Generational curses

What are your thoughts on Generational curses??

RE: //How are you, PaPa? How many children do you have, that you're rightly very proud of?//

2 one just turned 2 the other almost 6 months, Trully the nick should be thankful and unworthy papa rather than proud.

They do not exist in the New Covenant. Under the Old Covenant, however, anything and everything is fair game - curses, witchcraft, voodoo, sorcery. But none of it can touch a blood-washed, transplanted soul in Jesus Christ.

I am not real familiar with the concept of generational curses. How would you define or describe generational curses??

Generational curses are usually understood as negative consequences for actions that can be traced through a bloodline. If someone's father, for example, was a drunkard and beat his wife, the son is doomed to do the same with his wife. If a mother was promiscuous in her youth and conceived a baby out of wedlock, her daughter will do the same. The curse follows the children and afflicts them on account of their generational heredity. They are guilty by "association", by being in the loins of their parents when they brought the curse upon themselves.

This "curse" thing can be a fetish among some preachers and teachers; some even purport themselves as deliverance ministers, able to summon the Holy Spirit to break these curses via their prayers and laying on of hands. The truth is, however, if a believer is succumbing to a besetting sin, it is because of a stronghold they alone are responsible for, and not something their father or grandfather did.

This is an extremely important truth to grasp, if one wishes to be set free from the power of sin. This is because "generational curses" presuppose the afflicted person's innocence and hence the ball is put in the wrong court. What actually happens is when a person yields to sin and opens their heart to bitterness or lust or greed, the flesh rises up and overpowers the spirit. A stronghold then becomes established in the mind. The Spirit of God can break these strongholds, but not before genuine humility and a confession of one's "owning" of their sin.

Brother Paul

Thank you Brother Paul, that helps my understanding very much.

Proudpapa,

This is very relevant to your other post about closed minds.

What I mean is that from my experience this teaching that seems quite prolific in the 'church' has a whole host of 'professional ministers' who delight in supposedly settting captives free from generational curses and it is accepted without any true biblical support (though they distort scriptures to try and justify it).

If you step back and look at the scriptures, there is no ground for teaching that Christians are under bondage to their forefather's sins. However if you try and speak to those who teach or hold to this teaching and show them the scriptures they are using don't say what they try and make them say, then watch out! You will get a reaction. They just don't want to know or hear, probably because they have built a whole ministry based on this or they think this is what they can blame their problems on.

Like a lot of teachings that are the 'traditions of men', if you are bought up spritually in an environment where such things are taught and every one believes it is so, it is so easy to not realise it is wrong. But if we have a heart for truth I believe the Holy Spirit will get us to the point of seeing the error. Over the years there are many things that I initially accepted that I have subsequently had to change my view on, so that bible truth changes me and I don't change bible truth to fit my view. This is one of those I had to change!

tuc wrote: "Now I believe that it is possible for a true Christian to be in bondage because they do not see or experience the reality of The New Covenant. They do not yet understand or experience the reality of Christ's life within them."

They may be in bondage, but not to a curse only a lie.
Jesus Christ set us free from the curse of the law. So if He set us free we are free. The devil or our ingnorance may convince us we are still in bondage to past sins of our fathers, but the reality is we are not under a curse. We are in Christ now and NOT adam....if we died with Him and live in Him.

Now we may suffer physical or emotional effects of past sins that others have commited, but that is not the same as being under a curse and needing to be delivered from some spiritual force that has a hold on us. Some things we may have to bear until we go to glory, others we need to renew our minds and God will heal us from, but which ever it is we are free in Christ.

'Proclaiming the truth' does not set us free from a curse, but it sets us free from deception.
Ony Christ can set us free from a curse and this He did on the cross.

Generational sins is a hot topic amongst our people. Some say they do not exist because Jesus came to deliver us from sin. And they are right.

Then you see people who are in the church, are believers but who are troubled with besetting sins. These sins run in families. They are so vulnerable to this kind of temptation and they fall. When one sees this happen it causes me to rethink this concept all over again.

(I would differentiate between generational curses and sins. A curse is something put on your family be someone long time ago whereas a sin is a lifestyle dependent upon choices.)

The blood of Jesus can and does deliver people from the bondage of sin, we all know that. But why is it that some seem to not be able to free themselves from it? (I am referring to the sins of immorality, in particular.)

Hi! 'ProudPapa'

Regarding 'generational curse':

In the Old Covenant God's word said that the sins of the fathers would be visited upon the children. However, from Ezekiel 18:17 we know that this does not refer to the natural offspring, because the son "shall not die for his father's iniquity".
However, the iniquities of Babylon will indeed be visited upon the spiritual seed which remains in that city of its own volition, for "in her is found the blood of prophets and of saints, and of all who have been slain on earth", (Rev 18:24 and also Matt 23:35).
This is why now is the time when the people of God should abandon Babylon. It clearly warns, "Lest you take part in her sins, lest you share in her plagues".

What if we call it "generational influence" instead of generational "curse?"

I agree that there is not a literal "curse" passed on from parent to child.

However there is no denying generational influence.

