Fathers and Sins
Text—Ezek.
18
Introduction—vs.
1-4
A. Jewish Proverb—Vs. 2
B. God said, don’t use it anymore—vs. 3
C. Soul that sins, it shall die—vs. 4
1. Some say what about Ex. 20: 5?
“Thou
shalt not bow down thyself unto them, nor serve them, for I Jehovah thy God am
a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, upon the
third and upon the fourth generation of them that hate me”
2.
Doesn’t contradict
what God has said.
D. Gives example of Family and descendants
I.
Family Example
A.
Father
(The Just Man)—vs. 5-9
1. Not eaten on mountains—Lev.
26: 30
2. Not lifted eyes to idols—Lev.
19: 4
3. Not defiled his neighbor’s
wife—Lev. 18: 20
4. Not come near woman of
impurity—Lev. 18: 19
5. Not robbed anyone—Lev. 19:
13
6. Given bread to hungry,
clothed naked—Lev. 19: 33-34, Deut. 10: 18
7. Not wronged any, Not
involved in Usury and paid back debt—Lev. 25: 36; Deut. 23: 19-20 (KJV)
a. Usury with countrymen
condemned
b. With foreigners allowed.
8. Withdrawn his hand from
iniquity—Deut. 19: 10-13
9. Executed true justice
between man and woman—Lev. 19: 15, Deut. 25: 1
10. Walked in statutes, kept
ordinances—Lev. 18: 5, 26
B.
Son (The
Unjust Man)—vs. 10-13
1. Robber and shedder of blood—Deut.
24: 7
2. Not done his duties—Lev. 26:
14ff
3. Has eaten on mountains—Lev.
26: 30
4. Has defiled his neighbor’s
wife—Lev. 18: 20
5. Has wronged the poor and
needy—Deut. 10: 18
6. Has taken by robbery, not
paid back debt—Deut. 23: 19
7. Has lifted up eyes to idols—Deut.
32: 16-17
8. Has taken Usury—Deut. 23: 20
(KJV)
C.
Grandson
(The Righteous Man)—14-17
1. Not eaten on mountains—Lev.
26: 30
2. Not lifted eyes to idols—Lev.
19: 4
3. Not defiled his neighbor’s
wife—Lev. 18: 20
4. Not wronged any, paid back
debt, Not involved in usuary—Deut. 23: 19-20
5. Has given bread to hungry,
clothed naked—Deut. 10:18
6. Walked in statutes, kept
ordinances—Lev. 18: 5, 26
D.
Summation—18-22
1. He that sins will die
2. Vs. 21—the question could be reversed, “Why
doesn’t the son bear the righteousness of the father?”
a. Some believe if father is righteous, whole
family will be considered righteous.
i.
PK—preacher’s
kid
ii.
Father
righteous, kids automatically so.
iii.
Not
true, just as guilty as any other person
b. Sin or righteousness is based on individual
deeds
E.
OT
Illustration—Kings of Israel
1. Hezekiah—The Just Man (2 Kings 18: 1-3)
2. Manasseh—His unjust son (2 Kings 21: 1-2)
3. Josiah—The Righteous Grandson (2 Kings 22:
1-2)
F.
What
about Prov. 22: 6?
1. Some believe if child errs from truth, it is
the fault of the parent for not teaching correctly.
2. Reverse could be considered. If a child isn’t
trained in way, but grows up to become a Christian, is that the fault of the
parents or can they take credit?
3. This is simply a proverb and not a guarantee.
II.
God’s
Righteousness
A. Does God delight in punishment and death?
(Vs. 23)
1. We know he doesn’t from these two scriptures
a. 1 Tim. 2: 3-4, “All men saved”
b. 2 Pet. 2: 9
2. Punishes wicked—Vs 24
3. Examples
a. Golden Calf—3000 perish (Ex. 32: 28)
b. Wilderness Wanderings—Num. 14: 29, 26: 65
c. Soul that sins—vs. 4, 20
B. Is God’s way unequal? (Vs. 25)
1. God’s reply—Vs. 26-28
2. God is not a respecter of persons
a. Rom. 2: 11
b. Peter—Acts 10: 34
c. Paul—Eph. 6: 9
d. James Warning—Jas. 2: 9
3. Israel’s persists—Vs. 29
C. God’s judgment—Vs. 30
1. Knows secrets of the heart—Ps. 44: 21
2. Every hidden thing—Eccl. 12: 14
3. All are naked and laid open to Him—Heb. 4: 13
4. All will be judged—Rom. 14: 10
5. According to our own deeds—2 Cor. 5: 10
D. God’s Plea—Vs. 31-32
1. Reminded of David’s prayer in Ps. 51
a. After his sin with Bathsheba
b. Look at vs. 10-13
2. Why will you die?
a. Some are set in their ways.
b. Not going to change.
i.
“Born a
Methodist, die a Methodist”
ii.
If shown
a better way, why not change?
c. Not too late to change—2 Cor. 6: 2
Conclusion
2 Cor. 5: 10-11