*Scripture: Ezekiel 18:1-4, 19-32 (NKJV)* 1 The word of the LORD came to me again, saying, 2 "What do you mean when you use this proverb concerning the land of Israel, saying: 'The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge'? 3 As I live," says the Lord GOD, "you shall no longer use this proverb in Israel. 4 Behold, all souls are Mine; The soul of the father as well as the soul of the son is Mine; The soul who sins shall die.
19 "Yet you say, 'Why should the son not bear the guilt of the father?' Because the son has done what is lawful and right, and has kept all My statutes and observed them, he shall surely live. 20 The soul who sins shall die. The son shall not bear the guilt of the father, nor the father bear the guilt of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself. 21 "But if a wicked man turns from all his sins which he has committed, keeps all My statutes, and does what is lawful and right, he shall surely live; he shall not die. 22 None of the transgressions which he has committed shall be remembered against him; because of the righteousness which he has done, he shall live. 23 Do I have any pleasure at all that the wicked should die?" says the Lord GOD, "and not that he should turn from his ways and live? 24 "But when a righteous man turns away from his righteousness and commits iniquity, and does according to all the abominations that the wicked man does, shall he live? All the righteousness which he has done shall not be remembered; because of the unfaithfulness of which he is guilty and the sin which he has committed, because of them he shall die. 25 "Yet you say, 'The way of the Lord is not fair.' Hear now, O house of Israel, is it not My way which is fair, and your ways which are not fair? 26 When a righteous man turns away from his righteousness, commits iniquity, and dies in it, it is because of the iniquity which he has done that he dies. 27 Again, when a wicked man turns away from the wickedness which he committed, and does what is lawful and right, he preserves himself alive. 28 Because he considers and turns away from all the transgressions which he committed, he shall surely live; he shall not die. 29 Yet the house of Israel says, 'The way of the Lord is not fair.' O house of Israel, is it not My ways which are fair, and your ways which are not fair? 30 "Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways," says the Lord GOD. "Repent, and turn from all your transgressions, so that iniquity will not be your ruin. 31 Cast away from you all the transgressions which you have committed, and get yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. For why should you die, O house of Israel? 32 For I have no pleasure in the death of one who dies," says the Lord GOD. "Therefore turn and live!" *Devotion* After reading today's lesson one might be a bit confused. One must be careful to distinguish original sin, which we inherit from our fathers, from the sins we commit. With original sin we do, in a sense, "bear the guilt of our father"; because Adam sinned all his offspring are sinners. Yet, Adam's guilt is his own and we do not bear his guilt. Instead, we bear our own guilt and are responsible for our actions. We dare not lay blame for our sins at anyone's doorstep but our own. This is the point God is making with Ezekiel: We are personally responsible for our sins. Another point that God is showing Ezekiel is that faithful people can fall from faith. Anyone who "commits iniquity, and dies in it, it is because of the iniquity which he has done that he dies." It is clear that God is not responsible for the death of any sinner, whether the person was always "wicked" or "a righteous man" who falls away. Indeed, God takes "no pleasure in the death of one who dies." One last point to be made is that we see who is the active agent in bringing about repentance. If people repented of their own accord, there would be no need for God to send Ezekiel or the other prophets, or preachers today. Repentance only takes place as the Holy Spirit works through the proclamation of the Law to crush "hard-hearted people." Only then can they be restored through the Gospel.
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