From the Pastor’s Desk-June
Personal Responsibility
Ezekiel 18
A proverb that circulated in Jewish culture was “When parents eat sour grapes, their children’s teeth are set on edge”
The meaning is that the children suffered for the parent’s actions/sins.
But God states in verse 3“As I live,” says Adonai Elohim, “I swear that you will never again quote this proverb in Isra’el. ⁴ Look, all lives belong to me — both the parent’s life and the child’s life are equally mine — so it is the person who sins, himself, who must die.

Then God proceeds to explain about different people:
The righteous person –

• If he does right, he will live
• If he does wrong, he will suffer consequences/die
• If he does right, then does wrong and continues to do wrong, his former right actions will not cancel out the wrong actions and suffer consequences
• But, if the righteous person repents, then he will live
• If the son of a righteous person sins, the son is responsible and judged. He cannot count on his parent’s righteousness to save him
• If the son of a wicked person does right and not wrong, then he will live and not suffer consequences because of his father’s wrong doings.
• If a wicked person repents of his ways, then he will live.

Verse 23 Do I take any pleasure at all in having the wicked person die?” asks Adonai Elohim. “Wouldn’t I prefer that he turn from his ways and live?

Verse 30“Repent, and turn yourselves away from all your
transgressions, so that they will not be a stumbling block that brings guilt upon you. 

Each person is held personally responsible for his actions, good or bad.
So, which person are you? And what are you doing now?
Pastor Dan