Chapter Two   –          The Gospel According to Kevin

Generational Idol Worship in the American Church, worshipping Kevin! 

 

I’ve heard the modern-day picture of Jesus referred to as Kevin, the blonde-haired, green-eyed Michael Angelo Jesus. Anyone with even a measure of common sense can rationalize that the Jesus of the Bible was of Middle Eastern ancestry and would have had darker skin and brown eyes. Hopefully, pictures, crosses, relics, and artifacts portraying Jesus will be put in their proper perspective, as we clearly see the scriptural warning against idolizing such objects.

What if we were taught a different Jesus? What if we have been teaching or allowing our children to be taught a different Jesus? What if the gospel we were taught was incomplete or just blatantly heretical? And wouldn’t an incomplete gospel be heretical? Could this affect our children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren? Could this curse them, leaving them riddled and controlled by the ideologies of darkness? Could this set them up to believe the lie, opening them up to the deluding spirit sent by the Lord in the last days, as described in 2 Thessalonians 2:11?

There are two sides to the idea of generational curses. One side says that all curses were totally eradicated at the Cross. The other side is looking for secret knowledge, formulas, steps, and so on to unlock the secrets of overcoming generational curses.

I have discovered that the truth typically lies somewhere in the middle when we examine seemingly opposing doctrines. So, what is the middle? What is a balanced understanding of scripture and the blatant, in-your-face facts that our kids, for the most part, follow in their parents’ sins?

 

Exodus 20:1-6 (NASB) Then God spoke all these words, saying, ² “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. ³ “You shall have no other gods before Me. ⁴ “You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath, or in the water under the earth. ⁵ You shall not worship them nor serve them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, inflicting the punishment of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me, ⁶ but showing favor to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.

 

Let’s consider the first idea: Generational curses no longer exist. Much of what we debate is wording, nuance, and semantics, not actual doctrine. To say that children emphatically are punished for the sins of their fathers is clearly unbiblical. But, we definitely, through empirical observation, see that addicts produce addicts in their genealogy. That alcoholics produce alcoholics in their genealogy. That abusers produce abusers in their genealogy. And they suffer the consequences of their parents’ actions. This measurable truth requires no faith from reasonable folks, just a look at the facts.

So, something is happening. Just like arthritis, diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, and other tendencies towards illness and disease, life choices, in most cases, are passed from one generation to the next.

Denying reality isn’t faith; it is insanity. Denying the existence of generational proclivities is the first step in embracing sinful proclivities and allowing them to direct our lives to a slow but sure and utter destruction. It’s like ignoring your high blood pressure. Eventually, you will regret ignoring the high blood pressure.

 

Ezekiel 18:14-23 (NASB) “Now behold, he has fathered a son who saw all his father’s sins which he committed, but he has seen them and does not do likewise. ¹⁵ He does not eat at the mountain shrines or raise his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel; he has not defiled his neighbor’s wife, ¹⁶ nor oppressed anyone, nor retained a pledge, nor committed robbery; instead, he gives his bread to the hungry and covers the naked with clothing, ¹⁷ he keeps his hand from the poor, does not take any kind of interest on loans, but executes My ordinances, and walks in My statutes; he will not die for his father’s guilt, he will certainly live. ¹⁸ As for his father, because he practiced extortion, robbed his brother, and did what was not good among his people, behold, he will die for his guilt. ¹⁹ “Yet you say, ‘Why should the son not suffer the punishment for the father’s guilt?’ When the son has practiced justice and righteousness and has kept all My statutes and done them, he shall certainly live. ²⁰ The person who sins will die. A son will not suffer the punishment for the father’s guilt, nor will a father suffer the punishment for the son’s guilt; the righteousness of the righteous will be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked will be upon himself. ²¹ “But if the wicked person turns from all his sins which he has committed and keeps all My statutes and practices justice and righteousness, he shall certainly live; he shall not die. ²² All his offenses which he has committed will not be remembered against him; because of his righteousness which he has practiced, he will live. ²³ Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked,” declares the Lord God, “rather than that he would turn from his ways and live?

