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Bible Study Am I Held Accountable for My Great Grandfather's Sin?

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Psalms 2:7 KJV
I will declare the decree: the Lord hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee.

To me, King David is God's begotten son. David's origin and lineage troubled him through his life. 19 known sons, 1 known daughter. Thanks kids also had many troubles. It seems God likes flawed guys but the generational sin curse seemed to be in place. Once Christianity took effect and sins are forgiven, shouldn't that end this phenomenon?
Acts 8:34 kjv
And the eunuch answered Philip, and said, I pray thee, of whom speaketh the prophet this? of himself, or of some other man?
35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus.

We want so bad at times to see ourselves in OC scripture, when it is about Jesus.

eddif
 
I would suggest you recall you are a Christian and not a Jew. And when you accepted Christ as your savior your sins were forgiven you and God blotted them from the record for all time.
1 John 5:18
We know that everyone who has been born of God does not keep on sinning, but he who was born of God protects him, and the evil one does not touch him.
Part of my reason for asking is to be able to provide a defense for the hope that is in me as Peter instructed. When things seem to be contradictory it can be an open door for non-believers to get a foot in and I want to know how to handle that situation. I know where my salvation comes from but I still need to understand how these Scriptures reconcile with each other.

It's not me having doubts. My first reaction when I read those verses was that God will give me the understanding I need when I need it. I'm just asking for it now. Whether or not He'll lead someone to help me with that quest or not is up to Him.
 
It's not me having doubts. My first reaction when I read those verses was that God will give me the understanding I need when I need it. I'm just asking for it now. Whether or not He'll lead someone to help me with that quest or not is up to Him.
Attitudes and behaviors tend to be either learned or are genetically transferred from your parents. This could range from how much you put money as a priority in your life.....to eating habits.........to your temper. All these things could lead to idolatry and idolatry leads to a distain for the things of God. The bottom line is that certain attitudes and behaviors are passed down, but we can come into the light individually or not. John 3:20-21
 
Part of my reason for asking is to be able to provide a defense for the hope that is in me as Peter instructed. When things seem to be contradictory it can be an open door for non-believers to get a foot in and I want to know how to handle that situation. I know where my salvation comes from but I still need to understand how these Scriptures reconcile with each other.

It's not me having doubts. My first reaction when I read those verses was that God will give me the understanding I need when I need it. I'm just asking for it now. Whether or not He'll lead someone to help me with that quest or not is up to Him.
Well, that was my purpose. To help you. As for non-believers, they can't get a foot in. The Bible isn't written for them.

Do the sons bear the sins of the fathers or not?
Exodus 20:5, Deuteronomy 5:9 and Deuteronomy 24:16; Ezekiel 18:20
 
We are only held accountable for our own sin, but the sin of our fathers, Grandfathers etc. etc. can affect how we live our own life.
Example: my Great grandparents were bootleggers when they came to America and had a few speakeasies during prohibition. Their sin carried over to my Grandfather (their son) who became an alcoholic because of the environment he was brought up in. Now, he had a choice to abstain from the alcohol, but chose it instead continuing in the curse of his parents. My mother on the other hand, even though her father drank himself to death, never drank and also is a Christian breaking that curse that even she could have fell into, but chose not to, so no, we are not held accountable as each has to come to Christ and repent of their own sin.
 
Well, that was my purpose. To help you. As for non-believers, they can't get a foot in. The Bible isn't written for them.

Do the sons bear the sins of the fathers or not?
Exodus 20:5, Deuteronomy 5:9 and Deuteronomy 24:16; Ezekiel 18:20
I Corinthians 14:24 kjv
But if all prophesy, and there come in one that believeth not, or one unlearned, he is convinced of all, he is judged of all:
25 And thus are the secrets of his heart made manifest; and so falling down on his face he will worship God, and report that God is in you of a truth.

The Bible is written to help unbelievers believe too. Getting past tongues to understanding.

Mississippi redneck
eddif
 
As for non-believers, they can't get a foot in. The Bible isn't written for them.

The Bible is definitely written for non-believers. Did you or any of us come out of the womb knowing Jesus as your Lord and Savior, no, so that means like all of us we were non-believers until we heard the preaching of the Gospel.

