Ezekiel 34:1-24 - Yesterday we saw God address the disobedient hearts and lips of Israel in Ezekiel 33, today He goes after the "shepherds of Israel" who have neglected their calling in caring for and protecting the masses. While the people are culpable for their own sin - the spiritual leadership bears a special responsibility for their welfare, or in this case, their rebellion. All failure in upholding our callings from the Lord is sin - and only results in more sin. The shepherds' failures allowed sheep to stray and be snatched away by wild beasts. We see the same dynamic at work in the breakdown of the family unit today. As sinners, we simultaneously stand as both the offending party and the victim. The good news is that God doesn't allow his children to remain in sin's way. Though we are faithless - He is faithful. He will be our shepherd. He will rescue us!
Romans 3:19-31 - After establishing that no one is righteous according to the Law, Paul turns his attention to "the righteousness of God through faith for all who believe". The Gospel gives us new life in Heaven with God, beginning in the present and lasting into eternity. Paul stresses that this life is received by faith alone. But what about our life here on earth? Does that now cease? "Do we now overthrow the law by this faith?" Paul asks. His answer (as we saw yesterday) is another use of the phrase "By No Means!" Secure in our new life in Christ - we "uphold the Law" in the way we live out our days on Earth. In Luther's Commentary on Galatians, he writes that "When I have Christian righteousness reigning in my heart, I descend from heaven as the rain makes fruitful the earth; that is to say, I do good works how and wheresoever the occasion arises."
This is the tension of the Christian life. The Christian's soul is at rest with Christ in heaven while at the same time his body labors selflessly for the sake of his neighbor here on earth.
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