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Biblical Perspectives on Sin, Part 3: Personal Guilt, Personal Righteousness
Larry Kirkpatrick, Mentone Church of Seventh-day Adventists, January 28, 2005
Introduction
How shall we live the Christian life in our present humanity? This is for us, perhaps the ultimate question. With a nature that would prefer to go any other way but the way of obedience, how little it takes for us to justify doing this or that, no matter what the Scriptures say.
One of the great problems in belief systems is making decisions based upon all the meaningful information. People tend to be selective in what they give their attention to. The Bible is a large book. By overemphasizing certain ideas or information and minimizing or ignoring others, we can skew the total picture. One of our goals in this series is to bring together a significant set of materials bearing on the question of ”What is sin?“
Put to Death for the Fathers?
Today we look at more passages that bear upon this question. Let’s begin with Deuteronomy 24:16:
The fathers shall not be put to death for the children, neither shall the children be put to death for the fathers: every man shall be put to death for his own sin.
This succinct commandment comes alongside several other concise lines of legislation. Notice the sense. Fathers are not to be punished for the crimes of the children. Likewise, children are not to be punished for the crimes of their parents. Familial connection is here trumped by individual, personal responsibility. Punishment is according to personal guilt.
In fact, the passage contrasts what we might call ascending and descending liability with personal accountability. Every man (singular) shall be put to death for his (singular) own sin. We are not told that there will not be an impact upon others, but that condemnation—that is, the moral aspect of sin, the punishment aspect of sin—is strictly limited to personal accountability.
And yet it is still true that the actions of one family member often affect another. If a family is supported by one wage earner and that wage earner is put in prison or punished via the death penalty, the family may be left in poverty without income. Or if an under age son or daughter commits a crime that results in the destruction of someone else’s personal property, it will be the parents who are responsible to see to it that restitution is made. If the nation is unfaithful and so a generation are swept into captivity in a foreign land, they may throughout their life live under the result of the unfaithfulness of others.
In any case, we see distinctly the principle of personal punishment for personal sins on the basis of personal accountability.
Parable of the Sour Grapes
We next move to Ezekiel 18 and the parable of the sour grapes. Ezekiel 18 teaches, as we shall see, much the same as our text from Deuteronomy 24. Let us explore Ezekiel 18:1-3. Listen:
The word of the LORD came unto me again, saying, 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? As I live, saith the Lord GOD, ye shall not have occasion any more to use this proverb in Israel.
Immediately after this parable, God declares,
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.
So we want to understand why God is so displeased with the use of this proverb, that the fathers have eaten sour grapes and now the children’s teeth are set on edge. This parable is also mentioned by the prophet Jeremiah, a contemporary of Ezekiel. We find it in Jeremiah 31:29, 30:
In those days they shall say no more, The fathers have eaten a sour grape, and the children’s teeth are set on edge. But every one shall die for his own iniquity: every man that eateth the sour grape, his teeth shall be set on edge.
The basic question here is about God’s fairness. Notice the promise. First, the saying is that the fathers ate the sour grapes and the children’s teeth are set on edge. But God says this will not stand. God says that actually, everyone (that is, everyone who is guilty) shall die for their own iniquity. And the change is that every man who eats a sour grape, his, not his children’s teeth but his own teeth, will be set on edge. Do we see the difference?
Because of the unfaithfulness of the leaders and of the nation, many in the nation would be led away into captivity. Especially over time would those gone away into captivity begin to feel like it was the fault of others that they were caught in captivity. The fathers ate the sour grapes, but we are reaping the results. It’s not fair! See how the refrain goes? We hear it again in Jeremiah’s Lamentations 5:7:
Our fathers have sinned, and are not; and we have borne their iniquities.
God says a time is coming when the questions about this apparent unfairness are at last laid to rest. He describes this for us in the remainder of Ezekiel 18.
Looking at this chapter you will find that it is organized into basic sections. First, the question about God’s fairness is introduced (which we have just finished outlining). Next, three men are described (1) the righteous man, (2) the robber son, and (3) the righteous son. These and their fates are contrasted on the basis of their righteousness or their sin. The last portion of the chapter affirms the fairness of God’s approach and appeals to us to live godly lives.
The TSaDiQ Man
Let’s learn something now about the righteous man in Ezekiel 18:4-9! First, verses four and five:
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. But if a man be just, and do that which is lawful and right…
Like the nearly identical material in Deuteronomy 24, God declares that He is going to punish the soul who sins—not the just the nearest relative. He is going to be fair. But pay especially close attention to the fifth verse.
But if a man be just, and do that which is lawful and right…
There are connections between these words here—very close connections—that are not immediately apparent to us in the English. So let’s zoom in even closer. A literal reading of the text from the Hebrew would be “But a man who is TSaDiQ (righteous), and DOES judgment and TSeDaQa (righteousness)…” The English translation is correct, but this translation shows us the connections between ideas. (Throughout this document I have capitalized the Hebrew consonants and made the Hebrew vowles lower-cased. This is because to help you see the elements of the root word in Hebrew.)
