Ezekiel Series
Sour Grapes... Children's Teeth
Ezekiel 18
"The word of the Lord came unto me again, saying."
This is Ezekiel. God is speaking to this man, Ezekiel.
What we have here is a series of messages by Ezekiel. Beginning in chapter 4 we have a section, the first 24 chapters really, tell us about
Then you come to chapters 25 right on in to 31 and 32 and you have
Now, we are right in the middle of these judgment
passages, right before the fall of the city of
Judgment is getting ready to come on the people of God and the exiles are taking the position that they are not to blame for the judgment which is coming. Rather they are putting the blame on their ancestors. They are saying that the sins of their ancestors are the reason why the judgment is coming. They are innocent in the matter. They are simply suffering the results and the punishment which is due to the sins of their ancestors.
They are basically saying - we are not to blame for what is taking place; we are not personally responsible. They are refusing to take any personal responsibility for the circumstances and the situation in which they find themselves.
Irresponsibility is a problem that is with us today.
Not many people are willing to take responsibility for their own personal behavior and actions.
It seems to be a tendency of our fallen human nature to want to put the blame on someone else. Some people want to blame their parents. They say they are just a victim of their parents and the home they came from and they are not personally responsible for their behavior and can be excused because the blame belongs to other people.
Irresponsibility and refusal to take personal blame comes all the way from the Garden of Eden. You may remember when sin entered in, God came to Adam and said, "What have you done?" Adam said, "No, it's not me. The woman you gave me. She made me eat. It's all my wife's fault."
Then the Lord went to Eve and asked her about it and she said, "No, it's not my fault. That serpent tempted me. It's all his fault. The devil made me do it."
Adam not only blamed his wife, but he said the woman whom THOU gavest me. He was saying, "You are ultimately the blame, God, I'm not responsible."
Irresponsibility has been around a long, long time. It is still with us today. It is the matter of personal responsibility which we are going to address in this message tonight.
As I have studied Ezekiel 18, I have discovered that this is one of the most powerful evangelistic appeals in the Bible. In this 18th chapter of Ezekiel, God basically says that you and I (and everyone) are all personally responsible for our attitudes, for our actions, and for our behaviors. We are personally responsible for the response we make to the appeal of God for repentance and salvation.
That's basically the thesis of this 18th chapter. The principle is found at the end of verse 4. Here's the principle which God lays down: the soul that sins, it shall die.
In the first four verses I want us to notice this principle
I. STATED.
In verse 2 he states the proverb that was evidently common in that day. They had proverbs that were coined to explain the position they were taking. The proverb that was commonly used in that day to explain away their personal responsibility was the one in verse 2. They were saying that the fathers have eaten sour grapes and the children's teeth are set on edge.
To paraphrase that in more current terminology, the proverb today might read something like this. The fathers have eaten green apples and the children got the stomachache. In other words the actions and the behaviors of the fathers are the problem; we are not personally responsible. See how they are refusing to take personal responsibility. This proverb they were using to excuse themselves arises from two basic positions.
One of the positions is this: the children suffer because of the deeds of the parents.
We know that is true. Over in Exodus 20, in the Ten
Commandments, verse 5 says, "I, the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation."
There is a principle in the Word of God that the behavior of others does have an impact on other people. Your behavior will have an impact on your mate. Your children are affected by your behavior. Your peer group; you have an impact upon them by your actions and by your behaviors. Our actions DO have an impact.
But there is a misapplication here. It is that people are punished because of the sins of someone else. It is true that the consequences of the sins of others affect us. But it is not true in the Bible that the guilt of others, because of what they have done, is passed on and guilt is attached to us because of what they have done.
Nor is it true that God punishes us for the sins of other people. This kind of wipes away this common misconception today: I'm not to blame. This idea that it is always somebody else's fault.
God says in verse 3, "You are not going to use this anymore. This is not the way it works. Each one of you is personally responsible for your own behavior."
That is true, but people today say, "I'm not to blame." They say they are not to blame because of their genetic composition.
We know more and more about genetics today. We are in a brand new world scientifically. We are finding out that many things are genetically driven. You have a set of genes and in that set of genes you have DNA. In that DNA you have the written instructions for everything about your life.
In those genes there are certain predispositions. There are some people who excuse their behavior on the basis that that is just the way they are genetically wired and they can't help it; just born that way.
This is what you commonly hear today justifying the homosexual lifestyle. Make it very clear that though we believe the Bible condemns the homosexual lifestyle, the Bible also makes it very clear that God loves the homosexual. We must always make that distinction. We must always understand that.
But we are hearing more and more people say I'm homosexual, I'm gay, I'm lesbian because I'm genetically wired that way. I'm predisposed. I can't be held accountable for the way I was born."
But there's a problem in that. When sin entered into the human family, it did damage to the genetic composition of the whole human race.
