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Ezekiel 18
.... 4Behold, 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.
5But if a man be just, and do that which is lawful and right,
.... 17That hath taken off his hand from the poor, that hath not received usury nor increase, hath executed my judgments, hath walked in my statutes; he shall not die for the iniquity of his father, he shall surely live.
18As for his father, because he cruelly oppressed, spoiled his brother by violence, and did that which is not good among his people, lo, even he shall die in his iniquity.
19Yet say ye, Why? doth not the son bear the iniquity of the father? When the son hath done that which is lawful and right, and hath kept all my statutes, and hath done them, he shall surely live.
20The 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.
21But if the wicked will turn from all his sins that he hath committed, and keep all my statutes, and do that which is lawful and right, he shall surely live, he shall not die.
22All his transgressions that he hath committed, they shall not be mentioned unto him: in his righteousness that he hath done he shall live.
23Have I any pleasure at all that the wicked should die? saith the Lord GOD: and not that he should return from his ways, and live?
24But when the righteous turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, and doeth according to all the abominations that the wicked man doeth, shall he live? All his righteousness that he hath done shall not be mentioned: in his trespass that he hath trespassed, and in his sin that he hath sinned, in them shall he die.
25Yet ye say, The way of the LORD is not equal. Hear now, O house of Israel; Is not my way equal? are not your ways unequal?
26When a righteous man turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, and dieth in them; for his iniquity that he hath done shall he die.
27Again, when the wicked man turneth away from his wickedness that he hath committed, and doeth that which is lawful and right, he shall save his soul alive.
28Because he considereth, and turneth away from all his transgressions that he hath committed, he shall surely live, he shall not die.
...30Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways, saith the Lord GOD. Repent, and turn yourselves from all your transgressions; so iniquity shall not be your ruin.
... 32For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth... - KJV
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Papa JoeMac's Corner Commentary - #18
Who Pays?
(Are you responsible for your Father's sin?)
Ezekiel 18
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My friends, we should make no mistake about the seriousness of these Scriptures in Ezekiel 18. Each one of us is accountable for ourselves. We cannot blame others for our sins. We cannot claim righteousness based on our ancestors. Each one of us will – on Judgment Day – stand before God to give an account of our life. Can your life be influenced because of your ancestors? Of course it can. Our life can be influenced by parents, grandparents, cousins, friends, siblings, well – let us say – everyone can influence our life. In the county I live in, 11,000 people are currently serving sentences in the state prisons. Sadly, the chances are that the children of these incarcerated folks are 10 to 15 times more likely to follow in their parents footsteps. Some of these children will blame their parents when and if they sin and become incarcerated. Some people expect these things to happen because of their parents.
Even Jesus’ disciples believed this way when they asked Jesus if the blind man was blind because of the sins of his parents (the man had been blind since birth). In Exodus 20:5, we read where God says, “I do not leave unpunished the sins of those who hate me, but I punish the children for the sins of their parents to the third and fourth generations.” When you read these words, what do you think? The people of Israel believed that what was going on during Ezekiel’s time was because of their ancestors. They refused to believe that things were not going well because of THEM and they blamed someone else! The fact is that we suffer from the consequences of our OWN sins, not from those of our ancestors. If this is a true statement, then what does Exodus 20:5 mean then?
In the 18th chapter, Ezekiel was preaching “God’s policy” because the people had misconstrued the Exodus 20:5 (as in the Ten Commandments). The people believed that things were bad because of previous generations and the situation had nothing to do with their actions! We must remember that God judges each person individually. We need to realize that yes, it is true that we can SUFFER the consequences of sins committed by our parents, grandparents, etc. but we must also realize that God DOES NOT PUNISH us for someone else’s sins.
This is so important in understanding accountability. We are accountable to God for ourselves, our mistakes, and what we do with our lives. We cannot use anyone else to make an excuse for our sins. Likewise, we cannot get into Heaven due to someone else’s life either! If your Father is a Christian, it won’t help you when you meet God. You must have personally accepted Christ as your Lord and Savior.
Most importantly, when you face God, He will ask you “What did you do with my Son, Jesus? Did you believe in Him and serve Him?” You will not be able to say, “God, no I didn’t but my sister did.” Our world needs personal accountability. Adam and Eve did not accept personal accountability. God asked Adam why he ate of the fruit and Adam blamed it on Eve. Eve blamed it on the serpent. Things are still the same, eh?
God is a God of love, but he is also a God of perfect justice. His perfect love causes Him to be merciful to those who recognize their sin and turn back to Him, but He cannot ignore those who willfully sin. Wicked people die both physically and spiritually. God takes no joy in their deaths. God desires all to turn to Him and have eternal life.
You might ask if all this is fair. In reality, God is fair, but WE have broken the rules. It is not God who must live up to our ideas of fairness; instead, we must live up to His. Don’t spend your time looking for the loopholes in God’s law. Instead, live up to God’s standards.
Ezekiel’s solution to the problem of inherited guilt is for each person to have a changed life. This is God’s work in us and not something we can do for ourselves. The Holy Spirit does it. If we renounce our life’s direction of sin and rebellion and turn to God, He will give us a new direction, a new love, and a new power to change. You can begin by faith, trusting in God’s power to change your heart and mind. Then determine to live each day with Him in control. - - - Mr. Joseph Mcklemurry received his Masters in Biblical Studies with Trinity Seminary in Newburgh, Indiana and is an ordained minister serving as a praise and worship leader with Beautiful Feet Church in Fort Worth, Texas. |
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