Like I said, even both parents are wicked, the mom and dad.
They can make their own choice.
Think about Manasseh.
Manasseh was so wicked, so evil, that God destroyed Jerusalem anyway, even though Josiah,
his son, think about this, Manasseh was one of the most wicked kings of all of Israel,
but he did get saved in the end.
He's like one of the people that you would think of in this story, that in the end he
did change.
He did get saved, and he was saved, but God still punished the wickedness that he did
in the fact that he shed much blood and all this other stuff.
But his son Josiah was one of the most godly kings that Israel ever had, that Judah ever
had.
And then what happened with his son?
Well his son was super wicked, even though Josiah was super godly.
His son was super wicked.
So I mean, how do you explain that?
You can't always explain things by just saying, "Well, he must have just been a bad parent."
Is that what God's saying in this chapter?
"Oh, he must have been a bad parent."
What's this?
Blame the parent.
It's not what it says.
It says in verse 15, "That hath not eaten up upon the mountains, neither hath lifted
up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, hath not defiled his neighbor's wife, neither
hath oppressed any, hath not withholding the pledge, neither hath spoiled by violence,"
and so on and so forth.
Let me skip forward to verse 17.
So it's saying the same basic sins here, but these are all bad things, right?
It says that, "Hath taken off his hand from the poor, hath not received usury nor incense,
hath executed my judgments, hath walked in my statutes, he shall not die for the iniquity
of his father, he shall surely live."
God is just teaching personal responsibility here.
I mean, that's what I see.
"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."
So, again, what's God saying?
They're two completely different people.
One is saved, the other is not.
Maybe they're both saved.
One is doing wickedly, the other is not.
Because, look, people can be really wicked and be saved.
It's just a fact.
David did some really wicked things, but he was saved, right?
Everybody knows that.
And people that are pretty wicked can do some good things every once in a while, but it
doesn't mean they're saved.
But, I mean, Mormons helped me unload a U-Haul one time.
Does that mean they're saved?
No.
Anyway, I shouldn't have let them, but I was tired.
So anyway, I didn't let them go in my house, though, many, many moons ago.
Anyway, so just, again, take this today like God is speaking to spiritual Israel, because
that's what we are today, right?
And the prophet Ezekiel is speaking to us in the New Testament.
Turn to, keep your finger here, turn to 2 Timothy chapter 3, 2 Timothy chapter 3, because look,
every chapter in the Bible is for us.
Every verse that is written is for our admonition.
And the Bible actually says this in 2 Timothy chapter 3 verse 16, look at what it says.
Some scripture.
Is that what it says?
No, it says all scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine.
So can we learn from all scripture?
Can we learn from Ezekiel chapter 18?
Absolutely.
We need proof for correction, for instruction in righteousness that the man of God may be
perfect throughly furnished unto all good works.
So what does it mean perfect?
That we're going to be well rounded and just the complete package.
That's what the Bible's left for us for so we can know and be instructed in things of
Godliness.
Hey, if we're wrong about something, the Bible can correct us.
And this is a corrective passage in the Bible.
It really is.
Because what were they being corrected on?
Hey, it's our dad's fault that we turned out this way that we're in exile.
No, it's not.
It's your fault too.
You're just as bad as they are basically.
If you were doing right, then you'd be blessed.
But they're not doing right.
They're not even listening to what Ezekiel is saying.
So and then notice how it says throughly furnished and all good works.
It's like moving into a house and you have all brand new furniture.
You don't have to move anything in.
It's like everything's complete.
That would be nice, right?
Just move into a fully furnished house is what rich people get to do.
Just get rid of everything and just move into this brand new house.
Bill Gates probably doesn't have to lift a finger to do all this stuff, but he's going
to hell too.
Anyway, so point number two is this, and it's a question, does a son bear the sin of his
father or the father the sin of the son?
I feel like I've answered that already, but I still need to beat this horse to death.
What sayeth the scripture, verse number 19 back in our text?
What does the scripture say?
What does the Bible say?
Because that is the most important thing when you're discerning something.
Not who you like the most, not who your favorite pastor is.
It matters what the Bible says.
And so people just have these loyalties that are to the bone, but it's like, hey, your
loyalty should be to the word of God, not to any man, not to any favorite church or
whatever favorite pastor, it should be, what does the Bible say, okay?
That's what we should base our judgment on.
And look, I mean, I just preached a sermon, I think it was last week, about can an unsaved
person get a person saved?
And you know what?
I proved that seven ways this Sunday with many different scriptures and people are still
chirping, oh yeah, yeah, you still can.
It's like, no, you moron, you, Judas didn't get anybody saved, you're an idiot, but yet
people still, oh yeah, it's the word of God, yeah, the word of God preached by a saved
person.
