The Certainty of Death

"O wicked man—you shall surely die!"</em> Ezekiel 33:8

Men love themselves, and therefore delight to hear things favourable to themselves. A benevolent mind, whenever he occasions pain to any of his fellow-creatures, would delight to dwell upon such pleasing subjects. And as to the happy few, who are really the sincere servants of God, and are holy in heart and life, I may safely gratify this benevolent inclination, and publish the most joyful tidings. I am authorized to "say to the righteous, it shall be well with him!" Isaiah 3:10. "Comfort, comfort my people: speak comfortably to Jerusalem." Isaiah 40:1, 2. This is the gracious command of God to all his ministers. And oh! how delightful an office to perform it! This alone should be the pleasing business of this hour, could I stretch my charity so far as to conclude, that all this promiscuous crowd, without exception, are indeed the holy people of God.

But was there ever such a pure assembly upon our guilty earth? Upon our earth, where an accursed Ham was found in the little select family of Noah, the best in the whole world? Where a Judas mingled among the chosen twelve, the first followers of Jesus? Where the tares and the wheat grow together in one field until the harvest? And where we are expressly told, "many are called—but few are chosen." Matthew 20. 16. In such a corrupt world, the most generous charity, if under any rational and Scriptural limitations, must hesitate at the sight of such a mixed multitude as this—must be jealous over them with a godly jealousy, (2 Corinthians 11:2,) and stand in doubt of them, (Galatians 4:20,)—must fear, lest there is one, yes, more than one, wicked man among them.

And if there be so much as one wicked man among us, I would, as it were, single him out from the crowd, and discharge thispointed arrow from the quiver of the Almighty against his heart, to give him, not a deadly wound—but a medicinal wound: "O wicked man—you shall surely die!"

I am obliged, at my peril, to denounce this doom against you—and I dare not flatter you with better hopes, unless I would beaccessory to your death, and at once ruin both myself and you. For observe the context, which contains the instructions of the great Jehovah to his minister Ezekiel, which are equally binding upon all the ministers of his Word in every age. "O Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; so hear the word I speak and give them warning from me. When I say to the wicked, 'O wicked man—you will surely die,' and you do not speak out to dissuade him from his ways—that wicked man will die for his sin, and I will hold you accountable for his blood!"

This phrase, "I will hold you accountable for his blood!" signifies, "I will look upon you as guilty of his murder, and I will punish you accordingly." Therefore, if I would not incur the guilt and punishment of murder, soul-murder, the most shocking kind of murder; if I would not destroy you and myself—in order that you may enjoy the sorry pleasure of flattery, and that I may enjoy the short-lived trifling reward of a little popular applause—I am obliged to tell such of you as are wicked, in the most pungent manner, and as it were by name, "O wicked man—you shall surely die!" whoever you are; however rich, or powerful, or honorable; however bold and presumptuous; however full of flattering hopes; however sure of life in your own conceit—if you are wicked—you shall die! You shall surely die; or, to use the force of the Hebrew phrase, "dying you shall die; in death you shall die indeed!"

You shall surely die, says the Lord, and not man: it is the declaration of eternal truth, which cannot fail: it is the sentence of theLord Almighty, who is able to carry it into execution. That it is his sentence, and not man's, you may see by the connection: "The word of the Lord came unto me, saying, When I say unto the wicked, O wicked man—you shall surely die!" When I say, that is, when I, the Lord Almighty, say this.

Let this, therefore, be regarded, not as the rash sentence of censorious mortals—but as the unchangeable constitution and authentic declaration of a wise and righteous God, which must infallibly stand good, whoever may oppose; "O wicked man—you shall surely die!"

But here two important questions occur:

WHO are the wicked? and,

what kind of DEATH shall they die?

If we should not first inquire, WHO the wicked are, I would but speak to the air; for hardly any would apply the character tothemselves. It is an odious character; and that alone is the reason why many try to persuade themselves, it is not theirs. But, my friends, many things that are very disagreeable, are, notwithstanding, true. And it may be our interest to know them, however painful the discovery may be: for now, while we are in a mutable state, we may, through divine grace, change characters. Those who are now wicked, and consequently exposed to eternal death—may yet become righteous, the favourites of heaven, and the heirs of eternal life! And the first step towards such a happy change—is, a clear, affecting conviction, that their present character and condition are bad and dangerous.

