October 1 Daily Devotional

Bible Reading:

Ezekiel 18:19-32

¹⁹Yet 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.
²⁰The 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.
²¹But 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.
²²All his transgressions that he hath committed, they shall not be mentioned unto him: in his righteousness that he hath done he shall live.
²³Have 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?
²⁴But 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.
²⁵Yet 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?
²⁶When 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.
²⁷Again, 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.
²⁸Because he considereth, and turneth away from all his transgressions that he hath committed, he shall surely live, he shall not die.
²⁹Yet 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?
³⁰Therefore 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.
³¹Cast 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?
³²For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord GOD: wherefore turn yourselves, and live ye.

Devotional:

Is it not very exhilarating to read this chapter?

In the Decalogue we see how the sins of the fathers are felt down through the years by generations that follow. It is easy to point out from our own experience illustrations of this fact. Likewise we read of the blessings that accrue to the children and grandchildren of godly persons. We praise God today, too, for His faithfulness to the children of the covenant.

But balanced over against this teaching is the truth that men are responsible persons whose dignity is to be respected. As we saw in Ezekiel 14, so we see here: each one must account for h own life. Being born in a Christian home is not a guarantee of personal salvation. There is nothing automatic about the covenant. Parents might wish sometimes that this were the case, but that would be to cheapen God's plan and to dwarf mankind.

Conversely, though, being born into an ungodly home will not automatically result in a man's damnation, nor is it an excuse for his unbelief. God rejoices when the wicked turn from their ways and live! He has no pleasure in their death, but He does require personal commitment to Himself that they might live.

We need to maintain the balance of Scripture between God's electing grace and man's responsibility, between covenant promises and the individual's obligation for personal commitment. A failure to maintain this balance is a misrepresentation of God's truth as He has clearly revealed it. Such failure can cause a person to plunge into unwholesome extremes and distort the perspective of Scripture.