Notice that a man who is just, or TSaDiQ, righteous, is a man who does that which is lawful, who does judgment, and is one who does TSeDaQa, who does just things, who does righteousness.
The important thing to see here is that it is possible to be just, righteous, it is possible to do that which is lawful, to do righteousness. Now I know this flies in the face of conventional Christian thinking. For, do we not often say “there is none righteous, no, not one… there is none that doeth good, no, not one” (Romans 3:10, 12)? Do we not remind ourselves quite constantly that “all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags” (Isaiah 64:6). But we may have to think more carefully than before. For either the Bible is in contradiction with itself, or we need a better understanding of its teaching. Ezekiel says there is such a thing as a righteous person.
Notice the description given in verses six thru nine. First, he must be TSaDiQ, and do judgment and TSeDaQa, he must be just and do justness, or he must be righteous and do what is righteousness. Now along with this description come two lists. First are listed things that the TSaDiQ man does not do. What are these?
In verse six, he has not eaten upon the mountains. You know that false worship to false gods was conducted on the mountaintops, on the high places. The righteous man is not one who is in attendance in places of false worship.
The TSaDiQ man also refuses to lift up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel. Notice, he refuses to engage in the false worship that is accepted even in Israel. He has no idols, will not worship idols, will not embrace the passing fads and trashy ideas of popular religion presently wafting through the most popular churches. He is a discerning person, alert to not only present truth, but present error.
He refuses to engage in sexual immorality, even while it is commonly accepted around him. At the spiritual level, even when other Israelites around him are unfaithful, he is true to her. He remains in Israel. His reaction to the immorality of others is not to sink down to that level but to rise up to the level God has asked.
He refuses to oppress others. He does not use any leverage he might have because of position or providence to manipulate others. He is apolitical.
He gives back to the less fortunate the collateral he has pledged. He enables the less fortunate to live in self-respect.
He spoils none by violence, he does not take by force. He gives of his own food to those who hunger. He covers the naked with his blanket. He is a defender of the needy.
He does not loan money to people at interest. He withdraws his hand from iniquity.
He refuses to participate in sin and injustice. He executes true judgment between man and man. Notice, the TSaDiQ man is characterized by what he refuses to do and equally so, by what he does do. His righteousness is not merely the refusal of that which is wrong, but the active carrying-out of that which is right. It is an active righteousness. Hear then the divine analysis in verse nine. The TSaDiQ man
Hath walked in My statutes, and hath kept My judgments, to deal truly; he is just, he shall surely live, saith the Lord GOD.
The Hebrew of verse nine emphasizes that the TSaDiQ has done God’s statutes, has done God’s judgments. The emphasis is on the active righteousness of the TSaDiQ. He has not just lived in abstinence from what God urged was wrong, but He has actively engaged in that which God said was right. Thus the declaration, not that the man is only counted right, but he is right. He is TSaDiQ. And on this basis, God declares that he shall surely live.
More on TSaDiQ
Perhaps this is the right time to look at some other texts that touch what it means to live as a TSaDiQ person. Join me at Deuteronomy 25:1. Here’s the verse:
If there be a controversy between men, and they come unto judgment, that the judges may judge them; then they shall justify the righteous, and condemn the wicked.
That is, “justify” and “righteous” both come from the root TSaDiQ. “Condemn” and “wicked” both come from the root ReSHa. What the text says is actually very simple. Having weighed the matter, the judge was expected to affirm that the actually righteous actually is righteous, and that the actually unrighteous, actually is unrighteous.
Remember Noah in Genesis 6:8, 9, and 7:1? In verse eight we see that Noah found grace from God. But nine says:
Noah was a just [TSaDiQ] man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God.
Genesis 7:1 says,
The LORD said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous [TSaDiQ] before me in this generation.
Noah was a TSaDiQ man. He chose to be different. Every member of Noah’s generation could have chosen to be TSaDiQ. They could have chosen a different course than their fallen nature might prompt them to follow. The gifts of God’s grace are freely available to all. It is by our own choice that we align ourselves to one or the other of the two kingdoms. In God’s Word He has set plainly before us the conditions of eternal life. We all know them: obedience to God’s commandments through faith in Christ. This is available to all. Noah did not become TSaDiQ at random. He worked out his own salvation, in connection with God, with fear and trembling. The provisions of redemption are free to all; the results of redemption will be enjoyed by those who have complied with the conditions.
Character matters. Noah walked with God. Noah became like God. Noah became TSaDiQ. But all this makes sense. For how does the Bible describe Noah’s God? How does it describe the pattern Noah was seeking to copy? Deuteronomy 32:4:
He is the Rock, His work is perfect: for all His ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is He.
All His ways are judgment (MiSHPaT). Just (TSaDiQ) and right is He. And so we return to Ezekiel 18:5:
But a man who is TSaDiQ (righteous), and DOES judgment (MiSHPaT) and TSeDaQa (righteousness)…
There is something for us to think about here. God is looking for the perfect reproduction of His character in His people. What’s so spooky about that?