Let us, therefore, submit ourselves to an impartial trial, and endeavour to discover whether the character of the wicked man belongs to us or not. I would by no means desire or expect, that you would pay me so extravagant a compliment, as to form a judgement of yourselves merely upon my assertion. I refer you to a higher authority, to your own reason and conscience, and especially to the Holy Scriptures. By the Bible, you must be tried at last—by the Supreme Judge; and by that infallible test, I would have you try yourselves now.

The first class of wicked men that I shall take notice of, are profane and gross sinners, who indulge themselves in notorious immoralities. Instead of particularizing them myself, I shall produce to you a list of them, which the apostle has given long ago. "Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God?" He seems surprised any should be ignorant of so plain a point as this. "Do not be deceived," says he—do not flatter yourselves with better hope.

But who are the wicked? He tells you particularly; "Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God!" 1 Corinthians 6:9, 10. You see the apostle is fixed and unmistakable in it, that sinners of this class are universally excluded from the kingdom of heaven—not one of them all shall ever be admitted there, if they continue such. All such shall certainly perish, or else Paul was an impostor.

To the same purpose he speaks in Galatians 5:19-21, "The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God!" As SIN is a monster of so many heads, he does not enumerate them all—but comprehends them in the lump; declaring, those who who practices the vices mentioned, or such like, though not exactly the same, shall be excluded from heaven.

This was not an occasional declaration—but what he had solemnly repeated at various seasons: "I forewarn you now," says he, "as I have done in times past." He denounces the same doom against these vices in his epistle to the Colossians; "Sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these—the wrath of God is coming. You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived." Colossians 3:5-7

I shall add but one testimony more, "But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur! This is the second death." Revelation 21:8. These, you see, are the certain symptoms of the heirs of hell: and if they are admitted into a state of everlasting happiness, while they continue such, it is certain your religion must be false; for the Bible, which is the foundation of your religion, repeatedly declares they shall not be admitted there.

It is also observable, that in this black list, you not only find such gross vices as are scandalous in the common estimate of mankind, but also such as are secret, seated in the heart, and generally esteemed but lesser evils. Here you find not only murder, whoredom, idolatry, theft, and such enormous and scandalous sins—but also covetousness, wrath, strife, envying, unbelief, and such like latent sins, which men generally indulge themselves in, without feeling much guilt upon their consciences, or apprehending themselves in great danger of punishment. These are but foibles and peccadillo's —only little, trifling sins, in their esteem. But oh! how different an estimate does God form of them! He pronounces them damnable vices, the practice of which will certainly exclude from his favour. And his sentence will stand, whether we agree or not.

I would be very sorry so much as to suppose, there are any among you of this abandoned character. But I must propose the matter to your own decision; and at so favourable a tribunal, you will, no doubt, be acquitted, if you are clear. I say, I propose it to yourselves, whether some of you are not drunkards, swearers, liars, whore-mongers, extortioners, and the like? Or, if you are free from these grosser forms of vice, do not some of you live in wrath, strife, revealing, and carousing, covetousness, secret immorality, and the like?

If this is your character, I have another thing to propose to you; and that is: whether it is most likely that you shall be excluded the kingdom of heaven—OR that Christ and his apostles, and the other writers of the Holy Scriptures, were deceivers? One or other must be the case; if you are admitted into heaven—then they were certainly deceivers: for they have declared you shall notbe admitted. Will you disbelieve their evidence, merely because it is against you? Will you believe nothing but what is in your favour? That would be a strange test of truth indeed.

Thus far you are assisted to judge, who are the wicked; and whether some of you do not belong to this unhappy class. And now I proceed to another class.

