Generational Curses
Ezekiel 18:20 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: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him.
There is such a magnitude of confusing thought existing today in relation to generational curses that it is vitally important that we examine the subject thoroughly from a scriptural perspective. Most of this error in regard to generational curses emanates from (probably) well-intentioned, yet wrongly-taught, elements within Charismatic circles that claim to be authorities on this matter. Through false teaching and misguided counsel they have led many liberated believers back into the land of bondage with their unscriptural instruction. False teaching in relation to generational curses is becoming a major issue among many Christians. Most of their undoubted misunderstanding flows from a basic fundamental failure to differentiate between God's dealings with the righteous and His dealings with the wicked. They seem to have no concept of what the Bible teaches about how generational curses are broken in one's life.
A child of God can certainly bring himself under chastisement by walking in defiant disobedience and wanton sin.But a liberated born again Christian walking in the Spirit is no longer under condemnation. Also, he is no longer responsible for, or subject to, the sins of his fathers or the generational consequences of his family blood-line. Every generational curse is broke at the Cross. Romans 8:1-2 says, "There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death."
In the 2nd commandment, revealed in Exodus 20:4-6, God warns man, "Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, (1) visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; and (2) shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments."
That same commandment is repeated in identical terminology in Deuteronomy 5:8-10.
God tells us in this commandment that there are only two types of people in His eyes: (1) "them that love me" and (2) "them that hate me." In fact, there has only ever been two types of people in this world. Not surprisingly, both are expressly subject to two differing types of conditions, the righteous being under blessing, the wicked being under a curse. Notwithstanding, the generational nature of the iniquity is unquestionably seen to be solely upon the wicked - them "that hate" God. Those "that love" God are His precious possession and are always seen in Scripture to be the focus of blessing and His divine "mercy."
Them that love God are therefore free from generational curses.Exodus 34:6-7 says, "And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, (1) merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and (2) that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children's children, unto the third and to the fourth generation."
Here again God pours out "mercy" upon His chosen and "iniquity" upon "the guilty." Numbers14:17-18 similarly says, "And now, I beseech thee, let the power of my Lord be great, according as thou hast spoken, saying, The LORD is (1) longsuffering, and of great mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression, and (2) by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation."
Please note again, there are only two types of people here identified. The unbeliever that is identified here as "the guilty." They reject Christ's only provision for sin and salvation and are therefore in rebellion against God. It is these alone that are said to be under a curse. The other group is the righteous whom the Lord offers "great mercy" and forgiveness to. They have been set free from their sin and bondage through the blood of Christ and are under the blessing of God.
When a man or woman therefore comes to Christ in salvation, He is instantly freed from the wrath of God and immediately reconciled to Him made subject to the grace and mercy of God. He is immediately set free from every curse and sin - individual or generational. 2 Corinthians 5:17-19 says, "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new and all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; to wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation."
Breaking generational curses comes alone through Christ and salvation. Breaking generational curses comes at the Cross.
The word reconciliation used here could rightly be interpreted "to make atonement." This was part of Christ's redemptive work. Reconciliation is therefore clearly a current reality for the child of God because of Calvary. Hebrews 2:17 says, "Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people."
Titus 2:13-14 says, "Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.
Being reconciled to God in salvation brought immediate freedom for the child of God from every generational curse that he inherited through his natural bloodline. Jesus clearly said, in John 8:36, "If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed."
This is how generational curses are broken over your life. In short: you get saved and the blood of Jesus Christ breaks every bondage over you.
It doesn't remotely matter if one's father or grandfather is or was the chiefest of sinners in the world, that bondage to the curse of the law of sin and death is broken in the life of the believer upon salvation. He or she is no longer under generational curses. At Calvary the guilt of our sins was transferred or imputed to Christ, our full penalty was laid upon Him. The Christian is therefore freed from all (or any) generational curses.
