Generational Curses: Is there such a thing?
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Is there such a thing as a generational curse?
Throughout my Christian walk, I have heard Christian’s use this term when there is a negative pattern passed down from generation to generation in their families. They are believed to be passed down from grandparents to parents and from parents to their offspring’s. Some of these patterns may go back for centuries.
Oftentimes, these families have been afflicted with alcoholism, drug addiction, poverty, sickness, disease, or any continual negative pattern. Some believe that somewhere in their family lineage, there was sin and rebellion against God, and because of it, their family is condemned to live out a curse for several generations.
This belief stems from a few verses in the Old Testament (Ex 20:5; Ex 34:7; Num 14:8; Deut 5:9) and I will admit, for the longest time I also believed that my family was cursed because of rebellion and sin against God thus explaining sickness, alcoholism, divorce, and a rash of other bad things wrong in the family. Let’s see what the Bible says about this.
For the sake of illustration, I will use only a couple of these verses from the KJV. In Exodus 34:6-7, when Moses was making two new tablets where God was to re-write the Ten Commandments, the Bible says:
“And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and 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.”
Also in Lamentations 5:7, the Bible says:
“Our fathers have sinned, and are not; and we have borne their iniquities.”
There we can see where this belief of generational curses in some Christians stems from, but is this still in effect, now that we are under a New Covenant? A covenant of grace? Let's continue.
If this curse were still in effect, then according to Exodus 22:18, I should be stoned to death for having practiced witchcraft in the past, as did many of my ancestors. Moreover, my descendants would be punished unto the third and fourth generation because of my rebellion and my sins against God.
Yes, I committed a grievous sin against God. I broke the First Commandment “Thou shalt have no other gods before me.” Sadly, according to the New Testament, I have broken all of the Ten Commandments, and under the old covenant, I deserved to die for having practiced witchcraft. Thankfully, because of what Jesus did for me, I no longer have to die. No one has to die, physically or spiritually. My descendants will not be punished for my sins either.
What Jesus accomplished on the cross is magnanimous. To better understand this, one would have to read the entire Bible, but for now let’s go to a few verses. In these verses, we will also learn the meaning of the word “curse.” In Galatians 3:13-14, the Bible 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: That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.”
Where it says Jesus redeemed us from the “curse” of the law, it means Jesus saved us from our disobedience of the law, from the rejection and surrender to punishment, and the destruction caused by judgment.
These verses also say Christ was made a curse for us. What does this mean? Paul explains to us in Galatians 3:13 that Christ was made a curse by the manner in which He died. The Jews considered cursed anyone who was hanged from a tree; they were seen as a punishment from God.
We also see the same explanation in Deuteronomy 21:22-23:
“And if a man have committed a sin worthy of death, and he be to be put to death, and thou hang him on a tree: His body shall not remain all night upon the tree, but thou shalt in any wise bury him that day; (for he that is hanged is accursed of God;) that thy land be not defiled, which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance."
The Hebrew word for accursed is Qelălăh and has several meanings. Vilification and reproach are a couple; it means the opposite of blessing, and it is the lowering to a lesser state.
Therefore, Christ bore our disobedience, and became a curse for us when He hung on the cross. He was considered to be punished, stricken, and afflicted by God when He took upon himself our transgressions (Isa 53:4). During His most agonizing final moments, Jesus was rejected and forsaken, and although He committed no sin, He bore our sins. He became the sacrificial lamb, the atonement for our iniquities.
Sin means death. That is, spiritual death. Romans 6:23 says, “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Sin enslaves us (Jn 8:34). Jesus paid the price for our sins to set us free and have eternal life through Him (Rom 8:2). Those who accept Christ are no longer a prisoner of sin (Jn 8:36). As Paul stated, sin shall not have dominion over us (Rom 6:14). By dying to sin, we are set free. My recommendation is to read Chapter 6 in Romans. Romans 6 clearly explain we are dead to sin after accepting Christ.
