JACOB'S DEATH #3
Pastor Christopher Choo
Lesson 3677
JACOB'S DEATH #3
A question was raised about generational curses and sins.
Does the continuing sin of believing parents affect the lives of their children?
Aren't we covered by the Blood of Jesus which automatically breaks ancestral sins and curses regardless whether we keep on sinning or not?
Jacob's stealing of Esau's birthright by deception affected his whole family although he was chosen by God and renamed Israel. He was in turn deceived by Laban and even by his own sons regarding the absence of Joseph.
The Bible does mention “generational curses” in several places (Exodus 20:5; 34:7;
Numbers 14:18; Deuteronomy 5:9).
God warns that He is “a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me.”
It may sound unfair for God to punish children for the sins of their fathers.
However, there is more to it than that. The effects of sin are naturally passed down from one generation to the next. When a father has a sinful lifestyle, his children are likely to practice the same sinful lifestyle.
Implied in the warning of Exodus 20:5 is the fact that the children will choose to repeat the sins of their fathers.
The cure for a generational curse has always been repentance. When Israel turned from idols to serve the living God, the “curse” was broken and God saved them (Judges 3:9, 15; 1 Samuel 12:10-11).
Yes, God promised to visit Israel’s sin upon the third and fourth generations, but in the very next verse He promised that He would show “love to a thousand [generations] of those who love me and keep my commandments”
(Exodus 20:6).
In other words, God’s grace lasts a thousand times longer than His wrath.
For someone worried about a generational curse, the answer is salvation through Jesus Christ. A Christian is a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17). How can a child of God still be under God’s curse (Romans 8:1)?
The cure for a “generational curse” is repentance of the sin in question, faith in Christ, and a life consecrated to the Lord (Romans 12:1-2).
The last line "consecrated to the Lord" is important. For it includes repentance of that specific sin. A lifestyle of repentance of our sins is part of our sanctification process.
May we bear fruits worthy of true repentance and stop the virus of our sins in our lives and the lives of others especially our children.