 

The sins of the fathers, spoken of in Exodus 20, in context—and context always matters—are speaking to the Nation of Israel. That’s not to say the passage doesn’t apply to individual families today. Specifically, this passage concerns the sin of idolatry; the nation of Israel seemed to be unable to fully repent. We will look at Generational Sins and how those sins definitely affect the preceding children later in the book.

Right now, I want to take a look at the state of the last few generations in the context of the last few generations being totally withdrawn from “The Gospel of Jesus THE Christ,” as well as the effects of the last few generations being taught the counterfeit gospel of Jesus “A” Christ.

Any student of the Bible with a Holy Spirit-rooted foundation of a true Biblical Worldview, defined as the following, must acknowledge that what is being taught in many of the churches across our nation is in no way the True Gospel.

 

What is a Biblical Worldview?

1. Do absolute moral truths exist?
   1. The prominent idea of the last 3 – 4 generations is that morality is subjective, meaning that right and wrong change based on a person’s personal beliefs.
   2. Sin and true repentance from sin are topics that are avoided by many churches here in America.   
2. Is absolute truth defined by the Bible?
   1. With the “THEORY of Evolution,” the Bible is now viewed as a collection of fairy tales and ancient unrelatable books.   
   2. As a compromise, because the American Church is great at compromise, we have bought into the idea of “Theistic Evolution,” making the Bible out to be an outdated, culturally irrelevant book full of fairy tales.  
3. Did Jesus Christ live a sinless life?
   1. Just one of many reasons our sin-sick culture hates anything to do with Jesus “THE” Christ.
4. Is God the all-powerful and all-knowing Creator of the universe, and does He still rule it today?
   1. From the roots of the Roman Greco-Roman universities prominent in American Universities was born the idea of deism, a distant god, or the pantheon, which has led the majority, the vast majority of folks sitting in our pews today, to believe in moral therapeutic deism and syncretism.
5. Is salvation a gift from God that cannot be earned?
   1. According to the majority, the vast majority of those who attend church regularly, salvation is gained or earned through many different ways.
6. Is Satan real?
   1. Yes, he is real. Just watch kids’ shows.
7. Does a Christian have a responsibility to share his or her faith in Christ with other people?
   1. Never talk about religion?
8. Is the Bible accurate in all of its teachings?
   1. No, it is an outdated book, but we have really smart folks updating it by removing the stuff we find offensive.

I added this one, which I consider the most relevant question we should be asking.

1. Is Jesus “THE” Christ the only way to reconcile with the Lord God Almighty, the creator of all that there is, there will be, or ever has been?
   1. Since the Bible is irrelevant in today’s culture, just being a good person is all that is required to make it to heaven. 

 

Breaking the first two of the Ten Commandments has a consequence that affects the next three to four generations, according to Exodus 20:3-5. And at the end of the day, our opinions do not matter. It’s not our truth that sets us free; it is His Truth that sets us free!

 

Exodus 20:3-5 (NASB) You shall have no other gods before Me. ⁴ “You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath, or in the water under the earth. ⁵ You shall not worship them nor serve them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, inflicting the punishment of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me, ⁶ but showing favor to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.

• “You shall have no other gods before Me.”
• “You shall not make for yourself an idol.”

 

As a reminder, a major premise of the book is spiritual parenting as it relates to Inner Healing and Deliverance. It encourages those who need deliverance to embrace the process and those in church leadership to understand the work, the labor, and the intense reality of spiritual warfare when you put yourself between hell and the person God has Graced you to shepherd.

The key to understanding the concept of generational curses is recognizing the distinction between the consequences and the penalties of sin, and how both impact their children. Consequences come from a fallen world, and penalties come from the sovereignty of the Lord.

