This evening, if you have your Bibles, turn with me to Ezekiel chapter 18. Ezekiel chapter 18 is a rather interesting chapter, especially in light of what many people believe today. Today, many people are turning to a fatalistic approach when it even comes to the Bible and our ability to know the Lord.
People think that, well, God just is arbitrary and picks whom He will to come to know Him. And there’s a whole concept of people saying that God chooses who will go to heaven and who will go to hell. Ezekiel faced a similar situation with the nation of Israel.
Chapter 18 starts out with a parable that was running rampant through Israel at the time that Ezekiel was living. And the parable was, Now, you’re going, what does that parable mean?
The word of the Lord came unto me again, saying,
2 What mean ye, that ye use this proverb concerning the land of Israel, saying, The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge?
Well, it means that the fathers had chosen to eat of that which was not good and consequently the children bore the results of that and they had no choice in that they were impacted by the decision of their fathers. And it was really a fatalistic approach that I have no right to really come to know the Lord because I’m impacted by those that have gone before me, I’m impacted by my parents, I’m impacted by my culture, and I’m impacted by all those around me.
So consequently, what right does God have to judge me because I didn’t really have any choice in the matter? Well, the Lord is going to speak to Ezekiel to this. And this whole concept of not having a choice is really one that is entering into the church today where people begin to say, well, we really don’t have a choice in whether we come to know that God has preordained those that will go to heaven and those that will go to hell and you have no choice in the matter. The Lord would beg to differ with you and we’re going to take a look at what He’s got to say about this.
He’s going to give us some different examples of what He means in these verses about different relationships and that each person is responsible for their own choices and our own choices impact our relationship with God and His blessing or His judgment upon us because of the choices we make, not of others.
Now, the first thing that Ezekiel presents to the Jewish people that he’s writing to in Judah and also those that are with him in Babylon concerns a man who shuns sin and walks in righteousness with the Lord. And so let’s just take a look at the first example.
He gives, So God starts off by saying it’s not the impact. Every soul is accountable to the Lord and we’re accountable for our own decisions. Our parents aren’t responsible for our decisions nor are we responsible for our children’s decisions.
3 As I live, saith the Lord God, ye shall not have occasion any more to use this proverb in Israel.
4 Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die.
They are responsible for theirs. We are responsible for ours. And we have to do that and realize that accountability lies with us.
5 The first example he gives is of a righteous man. He says,
But if a man be just, and do that which is lawful and right,
6 And hath not eaten upon the mountains, neither hath lifted up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, neither hath defiled his neighbour’s wife, neither hath come near to a menstruous woman,
7 And hath not oppressed any, but hath restored to the debtor his pledge, hath spoiled none by violence, hath given his bread to the hungry, and hath covered the naked with a garment;
8 He that hath not given forth upon usury, neither hath taken any increase, that hath withdrawn his hand from iniquity, hath executed true judgment between man and man,
9 Hath walked in my statutes, and hath kept my judgments, to deal truly; he is just, he shall surely live, saith the Lord God.
Now, the people of Israel say, Well, look it, our nation is corrupted. It’s become wicked. We’re worshiping false idols.
The people go to the high places. They eat at the high places. That is, they go and worship in the high places, in the mountains and all around.
And consequently, because of that, I’m not accountable. But this man didn’t listen, and he didn’t follow what everybody else was doing. He looked to the Word of God, and he did everything according to God’s Word.
He worshiped the Lord in spirit and in truth. He did what God called him to do in his relationships with other people. He didn’t violate anyone else.
But rather, when he had opportunity to be used of God to help those that were hungry and those that were in need, he did that. He was obedient to God’s Word. And as he walked in righteousness and holiness, the Lord says, He shall live, and he shall be blessed by Me for doing this.
He gives an account of his life to the Lord by his decisions. And so this is the first example that Ezekiel gives. And he wants us to understand, we all have the right to do this.
Every person in Judah at this time could have chosen to be this man. They could have chosen not to worship idols. They could have chosen not to go to high places.
They could have chosen not to take advantage of people by charging usury and taking advantage of their needs, but rather being helpful as God has called us to do and showing forth God’s character to those around us. So that’s the first thing that we need to understand. No man stands and says, Oh, I couldn’t do it.
Because that’s what the whole nation was saying with this proverb. Well, I don’t have any choice. The ones that have gone before me made unwise decisions, and my life has been impacted by them.
I can’t change. Ezekiel says, Yes, you can. And the Lord gives the first example.
