I mentioned in Sunday’s sermon, people that believe they are righteous because of their religious family heritage are relying on the wrong blood. Following that lesson, Dirk Summerlot handed me a note with a thought which shows just how wrong this concept, which many seem to have, actually is.
This problem is not new. The Jews of the first century thought they were righteous simply because they had Abraham’s blood flowing in their veins. They felt righteous because of their religious family heritage. John the Baptist showed the folly of this when he said, “Do not think to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones” (Matthew 3:9). In substance, he said that religious heritage means no more to God than a pile of rocks.
I remember hearing Marshall Keeble make the same point about those who feel superior because they have more money or education than others. He pointed out that science tells us that the body is ninety percent water, and the Bible tells us that man was made from the dust. He then would say, “A man might have more money or education than me, but in reality, he is nothing but a mud ball wearing a necktie.”
Now, here’s Dirk’s thought. “The man who thinks he can be indifferent and rely on God’s grace because of his godly parents has overlooked a vital truth. He is sinning against his own children! He is robbing them of the very thing he thinks his parents have given to him. His “ticket to heaven” was purchased by his parents, but his children do not have one. His ungodliness keeps him from “buying” his children’s ticket.”
The point is obvious. If righteousness can be passed from parent to child, then the same is true of unrighteousness. Read the following from our Creator. He could not have made it any clearer!
“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. But if a man is just and does what is lawful and right; if he has not eaten on the mountains, nor lifted up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, nor defiled his neighbor’s wife . . . If he walked in My statutes—and kept My judgments faithfully—he is just; he shall surely live!” Says the Lord God.
“If he begets a son who is a robber or a shedder of blood, who does any of these things . . . and does none of those duties, . . . shall he then live? He shall not live! If he has done any of these abominations, he shall surely die; his blood shall be upon him” (Ezekiel 18:4-13).