Sunday School Lessons on Responsibility

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Sunday School Lessons on Responsibility

Introduction

A. Always an Alibi

He was a very pleasant teenager. You couldcount on him to assist the elderly, to carry babiesor diaper bags for young parents, or to do thoseextra tasks for teachers in the classrooms. His de-sire to please others and to be recognized by themdid have one negative dimension: he sometimesfollowed troublemakers in their devious schemes

in an attempt to please. When confronted withhis wrong decisions, however, he always used thesame alibi to explain his latest misdeed.

With tears—perhaps genuine tears—he wouldtell his story, and those who were in places ofauthority were ready to forgive him. His tale ofsuffering included the facts that his father hadbeen killed in an accident when he was young,and he often had lived with his grandparents.This generation gap was just too big, and his lifehad been filled with woe. His grandparents justdid not understand. They wanted to go to bedearly, and he wanted to stay up late. They aroseearly in the morning, and he wanted to sleepuntil noon.

One day, however, he met a counselor who re-sponded in a different way. After listening pa-tiently, the counselor told the young man that ifhe was intelligent enough to blame his grandpar-ents, then he was intelligent enough to accept theconsequences for his actions. If he was not re-sponsible for what he did, then there were insti-tutions in the state where such people were sent.This congenial young man had just encoun-tered the doctrine of individual responsibility.He was learning that each person is responsiblefor what he or she does. As it says in Romans14:12: "So then every one of us shall give ac.-count of himself to God." It is a lesson the an-cient Judeans had to learn as well.

B. Prophets in the Context of Exile

Daniel, Jeremiah, arid Ezekiel—each prophethad a definite place in God's plan for the peopleof Judah during the final days and exile of thatnation. Daniel's place of service was to the kingsof Babylon, especially to King Nebuchadnezzar.Jeremiah's primary ministry was to the peoplein Judah and Jerusalem before the main exilebegan. In that role he offered hope in affirmingthat the Lord would bring His people back fromBabylon after 70 years were completed (Jeremiah29:10). That period is usually determined in oneof two ways: it was approximately 70 years fromthe time that the first captives were taken (605ec) until the time of the first return (538 BC), itwas also about 70 years from the destruction ofthe temple (586 ec.) to the dedication of the newtemple some 20 years after the first wave of peo-ple returned front captivity (515 BC, Ezra 6:15).Those in exile were given the prophet Ezekielas a fellow captive. The exiles had attitudes thathad to be corrected, and Ezekiel was the man todo it. We are fairly certain that Ezekiel wasamong the 10,000 captives taken from Judah andJerusalem in 597 BC (2 Kings 24:14).

C. Lesson Background

Like Jeremiah, Ezekiel was a priest (Jeremiah1:1; Ezekiel 1:3). The first verse of Ezekiel's bookis usually interpreted to mean that Ezekiel was30 years old when he received a special revela-tion of God's glory. It was mid-summer of 593 BC,and Ezekiel had been a captive for about 4 years.Working the year 593 Bc back to 605 or meansthat Ezekiel was about 18 when he saw Danieland his friends taken away by Nebuchadnezzar'sarmy. Eight years later, Ezekiel himself was com-pelled to leave his home and his native land.In his formative years, Ezekiel must havelooked forward to reaching the age of 30. That'swhen he would qualify to function fully as oneof the priests; the service of all priests andLevites began at that age (Numbers 4). The Lordhad a ministry for Ezekiel starting at age 30, butit was not the one Ezekiel had anticipated. Hewas to be God's prophet in Babylonia, not apriest in Jerusalem.

One survey indicates that massy people wouldnot like to live next door to a conservative Chris-tian. Ezekiel's neighbors may have tlsotsght aboutmoving, for some of his actions were certainlystrange. He spoke only when he had a messagefrom God (Ezekiel 3:26, 27). The rest of the timehe was silent and unable to give expression tothe rebukes of his heart.

Ezekiel's strange actions and object-lesson ser-mons most have beers the talk of the exilic com-munity, and that is what God intended. Here aresome exempt.. After Ezekiel's initial call, heplayed "toy soldier" with a tile or brick (Ezekiel4:1, 2). He sketched ass outline of the city of Jeru-salem, and Ire portrayed the implements used ina siege against the city—that was not what theexiles wanted to happen to their beloved city!This was combined wills his lying on one side orthe other for over 14 months, and his occasionalpreaching against Jerusalem (Ezekiel 4:7).During most of this time, Ezekiel's daily dietreflected the conditions of a city under siege:about eight ounces of bread from several grains(indicating the scarcity of food) and approxi-mately two-thirds of a quart of water. These hap-pened at the beginning of Iris prophetic ministry.

I. God's Principles(Ezekiel 18:4, 20)

The lesson this week focuses on one aspect ofEzekiel's ministry: an attitude adjustment. It is amessage that he gives after he completes a seriesof bizarre actions and before the next dated mes-sage of 591 BC (Ezekiel 20:1).

Ezekiel 18:1-3 indicates that God wit sat ac-cept this alibi.

A word of caution must a.4.c rx 4vitunried_While it is true that a person news masar sows(Galatians 6:7), this must not lend as a 7s2ctai"retribution theology- that saes that everytragedy in life is a direct. cause-amclieihm. ;w-hack for sin. The book of Job C-5.m a minim. mapplying the retribution comet:, Inromemiltx 'Setalso Luke 13:1-5.

A. Absolute #1: God Is Sovereign ft_ da‘4a. Behold, all souls are mime as tut and ofthe father, so also the soul of tat MB A MA.The first absolute is that rum's .-asetsim annoyto God. This is snore than ownership it at in es-pression of the sovereignty of Goal Ida tress insright and the power to work sigh Ina matamaand individuals to accomplish FEts stn:-revs,ISee que,tion #1, page 430 '

A SENSE OF BILL COSBY

In a sitcom dialogue in 1964, comedian Bill Cosby reflected on the exasp..stions al father-hood when he told his "son- om t shcsr, amyour father. I brought you into arcs ac,rsi. and Ican take you out." A son who aectrins typeof message from a father may vary Gael verywanted!

Our heavenly Father can say . as, I becughtyou into this world." Psalm 139 reminds as thatGod was forming us even in ear asre s smactsb.It is only because of the cr.trre ;.:.roar of Godthat we exist. For those who Lure acceptedJesus, God has become Father in another sense:in our re-creation in Jesus Christ. God is bothour creator for our physical birth and redeemer for our spiritual rebirth. He will also be with uswhen we leave this world. We are exhorted inRevelation to be faithful, even to the point ofdeath, and then we will receive the crown of life(Revelation 2:10).

It is encouraging to realize that our Father inHeaven knows us personally, that He has createdas and re-created us. And it is a source of hopeto know that He will make us new again whenwe pass from this life. We anticipate the daywhen He will give as that new, glorified body inHeaven (2 Corinthians 5:4, 5). What can createany better sense of belonging than this?—A. E. A.

B. Absolute #2: Sin Brings Death (vv. 4b, 20a)

4b. The soul that sinneth, it shall die.

20a. The soul that sinneth, it shall die.

The second absolute is that sin brings death.Ezekiel declares unequivocally that sin producesa punishment, and the punishment is death. Thisis true whether or not the individual acknowl-edges God. This same assertion is repeated in theNew Testament in Romans 6:23. It is sad that somany live their lives in such a way that this ab-solute does not seem to be a controlling factor inwhat they do or say. Them is a payday, and thatis absolute truth. (So, question #3, page -130.1The careful student will quickly observe thatthere are several verses between the two parallelstatements. These verses contain three scenariosthat represent God's responses to three genera-tions. The first (vv. 5-9) tells of an upright manwho walks in righteousness, and the sentence ispronounced that he will live. The second settingis that of a son of the righteous man, and theson's life is full of wickedness. This time thejudgment is that the son will surely die (vv. 10-13). The third illustration is of a righteous grand-son who does all things well, and again it isstated that he will live. On each side of the threeincidents, however, are the sobering words thatdeath is the sentence for the sin.

C. Absolute #3: Each Is Responsible (v. 20b)20b. The son shall not bear the iniquity of thefather, neither shall the father bear the iniquityof the son: the righteousness of the righteousshall be upon him, and the wickedness of thewicked shall be upon him.

The third absolute is that each individual's sit-uation is his or her own. There is no generationaltransfer of either sin or righteousness. The conse-quences of just or unjust deeds may fall on oth-ers, but the guilt is nontransferable. (See question43. page 430.j

Those who are quoting the parable we see inEzekiel 18:2 may be misusing Exodus 20:5 and itsparallel in Deuteronomy 5:9. Those passages warnthat God extends His punishment for a father's sinto the children down to "the third and fourth gen-eration." But when harmonized with other Scrip-ture, those passages simply indicate that God'swrath on the fathers is bound to have some indi-rect or collateral effect on their children.

11. God's Promises(Ezekiel 18:21-23, 30a)

Such sobering thoughts! What God desires is aresponse that will bring a person's life to whereit should be.

A. God's Conditions (v. 21)

21. But if the wicked will turn from all his

sins that he hath committed, and keep all mystatutes, and do that which is lawful and right,he shall surely live, he shall not die.

The first two words of the verse show thatGod's promises are conditional. Two conditionsare expressed: (1) the individual must rum fromthe present way of living, and (2) that personmust begin doing oll that God has prescribed. Itis not just a matter of entering into a covenant re-lationship with God; it is also imperative that theterms of the covenant be kept. Jesus said thesame thing in the Great Commission: Jesus' disci-ples are to be taught to obey everything that Hehas commanded (Matthew 28:20).

If a person does change from all the ways ofwickedness, then the righteous should rejoiceand provide encouragement. Sometimes it istempting to want to get even, but forgiveness isto be extended instead. It is also true that the one who repents will do whatever he or she can tomake restitution for wrongs committed.

B. God's Commitment (v. 22)

22.All his transgressions that he bath com-mitted, they shall not be mentioned unto him: inhis righteousness that he bath done he shall live.God promises to provide no reminders of sin.The person who has been forgivers probably re-members them all too well, and he or she doesnot need to be reminded. This is different fromthe individual who maintains a mental or writ-ten account of the shortcomings of someoneelse—in case he or she ever wants to use them inan attack. Love does not even think of suchthings (1 Corinthians 13:5). Such a list may benecessary when building a court case againstsomeone, but the situation here is forgiveness,not litigation. (Sr:. question #4, page 430.!

C. God's Joy (v. 23)

23.Have I any pleasure at all that the wickedshould die? saith the Lord Got): and not that heshould return from his ways, and live?

God does not find pleasure in giving sinnerswhat they deserve. The implication is that Hedoes find joy in forgiving so that the wicked maylive. He is not willing that any should perish, butthat all should repent and turn from their evilways (2 Peter 3:9).

D. God's judgment (v. 30a)

30a. Therefore I will judge you, 0 house ofIsrael, every one according to his ways, saiththe Lord Gon.

God forgives all who repent. But here is thesobering reminder that each person will bejudged according to his ways. It is not wise to tryto take advantage of God's goodness. Peter warnsthat the righteous are scarcely saved (1 Peter4:18). It has been stated that the gospel containsfacts to be believed, commands to be obeyed,warnings to be heeded, and promises to be en-joyed. The words in the first part of this verseconstitute a warning to be heeded.

TOUGH LOVE

Some organizations encourage parents toadopt a tough love policy in dealing with theiradolescent children. The idea behind this is totake strong steps to counter aberrant behavior.There can be a need for this in marital relation-ships as well.

Dr. James Dobson says that one of the majorculprits of relationship problems is disrespect ofone person toward another. Whether it is a child's attitude toward a parent or one spouse toward theother, disrespect must be dealt with in a firmway. It can't be allowed to continue. It is not en-joyable or easy to practice tough love in this re-gard. But failure to do so will only make thingsworse—the cycle of bad behavior and disrespectwill spiral downward, out of control.

God practices tough love with His children.The discipline He exerts (Hebrews 12:6-11) is notpleasurable at the time for either the giver or thereceiver. But God knows it is a necessary part ofthe transformation of His children. Parents maysay to their children when disciplining them,"This hurts me more than it hurts you." Childrennever quite understand that until they become theones who have to discipline their own children.We do well to remember this when God has todiscipline us. He finds no pleasure in it. It evenpains Hint to do so, but in the end it is for thebest. It is tough redemptive love.

III. God's Pleadings(Ezekiel 18:30b-32)

God expects action and response. He is clearabout what those should involve.

A. Decide About Sin (v. 30b)

30b. Repent, and turn yourselves from allyour transgressions; so iniquity shall not beyour ruin.

The apostle Peter makes a similar statement onthe occasion of his healing the lame man in thetemple. His message after the healing includesthe challenge that his audience repent and heconverted so that their sins could be blotted out.Only then would times of refreshing come overthem (Acts 3:19). (See question #5. page 430.)It is important to notice that God permits free-dom of choice. That is one of the main thrusts ofthis lesson—that each person is to take responsi-bility for his or her own eternal destiny. That has ever been God's message. In the Garden of Edenit was by freewill choice that the first man andwoman ate of the forbidden fruit. After Israelconquered Canaan, it was Joshua's challenge tothe nation to "Choose you this day whom ye willserve" (Joshua 24:15). The person who hears theconditions of the gospel (John 3:16; Acts 2:38;etc.) and does not respond cannot blame others.Each person must decide about sin.

B. Discard Sin (v. 31a)

31a.Cast assay from you all your transgres-sions, whereby ye have transgressed.

The discarding of sinful deeds must follow re-pentance from sin. No one can claim repentanceof stealing a car if he or she continues to drive itwithout the rightful owner's consent!

C. Desire a New Heart (v. 31b)

31b.And make you a new heart and a newspirit: for why will ye die, 0 house of Israel?The sins to be discarded may include attitudesand language that are not pleasing to God. Suchthings are sometimes considered "little" sins, butthe command to discard includes any sinfulpractice. Sin in any form is not acceptable.The way to rid oneself of sin is to develop anew heart that will look on life with a new per-spective. The writer of Hebrews affirms thatwithout holiness no one will see God (Hebrews12:14; compare Matthew 5:8). Therefore every-thing one does will be centered on the fact thatGod is holy. Having a new perspective meanschanging the way that a person thinks about life,and this is the new heart that God demands. It

Visual for Lesson 11. Point to this visual as youchallenge your students to name a time when Godgranted them a new start after they repented.

also involves the mind, for Jesus stated that thefirst commandment is to love God with all theheart, soul, and mind (Matthew 22:37).

D. Delight in Life (v. 32)

32. For I have no pleasure in the death of himthat dieth, saith the Lord GOD: wherefore turnyourselves, and live ye.

Again we see that God has no pleasure in thedeath of any person (see v. 23). This is confirmedby what is called the Golden Text of the Bible,John 3:16. The verse states that God so loved thatHe gave His Son. The purposes are that mankindmay believe and no one would have to perish.God desires that everyone choose to live for Him.The contrast in this verse is vivid: life ordeath. The challenge of the verse is the heart ofthe lesson: being committed to taking responsi-bility for one's spiritual destiny. It is a personalchoice, and it cannot be delegated.

Conclusion

A. The Anger of Guilt

Today's lesson encourages everyone to acceptresponsibility for personal actions. Each shouldacknowledge that there are basic principles thatGod has set forth concerning the consequencesof sin. We should be prepared, however, for acertain reaction from those confronted with theirwrong deeds: anger.

This kind of anger often is directed toward theperson who is trying to provide the correction. Ifa person is told that homosexuality is sin, one re-sponse is to point fingers at the messenger. Mem-bers of a congregation may be reminded that theministries of the church need greater financialsupport; a person in the church who reacts withanger probably is guilty of inadequate giving. Yetanger does not bring about the righteous life thatGod desires (James 1:20). That principle is truefor nations, churches, or individuals.

Sin—it produces many consequences in ourlives. Yet God is willing to forgive. But before aperson may be right with God he or she most re-pent and turn to God.

B. Prayer

Almighty God, 1 resolve today to have the cor-rect responses as Your Word convicts me of sin,righteousness, and the judgment to come. InJesus' name, amen.

C. Thought to Remember

"Every one of us shall give account of himselfto God" (Ruinous 14:12).

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