of Jesus Christ in you – works. As a Christian, you can’t have one without the other. Works alone, being good alone, will never save a person from Hell. Let’s pray: Father, help me show your love to those around me by doing what I can to help them, because I love you and trust you as my Savior and Lord. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen. Copyright © 4 January 2018 by Valerie Routhieaux Image courtesy of Pixabay