John 3:17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

Luke 5:30 But their scribes and Pharisees murmured against his disciples, saying, Why do ye eat and drink with publicans and sinners? 31 And Jesus answering said unto them, They that are whole need not a physician; but they that are sick. 32 I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.
 
Are you accountable for sins that were committed before you were born?
In a word? No. You are not.

How do we reconcile the Word of Truth that speaks about how God will visit sins unto the 3rd and 4th generation? My formal answer is to say, "Pray about it," in a 'ask and it shall be answered,' way. But I'm not trying to be a smart alec about it.
smart alec (adjective)
  1. irritating as a result of behaving as if one knows everything:
    "a smart-alec answer"

We do have the Holy Spirit here to teach and instruct us in all things. But if what you want is the speculation of some guy on the internet? Sure. I can give you my guess about this. Why not?

It seems to me that God may be setting limits on nature. We already know so much more about our heritage especially with regard to DNA and are starting to be in a place to better understand some of the methods that 'nature' (that which was commanded by God) uses to pass down hereditary traits. It is my understanding that knowledge is being poured out upon the face of the entire earth and that we are to refuse to forsake the gathering of ourselves together especially as we see the Day of the Lord drawing nigh.

Still, what if God was setting limits on what He reserves the right to do, even those things that He put in place in that thing we call, 'Nature herself' and not making promises of punishment when he spoke this? If nature has a way of passing down a wide variety of characteristics (and it does) then perhaps what God was saying is that if we could interpret it to be a negative or a punishment because of sin then nature itself would be limited to only 'remembering' for 3 to 4 generations at most.

But regarding blessings? 1,000 generations.

So God is being more than generous, which seems reasonable to me.

He also reserves the right to make adjustments to His children personally and reminds us often that we have been "knitted together" while we were yet in the womb, and prior to our birth or having committed any sin. I don't want to go too far afield but it's probably worth mentioning that we don't believe in pre-destination but since that's a different situation entirely, it's okay to close this response here. There's more to know here. I can tell.

Cordially yours in Christ, Jesus,
A guy who calls himself 'Sparrow'
 
How do I reconcile these verses?

Hi, WIP! There is no contradiction here... just clarification. This is what we call a "generational curse" where a parent teaches their children iniquity, who turn around and pass it on to their own children. The "side effects" of generational sin can range from physical sickness to mental sickness and even sudden, violent death. Science proves the sickness part, but calls it "genetic predisposition" instead. But we don't pay for somebody else's sin, we receive the consequences of our own actions.

There are 2 ways to break free of a generational curse. 1- wait for God's grace to kick in at the 5th generation (but that's alot of suffering for us, our children and grandchildren) or 2- turn from the sins of our parents and start obeying the Lord. That's what Moses says, that's what Ezekiel 18 says, and that's what Jesus says. So for the sake of our children, let's turn from our sin in earnest and obey our Father the very best that we can! No we can't do it perfectly, but He wants to see us TRY!
 
This morning at our Men’s Prayer Breakfast we read from Numbers 14 and when we came across verse 18 it struck a chord. The NKJV renders it this way.

The Lord is longsuffering and abundant in mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression; but He by no means clears the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generation.

The part I put in bold type is what is on my mind. I know this is basically quoted from the 10 Commandments recorded in Exodus 20:4-6 and again in Deuteronomy 5:9 which says….

“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; 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, but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.

What I am struggling with is there are other verses in Scripture that seem to contradict this. For example…

Deuteronomy 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.”

Ezekiel 18:14-20
“If, however, he begets a son
Who sees all the sins which his father has done,
And considers but does not do likewise;
Who has not eaten on the mountains,
Nor lifted his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel,
Nor defiled his neighbor’s wife;
Has not oppressed anyone,
Nor withheld a pledge,
Nor robbed by violence,
But has given his bread to the hungry
And covered the naked with clothing;
Who has withdrawn his hand from the poor
And not received usury or increase,
But has executed My judgments
And walked in My statutes—
He shall not die for the iniquity of his father;
He shall surely live!


As for his father,
Because he cruelly oppressed,
Robbed his brother by violence,
And did what is not good among his people,
Behold, he shall die for his iniquity.


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. 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.”


