HomeWhen a specific topic is mentioned, are you absolutely sure where you stand on the matter? If you are unsure, then it means your mind is not made up, that you are in two minds, or that you are double-minded. When you are double-minded, you get tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine (James 1:6-8) I am sure you realize that this is not a good thing… The mainstream teaching on generational curses has left many believers unsure of where they stand, not knowing whether they have generational curses or not, and digging into their past to find out what grandma was into. I know this is going to help you make up your mind on this topic! We all know where the teaching originates from, so let’s go look at those scriptures quickly:
Ex 20:4-6 “You shall not make for yourself a carved image — any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; 5 you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, 6 but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments. (NKJV)
Now the basic advocates for the generational curse teaching will no doubt use this verse to back up their whole case. “If you do bad things, God is going to punish your children, so don’t do bad things!” Calm down dude, read the whole sentence! “…of those who hate Me.” Now let me ask you a quick question? Do you hate God? If you said no, then that doesn’t apply to you. Not entirely convinced? Well, let’s go to few other scriptures.
Deut 24:16 “Fathers shall not be put to death for their children, nor shall children be put to death for their fathers; a person shall be put to death for his own sin. (NKJV)
See, you are not being punished because grandpa drank too much.
Ezek 18:1-3 The word of the Lord came to me again, saying, 2 “What do you mean when you use this proverb concerning the land of Israel, saying: ‘The fathers have eaten sour grapes, And the children’s teeth are set on edge’? 3 “As I live,” says the Lord God, “you shall no longer use this proverb in Israel. (NKJV)
This is a scripture where God swears an oath by Himself saying, “As I live you shall no longer use this proverb in Israel.” The proverb says that the fathers have eaten sour grapes and the children’s teeth are set on edge, meaning the children bear the repercussions of the father’s sins. God swears an oath and says this proverb is no longer applicable to Israel. Then God goes on to explain what He means:
Ezek 18:4 “Behold, all souls are Mine; The soul of the father As well as the soul of the son is Mine; The soul who sins shall die. (NKJV)
The generational curse came to an end even before the law covenant did! Why would people who are not even under this covenant anymore try to tell people that they need to dig back into their past and confess their ancestral sins? In the rest of the chapter God explains about a righteous man who has an unrighteous son, and an unrighteous father who has a righteous son. In each case He says that the soul which sins shall die.
Ezek 18:19-20 “Yet you say, ‘Why should the son not bear the guilt of the father?’ Because the son has done what is lawful and right, and has kept all My statutes and observed them, he shall surely live. 20 The soul who sins shall die. The son shall not bear the guilt of the father, nor the father bear the guilt of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself. (NKJV)
If you have time, read the whole chapter and the examples. But I want to go on the New Covenant and the Generational Curse. Let’s pick it up where Jesus is confronted about it.
John 9:1-3 Now as Jesus passed by, He saw a man who was blind from birth. 2 And His disciples asked Him, saying, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” 3 Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him. (NKJV)
The Pharisees were trying to see whether Jesus would give an explanation of why a person might be born with an illness. Generational curse teachers also try to use this reasoning to explain why deformed or sick children are born the way they are. “You have cancer because your mother had cancer because her mother smoked.” Well that is not what Jesus said. “Neither this man nor his parents sinned.” So the parents’ sin didn’t make God smite the child with blindness to punish the parents.
John 1:12-13 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: 13 who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. (NKJV)
I received Jesus, and now I have become a son of God. There are so many verses that say that believers are sons of God. (Rom 8:14, Rom 8:19, Gal 4:6, Phil 2:15, 1 John 3:1 and more) That tells me that my bloodline is now from God. My genealogy goes back one generation to God Himself. Paul said we died with Christ and was raised up with Him too. Any generational curse you might have carried stopped having a right to be on you the day you got saved since you changed families and your Dad has never sinned!
1 Tim 1:3-4 As I urged you when I went into Macedonia — remain in Ephesus that you may charge some that they teach no other doctrine, 4 nor give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which cause disputes rather than godly edification which is in faith. (NKJV)
Here Paul reminds Timothy to tell the people in Ephesus to not teach OTHER doctrine. Other meaning not the same as what he taught them. In the list of other doctrines, Paul mentions endless genealogies, referring to the incorrect doctrine of searching the past for ancestral sin and confessing that to God to receive forgiveness. Not only did Paul tell this to Timothy, he also wrote it to Titus:
Titus 3:9 But avoid foolish disputes, genealogies, contentions, and strivings about the law; for they are unprofitable and useless. (NKJV)
Paul again mentions genealogies something that is be avoided because it is UNPROFITABLE and USELESS. Why? Because God ended it hundreds of years ago, it is not applicable anymore, and Jesus made it complete by becoming a curse for us.
