A new covenant... Free from generational sin

Jeremiah 31:27-37 (NASB) from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

A New Covenant

²⁷ “Behold, days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man and with the seed of beast. ²⁸ As I have watched over them to pluck up, to break down, to overthrow, to destroy and to bring disaster, so I will watch over them to build and to plant,” declares the Lord.

²⁹ “In those days they will not say again,
‘The fathers have eaten sour grapes,
And the children’s teeth are set on edge.’

³⁰ But everyone will die for his own iniquity; each man who eats the sour grapes, his teeth will be set on edge.

³¹ “Behold, days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, ³² not like the covenant which I made with their fathers in the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, although I was a husband to them,” declares the Lord. ³³ “But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days,” declares the Lord, “I will put My law within them and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. ³⁴ They will not teach again, each man his neighbor and each man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them,” declares the Lord, “for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.”

³⁵ Thus says the Lord, Who gives the sun for light by day And the fixed order of the moon and the stars for light by night, Who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar; The Lord of hosts is His name:
³⁶ “If this fixed order departs From before Me,” declares the Lord, “Then the offspring of Israel also will cease From being a nation before Me forever.”

³⁷ Thus says the Lord,  “If the heavens above can be measured And the foundations of the earth searched out below, Then I will also cast off all the offspring of Israel For all that they have done,” declares the Lord.

God’s word through the prophet Jeremiah declares the coming of a new covenant relationship with God’s people. One aspects of this new covenant, this covenant that would be established by Jesus paying the price for the sin of all mankind, is that there would no longer be generational responsibility or accountability for sin.  The word says:  “In those days they will not say again,
‘The fathers have eaten sour grapes, And the children’s teeth are set on edge.’  But everyone will die for his own iniquity; each man who eats the sour grapes, his teeth will be set on edge.

In Exodus 20:1-6,  God established the old covenant with Israel, giving them the Ten Commandments, beginning with:  

Then God spoke all these words, saying, ² “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. ³ “You shall have no other gods before Me. ⁴ “You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth. ⁵ You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me, ⁶ but showing lovingkindness to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.

Generational sin started though long before that covenant. Generational sin began with Adam and Eve in the garden.  Romans 5:12-13 says:  Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned.

When a verse begins with therefore, it is always good to go back and see what it’s there for. Verses 6-11  say:   For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. ⁷ For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die. ⁸ But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. ⁹ Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him. ¹⁰ For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. ¹¹ And not only this, but we also exult in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.

So the generational sin which was established in the fall of Adam and was affirmed and continued under the old covenant was eliminated by Christ under the new covenant, just as was promised in the prophetic word through Jeremiah. The old inheritance and responsibility and accountability for generational sin is eliminated in Christ, in whom we have a new inheritance. Romans 8:12-16 says:  So then, brethren, we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh— ¹³ for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live. ¹⁴ For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. ¹⁵ For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, “Abba! Father!” ¹⁶ The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, ¹⁷ and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ

We no longer live under the curse of Adam, the father of all mankind. Nor do we need to live under the curse of our natural parents. Many people, even believers today still live under the generational curses of their natural family line. There are generational curses of addiction, abuse, even generational poverty, these and many other things seem to be passed generationally through family lines.

If under the new covenant Christ has freed us from these generational sins and curses, why do so many still struggle with them? It is indeed a complex matter, and I don’t mean to trivialize any of it. There certainly can be genetics involved in addictions and life circumstances in dealing with things like poverty. But I do believe that one of the most vital aspects of freeing ourselves from generational sin and curses is not found in binding and breaking them off in prayer. It is not that it is wrong to do that, but I believe the first step to freedom from generational sin is forgiveness. Matthew 6:14-15 says:  For if you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. ¹⁵ But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions. Mark 11:25-26 echoes this saying: "Whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father who is in heaven will also forgive you your transgressions. "But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father who is in heaven forgive your transgressions."

When we do not forgive those who have hurt us, neglected us or failed us in anyway, we remove ourselves from the freedom and forgiveness of Christ’s covenant. We then revert back to the old covenant established by Adam and affirmed in the law. We become subject to generational sin. Forgiveness is the one selfish act we are encouraged to engage in. We forgive others not to free them from their sin, only the blood and the cross of Christ can do that, rather we forgive others to free ourselves from their sin.

Heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ, Holy Spirit; Thank You for breaking off the power of generational sin from my life. Thank You that through the cross of Christ I have a new inheritance. I am no longer subject to or responsible for the sins of my natural or spiritual forefathers. I am Your child Father God, my inheritance is with You, a joint heir with Jesus Christ my Lord and Savior. Today and every day, through the power and guidance of the Holy Spirit, I choose to forgive those who have sinned against me. I choose in advance to forgive future sins as well. I say as Jesus Himself said when He was on the cross, establishing the new covenant I now walk in, Father forgive them, they know not what they are doing. Through the power of the cross and the resurrection, I choose to walk in the fullness of life that begins with the forgiveness of sin.   Amen.