Ezekiel 13-23
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Congratulations! Today we hit the 2/3 mark!
There’s an interesting passage in chapter 18 of today’s reading. God lays out a few hypothetical lives spread over three generations. First is a righteous man who does what pleases God. This man is commended by God. Next is his son, who is wicked and lives nothing like his father. He is condemned by God. Third is the grandson who returns the family to his grandfather’s ways and lives a holy life. He is commended for his actions, not condemned by his father’s. Last is an unrelated man who turns from his wickedness back to God and is forgiven of his past.
God makes it clear here that each man stands before God on his own. The son is not given credit for his father’s good deeds, and neither is the grandson punished for his father’s wicked deeds. God had established this rule earlier in the law (Deuteronomy 24:16). Elsewhere, there are passages that seem to contradict this (Leviticus 26:39; 2 Kings 15:9; Exodus 20:5), but these seem to be best understood not as a direct punishment of one generation for the sins of another as much as the tendency of one generation to fall into the same sin patterns as another.
This same principle is still in effect today. A child who has parents that are completely opposed to God or religion can still put their faith and trust in Jesus. My faith in Jesus Christ will not save any of my children. The combined faith of my wife and I will not save them. The only good that our children get out of us being Christians is that they will hear the gospel from a very early age and will hear it often. My faith in Jesus makes me a child of God (John 1:12, 1 John 3:1-2). But, there is an interesting truth within Christianity.
God has no grandchildren.
Each person stands before God on their own. The faith of your parents will not grant you any forgiveness of sin. But, like the fourth man in the passage today, anyone who turns from their sin and comes to God through Jesus Christ will find forgiveness and life.
Let’s never rely on the faith of our parents, or anyone else for that matter. Just because our parents, or spouse, or even our children go to church does not mean we are right before a holy God. Instead, let’s realize that apart from Christ, we are all headed in the wrong direction and turn to Him in faith.
Words of Reason 