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¿Qué tiene que ver conmigo? por Teófila Gottfried
Lo que leemos en la Biblia tiene que ver con todos los seres humanos, sean cristianos o judíos, ateos o agnósticos, budistas, musulmanes o adherentes a alguna de las filosofías o nuevas religiones que surgen en el mundo. ¿Por qué? Ver mayor información sobre este interesante libro.
Scripture of The Day - St. John 14:6
Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
Escritura del día - San Juan 14,6
Jesús le dijo: Yo soy el camino, y la verdad, y la vida; nadie viene al Padre, sino por mí.
Bibelstelle des Tages - Johannes 14,6
Jesus spricht zu ihm: Ich bin der Weg und die Wahrheit und das Leben; niemand kommt zum Vater, denn durch mich!
The False Doctrine of Generational Curses
In the Old Testament book of Exodus, chapter 20, verse 5, God speaks of visiting the iniquities of the forefathers upon their descendants to the third and fourth generations, a scripture which has been used by some to support belief in generational curses. Again, in the Old Testament scripture of Daniel 9:11, the prophet speaks of the curse that has come on all of Israel because of her turn away from God's laws. In the first nineteen verses of this chapter is found Daniel's confession of the sins of his forefathers and himself. Finally, Leviticus 26:40-42 presents God requiring Israel's confession of the sins of their ancestors and themselves. Such scriptures are among those misused by teachers of the doctrine of generational curses on Christians inherited from forefathers. In an attempt to stamp New Testament approval on such rantings, the scripture of Matthew 5:17 is referenced in which Jesus said he didn't come to destroy the law or the prophets, but to fulfill.
Many claim that the Old Testament teachings on what they call generational curses are just as applicable for people living today, including believers. The truth is that this theology of curses, at a closer look, was not even consistent for life in the Old Testament, much less in the New.
Cursed Children of Adam and Eve?
Some Christians claim that a generation that continually rebels against God's law, brings a curse on their lives and the lives of their descendants, even those who accept Christianity. In order to break these "inherited" generational curses, the unfortunate descendants must repent for the iniquities of their sinful ancestors as well as their own, or remain accursed.
Who in this world, including true Christians, is not a descendant of Adam and Eve, the ancestors of everyone, who transgressed the law of God? They had one simple rule to follow which was not to eat the forbidden fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, but they disobeyed. Adam and Eve had to die. God cursed the ground to produce thorns. Eve's female descendants came under the curse of painful childbirth. The serpent was cursed and made to crawl on his belly and be hated by men. Worst of all, the sinful nature was truly inherited by Adam and Eve's children totaling all of mankind (KJV, Genesis, chapter 3).
The earth still produces thorns, women still endure painful childbirth, the serpent still crawls on his belly and is hated, man is still born with a sinful nature. Don't these facts attest to the reality of inherited and generational curses even on Christians? No, they do not because the curses that were pronounced in Genesis are unlike any others. They are permanent as long as the present world exists. There's never any biblical mention of God retracting them for anyone, not even for his servants who must die, who experience painful childbirth, who contend with thorns in the earth, and who cannot change the physical appearance or cause love for the serpent. Other curses that occurred in the Bible, however; could be and were broken off of the lives of God's people. The Genesis curses are in a category by themselves. Nowhere in scripture are they reversed. They endure even in the midst of blessing. A man cannot prevent death which the Bible calls the last enemy of man, the ultimate of the curses that Jesus will destroy at the resurrection, not in this present world (Hebrews 9:27, 1 Corinthians 15:26). Why would curses that can't be broken in this present world be compared to curses that God does and has been breaking through faith in his Son, down through the ages?
The Doctrine of Generational Curses, A Closer Examination
Since the time of the fall of Adam and Eve, all of the families of earth have repeatedly committed multiple abominations in the sight of God. Who then, Christian or not, could escape being under a curse? Now let it be assumed for a moment that the doctrine of generational curses, even on Christians, is accepted. And let's say that these cursed descendants repent of the sins of all of their ancestors. This scenario leaves a minimum of two disturbing questions. How far back in the genealogies should those who repent go? And, what if their living ancestors, such as grandparents and great grandparents, choose to persist in rebellion against God? Will the generational curse come back on their lives? Many Christian teachers who have embraced the generational curse theory, attempt to give hope by instructing the believer to first repent of ancestral and personal sins. He is then taught to ask Jesus to sever any ties with generational curses. However, such Christians don't realize that instead of fully embracing the finished work of Christ, they're attempting to finish it themselves, teaching a false doctrine of generational curses.
