Ezekiel 18:24Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

Yet He cautions the righteous, stating, "If a man do all righteousness and all truth, and sin, and turn away, I will not remember his righteousness, but he shall die in his sin." How stringent is His treatment of the righteous! How bounteous is His mercy towards the sinner! Thus, God employs various means—not through His own actions but by distributing His gifts of goodness according to our needs. How so? Consider this: if He intimidates a sinner who remains entrenched in sin, He may lead him to despair, robbing him of hope; conversely, if He lauds a righteous individual, He risks undermining their virtue, making them complacent in their good deeds. Hence, He shows compassion to the sinner and instills fear in the righteous. Scripture states, "Fearful over all His neighbourhood" (Psalm 88:8) and "Good is the Lord to all men" (Psalm 144:9). Who are these 'neighbourhoods' if not the saints? As David asserts, "God is glorified in the council of the saints, great and terrible is He over all His neighbourhood" (Psalms 88:8). When He observes a fallen soul, He reaches out with His hand of mercy; when He sees one who is steadfast, He instills fear in him, upholding justice and equity, for He fortifies the righteous with the fear of the Lord and raises the sinner with His mercy. Do you wish to grasp the timeliness of His grace and the value of His severity? Pay careful attention so you do not overlook this profound reasoning. A sinner’s wife, deeply immersed in sin, burdened with numerous transgressions, yearning for salvation through repentance, approached the assembly of the saints—this assembly enriched by the Divine Presence. When the Savior rested in the house of Simon the Pharisee, this fallen woman approached, anointed His feet with her tears, and dried them with her hair. The Redeemer restored her, saying, "her sins are put away" (Luke 7:47). While I do not intend to explore the entire account, I wish to offer a singular testimony. Behold the vast generosity! "For his (the world's) sake I say unto you, Her sins are remitted many, because she loved many." Thus, this sinful woman received forgiveness for her multitude of sins, while Mary, the sister of Moses, was stricken with leprosy for a mere comment of dissatisfaction (Num. 12:10). To sinners, God proclaims, "If your sins be as scarlet, like snow I will whiten them" (Isaiah 1:18); through repentance, He converts darkness into light, resolving countless iniquities by His word of goodness. He warns those who walk in truth, "If anyone says to his brother: ...ugly, he is guilty of hell of fire" (Matthew 5:22). For a single word, such severe punishment is decreed, while for numerous sins, He demonstrates immense patience. Notice this marvelous truth: our sins are akin to debts, and while God erases the entire debt of those who repent, He demands more from the righteous. A man came, owing a great debt; as he repented and implored, saying, "Lord, bear with me, and I will repay" (Matt. 18:26), the Savior awaited no payment but accepted his confession in place of settling the debt. To the debtor of ten thousand talents, He forgave entirely, yet from the righteous, He argues, "Why didn't you give my silver to the merchant, and I would have profited when I returned" (Luke 19:23). This is not said out of hostility towards the righteous—nothing pleases God more than righteousness—but to comfort the sinner for restoration while admonishing the righteous to remain steadfast in truth. He forgives the former many sins, given their weaknesses, while He closely observes the minutiae in the lives of the latter, desiring their perfection to be without blemish. What is valued in worldly terms is highly esteemed by God, while what is deemed poor in this life reflects sinfulness before Him. Nothing is poorer than a sinner, and nothing is richer than a virtuous soul. Therefore, Paul expresses gratitude for those who embody godliness: "I thank God.... for in all things they have been enriched in every word and mind about Him" (1 Corinthians 1:4-5); blessed Jeremiah describes the wicked as wretched, noting, "For this reason, it is impossible for them to hear the word of the Lord" (Jeremiah 5:4). Observe how he refers to those who have forsaken piety as wretched. God exhibits compassion towards sinners, regarding them as the impoverished, yet demands accountability from the righteous as though they were affluent. He shows kindness to the former due to their deficiency, yet exacts from the latter for the wealth of their piety. Just as He treats the righteous and sinners, He likewise engages with the rich and the destitute. As He restores the sinner through mercy and instills fear in the righteous, He displays His attentiveness to worldly matters. When He observes powerful kings and dignitaries—those who flourish in prestige—He admonishes them for their need for reverence, utilizing fear to accompany their authority. "And now, O kings, take heed: punish all the judges of the earth. Serve the Lord with fear and rejoice in Him with trembling" (Ps. 2:10-11), for He is "King of kings and Lord of lords" (1 Tim. 6:15). Where there exists the rule of authority, there He impresses the weight of His kingdom's fear; where simplicity prevails, there He extends the balm of His mercy, for He is the mighty God—King of kings, Lord of lords, and simultaneously the Father of the strong and Judge of widows. Observe the magnificence of His generosity! Witness the effectiveness of the fear He instills in piety and authority. Where He discerns that power is adequate for solace, He employs fear fruitfully; where He notices the orphan oppressed by sorrow, and the widow burdened by hardship, He offers mercy as comfort. "I am the father of the strong" (Psalm 67:6). God acts in two ways: He manifests His mercy and disciplines with might. He proclaims Himself as the Father of the strong, aiming to comfort the downtrodden while simultaneously instilling fear in the mighty, ensuring they harm not orphans and widows. Since death has stripped them—one of a father, another of a husband—the law of divine love restores those afflicted by the limitations of the natural law, and grace, embodied in the King of saints, provides the widow with a judge and the orphan with a father. Therefore, if you, O wicked one, oppress widows, you provoke the One who protects them; if you offend orphans, you challenge the children of God. "I am," He declares, "the Father of the orphans and the Judge of the widows" (Psalm 67:6). Who is so audacious in their wickedness as to offend the children of God and harm the widows whom He cherishes? Observe how wisely He has arranged the remedy for godliness; how, without altering Himself, He adapts to human necessity, inspiring fear in some and granting mercy to others. Let us, therefore, embrace the healing remedy of repentance, rather, let us accept from God the repentance that mends us, for it is not we who offer it to Him, but He has bestowed it upon us. Behold His severity in the law! Behold His compassion in grace! When I speak of rigor in the law, I neither condemn judgment nor dismiss the grace found in the gospel, for the law relentlessly punishes those who transgress, but grace patiently defers the sentence in a bid to guide the sinner to correction.

It is vital to understand that the Prophet did not merely state, "If he transgress," but rather "If he turns from his righteousness and commits unrighteousness in accordance with all the wickedness the lawless have practiced." This is because even the righteous may stumble, yet they rise and return to the right path, and through repentance, they find salvation; but those who completely abandon this path will bear the consequences of the opposite way.

hath done, all his righteousnesses which he hath done shall not be remembered: in his transgression which he hath transgressed, and in his sins which he hath sinned, in them shall he die” (Ezekiel 18:24). Beyond righteousness, one risks dying in sin and experiencing eternal separation! How perilous such a state is! Great vigilance is necessary! Yet, how often do we overlook this peril and neglect to exercise caution! The Word of God, our conscience, the counsel of wise individuals, and the guidance of Providence encourage us toward the path of righteousness; we seize the opportunity for spiritual endeavors with enthusiasm. However, over time, our fervor may wane; the toil of the undertaking can lead to fatigue; temptations can dishearten us; moments of achievement in goodness may render us complacent; in short, we may lack patience and perseverance, and those who begin in the spirit can many times conclude in the flesh. Dear brethren, ascetics of faith and virtue! Dear brethren, ascetics of self-denial and the cross! “With patience let us endure the labour that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the Prince of faith and perfecter” (Hebrews 12:1-2), and let us persist with that patience until the very end. “But he that endureth to the end, the same shall be saved.” Amen.