Many believers have an incomplete picture of God. They live with the notion that God blesses Christians and will never curse any Christian, let alone the Church. To them curses come from Satan and never from God! But, this is an incomplete picture of God. Furthermore, Satan deceives Christians and makes them feel guilty, but he has no power to curse Christian, unless God allows him. The Scripture clearly says that God blesses and curses His people (Deuteronomy 28). God pronounces His curses on many kinds of sins, even sins committed by "born-again" Christians.
The root cause of all curses comes from God's Universal Law of sowing and reaping:
"Even as I have seen, those who plow iniquity and sow trouble reap the same" (Job 4:8, NKJV).
"Talk no more so very proudly; let no arrogance come from your mouth, for the Lord is the God of knowledge; and by Him actions are weighed" (1 Sam. 2:3, emphasis added).
"I, the Lord, search the heart, I test the mind, even to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his doings" (Jeremiah 17:10).
"Do not be decieved, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life" (Gal. 6:7,8, emphasis added).
The outworking of this Universal Law is very simple - He who sows righteousness reaps the blessing of God; he who sows wickedness or sin reaps the curse of God!
In my opinion, (you may disagree with me) there are two main ways by which God pronounces His curse on individual sinning believer, group of believers or the Church. One is independent of God and the other is anti-semitism.
Independent of God
Thus says the Lord: "Cursed is the man who trust in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart departs from the Lord" (Jeremiah 17:5, emphasis added).
Notice that the word "flesh" does not denote the physical body. Rather, it denotes the nature each of us has received by inheritance from our common ancestor, Adam. Adam did not beget any children until he himself had trangressed God's commandment. The essential motivation of his transgression was not so much the desire to do evil as the desire to be independent of God.
The cause of the curse is when Elders, Pastors and leaders shepherd the Local Church trusting in their own strength and ability. When they do that (according to the above verse) their action indicates that their hearts depart from the Lord. Notice that this also indicates that at an earlier time these people's hearts were with the Lord. They have experienced God's supernatural grace and power, but then turn back to relying on their own natural ability. Their conduct reveals that they have more confidence in what they can do for themselves than what God can do for them.
Look around you and you will not fail to notice that this is the condition of many Local Churches, especially the denomination Churches. Church history also tells us that some historical denomination began with the grace of God, power and blessings of God. But, after a generation or two they became complacent, self-sufficient and carnal. They no longer acknowledge their dependence on God. They no longer make room for the Holy Spirit, but simply say that we can do it. It is this attitude which calls forth God's curse.
The outworking of this curse is described in the next verse:
"For he shall be like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see when good comes, but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land which is not inhabited" (Emphasis added).
In other words, an individual Christian or the Local Church under this curse will not be productive or fruitful or effective in their ministry. All that surrounds them is barren and dreary. They will not "see when good comes" because blessings and refreshing may come to others all around them, but in some mysterious way it always passes them by. They have only barrenness and frustration.
Paul wrote to the Galatians:
"O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you that you should not obey the truth .... Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh" (Gal. 3:1 and 3, emphasis added)?
A Local Church that "makes flesh as strength" (instead of being led by the Spirit of God) is also in danger of opening its door for witchcraft.
Anti-Semitism
God has provided protection to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (Israel) - His chosen people by a promise:
"I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse him who curses you; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed" (Gen. 12:3).
The Church are Abraham's children through faith and imputed righteousness (Romans 4:13 to 16). But, if through unbelief and failure to walk in the steps of Abraham and knowingly and unknowingly curse the Jew, the Church will be under the curse of God Himself!
There is a false teaching in some section of Christendom known as "The Replacement Theology" which advocates believers to believe that the Church has replaced the Jewish people as God's chosen people. According to this false teaching the Church is now the "Spiritual Israel" and God has given up Israel and all the blessings now come to the Church. In my opinion, Christians who advocate such false doctrine will not believe in any Bible prophecies of God's plan for Israel. These Christians are deceived and they are unable to discern the true teaching of the Scripture.
Read Romans 11 and you will understand what I mean.
Paul wrote, "I say then, has God cst away His people? Certainly not!" (Rom. 11:1). The Jew is God's people and always will be. I just cannot understand why any God-fearing Christian has the audacity to say that God has given up on the Jew. Well, any Local Church that believes the so-called "Replacement Theology" is under God's curse. That is why they are blinded!
The truth is there is no such thing as "Spiritual Israel" and you cannot find this in the Bible. The Church is a type of Israel and nothing more. There are 3 and only 3 types of people in the world - The Jew, Gentile and the Church. The Church consists of believing Jews and believing Gentile and they are called Christians. Study the Scripture and you will not fail to notice that God has separate plans for the unbelieving Jews, Gentile and the true Church of Jesus Christ.
1 comment:
the Israelites did not have a notion of satan, and hence blessings and curses were deemed to derive from God. As were evil spirits - see and God sent Saul an evil spirit.
So I think it is difficult to make the conclusions that God curses people from these passages. In fact Christ seems to refute such thinking when healing a blind man (he was asked for whose sins has this man been cursed with blindness)
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