Secondly, All those are wicked, who knowingly and wilfully indulge themselves habitually in any ONE sin, whether it be theomission of a commanded duty, or the practice of something forbidden. Every godly man is of the same spirit with David, who could appeal to God himself, "Lord, I have respect to all your commandments;" Psalm 119:6; and with Paul, "I delight in the law of God after the inward man." Romans 7:22. And consequently, those who have not practical respect to ALL God's commandments, without exception; and who do not inwardly delight in his law, are of a spirit and character directly contrary to David and Paul; in other words—they are wicked.

The wilful and habitual practice of any known sin—and the wilful and habitual neglect of any known duty, are repeatedly mentioned in the Scriptures, as the sure signs of a wicked man. "The man who says, 'I know Him,' but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him." 1 John 2:4. "He who commits sin," that is, wilfully, knowingly, and habitually, "is of the devil." 1 John 3:8. "This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are:" verse 10; this is the great difference between them; "Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God."

Our Lord himself has repeatedly assured us, that all pretensions to love him are vain, unless we keep his commandments. "If anyone loves me—he will obey my teaching. He who does not love me—will not obey my teaching." John 14:23-24.

What is it to be a wicked man—but to work iniquity? And what is it to work iniquity—but to neglect what God has commanded, orpractice what he has forbidden. He who does one thing from a regard to God, will endeavour to do everything from the same principle. And wilful disobedience to him in one instance, reveals a disposition which would disobey the divine authority in every instance, if there were the same temptations to it.

Be this, therefore, known to you all, as an undoubted truth: that the wilful habitual indulgence of any known sin, is the inseparable character of a wicked man. You may plead the infirmity of human nature, the strength of temptation, or the innocence of your hearts and intentions—even in the midst of your sins! You may plead that the best have their infirmities, as well as you: and that many around you, are much worse than you. You may plead these, and a thousand such excuses: but plead whatever you will—all your excuses are in vain; and this still remains an unchangeable truth, that all the habitual practiser of sin are the servants of sin.

It matters not—whether the sin is secret and clandestine, or public and avowed; whether it be of a greater or smaller size; whether you are stung with remorse for it afterwards or not; whether you intend to forsake it hereafter, or not. Such circumstances as these will not alter the case. In spite of such circumstances, if you indulge any one known sin, you bear the infernal brand of wickedness upon you.

I grant, that godly men sin, and that they are far from perfection of holiness in this life. I grant also, that some of them havefallen into some gross sin. But, after all, I must insist, that they do not indulge themselves in the wilful, habitual practice of any known sin—or the wilful, habitual neglect of any known duty. John expressly tells us, "No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God's seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God." 1 John 3:9. That is, he cannot sin habitually; the meaning is, he cannot go on in any one sin as his usual course. But if he falls, it is by surprise; and taking one time with another, he is generally, and for the most part, under the influence of holy principles—these are predominant, or have the mastery within him— and from these, he chiefly acts.

Again, he cannot sin wilfully . That is, with full bent of soul. The prevailing inclination and tendency of his soul is not towards sin: but on the other hand, he really hates it and resists it, even in its most tempting forms. And it is his incessant struggle and honest endeavour to suppress it. He never can abandon himself more to the free, uncontrolled indulgence of the sweetest sin, though it should be only in heart. Both Scripture and Reason renounce those crowds of pretended Christians we have among us, who are under the habitual power of some sin or other—and live in the neglect of some known duty. A servant of Christ, who does not endeavour to do his Master's will, in every known instance, is a contradiction.

And now, are not sundry of you convicted of the character of wicked men, who might not come under the former class of profane sinners? Do not some of you know in your consciences, that there is some little sweet sin (so you esteem it) which you cannot bear to part with? Is there not some Christian duty, which is so disagreeable to you, so contrary to your inclination, to your reputation in the wicked world, or to your temporal interest—that though you are secretly convinced it is your duty—yet you omit it; you put it off; and think God will dispense with your obedience in so slight a manner? Are not some of you conscious that this is your practice? If so, you must be ranked in the numerous class of wicked men. There, indeed, you have company enough: butcompany is no security against Omnipotence.