If a child grows up in a home where his dad is a drunkard and beats his wife, there is a reasonably good chance that his son may exhibit some of the same qualities.

In a sense, this may indeed be something that the son has to be "delivered" from.

Now I am in agreement that "deliverance ministers" are probably off base in a lot of what they teach and do.

But I do believe that if a saved person struggles with these types of issues that can be traced back to early influences, some sort of a deliverance ministry may help, even if it is to only probe and get to the root of problems that they may not even be aware of.

I had a friend who sat with a strong pastor and an associate pastor for a couple of hours and had one of these "probing" sessions. My friend is a very godly man, but when that was over he said he felt like a huge weight had been lifted off his shoulders and he was breathing really fresh air. He was not aware how much some earlier things in his life had affected him negatively, even on a subconscious level. But after renouncing some things and being prayed for, he felt really whole. But like I said you would never have known anything about any of this because my friend is a very godly and compassionate man. Its just that he, like the rest of us, have "junk" in our past that perhaps we have not dealt with yet.

Hereis one church's "preparation for prayer minstry."
One the whole, I think it is a good thing.
_______________________________________________
1.\tSet aside daily prayer and quiet time.

2.\tRead the following scriptures and meditate on them:
\t(John 10:1-10) Jesus came to give life abundantly.
\t(John 14:1-30) The Holy Spirit is given to lead all truth.
\t(1 John 1:5-10) Confess your sin for Jesus forgives and cleanses.
\t(James 1:5-8) Ask God for wisdom for your freedom.
\t(James 5:13-18) Confess your sins to each other…so that you may be healed.
\t(1 John 3: 1-24) We are commanded to love and to forgive.
\t(Matthew 18:15-35) Choose to forgive and to be forgiven.
\t
3.\tPrepare a private list of Forgiveness and Confession.
a.\tPlease note: It is not uncommon to have several pages for both your Forgiveness List and your Confession List.
b.\tReflect back to your childhood and ask the Holy Spirit to identify those individuals who have created hurts and wounds in your life.
c.\tMake another list of your sins to be confessed. Remember to be specific and ask the Holy Spirit to search your heart for anything that is hindering your complete freedom from the past. (If you allow pride or fear to hold back release, you will not go completely free. This is your choice to let go of the past and to be healed. James 5:16)

FORGIVENESS LIST
Privately create your journal

1. I make a choice to forgive those who have either hurt me or who have created offenses in my life.
a. If you could not stand up in Church next to this person and freely worship, then you need to have him or her on your list.
Note: By choosing to forgive, is my no means excusing the sin of others. It is simply giving those open wounds and hurts to the Lord for him to set us free.

CONFESSION LIST
All past sin the Holy Spirit reveals to you.
Thought/Word/Deed

\tAreas to search in Prayer:
This is for both your pre-Christian life and your Christian life.
a.\tFalse beliefs:
False religions, unbelief, idolatry, money, people, false teachings, etc.
b.\tWitchcraft/The Occult, New Age – e.g. Horoscopes/Psychics/Harry Potter/Wicca (Deuteronomy 18:10-14)
c.\tDrugs/Alcohol/Food/Money/Hobbies – Sin and or bondage to.
d.\tSexual immorality—Pornography/Intimate relationships outside of marriage
e.\tAbuses—Verbal/Physical/Sexual/Mental
f.\tDeath Music/Movies/Books—Regularly drawn or exposed to.
g.\tAreas of Bondage—Repetitive sin—Trapped in now or in the past.
h.\tFears/Anxiety
i.\tTraumatic Events—Abortion/Suicide/Violence/Deaths/Accidents
j.\tTorment or lies—Areas I believe and know are not true, but I still struggle with:
Rejection/unwanted
God’s Forgiveness realized
Unloved\t\t\tSelf-hatred or disappointment
Doubt of God’s love, provision\tSpecific statements made by people in my past that I still hear or remember.
Fears\t\t
Anger\t\t
Curses or vows made
Resentment/Hatred\t\t
Generational sins or sickness
Failure\tEtc.

Ask the Holy Spirit for wisdom and insight along with his divine protection. Remember to bring your Journal with you to your prayer session. It will be destroyed after Prayer Ministry. Your privacy and protection are a vital part of the Ministry!

Its just that he, like the rest of us, have "junk" in our past that perhaps we have not dealt with yet.

I again repeat: these are strongholds we are being delivered from. We are not being freed from curses, generational or otherwise, if we are transplanted from Adam to Christ. There is no such thing as a curse being upon a believer in the New Covenant, as such a concept contradicts clear New Testament scripture.

I have written a book on the prevention and destruction of strongholds called "Understanding Mortification" that deals prolifically on this very topic. I would be more than happy to email the book to anyone free of charge who would like to learn about these things. You will find the chapters are drenched with scripture references and all sorts of practical illustrations dedicated to unmask the wiles of Satan and how spiritual wickedness impacts the minds and hearts of believers in Christ Jesus.

Brother Paul

I definitely agree with the term "stronghold" vs. "curse."

Thanks for pointing that out.