For sinners to be saved, a substitute was required. Christ was that perfect substitute. His sufferings satisfied the justice of God on the sinner's behalf. Isaiah 53:5-6, 8 declared, "he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all
for the transgression of my people was he stricken."
The bible clearly teaches that the sufferings of the Lord Jesus Christ were made in the place of and on behalf of sinners. When man fell in the Garden of Eden through disobedience, the righteousness and justice of God demanded reparation. Man because of his depraved state could only atone for his own sin by suffering eternal punishment. A substitutionary atonement was therefore required to secure eternal redemption for sinners. God in His love and compassion provided a way of escape and appointed the Lord Jesus Christ to take the sinners place, laying down His life in their stead, securing their eternal redemption.
The reading continues in Isaiah 53:11-12, saying, "He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities. Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors."
At Calvary the guilt of our sins was transferred or imputed to Christ, our penalty was laid upon Him. 1 Peter 3:18 says, "For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust" Calvary clearly secured a freedom for the righteous that has completely destroyed the devil's hold.
Hence the atonement therefore satisfied the demands of a thrice Holy God. He is able to remain righteous even when pardoning the sinner "that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus" (Romans 3:26). 2 Corinthians 5:21 says, "For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we may be made the righteousness of God in him."
Our sin was imputed to Him, His righteousness was imputed to us. We therefore stand boldly and solely by faith in the righteousness of Christ and His shed blood, in total and absolute spiritual liberty. We cannot in any way be liberated by our own good works or our meticulous obedience to a renounciation manual or our attendance at a supposed freedom seminar. The erroeous teaching existing today on generational curses only survives because believers don't know their Bibles. If they did, this teaching would be immediately discarded.
Christ was made a curse for us, Galatians 3:13 says, "Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree."
The shedding of His blood satisfied the Father and reconciled the sinner to God, securing eternal redemption (1 John 1: 7).
Many people today don't even know their father, never mind their grandfather or their great grandfather. How would such people know the sin or bondage that these relatives committed? Frankly, when a man or woman comes to Christ the generational chains are immediately broke. Many Christians live under some degree of condemnation from the past rather than in victory through faith in Christ.
Notwithstanding, Galatians 4:9 says, "But now, after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage?"
Don't let the devil have you concentrate upon the bondage, rather, concentrate upon the victory of Calvary. Many of the people teaching this alternative teaching are misguided at the least and know nothing of the biblical teaching on this great subject. They misapply Scripture and put men into bondage who were once set free at Calvary. They dangerously apply the curses of the wicked to the just.
Hebrews 2:14 says, "Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he (Christ)might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil. And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage."
Every curse and/or sin that was over the believer's life was powerfully broken at that place called Calvary - thus setting the captive completely free. Notwithstanding, one can't break a curse over another's life in our lineage while they personally desire to live under the bondage of that sin. In reality, they must personally come to the Lord Jesus Christ in true repentance. However, that rebellion no longer carries any power over the blood-bought believer's life.
Whether one had 100 witches in one's lineage and 100 satan worshippers closely related to them back "100 generations," the blood of Jesus breaks that evil influence upon conversion. Jesus said, in Luke 4:18, applying Isaiah 61:1-3 to Himself, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised."
We either walk by faith in "the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free" or become "entangled again with the yoke of bondage" by some misguided teacher who is wantonly or ignorantly taking you back into the plagues of Egypt. This all after Christ has marvellously delivered you from the land of bondage. Galatians 2:4 says, "And that because of false brethren unawares brought in, who came in privily to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into bondage."
Their man-made doctrine of the supposed breaking of generational curses only serve (in reality) to confuse the (sadly) ill-informed ignorant susceptible Christian that they speak to and highlight the undoubted impotence of many of their ministries in that they are unable to release them from the bondage of Egypt as Christ did with His powerful command of His Word and His shed blood at the cross..
Colossians 1:20-22 says, "And having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven. And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled. in the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight."
