How can a child of God still be under God’s curse (Romans 8:1)? The cure for a “generational curse” is repentance of the sin in question, faith in Christ, and a life consecrated to the Lord (Romans 12:1-2). A Christian is a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17). In other words, God’s grace lasts a thousand times longer than His wrath.įor someone worried about a generational curse, the answer is salvation through Jesus Christ. My Jewish Learning is a not-for-profit and relies on your help. Yes, God promised to visit Israel’s sin upon the third and fourth generations, but in the very next verse He promised that He would show “love to a thousand of those who love me and keep my commandments” (Exodus 20:6). The Torah's declaration that parents are not responsible for the sins of their children (and vice versa) is a gem of modern parenting advice. When Israel turned from idols to serve the living God, the “curse” was broken and God saved them (Judges 3:9, 15 1 Samuel 12:10-11). The cure for a generational curse has always been repentance.

The history books of the Old Testament (especially Judges) contain the record of this divine punishment meted out. A generational curse was a consequence for a specific nation (Israel) for a specific sin (idolatry). God’s warning to visit iniquity on future generations is part of the Old Testament Law. There is a trend in the church today to try to blame every sin and problem on some sort of generational curse. He prayed, O Lord, according to all thy righteousness, I beseech thee, let thine anger and thy fury be turned away from thy city Jerusalem, thy holy mountain: because for our sins, and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and thy people are become a reproach to all that are about us (Daniel 9:16). A Jewish Targum specifies that this passage refers to “ungodly fathers” and “rebellious children.” So, it is not unjust for God to punish sin to the third or fourth generation – those generations are committing the same sins their ancestors did. Implied in the warning of Exodus 20:5 is the fact that the children will choose to repeat the sins of their fathers.

When a father has a sinful lifestyle, his children are likely to practice the same sinful lifestyle.

The effects of sin are naturally passed down from one generation to the next. It sounds unfair for God to punish children for the sins of their fathers.

Sins of the father scripture