The next example, he says, is what about this man has a child, and this child is a wicked child. What is the situation when it comes to this person? And he says in verse 12,
12 Hath oppressed the poor and needy, hath spoiled by violence, hath not restored the pledge, and hath lifted up his eyes to the idols, hath committed abomination,
13 Hath oppressed the poor and the needy, hath spoiled by violence, hath not restored the pledge, hath lifted up his eyes to idols, hath committed abominations. This man is doing everything that’s wrong. He hath given forth upon usury, he hath taken away increase. Shall he then live? Shall not he then that hath done all these abominations, he shall surely die. His blood shall be upon him.
The Lord is saying, you do all of these things, you can’t blame somebody else because you’ve made these decisions to walk in disobedience to God and to do everything that’s an abomination to God. You probably had people that say, well, I came from such a bad home. My parents were not godly people at all, and so consequently they didn’t give me a good example.
So I just followed their example, and how can God hold me accountable because I did everything that they did as an ungodly person, and so God can’t hold me accountable. And that’s what was really at the heart of this proverb that was going through Jerusalem. How can God bring us into judgment because all of those that went before us did these wicked things, so it was just within our nature, and we were just taught how to do that, and so that’s what we did.
God says, no, when you make decisions that cause God’s judgment to come on you, you have nobody but to blame but yourself. And He says, your blood shall be upon your own head because you have made the decisions. And people need to understand that.
One of the things that you’re seeing happen in our culture today is many people say, well, it’s not my fault, it’s because of somebody else that I did these things. No, if you do something that’s against the will of God, it’s because you made the decision, and you made the choice, and so you have the bad attitude, you are saying the wrong things, you’re not being kind, you’re being wicked and evil, and God says judgment shall come upon you because you bring it upon yourself.
In verse 14 He says,
14 Now, lo, if he beget a son, that seeth all his father’s sins which he hath done, and considereth, and doeth not such like,
So He gives now a second example of a son. This one is the opposite. The first was a son that saw his father’s righteousness and did that was wicked, and he can’t live on his father’s righteousness, he’s got to have his own relationship with God.
The second one is the example of coming from a wicked father, and what happens in his life? What does it say? This son is a son that doesn’t get to follow his father’s example. It says, That he hath eaten upon the mountains, he hath not eaten upon the mountains, neither hath he lifted up his eyes unto idols of the house of Israel, he hath not defiled his neighbor’s wife, neither hath he oppressed any, hath not withholden the pledge, neither hath spoiled by violence, but hath given his bread to the hungry, and hath covered the naked with his garment, that he hath taken off his hand from the poor, that he hath not received usury nor increase, hath executed my judgments, hath walked in my statues, he shall not die, for the iniquity of his father he shall surely live. And so he’s saying, it didn’t matter that his father was an ungodly man, and that his father received judgment, and that his father’s judgment was brought upon him by his own decisions, this man made the right decisions.
And he turns to the Lord, and he says, I’m not going to hold him accountable for what his father did, rather I’m going to look at his life, and he’s going to give account for his life. And he walked in righteousness and obedience to me, he didn’t do that which was wicked and evil, instead he did that which was righteous and pure. And so he says, I will honor him, and he shall surely live.
And so this is a direct opposition to what the people in Israel or Judah were believing. They were saying, we can’t make that decision. The Lord says, yes you can.
And you have the opportunity, and I give you the will to do that. So then he goes on and he gives further example.
He says in verse 18,
18 As for his father, because he cruelly oppressed, spoiled his brother by violence, and did that which is not good among his people, lo, even he shall die in his iniquity.
19 Yet say ye, Why? doth not the son bear the iniquity of the father? When the son hath done that which is lawful and right, and hath kept all my statutes, and hath done them, he shall surely live.
Yet ye say, Why doth not the son bear the iniquity of the father, when the son hath done that which is lawful and right? And hath kept all the statutes, and hath done them, he shall surely live. What he’s saying is, the people are saying, well you know the son, he was so obedient, so he offset the wickedness of his father. So now his father should be given by the righteousness of his son.
And God is saying, you’re accountable for your own life. You’re accountable for your decisions. You can’t blame other people.
What our culture wants us to believe, is that somehow, we have the right to play the blame game. And much of what the humanistic culture that is infiltrated, even the church, where they go away from the principles of God’s word, and embrace humanism and psychology, is that they say, well you can blame other people, and then what you can do, is if they are ungodly, you can somehow offset their ungodliness by your righteousness. No, every person stands accountable for their own lives.
