A 23-Year-Old Video
A young friend of mine shared a news clip video from 23 years ago where Katie Couric (I'm assuming it was on the Today Show), was narrating about the Palestinian reaction after 9/11. My friend did that to suggest that they, the Palestinians, did not hold the same values that Americans did. I strongly rebuked him. Because at the time of the video, it was of a different generation of people from today. And I felt, even then, the video didn’t represent the views of every Palestinian. That is when he replied with something like, “We shouldn’t assume a people inherit the sins of their fathers.”
“And those of you who are left shall rot away in your enemies’ lands because of their iniquity, and also because of the iniquities of their fathers they shall rot away like them. “But if they confess their iniquity and the iniquity of their fathers in their treachery that they committed against me, and also in walking contrary to me, so that I walked contrary to them and brought them into the land of their enemies—if then their uncircumcised heart is humbled and they make amends for their iniquity, then I will remember my covenant with Jacob, and I will remember my covenant with Isaac and my covenant with Abraham, and I will remember the land.” - Leviticus 26:39-42 ESV
“You shall not bow down to them or 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 generation of those who hate me," - Deuteronomy 5:9
That comment got me to thinking about a couple of verses like the above. Are there sins that are chargeable to subsequent generations?
Maybe when it comes down to whether I’m culpable in the original sin or not, it doesn’t matter because I’m a sinner of my own right.
“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins.” - Romans 3:23-25
“But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet. For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.” - Hebrews 10:12-14
I have no idea if we inherit the sins of our fathers. I suspect we may inherit the consequences of our forefather’s sin just as we’ve inherited the blessings from our Christian forefathers as a nation of people. But, the bottom line is that none of us are without our own sin and deserve death. But, if I am right, that our descendants may be impacted by the consequences of our sins or blessings by our actions, this is just one more reason to continue my faith walk.
Pastor’s addition: I really enjoyed how our devotion writer admitted that he wasn’t sure if we inherit the sins of our fathers. I appreciate the transparency, because I struggled with this notion for much of my life. So, for clarity… I would just like to add that we do not inherit their sin directly. Indirectly, absolutely they can impact and affect us.
In the New Covenant in Christ, God holds us only accountable for ourselves, and not the sins of our earthly daddy’s. And praise Him for this… because we are no longer in bondage to a yoke in which we could never loosen. We have freedom in Christ Jesus. May His glory reign forever!