Well, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, yeah, I know, preached by a saved person, but anyway,
I'm not preaching that sermon again, but it's just so irritating.
Look at verse 19, "Yet you say, 'Why?
But why, though?
But why?'"
Why don't you just believe what God says?
This is God's actually, you know, but why?
Does not the Son bear the iniquity of the Father?
This is like God saying, this is the dumb questions that they're asking, but why though?
So God's gonna explain it again for the very thick people that aren't getting it yet.
Here's what it says, "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."
It's not rocket science.
Verse 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."
Let me read that one more time for you, okay?
Let's just read this together, just really focus right here.
"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."
Period!
End of story!
Quit repeating stupid things that aren't true!
It's just not true that it's the dad's fault that a son sins.
It's their fault!
Or vice versa.
You can't put the son's sin on the Father, you can't put the Father's sin on the Son.
That's what the Bible says.
What's say at the Scriptures?
And I don't care how many people that hair lips, I don't care how many people get upset
about it, I got God on my side right here.
So shut up.
The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him.
The wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him.
Open and shut.
I mean, he's speaking real plain here.
So that even a kindergartner can understand this, right?
Sounds like we're responsible for our own actions and choices, doesn't it?
So let's look at some more Scripture to back this up.
Because this isn't just found in Ezekiel, it's found throughout the whole Bible.
And a lot in the New Testament.
So it's an open and shut case.
We should be able to just walk out right now and just be done with the service and go to
lunch at wherever you guys go.
Where do you go?
What's that buffet you guys go to?
All right, you're making me hungry now.
I'm just kidding.
All right, so Deuteronomy 24.
This is actually in the law of Moses.
So it's not just Ezekiel just saying, hey, it's actually God saying it right here.
So it should be good enough, obviously.
But he says it in the law first in the law of Moses.
Deuteronomy 24, verse 16.
Now the Bible does talk about God visiting the iniquity of the children to the third
and fourth generation or whatever.
But it's as a result, it's not like he's punishing the children for what the parents
did, but the result of rejecting God.
And like you can see that happen in neighborhoods that you've hit multiple times and people
reject.
It's just like, if a country as a whole or a nation as a whole rejects God, it's just
automatic that the blessings of God are going to be removed from that place.
I'll kind of preach about that a little bit tonight, but it's not that he's necessarily
punishing those children.
It's just as a result of the decisions that are made by that nation as a whole, that God
would reject that nation.
But there's still remnant, of course, that can be saved and all that.
So anyway, I just kind of wanted to explain that really quickly.
But let's see, Deuteronomy 24-16, the Bible says, "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."
Open and shut.
We're supposed to honor and obey our parents.
We're supposed to honor and obey our mother and father.
Look at Deuteronomy chapter 21 verse 18.
Now this situation, this is something that the world really hates that's in the Bible.
They really go to take us to task, any pastor to task over this.
They're like, "Well, are you supposed to just stone your kids to death for anything?
For just not obeying?"
No.
It's a really severe case, but look what it says in verse 18.
It says, "If a man have a stubborn and rebellious son, which will not obey the voice of his
mother, or the voice of his mother, and that when they have chastened him, will not hearken
unto them."
So did they chasten him?
Yes.
That's what they're supposed to do, right?
But he still won't listen to them.
So does correcting and chastening always work?
No.
Sometimes there's a stubborn and rebellious son or daughter that refuse to hearken unto
their parents.
In such cases, there's a clause in the law of what you're supposed to do.
Some people just won't listen.
Some children just won't get saved.
Some children just won't obey.
And so is that because they didn't chase him?
No.
It sounds like they did.
Sounds like they tried.
Sounds like they did something.
And it says, "Then shall his father and his mother lay hold on him and bring him out
unto the elders of the city and unto the gate of his place and they shall say unto the elders
of the city, 'This our son is stubborn and rebellious.
He will not obey our voice.
He is a glutton and a drunkard.'"
Now does this sound like an eight-year-old to you?
Does it sound like he could be a teenager?
But I thought you weren't supposed to spank teenagers, according to Pzarnski.
It doesn't work!
That's what he said, right?
Yeah.
Well, it doesn't work sometimes.
I guess he is right about that.
But in the case where it doesn't, then there was an option in the Old Testament, apparently
Afghanistan to him, right?
They got their Taliban headgear on.
They take their kid, they grab ahold of him, they take him to the goat herders of the people
or whatever.
I mean, come on.
But no, this person is obviously a drunkard and a glutton, so this is an older child, maybe
even 19.
Because at 20, they can just leave the house according to God's law, right?
But it says, "And all the men of his city shall stone him with stones, that he die.
So shalt thou put evil away from among you, and all Israel shall hear and fear."
Fear what?
All Israel shall hear and fear they'll spank their kids, and those kids that see that happen
to another kid, they're going to be like, I better not be rebellious.