Before we move on, let’s look at the Greek meaning of the word curse.

• Katara is the Greek word for curse. In ancient thought, the spoken word had intrinsic power, which was released by the act of utterance. The person cursed was thus exposed to a sphere of destructive power. It worked effectively against a person until the power within the curse was spent. Words of malediction and of benediction are thus more than evil or pious wishes.

 

I believe we can gain valuable insights into this topic by examining the story of the prodigal son in Luke 15:11-32. This seemingly wealthy fella had two sons. One day, the younger son came to him and asked for his share of the inheritance. Under normal circumstances, the dad would need to die for the sons to get their inheritance. The dad agreed, gave the son his money, and the young man went to sow his wild oats.

Well, like all sin, it comes with consequences. When the money was gone, this young Hebrew fella found himself slopping some hogs. I’m not sure if any of you have ever slopped any hogs, but it is nasty and smelly work. And this young man, according to his heritage, was not even allowed to touch a pig. So, this was his pit, the place many of us get when we come to our senses and call out to the Lord.

 

Luke 15:17 (NASB) But when he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired laborers have more than enough bread, but I am dying here from hunger!

 

The young man humbles himself and decides to head home and beg his father’s forgiveness. His father had blessed his son with a solid foundation of knowledge: knowing who his father is, knowing the path to return, and knowing a worldview that produces humility. His father had spoken this knowledge to him and over him, meaning that it was spoken in a way that produced actions or, biblically speaking, produced fruit.

The very nature of the father was fully realized by how he received the prodigal son when he returned home. There was no judgment, no condemnation, just a warm welcome and a return to his rightful position. His ring was returned, demonstrating full restoration of his rightful position in the family. The robe, most likely his father’s robe, was placed around him, sandals were placed on his feet, and the fattened calf was prepared for the prodigal’s return celebration.

But what about those that are born in the pig pen? The ones whose parents and grandparents didn’t take them to church or took them to a church that presented a false Jesus. The subtle False Jesus who proclaims that he is one of many ways to reconcile with the Father. The Moral Therapeutic Jesus, the blonde-haired, green-eyed Michael Angelo Jesus who doesn’t proclaim the miracle of Salvation, the necessity of repentance, or that we must identify with the Death, the Burial, and the Resurrection of Jesus “THE” Christ. What if we raised our children, who are spiritual beings born with an innate longing to connect with the supernatural through the Holy Spirit, in a church that has adopted a new but very false Trinity, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Scripture?

Let me tell you what happens. They suffer the consequences of their parents’ idolatry—yes, idolatry. We are always worshipping something, but there is one God, and the only way to reconcile with Him is through Jesus, “THE” Christ! And without the Holy Spirit, there is no Salvation, no Reconciliation, no Redemption, and no Restoration.

The father of the home, the head of the household, represents the Lord God Almighty to his wife first and then to his children. Let me make this plain: Our kids’ perception of God is rooted in their perception of their biological fathers. Knowing, a deep, intimate knowing, is the root of all Generational Proclivities. When children embrace their parents’ sins, the proclivity becomes a curse.

 

Malachi 4:5-6 (NASB) “Behold, I am going to send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the Lord. ⁶ He will turn the hearts of the fathers back to their children and the hearts of the children to their fathers, so that I will not come and strike the land with complete destruction.”

 

It’s time for the fathers to turn to the children and the children to the fathers. It’s time for the Elijah Generation to rise up and be embraced by spiritual mothers and fathers. We are called to teach, train, equip, and send. But the American Church isn’t even teaching the Entire Gospel, and as far as the training, equipping, and sending, we have a church full of lukewarm folks who don’t know the basic tenets of the Gospel.

 

Deuteronomy 6:4-7 (NASB) “Hear, Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one! ⁵ And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. ⁶ These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. ⁷ And you shall repeat them diligently to your sons and speak of them when you sit in your house, when you walk on the road, when you lie down, and when you get up.

