“If everything was true, all I got to do is repent sincerely from my heart.”

The words quoted above were spoken recently by a wildly popular TV preacher and self-anointed mega-church ‘bishop.’  He uttered them publically before his congregation of loyal followers in response to rumors that he had participated in the most grievous forms of sexual debauchery in the home of an equally popular music mogul and rapper (who himself has recently come under serious scrutiny for alleged sexual crimes). The ‘bishop’ simply dismissed the allegations and innuendos by making this cavalier and thoroughly unbiblical claim regarding sin, repentance, and forgiveness.

Reading between the lines, one can discern the deadly assumptions in his statement.  1) Sins, even the most heinous and dehumanizing, aren’t that big of a deal, even for an allegedly Christian minister. 2) Repentance is merely a matter of saying a few words.  3) Sin comes without corresponding consequences, such as discipline and disqualification from ministry.  And 4), grace and forgiveness are cheap.

I bring up this unpleasant and tragic illustration because it helps us to understand the spiritual condition of the Israelites during the days of Ezekiel long ago.  Had we been among them there in exile in Babylon, we may have heard the covenant people asking, ‘What’s the big deal?  So we didn’t keep God’s Law. So we didn’t abstain from idolatry. So we didn’t keep the sacrifices.  So we didn’t remain morally pure.  All we have to do is repent and everything will be just fine!’

Into such a situation as this, the Lord called the prophet to confront His own people with their spiritual blindness as to the nature of sin and true repentance.

In Ezekiel 2:1-10, God will give the prophet the language of sin and confession so that he might confront the nation with their high crimes and ultimately point them to the way back home.  As we will learn, there is nothing trivial about sin, particularly the sins of those who claim to belong to the Sovereign Lord.  These verses speak with a jackhammer-like rhythm as they expose the true weight of our transgressions and show us that no sin can be easily swept aside by the mere utterance of few words.   Before revival and restoration can come to a wayward people, their sins must be revealed for what they are.  Then and only then will the sweet sounds of ‘Amazing Grace’ be heard.