I better not be stubborn.
So what does our modern age say, "How dare they do that?
I can't believe you would preach that in the house of God."
Yeah, I would preach it in the house of God.
You know why?
Because it's in the Bible.
Because that's what God says to do.
This is God speaking through Moses once again.
And look, this is probably not an average case, but you know why it happens a lot now?
Because there isn't fear.
There's Christians that are rising up against other Christians and saying this is wrong.
This is the Taliban, this is Afghanistan, it doesn't work.
No, it doesn't work for you, but obviously it doesn't work for some.
He is right partially by saying that, but that's the exception, not the rule.
Because if you do it right, it does work.
So let's move on brethren.
So it doesn't say they will ask him, they'll ask those parents, you know, what did you
do?
What did you do?
Why are they like this?
It's not their fault.
Does it say that?
Does it say they're going to question him and say it must be something that you did?
You did it.
Answer the question.
Answer the question!
You did it, didn't you?
What did you do?
It doesn't say that they say that.
No, it says they will just say, "Hey, this kid is rebellious, he's a drunkard."
Obviously they probably have to prove that to a certain extent, I'm sure.
They'll probably just look at his blue hair, the earrings, all the like lip ring things
in his face, and they'll be like, "Yeah, sounds like he is rebellious."
Or he's drunk when they take him there or something, you know.
And they'll probably be like, "Yeah, ruling by constraint didn't work for this guy."
And like I said, sometimes it doesn't work.
But you know, in this Rocky movie, the kid doesn't get back up, okay.
He's rocked to sleep, stoned to death, right?
And that's it for him, and then the rebellion is over.
And you know, it kind of sounds like they do ask him.
They do ask the parents one thing, did you chase in him?
Because it says after you chase in him.
So maybe that question is asked, well, did you spank him?
And if they say no, well, maybe you should have spanked him.
Maybe you should have punished him.
I mean, it doesn't say that they ask him that question, but why does it say when they had
chasing him?
So it kind of indicates that there might have been a question there.
But there's some kids that just won't care that you get spanked.
So I mean, some of you have a lot of children.
Some kids are tougher than others, and they'll be like, they just won't even cry if you try
to spank them, you know, they'll be hard headed.
They'll be the ones that just, you know, sometimes you have to give them little extra licks to
make sure that it sticks, right?
But some kids are a little more rebellious and harder to control than others.
So, but you do have to break their will to a certain extent, you know, you have to break
their will, but not break their spirit.
So anyway, turn to Galatians 6, Galatians 6, it says, "Brethren, if a man be overtaken
in a fault, ye which are spiritually restored such a one, in the spirit of meekness, considering
thyself less thou also be tempted, bury one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law
of Christ."
So is it good to help other people and bear their burdens?
Yeah.
"For if a man think himself to be something when he is nothing, he deceiveeth himself.
But let every man prove his own work, and then shall he have rejoicing in himself alone
and not in another."
So we can't just rejoice in other people's works and just be satisfied in doing what
other people do.
As Christians, we're supposed to have our own works.
So we can't just glory in other people's works, "Hey, our church is great, but you're not
doing anything."
We have to prove our own work also.
It says, "For every man shall bear his own burden."
So we are responsible for ourselves, obviously we should help bear each other's burdens,
but ultimately at the end of the day, you're responsible for your own burden, for doing
your own works, for your own Christian walk, and children, in here, you're responsible
for your own Christian walk.
Your parents can't be your Christianity for your whole life.
You have to make your own decision to trust Christ.
You have to make your own decision that you're going to work for Christ.
You have to make your own decision that once you leave your parents home, that you're going
to follow Christ and go to church and do all the works too.
You can't just live your Christianity through your parents.
They're bringing you to church now, but do you have the moral character?
Do you have the Christian character to follow Christ and work for Him for your life?
Because you have to bear your own burden also.
It says, "Let him that is taught in the word communicate unto him that teacheth in all
good things.
Be not deceived.
God is not mocked.
For whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.
For he that soweth to the flesh, shall reap of the flesh, shall sow of the flesh, reap
corruption.
But he that soweth of the spirit, shall reap of the spirit, shall of the spirit, excuse
me, reap life everlasting."
So God's not mocked.
Hey, if you want to just live a life in the flesh, you're going to reap that stuff back.
The Bible says if you reap to the wind, you're going to reap the whirlwind.
Or if you sow to the wind, excuse me, you're going to reap the whirlwind.
You know, you think you're just going to go out and live some ungodly life as a Christian?
Guess what?
You're going to reap the whirlwind.
And you guys know what whirlwinds are like right here, right?
So it's a really real concept to you here.
But if you sow to the spirit, if you sow in the spirit, you're going to reap spiritual
benefits from that.
And when you go out and get somebody saved, that's an everlasting benefit that you're
going to get because you're going to get everlasting rewards for those things.
