July 12th
3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me.4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;6 And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments. Exodus 20:3-6 KJV
Idolatry is a sin many people have grown callous to in modern society. From the above passage, we can see that it is a very serious offense to God. If we’re not careful to guard our hearts, we can easily fall into the sin of idolatry. Sex addiction can be a major foothold of idolatry in people’s lives. Pornography promotes “sexual idolatry,” which is basically people giving extraordinary devotion and attention to sex.
God commands us to keep our allegiance and devotion focused on him. He is a “jealous” God, and passionately desires our attention. His passion for us is reflected in the great sacrifice that he made to reconcile us to himself – i.e. Christ’s death on the cross. When we disobey God through sin such as idolatry, we can affect our descendants profoundly.
As God noted in the above passage, sin can have consequences that can last up to four generations for those who “hate” God. Therefore, it behooves each of us to consider the possibility of generational sin affecting our own lives. The effects of generational sin can manifest in a variety of ways, including sickness or disease, familiar spirits, emotional weaknesses, tendencies toward certain sins, financial problems, untimely deaths and addictions.
The good news is that as redeemed children of God thru faith in Christ, we can cancel any generational effects from the sin of our ancestors. We do this by confessing and renouncing our ancestors’ sin before God on the account of the blood of Jesus. As Christ’s followers and representatives of our family, we have this right to transfer the punishment for those sins to the cross where Christ paid the penalty in full.
Here are some basic steps to deal with generational sin:
1) Using a family tree, inventory the sin in your family as far back as you can remember or determine
2) Confess your ancestor’s involvement in the sin
3) Ask for God’s forgiveness on account of Jesus Christ’s payment for the sin on the cross
4) Ask God to “cut you free” from all punishment related to the sin. Take authority over any evil spirits (linked to that sin) that may have been oppressing you and command them to leave you now
5) Ask God to fill you afresh with the Holy Spirit and continue the work of transformation in you.
6) Thank God and praise him for his delivering work accomplished in you today
(For more in-depth instructions see Generational Sin)
Questions for further thought:
Why doesn’t our faith in Jesus automatically remove the effects of generational sin? (1 John 1:9; Exodus 34:6-7)
How does generational punishment for sin reflect God’s commitment to perfect justice? (Psalm 33:5)
How is confession an alignment of ourselves with God?
Confessing generational sin relates to what role that we have as followers of Christ? (2 Corinthians 5:17-21)
Prayer:
“Lord God, thank you for being perfectly just. Thank you for loving me so much that you provided the way through Jesus for me to be reconciled to you. I take my position in Christ for my family – including my ancestors. I confess any sin that we have committed and repent from it right now (list specifics that you know). Please forgive us and cleanse us from our sin through the blood of Jesus. In the name of Jesus Christ, I rebuke any generational curses and/or demonic oppression that may have come upon me or my family as a result of that sin. Lord, please restore us, renew us and heal us. Thank you, Father! I praise you now and forever, Amen.”