1 Corinthians 7:14, "For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband: else were your children unclean; but now are they holy."
What does that mean to you, and what does it have to do with the sins of the fathers being visited upon the children?
This scripture deals with a family who has one parent who is saved and one who is not. That describes a large portion of the church world today.
What is meant by this sanctification that is passed on from one person to another?
A believing spouse will do their best to teach the ways of God and uphold the standards of righteousness to the rest of the family. They may not always succeed and they may never reach the place where they are living the way that they would want to, but how much better is the family because of their belief in God.
The unbelieving spouse will surely be affected in some manner, or they will leave the family, one or the other. God’s spirit and God’s Law, through his Word will constantly work on them and it will have an effect and accomplish something in them to either change or run away.
The believing spouse will keep the house in such a manner that honors the Lord. They will do their best to train up their children in the ways of the Lord. They will take every opportunity to lift up the name of Jesus to their family.
The net result of all this is that the family is sanctified somewhat by the believing parent. They will have a cleaner life, a more stable home environment, and a better view of what a normal home should be like.
As a result, at least some of the righteousness of God is passed along, and some day, the unbelieving spouse and the children could come to know Jesus as Lord too.
The righteousness of the fathers can sometimes be passed along to their children if those children accept God’s ways, but the sins of the fathers are always passed along to their children because the nature of that child is to follow the paths of sin to begin with.
What are our children learning from us?
Are we passing our sins to our children, or are we passing our faith to them?
One day, we will all face the judgment of God! I pray that we are found faithful in teaching our children about Jesus so that they will enter Heaven’s gates.
God forbid that any of us would have to stand before God and watch our children be cast into hell because we failed to teach them the ways of God and tell them about Jesus.
Will the next generation in your family benefit from the example you give?
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