The iniquities of one generation can adversely affect future ones unless those sins are renounced and . . . heritage in Christ is claimed. - Neil Anderson(1)
Quite possibly, the sneakiest scheme of the devil is how he can keep us unaware of sin. Satan knows that if we’re left unaware of certain sins that we’re committing, that we can’t cease from our wrongdoing. The wages of sin is death and destruction (Rm 6:23a), and the devil realizes that if we’re blinded to sin in our life, then we’ll continue making detrimental life-choices. The devil is able to mask sin through heritage, and sin is a disease that can be passed through family lines like any other disease.
Suppose a father had a disposition for heart disease, and he raised a son who didn’t pay attention to his daddy’s health. When the son became an adult and entered his mid-forties, he experienced a mild heart attack. Only when the doctors inquired into his family history was he forced to actually talk to his dad and discover that his father had suffered a heart-attack around the same age. The son was then confronted with a choice to change his eating, exercise and lifestyle habits. Tommy Hays, author of Free to Be Like Jesus, says,
When we go to see the doctor, the first thing they do is take our medical history. They want to know the problems we are having now and the problems we have had in the past. But they also want to know the history of problems in our family line as well.
Medical science has discovered God’s truth that we are affected by the lives of those who have lived before us. We are affected by the acts of our forefathers, our ancestors before us, like it or not, [and] whether we think it is fair or not. Sin affects and infects everything and everyone around us, in our generation and in the generations to follow.(2)
Have you ever wondered why some families tend to have recurring patterns such as divorce, numerous setbacks, financial ruin, and phobias; just as a few examples? I have heard it said that addiction to alcohol or tobacco – and even criminal behavior – are genetic predispositions, but is this true? Are certain character traits really passed on through bloodline, or is there something else going on?
We’re going to discover tonight that people are linked to their family line much closer than we probably realize, often perpetuating a spiritual illness through many generations. Sin is the illness, and the only way we can treat and cure the underlying problem is to identify the particular sin – or sins, plural – repent of them, and make a resolution to cease from committing them again.
Generational Sin (Exodus 34:6-7)
Inherited sin is called “generational sin.” John Ortberg says this kind of sin “occurs when unresolved problems and sins of one generation tend to pop up again and plague the next generation, and the next one, and the one after that.”(3) The Lord said this would happen to His people if they continued in their transgressions and failed to seek forgiveness for their sin. We read in Exodus 34:6-7:
And the Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord God, is merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children’s children to the third and the fourth generation” (Exodus 34:6-7).
The words of this passage are not an isolated occurrence in the Bible, for they can be found in four other places (cf. Ex 20:3-6; Nm 14:18; Dt 5:9-10; Jer 32:17-18 ). Since these words are repeated elsewhere, I think it’s safe to say they must be significant and worth taking a closer look at.
It’s important to note that God is merciful, gracious, longsuffering, abounding in goodness and in truth; and that He’s forgiving of iniquity, transgression, and sin. John said, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 Jn 1:9). If people will just ask the Lord to forgive them, then He will forgive by the blood of the Lamb; therefore, the key to receiving forgiveness is to simply ask for it in all sincerity.
If we refuse to ask for God’s forgiveness, then we will remain guilty of our crimes; and it’s also an indication that our heart is unrepentant and that we will continue in our sin regardless of what the Lord desires. We read that God does not clear the guilty, but visits their iniquity on their children and grandchildren for generations to come (Ex 34:7), and this is a depiction of generational sin.
It sounds like the Bible is saying that a person can be punished for the sins of his parents or forefathers; so, this concept can seem a bit confusing, but please bear with me. The principle presented here is best understood by discussing something called “original sin,” which is the first sin committed by Adam and Eve in the beginning. The apostle Paul stated in Romans chapter 5, verses 12 and 14, “Through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned . . . Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who had not sinned according to the likeness of the transgression of Adam.”
In the Garden of Eden the tempter approached Eve and enticed her to eat the forbidden fruit. Adam partook as well, and as a result mankind was evicted from paradise to live in oppression from the curse of sin (Gn 3:13-19). Sin and death for mankind was Satan’s big plan from the beginning, and he’s still scheming on how to utilize the curse against God’s people.
The “tendency to sin” which was present within Adam and Eve; that “tendency” was visited on the entire human race by means of inheritance. When a believer commits sin, he’s not literally committing the exact same crime as demonstrated in the Garden of Eden. When we partake of sin, yes we’re partaking of forbidden fruit, but it’s not the exact same tree. Paul said that death reigned “even over those who had not sinned according to the likeness of the transgression of Adam” (Rm 12:14).
