kayte
Aug 18th 2004, 04:54 PM
Chapter Eight
Matthew 6:13(a) And do not lead us into temptation…
The Funk and Wagnal's dictionary defines temptation as 1)The act of tempting, or the state of being tempted. 2)That which tempts.
It also describes that which is tempting to be “Alluring; attractive; seductive.”
Of this we can be sure, God will never, no never entice us to sin.
James 1:13 Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone.
There is no freedom in laying the blame of our sinfulness on how we were born, where we were born, what color our hair is, etc.
We cannot fall back on saying, “God made me this or that way”, when God says “Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.” (Galatians 5:16)
When we pray we come to Him knowing Who He is and honestly admitting what we are.
How can we ask forgiveness if we hold God responsible for our sinfulness?
James 1:14-16 But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed.
Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown brings forth death.
Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren.
Do not be deceived… meaning we can be deceived.
Ouch. These verses are all too clear. When we sin it is our own choice. God did not entice us to sin and neither can we say the devil made us do it. It is our own desires. Shudder.
There is a popular teaching regarding ‘generational curses’ that has flown through the church in recent years. The teaching basically states that the particular sin you struggle with is most likely caused by a generational curse that was started by someone in your family years ago.
Isn’t this once again the age old escape plan called Passing the Buck? It’s not your fault… it’s great-great grandpa Wilber's fault!
The teachers of this claim that what you need to do is to renounce this curse verbally, pleading the Blood of the Lamb over it, thereby breaking the curse. Most teach you need to do this repeatedly whenever you find yourself drawn into the particular area of weakness. After repeatedly renouncing the curse if you still find yourself being held by it, then it’s time to call in some pro’s.
Pro’s are usually called in because frankly… this doesn’t work. The bondage continues because the issue hasn’t been dealt with according to God’s word. In fact, the real issue has been totally skirted.
There are so many problems in this teaching. First, sin is no longer sin. It’s now a ‘generational curse’.
Secondly, the generational curse isn’t our fault. It becomes the responsibility of some long gone ancestor, therefore we can neatly do away with the need for repentance, forgiveness and walking in obedience.
Third, it denies God’s word as He states that, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” 2 Corinthians 5:17 It denies the power of the cross and the completed work of His death and resurrection in our lives.
It boils the need to repent and walk in obedience down to verbally renouncing what someone else did. It places us in the position of victim rather than sinner.
Fourth, this teaching when followed to it’s root, lays the blame squarely on God.
The verse used to support this teaching is Exodus 20:5, only they don’t use the whole verse…
Lets start in verse 3 and go all the way through 6 so we get the complete context.
Exodus 20:3-6 You shall have no other gods before Me.
You shall not make for yourself any carved image, or 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 on 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.
“You shall have no other gods before Me.”
Short. To the point. No way to misunderstand that one…
“You shall not make for yourself any carved image,” Okay… no carving images to worship.
“or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above,” Okay…
“or that is in the earth beneath,” Okay…
“or that is in the water under the earth;” I don’t’ think God left a single loophole here for us. He nailed it down pretty thoroughly.
Have you ever dealt with a child that loves loopholes? For instance, my son was told not to drive our cars. (He loved to move them up and down the driveway… however, he’s 14 and not that we don’t trust him, BUT!)
Well, come to find out that he went down to a neighbors house and drove THEIR car.
When confronted he responded, “But you never said I couldn’t drive the neighbors car!”
Who would have thought???
Apparently God did. He knows our tendency… okay, He knows our sinful natures and how we want to get around what He says.
By the way… we now have a revised rule for our son. You shall not operate anything with an engine on the face of the earth, in or upon the waters that cover the face of the earth, or in the heavens above the earth.
Exception: You can and will push the power mower over the face of the grass upon this little dot of earth.
Verse 5 “You shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God am a jealous God,” (this isn’t the green eyed monster type of jealousy. This is Holy Love jealousy.) “visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generations of those that hate Me,” If a man hates God and raises up his children to hate God, guess what? They will most likely hate God! Not only that, they’ll raise their children to do the same… and on it goes.
This isn’t a mystical curse… this is life. Monkey see, monkey do. The solution? Repent and follow God, and raise up your children in the way they should go.
Ezekiel 18 completely unravels the teaching of the generational curse. Let’s quickly look at just verses 19-23.
“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 done 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.
But if a wicked man turns from all his sins which he has committed, keeps all My statutes, and does what is lawful and right, he shall surely live; he shall not die.
None of the transgressions which he has committed shall be remembered against him; because of the righteousness which he has done, he shall live.
“Do I have any pleasure at all that the wicked should die?” says the Lord God, “and not that he should turn from his ways and live?”
Jesus instructs us to pray; “lead us not into temptation”. It is God’s will, His way, His heart.
Be assured, if you love Him, making the choice to obey Him, He will enable you to stand.
#
Father, help us to take full responsibility for our choices and actions. Forgive us for succumbing to the temptation to blame others, including You.
Lord, help us to walk in Your light so that it can fully shine on any darkness we harbor. Help us to walk in obedience and into Your deliverance as we rely on You. By Your grace and mercy, we repent.
In Jesus we live
Amen
#
Study questions
1) Are there areas of sin in your life that you have changed the name of so they don’t sound so… sinful?
2) Are you presently blaming someone else for your sinful behavior?
3) When we come across a teaching that seems to contradict God’s Word, what should we do?
