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Answer
Ezekiel 18 clarifies that God holds each individual accountable for their own sins. Verses 1 through 4 state, “The word of the Lord came to me: ‘What do you people mean by quoting this proverb about the land of Israel: “The parents 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 everyone belongs to me, the parent as well as the child—both alike belong to me. The one who sins is the one who will die.’” Meanwhile, Exodus 20:5–6 mentions, “For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.” Therefore, do children bear responsibility for their parents’ sin? Yes and no.
God evaluates the heart of each person. Throughout the Old and New Testaments, we witness God engaging with individuals based on their own faith. In Genesis, we observe God treating Cain differently from Abel, according to their distinct actions. Ezekiel 18:30 declares, “Therefore, you Israelites, I will judge each of you according to your own ways.” John 3:16 states that “whoever believes in [Jesus] shall not perish but have eternal life” (emphasis added). Verse 18 mentions, “Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.” Clearly, salvation is extended to all, irrespective of their parents’ deeds.
Conversely, it is evident that the transgressions of parents do impact their children. David and Bathsheba’s first child died shortly after birth due to David’s wrongdoing. The Israelites, as a nation, werePunished by God for their sin, and that punishment sometimes affected the children as well. Today, we see how parental sin affects children. Those who grow up watching sinful behavior are often more likely to engage in it themselves. Certain sins take parents out of the home or inhibit their ability to be loving caregivers, setting the children up for possible problems in the future. Addiction often has genetic components. The relatively new field of epigenetics is suggesting that trauma can leave “molecular scars” on our DNA—and that those scars are passed down genetically to the third and fourth generation. Even more obviously, Adam and Eve’s sin has affected all of us. We are all born with sinful natures because Adam chose to disobey God. His sin was “passed down” to us.
Sin is never a private issue. It always affects those around us. This is especially true in families. The sins of the parents will affect their children. However, God is gracious and merciful. We are all marred by sin «for all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; », (Romans 3:23). We are all given the option to accept Jesus’ cleansing «For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.», (Romans 6:23). We can be adopted into God’s family and inherit a new nature. The Bible even speaks of being born again in genetic terms: “No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in them” «Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God. », (1 John 3:9, emphasis added). God forgives sin when we accept the sacrifice of Jesus. “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righte
“Righteousness of God” «For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.», (2 Corinthians 5:21).
