Original sin stemming from Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden does not exist. It is a conception of the church to keep us in line through fear and ignorance. We are not born in sin because we dared to learn. Not only did God outlaw propitiation in the Old Testament, He also outlawed generational sin, which makes Saul a.k.a. Paul a false teacher and a false prophet when he said the following about the purpose for Jesus' crucifixion: "Therefore, as through one man's offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through one Man's righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life. For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man's obedience many will be made righteous." (Romans 5:18-19)

The concept of remission of sins by the blood of Jesus was created by the same people who perpetuate the lie of generational sin. In both cases, man is not responsible for what he does, whether it is for good or for evil. We are sinners without having done anything, and we are saved without having done anything! God is easy work, is He not? He hands everything to us on a silver platter because He loves us so!

What hogwash! Woe to those who subscribe to this teaching! Woe to the false teachers who preach this abomination!

If you subscribe to this mentality, then you are a murderer. You are not washed clean by the blood of Jesus�you have his blood on your hands. If you believe that Jesus is God, then the crime goes even further�you have murdered the King of the Universe and Creator of All by refusing to take responsibility for your actions. Those who teach and believe in this deal in death, not life. God wants us to come to Him, on an individual basis, and repent for our sins and be reconciled to Him on our own. No one can do that for us. We must do it alone. There is no fear in God. God is not a smokescreen. True repentance leads to life. Substitution leads to death.

Here is God's face on generational sin in reference to Genesis 37:11. He says that generational sin is learned, not inherited, and therefore through our gift of free will, we can choose to either perpetuate the "family curse" or not. In short, we can overcome or simply choose not to engage in sinful behavior.

The scenario is this: Joseph is about to be sold by his brothers in to slavery in Egypt because of jealousy. The Bible commentary:

"Sin is Passed on Through Generations"

How often we assume that our "private" sins hurt no one but ourselves. For instance, how could the sin of envy affect anyone else? Isn't coveting strictly a matter between us and the Lord?

But sins of character have a way of touching everyone with whom we have contact, especially those we love the most, our family. This is what happened in three generations of Isaac's family. His wife Rebekah determined to gain Isaac's blessing for her favorite son Jacob, even if it meant deceiving her husband (and so Jacob was taught by his mother that this was correct, with "taught" being the operative word here). Thus she helped her son Jacob grow up to be a deceiver (and I might well comment here that it is Jacob who was later renamed Israel and who was the father of the twelve tribes of Israel�did he gain that honor by deception, and if so, what does that say for the Jewish nation who call themselves the Chosen?).

Years later, Jacob's second wife Rachel became frustrated as her sister and rival Leah bore four sons for Jacob. Rachel's anguish developed into such strong envy that it created tension and anger in her husband, even though he loved Rachel dearly.

A bitter harvest of Rebekah and Jacob's deception and Rachel's envy was reaped in the third generation when Joseph's brothers began to envy him. They sold him into slavery and then deceived their father about it. Where had they learned to treat their sibling with jealousy and their father with such cruel deception? Clearly, they were following in their elders' footsteps!

Sin can pass from generation to generation (IF WE ALLOW IT), not just by what is said but by what is lived. In light of this reality, consider the relationships in your own extended family. In what ways may you be harming others by harboring envy, covetousness, lust, pride or other "private" sins? Is there a need for repentance and a change of attitude, as well as behavior? Would you change your ways for the sake of your children and grandchildren?

Click here for more on sacrifices.