Galatians 5:24 says, "Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires" (NIV). We are not bound to sin nor are we to be loyal to it. He has cleansed us through and through, and has saved us from spiritual death. It is a precious gift this gift of salvation, and he extends an invitation to anyone who wants to receive it. As a result, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation (2 Cor 5:17). Therefore, there is now no condemnation to them, which are in Christ Jesus (Rom 8:1).Because of Jesus, we now have a choice. We do not have to die. We can choose life. If Jesus had not lived a sinless life and died for us on the cross, we would never accomplish what Jesus accomplished no matter how good and obedient we tried to be our entire lives.
As long as we are in covenant with God, we are under His covering and we have everlasting life through Jesus. Furthermore, we do not have to carry the penalty for what our grandparents or our parents did. We are under a New Covenant. We do not have to fast and pray, and go through deliverance ceremonies to cast out demons and cancel generational curses. Jesus took care of that when He took upon himself all of our sins: our past, present, and future sins. However, this does not mean we are now free to sin (Rom 6:1-2). When we sin, we must come to Christ with a repentant heart and confess our sins, and we will be forgiven.
There are no more generational curses in the life of a Christian. Most of the things we see in dysfunctional families are not generational curses but negative behavioral patterns they CHOSE to follow. Some may even call that to be a curse when we pass down negative traits to our children. However, this is just learned behavior. We often become what we learn, but we do have a choice in what we do.
Is it sickness that is prevalent in your family and now you suffer from this? This does not mean it is a generational curse. There were sick people in the days of Jesus and it did not have anything to do with sin or generational curses as the ancient Jews often believed. A good example is found in John 9:1-3 where Jesus encounters a blind man who was blind from birth.
“And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth. And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind? Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.”
Sickness does not automatically mean there is sin somewhere. Therefore, we should not blame our misfortune or our family’s misfortune on the sins of our ancestors. We alone are answerable for our own sins. In Jeremiah 31:29-30, God promises us that the children will no longer pay for the father’s mistakes; however, we should also remain in covenant with Him (Ezekiel 18).
Is there such a thing as generational curses in the life of a Christian, the answer is no. Everyone is responsible for his or her own sins and their rebellion against God.
There are spiritual consequences in our rebellion with God, and it is OUR rebellion, not our ancestors, that is relevant here. On judgment day, everyone shall give an account of himself to God (Rom 14:12), and for this reason, we need to accept responsibility for our own sins and repent.
I pray that after you read this hub, it will bring understanding about what Jesus accomplished on the cross and dispel any superstition revolving around generational curses.
THANK YOU FOR STOPPING BY MY HUB. IF YOU LIKED THIS HUB, PLEASE DON'T FORGET TO VOTE.
©Faithful Daughter
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Hi Hyphenbird,
Yes, I agree with your comment. It all boils down to a lack of understanding of the freedom we have in Christ and of the New Covenant we have in Him. Instead many continue to live in unfounded fear. Thanks for stopping by.
Great hub! I worried over generational curses for sometime until I got a better understanding of who I am in Christ. Excellent hub that I am sure will help free others from misunderstanding.
Dexter,
Thank you visiting and commenting. You are not alone, I also believed in generational curses for years until I got a revelation, and as you, I got a better understanding of the scriptures. Fear left me after that. God bless!
Great hub, I agree, but have crossed many that believe there are both generational curses and blessings, 50
Hi 50 Caliber,
Thanks for the visit. Yes, there are many that still believe this way. But their beliefs about generational curses turns into superstition about demons and familiar spirits and the Bible does not say anything about this. They really have nothing to fear if they are in Christ Jesus.
Funny thing watching folks die, swearing their mother is rubbing their feet and describing how good it feels, dementia defaulting to superstition? I don't spose in this life I'll know, and will probably not be on my mind in the next, but eternity is a long time, I might just get around to asking, who knows? not I, 50
50 Caliber,
Food for thought. I'm not sure with some folks what's going through their minds. Some see angels. I guess one day we will all know.
I totally agree with you Faithful Daughter...it's true people confuse negative behavior patterns with generational curses. It's such a wonderful blessing how the deliverance that Jesus has given us affects so many different areas in our lives. Great article!
