Our questions include, how did we arrive at our doctrines? Does the Bible really teach what we think it teaches? Why do churches do what they do? What is the biblical basis of church leadership structure? Why do certain traditions get entrenched?
It's easy to be spoon fed the conventional wisdom, but it's an entirely separate thing to search these things out for one's self. In the past we have read the Bible with these unexamined understandings and interpreted what we read through those lenses. We were lazy about our Bible study, assuming that pastors and theologians were telling us the truth, but we rarely checked it out for ourselves.
Therefore, these Rethinks are our attempt to remedy the situation.
We should note that we are not Bible scholars, but we believe that one doesn't need to be in order to understand the Word of God.
Introduction
Charismatics and others in the Christian community typically have a different view of certain spiritual things than do evangelicals. Many charismatics believe that dark forces can come to bear on Christians in some fashion, and that those things can get "passed down" through family lineage. That is, something like alcoholism or abusive behavior can be inherited as a demonic force that follows the generations of a particular family.
However, we will want to distinguish between generational sin and a generational curse. They are different.
Further, we need to carefully distinguish what might be descriptive of a certain person or nation compared to what might apply to a Christian (or Christians) today.
Generational Sin
One of the first things we noticed about generational sin is that we could find no Scripture that speaks to individuals generically. Rather, the Bible seems to only deal with generational sin (and blessing) with regard to a specifically named person (i.e. Josh. 6:26), or an entire generation:
Jeremiah 32:18-19 You show steadfast love to thousands, but you repay the guilt of fathers to their children after them, O great and mighty God, whose name is the LORD of hosts...
Nu. 14:17-19 “Now may the Lord’s strength be displayed, just as you have declared: 18 ‘The LORD is slow to anger, abounding in love and forgiving sin and rebellion. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation.’ 19 In accordance with your great love, forgive the sin of these people, just as you have pardoned them from the time they left Egypt until now.”
Ex. 20:5-6 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 6 but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.
Psalm 103:17 The LORD’s love is with those who fear him, and his righteousness with their children’s children.”
Generational sin always seems to be an affliction of a people group or nation who themselves chose to do the same or worse sins as a previous generation. There just isn't any instance where sin is forced upon people generation to generation or family to family or individual to individual. So if the reader knows of any Scripture where God would hold guilty any individual for the sin of an individual from a previous generation we would like to know about it.
Further, we need to be careful about reading ourselves into statements God made about His chosen people, Israel. We are not Israel, and we do not automatically partake of promises given to them. Granted we have been grafted into the root (Ro. 11:17) and thus are partakers of the promise of His mercy (Ro. 11:30), but this does not mean we can appropriate Israel's promises or experience the penalty of Israel's sins.
And this:
De. 24:16 Fathers shall not be put to death for their children, nor children put to death for their fathers; each is to die for his own sin.
What about a family line that seems to have a never ending stream of say, thieves and swindlers? Or conversely, what about a family line that seems to be full of pastors, missionaries, and evangelists? Is there a spiritual dimension at work here, either for good or for evil?
We don't find this in the Bible. We cannot say, however, that there is nothing spiritual about such situations. It seems possible. But it also seems possible that the next generation learns from the previous generation from their conduct, and thus produces more of the same.
Having said that, we also acknowledge that we have experienced the creepy "spiritual atmosphere" of certain places we have visited that clearly indicated that darkness was at work, likely a result of the continual practice of dark deeds generation after generation. We do know that there are evil spiritual territories for regions or countries (Da. 10:20), but we don't know if future generations are spiritually afflicted by this. They certainly would be if they agreed with the spiritual legacy of previous generations.
But as far a spiritual "hangers-on," like generational demons, we cannot find a verse that tells us this.
Generational Curses
We place generational curses in a separate category specifically because a curse is not the same thing as a s sin. A curse might be imposed by God as a result of sin, but not always. We also might find that a witch might summon dark forces to come to bear on an adversary and his descendants. The manner in which someone might cast such a curse, or if even the thing is real, is a matter of speculation.
The distinguishing mark of a curse is bad fortune. That is, cursed people or a people group experience a high levels of disfunction. Crops don't grow, nations come in and conquer, wealth just seems to disappear, women are infertile, livestock don't produce, etc. In modern terms, a curse might be evidenced by the inability to hold a job, vehicles that continually break down, repeated sickness, or problem children.
It seems to us that the idea of generational curses only applied to Israel as a nation as a consequence of its disobedience, and to other nations or kings for attacking or opposing Israel. Again, we do not see curses promised to individuals that would be enforced for numerous generations.
Here are some Scriptures that speak of curses to a nation:
Ge. 12:3 I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.De. 11:26-28 See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse — 27 the blessing if you obey the commands of the LORD your God that I am giving you today; 28 the curse if you disobey the commands of the LORD your God and turn from the way that I command you today by following other gods, which you have not known.
De. 30:19-20 This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live 20 and that you may love the LORD your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the LORD is your life, and he will give you many years in the land he swore to give to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
Deuteronomy 27 provides an account of Israel crossing the Jordan into the land flowing with milk and honey. Before they enter, God speaks through Moses about following "his commands and decrees that I give you today." Starting in verse 15 we find numerous curses that would befall an evil or sinful individual, like
De. 27:19 “Cursed is the man who withholds justice from the alien, the fatherless or the widow.” Then all the people shall say, “Amen!”
And this:
Pro. 3:33 The Lord's curse is on the house of the wicked, but he blesses the dwelling of the righteous.
None of those curses are said to carry anything to the next generation. In fact, we find only that any generation of Israel who did not continue in obedience to the Lord's commands (De. 28:15) to be cursed. That would of course be due to their own disobedience.
In our opinion, a repentant Christian cannot be cursed.
Conclusion
Ultimately, the Scriptural case for generational sin and generational curses is weak. That's not to say that the enemy won't find fertile ground in a succession of willing generations, but we believe that a born again Christian as a new creation (2 Cor. 5:17), whose is being transformed (Ro. 12:1), cannot unwittingly assist in handing down of a demonic spiritual legacy.
We would conclude that in every instance of spiritual or natural disfunction, there is a willing and purposeful participation. Curses cannot find a landing place for the righteous man:
Pr. 26:2 Like a fluttering sparrow or a darting swallow, an undeserved curse does not come to rest.
Lastly, we are of the generation of Adam. All mankind, and even creation itself, is afflicted by the death sentence that came as a result of Adam's sin (Ro. 5:12). This is not so much generational as it is the environment all men are born into (Jn. 3:18). Jesus broke the curse that comes from this condemnation (Ro. 8:1-2). This new creation means the Holy Spirit lives in him and can only result in freedom:
2Co. 3:16-18 But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. 17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18 And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.
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