Ezekiel 39:7 So will I make my holy name known in the midst of my people Israel; and I will not let them pollute my holy name any more: and the heathen shall know that I am the LORD, the Holy One in Israel.
How can God fulfill his promise of his people no longer profaning his name? ONLY through Christ.
2 Corinthians 1:20
For all the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory
DavidPT, the gospel is not advice or potentially good news. It's good news. It's done. Christ has already reconciled us and the world to God.
I don't know if you've ever seen the movie Hook, but there is a scene with Peter Pan (Robin Williams) and the lost boys having a giant feast. When the lids are lifted off of the plates, Peter pan cannot see the food, but all of the lost boys can see the food and are so exited to eat. Peter pan and one of the lost boys get into a name calling contest and in an act of faith, Peter pan scoops up invisible mash potatoes into a spoon and flick them at one of the lost boys. From this point, Peter pan's eyes are open and he sees the entire contents of the feast.
So to is the reconciliation of the world and us to God. The work was done at the cross, it is finished. but only through Christ can we see it.
2 Corinthians 5:18 All this is from God,
who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation
Romans 5:10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more,
now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life
Your sins are no longer held against you. When you remain in Christ, God wipes away all those sins. Even when you do sin, when you are in Christ, they are not held against you when you repent and turn back to Him.
2 Corinthians 5:19 that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not
counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation
Hebrews 9:27 But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages t
o put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.
Those in Christ are a NEW CREATION, no longer according to the flesh
2 Corinthians 5:16-17 From now on, therefore,
we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer. Therefore
, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.
God's people can longer profane his name because of Christ through reconciliation and the forgiveness of sins. However, the belief in 2 people's of God or that the church is a building, can cloud the understanding of that promise.