There is NOT one single example of Christ (who is our exalted example) performing or teaching any such thing about generational curses. Nor is there any record of Peter mentioning such things to the 3,000 sinners that were gloriously saved on the day of Pentecost. Nowhere did Paul perform these man-made practices or teach these man-made doctrines. We only see men and women instantly liberated from the bondage of sin wherever he went. That's why God's Word admonishes the child of God to "Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage" (Galatians 5:1).
Those who believe a blood-bought believer can be under a generational curse forget the fact that when we were purchased by the blood of Christ in the day of our salvation and trusted in His redeeming blood we were immediately and completely cleansed of our sin and justified before a thrice-holy God. We were brought into union with God through the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. None of us has the ability to overcome sin in our own strength, by our own will-power or by our own self-discipline. We can only defeat it through the power of God in our lives. He changes our desires, He gives us strength, He enables us to conquer that old nature - daily. In short, we cannot overcome the old nature of our self. We need to learn how to lean completely upon Him, to depend upon Him for every holy inclination. Every truly righteous thought and desire we have originates in Him. Many wrongly think they can personally create these thoughts of themselves, but that is a delusion. Romans 8:7 tells us, the carnal (or the natural) mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.
We do not gain Gods favour by doing a, b and c. We do a, b and c because we have Gods favour. There is an important difference. One is works and emanates from man; the other is faith and emanates from the grace, mercy and love of God. Galatians 3:10-11 agrees, saying, For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them. But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith. The gurus' of Christian 'generational curses' theology err on this truth. They have absolutely no revelation of what the Cross means to the believer. The same people are the ones that pretend that a Christian can be demon possessed. Such is an impossibility. Anyone with a demon is an unbeliever. They couldn't be saved. They are of their father the devil. Ephesians 4:30 tells us that "the holy Spirit of God" has "sealed" us "unto the day of redemption." The Christian's body "is the temple of the Holy Ghost, which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's." (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). The Holy Spirit does not co-habit with the devil.
The fact is, we cannot attain unto perfection, we trust upon the One who is perfect that resides within us. He is our righteousness. The more we die to self, the more He is manifests in and through us. Jesus said in Luke 9:23, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. It is a daily death of the old man and the daily rising of the new man. Thats why Paul testified in 1 Corinthians 15:31 I die daily.
For the true believer, there is no peace in sin or disobedience. When we were outside of Christ, we indulged in it without the slightest shame. Why? Because there was no restraint within us, outside of conscience which can be up and down. That restraining power of the Holy Spirit was absent. In salvation we trusted in the Cross by faith. As a believer we must accept His complete forgiveness by faith and walk into the life of victory by faith. Romans 14:23 tells us, for whatsoever is not of faith is sin. A Christian cannot be under a curse or else (1) Christ failed at the Cross, (2) the Scriptures are a lie and (3) redemption carries no power. However, this is not so. Galatians 3:13 confirms, "Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree."
We must never forget the complete cleansing that comes to us through Christs blood. Every generational curse was broke by the blood of Jesus. We must ever realise that our righteousness does not belong to us, but is imputed of Christ. Our debt has been wiped from our account in full and Christs righteousness in full has been accredited to our account. The record is clear and our sin has been eternally removed. Micah 7:18-19 says, Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? he retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy. He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.
We either believe this or we dont. How can we walk in all the blessings of God, including joy, liberty and peace if we doubt such explicit passages? Generational curses become real to us in our minds if we believe the same. The key to our victory is in believing what God says in His Word, and refusing to accept the doubts, fear and anxieties that ignorant misguided "preachers" would try and bestow upon us. We either accept the Word of God or we accept the word of man. Many so-called deliverance ministries are in reality bondage ministries, they cause men to walk according to their own good works. They invent generational curses that don't exist and they prey upon the weakness of human nature and believers that are unlearned in the Word of God. The fact is, man will always fall short - that is why Jesus came. This is not a reason to feel condemned, it is a reason to throw ourselves continually upon the Saviour. He provides the daily victory not man or his foolish renunciations. He provides the peace and joy, not man.
