Are Sins Passed Down?

Discovering Ruth Q & A

Q: Do children answer for the sins of their parents?

A.  In the Old Testament, the Bible does say that the sins of the parents come on the children, but that’s not the end of the story. In the New Testament, we see that when we trust in Jesus — in His blood and His power — He washes us of all sins, even those of our parents.

2 Corinthians 5:17 says, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” So even though the sins or curses of your parents might have come on you, you don’t have to receive them.

I want to give you an example: Five or six years ago, I began to have this rash on the side of my leg, right in the very same place and looking the very same way as something my father had struggled with until he died. It burned, it was ugly, and even when I put medicine on it, nothing helped. It was just like my dad.

Nothing was working, but then my husband one day said to a group of people, “Denise has really been struggling with this thing on her skin. Could you guys pray and agree with us for her healing?” As they all prayed, there was faith in that place, and from that point on, that place on my leg started getting better and better and better until it was gone.

Friend, I want you to understand this. I was being visited by the same thing that had plagued my father, but the power of God, the Word of God, the blood of Jesus, and the agreement of the saints is more powerful.

For some people, it might be the addictions of their parents that they are struggling with. Sometimes when someone’s father was an alcoholic, that person feels herself starting to be tempted, and she just says, “Well my father was like that, so I guess I’m going to be like that too.”

That is not a right way to be thinking! The Bible says that you’re a new creation. Old things have passed away — all things are new. You are new. You may be your father or mother’s child, but when you get born again, you gain power against those temptations or sicknesses or curses that come on you. You have the power to say, “No, I don’t have to be that way. I’m going to stand against this. God has called me to a higher place, and I do not have to repeat the same mistakes or have the same diseases as my parents.”

Friends, the blood of Jesus is powerful. It’s more powerful than your history, it’s more powerful than your DNA, and it’s more powerful than any kind of addiction or disease or anything that was in your grandparents or your parents. You are a brand-new person in Christ!

2 Corinthians 5:21 says, “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”

Friend, this is who you really are in your spirit. Through Jesus Christ, you are not cursed. You’re not an alcoholic. You’re not a drug addict. You are not sick from this disease or that disease that was in your parent or grandparent. Instead you are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. Whatever you have from your parents, I tell you that in Jesus’ name it is not yours — don’t claim it anymore!

How Do I Deal with Past Sins?

Discovering Ruth Q & A

Q: What do I do when thoughts of past sins keep coming back even after I’ve repented?

A. That is a great question, and I have something really practical for you. If you can be overwhelmed by the thoughts of your past, then you can be overwhelmed by different thoughts instead, and these thoughts are the truth of God’s Word and the truth about you.

It says in Psalm 103:12, “As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.” Friend, the east and the west will never, ever meet, so when He removes your transgressions, that’s how far apart your sins are from you. You don’t have to worry about it anymore, because you will never meet those sins again!

Now, friend, let me tell you this: If your guilt is habitual — you’re just thinking and thinking about how guilty you are and having shame about the past — then you’re going to have to be aggressive in removing those thoughts, because I can guarantee you that the enemy is aggressive. He wants to keep you in the past, in the guilt, in the shame, in the memories, but you’re brand-new in Christ Jesus. The Bible says that all things are made new in Christ Jesus (2 Corinthians 5:17), but if you are serious about wanting your mind renewed, you’ve got to put the Word of God in your eyes, in your mind, and in your mouth.

I want you to know that I love you, and I’m not trying to sound hard, but you have to know that you won’t defeat wrong thoughts by just being silent. You defeat wrong thoughts by putting in new ones. The Bible says to cast down those thoughts, resist those thoughts, but replace them with thoughts that are obedient to Christ — God’s thoughts about you (2 Corinthians 10:4-6).

Maybe you’re still struggling to know what God’s thoughts are about you, so I want to give you a passage to start with, and it is Colossians 1:21-22: “And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight.”

That’s who you are. Through His blood, through His flesh, and through His death — not what you did, not how bad you were or how good you were, but through what He did — you are holy, blameless, and above reproach in His sight!

Friend, this is great news! Here is another bit of good news about you: “Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved…” (Colossians 3:12). You are the elect of God! While the enemy’s trying to condemn you, Jesus is wanting to love you! He calls you His beloved, and He wants you to just receive it. That’s all you have to do, friend. You’re already His beloved, you’re already in, according to the Bible.

