Jeremiah 25:12-16: in context

God has been using Babylon as the instrument of his judgment on Judah and the nations. But now he declares what will happen to Babylon itself. When seventy years are complete, God says, I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation for their iniquity. Babylon, though God used it to carry out his judgments, would itself be judged for its own sin, repaid according to its deeds. Being the instrument of God's purposes did not exempt Babylon from accountability for its own wickedness.

This is a striking truth: Babylon, which God used to judge others, is itself judged for its own iniquity. God's use of Babylon as his instrument did not make Babylon innocent or exempt it from accountability. Babylon acted out of its own pride, cruelty, and wickedness; and though God sovereignly used its actions to accomplish his purposes, Babylon was still responsible for its own sin and would be judged for it. Being the instrument of God's purposes did not cancel Babylon's moral responsibility; God would repay it according to its deeds. This holds together two truths we might think are in tension: God's sovereignty and human responsibility. God is sovereign over the nations, using even the wicked to accomplish his purposes, as he used Babylon. But this sovereignty does not cancel the moral responsibility of those he uses; they act out of their own hearts, and they are accountable for their own deeds. God used Babylon, and God judged Babylon; the two are held together. When the Lord has finished his work through Assyria, God says elsewhere, he will punish the arrogance of the king of Assyria; the instrument is used and then held accountable. God's use of the wicked to accomplish his purposes does not excuse their wickedness. This searches a way we might excuse ourselves or misunderstand God's ways. We cannot excuse our own sin on the ground that God uses all things for his purposes, as though being part of his plan made our wrongdoing acceptable. Babylon was used by God and still judged for its iniquity; and we, too, are accountable for our own deeds, whatever purposes God may work through them. Each of us, Paul says, will give account of himself to God. God's sovereignty does not remove our responsibility. This gives us a right understanding of God's ways and of our own accountability. God is sovereign over all, using even the wicked to accomplish his purposes; and yet each remains responsible for their own deeds, accountable to God for their own sin. Babylon was God's instrument and yet was judged for its own iniquity; and we are called neither to excuse our sin on the ground of God's sovereignty nor to think that being used by God makes our wrongdoing acceptable, but to recognize that we are accountable for our own deeds, even as God works his purposes, and to walk in the fear of the God who is sovereign over all and to whom each of us will give account.

Do I ever excuse my own sin on the ground that God works all things for his purposes, as though being part of his plan made my wrongdoing acceptable, and can the judgment of Babylon, which God used as his instrument and yet judged for its own iniquity, teach me that God's sovereignty over all does not cancel my moral responsibility, so that I neither excuse my sin nor presume that being used by God makes it acceptable, but recognize that I am accountable for my own deeds to the God to whom each of us will give account?