It says: let's suppose there was a righteous man, and that righteous man entered into the ways of God, and entered life; but that righteous man has a wicked son, who does detestable things. Will that man inherit the righteousness of his father? No. For the sins he's committed, and for choosing to live outside of God's ways, he'll enter the realm of death. But if that wicked man that has a righteous son, and that righteous son turns away from the wickedness of his father, will he inherit the wickedness of his father? No, he will surely live for choosing to live God's ways.
So Ezekiel says: if there's a righteous man, he enters the realm of life; and then if he has a wicked son, he enters the realm of death. If he then has a righteous son, he enters the realm of life - but you are not stuck. In other words, the question is: am I predetermined, or can I make my own way for my life? Can I make my own choices? Can I choose life over death, or is death and life chosen for me? Ezekiel says no, no, no, you can choose.
See, one of the arguments you hear is: well its common-sense, that's just how we do things. Listen, if you ever use the excuse "that's just how we are", it's never for a good thing. You never hear: I'm just funny, that's just how I am. I'm just kind, that's just who I am - deal with it. No, it's always: I have an anger problem, that's just who I am. It's the stuff we do. Sometimes common-sense is very helpful, and sometimes common-sense is destructive. We wash our dishes around here - that's helpful. We bathe once a day - helpful. If you're here, and you don't bathe once a day, try it, be great. We pick up after ourselves, we talk to each other a certain way.
Sometimes common-sense is destructive. Everyone does shady business, everyone does that. Everyone cheats on their taxes, everyone does that. Everyone sleeps around, it's the weekend right, hello! Everyone sleeps around. Oh everyone gets wasted on Saturday, everyone does that. So any time you're using words like this, we have to determine: are they light, or are they dark? Are they life, or are they death? Are they increase, or are they decrease? Then he goes into this incredible explanation, that I could not say any better than him, so I'm going to read it, Ezekiel 18:18.
But his father will die for his own sin, because he practised extortion, robbed his brother, and did what was wrong amongst the people. Yet you ask: why does the son not share the guilt of his father?
Now you've got to understand, it was common knowledge in that day: if the father sins, the son shares the guilt. God says: we're not going to do it that way any more. 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 live. The soul that sins is the one who will die. In other words, when you make a choice to exit God's ways, you enter into the realm of death. If you make a choice to enter into God's ways, you enter the realm of life. The son will not share the guilt of his father, nor will the father share the guilt of his son. The righteousness of the righteous man will be credited to him, and the wickedness of the wicked man will be charged against him - but if a wicked man turns away from all the sins he's committed, and keeps My decrees, and does what is just and right, he will live, he will not die. None of the offences he's committed will be remembered against him. Because of the righteous things he's done, he will live.