This is how great the Gospel is. Every other religion is focused on trying to get good enough, but Jesus came to us. Friend, you can just put your hand on your heart right now and say, “I am holy. Yes, I’m holy, and I’m blameless, and I’m irreproachable in His sight. I am the elect of God. I am beloved.”

Friend, That’s the truth. If you’re born again, that’s how great your salvation is.

How Can I Attain Inner Harmony?

Discovering Ruth Q & A

Q: I have been experiencing internal conflict for 20 years. I understand in my mind that I love God and want to live according to His commandments, but I do not feel this love and joy in my heart. Guilt plagues me for not relying on God completely, and I’m tired of medication and constant internal struggle. How can I attain inner harmony?

A.  I believe we have some really good news for anyone struggling like this. You may have already been saved, but there is a second experience that holds so much power for believers that I want to tell you about, and it’s called the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

In Matthew 3:11, John the Baptist says, “I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.”

We see in this verse that Jesus is the Baptizer in the Holy Spirit, and I can tell you that when His Spirit fills us, we have the power to overcome things like depression, anxiety, and pride.

Before I got baptized in the Holy Spirit, I was a Christian, and I loved Jesus as much as I could, but I didn’t know that there was power. Whatever I felt, I felt; whatever I wanted to do, I did; I couldn’t even witness to anybody.  I was religious, and I knew Jesus, but I didn’t have any power.

But when I asked the Lord to baptize me with the Holy Spirit, my life completely changed. I got right up from where I was sitting, and I immediately went and witnessed to a Jewish girl, and she got saved four days later. I went to my mother and apologized to her for not having a right attitude towards her. The Lord spoke to me about my clothes, so I started dressing more modestly, and He filled me with His joy!

Many times when people get baptized in the Holy Spirit, the Lord gives us a new language.  This is called speaking in tongues, and it’s the language of your spirit. You won’t understand what you’re saying, because it’s not going to be from your mind — it’s going to be out of your spirit. The Bible says that when you speak in tongues, you’re building up your faith. By letting the Holy Spirit speak, you are just recharging your spiritual batteries, friend!

If you’re a born-again Christian who is still struggling like this, then it sounds like this is exactly what you want, so I want you to pray right now. Just put yourself in that place of seeking the Lord and open your heart to Him. Go ahead and ask Him. Just say, “Jesus, baptize me with the Holy Spirit and with power and fire. I want to be filled with your Holy Spirit. I want to be able to witness to people. Lord, right now, I’m asking you, baptize me with the Holy Spirit.”

If you are struggling to pray with this for yourself, I would encourage you to call our prayer team. Sometimes, we need other believers to help us in our prayers, and we would love to do this for you. Just call1.844.473.6637 so we can pray with you and for you, or you can even just email us at denisesocial@renner.org. I just hope you will contact us, because I think that this baptism is really the answer to what you’re facing right now.

Do I have to Confess?

Discovering Ruth Q & A

Q: Where in the Bible does it say that you must confess?

A.  This is such a good question, and I want to show you a couple of different examples of confession in 1 John 1 and James 5.

1 John 1:9 talks about confessing to God, and it says, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

That word “confess” doesn’t just mean we say, “Okay, Lord, I did this and I’m sorry.” Confession is actually much more than that. It involves you aligning yourself with His holiness, saying, “Lord, I have sinned against You. I know You’ve forgiven me, but I’m still confessing, because what I did was wrong, and I’m sorry. I thank you for the cleansing blood of Jesus that makes me as white as snow in your presence.”

That is one kind of confession, and we can see that it is linked to the forgiveness of our sins, but we can also find another kind of confession in James 5:16. It says, “Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.”

The first verse was talking about confessing to God, but this one talks about confessing to one another, and that can be so powerful. Sometimes when we’re struggling with something, part of the process to get free is to confess to another living person, a trusted friend, somebody who really loves you.

There’s something humbling about that process, and that’s good, because opening yourself in humility is a way of inviting God closer. The Bible says that God opposes those who are proud, but if you are humble, like when you confess your sins to another person, you will receive grace.

What’s wonderful is that this is not a man-made solution. God made this process, because He knows that if we just keep these dark secrets on the inside of us — these struggles with unforgiveness, lying, slander, theft, hate, or any other sin — they will just turn over and over on the inside of us. They might even open our bodies to sickness! But this scripture says that we have to confess, “that you may be healed.”