And God says this in verse 20,
20 The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him.
So we see that there is accountability here. Accountability for our lives. But the Lord is going to say, so what does it mean then, that if we have lived a wicked life, there is no hope.
That if we lived a righteous life, we don’t have to worry about becoming wicked. Well God answers that question as well. He says,
21 But if the wicked will turn from all his sins that he hath committed, and keep all my statutes, and do that which is lawful and right, he shall surely live, he shall not die.
22 All his transgressions that he hath committed, they shall not be mentioned unto him: in his righteousness that he hath done he shall live.23 Have I any pleasure at all that the wicked should die? saith the Lord God: and not that he should return from his ways, and live?
All the transgressions that he hath committed, they shall not be mentioned unto him in his righteousness, that he hath done, he shall live. Have I any pleasure at all, that the wicked should die, saith the Lord God, and not that they should return from his ways and live. You know, the people that would say, that would come and say that man is predestined, I don’t know how they handle passages like this.
Because God says, I don’t desire that the wicked should die. I don’t desire that man should go to hell. I want men to live.
I want men to walk in righteousness. I want men to walk in obedience. And so he calls them to turn to him.
Otherwise, why would he send out the Great Commission to go into all the world and preach the gospel, that Jesus Christ is the means by which we can turn from our sin into God’s righteousness, and that through Christ we can walk in righteousness and walk in obedience to him and honor and glorify his name. He goes on and he says it further in the passage.
24 But when the righteous turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, and doeth according to all the abominations that the wicked man doeth, shall he live? All his righteousness that he hath done shall not be mentioned: in his trespass that he hath trespassed, and in his sin that he hath sinned, in them shall he die.
25 Yet ye say, The way of the Lord is not equal. Hear now, O house of Israel; Is not my way equal? are not your ways unequal?
For when the righteous turneth away from the righteousness and commiteth iniquity and doeth according to all the abominations that the wicked man doeth, shall he live.
All his righteousness that he hath done shall not be mentioned in his trespass that he hath trespassed, and in his sin that he hath sinned, in them shall he die. Now there are people that have grown up in Christian homes. And when they were in a Christian home, they obeyed mom and dad.
They walked in righteousness, but their heart really wasn’t with the Lord. They were really harboring rebellion in their heart. Even though on the outside they appeared righteous.
And when they were given the freedom to leave, all of a sudden their unrighteousness came out. And what Ezekiel is telling the people in Jerusalem, simply because you had the appearance of walking in righteousness, and it looked like you were walking in obedience, but you harbored a rebellious heart, and the moment you had the opportunity to sin, you went out and sinned, and you really didn’t want to follow God, well, the righteous actions that you’ve done over here cover your sin over here. And there’s a whole lot of people today, when you ask them, are you going to heaven? One of the things they say is, well, I think I’ve done enough good things to offset the bad things in my life.
Well, God is just saying here, it doesn’t work that way. You can’t offset the bad with the good, nor can you offset the good with the bad. Your life is based upon your relationship with me, and your walking in obedience to me, and a heart that loves me.
Really, Jesus isn’t mentioned by name in this passage, but some people would say, well, is this passage talking about that salvation is by works? Well, no, salvation is not by works, but it’s by the grace of God, enabling us to walk in obedience to Him, and not relying in our ability to walk in obedience, or our ability to have walked at one time in obedience, but rather that we have a desire and a longing to be in fellowship with Him all the time. And the way that we do that is to have a relationship with Him through Jesus as our Lord.
Ezekiel goes on, and he says, Because some people get to go to heaven, some people don’t. And he’s saying, Wait a second here. Isn’t God equal? He’s saying, Everybody’s on the same playing field.
You all get to make choices. And the choices you make have a direct influence in your relationship to me, and in the way you live your life. You are the ones that are unequal.
Because you want to take the man that is righteous, and take his righteousness to cover the unrighteous man. And you want to take the unrighteous man, and say that he had no choice in the matter because he had to live that way. You are the ones that are being unequal.
I’m the one that’s equal, is what the Lord says. Because every man is the same in my eyes. And every man gets the opportunity to choose.
There are those in the church today that would say, Everyone doesn’t get to choose. And there’s a whole bunch of people out there that don’t have the opportunity to make a choice to follow Jesus. God would say, You’re being unequal.
You’re saying some people don’t have the opportunity to be forgiven of their sins, and to come to know God as their Redeemer, and Savior, Creator, and Sustainer, and the one who can take them to heaven. You are the ones that are being unequal. Not God, who you say sends some to heaven and some to hell, and has preordained them to go there.
