We must realize that while we are still on this fallen earth, suffering and hardships will be our companions. And even as we face the reality of suffering, we can wait expectantly for the day when “No longer there will be any curse” (Rev. 22:3). Until then suffering will exist.
Have you heard someone tell you that your suffering, sickness or financial struggle is a result of a generational curse or a sin you committed which opened the door to the curse? They say, “Maybe you were part of a ritual or an offering to a god as a child, and therefore you are facing the consequences now.” According to them, that curse needs to be found and then broken if you are to be free from its consequences. When such things are put before believers, they are often confused or start to think there could be some truth in this kind of reasoning. As always, a good question to ask as a thumb rule is: What does the Bible say about this?
1.The Curse of Sin.
Man was commanded not to eat of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, and was told that the consequence of disobedience would be that he would surely die (Gen. 2:17). However, Satan lied and convinced Eve (and Adam) to eat the fruit anyway (Gen. 3:4). When the first man Adam sinned and fell into sin, it brought the curse of sin over all humanity. Everyone has been plagued with sin since the fall. Not only was man under the curse of sin, but the whole creation is also groaning under this curse (Rom. 8:19-21). Sin brought in suffering, sickness and death. All suffering today either directly or indirectly exists therefore because of the fall of man into sin. Therefore, all of creation waits and longs to be rescued from sin (Rom. 8:19-21). This means it is not incorrect to say that we are all affected by the curse which was brought about by sin.
But the question is, do Christians face certain sufferings because of curses incurred by past indiscretions (either of themselves or of their ancestors)?
2. A New Creation.
As we seek to think this through, let’s start with a foundational question: Who is a Christian? A Christian is one who has put their trust in Christ, who has repented of their sins and has understood that apart from Christ there is no other way to be saved, that Christ is the only way. A Christian is one whom God has rescued from sin and death through the suffering and death that Christ endured on the cross.
Paul, writing to Christians in Rome, says “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit”(Rom. 8:1-4 ).
The first Adam brought sin into the world, while the Second Adam (Christ) overcame sin and death at the cross.
