When you depart this earthly life, will it matter, concerning your eternal destiny, whether…
…your mother or father were righteous or wicked? No. Your eternal destiny will depend upon the deeds you’ve done in your body. “The soul who sins shall die. The son shall not bear the guilt of the father, nor the father bear the guilt of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself” (Ezekiel 18:20).
…at one time in the past you lived righteously? No. Your eternal destiny will depend upon whether you are righteous when you die. “But when a righteous man turns away from his righteousness and commits iniquity, and does according to all the abominations that the wicked man does, shall he live? All the righteousness which he has done shall not be remembered; because of the unfaithfulness of which he is guilty and the sin which he has committed, because of them he shall die” (Ezekiel 18:24).
…at one time in the past you lived wickedly? No. Your eternal destiny will depend upon whether you are righteous when you die. “But if a wicked man turns from all his sins which he has committed, keeps all My statutes, and does what is lawful and right, he shall surely live; he shall not die. None of the transgressions which he has committed shall be remembered against him; because of the righteousness which he has done, he shall live” (Ezekiel 18:21-22).
…you lay the blame upon someone else for your wickedness? No. You have personal responsibility and accountability for yourself. “The word of the Lord came to me again, saying, ‘What do you mean when you 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,’ says the Lord God, ‘you shall no longer use this proverb in Israel. Behold, all souls are Mine; the soul of the father as well as the soul of the son is Mine; the soul who sins shall die’” (Ezekiel 18:1-4).
Ezekiel 18 answers many questions about personal accountability before God. If you are not right with God, you can blame neither God nor others.
Knowing that “it is appointed for men to die once but after that the judgment” (Hebrews 9:27), and knowing that “you do not know what a day may bring forth” (Proverbs 27:1), where do you stand before the Lord today? “Behold now is the day of salvation” (2 Corinthians 6:2).
–Larry Jones