Personal Accountability
Though we may be affected
by our parent's sins, each one of us
is responsible and accountable to God
for our own attitudes and actions.
Here now is Gene Getz:
When we look at this particular Principle,
we really have a Principle that emerges
from the whole biblical story.
Because what happened
when sin entered into the world?
Well one of the first things that
happened is when God asked Adam a question,
he said: Well it was the woman You gave me.
When God turned to Eve,
she said: The devil made me do it.
It was Satan.
And ever since then
I think we all have a temptation
to blame somebody else
or to believe that we are not responsible.
Somebody else is responsible.
Now this was a very serious situation
there in Judah.
Among the people even that had come out
through that second deportation--
those 10,000 in that community.
And obviously it was happening
seriously back in Jerusalem.
As these people were continuing to sin
which would eventuate in
that final deportation
where Jerusalem would be
literally destroyed by God's judgment.
Now the way in which we see
this rationalization is that the
people of Israel were using a metaphor.
Or a riddle. Or accusing, perhaps I should say,
Ezekiel of using riddles.
Not talking plainly.
And so we read that a proverb--
it's really a proverb.
And so they say here, Ezekiel 18:1 to 2:
The word of the LORD came to me:
What do you mean by using this proverb
concerning the land of Israel: ...
Now here's the proverb
and you can see the rationalization--
putting blame on somebody else:
...The fathers eat sour grapes,
and the children's teeth are
set on edge?
In other words, it's the problem of our fathers.
It's the problem of our forefathers.
It's those who sinned in the wilderness.
It's those who sinned in the
land of Palestine.
It's not us.
We're not the problem.
If we've got a problem it's
because of our parents.
And that's what he means
by the children's teeth are set on edge
by the sour grapes that the
parents have eaten.
Now God was not pleased with that.
And by the way, Jeremiah refers
to the same principle,
so it was being used early on
before these people were
taken into deportation.
And so God responds.
And basically, He says this:
"As I live"--this is the declaration
of the Lord God--"you will no longer
use this proverb in Israel.
Look, every life belongs to Me.
The life of the father is like
the life of the son--both belong to Me.
The person who sins is the one who will die."
In other words, what He is saying is:
Those who are living in Jerusalem.
Those who are living in sin.
Who are disobeying.
They will die--literally die physically.
Now certainly it applies spiritually.
But He's talking about physical death.
And He said: Because of the judgment that is
coming on you, you're going to be
taken in death by Nebuchadnezzar--his armies
and others who are going to attack you.
But you can't blame your parents for that.
It's because of your own sins.
And so God basically deals with them.
Now they come back and they said:
Well God's not fair.
That's not fair.
Well the Lord addresses that. God's fairness:
"Therefore, house of Israel, I will judge
each one of you according to his ways." ...
In other words, don't blame your parents,
blame yourself:
...This is the declaration
of the Lord God. Repent...
And here we have a beautiful, I believe,
functional definition of repentance.
What repentance really means:
..."Repent and turn from all
your transgressions...
You see, repentance is really turning around.
Turning away from--
to a new life.
..."Repent and turn from
all your transgressions,
so they will not be a stumbling block
that causes your punishment.
[He goes on:]
Throw off all the transgressions
you have committed,
[that's part of repentance]
and get yourselves a new heart
and a new spirit.
Why should you die, house of Israel?
For I take no pleasure in anyone's death."
This is the declaration of the Lord God.
"So repent and live!"
In other words, what he's saying is:
Be transformed from the inside out.
That's really true repentance.
And here we have a--as I said--
a functional definition of repentance
here in the Old Testament
that I think helps us to understand
repentance as the word is used
in the New Testament.
Now this raises a question.
And that is:
What about God's statement in Exodus 20?
How do we reconcile what God said?
Look at what He said:
Do not make an idol for yourself...
Now remember, they were at Mount Sinai.
They had just come out of Egypt.
...Do not make an idol for yourself,
whether in the shape of anything
in the heavens above or on the earth below
or in the waters under the earth.
You must not bow down to them
or worship them;
for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God,
punishing the children for the father's sin,
to the third and fourth generations of those
who hate Me, but showing faithful love
to a thousand generations of those
who love Me and keep My commands.
So if indeed the children are
responsible for their own actions,
how do we reconcile God's
visiting judgment to the third
and fourth generation?
Well nowhere does God say
that they can't change.
Nowhere does He say:
This is an excuse.
Consequences of sin--we see that.
It can be certainly affecting children.
And we see that happening
even to the third and fourth generation.