 

Proverbs 22:6 (NASB) Train up a child in the way he should go, Even when he grows older he will not abandon it.

 

We have a nation full of young people cursed with the consequences of a compromised gospel, which is in no way the True Gospel of Jesus “THE” Christ. We have become more concerned about our children’s grades than their eternity. Folks in the American Church are more concerned about travel ball than they are their kids’ salvation. The end result is the last few generations being incredibly demonized and in need of deliverance and discipleship by men and women of God willing to embrace the process of becoming their spiritual parents.

 

Exodus 20:5 (NASB) You shall not worship them nor serve them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, inflicting the punishment of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me…

 

We pass our proclivities and innate desires toward particular sins down to our children for up to four generations. When children who have only heard lies begin to walk in their parents’ proclivities, sin results, and a curse follows.

I was reminded of the first movie, Marilyn, and I watched “Talladega Nights.” What a way to start a relationship. They had a saying, “If you ain’t first, you are last.” If God is not first in your life, He is last, meaning you hate and reject Him.

 

Three other False Gospels That Have Compromised Our Children

• Hyper Prosperity Gospel
• Hyper-Grace Gospel
• Hyper Legalism Gospel

 

Hyper Prosperity Gospel

Does the Lord God Almighty desire His Children to be prosperous? Well, I reckon it depends on a fella’s idea of what prosperity means. If you mean material wealth over spiritual understanding, well, no! If you mean stuff over the manifest presence of God, well, no! If you mean your idea of the Gospel is to live your best life, embracing only the blessings without embracing the suffering of Christ, you have a Hyper Prosperity view of the Gospel. A view that focuses on the temporal things of the world and not the eternal things of Abba Father.

Look, I don’t care how holy you live or how much faith you have; things are going to happen. In this life, you will have trouble. We live in a fallen world, and the ground is still cursed. Sickness and disease are a part of our lives this side of eternity.  And men, by the sweat of our brow, we provide for our families. Yes, Jesus has overcome this world! Yes, we can have an abundant life. Yes, He still heals all manner of sickness and disease. Yes, He provides an abundance. But if I am seeking Him for what He can do for me and not for who He is, I am missing the point of the gospel.

 

Matthew 6:24 (NASB) “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.

KJV – Ye cannot serve God and mammon.

Mammon – riches (where it is personified and opposed to God).

 

Colossians 3:5-6 (NASB) So put to death the sinful, earthly things lurking within you. Have nothing to do with sexual immorality, impurity, lust, and evil desires. Don’t be greedy, for a greedy person is an idolater, worshiping the things of this world. ⁶ Because of these sins, the anger of God is coming.

Colossians 3:5 (ESV) Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.

 

The prodigal son could have returned home and demanded a place back in his father’s house. He was still a son. But, in humility, he was restored. He was fully willing to accept the lowly position, and then he was exalted. Like the Greek woman with the demonized daughter, she was willing and happy to receive the crumbs that fell from the master’s table.

 

Matthew 15:24-28 (NASB) But He answered and said, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” ²⁵ But she came and began to bow down before Him, saying, “Lord, help me!” ²⁶ Yet He answered and said, “It is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” ²⁷ And she said, “Yes, Lord; but please help, for even the dogs feed on the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” ²⁸ Then Jesus said to her, “O woman, your faith is great; it shall be done for you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed at once.

 

In the Hyper Prosperity gospel, there is a sense of entitlement that flows from pride. And yes, there are many precious covenant promises that flow from being children purchased by the Blood of the Lamb, but those promises flow through intimacy with Jesus, which only happens through realizing our position as servants, bond servants, and literal slaves to the Cross. But, the Lord doesn’t count us as slaves, as orphans, but as adopted sons and daughters, and we, as His children, cry Abba Father.

