Yesterday, very early in the morning, as I was travelling to the bus stage to board a vehicle in order to travel to Elwasambi in Kakamega, I was deeply meditating on the message the Lord had impressed on my heart to deliver. I found myself praising the Lord for the wonderful revelation I received on the message I was to deliver. For very many years, I have had to wrestle with the doctrine of curses in the life of believers. There is no single scripture in the New Testament to support the view that a believer, washed by the precious blood of Jesus Christ, can be cursed or operate under curses. The only people who are said to be cursed are those who preach another gospel (Galatians 1:8-9). Somebody quotes Ezekiel 35:6 as the basis of generation curses. In order for us to understand the context of this curse, we need to read from Ezekiel 35:1-5. The prophecy is directed against the Edomites (the descendants of Esau) who had been perpetual enemies of Israel. It appears the Edomites attacked the helpless Israelites while they were on the way to the promised land and blood was shed. God demands this blood from the Edomites (verse 6) but not us ( Christians who are redeemed by the precious blood of Jesus Christ)! These preachers don’t stop there, they also cite Lamentations 5:7 “ Our fathers have sinned, and are not; and we have borne their iniquities”. Jeremiah is not talking about curses but poor decisions that parents made which resulted in the children suffering in the process. The prophet is saying, “We are in this situation because what our forefathers did in violation to God’s express command”. What does Ezekiel 18:2-3 say? “What mean ye, that ye use this proverb concerning the land of Israel, saying, The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge? As I live, saith the Lord, ye shall not have occasion any more to use this proverb in Israel. Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die”. Sometimes Exodus 20:5 is used to advance the doctrine of generational curses and this is done in total disregard of the last part of that verse:” …..of them that hate me”. What about Deuteronomy 5:9? It also teaches that this evil visitation will only happen to the generations that “hate me”. All true believers who love the Lord should not agonize themselves that they are suffering because of generational curses. Believers suffer for various reasons, except curses! I have not yet told you why I laughed all alone. I laughed because of the following reasons: 1. “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1). If God has acquitted us in Christ, how can we then operate under generational curses? That acquittal would be useless. 2. “ Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us” (Romans 8:37). How could we be promised victory in our lives when curses await us? I find it ridiculous, if not contradictory. Victory means that even curses bow before us. 3. “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:1). Now that we have been reconciled to God, why should he punish for the sins committed by our ancestors? Then what would be the purpose of this peace, to create harmony or enmity? 4. “ He came unto his own, and his own received him not. But as many as received him, to them he gave power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name. Which were born, not of blood, nor the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God (John 1:11-13). Our sonship, as believers in God’s family, will be inconsequential if we live as slaves, oppressed by curses. By the way, we are not just ordinary sons or daughters; we are sons and daughters of the king. This conviction formed the basis of my sermon yesterday. I entitled it “Know the truth and the truth shall set you free”, based on John 8:32. The teachings on curses have been blown out of proportion and it is the highest time believers stepped back and started thinking biblically. Church historians say that when Constantine was converted to Christianity, he declared the Christian religion a state religion and this made pagans to flock the Church. The church was never the same again; it lost its Jews roots and became pagan. On other hand, when we turn to Africa, our brand of Christianity is an amalgamation of traditional beliefs dressed in Christian attire. It is only the bible that will guide us out of this dark tunnel. We can’t legitimately blame our ancestors on the sins we are currently committing ourselves and after we suffer the consequences, we hide under the banner of “generational curses”. After the events of Calvary, each one of us will be required to give account for our own action. We are responsible for our own actions but not those of our ancestors.
Posted on: Mon, 03 Feb 2014 13:44:08 +0000