Thirdly, all those are wicked, who are destitute of those graces and virtues, which constitute the character of a godly person. Wickedness is a lack of Christian graces and virtues. The lack of faith, the lack of love, repentance, benevolence, and charity, does as really constitute a wicked man—as drunkenness, blasphemy, or any notorious immorality. Certainly I need not particularly mention to you those passages of Scripture, which declare these graces and virtues essential to a godly man, and the lack of them the grand mark and constituent of a wicked one.

A godly man, who does not love God or mankind; a godly man without faith or repentance—is as great a contradiction as a hero without courage, a scholar without learning, a righteous ruler without justice, or a fire without heat.

Therefore, if any of you do not believe, that is, if you have not such a realizing persuasion of the truth and importance of the things contained in the Word of God, as to impress and govern your heart and life; particularly, if you do not believe in Jesus Christ, which is the grand requirement of the gospel, if you are not deeply sensible of your guilty and helpless condition; and if, as corrupt, helpless sinners, you do not receive Jesus Christ as your only Savior, and trust in his righteousness alone as the only ground of your acceptance with God; I say, if you have not such a faith as this—you are wicked men!

I say, such a faith as this; for, as to the faith which is fashionable among us, I mean a mere speculative or historical assent to the truth of the Christian religion, and that Christ is the Messiah—this is but the faith of devils, only with this difference, that devils believe—and tremble; whereas, many who have this faith among us, believe—and sin without trembling.

If you are destitute of the grace of repentance, if you have not a clear conviction and deep sense of your sinfulness in heart and life, by nature and practice; if you are not deeply sorry at heart for your sins, and hate them—hate them all without exception; if you do not hate them, not only on account of the punishment annexed to them—but because of their intrinsic vileness and their contrariety to the Divine purity; if you do not forsake your sins, as well as sorrow for them; and if you do not fly to the mere mercy of God in Jesus Christ for pardon, and place all your dependence upon his righteousness—I say, unless this is your daily experience and practice—then you are entirely destitute of true evangelic repentance, and consequently come under the unhappy class of wicked men.

If you do not love God with all your hearts, that is, if you have not frequent affectionate thoughts of him; if you do not delight in his service, and in communion with him in divine ordinances; if your love does not produce cheerful, universal obedience, which is the infallible test of love—then you are certainly destitute of the heavenly grace of love; and surely, without this, you will not pretend to the character of godly men! A godly man, without the love of God, is the grossest absurdity.

Finally, if your hearts be not actuated with the generous principle of love and benevolence to mankind; if you do not consult, and endeavour to promote their good as well as your own, and especially the good of their souls by their conversion to God; if you do not habitually observe the rules of justice and charity in your transactions with them, and do to others what you would reasonably desire them to do to you in like circumstances; if you are destitute of this disposition towards mankind—then you are destitute of an essential constituent of a godly man, and consequently are wicked.

Now if all who are destitute of these qualifications should walk off to the left hand, as they must do another day—the final judgement—then would it not thin this crowd? Oh! how few would be left behind! I beseech you to examine yourselves impartially, that you may know your true character.

Fourthly, to sum up the whole, all those are wicked, who still continue in their natural state; who have never been REGENERATED, or experienced a thorough change of their views and dispositions towards God and divine things. Even our own observation of the natural disposition of mankind is sufficient to convince us, though the Scriptures were silent—that they are from their very birth—wicked, disinclined to God and holiness, and bent to that which is evil. Alas! you are stupidly ignorant of yourselves, if you do not know, by experience, that this is your case.

To this the Scriptures also bear abundant testimony. "That which is born of the flesh—is flesh. And those who are in the flesh—cannot please God." John 3:6; Romans 8:8. "We were by nature children of wrath, even as others;" we and others, that is, all, without exception, are by nature children of wrath, and consequently, by nature wicked: for certainly those who are not wicked, cannot be children of wrath. Ephesians 2:3. "Every imagination of the thoughts of man's heart, is only evil continually, from his youth up!" Genesis 6:5; 8:21. And in their flesh dwells no good thing. Romans 7:18.

Upon this corruption of human nature, is founded the necessity of that change of disposition, which the Scripture calls, and which, therefore, we dare to call, the new birth, or new creation. And since this corruption of human nature is universal, it follows, that all are wicked—who have never experienced this divine change.

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