Why Will Ye Die?
By Pastor Jerry A. Burns
People sometimes picture God as eager to punish, as if He were waiting for a reason to condemn. I have met people who believed that, and I have had to unlearn some of it myself. Ezekiel 18 says the opposite. God asks, “Have I any pleasure at all that the wicked should die? saith the Lord GOD: and not that he should return from his ways, and live?”
The whole chapter is an argument with people who said God was unfair. “Yet ye say, The way of the Lord is not equal.” God answers them plainly. “But if the wicked will turn from all his sins that he hath committed, and keep all my statutes, and do that which is lawful and right, he shall surely live, he shall not die.”
And then He says something wonderful about that man’s past: “All his transgressions that he hath committed, they shall not be mentioned unto him.” I never get tired of reading that line.
The chapter ends with a plea, not a threat. “Repent, and turn yourselves from all your transgressions; so iniquity shall not be your ruin.” And then the question: “for why will ye die, O house of Israel? For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord GOD: wherefore turn yourselves, and live ye.”
I am thankful that the God who could have condemned me pleaded with me instead.
On this Lord’s Day, is there someone you are sure is too far gone? God has no pleasure in their death. He is still saying, turn, and live.
Pray today for one person you know who is far from God. Ask the Lord to turn them, and ask Him to give you a chance to speak to them this week.
"Trust in him at all times; ye people, Pour out your heart before him: God is a refuge for us. Selah." — Psalm 62:8
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This Week's Radio Program
Week Forty-Five • November 8, 2026
What are you Seeking? (Part 2)
In this message, "What are you Seeking? (Part 2)," Pastor Burns explains how many people search for meaning and purpose in all the wrong places. Just as Solomon sought fulfillment in worldly success and great wealth only to find it vanity and vexation of spirit, listeners will learn that true answers cannot be found in dead works, rituals, or philosophies.
Turning to John 20, listeners will hear how Mary Magdalene went to the tomb searching for Jesus and discovered that He had risen. Pastor Burns shares how the reality of Christ’s resurrection provides eternal life, encouraging everyone to choose life, since Jesus is "the way, the truth, and the life."
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