Individual Responsibility.
By Methodist Recorder
"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." This proverb shall no longer be used in Israel, that "the fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge." We cannot shield ourselves behind the delinquencies of others. Their conduct may be very reprehensible, but that is no excuse for us. When God calls us to an account, he will not inquire whether others were disobedient and rebellious, but whether we were consistent and upright in our lives. And if our conduct shall be found to be in harmony with his requirements, we will not be condemned because others have disregarded his law and rebelled against his authority. Others may involve us in trouble, but they cannot, without our own consent, involve us in sin. They may even bring upon us the condemnation of our fellow-men, but they cannot bring upon us the condemnation of our God. While there is something awfully solemn in the thought of our individual responsibility, there is also something to fill us with joy. Without our own individual volition, there is no power in the universe that can involve us in sin, and bring upon us the condemnation of our God. Every man holds his destiny in his own hand, and according to his own acts he will be acquitted or condemned.