Ezekiel 18:21

“But if the wicked, &c.] So far is the Lord from punishing the sins of one man upon another, that he will not punish a man for his own sins: if he will turn from all his sins that he hath committed: if he truly repents of them, and thoroughly forsakes them; for it must not be one sin only, but all; every sin is to be loathed and mourned over, and sorrow expressed for it, and to be forsaken; not one sin is to cherished and retained, but all to be relinquished: or the repentance and conversion may be justly questioned whether they be sincere: and keep all my statutes, and do that which is lawful and right; as the repentance and turning from sin must be general, so also obedience to the commands…”

“Two last cases, showing the equity of God: (1) The penitent sinner is dealt with according to his new obedience, not according to his former sins. (2) The righteous man who turns from righteousness to sin shall be punished for the latter, and his former righteousness will be of no avail to him. he shall surely live--Despair drives men into hardened recklessness; God therefore allures men to repentance by holding out hope [CALVIN]. To threats the stubborn sinner oft is hard, Wrapt in his crimes, against the storm prepared, But when the milder beams of mercy play, He melts, and throws the cumbrous cloak away. Hitherto the cases had been of a change from bad to good, or vice versa, in one…”

“18:21-24 Ezekiel introduces two more case studies. Wicked people who turn away from their sins can experience God’s forgiveness, and righteous people who begin sinning will be judged.”

“if the: Eze 18:27, Eze 18:28, Eze 18:30, Eze 33:11-16, Eze 33:19; Ch2 33:12, Ch2 33:13; Pro 28:13; Isa 1:16-20, Isa 55:6, Isa 55:7; Luk 24:47; Act 3:19, Act 26:18-20; Ti1 1:13-16; Jam 4:8-10 and keep: Eze 18:9, Eze 36:27; Gen 26:5; Psa 119:80, Psa 119:112; Luk 1:6; Jam 2:14, Jam 2:26 and do: Eze 18:5, Eze 18:19, Eze 18:27; Psa 119:1; Gal 5:22-24; Tit 2:11-14 he shall surely: Eze 18:17, Eze 18:28, Eze 3:21; Rom 8:13 Ezekiel 18:22”

“Turning to good leads to life; turning to evil is followed by death. - Eze 18:21. But if the wicked man turneth from all his sins which he hath committed, and keepeth all my statutes, and doeth right and righteousness, he shall live, and not die. Eze 18:22. All his transgressions which he hath committed, shall not be remembered to him: for the sake of the righteousness which he hath done he will live. Eze 18:23. Have I then pleasure in the death of the wicked? is the saying of Jehovah: and not rather that he turn from his ways, and live? Eze 18:24. But if the righteous man turn from his righteousness, and doeth wickedness, and acteth according to all the abominations which the ungodly man…”