It says, "Let us not be weary in well-doing.
For in due season, we shall reap if we faint not."
Asaph was looking at the lives of unsaved people that are just prospering, the prosperity
of the wicked, and he was just envying that prosperity.
But then when he went to the house of God and he saw and thought about the things, they're
going to hell.
But we have greatness in the kingdom of God and in this life, and in the life to come
too.
We've got trials here in this life.
Things are harder for us than it would be for these unsaved people that are just prospering
or whatever.
It seems like they're prospering, but we are actually prospering.
And that's why it's saying, "Let us not be weary in well-doing, for in due season we
shall reap if we faint not."
Don't faint away from the Christian life.
Don't faint in the field when we're trying to get the harvest done.
We're going to reap.
We're going to get everlasting benefits that we can't even imagine right now.
As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who
are of the household of faith.
So we have our own burden to bear though.
So we can't just count on missionaries for our salvations that we get.
We obviously have to go do the work ourselves too.
Look at Romans 14.10, Romans 14.10.
Now in the case of judging other people, this is another thing that people like to do, sit
back and judge other Christians.
And did you get that person saved?
Is that yourself?
I mean, obviously we are supposed to judge, but this is not talking about, obviously there's
things we should judge in, things we should judge, people we should judge, but this is
a different situation.
Look at what verse 10.
It says, "But why dost thou judge thy brothers," talking about in the things that they eat,
the holidays they celebrate, and things like, this is what the context is, "or why dost
thou sit at not thy brother, for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ?"
And that's an individual thing.
You're not getting judged in the whole, you're getting judged yourself.
It is written, "as I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue
shall confess to God, so then every one of us shall give account of himself to God."
Of himself.
We're responsible for ourselves.
So you can't say, "well so and so, he got me to stop going so and so."
No, you got yourself to stop going so and so.
You got yourself to get out of church.
You listened to some moron on the internet railing and decided to stop going to a good
church.
And you're going to give an account to God for why you did that.
So it says, "So then every one of us shall give account to himself of God.
Let us not therefore judge one another anymore, but judge this rather, that no man put a stumbling
block or an occasion to fall in his brother's way."
See, we can't make them fall.
See, it says stumble.
So when you stumble, you're not necessarily falling.
They fall, but we can put stumbling blocks in people's way to make them trip by living
an ungodly life and people seeing that, and you're like, "Hey, that person's not going
to church.
Well, maybe I could skip Sunday night, too.
Maybe I should skip Wednesday night, too.
Hey, we're not punishing this life."
You listen to idiots on the internet saying that kind of stuff, and you're just subverted
by that.
You're like, "That's all the excuse I need.
This pastor over here is saying it's okay to drink alcohol.
Well, maybe it is okay as long as I don't get drunk."
And then you're drunk.
If you're already a drunk before and you listen to that kind of preaching, you're an idiot.
That person caused you to stumble, but you're the one that fell.
You are responsible for your own actions.
They might have made you stumble, but they fell.
You fell.
So in other words, for us, the application is, don't cause someone to stumble, but ultimately
it is the person's decision to fall.
Look at 2 Corinthians 5.
2 Corinthians 5.
One thing you can't say about the New IP is that we don't go through a lot of scripture.
2 Corinthians 5.9, "Wherefore, we labor, that whether present or absent, we may be accepted
of Him.
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that every one may receive
the things done in his body, according that he hath done, whether it be good or bad."
Sounds like the individual, right?
You're individually responsible for the things that you do, not anybody else, you, right?
Sounds like kind of what God's saying in Ezekiel chapter 18, right?
Philippians 2-12, Philippians 2-12, and I'm not saying that God's like going to throw
you in hell for a thousand years or you're going to lose your salvation or something
weird like that.
I'm just saying that you might lose rewards, and I'm not saying you're going to lose your
eternal security, okay?
So that's not what the judgment seat of Christ is, okay?
But you can, the opportunities that you had to gain rewards, that's what you lose.
I don't think that you can lose an eternal reward of getting somebody's save or something.
Anyway, that's just my personal opinion on that subject.
So if anything I say in here, if Pastor Oz disagrees with me, just go with what your
pastor says.
All right, so 2 Corinthians 5, or let's see, Philippians 2, 12, it says, "Wherefore, my
beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in
my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling."
Heretics will say, "See, you've got to work for your salvation."
That's not what it's saying.
Work out, like, exercise your own salvation, your own faith, with fear and trembling.
But see, your own, we're supposed to exercise our faith.
We're supposed to, you know, work in our faith, right?
For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure.
So we're supposed to do things for God, is what it's saying.
But see how it says, "Work out your own salvation."
See, nobody else is responsible for what you do.
You do your own work.
Matthew 12.31, Matthew 12.31, and we'll move on to the final point after that.