Blessings Sister:-)
Nicely done - I see a lot of material on this topic, but arguably true... Isn't that why Christ is our mediator? -AMEN
A good book BTW about how we sometimes can "trip up" and curse ourselves in the present: "10 Curses That Block the Blessing" by Larry Huch, is a good read. In His peace... Rev.Ted
FriendofTruth,
Thank you for your visit and your comment. Too many people give the devil too much credit for what we ourselves create in our lives. I feel we should give Jesus all our focus and all the glory, and leave satan out of it. There is victory in our Lord! Amen?
christ4ever,
Thank you for blessing me with your visit. Yes, amen for the redeeming blood of Jesus. I had to contain myself when I began to write this hub. The more I wrote, the more I wanted to go deeper into what Jesus did for us, but I did not want to make the hub longer than needed to bring this message.
I agree, there is way too much writing on this, and on many other topics that only serves to confuse Christians even more. Maybe if we stick with our Bible first, there wouldn't be so much confusion.
Thanks for the recommendation; I will have to look into this book. Evil is very real, and I do believe there is power in the tongue, but I already wrote about this in another hub.
God bless!
I watched a fascinating documentary on PBS about epi-genetics and how the memory of events physical or emotional is remembered in the material that is operating around and instructing the genetic material and thereby affected how the genetic material expressed itself. Sometimes it was physical other times it was mental or emotional
This leads me to wonder if this isn't what God meant when He talked about the third and fourth generations that the bents and affects would or could be passed down consequentially. That by sinning we would be altering how the code of life in each one of us and our descendants functioned.
I do love your conclusion on the matter that through the blood of Christ all has been redeemed and because of what we He has done each one of us has the opportunity to choose not to give into those patterns and perhaps alter those instructions in the other direction in our family structures.
Faithful Daughter,
I appreciate your clarity for indeed many are confused and therefore, remain in bondage to that which is no longer applicable. Thank you for sharing this message of truth.
Voted up and useful.
Forever His
Tamarajo,
Excellent deduction my sister! You think as I do. Yes, this is exactly how I feel about genetic encoding unto the third and fourth generations. The ancient Jews did not understand DNA or about science, therefore, they had to be obedient to the Word of God, and they were not. If they had been obedient, most of these abnormalities would have not been imprinted in their genes. Because of disobedience, sin is passed down, and it actually started with Adam; however, because of what Jesus accomplished on the cross for us, our genes do not have to be genetically "stamped" with this defect. That is why the scriptures say “and with His stripes we are healed” (Isa 53:5) of sin, which is the root of our sickness. Isn’t it amazing what our Lord did?!
Thank you for your comment. God bless!
RevLady,
Thank you for your visit and for standing with me on the truth. When I was writing this hub, I prayed that the Lord would help me write this message as simple as possible to be able to reach all my readers. I could have gone deeper into this topic, but wisdom dictated otherwise.
I am most grateful for your vote. May God bless you!
This is something that I go back and forth on as well. While spending time in some Muslim countries I met first or second generation Christians that came from a long line of practicing Muslim families. I learned much in these encounters, that in some religions people will dedicate their entire future lineage to the works of whatever they are believing. Even if a son or daughter becomes a Christian, there can still be residue left over from the covenant that their parents made (alcoholism, migraines etc.).
All I know is that Jesus is not done with me yet and if I were 100% whole, I would already be on the other side of eternity. I believe we as believers can absolutely be oppressed by demons and spirits etc, but not possessed.
Madeline,
Thank you for visiting and for your comment. We, as Christians, will never reach perfection until we meet our maker in heaven. We will have our daily struggles in life full of temptations.
Evil is very much alive, however, when we come to Christ, generational curses are no longer in effect in the life of a Christians; we are not bound by our past sins nor are we bound because of our ancestors sins. We are free of this because we have repented and are now a new creation in Christ. We have victory in Jesus. You must believe this. Anyone not believing this will continue in bondage.
Some of the things we suffer from, like migraines as you mentioned, are not generational curses. We need to leave those superstitions aside. I pray that the Lord will reveal to you as He did me what He has done for us on the cross.
God bless you sister.