Aren't Behavioral Patterns Proof of the Doctrine of Generational Curses?
It should be noted that some behavioral patterns observed from generation to generation is not always to be defined as a curse. One aspect that is in perfect agreement with God's word is the truth of learned behavior. It is a fact that many people who were abused as children, in turn, abuse others. It's also a fact that parents who earn a college degree are much more likely to raise children who also earn college degrees. If the person that "learned" to abuse, having been abused, is under a curse, then it must be concluded that the children who "learned" to go to college, are under an inherited blessing. This reasoning makes no sense.
Learned behavior, positive or negative, is not the same thing as a curse or a blessing. The "type" of curse with which people are concerned lack scientific and natural explanation. Curses are bizarre events, inexplicable troubles, and hauntings that plague an individual.
A Vital Question on the Doctrine of Generational Curses
Returning to the focus of what Christians must understand about the generational curse doctrine, a vital question must be answered according to scripture. Does the true follower of Christ need to repent and receive forgiveness for the sins of his forefathers as the first step to breaking generational curses? The New Testament emphatically says No. Such an answer, in no way, attempts to deny the evil done by one's family or national ancestors. Such answer is neither a dodge of personal responsibility for sin, nor meant to invoke a haughty attitude against God in not repenting for the sins of one's ancestors. The biblical response is meant to forcefully and permanently make understood the immense power and supreme authority of the work of God's Son over curses.
Man is now living under the age of grace, the New Testament, in the shed blood of Christ. The scriptures to be expounded in this article enlighten the confused, console the fearful, assure the doubtful, and warn the rebellious concerning blessings and curses. When a Bible-believing Christian repents for the sins of his ancestors as the first step to break so-called generational curses, he's actually identifying himself with a family, generation, and nation to which he no longer belongs. He's keeping himself attached to a generation from which he was snatched by God at his first acceptance of Christ.
In the biblical scripture of Galatians 3:26-28, the apostle Paul wrote, "For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female, for ye are all one in Christ. And if ye be Christ's then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise."
The above scripture cannot be any plainer in explaining that if Christ is your God, you have been placed into a different genealogy. He has been grafted into the lineage of faithful Abraham, a righteous ancestor. The Bible says, "Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness. Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children (descendants) of Abraham" (Galatians 3:6).
An individual may not have been born a Jew in the flesh, but he can literally rest assured that the righteous Abraham who lived so long ago is his ancestor in God's eyes if Christ is his Savior. He remains whatever nationality he was born in the flesh, but spiritually God gave him a new nationality, a new and holy people with which he is to identify. That new nation is spiritual Israel. The scriptures say, "For he is not a Jew which is one outwardly, but he is a Jew which is one inwardly, of the heart, in the spirit..." (Romans 2:28-29). At the moment he was baptized into Christ (believed), he was dressed and covered in Christ. This work of Jesus, in the spirit realm, severed him from the first Adam (natural descendant), and thus, from the "inheritance" of the curses of that one man's disobedience. Scripture calls Christians the children of God. Children are descendants. The work of Christ was so glorious that He severed doomed man from the bonds and identification with earthly fathers and gave him the Lord Himself as a Father, and a Forefather. Why ask Jesus to do something he's already done? God is a Father and what is a father but an ancestor? The doctrine of generational curses does not agree with the Holy Bible.
It may border on seeming incredible that the God of all things that exists is a parent to the follower of Christ. Nevertheless, that is His word. Paul wrote that the believers new heirs to the same promises made to blessed Abraham, simply by their faith in Jesus. This is a new inheritance that replaces anything cursed (Galatians 3:26-28).
This truth is seen in action even in the Old Testament. Ruth belonged to the nation of the Moabites, a people who had been forbidden to enter into the congregation because of the sin of incest committed by their forefathers (Genesis 19:36-37, Deuteronomy 23:3). However, Ruth confessed the yet-to-come Son of God, when she said to her Israelite mother-in-law, "Thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God" (Ruth 1:6). Later, Ruth shows up as a descendant of the Lord Jesus himself in Matthew 1:5. This woman of great faith is never seen repenting for the shameful sin of her ancestors. Instead, she acquired for herself, a new people, Israel. She got herself a new family when she refused to continue in the paganism of her natural one. She got herself a new land when she left her country of Moab to follow Naomi back to Israel. She got herself a new God when she confessed Him, believed Him, followed Him, and stubbornly clung to Him. She is but one of many biblical and modern examples of partakers of the riches of God.
