Ezekiel 44:23, commentary and pictures

God lays on His servants the work of teaching His people to tell the difference between the holy and the profane, the clean and the unclean, the sacred and the common, and good and evil, including judging disputes by His judgments. That work requires warning those in danger and reproving sin even when correction is unwelcome, and the teacher is freed by giving the warning while silence leaves guilt upon him. Those who teach and guide are answerable for whether they preserve that distinction, and misleading others brings judgment unless repented of and will be faced in the final reckoning. True discernment comes from God alone through the quickening of the Holy Spirit to a mind closely joined to Him, by which long-accepted practices can be seen to be contrary to Bible principle and attractive error can be detected. Institutions and offices set apart for God's cause are a sacred trust and not common enterprises, so commercial or corrupting work must not be mixed with the sacred, irreverent conduct must not pollute them, and the line between Christ's followers and Satan's, the church and the world, and keepers and breakers of the commandments must be kept clear.

Duty to Teach Distinction

God's servants are charged to teach His people to tell the difference between the holy and the profane and between the clean and the unclean. That same charge is to teach the difference between the sacred and the common and between good and evil. It belongs to God's appointed servants to make these distinctions themselves and to cause the people to discern them.

That teaching office includes standing in judgment over disputes and deciding them according to God's judgments. It requires reproving sin and warning those in danger, faithfully correcting sin and wrong even when reproof is unwelcome. If the servant fails to warn the wicked, the accountability rests on the servant, but if the warning is given the servant has fulfilled the duty and delivered himself even when the wrongdoer refuses to turn.

Those entrusted with teaching, educating, and guiding others are accountable for whether their teaching and actions preserve the distinction between the sacred and the common and between the clean and the unclean. To fail to make that distinction and thereby lead others wrongly through poor judgment brings divine judgment. Unless there is repentance that judgment will come, even if delayed, and the unfaithful will face the result of their conduct in the final accounting.

Clear spiritual judgment to discern good from evil comes from God alone through the quickening influence of the Holy Spirit. Distinguishing the holy from the unholy and the sacred from the common requires minds closely connected with God. That Spirit-given discernment enables recognition that established practices may be irregular and contrary to Bible principles even when they are treated as inviolable. Without that connection, people can mistake attractive errors for truth.

The ability to discern between the sacred and the common must remain keen and sensitive. Indulgence in degrading pleasures can greatly destroy it, and frivolous pursuits can greatly damage it. Even so, a sinner who has thus blunted discernment may repent and be pardoned.

Keeping Sacred from Common

Ezekiel 44:23 requires God's people to distinguish the sacred from the common and the holy from the profane. Institutions established to advance God's cause are a sacred trust and not ordinary business enterprises. They are centers through which He works in a special way, so their service is a holy trust. The difference between common service and sacred service must be discerned, respected, and understood through the Holy Spirit.

That distinction applies directly to publishing institutions, which must not let ordinary commercial work be mixed with sacred work. Material expressing Satan's sentiments must likewise be kept out of sacred work. The reason is that the common can displace the sacred and cheapen the institution. An office dedicated to God should have been governed by religious principles and not polluted by irreverent conduct. What God has set apart is to be honored by choosing workers whose conduct and character fit the sacred work, and by helping others discern what is clean.

Church leaders must recognize the sacred character of God's work and judge it by right principles. They are not to treat it as common or assume authority to control others, but God's appointed servants must distinguish the holy from the common and the clean from the unclean and teach the people to discern these distinctions. The distinction between holiness and sin and between purity and pollution must be discerned and preserved. It must remain clear between Christ's followers and Satan's, and between the church and the world, including between commandment keepers and commandment breakers, whose aims, conduct, and character do not blend together. Guarding against impurity and temptation and choosing righteousness is the practical outworking of that discernment.