But he’s saying, I am the one that’s equal because I say all men are to come unto me. Jesus stands outside the door and knocks. And he says, Only those that are righteous will open the door.
No, he says, Anyone who opens the door and allows me to come in, I will come in and sup with him and he with me. He’s saying, Opening the door is your choice. And it’s a choice to all mankind.
Well, people have used the argument, Well, what about the native in Africa? What about the person who’s never heard the gospel? What about the people who don’t have the Bible? Well, I think that that’s being evidenced in many of the Muslim countries today, where you’re seeing people come to know Jesus as their Lord and Savior, because they’re crying out and they say, God, I believe that you must be there. Show me if you’re really there. And God brings opportunities for them to understand and see that Jesus is the one that has come to redeem them and forgive their sins.
He opens up their hearts and their understanding to the fact that Jesus is their Messiah and the one who has come to set them free, to enable them to walk in righteousness and transforms their character. I’ve shared with you before examples of people that the Lord has brought Christians into their life or the Lord has brought Bibles into their life or the Lord himself has come and revealed himself to them in miraculous ways so that if they’re crying out, anyone who cries to Jesus and asks him to come, the Lord will make opportunity for him to find out that he truly is the one that redeems and saves us. Because all men are equal in his sight and all men have the opportunity to choose if they but call upon his name.
And that’s what Ezekiel is saying. The Jewish people in Judah didn’t have any right to say, you made us do this, God. You’re the one that allowed us to sin and so how can you now say that you judge us? You’re being unequal.
No, you are being judged because of your choices.
25 Yet ye say, The way of the Lord is not equal. Hear now, O house of Israel; Is not my way equal? are not your ways unequal?
26 When a righteous man turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, and dieth in them; for his iniquity that he hath done shall he die.
27 Again, when the wicked man turneth away from his wickedness that he hath committed, and doeth that which is lawful and right, he shall save his soul alive.
Again, when the wicked man turneth away from his wickedness that he hath committed and doeth that which is lawful and right, he shall save his soul alive. Because he considereth and turneth away from all his transgressions that he hath committed, he shall surely live. He shall not die.
Yet, saith the house of Israel, the way of the Lord is not equal. O house of Israel, are not my ways equal? Are not your ways unequal? Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel. Everyone according to his ways, saith the Lord God, repent, turn yourselves from all your transgressions, so iniquity shall not be your ruin.
Cast away from you all your transgressions, whereby ye have transgressed and make you a new heart and a new spirit, for why will you die, O house of Israel? For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord God. Wherefore turn yourselves and live ye. God is calling that to all men.
28 Because he considereth, and turneth away from all his transgressions that he hath committed, he shall surely live, he shall not die.
29 Yet saith the house of Israel, The way of the Lord is not equal. O house of Israel, are not my ways equal? are not your ways unequal?
30 Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways, saith the Lord God. Repent, and turn yourselves from all your transgressions; so iniquity shall not be your ruin.
31 Cast away from you all your transgressions, whereby ye have transgressed; and make you a new heart and a new spirit: for why will ye die, O house of Israel?
32 For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord God: wherefore turn yourselves, and live ye.
Turn yourselves to me and live. Accept the gospel message and receive eternal life. With Israel, there was physical judgment that was tied directly to their disobedience to the Lord.
He said that they were going to die by the sword, they were going to die by pestilence, they were going to die by starvation. And those were judgments because of their wickedness and they didn’t turn. But there were those that did walk with the Lord and did seek Him.
Men like Daniel, men like Ezekiel, men like Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. Men who even though they were taken into captivity did not seek to turn their back on God and blame God for their situation but rather sought to be used by God and walk with God even in the midst of their trial and tribulation. That is what God is saying here.
Choices are made by each one of us. Each one of us make choices every day. You make a choice in the way you respond to the authorities over you.
Whether if you’re in the home to your mom and your dad, the way you respond to your husbands and wife, the way you respond in your workplace to the superiors over you. You all make choices in the things that we do whether we do that which is upright and honest and honoring through the Lord or whether we would lie and cheat and do that which is wrong. The choices are ours.
As Christians we daily make choices. And God is saying when you choose rightly you walk with me in fellowship and you experience the abundance of life. When you choose wrong you walk in disobedience and experience the consequences of your sin.
And so he’s saying everyone, everyone stands equal before me and they all must be accountable not for their father’s actions, not for their children’s actions, but for their actions. Let’s just go through the Lord in prayer. Lord I pray that you just help us to understand this.