4) If you have in the past blamed someone else for your sinful behavior, would you be willing to share what you learned in order to help someone else?
copyright 2002 tkc
Matthew 6:13(a) And do not lead us into temptation…
The Funk and Wagnal's dictionary defines temptation as 1)The act of tempting, or the state of being tempted. 2)That which tempts.
It also describes that which is tempting to be “Alluring; attractive; seductive.”
Of this we can be sure, God will never, no never entice us to sin.
James 1:13 Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone.
There is no freedom in laying the blame of our sinfulness on how we were born, where we were born, what color our hair is, etc.
We cannot fall back on saying, “God made me this or that way”, when God says “Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.” (Galatians 5:16)
When we pray we come to Him knowing Who He is and honestly admitting what we are.
How can we ask forgiveness if we hold God responsible for our sinfulness?
James 1:14-16 But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed.
Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown brings forth death.
Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren.
Do not be deceived… meaning we can be deceived.
Ouch. These verses are all too clear. When we sin it is our own choice. God did not entice us to sin and neither can we say the devil made us do it. It is our own desires. Shudder.
There is a popular teaching regarding ‘generational curses’ that has flown through the church in recent years. The teaching basically states that the particular sin you struggle with is most likely caused by a generational curse that was started by someone in your family years ago.
Isn’t this once again the age old escape plan called Passing the Buck? It’s not your fault… it’s great-great grandpa Wilber's fault!
The teachers of this claim that what you need to do is to renounce this curse verbally, pleading the Blood of the Lamb over it, thereby breaking the curse. Most teach you need to do this repeatedly whenever you find yourself drawn into the particular area of weakness. After repeatedly renouncing the curse if you still find yourself being held by it, then it’s time to call in some pro’s.
Pro’s are usually called in because frankly… this doesn’t work. The bondage continues because the issue hasn’t been dealt with according to God’s word. In fact, the real issue has been totally skirted.
There are so many problems in this teaching. First, sin is no longer sin. It’s now a ‘generational curse’.
Secondly, the generational curse isn’t our fault. It becomes the responsibility of some long gone ancestor, therefore we can neatly do away with the need for repentance, forgiveness and walking in obedience.
Third, it denies God’s word as He states that, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” 2 Corinthians 5:17 It denies the power of the cross and the completed work of His death and resurrection in our lives.
It boils the need to repent and walk in obedience down to verbally renouncing what someone else did. It places us in the position of victim rather than sinner.
Fourth, this teaching when followed to it’s root, lays the blame squarely on God.
The verse used to support this teaching is Exodus 20:5, only they don’t use the whole verse…
Lets start in verse 3 and go all the way through 6 so we get the complete context.
Exodus 20:3-6 You shall have no other gods before Me.
You shall not make for yourself any carved image, or 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 on 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.
“You shall have no other gods before Me.”
Short. To the point. No way to misunderstand that one…
“You shall not make for yourself any carved image,” Okay… no carving images to worship.
“or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above,” Okay…
“or that is in the earth beneath,” Okay…
“or that is in the water under the earth;” I don’t’ think God left a single loophole here for us. He nailed it down pretty thoroughly.
Have you ever dealt with a child that loves loopholes? For instance, my son was told not to drive our cars. (He loved to move them up and down the driveway… however, he’s 14 and not that we don’t trust him, BUT!)
Well, come to find out that he went down to a neighbors house and drove THEIR car.
When confronted he responded, “But you never said I couldn’t drive the neighbors car!”
Who would have thought???
Apparently God did. He knows our tendency… okay, He knows our sinful natures and how we want to get around what He says.
By the way… we now have a revised rule for our son. You shall not operate anything with an engine on the face of the earth, in or upon the waters that cover the face of the earth, or in the heavens above the earth.
Exception: You can and will push the power mower over the face of the grass upon this little dot of earth.
Verse 5 “You shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God am a jealous God,” (this isn’t the green eyed monster type of jealousy. This is Holy Love jealousy.) “visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generations of those that hate Me,” If a man hates God and raises up his children to hate God, guess what? They will most likely hate God! Not only that, they’ll raise their children to do the same… and on it goes.
This isn’t a mystical curse… this is life. Monkey see, monkey do. The solution? Repent and follow God, and raise up your children in the way they should go.
Ezekiel 18 completely unravels the teaching of the generational curse. Let’s quickly look at just verses 19-23.
“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 done 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.
But if a wicked man turns from all his sins which he has committed, keeps all My statutes, and does what is lawful and right, he shall surely live; he shall not die.
None of the transgressions which he has committed shall be remembered against him; because of the righteousness which he has done, he shall live.
“Do I have any pleasure at all that the wicked should die?” says the Lord God, “and not that he should turn from his ways and live?”
Jesus instructs us to pray; “lead us not into temptation”. It is God’s will, His way, His heart.
Be assured, if you love Him, making the choice to obey Him, He will enable you to stand.
#
Father, help us to take full responsibility for our choices and actions. Forgive us for succumbing to the temptation to blame others, including You.
Lord, help us to walk in Your light so that it can fully shine on any darkness we harbor. Help us to walk in obedience and into Your deliverance as we rely on You. By Your grace and mercy, we repent.
In Jesus we live
Amen
#
Study questions
1) Are there areas of sin in your life that you have changed the name of so they don’t sound so… sinful?
2) Are you presently blaming someone else for your sinful behavior?
3) When we come across a teaching that seems to contradict God’s Word, what should we do?
4) If you have in the past blamed someone else for your sinful behavior, would you be willing to share what you learned in order to help someone else?
copyright 2002 tkc