Maybe the questions raised and answered in this article have always been swirling around me and I just missed them. Maybe my sensitivity to these issues is more acute now than in the past. Recently, the subject of salvation from the debt and penalty of sin for the Old Testament saint has been addressed in conversations, forums and sermons. A passage brought up to me on several occasions is Ezekiel Chapter 18. The basic question to consider is, “Does Ezekiel 18 prove that God required individuals in the Old Testament to demonstrate their faith by works of righteousness in order to be acceptable to Him?” In order to narrow down the passage, this article will address this question based on two verses used to “prove” that God accepted the Old Testament saint on the basis of works rooted in faith.
Ezekiel 18:4 – “Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die.”
Ezekiel 18:20 – “The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him.”
(For the purpose of this article, I make no distinction between the terms “faith plus works” and “faith that works.” “Faith that works” is a term recently invented. It describes the viewpoint that Old Testament saints’ faith must be demonstrated (through works of righteousness) in order to be righteous with God. Essentially, this is “faith plus works” by another name.)
Amidst The Rubble 