Interesting hub...thanks for sharing! I agree for the most part that we are no longer under the curse as we have been set fully free by Christ and are indeed under the New Covenant. I do believe, however, that there are things we can do to invoke curses upon ourselves, as somebody had mentioned above. "The power of life and death is in the tongue." I believe when people are careless with their words, they can easily speak curses over themselves or families. Regarding generational curses, I believe that the POWER of the curse if broken but when one is in AGREEMENT with the curse--he/she continues to live under it's power. There is power in agreement. I believe that doors can be opened in the spirit realm. Let's take addiction, for example. Though it is a learned behavior and can be passed down that way, I believe there is also a spirit realm reality to addiction. If my great grandfather opened the door to addiction, then the evil spirits can follow the generations and keep tormenting the family. As one participates in sin, one can open doors to evil in his/her life. I believe this is one reason why repentance is so powerful. When I repent for sins, I do so not only for myself, but on behalf on my family line, as well. I hope this makes sense--I would write more but am on my way out the door. Be blessed!
Seek-n-Find,
Thank you for stopping by and commenting. I understand what you say and I agree with you that there is a spirit realm and satan is always there to tempt us and try to destroy God’s children in any way he can. However, I'm not sure if you understand the message I tried to convey here.
As a believer, when we come to Christ, we are free from the bondage of sin our ancestors placed us in. We are free to choose to drink and become an alcoholic as our great grandfather or we can choose NOT to follow in our great grandfather's steps.
If we choose addiction, then we are sinning and it is our sin, not our great grandfathers' sin. Yes, there are devils readily available to tempt us but we now have Christ in us and can walk away, we are not a slave to sin. And yes, there is power in the tongue and we should watch what we say because the tongue can edify or bring destruction, but a Christian is covered by the redeeming blood of Christ and should not live in fear of being cursed. Do you believe that God would allow His children to be harmed because of someone else’s’ careless hateful words? That person will have to answer to God for THEIR sins. God will only allow the things that He has ordained.
This topic of generational curses has brought much confusion in the believers and it doesn’t have to if we understand what Christ did for us in the cross.
I hope that this clears up some of the confusion. God bless.
Hello Faithful Daughter,
There are some really good points in this hub. I just have one comment concerning "ancestors" and "generational" in this theme.
You wrote:
("Is there such a thing as a generational curse?")
("There are spiritual consequences in our rebellion with God, and it is OUR rebellion, not our ancestors, that is relevant here.")
We have all descended from Adam (ancestor). From "generation-by-generation" for thousands of years, Adam and Eve are the ancestors of everyone alive today.
For it was Adam who was first created, and then Eve.
1 Timothy 2:13
One thing I would like to add here is the distinction between the "curse of the Law" and the "original curse" from God.
Christ redeemed us from the *curse of the Law*, having become a curse for us—for it is written, “CURSED IS EVERYONE WHO HANGS ON A TREE”
Galatians 3:13
To the woman He said,“I will greatly multiply your pain in childbirth, in pain you will bring forth children; yet your desire will be for your husband,and he will rule over you.”Then to Adam He said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree about which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat from it’; *Cursed* is the ground because of you: In toil you will eat of it all the days of your life.“Both thorns and thistles it shall grow for you; and you will eat the plants of the field; by the sweat of your face you will eat bread, till you return to the ground, because from it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”
Genesis 3:16-19
What Jesus did for us on the cross fully redeems us, but not from the consequences from the "original curse" in the Garden until Jesus Christ returns.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
1 Peter 1:3-5
Jesus' death on the cross provided complete redemption from all curses. Redemption from the "curse of the law" is by faith and is offered now, but complete redemption from the curse of the "original sin" will manifest completely when Jesus Christ returns.
For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ; who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself.
Philippians 3:20-21
While we wait, in our fallen condition, complete redemption (original curse) for the followers of Jesus Christ will be at the last trumpet.
Behold, I tell you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality.
1 Corinthians 15:51-53
But according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells.
2 Peter 3:13
Some of the confusion can be misunderstandings in the distinction of curses. Contrasting the differences in Scripture may clear up some of the misunderstandings.
Great hub and theme. God Bless!