Lord help us to see that this whole concept that’s entering into the church of the fact that we’re predestined and predetermined and that we have no choice is a lie from the pit of hell. And Satan does not want us to take accountability for our lives and stand before you and cry out and say forgive me. And may I know and experience your power in my life through your Son Jesus Christ and experience your righteousness.
Lord help us to see that the message has been the same throughout the scripture. There’s only one way to come to you and that is the way that you have ordained that we can experience salvation. Jesus said, I am the way, the truth, and the life.
No man cometh unto the Father but by me. And it’s only through him that we can experience and walk in righteousness and obedience to your will and bring glory to your name. Go with us now and help us to understand and learn from the lesson that Ezekiel gave to the nation of Judah.
And may we learn from that lesson as well. We pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.
The word of the Lord came unto me again, saying,
2 What mean ye, that ye 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, saith the Lord God, ye shall not have occasion any more to use this proverb in Israel.
4 Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die.
5 But if a man be just, and do that which is lawful and right,
6 And hath not eaten upon the mountains, neither hath lifted up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, neither hath defiled his neighbour’s wife, neither hath come near to a menstruous woman,
7 And hath not oppressed any, but hath restored to the debtor his pledge, hath spoiled none by violence, hath given his bread to the hungry, and hath covered the naked with a garment;
8 He that hath not given forth upon usury, neither hath taken any increase, that hath withdrawn his hand from iniquity, hath executed true judgment between man and man,
9 Hath walked in my statutes, and hath kept my judgments, to deal truly; he is just, he shall surely live, saith the Lord God.
10 If he beget a son that is a robber, a shedder of blood, and that doeth the like to any one of these things,
11 And that doeth not any of those duties, but even hath eaten upon the mountains, and defiled his neighbour’s wife,
12 Hath oppressed the poor and needy, hath spoiled by violence, hath not restored the pledge, and hath lifted up his eyes to the idols, hath committed abomination,
13 Hath given forth upon usury, and hath taken increase: shall he then live? he shall not live: he hath done all these abominations; he shall surely die; his blood shall be upon him.
14 Now, lo, if he beget a son, that seeth all his father’s sins which he hath done, and considereth, and doeth not such like,
15 That hath not eaten upon the mountains, neither hath lifted up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, hath not defiled his neighbour’s wife,
16 Neither hath oppressed any, hath not withholden the pledge, neither hath spoiled by violence, but hath given his bread to the hungry, and hath covered the naked with a garment,
17 That hath taken off his hand from the poor, that hath not received usury nor increase, hath executed my judgments, hath walked in my statutes; he shall not die for the iniquity of his father, he shall surely live.
18 As for his father, because he cruelly oppressed, spoiled his brother by violence, and did that which is not good among his people, lo, even he shall die in his iniquity.
19 Yet say ye, Why? doth not the son bear the iniquity of the father? When the son hath done that which is lawful and right, and hath kept all my statutes, and hath done them, he shall surely live.
20 The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him.
21 But if the wicked will turn from all his sins that he hath committed, and keep all my statutes, and do that which is lawful and right, he shall surely live, he shall not die.
22 All his transgressions that he hath committed, they shall not be mentioned unto him: in his righteousness that he hath done he shall live.
23 Have I any pleasure at all that the wicked should die? saith the Lord God: and not that he should return from his ways, and live?
24 But when the righteous turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, and doeth according to all the abominations that the wicked man doeth, shall he live? All his righteousness that he hath done shall not be mentioned: in his trespass that he hath trespassed, and in his sin that he hath sinned, in them shall he die.
25 Yet ye say, The way of the Lord is not equal. Hear now, O house of Israel; Is not my way equal? are not your ways unequal?
26 When a righteous man turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, and dieth in them; for his iniquity that he hath done shall he die.
27 Again, when the wicked man turneth away from his wickedness that he hath committed, and doeth that which is lawful and right, he shall save his soul alive.
28 Because he considereth, and turneth away from all his transgressions that he hath committed, he shall surely live, he shall not die.
29 Yet saith the house of Israel, The way of the Lord is not equal. O house of Israel, are not my ways equal? are not your ways unequal?
30 Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways, saith the Lord God. Repent, and turn yourselves from all your transgressions; so iniquity shall not be your ruin.
31 Cast away from you all your transgressions, whereby ye have transgressed; and make you a new heart and a new spirit: for why will ye die, O house of Israel?
32 For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord God: wherefore turn yourselves, and live ye.