The Robber Son
But let’s move on. Ezekiel now outlines another possibility. What if that righteous (TSaDiQ) man has a son? Ezekiel 18:10-13:
If he beget a son that is a robber, a shedder of blood, and that doeth the like to any one of these things, And that doeth not any of those duties, but even hath eaten upon the mountains, and defiled his neighbour’s wife, 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, 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.
Notice the projected behavior of the son. Whereas his father refused to engage in these behaviors, the son manages to become involved in them all. In fact, we see that the robber son is condemned on the basis of what he did and didn’t do. He had no positive behaviors but all negative ones. He is condemned.
The Wicked Father
But what if the father is wicked and the son is righteous? Consider that case here in Ezekiel 18:14-18:
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, 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, 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, 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. 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.
Notice here we explicitly have the outcome of the father and of the son. The son is not punished, the father is punished. What is the difference? Here the case is like that of the TSaDiQ man mentioned in verses five to nine. This son engages in the same righteous acts and refuses to engage in the same evil acts as the other. And in the end he lives.
Why? The Fairness of God
Here now we come to the verses 19-23:
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. 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. 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. All his 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 he should return from his ways, and live?
Why doesn’t the son bear the iniquity of the father? It is all a matter of repentance. God gives it as a gift (Acts 5:31; 11:17, 18). But some refuse. Notice, “the righteousness [TSiDQaT] of the righteous [TSaDiQ] shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him.” Simply put, all our behavior finally is matched up against all our claims. You could say, “The Christianity of the Christian shall be upon him, and the non-christianity of the non-christian shall be upon him.” This is no strange doctrine.
Hear then the closing lines of the chapter: Ezekiel 18:24-29:
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. Yet ye say, The way of the Lord is not equal [fair]. Hear now, O house of Israel; Is not My way equal [fair]? are not your ways unequal [unfair]? 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. 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 [fair]. O house of Israel, are not my ways equal [fair]? are not your ways unequal [unfair]?
God pleads: Turn! Change your ways! It sounds very fair to me.
Saving Ourselves?
But notice especially the 27th verse, for at first glance it is most astonishing:
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.
Who shall save his soul alive? When he turns, “he” shall save his soul alive. Now that sounds like you can save yourself. But who makes it possible for him to turn? God does. Then how much of the turning does he own? Does he have strength to turn without God’s intervention? No. He owns precisely one thing: the choice to turn. Even that is a gift from God to fallen man. So his turning is a cooperative effort with God. And one in which he receives exactly zero credit, zero merit. He does not save himself. God saves him through Jesus Christ. But still he must choose to turn and actively cooperate. He must embrace the power from above. None can do that for him. It is his own choice.
But recall we mentioned Isaiah 64:6: “all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags.” So how do we explain this? Do Isaiah and Ezekiel disagree? Not at all. The righteousness Ezekiel is speaking of is God-empowered. A TSaDiQ person can only be a TSaDiQ person as he or she walks day by day with Christ. That is the very same Christianity we read about in Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Paul and James. Isaiah’s warning is equally true. All “our” righteousnesses are as filthy rags. Any attempts we make to make ourselves pure, that we own exclusively, that we are trying to accomplish apart from God, in our own power, are ours and only ours. They have no saving merit in themselves at all. They are surely like filthy rags. But the Bible affirms not only that there can be TSaDiQ people, but that there are TSaDiQ people. And it does so even at the Isaiah 64 passage. But that is for a future message in this series.
Conclusion
For now, let us finish with a look at the last verses of Ezekiel 18:31, 32. Here God makes his appeal:
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? For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord GOD: wherefore turn yourselves, and live ye.
This is not a call to turning apart from God any more than were the previous lines. Isaiah urges us: ”Let him take hold of My strength, that he may make peace with Me; and he shall make peace with Me” (Isaiah 27:5).
Only He can provide power to make the desire He has given us effective. Only we can choose to embrace the strength available through the Holy Spirit and turn and live.
How then might we summarize today’s message? We serve a fair God. By His own explanation, He does not punish us for that which we have not chosen any more than He grants us salvation apart from our having chosen His kingdom. For a long time it may seem that the descendants of the unfaithful are punished for the sins of another generation. The fathers ate the sour grape but the descendants are the ones whose teeth are set on edge. Yet that proverb does not fairly represent the case. In the end, the righteousness of the righteous will be upon him and the wickedness of the wicked will be upon him. And the choice is given to us; God has intervened to make it our option, not the whimsy of arbitrary fate or divine decree. Even our opportunity is bought for us by the Lord Jesus Christ.
All this is good news. It is at the foundation of the gospel. In fact, we learn today that we can be TSaDiQ, righteous, just. It is written all through the Bible. God had His TSaDiQ men and women at the beginning of the conflict between good and evil. He has them again at the end. We are called today to be just precisely that. So will we be like the TSaDiQ man, or the robber son? God calls us. Turn, and live! Very good news indeed. GCO
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