Seventh Day Baptist
Christian Education Council
PO BOX 1678
Janesville, WI 53547
“Yet you say, ‘Why should not the son suffer for the iniquity of the father?’ When the son has done what is just and right, and has been careful to observe all my statutes, he shall surely live. The soul who sins shall die. The son shall not suffer for the iniquity of the father, nor the father suffer for the iniquity of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself.
“But if a wicked person turns away from all his sins that he has committed and keeps all my statutes and does what is just and right, he shall surely live; he shall not die. None of the transgressions that he has committed shall be remembered against him; for the righteousness that he has done he shall live. Have I any pleasure in the death of the wicked, declares the Lord GOD, and not rather that he should turn from his way and live? But when a righteous person turns away from his righteousness and does injustice and does the same abominations that the wicked person does, shall he live? None of the righteous deeds that he has done shall be remembered; for the treachery of which he is guilty and the sin he has committed, for them he shall die.
(ESV)
—Ezekiel 18:19-24
by: Dale Rood.
The blame game does not play when it comes to righteousness. Each one of us must bear the responsibility for our own choices, and none of us has to bear the responsibility for the choices of others, even those closest to us. What is the key to righteousness here? Certainly not our past, be it either good or bad. The key is where we are spiritually in our present. What do you think God sees in discerning your righteousness?