What was inherited through the centuries was the “tendency to sin,” and not some form of punishment. When an individual commit’s sin, that person is acting from his own free will, and thus experiences the natural consequences of his own behavior. Human beings are not punished for the exact same sin of Adam and Eve; they are punished for their own individual transgressions.
In Exodus 20:5 we read, “I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me.” Notice how the Lord will punish specifically those who “hate” Him (Ex 20:5b). Some translations say those who “reject” Him. God allows the effects of sin to be visited only on the individual who commits the sin. The key to understanding generational sin is this: Sinful behavior can be learned from parents and grandparents, and so on; and once it’s adopted and enacted, sin becomes an individual matter and leads to suffering the natural consequences of our own wrong choices. Individual sin leads to individual consequences; but often, that sin has been learned from and elder.
An example of generational sin can be seen in the family line of King David. In 2 Samuel 12:9-10, the Lord spoke to David through the prophet Nathan and said, “Why have you despised the commandment of the Lord, to do evil in His sight? You have killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword; you have taken his wife to be your wife, and have killed him with the sword of the people of Ammon. Now therefore, the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised Me.”
God said the sword would never depart from David’s house, and it never did! His son Absalom rebelled against him and was killed in battle; and his son Solomon committed the sin of spiritual harlotry by worshipping the gods of his foreign wives (1 Kgs 11:3-4). David’s rebellion and sinful tendencies were passed on to his children, and each child suffered for his own individual mistakes. The sword came into their lives.
Generational sin is sometimes referred to as a generational curse. Now, the term “curse” can seem harsh, for we tend to think of a curse as an irreversible pronouncement; however, let’s not allow this term to discourage us and result in feelings of hopelessness and condemnation, for the Bible teaches that we can “reverse the curse” – and I’ll discuss this reversal process in a moment.
Individual Responsibility (cf. Ezekiel 18:1-32)
I want to make it very clear that when we suffer for sin we’re not suffering for someone else’s transgression, and we’re not being punished for our parents’ sin. God didn’t say that He visits the “punishment” of the fathers on the children; He said, “visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children” (Ex 34:7). The Lord visits the “iniquity” and “sin” upon the children and grandchildren.
What the Lord was saying is that the successive generations would undoubtedly repeat the same sin, or sins, of the forefathers. A definition of generational sin is this: “The natural consequence of ingrained behavioral patterns that are passed down from one generation to the next.”(4) Generational sin can be viewed as learned behavioral patterns, and this would include spiritual behavior.
In Ezekiel chapter 18, Ezekiel shared how the Israelites were using a lame proverb in an attempt to excuse themselves from individual responsibility. The proverb stated, “The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge” (Ezk 18:2b). They basically declared, “Our fathers have sinned, and we are unjustly being punished for their sin. We must, therefore, blame our parents for our problems.”
The Lord admonished the people, “The soul who sins shall die” (Ezk 18:4). He told them, “You are not being punished for your parents’ sin, but for your own sin.” The Israelites repeated the same kinds of sins as their forefathers, and were thus suffering the same consequences of their forefathers.
Likewise, believers can repeat the same types of sins as their parents and grandparents, and suffer the same consequences; but keep in mind that they’re not being punished for the sins of their forefathers.
Breaking the Pattern (Nehemiah 1:5-7; Leviticus 26:40-42)
Generational sin will continue to plague our life and even trickle down as far as our great grandchildren and beyond if we fail to stop it right now, and reverse the curse. John Ortberg says,
When we are growing up, we often look at the previous generation and see patterns of unhealthy behavior and sin and say to ourselves, “I’m never going to be like that.” But what happens? We get caught in the same trap until somewhere along the line somebody in some generation makes a courageous decision to change.(5)
When we hear about the reality of generational sin we might feel helpless, but I assure you that we’re not helpless! We’re only incapable of effecting change if we remain ignorant of what’s taking place in our life; however, we’ve now been made aware of the need for self-reflection. We need to consider our life and our family history, and think about the mistakes and sins that are continually being repeated. Once we identify them, we have an opportunity to confess those sins and break the curse over our own life and the life of our family.