How do I reconcile these verses?
excellent question that i wondered about too

i heard someone explain it as - sins visited on the children is a reference to how the sins of parents affect the lives of the children and it may take up 4 generations for a sinful effect to be completely erased

an example is if a father is a criminal his children and grandchildren may have trouble due to this - like a fatherless house because the father is in prison - children who may have to endure harassment from the community due to their father's sins - poverty - no fatherly protection - etc

the effects of this may take up to 4 generations to overcome completely

the exact verse you quoted says God will visit those sins on 4 generations of those who hate Him - which is an additional problem - hating God makes it hard for a person to get God's help to overcome a father's sins - turning to God it the fastest and best way to break free from the effects of a father's sins
 
This morning at our Men’s Prayer Breakfast we read from Numbers 14 and when we came across verse 18 it struck a chord. The NKJV renders it this way.

The Lord is longsuffering and abundant in mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression; but He by no means clears the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generation.

The part I put in bold type is what is on my mind. I know this is basically quoted from the 10 Commandments recorded in Exodus 20:4-6 and again in Deuteronomy 5:9 which says….

“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; 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, but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.

What I am struggling with is there are other verses in Scripture that seem to contradict this. For example…

Deuteronomy 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.”

Ezekiel 18:14-20
“If, however, he begets a son
Who sees all the sins which his father has done,
And considers but does not do likewise;
Who has not eaten on the mountains,
Nor lifted his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel,
Nor defiled his neighbor’s wife;
Has not oppressed anyone,
Nor withheld a pledge,
Nor robbed by violence,
But has given his bread to the hungry
And covered the naked with clothing;
Who has withdrawn his hand from the poor
And not received usury or increase,
But has executed My judgments
And walked in My statutes—
He shall not die for the iniquity of his father;
He shall surely live!


As for his father,
Because he cruelly oppressed,
Robbed his brother by violence,
And did what is not good among his people,
Behold, he shall die for his iniquity.


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. 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.”


How do I reconcile these verses?


This really shouldn't be all that difficult to understand, but maybe the doctrines and traditions of men have muddied the water so much that we can't see the manna that lays before us.

It is a common misconception about the "generational" curse that would have you believe that the sins of your great grandfather would be accounted to you. But that is not the application of the scripture as it was applied within the covenant made with Moses and the children of Israel. To reconcile these, we must understand the two different covenants. The one covenant made with Moses and the tribes of Israel, and the second covenant made with Christ and those in him.


Deuteronomy 5:2-5
The Lord our God made a covenant with us in Horeb. The Lord made not this covenant with our fathers, but with us, even us, who are all of us here alive this day. The Lord talked with you face to face in the mount out of the midst of the fire, (I stood between the Lord and you at that time, to shew you the word of the Lord: for ye were afraid by reason of the fire, and went not up into the mount;) saying,

Moses is saying here that this is NOT the covenant that was promised to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; but this is the covenant the Lord made with the children of Israel. If I may, I would like to point out a subtle difference. The covenant with Moses was made with the CHILDREN of ISRAEL. This covenant was NOT made with ISRAEL, as was the promise; but only to his children.

Deuteronomy 5:9
Thou shalt not bow down thyself unto 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,


Jeremiah 31:27-32
Behold, the days come, saith the Lord,
that I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah
with the seed of man, and with the seed of beast.
And it shall come to pass, that like as I have watched over them,
to pluck up, and to break down, and to throw down,
and to destroy, and to afflict;
so will I watch over them, to build, and to plant, saith the Lord.
In those days they shall say no more,
The fathers have eaten a sour grape,
and the children's teeth are set on edge.
But every one shall die for his own iniquity:
every man that eateth the sour grape,

his teeth shall be set on edge.
Behold, the days come, saith the Lord,

that I will make a new covenant
with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah:
Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers
in the day that I took them by the hand

to bring them out of the land of Egypt;
which my covenant they brake,
although I was an husband unto them, saith the Lord:



When the prophet states that they shall no more say the father's have eaten a sour grape and the children's teeth are set on edge, this is in reference to the new covenant and is a direct juxtaposition to the phrase in the covenant with Moses that says he would visit the iniquities of the fathers unto the third and fourth generation. Now if you would take a moment to consider the prophets Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel... that they were the children of Israel who were carried away captive to Babylon or in Daniel's case was raised in captivity in Babylon for the sins of their fathers; and they and their children, and their children's children remained in captivity before they eventually were allowed to return to their land. The whole nation was punished for the sins of the fathers, and that punishment carried on unto the third and fourth generation.
 
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