Gal 3:13-14 Christ has 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”), 14 that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. (NKJV)
Jesus became a curse for you by dying in the only way it was possible for a person to become accursed of God, by hanging on a tree after dark. Why did He become a curse for us? So the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Him. Any curse you think you have was dealt with at the cross. There is absolutely no reason for you to live with one. It doesn’t matter what grandpa did, all curses have been dealt with! If the effects of curses are still evident in your life, it is just because you have failed to exercise dominion over it by destroying the works of the devil in your life.
But if Jesus dealt with it, then it can’t harm me anymore right? I don’t need to pay attention to it. Well, you can believe that and stay sick, or you can believe Jesus and break that curse. I have seen so many instant healings take place when we exercise dominion over curses. I don’t care why they are there or how they came to be, I just break them.
Prov 26:2 Like a fluttering sparrow or a darting swallow, an undeserved curse does not come to rest. (NIV)
Since Jesus became a curse for you, no curse is any longer deserved, meaning no curse has the right to come to rest. But the devil is a thief and looks for people who he thinks won’t exercise dominion, and attacks them with curse. If he can find a person who thinks a curse can be deserved through sin, he knows that person will just sit back and allow the curse to steal from them. That’s why Paul said the devil looks for those whom he can devour. (1 Peter 5:8) If you will learn to establish yourself in the finished works of the cross, the free gift of righteousness and start exercising the power and dominion as a son of God, you won’t have a curse problem; instead, the devil will have a manifested son of God problem! So if you suspect you might have a curse, don’t tell God about it, tell the curse what you want it to do! To be broken, and reversed!
Prov 6:31 Yet when he (talking about a thief) is found, he must restore sevenfold; He may have to give up all the substance of his house. (NKJV)
My brother-in-law once did this. His car was stolen outside his office. He went and stood on the spot he parked and commanded the devil to restore to him 7 times what he stole. Sure enough, the insurance paid out and he bought another car for the price of the payout. When he went to re-insure the new car, the value of the new car was determined to be exactly 7 times that of the stolen one. You can beat the devil with just about any scripture if you will chose to believe it and act on it!
Glory to God! Freedom to man!
Cornel Marais
Click here to read a preview of Cornel’s new book, “So You Think Your Mind Is Renewed?” If you’re tired of religion, legalism and the traditions of man, this book will be a great starting block for you to starting living the life you were destined to live in Christ!
October 4th, 2009 at 5:25 PM
WOW – thank you. This has been a life changing teaching for me.
October 4th, 2009 at 5:27 PM
I absolutely loved this quick, simple but very powerful teaching on generational curses. Freedom in Christ Jesus – how awesome is that!!!! Love it!!! Thanks and rich blessing xoxoxo
October 8th, 2009 at 1:27 AM
Thank you guys. Glad you liked it! Glory to God & Freedom to man!
Bless you!
October 15th, 2009 at 12:01 PM
Man oh man oh man Cornel, POWERPACKED!!!! We (bodypartsinnernational) reach out to x-cons, parolee’s & probationee’s and Im telling you that sometimes I get spiritually angry (at the deception being taught) because more & more & more I see people deceived into ‘digging into their past’ by what existed BEFORE the old man was crucified and baptized into Jesus death. This ‘preoccupation’ with self is self-centeredness and is anti-cross, anti-Christ. The devil doesnt ever want people to get Christ-conscious and find out WHAT HAS ALREADY BEEN LEGALLY PUT TO DEATH IN THE CROSS! I have even stepped out on a limb recently in a Penticostal Chruch of Christ church and in humility (knowing who I am in Christ, godly repentance) and proclaimed “Yes the wages of ‘sin (a noun, positional truth before I was born again)’ is death (separation from the life of God) but the GIFT of God is ETERNAL LIFE (Life as God has it by knowing Jesus Christ) through Jesus Christ our Lord.” In Christ, our new bloodline, EVEN IF I SIN (heres where I thought Id be thrown out of the church haha) THERE IS NO MORE WAGE TO BE EARNED BY SIN, INCLUDING CURSES because WE HAVE ETERNAL LIFE that has SWALLOWED UP DEATH BEING THE WAGES OF SIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Amen amen amen! You are as righteous even when you sin, as when you do not sin, just as before God put you in Christ, we were just as unrighteous when we did righteous things as if we were doing unrighteous things! If we cannot be righteous by the righteous deeds we did as a prisoner of sin, then including curses WE CANNOT BECOME UNRIGHTEOUS even if we sin because we are SLAVES OF RIGHTEOUSNESS! Sinning for a believer has no more wages of death because Jesus reaped all of my wages on the cross, curses with it!