God is so gracious to us, friend, that’s why confession — admitting to someone, humbling yourself, and getting the secret sin out of you — is not just some way to make up for our mistakes, but it is a way to receive healing!

God doesn’t want us to think that we can just live by ourselves. Even the Apostle Paul, who was in prison so much, filled his letters with the names of other people, fellow servants in the Christian family who loved him and supported him and the ministry. We are a family. We need one another, so we just have to let down our guards and our pride and confess to one another.

I’m telling you, healing is waiting for you, so don’t hold that darkness inside of you anymore. Just like the Bible says, confess it to God. Confess it to one of your brothers or sisters, somebody you trust, and as they pray for you, you will receive freedom from your sins and perhaps even the healing you’ve been waiting for.

Partnering with Peace

Discovering Ruth Q & A

Q: How can I remain peaceful when everything in the world is unstable?

A. I can tell you right now that staying peaceful is not something we can do on our own.

When we look around the world, we see a lot of people who are mentally or emotionally destroyed because of the things going on in their lives, and in our flesh, we naturally want to respond just like these people. When we’re born again, however, that is not how things should be for us. Jesus took everything on Himself that would take our peace, and we can see all over the Bible that the Holy Spirit came to live inside us and that He brings His fruits, one of which is peace.

Philippians 4:7 describes this peace, saying, “And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”

This is the peace and power that’s in you, friend. This is the Holy Spirit on the inside of you. In the original Greek language, this verse actually talks about the peace guarding our minds like an umpire in a game. In sports, the umpire says, “No, that wasn’t right. That play was wrong. You’re penalized.” Likewise, the peace of God in you says, “No, worry. You’re not coming in. No, fear. You’re not coming in.” It stands guard and calls the shots on the inside of you.

We can only have peace through God, friend, but there are some actions we can take to prepare our hearts and minds. With our own mouths, we have to give the job over to that umpire. Isaiah 26:3 says, “You [God] will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You.”

We can see here that when we make the choice to keep our minds on Him, God will keep us in perfect peace. Instead of letting your fearful mind tell you what to think, you can use your mouth to say, “Well, things are not going so good right now, but God has not given me a spirit of fear. He’s given me power. He’s given me love. He’s given me a sound mind.” When you start declaring that the peace, the Spirit within you is so stirred up, and peace starts saying, “No fear, you’re not allowed.”

There’s one more thing we can do to foster this peace in our lives, and that is to stop feeding on fearful things. If you want peace in your heart, you can’t meditate on things that are wrapped up in fear or confusion, because that will just lead your thoughts to fear and confusion. Instead, you’ve got to concentrate on what brings you peace, and I’ll give you a hint what that might be, friend, because one of the names of our savior is “Prince of Peace.” If you’re not sure what to focus on instead of your fear, just focus on the name of Jesus, because He is the only one who can give you true peace.

Am I Really God’s Creation?

Discovering Ruth Q & A

Q: I can’t believe that my character was created by God, and my height, weight, and looks are substandard. I feel inferior when I see my flaws. How could God have created that?

A:  Well, first of all, I want to say very clearly that God did not create the thorns in you — your fears, your pride, your sickness. He doesn’t put those things in us, but He does make us all so different. I mean, look at the creation of all the 8 billion people in the world, and you’re the only one who has those eyes. There’s not another person on the earth that has your voice. No one has your fingerprint. Every time God creates a boy or girl inside of the womb of the mother, it’s brand new, completely unique. That is amazing!

Psalm 139:13-15 says, “For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb. I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, and that my soul knows very well. My frame was not hidden from You, when I was made in secret, and skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.”

David is talking about the intricate creation that God did inside of your mother’s body to make you. It’s like there is a book in heaven with your name on it, and it has all the unique and wonderful details of how He made you. He decided how far apart your eyes were going to be, how long your nose would be, what your voice would sound like, what color your hair would be. He put together all those things while you were still microscopically tiny in your mother’s womb! That’s amazing!

Before I move on, I want to tell you some things about your body.  These are scientific facts, because I feel that you’re judging yourself, and I just want you to know how amazing you are just as a human being:

I’m telling you these things for two reasons.

