“What Do I Do If I Come From A Messed Up Family?”
Ezekiel 18
Sermon Series: “Modern Family”
Introduction: Every family is dysfunctional to some degree because we are all sinners. Obviously, some people come from happy families and other people come from seriously messed up families. A messed up family can even be a religious, legalistic, hypocritical family. If we come from a messed up family, does that mean we are doomed and there is no hope for our future? No way! Main Idea: By the grace of God, our past does not have to determine our future.
How can we overcome our past and live the life God wants us to live? 1. Stop playing the blame game (v. 1-4). The first step in taking responsibility for our lives is simply looking in the mirror and acknowledging our guilt instead of blaming others. The problem of playing the “blame game” is not a modern problem. It was also a problem for the children of Israel during the prophet Ezekiel’s day. They expressed it in the proverb that is quoted in verse 2. By using this proverb, they were saying that their forefathers had sinned, but they were bearing the guilt and suffering for those sins. However, in verse 3, God told them not to use this proverb anymore, and He is telling us today to stop making the same kinds of excuses. In reality, this proverb was a misinterpretation of Exodus 20:5. The Bible does teach that there are consequences to our actions that affect others (including our children), but it teaches that we must answer for ourselves alone and that we alone bear the guilt personally for our own sins. God doesn’t pass guilt down to succeeding generations. We still tend to make excuses even though God tells us not to. What are some things that we blame our actions on? I think they include: circumstances, genetics, chance, physiological disorders, parents/ family, background/environment, the devil, and even God.
2. Take personal responsibility for our own sinful behavior (v. 4-20). Verse 20 summarizes the principle by saying, “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.” We must answer for ourselves and no one else. The biblical principle is twofold: (1) In an earthly sense, the principle is that we reap what we sow. (2) In an eternal sense, the principle is that we must stand before God to give an account for our lives. Our only hope then is Jesus Christ because “all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23), and the “wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). This passage gives three illustrations of this principle: a righteous man who does what is right (v. 5-9), a wicked son who has a righteous father (v. 10-13), and a righteous son who has a wicked father (v. 14-20). This means:
A. We can’t really get away with anything. B. We only have to answer for ourselves and not for anyone else including our parents or our children. C. To a great extent, we determine our own character and destiny by the choices we make. D. We ultimately answer to God. E. We can break the cycle and overcome our past through the grace and power of Jesus. Some of you need to let go of the past and forgive those who have hurt you.
3. Repent of our sin and let God make us new (v. 21-32). These principles flow into one another. We stop making excuses, take personal responsibility, and repent. Repent means to turn. It is a change of mind that leads to a change of heart that leads to a change of action. It is turning from our sinful ways and turning our lives over to God through Jesus Christ. Verse 31 tells us that God will give us a new heart and a new spirit. It reminds me of what Jesus told Nicodemus about being born again. Verse 32 concludes the passage with an invitation from God to turn and live.