October 15th, 2009 at 12:26 PM
Thanks Richard. I know exactly what you mean! I get more than spiritually angry sometimes… Good use of that scripture too! Almost like an alcoholic can become reformed, but they stay an alcoholic. A person can stop sinning, but it doesn’t make them saved. Only Jesus can free. In Him you are not a reformed-sinner, you are n NEW CREATION!!! I can never hear that enough!!
Bless you Richard!
October 16th, 2009 at 8:18 AM
Hey Cornel, thats a powerful statement you said, “A person can stop sinning but that doesnt make them saved.” Ask the majority of the church today (My next question when I teach/preach hehehehe) “If you will stop sinning, you will go to heaven right?” And the follow up will be to the “Yes’s,” “Well congradulations on being the best sinner whoever goes to hell, because your faith is not in Jesus Christ, it is in you and you need to get saved today.” Anyhow, thanks for new light on ‘sinning or not,’ tis be the question. You need to be careful Cornel, I might just pray in the finances to get a passport and come down there and hug you and your congregation!!!! Love you all in Grace, Richard
December 27th, 2009 at 8:44 PM
Hi Cornel,my and my husbands family is full of free masonary.Does this affect us? My children are asthmatic, one has an eating disorder and has epilepsy. We also have fianancial problem.A friend recently suggested that free masonary could be the problem.Could you please advise me. Thanks
December 28th, 2009 at 2:36 PM
Hi Pat
I will email you privately about this.
Cornel
December 30th, 2009 at 1:50 PM
Hey Cornel
Hot stuff man! Well done!
God is doing something with you man!
Keep going for it!!!
March 3rd, 2010 at 4:19 PM
I’v heard about this kinda thing, generational curses, and it is real… But only (as Cornel stated before) TO THOSE THAT HATE GOD. As soon as someone takes Christ as their own, the cycle is broken and God will no longer revisit the “family sin” on that person. and they ar FREE INDEED.
Praise the Lord! HIS lovingkindness is to HIS people and those who love HIM!
March 17th, 2010 at 8:39 PM
Dear Cornel,
I’m Indian and I come from an idol worshiping Hindu background so you can imagine how many times the phrase ‘generational curse’ has been thrown at me – Thank God for teaching me better than to believe the lies.
But this post has given me the language I need to share the same with the rest of my family
cheers for that!
I live in Oman and it’s hard for us to buy books such as yours here – so feel free to mail me a signed copy if you like
March 17th, 2010 at 11:45 PM
Hi Cornel
I have been thinking about this on and off for a while.. I come from a background of everything is done at calvary, but saw such bondage in the lives of spirit filled believers. Our lives changed so much after experiencing deliverance. I am totally open to change… How do I explain the fact that when the prayers are prayed people’s lives change so much. Is it that we have not been discipled correctly in the truth of God’s word and if so what does that change look like?
March 18th, 2010 at 1:34 AM
To Pat: I agree with what all the other guys wrote. All curses are broken and of no effect when a person accepts Jesus as Saviour. BUT if you do not know it and you still fear (because of wrong teaching), your fear is giving access to satan’s kingdom to work in your life. Job said what he feared happened to him. Fear works like faith – just the opposite direction. By faith you receive from God and by fear you receive from satan. Anyway, that’s how I understand the Bible.
March 18th, 2010 at 12:11 PM
Cornel, I’m interested in your thoughts on Freemasonry, so send me an e-mail, too.
April 29th, 2010 at 4:24 PM
Hi Cornel,
I am an epileptic. A while back you responded to someone asking a very similar question about epilepsy. But your response was “I will e-mail you privately about this.” I was hoping to hear your thoughts and views on epilepsy. I am beginning to sense that this is a curse from satan, and that God has healed my epilepsy. Of course I cannot say this for absolute certain fom a human point of view, but since being saved 2.5 years ago, I have not had a single seizure. My dad is Catholic, mom is Protestant, and my husband and I are Baptists.