Matthew 12.31, the Bible says, I want you to get a second to get there, Matthew 12.31,
"Wherefore I say unto you," and he's just getting done ripping the Pharisees, he's
going to continue to rip on them.
But they're blasting the Holy Ghost and they're asking him to do magic tricks, "Show us another
miracle Jesus," like they haven't showed him enough or he hasn't showed them enough, "Wherefore
I say unto you, all manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men, but the blasphemy
against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men.
And whosoever speaketh the word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him.
But whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this
world, neither in the world to come.
Either make the tree good and his fruit good, or else make the tree corrupt and his fruit
corrupt, for the tree is known by his fruit.
O generation of vipers, how can ye being evil speak good things?
For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.
A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth good things, and an evil
man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things.
But I say unto you that every idle word that men shall speak they shall give an account
thereof in the day of judgment.
Now we're not going to be judged at the Great White Throne judgment, but everybody that
is, they're going to give an account for every idle word that they've said.
Every speech, every hard speech they've said against God.
And when they blaspheme the Holy Ghost, that's going to be brought to their attention.
Did they have a choice to do that?
They absolutely did have a choice.
They didn't have to say that.
They made the choice to blaspheme the Holy Ghost and lose their ability to get saved.
And so, what's it say though?
By thy words, thou shalt be justified, and by thy words, thou shalt be condemned.
We had a choice to get saved.
You're saved in this room today.
You had a choice.
I remember the choice was presented to me.
Hey, you want to trust Christ as your savior?
I specifically remember thinking, you know, I'm in a public street, I'm on a sidewalk
right now, and I know that people are going to look at me and think I'm weird.
I remember thinking that for just like a split second and I just, let's do this.
Didn't care.
Because when you want to get saved, and that's the thing, like when you're out soul-winding,
you know, people, they might shut the door and then come out, because you know they want
to get saved.
But some people are like, oh no, you know.
That usually happens like in the first five minutes of a conversation though.
But if someone wants to get saved, they'll just come out and close the door behind them.
They'll kick the dog back in or whatever.
You know, but if they don't, those are, I'm sorry, I'm a dog.
You know, they'll just close the door.
You know what I'm talking about?
You can just tell the difference.
Because some, I mean, dogs do hinder the gospel a lot.
But someone that really wants to get saved and they have a dog, they're like, shut up.
You know, kick that dog back in.
Let me go put my dogs up, you know.
But it says, for by thy words thou shalt be justified and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.
They had the choice.
They shouldn't, these Pharisees should not have said that.
And you're responsible for your words.
Whether they condemn you to eternal damnation or justify you to eternal life, it is your
choice and in the words of Joe Biden, you did that.
Remember those little stickers they put on the gas things, "I did that" or whatever?
Yeah, you did that though.
You blasphemed the Holy Ghost.
You made that choice and we made the choice to get saved.
So the third and final point, there is hope for the repentant and a scourge for the backslider.
Look at verse 21 back in our text.
It says, in verse 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.
See, there's a chance that you can turn it around.
He doesn't want to kill people, he doesn't want to put people in hell, he doesn't want
to destroy, save people.
He does try to bring us back.
I mean, you think about the prodigal son, you know, the prodigal son came to himself
and he's like, "Wait a second, my father, you know, even his lowliest servant has it
better than I got and he's eating the husks of corn and, you know, he's eating with pigs,
you know, he's literally eating with pigs and he goes back and so he gets treated right."
But it says, "He shall surely live, he shall not die.
All his transgressions that he hath committed, they shall not be mentioned undone, just like
our sins will not be mentioned to us again.
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?
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.
So now if a person's saved and at the end of their life they just turn away from Christianity
as far as like, I'm not saying that they're not saved, I'm saying that they stop going
to church, they stop serving the Lord, they faint, and they just like get out of church,
they leave, you know, they stop serving God, then the sin that they're in, all the good
stuff that they did is kind of like, you know, well, that's cool but look at you now, Solomon's
a perfect example of that, God blessed Solomon tremendously, and in the end he died a bitter
old man with a bunch of whores, well not whores, I mean they were his wives, but they turned,
they're strange wives, they turned his heart away from God, the most important thing in
his whole life, but what ended up happening, you know, the kingdom was split because of
him, all these idols stood for 400 years as he walked into that area, you could still
see all the abominations that he built for his stupid wives, so what's God saying?
Well, you can start out good and end up bad, and you're going to get punished and destroyed,
or you can start off, or you can be bad and turn it around and God will allow you to live.
So yet you say, "The way of the Lord is not equal." Here now, O house of Israel, is not
my way equal or not your ways unequal? See, we have it all backwards. God has it right.
