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Breaking Curses from God

Breaking Curses from God: No. 1 Source of Curses

This chapter and all other chapters ahead deal with the breaking of curses from the three sources of curses (God, people, and self). They address the deliverance side on curses. As covered in the introduction, these chapters could have been more appropriately titled “Deliverance from Curses.” But some common language concepts of our day had to be used to bring home the biblical principles.

Deliverance from God's curses (breaking curses from God)

“Having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross. Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day,” Colossians 2:14-16.

Yes we have been freed from the curse of the law. We have been freed from all its ritualistic regulations and the animal sacrifices we had to make to pay for our sins.

Jesus became our one-time sacrifice and paid the price for the consequences of being under it. And so on.

Being freed from the burden of being under the Old Testament law did not mean we now received a license to sin with no consequences whatsoever. The bible is clear about this. That's why we received the Holy Spirit to help us live holy lives. When we reject the promptings of the Holy Spirit not to sin we move into a risky area.

The bible says, “Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps whatever he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit will reap eternal life,” Galatians 6:7-8.

“Unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven,” Matthew, 5:20.

So what we can say about the Old Testament law is that though it may not apply to us in its strict sense its principles still apply to us. The rituals, sacrifices and condemnation it carried no longer apply to us. But its principles of sowing and reaping still apply to us.

The Old Testament law was actually a shadow of the things that were to come. What was to come was Jesus and the resulting law of the Spirit written in us:

“Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. These are a shadow of the things that were to come ; the reality, however, is found in Christ,” Colossians 2:16-17 (emphasis added).

Jesus came and for those of us born again we now have the unseen law of the Spirit at work in us. “Through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man, in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us , who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit,” Romans 8:2-4.

Why was the old law done away with? The answer is right above: “ In order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us ,” Romans 8:4. So the righteous requirements of the old law are still required by the new law. The requirements for righteousness in the old law failed to be fulfilled by us. All humanity did was perform endless rituals without being convicted to live uprightly.

The story changes with the new law. Through the Holy Spirit who empowers us we are now able to fulfill requirements for righteous living. The old law being a shadow of the new has a lot of similar attributes to the new. We can still look to the old to piece together how this unseen law of the Spirit works.

This new law is now written in our hearts not on tablets of stone. The Holy Spirit who leads us to all truth illuminates this law in our hearts:

“Indeed, when Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature things required by the law, they are a law for themselves, even though they do not have the law, since they show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts now accusing, now even defending them,” Romans 2:14-15.

The Gentiles in reference here were Christian converts who were non-Jews. These non-Jews were not required to submit to Jewish laws that required circumcision of males, restrictions on eating certain foods (particularly pork), observance of Jewish holidays, and so on. The new law written in their hearts by the Holy Spirit and governed by God's written word showed that these traditions were not necessary.

The good news concerning curses from God is that he gives plenty of room to reverse them. God's key word for his deliverance from his curses is obedience.

Thus curses are not permanent afflictions to bear. There are no unforgivable curses. The first half of Deuteronomy chapter 30 gives this open door for God to remove the curses and release his blessings. Obedience or returning to him is what makes him to stop the curses.

“When you and your children return to the Lord your God and obey him with all your heart and with all your soul according to everything I command you today, then the Lord your God will restore your fortunes and have compassion on you and gather you again from all the nations where he scattered you.

“Even if you have been banished to the most distant land under the heavens, from there the Lord your God will gather you and bring you back. He will bring you to the land that belonged to your fathers, and you will take possession of it,” Deuteronomy 30:2-5.

While unbelievers who still operate outside God's redemption and covering a Christian enjoys the blessings of God's redemption. Jesus came to free us from all the ritualistic and outward works of ensuring we are on God's right side.

“Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: "Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree." He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit,” Galatians 3:13-14.

For believers Jesus invalidates the fourth condition for a curse to apply: an individual needs to be in a position of deserving it or having a legal doorway to receiving it. Once we repent of the wrong we take on the redeemed or delivered nature since Jesus took all our curses upon himself. We're considered righteous or blameless in God's eyes.

God's condemnation against us ends once we receive salvation. “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death,” Romans 8:1-2.

Thus because of Christ we don't have to go out and sacrifice animals to pay for our sins. In addition the Old Covenant's sacrifices were insufficient to provide atonement or payment for the sins committed (Hebrews 10:4-10).

Now “there is no longer any sacrifice for sin,” Hebrews 10:18. In the New Covenant Jesus became our sacrifice, our one time sacrifice. This means when someone sins or wrongs God all that God requires is repentance with no animal sacrifices.

In addition God did more for us to enable us not to keep sinning. He put his law in our hearts. “I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds,” Hebrews 10:16.