Could you please e-mail me privately and share your opinions on epilepsy?
Please explain (via e-mail) how you understand 2 Chronicles 16:12…
“… yet in his disease he sought not to the LORD, but to the psychians…”
By relying on the medical field to treat my epilepsy, am I sending a message to God that I do not trust Him? I’m starting to feel that’s EXACTLY what I’m doing. Please share your thoughts with me! Thanks! CG
June 14th, 2010 at 11:17 PM
Thank you for clearing up this question, it all makes perfect sense. There is just one thing that still boggles me, why then are there so many hereditory diseases?
Regards
July 13th, 2010 at 11:20 PM
This is another bomb targeted at Christians that reads the Bible with denominational spectacle.Thank U sir.I can’t shout enough.
Pls keep the truth rolling.I am tied to u>Am your secret follower!!!!
August 6th, 2010 at 11:53 AM
I love your connecting Paul’s endless genealogies with generational curses. Never thought of that before.
August 11th, 2010 at 5:43 PM
LOVE your articles! God is clearly working through you in a big way!
My husband was diagnosed with “incurable” lung cancer in March of this year. Generational curses crossed my mind because #1–I thought it was true, and #2–the men on his father’s side are not saved (he is though), not healthy, live hard, and die young. Glad to know it’s not true. Guess I did a lot of rebuking on that generational curse for nothing. :O)
Praise God for being such a merciful Father. \o/ Superly duperly happy there’s no such word as “incurable” in God’s vocabulary as well.
God bless.
August 11th, 2010 at 5:50 PM
Forgot to say…thanks for a new verse to pray over my husband Rod…Prov 26:2 Like a fluttering sparrow or a darting swallow, an undeserved curse does not come to rest.
And re. Prov 6:31…since we’re having to spend money on medical bills/travel/etc., we should get that back sevenfold, right? Satan stole his health (temporarily, or tried to, or however you’d say it since he’s healed, past tense, by the stripes) and our money with it…can i demand it back?
August 17th, 2010 at 8:31 AM
@amanda > There is just one thing that still boggles me, why then are there so many hereditory diseases?
The devil has no right to afflict us with any disease but he will often work within the bounds of what might be considered biblical so as to confuse us that we deserve it and God is with him in doing it to you so we won’t resist it.
If he afflicts you with diabetes for instance and your mother had it you might say “well this is a hereditary thing, obviously a generational curse as spoken of in the bible and therefore I can’t be healed of it”
Satan is very scriptural – consider all his attacks on Jesus – but its twisted scripture, so just know that you were redeemed, set free, brought into the kingdom of God. Nothing belongs on you but health blessing life love and every good and perfect thing.
God Bless. – Dave
August 30th, 2010 at 2:46 PM
I was wondering what the answer to this question was?
By relying on the medical field to treat my _________, am I sending a message to God that I do not trust Him? I’m starting to feel that’s EXACTLY what I’m doing.
August 30th, 2010 at 5:29 PM
Hi Joanna
Going to the doctor or taking medicine doesn’t mean you don’t believe or don’t trust God. It is a natural means of fighting the symptoms. The teaching that taking medicine will stop healing is based upon the belief that if you are prayed for, you must then act as though you are healed, and a healed person does not need medicine so to continue taking the medicine after being prayed for actually showed that the person did not really believe that they were healed. This has hurt and killed far too many people.
The problem is that most people turn to God when everything else, doctors, medicine, science has failed them. By now they are so use to nothing working they don’t really believe faith is going to work either. Believer’s should go to God as a first resort, not a last resort. We have conditioned ourselves to not trust Him. But no medicine is stronger than God. When God heals you, you won’t need to take medicine because your body will react differently to it. If a doctor has prescribed medicine, keep on taking it until they tell you to stop, especially if it chronic. Live to fight another day.
You can start trusting God for small things and build yourself up in faith to the point where you can trust Him for other things. For instance, you will die if you stop taking your diabetes medicine, so don’t start there. You won’t die if you stop taking aspirin for headaches. Start there. Next time you have a headache and you know you would normally take an aspirin to get rid off it, tell the headache to leave in Jesus Name. When that starts working, go after the next thing.