He's not a respecter of persons. What you do is what you're going to get, and if you
do that which is right, he's going to bless you for it. If you do that which is evil,
he's going to punish you for it. It doesn't matter what titles are before your name. It
doesn't matter what DDs and all that are after your name, you are going to get the same thing
that everybody else gets according to how you are and what you're doing and whether
you're saved or unsaved. So it says, "When a righteous man turns away from his righteousness
and committeth iniquity and dieth in them, for his iniquity that he hath done, shall
he die." So he's not just going to overlook what he did, he's going to punish him. Again,
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 that, all his, excuse me, away from all his transgressions, that he hath committed,
he shall surely live, he shall not die. That's it, 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. See,
you know, they want special treatment. They want it to be one way, and this is the way
God's people are today too. They want it to be however they want it to be, but God's ways are
always equal. And if what you believe is contradicting what the Bible says, then you need to get on God's
program and quit clashing against him, quit beating your head against the wall, and just say,
"Hey God, you're right, I'm wrong," and just believe what the Bible says. Therefore I will
judge you, O house of Israel. Everyone, according to his ways, saith the Lord God, "Repent and
turn yourselves from all your transgressions, so iniquity shall not be your ruin." I mean
you're basically, he's saying there's two choices here. Keep doing right, you're gonna
be good, but if you're righteous and you turn away from that righteousness, we're gonna
have a problem, but the opposite is true. Even if someone is backslidden as a Christian,
who comes back to it, then God's gonna bless you again, and God gives second chances and
third chances, and I mean, God, as long as you're alive on this earth, you can still
serve God and still repent and get right with him. And unsaved people, as long as they're
not reprobates, they can get saved. They can change. As long as they trust in Christ, they're
saved. So it says cast away from you all your transgressions whereby you 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. Now again, people will
say, "See, this proves that the reprobate can get saved." No, they can't. Reprobates
are different. This is not talking about reprobates. Because he wouldn't say make you a new heart
and a new spirit, they can't get saved. That's a different subject for a different time.
So a lot of drama has been caused over the last year over these differences in opinion
over whose fault it is, over children going astray and all this other stuff. But there's
a fundamental difference on how people interpret some verses in the Bible. Proverbs 22 verse
6. Go ahead and turn there. And this is really, I think, the crux of the problem here. Sometimes
people just take a verse that's generally true and act like it's an absolute promise
no matter what. And it's almost like it turns into Calvinism. It says, "Train up your child
in the way he shall go, and when he's old he will not depart from it." And people take
this and they're like, "It's a promise no matter what." Okay? Now, I used to actually
believe that it was a promise no matter what, but the problem is when you get that and then
some kid does go astray, you're like, "Well, I must have done something wrong." And that
mentality is that no matter what, you did something wrong. You had to have done something
wrong. And that's one side of the mentality. And there are people that believe that, that
if somebody's kid goes wrong, they did something. That's why the question gets asked, "What
did you do?" But you don't see that in Scripture where they say, "What did you do?" They just
side with the parents, it seems like, right? I'm not saying parents can't do wrong and
don't do wrong and don't have some kind of contribution as to why some things happen.
I'm not saying that every parent is just right every time, because obviously there are some
horrific parents out there, but you can also overcome that according to what Ezekiel chapter
18 said too. So you don't have to turn out bad just because your parent was bad. So now
there's also, so there's those that believe that that scripture is generally true. A lot
of times, yes, they will turn out good. And yes, training your children does work. And
part of that is discipline. Part of that is love. Yes, you can't just discipline a child
that never loved them. I agree with that. And you shouldn't provoke your children to
wrath. And you should nurture and bring them up in the admonition of the Lord. I agree
with that, too. But when you have these two differences, that one's an absolute promise
no matter what, and if one of your kids turns, or if your kids turn out wrong, it's absolutely
that person's fault no matter what, what did you do? And then there's the, hey, it's generally
true. Sometimes kids do turn out bad, though. And it's because they have free will. And
not all kids are going to choose to serve God. Okay? And whether they're saved or unsaved,
they can still just either choose to be saved and serve God all their lives, or they could
be saved and be wicked, or they could be saved and, you know, kind of just go to church and
whatever, but they're not going to just serve God with all their heart, mind, and soul.
But what I've also seen is like a cognitive dissonance. I see and hear people have this
verse and they believe that it's a general principle, but then they believe at the same
time that it's a promise. It's like that's two conflicting ideas. Like they'll be like,
"I believe it's a general principle, that it's mostly true, but then in the case of
Pastor Anderson, it's a promise. It had to be a promise. You had to have done something
wrong." It's just like, you can't believe both things at the same time. You have to
believe one or you have to believe the other, okay? But according to Ezekiel chapter 18,
you can't, in all the verses I've just shown you, you can't, I mean, in my opinion, you
can't believe that it's a promise. And look, all the Bible characters, people that actually
existed that had children, they've had children that went astray. I'm going to show you an
example and I think Jacob's kids are a really good example. Go ahead and turn to Genesis
chapter 50. But what is cognitive dissonance? Cognitive dissonance is the mental discomfort
experienced when a person holds two conflicting beliefs or when the beliefs are contradicted
by their actions. To relieve this tension, individuals may change their beliefs or behaviors
to rationalize the contradiction or seek out new information to justify their inconsistency.