  1. I want you to realize that all this and so many other little miracles are happening in your body all the time, and you have nothing to do with it. Before you have even done a thing, you are already absolutely amazing.
  2. I want you to see that you have no room to judge yourself. You see, when you judge yourself, you are thinking the wrong thoughts, so I want to give you some right thoughts, thoughts about how amazing you really are. When you replace thoughts of judgement with thoughts of awe and praise, you have no room to judge yourself anymore.

The apostle Paul says in 1 Corinthians 4:3, “But with me, it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you. In fact, I do not even judge myself.”

Who are we to judge ourselves? The apostle Paul didn’t even judge himself. There are so many things we can thank God for, so we should not have any room for looking down on ourselves. Maybe everything in yourself is not the way you would like it. Maybe it doesn’t match what the world thinks is beautiful. Maybe it’s touched by sin and sickness, or maybe you just don’t want your nose to be so long. I don’t know what it is you’re struggling with exactly, but I know this: God intricately took time to form you inside of your mother’s womb, so who are you to judge yourself?

How do I Keep a Gentle Tongue?

Discovering Ruth Q & A

Q: How do I communicate with my husband so that my concern for him is not perceived as disrespectful? Also, how do I control my emotions and avoid offense or conflict when my good intentions are misunderstood?

A:  This is such a wonderful question, and just like so many questions, we can find the answer in the Word of God.

Galatians 5:15 says, “But if you bite and devour one another, beware lest you be consumed by one another!” When I read this verse, I see a great warning and great wisdom. I studied this verse, and it says that if we start biting at each other about all those things we don’t like, even if it’s just on the inside, eventually, it’s going to come out, like a pot boiling over, and we’re going to start devouring each other like wild animals!

Now, if you love your husband, then you don’t want to devour him, and that’s why you need to capture those thoughts as soon as possible. It’s easier to capture the first thought than it is the 10th one. It’s easier to capture the fifth one than it is the hundredth one, but no matter where we are, we have to capture those thoughts as soon as possible. We’ve got to start taking control of our thoughts, because the thoughts are connected to the emotions, and if we let nasty emotions rule us, then we will end up devouring that husband that we love instead of helping him.

So, here’s my counsel to you. Instead of thinking about how much he hurt your feelings or how wrong he is, start thanking God for him. Even if you have to write it down on a piece of paper, just get those thankful words out in the open. You see, when thoughts have been aggressively speaking in your mind, you have to be aggressive in counteracting them with thanksgiving — “God, I thank you for my husband. I thank you that I have a husband. I thank you for his job. I thank you for how hard he works. I thank you for his strength.”

If we are not speaking from a place of thanksgiving, our words to our husband are not going to be loving or helpful or supportive, so we need to take control of those feelings. It’s not about just saying, “Okay, I guess I’ll just stop feeling that way.” We can’t do that, but we can control our thoughts, and we can replace the bitter thoughts with thanksgiving, thinking every good thing you can about your husband. Be thankful, and it will bring so much peace to your heart, and that peace will come out in the way you speak to your husband.

Where Do I Get Knowledge

Discovering Ruth Q & A

Q:  Hosea 4:6 says “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.” What is knowledge from God and how do we develop this skill?

A:  Well, very simply, you have to really dig into the Word of God on your own.

I respect all kinds of ministers. I’m married to, I think, the best Bible teacher in the world, but nothing replaces my personal fellowship with God in the Word. It’s good to receive knowledge from other teachers, but when I open the Word of God and it’s just me and Him, this Word starts telling me who He is and who I am. I become a partaker of His divine nature, like it says in 2 Peter 1:4.

Let me illustrate this for you. Imagine you have a table in front of you, and it is set with all sorts of delicious food. If you sit there and just stare at it and say, “Oh, I love that soup. That’s such a delicious-looking cake. This food looks so beautiful,” you’re not going to actually know anything about it except what it looks like.

A lot of people, even believers, do that with their Bible. They look at their Bible sitting nicely in their living room or their bedroom, and they say, “Oh, it’s such a nice Bible. Oh, I love the Word of God.” But if you don’t open it, if you just look at this table and don’t eat from it, you’re not going to taste it, you’re not going to get its answers — it’s just a nice book!

So many times, we sit back and say, “Oh, I have so many problems. I need to call my sister or my friend. I want to tell her my problem,” and the Bible, everything that we need, just sits there. Friend, we need to get into the Word of God and really read it and study it for ourselves!