The truth of the matter is I was born genetically faulty. I was born with a predisposition to sin. The Bible says in Romans 5, verse 12, "In Adam, all sinned. Wherefore as by one man, Adam, sin entered into the world." The truth of the matter is that all of us are genetically flawed and predisposed to sin.
That's what the sinful nature is all about.
That doesn't get anybody off the hook. Whether you be homosexual, whether you be sexually promiscuous, whether you be adulterous, whether you be alcoholic or whatever. Your genetic predisposition does not absolve you of personal blame for your own responses and choices.
Other people say they are not to blame because their environment and home life and the attitudes and values of their parents and the sinful behaviors of their parents have made them what they are.
But God says right here the soul that sins, it shall die. You can't go on forever blaming your parents for the way you act. I talk to forty-year-old men and they want to blame their mother and daddy for the way they are living. A lot of people do that. "I live like a slob. My house is just like a hog pen because momma made me make up the bed when I was a boy. That's why I'm so sloppy." You big baby. When are you going to quit blaming momma for your sloppiness and sorriness?
Other people say it is all the government's fault.
"I'm like I am because of the government." Other people say it's the economic situation. It's because of the economy. "I was born in an economically deprived situation and I am not accountable for the way I live because I was brought up in a poor home.
Most of us were brought up in a poor home. Some of you were brought and the poor folks called you poor. What are you going to do? Wallow around in your poverty the rest of your life and refuse to accept blame?
No. God says to Ezekiel in this passage of Scripture you are not going to use that proverb that you are being punished because of the sins of your forefather or your parents anymore. The soul that sins, it shall
die.
What's the big deal on this? It's very important because if you put yourself in the position of being a victim then you remove yourself from personal responsibility and accountability for your sin. If you are not personally responsible for your sin then there is no need for you to repent. If you don't repent then that means you don't need a Savior. If you don't need a Savior that means you don't have any hope.
This victimizing of society, this idea that everybody is a victim is one of the most dastardly and damnable thoughts and positions that has ever been put on the human race. You are personally responsible and God commands all men everywhere to repent of your own sins. The soul that sinneth; it shall die. He states the principle.
Now in verses 5 and following, see the principle
II. ILLUSTRATED.
He does this in a fascinating way. I can see already I don't have time to really dig into this the way I would like. In verse 5 down through verse 18 Ezekiel becomes a social worker. In these verses of Scripture he gives an illustration of the principle of the soul that sins, it shall die. He gives a hypothetical case study of a family. In this he illustrates the truth that the soul that sinneth shall die.
In verse 5 he says, "But if a man be just and do that
which is lawful and right." (That's hypothetical).
Then in verse 6 through 9 it talks about the lifestyle of this man. It just shows you the picture of a godly man.
Verse 6 talks about the fact the he doesn't eat on the mountains and he doesn't lift up his eyes to idols. Eating on the mountains was a picture of the worship of idols. He’s right in his church life.
Verse 7 says he hadn't oppressed in any way. He's right in social life.
Down in verse 9 "he has walked in my statutes, he's kept my judgments to deal truly. He is just, he will surely live saith the Lord God."
He is right in His family life.
Drop down to verse 10 and notice the second
hypothetical. "If he begat a son." You have a godly
father in verse 5. Now in verse 10 you have the son.
This godly father has now got a son. "If he begat a son that is a robber, a shedder of blood, that doeth the like to anyone of these things." It goes right on down and it shows his sorry, godless lifestyle and it says in verse 13, "He shall not live. He has done all these abominations. He will surely die. His blood will be upon him."
You have here a godly father and, sad to say, you have an ungodly son. Have you ever seen that?
Here's a godly man, loves the Lord, lives for the Lord. Then a boy is born in that home and the boy becomes just as sorry as dirt. That illustrates to you that salvation is not hereditary.
You get the color of your eyes and the shape of your ears and the size of your nose genetically from your parents. But salvation is not passed on through the genes. Salvation is not hereditary. You have to be saved on your own. I've talked to people before about their relationship to Jesus Christ and they say, "Oh, daddy was a deacon at the church. Momma sang in the choir." That's great, but that doesn't save you, dear one. You have to be saved on your own.
Then he gives the third hypothetical in verse 14.
"Now, lo, if he beget a son." Now you have father,
son, and grandson. See the picture. "Who sees all his father's sins which he hath done."
In other words, here this grandson looks at his dad and the way he lived and he makes up his mind that's not for me. I don't want to live that way. He decides against that kind of life. "And he considereth, and doeth not such like."
He is saying I want to live a different way. He follows, rather than the example of his dad, he follows the example of his granddad.
Here's the grandson and he smells the coffee. He looks around and sees the godless, wicked life of his dad and says, I don't want to live that way. I'm going to live like my old granddaddy did. You just go right on down the line and you see a man living for the Lord and the Bible says he will live.
The point is the soul that sinneth shall die. The father is responsible for his own behavior and actions. The son is responsible for his own behavior and actions. The grandson is responsible for his own behavior and actions as well.
