Does God separate the sinner from His sins if the sinner is a church member, having performed the prescribed religious ritual, made a public profession of faith, been baptized, attends church, etc? To answer the question we will examine the situation in which the five foolish virgins (church members) of Matthew 25 fame found themselves. Until the night of the bridegroom’s return there was no apparent difference between them and the five wise virgins. All ten virgins members in good standing in the same church, all had lamps, wicks and oil, all were espoused to the same husband-to-be, all “knew” that they were spiritually ready to meet Him and become His wife, all eagerly anticipated His arrival. But over time a division had quietly developed within the church body. The foolish virgins had “run out of oil”–they had allowed sin to re-enter their lives. But not to fear; all was well. Because they had been “saved” and “born again,” the fix was in. Heaven awaited.

Filled with faith and “knowing” that they would soon be married, the five “sinners saved by grace” headed out on that fateful night to meet their espoused husband. But something was wrong. Suddenly, their post-“salvation” sins were blocking their path. Their false prophets had lied to them–THE BRIDEGROOM HAD NOT SEPARATED THEM FROM THEIR SINS. When the doorman closed the door in their faces he said nothing concerning “once saved–always saved,” inherited sin, “God can’t see through Christ’s blood,” etc. This is a perfect example of Ezekiel 18:20-24 coming into play in the New Covenant Church that Jesus established on the Day of Pentecost, 31 A.D. In verse one of chapter 18 the Prophet identified the source of the Words he was writing in verse one: “The Word of the Lord came to me, saying ….” Picking up the narrative in verse 20 we find the Lord saying to him: “The soul that sins, it shall die … the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him.” The Lord went on to tell Ezekiel in verses 21-24 that if the wicked turned from his wickedness, that He would remember his past wickedness no more and he would live. THE INSTITUTIONAL CHURCH BELIEVES EZEKIEL 18:21-23.

However, that same God said that if the righteous person returns to sinning–becomes a “sinner saved by grace”–“… all of the righteousness he has done shall not be remembered; in his trespass that he has trespassed, and in his sin that he has sinned HE SHALL DIE” (vs 24). THE INSTITUTIONAL CHURCH DOES NOT BELIEVE EZEKIEL 18:24.  This in spite of the following Biblical Truths: The Lord Who is speaking to the prophet is the One Who said about Himself: “I am the Lord; I change not” (Mal. 3:6) and about Whom it is written “… with Whom there is no variableness, neither shadow of turning” (James 1:17). THE INSTITUTIONAL CHURCH REJECTS THESE SCRIPTURES ALSO. TWO BILLION PLUS SELF-PROFESSED CHRISTIANS REJECT THE BIBLICAL GOD. But this is nothing new.

When Judas was talking to the priests about betraying Jesus he was certain that, because he had preached the gospel, healed the sick and cast out demons (Lk. 10:1,9,17), that the sin he was about to commit would not be held against him. It is equally certain that when Simon Magus was forming what would become the Catholic Church he was absolutely positive that God was turning a blind eye to the evil he was committing because he had “believed (Philip’s message) and was baptized” (Acts 8:9-13). The foolish virgins, Judas, Simon–all were dead wrong, as are all of today’s “sinners saved by grace.”   L.J.