I didn’t know Jesus as my Lord and Savior when I was a child. I remember when I was back in Cambodia, I used to hear my sister say, “I hate that person so and so, I hate his generation and all of his generation after him!” Even though I wasn’t a follower of Jesus at the time, I was never in agreement with her statement.
It was years later that I heard a pastor teaching on Exodus 34:7: “Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation.” Unfortunately, this pastor never mentioned anything in his sermon about the New Testament or that there was any cure for this generational curse.
The Holy Spirit would later rebuke the teaching for me, revealing to me God’s Word in Ezekiel 18:1: “The word of the Lord came to me: ‘What do you people mean by quoting this proverb about the land of Israel: “The parents eat sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge”‘?” (Ezekiel 18:1 NIV), and 1 John1:9: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” (NIV)
For someone worried about a generational curse, there is good news. There is a solution, and it comes through Jesus Christ: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” (2 Corinthians 5:17 NIV).
When we accept Jesus’ gift of Salvation, we become a child of God. How can a child of God still be under a curse? The cure for a generational curse is repentance of the sin in question, faith in Jesus Christ, and a life consecrated to the Lord.
Remember: “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in the flesh in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.” (Romans 8:1-4 NIV).
Also remember: “Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God–this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is–his good, pleasing and perfect will.” (Romans 12:1-2 NIV)
Finally, remember: “The law is not based on faith; on the contrary, it says, ‘The person who does these things will live by them.’ Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: ‘Cursed is everyone who is hung on a pole.’ He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.” (Gal. 3:12-14 NIV)
Now, as God’s Word convicts you of Truth, it is by our faith that you and I and our current generation and all generations who come after us must do as God’s Word tells us: “Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” (Heb. 4:16 NIV)
Heavenly Father, I thank You for Your written word in Galatians 3:12-14, and also in 1 John1:9 “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” (NIV). We praise You that the generational curse is powerless. We praise You that through our confession of sin, You are faithful and just to forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. Thank God, through Christ Jesus our Lord. May we ask that we receive your blessings of the anointing prayer: “equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever.” (Heb. 13:21 NIV) Amen.
Be one in Christ,
Sophie Chun Ngeth
