33:12 人子啊,你要對本國的人民說:義人的義,在犯罪之日不能救他;至於惡人的惡,在他轉離惡行之日也不能使他傾倒;義人在犯罪之日也不能因他的義存活。
33:13 我對義人說:『你必定存活!』他若倚靠他的義而作罪孽,他所行的義都不被記念。他必因所作的罪孽死亡。
33:14 再者,我對惡人說:『你必定死亡!』他若轉離他的罪,行正直與合理的事:
33:15 還人的當頭和所搶奪的,遵行生命的律例,不作罪孽,他必定存活,不致死亡。
33:16 他所犯的一切罪必不被記念。他行了正直與合理的事,必定存活。
33:17 「你本國的子民還說:『主的道不公平。』其實他們的道不公平。
33:18 義人轉離他的義而作罪孽,就必因此死亡。
33:19 惡人轉離他的惡,行正直與合理的事,就必因此存活。
33:20 你們還說:『主的道不公平。』以色列家啊,我必按你們各人所行的審判你們。」
“And you, son of man, say to your people,
The righteousness of the righteous shall not deliver him when he transgresses,
and as for the wickedness of the wicked, he shall not fall by it when he turns
from his wickedness, and the righteous shall not be able to live by his
righteousness when he sins. Though I say
to the righteous that he shall surely live, yet if he trusts in his
righteousness and does injustice, none of his righteous deeds shall be
remembered, but in his injustice that he has done he shall die. Again, though I say to the wicked, You shall
surely die,’ yet if he turns from his sin and does what is just and right, if the wicked restores the pledge, gives back
what he has taken by robbery, and walks in the statutes of life, not doing
injustice, he shall surely live; he shall not die. None of the sins that he has committed shall
be remembered against him. He has done what is just and right; he shall surely
live.
“Yet your people say, The way of the Lord is not just,’ when it is their
own way that is not just. When the
righteous turns from his righteousness and does injustice, he shall die for
it. And when the wicked turns from his
wickedness and does what is just and right, he shall live by this. Yet you say, ‘The way of the Lord is not just.’
O house of Israel, I will judge each of you according to his ways.”
***************
先知在此用「義人」和「惡人」的交叉來說明悔改的重要性。尤其是「惡人」肯放棄惡轉為善,就必因此存活。反過來「義人」倚靠他的義而作罪孽,他所行的義都不被記念。他必因所作的罪孽死亡。
這也說明:義人要一直行義到最終才可以存活;然而惡人只要悔改就存活。這就是告訴人要一直保持自己是義人!
其實沒有一個人是自始就是義人,並須透過耶穌基督的拯救,人才可以一直是義人,因為唯有耶穌基督的寶血與聖靈才能使人保持成為義人!
因此,要快快來信耶穌,就可以領受聖靈,就可以成為真正的義人了!