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We often hear "the sins of the fathers are passed on to the third and fourth generation" taught as an attempt to control behavior, particularly in Baptist churches. Let's think about the flaw in this teaching. If this is a guarantee of God...a covenant...then if one man commits idolatry his sons, grandsons, great grandsons, and great great-grandsons will also commit idolatry. Each of these men will also be passing the sin on to his fourth generation therefore; there is no hope. Has God put an unbreakable curse upon mankind with this verse? Of course not! As New Testament believers we are not under the law but under grace. The law of God shows us His righteousness and convicts us of our un-righteousness...our guilt.

Romans 3:19-26 "Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin. But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God ; To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus."

1John 1:9 "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."

When we accept the free gift of salvation the blood of Christ covers all of our sin...past, present, and future. But that sin is not only covered it is forgiven! If God has forgiven my sin; and my sin is covered so He can't even see it, how can He curse my grandchildren with that sin? The answer is that Exodus 20:5b is not a promise or threat, but it is a warning.

How can the sin of one generation effect the following generations? This is based in the principle of sowing and reaping. If you only plant beans you will reap beans and not corn. If you allow the crops you have planted to go to seed, next year (the next generation) you will have a bigger crop.

What one generation silently tolerates, the next generation condones and by the third generation the sin has become openly acceptable behavior. This is generational sin.

In some families we can see generational sin and easily recognize it as sin. Incest runs in families, because the children who are born into the family don't know there are homes where incest doesn't happen...for them it is normal. What about the "little" things...criticism, indifference, silence, demeaning words, un-controlled anger, and the list could go on? If we don't personally choose to break the cycles learned from years of growing up in an abusive home the cycles will continue.

Jesus, was so intense about the need to protect children from offense...abuse, that He told his followers it would be better to drown or to maim themselves than to abuse a child. While we hear the lesson taught of the shepherd who while 99 sheep are safe goes looking for the 1 lost sheep as an example for salvation, if you read this passage in context you will see that Christ is talking about offending...abusing...neglecting children.

Matthew 18:6-14 "But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea. Woe unto the world because of offences! for it must needs be that offe n ces come; but woe to that man by whom the offence cometh! Wherefore if thy hand or thy foot offend thee, cut them off, and cast them from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life halt or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast in to everlasting fire. And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire. Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven. For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost. How think ye? if a man have an hundred sheep, and one of them be gone astray, doth he not leave the ninety and nine, and goeth into the mountains, and seeketh that which is gone astray? And if so be that he find it, verily I say unto you, he rejoiceth more of that sheep, than of the ninety and nine which went not astray. Even so it is not the will o f your Father which is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish."

What greater abuse is there than for a child to feel un-loved and in danger in their home? Do you remember the many passages of scripture that refer to Jehovah God as our Heavenly Father? The verses that tell us that God is our Father and He loves like our earthly father loves us? Why would a child who grows up in an abusive home choose to have anything to do with a God who is like their father?

There are three major mistake we see in dealing with abuse victims that will affect the child's entire life. Mistakes that cause relationship and behavior problems for decades to come.

The first mistake is not believing the child. When a child finally gets up the nerve to try to tell what is or has happened and they are ignored, told they are making up stories, or punished for saying such things, the child begins to believe they can't trust others to help them. This inability to trust will follow them until they deal with it in light of the Bible. In the mean time they won't trust family members, friends, their spouse, their employer, or their circumstances. Some of you may be thinking, "Well, maybe it's not a good thing to trust." Did you know that, Proverbs 3:5 "Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding." is just one of 46 verses in the Bible that says "Trust in the Lord"? If a child can't trust those he can see, how will he ever trust God? It will only come from intense work to develop a deep personal relationship with Jesus Christ as God heals them emotionally.

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