Isaiah 38:17 says, for thou hast cast all my sins behind thy back.
We either receive His forgiveness by faith or we depend upon our own efforts, our own understanding, our own ability to gain acceptance with God. This is repulsive to God. Salvation does not come from a set of religious do-and-dont's or our own good works; it comes from receiving Christs imputed righteousness and then walking in it. The Bible says, We are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags. (Isaiah 64:6). Mans own garments are clearly stained by sin. Accepting ones sinful condition means looking to Gods only provision for lost sinners, namely His impeccable sinless Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Psalm 103:8-17 says, The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy. He will not always chide: neither will he keep his anger for ever. He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him. As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us. Like as a father pitieth his children, so the LORD pitieth them that fear him. For he knoweth our frame; he remembereth that we are dust. As for man, his days are as grass: as a flower of the field, so he flourisheth. For the wind passeth over it, and it is gone; and the place thereof shall know it no more. But the mercy of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him, and his righteousness unto children's children.
Receive this humbly by faith and recognise that you are totally pardoned. Walk in the joy of the Lord and enjoy the liberty and freedom that comes with forgiveness. When you sin (1) ask immediately for cleansing (2) turn away from your sin, and (3) accept His forgiveness by faith. By this, He make us more and more into His image. He removes the things in our lives that are an offence to Him and a hindrance to us.
These believers who teach generational curses are bondage makers. They point believers to themselves for freedom instead of Christ. They place men under countless curses instead of freeing them. They spy out our liberty and assault it. It is a false Gospel and one that needs opposing and rejecting.
Before salvation your sin separated you from God and you were under a curse, were condemned and under the wrath of God.
After salvation your sins were washed away completely and you were reconciled unto God. You were justified by His blood and brought into the blessing of God.
2 Corinthians 5:17-19 says, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new and all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; to wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.
How did He reconcile us? Through His death.
Romans 5:8-10 says, God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.
At Calvary our sin was imputed or transferred to Christ; upon conversion His righteousness was imputed or transferred to us! Christs perfect once all-sufficient self sacrifice secured a full, real and perfect redemption for his own. 2 Corinthians 5:21 says, For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. We stand before God with an imputed righteousness. And it is a perfect righteousness that is of faith and not of works. A righteousness that we could never attain has been placed within us through the life of Christ. The righteousness that the believer now owns is not his own it is imputed (or accounted to him) by Christ. It is Christ witin him that is his righteousness. Every other religion in the world depends on their own self-righteousness we depend totally on Christs.
Colossians 1:21-22 says, you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled. In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight.
When a man or woman comes to Christ he is reconciled unto God, whereupon the generational chains are immediately broke. Christians now therefore live in the victory of what has been secured for them at Calvary rather than under the condemnation of the past, which Satan brings. Christ became our substitute at the Cross even though He was sinless. He was condemned on our behalf for the purpose that we would be eternally free. He took our sin, our guilt, our past, our weaknesses, our sorrows upon Himself in full. Calvary was a finished work.
Far be it from us to lie to you and say to you that you are yet under a curse as a christian,when the Word of God declares through Paul the apostle in Ephesians 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ. To that I say, Amen and Amen!
Condemnation is from the devil; conviction is from the Lord. Condemnation leaves you hopeless and tormented; conviction brings you to the feet of Christ and liberates you. Romans 8:1-4 says,There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit."
If you are depending on your own righteousness and your ability to keep the law then you will miss it. That good-works legalistic lie is Pharsiseeism. It is definately not biblical Christianity. What men often think is freedom is really bondage; and what men often think is bondage is really freedom. Jesus said in John 8:36, "If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed."
1 John 5:4,5 Because, whoever is born of God, overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, our faith. For who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God.
Christ broke every curse at the Cross - can you accept that? It is the truth!
John 8:32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
If you are a genuine Christian then you have been liberated from any generational curses in your DNA through the blood of Jesus! WMP |