You might say, “I’m not a Bible scholar. I can’t just pick up the Bible and study it like that.” Well, I didn’t start out like a Bible scholar either. I just kept studying and looking for answers for my life. I just wanted to know Him, and if you want to know Him, you have to taste what’s in this Bible, just like if you want to taste the food on the table, you’ve got to put your fork in there and take a bite; then it can start to bring you the sustenance that you need.

I’m telling you, you must have your own time with God. If you don’t get your own nourishment, you have to depend on somebody else and what they say, but if you want to know Him deeper and get the best answers and wisdom, then you have to read the Word for yourself. It says in Joshua 1:8 that if we will read this Word and meditate on it, our life will have good success, so that’s the answer.

Love Rejected

Discovering Ruth Q & A

Q: How should we respond to the rejection we receive when seeking to share God’s love with others?

A: I think you might have your own answer right there in your question.

Now, I would agree with you that sometimes it’s really hard when you want to love somebody and bless them and they’re not interested in what you have. We can feel that rejection and let it hurt us, and if we respond without Jesus, we might even let ourselves grow bitter towards that person who we were trying to love.

But right there is the answer to this problem: love. That same love that you are trying to share with them is the love that forgives! That same love that you are talking about in your question is the love that believes the best of that person who rejected you!

Sometimes, when somebody will not receive my love, for whatever reason, I say to myself, “They don’t really know what they’re doing. They don’t really know. I need to give them mercy. I need to keep my heart open.” We certainly will not be responding in Christ if we let that rejection close our hearts to that person!

Proverbs 4:23 says,  “Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life.”

The Word of God is saying that we need to guard our hearts from offense and unforgiveness, because our hearts are so important to the way we live our whole lives, friend. They influence every decision we make.

Ephesians 4:32 says, “And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.”

That’s the kind of love that we are asked to give to others. If we depend on Him, we can give that love, even when others reject us and the message we carry.

Additional verses for study: 

Romans 12:17–18 NKJV
“Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men. If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men.”

Luke 6:27–28 NKJV
“But I say to you who hear: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, and pray for those who spitefully use you.”

1 Peter 3:9 NKJV
“Not returning evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary blessing, knowing that you were called to this, that you may inherit a blessing.”

Colossians 3:12–13 NKJV
“Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do.”

1 Corinthians 13:7 NKJV
“[Love] bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.”

God’s Word for Self-Hate

Discovering Ruth Q & A

Q:  What should I do if I don’t know how to make friends and I hate myself for it?

A:  A deeper understanding of the word of God will help you with this!

Many years ago, I had this cloud of condemnation hanging around me. Even though I was a Christian, I didn’t know enough about the Word of God to understand it, so I always felt like I wasn’t enough. I sounded pitiful when I came to God.

 But then I found this scripture while listening to a sermon about righteousness in Christ Jesus. So I want to share with you what I learned that day.

Romans 3:21 says, “But now the righteousness of God is revealed apart from the law being witnessed by the law and the prophets.”

You can’t do every single thing right, and that tends to be where we get these horrible feelings about ourselves. If we try to do everything right in our religious flesh, it might make us feel a little better, but that’s not always the case, because feelings are tricky! We can’t depend on them. We have to depend on something that is stronger than our feelings, and as Christians, we have something like that: The Word of God and what it says about us.

Romans 3:21 is telling us that the righteousness of God comes through faith in Jesus Christ, not through your life being amazing or you knowing how to handle everything, but because you trust in Him. It’s not about what you did—it’s about what He did!

We are talking about the righteousness of God that comes through FAITH in Christ Jesus! Just a few verses later, the Bible tells us that We have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, but we are justified freely through His grace! When we believe in Jesus dying on the cross, it’s as if we had never sinned. We are made blameless, Not through our own work but through Jesus!

That’s what the blood of Jesus is all about. The guilt and hate you may be feeling is from the enemy. The devil is the accuser, and to deal with the accuser, you need to answer with the Word of God. Believe in Jesus and confess that you stand unblamable in His sight because of His sacrifice, by His blood, through faith!

The Gospel is so powerful! God has passed over our sins and demonstrated His righteousness through the cross. We mess up sometimes! It’s not our acts that keep us in Christ, it’s His power of salvation in us!

This is the greatest news we could be given! Thank you for your question!