PlanksandNails,
Thank you for stopping by and commenting. In this hub I had wanted to send out a simple clear message to dispel a present belief that generational curses are still in effect today. This belief was brought on by the verses I quoted from Exodus 20:5; 34:6-7, Num 14:8; and Deut 5:9. I had started to include “original sin” in the hub, which can be another hub in itself; however, I thought it best to keep it focused on these verses, which are the ones that are confusing many.
Many are still under the belief that generational curses are still in effect in the life of a Christian. However, many are not aware or do not understand that God also promised us He will not punish His children for the sins of their fathers, nor will the fathers suffer for the sins of their children, as found in the following verses:
Deu 24:16 : “The fathers shall not be put to death for the children, neither shall the children be put to death for the fathers: every man shall be put to death for his own sin.”
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.”
Generational curses and “original sin” are two separate topics revolving around the same thing-- disobedience and sin; there is a distinction as you mentioned. Although Adam is an “ancestor” and sin was introduced into the world by his disobedience to God, this is not the same as the curse God placed on man because of their disobedience to the law. It was because of the consequences of original sin that the Law was put in place.
Because of this original sin Adam introduced, man INHERITS a “sinful nature.” Again, this is not the same as the “generational curses” that many believe in today. After the fall of man because of Adam, there is hope for mankind. God promises us a sinless sacrifice to take on the punishment for our sins (Gen 3:15). God sent Christ, who did not sin nor was He born with a “sinful nature,” to be sin for us.
Scripture tells us the solution for our sinful nature is a new birth (John 3:3-8). The Bible also tells us that even after we receive Christ, our “sinful nature” remains, and we will struggle with it (Rom 7:15-20) until we are glorified. However, when we accept Christ, the Spirit of God takes up residence in us and we can conquer our sinful nature.
Therefore, we have the power to overcome “original sin” by what Jesus accomplished on the cross. How? Galatians 5:16-17 says:
“This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.”
Thank you for your input. God bless!
I agree 100% with the point that says generational curses are not existing in a Christian's life, the problem is the lack of the knowldge of The Cross (The Finished Work of Christ)
Njongo,
Thank you for stopping by and commenting. I agree, not many understand what Jesus accomplished on the cross. God bless you!
Thank you for publishing this marvelous and thought-provoking Hub. I surely agree with you that Grace wipes away this curse. But as for the lost, those without Christ, I think we can plainly see that pathologies do seem to transmit down some family lines.
I believe that some people are blessed because their parents or grandparents were serious Christians. People pray for their children and grandchildren and I believe these prayers can be effectual. So, I think blessings can be had for a couple generations because of a serious Christian. For instance, my saintly grandmother was told by God in a vision that all of her children and grandchildren would be saved because of her faithfulness. I believe that is true. If God does not work on behalf of the faithful, if he does not answer their prayers, then prayer is ineffectual. IF there are blessings to be had, it makes sense that there are also curses to be had.
Hi James,
Thanks for stopping by. Ahh, the prayers of a saintly little grandmother are effective, aren't they? What a wonderful promise God made to your grandmother. Yes, I believe the blessings of a saved one can extend to the household.
On the other hand, cursings can exist for those not under the covenant made through Christ, but Christians are no longer responsible for the generational curses that were once passed down. God promised us that, and we shouldn't be afraid. But this doesn't mean we can do as we please either, we do have to follow God's commandments and not sin because we are responsible for our own sins. We have to stay under His covenant and be obedient.
You've solved the case on generational curses. Those chained, choose to be. Awesome Hub! Bless you, those who preach it, do so for book selling. Hub pages is where the truth seekers are. Love it!
Thank you for stopping by PoweroftheCross.
I believe that people place themselves in bondage when they continue to believe in this. It all boils down to not only reading but understanding our Bible and what Christ accomplished on the cross.
Hyphenbird Level 8 Commenter 11 months ago
I believe when this occurs that parents are not walking in true freedom they received when they accepted Christ. If so, we teach our children and grandchildren to leave the prison of the past behind with Satan and freely walk away from it into a life with the Creator who promised that His plans for us are only good and positive. Jeremiah 29:11