The soul that sinneth; it shall die. The principle is stated. The principle is illustrated.
Now in verse 19 to the end of the chapter the principle is
III. RESTATED.
He goes back over it again. He reiterates in verse 20
the principle that the soul that sinneth, it shall die.
The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father." He
is saying that the son is not going to be punished for the father's sins. "Neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son." You are not responsible for what your dad did. You are not going to be punished for what your dad did. You are not going to be punished and you are not responsible for what your children are doing.
Some of you have been beating yourself up because your children aren't living the way you want them to live. Let me tell you, there comes a point in their life when they are grown adults, when they are personally accountable and responsible for their own behavior and they make their own choices. If those choices are sinful choices you are not responsible for their behavior. "The soul that sinneth, it shall die."
That's what the Book teaches. This is a chapter about personal responsibility.
There is so much good stuff here. Look at the rest of verse 20. "The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him."
Each man bears his own responsibility.
"But if the wicked will turn from all his sins the he hath committed, and keep all my statutes, and do that which is lawful and right, he shall surely live, he shall not die. All his transgressions that he hath committed, they shall not be mentioned unto him."
If you will turn from your sins, the Lord will account you with His righteousness and your sins will not be mentioned against you anymore. God is saying I won't bring them up against you anymore.
On the other side, down in verse 24, he says, "When the righteous turn away from righteousness, and committeth iniquity. . . all his righteousness he hath done shall not be mentioned."
He is saying that you can't take your good deeds and store them up like money in a bank to draw on when you need them later. In other words, say I've done a whole lot of good stuff over here; if I do something bad this will kind of even it out.
A lot of folks will say, "Well, preacher I just believe that when we get out there and stand before God, there is going to be a set of scales. All the bad we've done is going to be on this side of the scales. All the good we've done is going to be on the side of the scales. If the good outweighs the bad, we are going to get into heaven."
Listen: if you believe that you are as lost as a golf ball in high weeds.
I have news for you. You don't get into heaven on the basis of how much good and how much bad you did. You get into heaven on the basis of whether or not you received the Lord Jesus who died on the cross of
He gives a call to repentance in verse 23. "Have I any pleasure at all that the wicked should die?" God is saying “do I want people to go to hell? The answer is NO. "Not that he should return from his ways, and live?" That's what I want I want him to return.
Notice this mighty call to repentance in verse 30.
"Therefore I will judge you, O house of
one according to his ways, saith the Lord God." Each
one will stand before God for his own. "Repent, and
turn yourselves from all your transgressions; so
iniquity shall not be your ruin. Cast away from you
all your transgressions, whereby you have
transgressed; and make you anew heart and a new
spirit: for why will ye die, o house of
have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith
the Lord God. Wherefore turn yourselves, and live ye."
It is God's call for repentance. The principle He has stated is that it has to be a personal matter. Nobody can repent for you. Momma can't repent for you. Daddy can't repent for you. Your friends can't repent for you. You have to repent for yourself.
What is repentance? Repentance is pretty well illustrated in the heart of verse 30. "Repent and turn yourselves from all your transgressions."
Repentance is a turning around. Here's the picture. You are on your way in this direction. You are lost. You are a sinner. If you died you would go to hell. You are following the path of sin. God says, "Repent." So you repent. What does that mean? It means you turn. It means you turn FROM your sins and you turn TO God. You turn away from the road that leads to hell and you get on the road that leads to heaven.
Do you know what the Bible says will happen if you will repent? Do you know what God says He will do for you if you will repent?
Look at verse 31. "Cast away your transgressions, (that's repentance) and make you anew heart and a new spirit." He is saying if you will repent of your sins and turn to Christ, you will be born again.
There was a man named Nicodemus who came to Jesus one night. It is recorded for us in John 3. Nicodemus was a teacher of the law. Without a doubt, Nicodemus was familiar with Ezekiel.
Surely he had read this particular portion of Ezekiel where it talks about a new heart and a new spirit.
That man came to Jesus that night. He said, "Master, we know that thou art a teacher sent from God, no man can do these miracles you do except God be with him."
Jesus laid aside the compliment and said to
Nicodemus, "Verily, verily I say unto you, except a man be born again, he cannot enter into the kingdom of heaven." Nicodemus was a little confused. Nicodemus asked are you saying that a man has to be born the second time in his mother's womb? He confused the physical and the spiritual. He thought Jesus was talking about another physical birth. He had already had one physical birth. You've already had one physical birth.
Then Jesus said, "Nicodemus, art thou THE teacher of
The same thing is true for every one of us tonight. You have had your physical birth. The very fact that you are sitting here tonight means you were born physically. You got into your earthly family by means of a physical birth fifteen years ago, thirty years ago, sixty years ago. But the moment you repent and turn from your sins and take personal responsibility for your sins and not say it's somebody else's fault and I'm not to blame and I'm not a sinner; I'm just a victim.
