Sermon Tone Analysis

*On Taking Personal Responsibility*

*Topical                 November 7, 2004*

 

*Scripture:*

 

 “The word of the LORD came to me: "What do you people mean by quoting this proverb about the land of Israel: "‘The fathers eat sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge’?

"As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign LORD, you will no longer quote this proverb in Israel.

For every living soul belongs to me, the father as well as the son— both alike belong to me.

The soul who sins is the one who will die.

"Suppose there is a righteous man who does what is just and right.

/He does not eat at the mountain shrines or look to the idols of the house of Israel.

He does not defile his neighbor’s wife or lie with a woman during her period.

He does not oppress anyone, but returns what he took in pledge for a loan.

He does not commit robbery but gives his food to the hungry and provides clothing for the naked.

He does not lend at usury or take excessive interest.

He withholds his hand from doing wrong and judges fairly between man and man./

He follows my decrees and faithfully keeps my laws.

That man is righteous; he will surely live, declares the Sovereign LORD.

"Suppose he has a violent son, who sheds blood or does any of these other things (though the father has done none of them): /"He eats at the mountain shrines.

He defiles his neighbor’s wife.

He oppresses the poor and needy.

He commits robbery.

He does not return what he took in pledge.

He looks to the idols.

He does detestable things.

He lends at usury and takes excessive interest./

Will such a man live?

He will not!

Because he has done all these detestable things, he will surely be put to death and his blood will be on his own head.

"But suppose this son has a son who sees all the sins his father commits, and though he sees them, he does not do such things: /"He does not eat at the mountain shrines or look to the idols of the house of Israel.

He does not defile his neighbor’s wife.

He does not oppress anyone or require a pledge for a loan.

He does not commit robbery but gives his food to the hungry and provides clothing for the naked.

He withholds his hand from sin and takes no usury or excessive interest.

/He keeps my laws and follows my decrees.

He will not die for his father’s sin; he will surely live.

But his father will die for his own sin, /because he practiced extortion, robbed his brother and did what was wrong among his people./

"Yet you ask, ‘Why does the son not share the guilt of his father?’

Since the son has done what is just and right and has been careful to keep all my decrees, he will surely live.

The soul who sins is the one who will die.

The son will not share the guilt of the father, nor will the father share the guilt of the son.

The righteousness of the righteous man will be credited to him, and the wickedness of the wicked will be charged against him.

"But if a wicked man turns away from all the sins he has committed and keeps all my decrees and does what is just and right, he will surely live; he will not die.

None of the offenses he has committed will be remembered against him.

Because of the righteous things he has done, he will live.

Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked?

declares the Sovereign LORD.

Rather, am I not pleased when they turn from their ways and live?

"But if a righteous man turns from his righteousness and commits sin and does the same detestable things the wicked man does, will he live?

None of the righteous things he has done will be remembered.

Because of the unfaithfulness he is guilty of and because of the sins he has committed, he will die.

"Yet you say, ‘The way of the Lord is not just.’

Hear, O house of Israel: Is my way unjust?

Is it not your ways that are unjust?

If a righteous man turns from his righteousness and commits sin, he will die for it; because of the sin he has committed he will die.

But if a wicked man turns away from the wickedness he has committed and does what is just and right, he will save his life.

Because he considers all the offenses he has committed and turns away from them, he will surely live; he will not die.

/Yet the house of Israel says, ‘The way of the Lord is not just.’

Are my ways unjust, O house of Israel?

Is it not your ways that are unjust?

"Therefore, O house of Israel, /I will judge you, each one according to his ways, declares the Sovereign LORD.

Repent!

Turn away from all your offenses; then sin will not be your downfall.

Rid yourselves of all the offenses you have committed, and get a new heart and a new spirit.

Why will you die, O house of Israel?

For I take no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Sovereign LORD.

Repent and live!” (Eze 18:1-32 NivUS)

 

What kind of a God would allow you to be born into a world with an inherited load of sin that you are then personally responsible for?

Answer: A God who desires to give you a life characterized by overcoming victory.

We have a personal Savior.

We also have a personal enemy.

The difference is that our personal Savior is self-sufficient and our personal enemy is not.

It is here that the subject of demons must be addressed.

He has a host of demons at his disposal with the names of every imaginable evil, a multiplicity of evil that we cannot truly understand or sort out, but there is singularly matchless power in the Name or our Savior over them.

We have a personal responsibility to employ the Name of our personal Savior against these personal demons.

They are not some figment of imagination.

“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.

Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.”

(Eph 6:10-13 NivUS)

 

By the way, I am reminded here of our recent political process in which many accusations were made – against our President, for instance – but without any better plan being put forward as a solution.

The majority of voters in this election responded overwhelmingly to a known plan for our nation’s future.

Our God has made known a plan of salvation through the righteous death sacrifice of his only Son, Jesus, for the forgiveness of sin by faith in him.

By this faith we obtain his righteousness.

This is proclaimed often in Scripture.

Have you ever read in Scripture about any plan that Satan has put forward for salvation?

No, all he knows how to do is accuse God in our minds as being unloving, vengeful, unforgiving, vindictive, uncaring, accusing and selfish – the very qualities of Satan himself that he deceptively tries to pawn off on God.

Satan does not have a plan of salvation.

By default I guess we could say that his plan is that we can all become gods ourselves – again the very sin that Satan himself commits in trying to preempt God.

By definition, if we could all become gods, then there is no God at all.

We would all fall into a deathly crippling competition with no direction – because there would be no God for us.

We would just all be for ourselves.

Trying to be our own god is just what keeps so many of us in defeat.

ILLUS: I recently talked with a young man who was facing the loss of his job, family, housing and freedom due to his ongoing struggle with the so-called demons of addiction in his life.

He said that he thought that knowing Jesus was enough, but now he knows (after several failures) that he must also obey the commandments.

Translation?: “I now know that I must also take personal responsibility for the victory of faith in my life.

I cannot say that I take the Name of Jesus for my protection and then live as if I am my own god.”

We fall right into Satan’s hands.

How does this fit with the teachings of Jesus?

We see in the numerous confrontations with demons that Jesus had throughout the NT that he has absolute power over them.

Many times he cast them out.