And like I've had several people when talking to me about this issue because I've had this
issue brought to me lots of times and they'll say, "I believe it's a general principle,"
but then they'll say, "Yeah, but he has to be wicked because look at his kids."
And I'll bring this contradiction up to them and it just goes right over their head.
Just pick a side.
You've got to pick one or the other.
I believe that the first commandment of the promise is that you honor your father or mother,
but I also believe that Jesus didn't whip out half of his days and he was the most honorable
son that you could possibly ever have.
Did he live a long life?
Obviously, it can still be a promise with Jesus being the exception to the rule.
But there's other scriptures where things are generally true, a wicked man or a bloody
and deceitful man should not live out half their days.
Why is George Soros still alive?
Please explain to me why the emperor is still alive or Bill Gates.
There's false prophets that have a lot of blood on their hands.
Billy Graham, how did he live to be 99?
I mean, there's exceptions to the rules.
That's all.
So again, people will say, "I believe it's generally true when it comes to PSA, he did
something wrong because his kids are bad."
It's just weird.
So Jacob's kids, the human trafficked their prophet brother, Joseph, who later sold the
whole nation of Egypt into bondage during the seven-year famine.
You guys remember that?
And why did the whole nation of Israel go into bondage for four hundred years?
Because you reap what you sow.
Now I'm not saying Joseph was a bad guy, but I mean he did sell the whole nation into bondage
to Pharaoh.
All their land, all their cattle, everything for that seven years of famine, right?
I mean it probably wasn't a great thing to do.
It was basically like they had their own properties, they had their own lands, and after that it
all belonged to Pharaoh.
Not great.
But, and you think of someone that got human trafficked, he would not, I'm not saying he
human trafficked them, but he did sell them into bondage.
So Judah came up with the idea to sell Joseph instead of murder him, which was originally
what they were going to do, they were all going to murder him, because they hated him,
right?
And what did he do?
They sold him for 20 pieces of silver, which was the price of an 18 year old servant or
slave, right?
So he pictured Judas Iscariot, what's his name?
Judah, put the S on the end, it's Judas, it's the same name, okay?
So he pictures Judas Iscariot by selling him for 20 pieces of silver, you know, and then
he has two sons that are so wicked that God killed them.
He went to his former, which should have been other daughter-in-law, who he thought was
a harlot, got her pregnant, was going to have her burned until she produced proof that the
twins in her belly belonged to him.
I mean, not the greatest guy in the world, right?
Reuben lie with Jacob's wife or concubine, gross, and Simeon and Levi slaughtered a city
and enslaved their women and children and plundered all their wealth for fornicating
with their sister.
First, they circumcise them all, which is kind of gross, too.
But anyway, Dinah, speaking of her sister, Dinah played the whore in her father's house
and lie with Shechem, who did want to make things right, but her brothers murdered him
and his whole family.
So not great.
The rest of the sons, the Bible says that Joseph raised up an evil report on them, and
that's why they all hated Joseph, because they were wicked and he dreamed a dream that
they would all bow before him one day.
And so they hated Joseph because their deeds were evil and his were good.
Of course, Joseph pictures the Lord Jesus Christ.
They did sell him into slavery, 20 pieces of silver.
They killed a goat.
They dipped his coat of many colors into goat's blood, brought it back to their father.
They knew that they sold him.
They watched their father's heart break.
They never told him the truth.
All those years, they knew that he wasn't really dead.
And then all the stuff happens.
They come because of the famine.
Jacob actually saved the whole world, basically, because the famine in the world was so bad
that all the nations of the world came to them for grain.
And then the sons of Jacob came.
Then he does that plan with Benjamin, you know the story, I think.
But then, at that point, you kind of see the boys have grown up and they're a little more
mature.
They're not being scumbags anymore.
They actually care that their father's heart was broken now, it seems like, but they probably
just didn't want to tell him the story after all these years.
They probably think he's dead by now.
And they don't want to give Benjamin over.
And then I think he captures one of them, I think, is it Reuben that he, or Simeon or
one of them?
Anyway, I can't remember which one, but he captures one, keeps them hostage until they
bring back Benjamin.
They bring back Benjamin, he captures Benjamin.
And then, you know, Judas says, if I don't bring him back, then, you know, this will
be on me forever.
Which basically, he kind of changes modes from being Judas to Jesus.
You know, because Jesus, everything on him forever.
