Sin of the Father will not be past to a son who is Righteous

 

Ezekiel 18:14-24

 

December 4, 2023

 

 “Now suppose this man fathers a son who sees all the sins that his father has done; he sees, and does not do likewise: he does not eat upon the mountains or lift up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, does not defile his neighbor's wife, does not oppress anyone, exacts no pledge, commits no robbery, but gives his bread to the hungry and covers the naked with a garment,  withholds his hand from iniquity, takes no interest or profit, obeys my rules, and walks in my statutes; he shall not die for his father's iniquity; he shall surely live.  As for his father, because he practiced extortion, robbed his brother, and did what is not good among his people, behold, he shall die for his iniquity.

Each of us stands before God, not for the sins of our fathers, but for our own sins.

“Yet you say, ‘Why should not the son suffer for the iniquity of the father?’ When the son has done what is just and right, and has been careful to observe all my statutes, he shall surely live.  The soul who sins shall die. The son shall not suffer for the iniquity of the father, nor the father suffer for the iniquity of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself.

“But if a wicked person turns away from all his sins that he has committed and keeps all my statutes and does what is just and right, he shall surely live; he shall not die.  None of the transgressions that he has committed shall be remembered against him; for the righteousness that he has done, he shall live.  Have I any pleasure in the death of the wicked, declares the Lord God, and not rather that he should turn from his way and live?  But when a righteous person turns away from his righteousness and does injustice and does the same abominations that the wicked person does, shall he live? None of the righteous deeds that he has done shall be remembered; for the treachery of which he is guilty and the sin he has committed, for them he shall die.

The real question is can a righteous person who does these things be forgiven.

I believe that God has made clear they can if they come to Him with a broken and contrite heart of confession.  First, I find that all have sin, Romans 3:23-25, and there is forgiveness and grace shown to anyone who agrees and confesses to God and seeks forgiveness.  That is made clear in 1 JOHN 1:9, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

 

As I searched, Isaiah 55:6-7, “Seek the Lord while he may be found; call on him while he is near. Let the wicked forsake their ways and the unrighteous their thoughts.  Let them turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on them, and to our God, for he will freely pardon.”

 

I’ve also found peace from John 10:27-29 when the enemy of my soul attacks me, about my time of regrets of allowing my flesh to rule over my heart. ^”My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.  I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.  My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand.”  

 

I’ve also found peace in Romans 8:38-39, “For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

 

This I am sure that I sinned and disgraced my Lord’s name and, I also am sure I was in Christ and He was in me, and that I have confessed and was broken over that time in my life. 

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice