SCRIP-BITS

Ezekiel 18:20.    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: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him.
 
Oh Friends, I’m hearing more shouts of ‘Praise the Lord!’ than I’ve heard in a long while. Yes, I know it’s Friday, and everybody’s just dying to get home for a brief spell of down time. Well since it’s Friday, let’s chant our Friday Chant nuh! And people, we chanting with plenty vim and vigour to show our appreciation! (smile) ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through another week of work! It hasn’t been easy, but with your generous help, I made it through. Now, please help me to get sufficient fun, fellowship, rest and relaxation in these two short days off, so that I can be renewed and refreshed in soul, body and mind, to go back out and do it all over again next week, furthering your glorious kingdom with each step I take. I pray this in Jesus’ name. Amen.’ Ah mih breddren, every so often we need stuff like that to keep us going, to lift our spirits, add some much needed encouragement to our worn and tired souls, to put a smile on our faces and a little chuckle in our hearts, for without those things, our lives would be just one, long, dreary, drawn out negative process. And the seriousness of our Bit doesn’t help matters either. ‘The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity (guilt) of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him.’ Wow! What a serious, no nonsense pronouncement! Ah mih people, our God is a good God, but sin just goes against the very grain of His nature,  thus He abhors it and those who are steeped in it. But He’s also a just and righteous God, so He won’t let one person suffer for the sins of another. Yesterday we looked a the first part of the Bit; ‘The soul that sinneth, it shall die.’ Today we’ll check out the second part; ‘The son shall not bear the iniquity (guilt) of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son.’ Now that’s a very important piece of scripture Friends, for it clearly states that every individual is totally responsible for the sinful acts they commit, and will have to pay the price themselves. Sin isn’t something we can shift from one person to another. That’s only happened once; when the Father weighed down Jesus, like Atlas, with the burdensome sins of the whole world, so that we could be redeemed and made right with Him. And all God’s people joyfully cried out: ‘Thank you Lord!’ Yes Friends, we should be eternally grateful for that vast outpouring of LOVE that the Father showed for us. So I don’t understand why we still go out of our way to sin and antagonize Him, when we know what’s He’s done for us, and His abhorrence of sinful behaviour. But as the Bit says, everybody will have to answer for their own wrongdoing. Now let’s look at some scripture that gives us practical insight into the topic. Remember, the Good Book is a practical tool for practical living. Almost all the answers for living a wise and sensible life are to be found in there, as either successfully lived or messed up by another living, breathing soul. It’s not rhetorical, fairy tale stuff, but real life occurrences from which we are expected to learn. Hear Moses on the subject while laying down the law of domestic relations, as dictated by the Father. ‘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.’ (Deut.24:16) Nothing can be clearer than that Friends! We all have to individually pay the piper for the tunes we’ve danced to. Yesterday we saw the practical application of that principle when Amaziah, king of Judah slew the unfaithful servants who killed his father, but left their children alone, as it says in the Law of Moses. That story is also told in 2 Chronicles 25:3-4. Yes my people, all the principles in the Good Book have very practical applications. They haven’t been put there just for nice reading, but for our education, encouragement and guidance, as words to live by. And having tried to hammer home that point, successfully I hope, let’s check out this last passage on the guilt of sons and fathers. This time Jeremiah is the spokesman, expounding on Judah’s restoration. ‘And it shall come to pass, that like as I have watched over them, to pluck up, and to break down, and to throw down, and to destroy, and to afflict; so will I watch over them, to build, and to plant, saith the Lord. In those days they shall say no more, The fathers have eaten a sour grape, and the children’s teeth are set on edge. But every one shall die for his own iniquity: every man that eateth the sour grape, his teeth shall be set on edge.’ (Jer.31:28-30) Oh my brethren, that scripture is so important that it’s written in several places of the Good Book, so please don’t ignore it, for you do so at your own peril, putting your salvation and everlasting life with Jesus in jeopardy. And we’ll end on a light note. Here ah talking to mih West Indian Friends in particular. That talk about setting teeth on edge, just reminded me that that hasn’t happened to me in many years. Remember in our youth how that happened all the time, because we’d be constantly eating sour fruits; like cherries, plums, green mangoes, tamarinds, golden apples (pommecytere, june plum) and a host of other teeth edging stuff. Now them was the days! Sin and ungodliness were mere figures of speech to us. Oh Friends, we can make it that way again if we’re seriously willing to try…for our children’s sake. But we all have to work together, if it’s going to happen. More tomorrow on this Bit. Till then go safely with God. Much LOVE!…at the end…Peter won’t be able to pay for Paul…Paul will have to pay for himself…