 

Hyper-Grace Gospel

The prodigal son could have bought into the idea that, since he was a son, the Grace of God was a legitimate reason for him to remain in the pig pen. And I’m sure, while he still had some money, this was a prevalent idea amid the wild living. Aren’t we all that way in our sins? We think everything is just fine, but reality sets in when it comes time to pay the wages of our sins. Hopefully, we come to our senses, humble ourselves, repent, and return to our Father.

When repentance isn’t preached, the Cross isn’t presented in its horrific nature, and the power of the Blood isn’t shouted, you can rest assured that someone is leaning toward a hyper-grace idea of the gospel.

Hyper-Grace flows from the doctrine of eternal security, also known as once saved, always saved. This is the idea that there is no way that a truly saved person can find themselves unsaved. First, this undermines free will and is entirely opposed to the nature of the Lord. We are not saved by our works, but the progressive change in what we do and what we say is proof that we have been truly born again.

 

Hyper Legalism Gospel

Luke 15:25-32 (NASB) “Now his older son was in the field, and when he came and approached the house, he heard music and dancing. ²⁶ And he summoned one of the servants and began inquiring what these things could be. ²⁷ And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has slaughtered the fattened calf because he has received him back safe and sound.’ ²⁸ But he became angry and was not willing to go in; and his father came out and began pleading with him. ²⁹ But he answered and said to his father, ‘Look! For so many years I have been serving you and I have never neglected a command of yours; and yet you never gave me a young goat, so that I might celebrate with my friends; ³⁰ but when this son of yours came, who has devoured your wealth with prostitutes, you slaughtered the fattened calf for him.’ ³¹ And he said to him, ‘Son, you have always been with me, and all that is mine is yours. ³² But we had to celebrate and rejoice, because this brother of yours was dead and has begun to live, and was lost and has been found.’”

 

I missed this aspect of the Prodigal Son’s story, but it is prevalent in many churches today. The elder son rejected the younger son’s repentance. I know, as a pastor who has been to prison and written a book about all his dirty laundry, most churches will never accept me. They will never acknowledge the fruit that continues to come from the church the Lord has graced me to serve. And I reckon I get it; looking at my resume, I wouldn’t hire me as a pastor either. But we aren’t called to view people naturally, are we?

Like many in the American Church, the elder son couldn’t look past the younger son’s mistakes. He got offended that his father would greet him with such compassion and joy.

The word “legalism” doesn’t occur in the Bible. However, we can see the thought of legalism throughout the Bible. Consider the religious leaders and Jesus’ interaction with them during the time He walked the earth. He was rejected, scorned, and eventually betrayed by them. He wasn’t of the right lineage, wasn’t educated by the right type of folks, and He came from the wrong part of town.

Legalism is viewing the Word of the Living God as a rule book, a comparison book, a book full of dos and don’ts. And as important as the guidelines are in the Word of God, we must settle in our minds that the Word of God is different than any other book. It is alive, full of the anointing of the Holy Spirit, and powerful enough to change any called and willing individual from the inside out.

Legalism is like trying to eat a loaf of bread without any water. A fella will just get choked. Jesus, who is the Word, the Word made Flesh, the Word that dwelt amongst us, was full of both Grace and Truth. Legalism is Truth alone with no or little Grace; it is Bread alone with no or little water.

As dangerous as the doctrines of Hyper-Prosperity, Hyper-Grace, and Hyper-Legalism are, they aren’t typically heretical. Looking back on my life, I can recall times when I have been all three. The key is simple: build your entire life, meaning everything, on a desire to know Him, Jesus “THE” Christ, more and more each and every day.

Misunderstanding scripture will be a part of our Christian lives. But, if we don’t have the foundation right, the foundation that Jesus is “THE” Christ, the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords, the absolute only way to reconcile with God, we will not endure until the end.

 

Matthew 24:11-13 (NASB) And many false prophets will rise up and mislead many people. ¹² And because lawlessness is increased, most people’s love will become cold. ¹³ But the one who endures to the end is the one who will be saved.