A woman from the United Arab Emirates who wishes to remain anonymous writes in to ask this, "Dear Pastor John, what does it mean in Exodus 20 verse 5 that God visits the iniquity of the fathers on the children? Does this refer to generational sins or generational curses? How does this principle relate to us and to our children under the new covenant?

Will my children somehow be punished for my own sins?" I suppose we should get the texts, the relevant texts, in front of us, including the one that she mentioned. Exodus 25 goes like this, "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, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments." And Exodus 34 6, "The Lord visits the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children's children to the third and fourth generation." Leviticus 26 39, "Because of their iniquity and also because of the iniquities of their fathers, they shall rot away like them." However, there are other texts which are absolutely crucial for sorting out what the Bible means in those first texts.

Deuteronomy 24 16, "Fathers shall not be put to death because of their children, nor shall children be put to death because of their fathers." Or 2 Kings 14 6, "Amaziah did not put to death the children of the murderers, according to what is written in the book of the law of Moses, where the Lord commanded, 'Fathers shall not be put to death because of their children, nor shall children be put to death because of their fathers, but each one shall die for his own sin.'" Or Ezekiel 18 20, "The son shall not suffer for the iniquity of the father, nor the father suffer for the iniquity of the son." So there you have the two clusters of texts that are both true, both inspired by God, and both infallible.

How do they fit together? And what can we learn about so-called generational sins? So here are my observations. Number one, the sins of the fathers are punished in the children through becoming the children's own sin. That's really crucial. So here's the key text. I'll just read Exodus 20 verse 5 again.

"I, the Lord, visit the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me." In other words, the hatred of God is the embodiment of what the father's problem was. Those who experience the penalty of the father's sins are those who hate God in that verse.

We are not told how the father's sins become the children's sins. That's a mysterious thing left in God's mind, but they do. What we're told is that when father's sins are visited on the children, it is because the children have become sinners like the fathers. The father's sins are the children's sins, and so no innocent child has ever been punished for a father's sins.

Only guilty children are punished, and they are guilty with the very sins that their fathers sinned. That's the first observation. The second is because of God's grace, which is, of course, finally secured for us by Jesus on the cross, the children can confess their own sins and the sins of their fathers and be forgiven and accepted by God.

Nobody is trapped. Nobody is trapped in his father's sins or his own sins. So here's—we already see it in the Old Testament, Leviticus 2640. If they confess their iniquity and the iniquity of their fathers, if then their uncircumcised heart is humbled and they make amends for their iniquity, then I will remember my covenant with Jacob.

So nobody in the Old Testament or the New, under the New Covenant, is trapped or enslaved or in bondage or under an unbreakable curse because of something the fathers did or something they did. The precious words of Exodus 34 6 are not nullified by generational migration of sin. It says, "The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands." And then, as if to get the point across, he gives three words—forgiving iniquity and forgiving transgression and forgiving sin.

I mean, you can't get clearer at the center of the Mosaic Law that from generation to generation, God forgives the sins of those who repent. Third observation, none of this should make anyone feel trapped and without hope because of his parents' sins. Ezekiel 33 14, "When I say to the wicked, 'You shall surely die,' and he turns from his sin and practices justice and righteousness, he shall surely live.

He shall not die." And the blood of Jesus conquers all sin and judgment for those who believe. And you get a beautiful sweeping statement in Acts 10 43, "To him," Jesus, "all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name." So, nobody is trapped in anybody's sin—their own or someone else's—because of the cross.

The fourth thing I would say is no one who has a child who goes bad and forsakes the way of righteousness should feel that it's all his fault. Ezekiel 18 20, in other words, "Well, I guess my sins were just visited on that child." Ezekiel 18 20 says, "The father will not bear the punishment for the son's iniquity." In other words, there are real responsibilities in our children's hearts, and we will not be found guilty because of our children's guilt, if we deal, of course, with our own sins.

Which means that you can't be paralyzed by the guilt of thinking, "I guess my children's problems are all owing to me." And the last thing I would say is, finally, when it comes to generational curses, Christians should lay hold on Galatians 3 13, "Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us.

For it is written, 'Curse it is everyone who's hanged on a tree.'" Christ has paid every debt and broken every curse. And the key is to believe that and act on it. The blood of Christ covers all curses. I remember going to the hospital one New Year's Eve night when the third heartache and tragedy had come into one of the young families of our lives, and they wondered, "How worse can it get?" And the father took me out in the hall from the place where his child was dying and said, "Pastor John, can a Christian be under a curse?" He just felt, "I don't know any explanation for why so many bad things are happening to me." And I said, "You may tonight be free from any kind of curse, from God's law, or any voodoo, or any hex, because Christ bore every curse for you." Brought him great comfort, and they worked their way through that in a wonderful way.

Wow, what a story to bring this home, and what a Savior we have in Christ. Thank you for explaining this, Pastor John. And tomorrow we're gonna return to talk about what our hope in eternal purity in the presence of Jesus Christ does to our present purity right now. I'm your host Tony Reinke, and I will see you tomorrow.

And as always, find more about the Ask Pastor John podcast online at DesiringGod.org/AskPastorJohn