And that's kind of, you know, it's kind of my take on it.
But now we're in Genesis chapter 50.
Jacob has died.
They all got lands in Goshen and whatever.
So keeping in mind to train up a child the way he should go when he's old, he won't
depart from it.
Look at verse 15.
It says, "When Joseph's brethren saw that their father was dead, they said, 'Joseph
will perventure hate us and will certainly requite us all the evil that we did unto him.'"
So they're worried.
You know, they think that maybe Joseph is going to get some revenge now.
"And they sent a messenger unto Joseph, saying, 'Thy father did command before he died, saying,
So shall they say unto Joseph, 'Forgive, I pray thee now, the trespass of thy brethren
and their sin.'"
So, I mean, they are lying to him and saying that the father said, but listen to what they
say though.
Because I think that this is their confession.
I think that they actually do mean this.
"Forgive, I pray thee now, the trespass of thy brethren and their sin, for they did unto
the evil.
And now we pray thee, forgive the trespass of the servants of the God of thy father,
and Joseph wept when they spake unto him."
So notice how they said, "the servants of the God of thy father."
I think that they are all saved.
That's what I believe.
I mean, would God call them the children of Israel and base his nation off of 12 unsaved
people?
The children of Israel would be 12 unsaved people?
I don't think so.
And it says, "And his brethren also went and fell down before his face, and they said,
'Behold, we be thy servants.'"
So the dream comes true from all those years ago.
That was the dream.
They would all come down and bow down before him.
And Joseph said unto them, "Fear not, for am I in the place of God.
But as for you, you thought evil against me, but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass,
as it is this day, to save much people alive.
Now therefore, fear you not, I will nourish you and your little ones."
And he comforted them and spake kindly unto them.
So Joseph, you know, he obviously pictures Christ here, what does Jesus always say?
Fear not.
And comforting them, spake kindly unto them.
And so here comes full circle, they're a bad bunch of kids, aren't they?
But in the end, they seemed like they turned out pretty good, didn't they?
When they were old, you know, train up a child the way he should go, when he's old he won't
depart from it.
I mean, I believe that they were saved, maybe not when all that happened, but at some point
I think that they got saved, or maybe they were saved when all that happened.
But regardless, I do believe that they were saved.
I do believe that this is them, even though they're lying to them right now, they probably
just felt like they needed to.
I mean, the guy is super powerful or whatever.
Again, you know, they're sinners.
So but in the end, I feel like, you know, the redemption happens, they all move on as
the patriarchs and do well.
I mean, does the verse kind of come true here?
When they're old?
Yeah.
So when they're old, they sought forgiveness, they felt bad for what they did.
So even before that, in the dealings with Benjamin, like I said, Judas said that he
would take the blame forever.
So anyway, what is the it when it says when they're old, they won't depart from it?
It's the way, right?
So you know, quit passing the buck.
We've got to quit doing that.
We've got to quit allowing people to do it and you know, it's it's probably always been
an epidemic.
It was an epidemic in Ezekiel's time.
And it's an epidemic now where everybody needs if a quarter of the people in this country
are seeking some kind of counseling, I think that it's being pushed in schools.
I think it's and it's crept into it's crept into Christian circles.
I'm telling you, they're probably not getting counsel at Christian churches from an independent
fundamental Baptist because the first counseling session would be, "Quit blaming everybody for
your problems.
Take accountability for what you do.
Take responsibility for your actions.
Allow people to take responsibility for theirs.
Quit assuming things when you don't know what you're talking about.
You act like you live at somebody else's house or something.
God is the God of justice, why don't you just let him serve it?
And if you do what's right or if you don't want to do what's right, if you want to do
what's right, why don't you just start agreeing with God and quit pussyfooting around and
holding between two opinions.
What's right is right and God establishes what is right and what is wrong.
And He's the one that says what's what.
So not your guidance counselor, not your mommy and daddy, not your favorite podcaster, not
your favorite former New Ify pastor, wash out.
God decides.
Let's pray.
Lord, thank you so much for your word, Lord, and how crystal clear it is.
Lord, I pray that you just help us in this generation to take accountability for our
own actions, and to not blame other people for the things that we do, and Lord, to not
just assume that it's something that somebody's fault when we don't know the truth of the
matter, and Lord, to quit blaming parents for everything that their children do, and
Lord, that people would put accountability where it belongs on the person that's actually
committing the sin and the problems, and not to pass the buck, Lord.
We thank you, Lord, for this great church here.
We pray that you continue to grow it, and that many more people would be saved for its
establishment.
We pray that you bless Pastor Oz and his family.
In Jesus' name we pray, Amen.
At this time, we'll turn to our last hymn for the morning, number 44, in your hymnal.
Hymn number 44 in your hymnal's 4/4 will work till Jesus comes.
Hymn number 44, there on the 1st.