It's recorded in Mark 3:32 that, "The multitude sat about Him (Jesus), and they said unto Him, Behold thy mother and thy brethren without (outside) seek (is looking for) thee. And He answered them saying, Who is my mother and my brethren. For whosoever shall do the will of God, the same is my brother, and my sister, and mother."
The believer who is truly doing the will of God no longer has to worry about the doctrine of generational curses because of what his ancestors did in rebellion to God. His true mothers, brothers and sisters are other faithful servants of God. He has a new spiritual family, a new nation, a new ancestry, a new inheritance. It must be frustrating to God for His children, His new descendants He adopted through Christ, to continue clinging to any bondage associated with the forefathers to which they no longer belong.
"For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of ADOPTION whereby we cry Abba, Father. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit that we are the children (descendants of God). And if children, then heirs of God (not of sinful descendants), and joint heirs with Christ." (Romans 8:14-17).
In conclusion, to put the false doctrine of generational curses to a final rest, one last biblical consultation is in order. Jesus' apostles asked him to teach them how to pray. If they needed to repent, and be forgiven for the sins of their obviously disobedient forefathers, why would Jesus leave out such instructions? Matthew 6:9:12 reads, "After this manner therefore pray ye, Our Father, which art in heaven... Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors."
"Our Father" reminds Christians that they're children/descendants of God. "Forgive us OUR debts" instructs believers to ask forgiveness for their OWN sins. The prayer instructions do not say "forgive us our debts and those of our ancestors."
It's true that the sins of one's natural forefathers can and do bring satanic influence into his life. There's no real or lasting remedy for such gloom outside of the determined and whole hearted, unconditional acceptance of Christ Jesus as Lord.
Spiritually, such a person is immediately cut from his natural descendants and added to the lineage of Christ. However, the new servant of Jesus must beware that very unpleasant events, including the paranormal, may continue to take place if he doesn't get understanding on how to appropriate the authority of Christ in his situation.
©2008 Heavenly Manna. All rights reserved
Recommended Reading:
Appropriating The Power And Authority In Jesus' Name
Am I Cursed? A Question That Too Many Christians Are Asking
True Blessings Are From God: Can Curses Come From God As Well?
Can Christians Be Cursed Through Witchcraft? (See left side bar advertisement)
Based on true events, The Third Man by Angela Sheffield, brings the Bible up close and personal as the characters face real issues of life: Betrayal, deceit, romance, bitterness, anger against God, hopelessness, will power, perplexity, triumph, unforgiveness, mental illness, and the "Alcohol made me do it" excuse. Read chapter one FREE now.
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Comments/Comentarios:
God bless you and your ministry. All my quostions have been answered.
I would like to ask you one questions though.
1) what does Maatthew 12:29 mean? Should we bind Satan to rescue those who are in bondage?
Kind regards,
Daniel.
by: Daniel Haile
Posted on 2011-02-08 12:44:07
To Daniel:
We will publish a free study on Matthew 12:29 sometime in March 2011. Please check back.
by: Heavenly Manna
Posted on 2011-02-13 02:49:44
To Daniel:
Re: Question on Matthew 12:29
We have answered your question in the article, Binding and Loosing and Demonic Possession
by: Heavenly Manna
Posted on 2011-08-02 01:57:07
I agree with the premise of your article, however, FYI
Ref. paragraph 4 & 5 quotes:
"God cursed the ground to produce thorns...
The earth still produces thorns"
See Gen. 8:21 Regardless of the presence of thorns on the earth, the curse upon the ground was dismissed following the flood. "I will not again curse the ground any more for man's sake..."
by: Ruth
Posted on 2011-11-12 23:13:49
To Ruth:
Thank you for your feedback. God said that he would not AGAIN curse the ground for man's sake (Gen. 8:21). This is not the same as him saying that he REMOVED the curse of the thorns that he had already pronounced. This is why thorns are still produced. This is the point that was made: what has been cursed, remains cursed, unless the curse is removed. This is evident in the fact that women, including Christian women, still have pain in childbirth, though women were not cursed again. The serpent still crawls on his belly, though he was not cursed again. And though Earth was not cursed again, Earth still produces thorns. To not curse again in no way equates to the removal of a curse that has already been pronounced.
by: Heavenly Manna
Posted on 2011-11-13 07:11:15
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