But God is not saying:
You have to--you are excused.
In other words, change.
Don't blame your parents.
And that's what he's saying here
in this particular passage.
When you look at the total biblical story--
in other words, He is not saying--
God is not saying that
we don't have a choice.
We have a free will.
We do not have to continue.
We can break the cycle of sin
in our lives.
And remember, He said they should have
a new heart and new spirit.
Now eventually, we know
when the new covenant is
really activated in the life of
the children of Israel, God's going to place in
them a new heart, a new spirit.
But for us as believers,
and even for the children of Israel,
they could have a renewed heart
and a renewed spirit.
This is prophetic.
But it's also in the present.
And when we look at the story
of Nicodemus, for example,
I think we have a beautiful illustration
that it can happen in the present.
This applies to Israel--to an Israelite.
It applies to Nicodemus--a ruler of the Jews.
It applies to us.
And he came.
And he said to Jesus, by night, he said:
We know You're a teacher come from God.
No man could do the miracles
You're doing except, He come from God.
And Nicodemus was puzzled by that.
And Jesus really turned to him
and startled him. And He said:
Nicodemus, unless you're born again,
you'll never see the kingdom of God.
And Nicodemus comes back
because again, he's startled.
And he simply says: Well how can that be?
Can I enter my mother's womb
and be born again?
And Jesus said: That's not what I'm talking about.
And here is the answer that Jesus gave him:
Jesus answered, "I assure you:
Unless someone is born of water
and the Spirit, he cannot enter
the kingdom of God. ...
Now my personal opinion here is that
He's talking about physical birth
with the word water.
And He's talking about spiritual birth
with the Holy Spirit.
And you see that continuity because He says:
...Whatever is born of the flesh is flesh,
[that's physical birth]
and whatever is born of the Spirit is spirit. ..
That's what I'm talking about Nicodemus.
...Do not be amazed that I told you
that you must be born again.
The wind blows where it pleases,
[and] you hear its sound, but you don't know
where it comes from or where it is going.
So it is with everyone born of the Spirit."
And as you read on in John chapter 3,
eventually you come to John 3:16.
And sometimes we don't realize
that Jesus was talking to Nicodemus
when He said:
Nicodemus, for God so loved the world
that He gave His only begotten Son,
that whosoever believes in Him
should not perish but have everlasting life.
Nicodemus, you can be born again.
And of course, with that statement,
God is saying that that's the message
that He wants us to communicate
to the world: that we can be born again.
We can participate.
And this is key:
we can participate in the new covenant.
Eventually, as I said,
that new covenant will be fulfilled in Israel
when God will put a new heart,
a new spirit in them.
He will be faithful to His promise
that He made to Abraham.
But in the meantime,
until that happens,
we are participating in that
new covenant through the new birth.
A wonderful, wonderful biblical truth.
So here's the question for application:
Though children today are definitely impacted
by their parent's sinful behavior,
what steps can they take to stop
the cycle of irresponsible behavior?
And the first thought that comes to me is
number one: We need to be born again.
We need to be born again.
We need to have God's Spirit
transform us from the inside out.
And we need to forgive.
Not only receive forgiveness
but we need to forgive others
who may have sinned against us.
We are to forgive as Christ forgave us.
Lack of forgiveness can really set us back
in terms of becoming what God
wants us to become.
In other words, there are those--
including parents--who've sinned against us .
And it's totally irresponsible.
In some cases, it's totally evil.
But if we don't forgive,
we'll be in bondage--their bondage.
And so forgiveness is really key.
And then to internalize the Word of God.
And this is all, obviously, part of the same process.
It's not just sequential
but it's a process.
Internalizing the Word--letting the Word shape us.
As we read in Hebrews,
the Word of God is quick. It's powerful,
sharper than any two-edged sword,
dividing asunder soul and spirit.
The Word of God--letting it work in our lives.
And then accountability.
And God has established a
wonderful means of accountability.
Generally, the body of Christ.
We're all accountable to each other.
Not to forsake the assembling
of ourselves together.
But even within the larger family of God
we need accountability.
It's really interesting--think about Jesus.
Jesus held the apostles accountable.
But in a unique way, He held
Peter, James, and John accountable.
And in an even more unique way,
He held Peter accountable.
We all need accountability.
We need special brothers and sisters
in the Lord that can minister to us
and help us to be accountable.
So here's the Principle--
I call it Personal Accountability:
Though we may be affected
by our parent's sins, each one of us
is responsible and accountable to God
for our own attitudes and actions.