Breaking a generational sin or curse comes through confession and repentance (1 Jn 1:9). We have to confess “our own” wrongs. Perhaps we’re repeating the same sins of our forefathers; however, we are individually responsible for our own behavior. We must confess our own wrongs, and then we must repent of them. Repentance is a complete turning away from sin; and a good example of confession and repentance of generational sin can be observed in Nehemiah 1:5-7. Listen closely as I read what Nehemiah declared:
I pray, Lord God of heaven, O great and awesome God, You who keep Your covenant and mercy with those who love You and observe Your commandments, please let Your ear be attentive and Your eyes open, that You may hear the prayer of Your servant which I pray before You now, day and night, for the children of Israel Your servants, and confess the sins of the children of Israel which we have sinned against You.
Both my father’s house and I have sinned. We have acted very corruptly against You, and have not kept the commandments, the statutes, nor the ordinances which You commanded Your servant Moses (Nehemiah 1:5-7).
Did you notice something familiar that Nehemiah said? He reminded the Lord of His words in Exodus 34:6-7, by stating, “You who keep Your covenant and mercy with those who love You and observe Your commandments” (Neh 1:5). Nehemiah basically declared, “Lord, I remember your admonition about generational sin, but I also remember you saying that you’re a forgiving God.”
Nehemiah didn’t just confess his own sins, but he confessed the sins of all the children of Israel, and the wrongs of his father’s house. What he confessed was the generational sin of his relatives, parents and ancestors, and he did this in order to lead the individuals who were present to consider their own lives, and to make a commitment to cease from the sins of their forefathers. If they would halt their own wrong behavior, it could break the pattern of sin for future generations.
In Leviticus we see another example of generational sin, confession and repentance. The Lord counseled His people that if they ever departed from Him and ceased to worship Him, then they would suffer hardship. Not only would the parents suffer, but the children would as well. In Leviticus 16:39, the Lord emphasized how the children would waste away in the sins of the fathers; however, He also presented a plan for forgives and restitution, which we see in Leviticus chapter 26, verses 40-42, which says,
But if they confess their iniquity and the iniquity of their fathers, with their unfaithfulness in which they were unfaithful to Me, and that they also have walked contrary to Me . . . if their uncircumcised hearts are humbled, and they accept their guilt - I will remember My covenant with Jacob, and My covenant with Isaac and My covenant with Abraham I will remember; I will remember the land (Leviticus 26:40, 41b-42).
The Israelites were informed how they must repent of both their own iniquity and that of their fathers, just as we observed in the example found in Nehemiah. The Lord said that if they would do so, He would remember His covenant and the land, meaning that He would restore His people.
In breaking the pattern of generational sin we can prepare a family tree, and try to identify some recurring generational patterns; and then after finding them we can reflect on our own life. If any generational sins have become manifested in our own life, then we should confess them and repent.
There are probably some things that our ancestors have done in the past that are affecting our life right now, and which we will be “unable” to identify. If any of us suspect this to be the case, then I would suggest saying a general prayer like Nehemiah. Notice how he didn’t list each and every sin; he just simply stated that the children of Israel had “sinned” against God. Perhaps we need to ask the Lord to forgive the sins of our ancestors that have been passed through the centuries, and to forgive any of those sins that might have entered into our own heart and life and the lives of our children.
Time of Reflection
I want to encourage each and every person here this evening to break the curse of sin in your life. If you know of any sins that you have committed, or in which you are currently living, then confess them to the Lord and ask for His forgiveness. Remember, the Bible says, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 Jn 1:9).
If you can identify any sins in your life that are the result of learned behavior that’s been passed down through the generations, then confess those transgressions as well, and seek forgiveness; and then turn away from them. This is the process to break the curse, or the cycle, of sin in your family line.
If you do not know Jesus Christ, please keep in mind what you heard tonight, about how you’re living with the curse of sin that was passed down through the ages from our first forefather, Adam. Romans 6:23 tells us, “The wage of sin is death.” The end result of sin is spiritual death in hell for all of eternity, but that curse can be broken in your life this evening through the forgiveness found in Jesus Christ.
NOTES
(1) Neil T. Anderson, Winning the Battle Within (Eugene, OR: Harvest House, 2008), p. 180.
(2) Tommy Hays, Free to Be Like Jesus (Summerville, SC: Holy Fire Publishing, 2009), p. 239.
(3) John Ortberg, Stepping Out in Faith (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2003), p. 16.
(4) Sue Bohlin, “Could My Children’s Autism be the Result of a Generational Curse?” Probe Ministries: http://www.probe.org/docs/e-curses.html (April 2004).
(5) Ortberg, p. 16.
