QUESTION: The Bible teaches that a child does not inherit the sin of it’s parents (Ezekiel 18: 20). In other places it seems like the Bible teaches that God does punish a child for the sin of the parents. Which is right?

ANSWER: In Ezekiel 18:20, it is clear that a person dies spiritually (is separated from God - Isaiah 59:1-2) for their own sins. This means that the son will not die spiritually because of the father’s sin; nor will the father die spiritually because of the son’s sin. This, however, does not mean that the son will not experience the effect of his father’s sin. Often this is the case. For example, a father may spend all of his living on alcoholic beverages rather than buying food for his children. The father is guilty of sin! Though the children are not guilty of the father’s sin, they certainly suffer as a result of his sin. It is, therefore, the father of the children (not God) who causes the suffering, because he has violated God’s laws by using alcohol and by not providing for his family. The suffering of the children then is a natural result of the father’s sin. This is the meaning of such phrases as “visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children” found in Exodus 20:5 and 34:7.