"But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death" (James 1:14,15).

The above verses in James chapter one spell out the law of sin and death. First comes temptation, then that desire or temptation actually conceives (1) . Look at the footnote that gives the awesome definition of "conceive." The next step is the sin that is actually birthed. This is an example of the process of seed, time, and harvest. The first seed is temptation and lust, which gives birth to sin, which gives birth to death.

If sin is a seed, then the fruit or harvest of that must be much larger than the seed. Also, the fruit does not simply affect the person who sins, but as God's law explains, the fruit of sin passes down to countless generations. This is a law. A law always works! Nothing can stop a law from working, except another law that breaks the cycle of the original law. For example, the law of gravity is overcome by the law of lift when an airplane speeds down a runway at a speed fast enough to overcome gravity.

The human race is condemned to the law of sin. We are not only judged for eternal death, but we are also judged in our lives today by our sin and by our forefathers' sin. There is no getting around it. These are called generational curses.

Jesus Christ gives us the answer and the relief for He gave us a new law, one that breaks the law of sin and death. It is called "the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus." Jesus has taken not only the seed of our sin, but also the fruit of our forefather's sins. He bore our inequities.

Here is the higher law.

"There is therefore now no condemnation [final judgement] to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death" (Romans 8:1,2)

However we must operate and cooperate with the law. Like the airplane, if we sit in the airplane on the runway and never push the accelerator, we will not overcome the law of gravity. The accelerator God gives us to push is the confession of our sins, our forefather's sins, and those of our children. Repentance for ourselves, and even for our fathers and children is very powerful. Daniel prayed this kind of corporate repentance in Daniel 9. Repentance, personal and corporate is the only way to avoid the fruit of sin, the curse. Satan can only hold prisoners those people who refuse to forgive and to be forgiven! It is so simple.

"Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree" (Galatians 3:13).

Larry Chkoreff March, 2002

(1) Footnote: Strongs Concordance defines conceive as: 1) to seize, take: one as prisoner 2) to conceive, of a woman 2a) metaph. of lust whose impulses a man indulges 3) to seize for one's self 3a) in a hostile sense, to make (one a permanent) prisoner 4) to take hold together with one, to assist, help, to succour