I think Paul has it right. As to the "junk" from the past, I would add this. It is often true, in fact more often than not, that a young man or young woman will follow after the patterns of behavior that they were raised under. In my own family, my grandfather had a brother who was a drunkard. His sons followed his example and few of that line ever served the Lord. My grandfather followed the Lord and taught his children to do the same. As a result, very few of his line do not follow the Lord.

This is not a curse in the sense that these children were cursed generationally and something must be broken. This is simply the result of training children in the way they should or should not go. The notion of generational curses under the new covenant is, in my opinion, totally unscriptural.

hi, brothewr ravenhill was a big believer in tracking generations . he said that if you tracked jonathan edwards you will see nothing but great men and women and then he said if you tracked the worse criminal in england(whose name i have forgotten) you will see nothing but the dregs of society.jimp the jews always track their lineage,as seen in the bible and carries forth til today.jimp

This is a chapter from my book "Understanding Mortification" which deals somewhat with what this thread is about. I hope it sheds some light on how the powers of darkness really operate under the New Covenant. If one is interested in the book, just send an email and I'll attach the book (pdf) in reply. God bless. Brother Paul

Spiritual Forensics

As we sojourn throughout this world as children of God, a battle to revert us back to our pre-converted bondage in Adam is constantly being waged within our minds (Ephesians 2:1-3; 4:22-24; I Peter 1:14). The mind of a believer is like a computer database, with thousands of files surfacing within it throughout the day. Some of these files are internal components from old downloads while others are maliciously injected from an outside host. Although it is not necessary to determine whether a file is imported or exported to maintain an undefiled conscience, an accurate discernment of its nature is required if the Christian is to mortify with effectiveness.

We have all done many shameful things in the past while we lived for the lusts of our flesh according to the spirit of disobedience. Many of these past doings have become embedded in our minds and are able to be recalled. The resurfacing of these files needs to be daily mortified or “put off” to make way for the “putting on” of the new man’s files (Colossians 3:5-10). The powers of the air that control the ebbing and flowing of the world are forensic experts at resurrecting these old, corrupted files from the reserve banks of our memory.

Their tactic is to whisper impure suggestions that seem to come from our core being, with the strategy of allowing us to think the thoughts are intrinsically ours. When we unwittingly embrace and nurture these rogue impulses, we put ourselves back under the bondage of darkness and immediately lose our peace with God. In order to prevent spiritual strongholds from developing, we must be able to scan the legitimacy of these suggestions, unmask their wicked genesis and then shield them from the gateway of the mind (Galatians 5:1; Ephesians 5:11).

There are myriads of ways the powers of darkness can assault our senses in order to bring up a file. They can use an old song or photograph to trigger an image or impulse to surface in the mind. If mortification is eschewed, the flesh will be vivified to the hurt of our inner men. The impure recollections will then intensify to keep the corrupt files near to the surface of the mind, thus overwhelming the good files, which are meant to replace them. This is the enemy’s strategy.

Dear saints, we must be quick in our banishment of these impure ruminations. Paul himself exercised mental restraint in this area, as disclosed in his letter to the believers in Philippi: “Forgetting those things which are behind me…” (Phil. 3:13-14). One can only imagine the effort of mortification on Paul’s part to keep at bay the tainted memories of a man who, according to the testimony of the Holy Spirit, at one time breathed murder and wreaked havoc against the church and followers of Christ (Acts 8:3; 9:1).

There are pitfalls and snares along the way as we follow Christ in this world, a legion of phantoms rising to thwart our passage home. The powers of hell are able to summon a plethora of surmising impurities to steal your peace. And if they cannot make a breach while you are awake, they will try to rape your mind while you sleep. This explains those unspeakably filthy dreams which leave you feeling so violated and sinful in the morning. The enemy knows the chances of infiltration without mortification increases significantly when the believer’s mind is wandering along in unsupervised dreamscape.

According to scripture, the mind renewed in Christ is likened unto a weapon: “…arm yourselves likewise with the same mind…” (I Peter 4:1-2). Have you ever thought of your mind as a piece of armament, as weapon to mortify sinful impulses? The renewed mind in Christ is just that. It is with the Spirit-renewed mind that we dismantle potentially wicked strongholds, take down ungodly imaginations and decimate anything that dares exalt itself against God’s Word (II Cor. 10:3-5).

The mind is also the channel by which scripture is transferred into the heart once it is obeyed. Established in the heart, God’s Word becomes a fiery sword of protection to the humble believer in Christ. Being renewed in the spirit of your mind is akin to have a loaded cannon trained on the enemy (Ephesians 4:23). As soon as he attacks you with lust, a volley of living scripture explodes to repel his assault. Remain therefore vigilant and sober and girded-up at all times. The forensic experts can surface as many files as they wish, but they will all dissolve in the face of God’s truth.

My dear Christian reader, fortify your mind with God’s Word and hide it well in your heart. Let God’s truth dwell in you richly with all wisdom each day. Wisdom obeyed is light conveyed (Psalm 119:11, 130; Proverbs 4:23; Ephesians 3:16; Colossians 3:16).

I just wanted to point out that generational curses is something that is part of the Old Covenant. If you aren't Jewish you aren't and never have been under that Old Covenant.