Take responsibility for your own sins

We are all responsible for our own sins; and since we have no righteousness of our own, we’re all wicked. Unless Christ’s righteousness is imputed to us, we will not be seen as righteous.

Ezekiel 18:19-20
But you may ask, ‘Why doesn’t the son suffer punishment for the father’s iniquity?’ Since the son has done what is just and right, carefully observing all My statutes, he will certainly live. The person who sins is the one who will die. A son won’t suffer punishment for the father’s iniquity, and a father won’t suffer punishment for the son’s iniquity. The righteousness of the righteous person will be on him, and the wickedness of the wicked person will be on him.

Because of original sin, sin is already within us since conception (Psalm 51:5). We are all responsible for our own sins, and even though our ancestors or others around us are sinners, we can't blame anyone else for our willingness to give in to these sinful desires within us.

We must remember that the only way someone else’s sin will affect your walk with Christ is if you allow it, by embracing their sins as your own. No one can rub off their sins on you. They can try to drag you down with them but you have to willingly participate in their sins for you to be responsible for them. You have to choose to participate in their sins.

The apostle Peter wrote in 2 Peter 2:5-8 about two righteous men, Noah and Lot, who were surrounded by unrighteousness, yet the unrighteousness of others didn’t diminish their own righteousness. Whether the filthy conduct of others is a localized event or a global one, we are never to embrace their sins.

Being around unrighteous people can really be difficult, especially if we're the only person who's a Christian in our household. Just think of Lot who "while living among them, felt his righteous soul tormented day after day by their lawless deeds." Living among them didn't change him, even though his soul was tormented day after day. Living among the unrighteous people didn't force him to follow the ungodly desires of his neighbors, nor did Lot encourage or give in to the unrighteousness that surrounded him.

Remember Paul’s advice to Timothy (1 Timothy 5:22) in which he said: “do not share in the sins of others.”

We must be different. Let those around us see how we don’t follow in their footsteps. Sometimes they might ask us why we act as we do, as has happened to me, and we get a chance to share the Good News with them. Shine, so you may lead many to righteousness (Daniel 12:3, Matthew 5:14-16). Lead the lost to the One who is the Light of the world (John 8:12).