The Christian Family: Children, Fatherhood, and Generational Faithfulness: The Family

The Hallelujah of Confession - Part 2 of 16

Transcript: AI Transcript

Professor: John Weaver

Subject: Family Government

Genre: Sermon

Dictation Name:

Date: 2000-05-14

Synopsis: John Weaver continues his series on Psalm 106, focusing on verse 6: 'We have sinned with our fathers.' He explores how it is possible to sin with ancestors who lived centuries earlier, presenting five ways: seminally (being in their loins), imputatively (Adam's sin credited to all), representatively (as heads of families/nations), nationally (solidarity in national sin), and actually (committing the same sins). He emphasizes the need for corporate confession of sin, not just individual, citing biblical examples like Ezra and Daniel, and calls for repentance and revival.

[John Weaver] Well, let's open our Bibles today to Psalm 106. We started this passage last week. I'm going to be in it for some time. I don't know how long, but you will remember the series, however brief it's going to be or however long it's going to be. I've entitled the Hallelujah of Confession, and the reason why is very clear. Because this psalm, as I shall point out just shortly, deals mainly with confession of sin. So let's deal and let's begin reading with Psalm 106, and today we're just going to read through verse 7.

[John Weaver] The psalmist says, Praise ye the Lord, O give thanks unto the Lord, for he is good, for his mercy endureth forever. Who can other the mighty acts of the Lord who can show forth all his praise? Blessed are they that keep judgment, and he that doeth righteousness at all times. Remember me, O Lord, with the favor that Thou bearest unto Thy people. O visit me with Thy salvation, that I may see the good of Thy chosen, that I may rejoice in the gladness of Thy nation, that I may glory with Thine inheritance.

[John Weaver] We have sinned with our fathers. We've committed iniquity. We've done wickedly. Our fathers understood not by wonders in Egypt. They remembered not the multitude of my mercies, but provoked him at the sea, even at the Red Sea.

[John Weaver] Now, I told you last week as you looked at this song, the song was very easily divided. You have an invitation in verses one through five where the psalmist invites you to praise and worship the Lord. Secondly, you have a confession in verses 6 through 46. And then thirdly, you have a solicitation in verses 47 and 48. Now, let me very quickly just go over the four points that I gave you last week in the invitation in verse one. He says, Praise you, the Lord will give thanks to the Lord for he is good for his mercy and truth forever. There is the first reason the psalmist wants us to praise and magnify the Lord, number one, because of his goodness and number two, because of his mercy. And then the second reason is found in verse two. He says or ask who can utter the mighty acts of the Lord who can show for all his praise and so we ought to praise God because his works are innumerable and of course really and truly incomprehensible in one sense of the word and so we cannot humanly speaking give the Lord all

[John Weaver] the glory that's due in his name and so he says basically we should stand in all before the Lord and then of course the third reason is found in verse three. He says, Blessed are all they that keep judgment, and he that doeth righteousness at all times. In other words, God's blessings are upon the obedient. And I pointed out how keeping judgment and doing righteousness were synonymous. And then, of course, the fourth reason is found in verses four and five, where the psalmist is saying we ought to pray even in the time of trouble and calamity. And I pointed out that it is not wrong. It is not wicked. It is not unbiblical to want to be delivered from an ungodly situation, even from an ungodly nation. And, of course, the psalmist is praying that he may see the goodness of the Lord, that he may rejoice in God's gladness and that he may glory in God's inheritance. And then, of course, he says in verse five as well, that he could see all this for the nation as well.

[John Weaver] So it was not just a personal request. It was also for the nation as well.

[John Weaver] Now we come today to verse six. Actually, I'm going to tell you, my first point is in verse seven. But we're not even going to get to the first point. All this is still basically introduction. But when you come to verse six, the psalmist says we have sinned with our fathers. We have committed iniquity and we have done wickedly. Now, what the psalmist has done in the first five verses is that he has encouraged us to worship, adore and magnify the Lord. And then secondly, beginning with verse six, he leads us to confession and acknowledgement. Now in verse 6 he begins with what I would call a general confession and a general acknowledgement and then he descends to the specific and detailed confessions in verses 7 through 46.

[John Weaver] Now it's interesting and it's noteworthy to observe the manner and the language of which the psalmist acknowledges and confesses. Look in verse 6. He says, We have sinned. We have committed iniquity. We have done wickedly. In other words, there are absolutely no excuses. There are no extenuating circumstances mentioned. There's no pretension. There's no beating around the bush. He doesn't use euphemisms. He does not try to water things down. He doesn't say, well, we slipped up.

[John Weaver] We made a few mistakes. Well, we're only human. Well, we have our faults. No, he doesn't say anything like that. He says we have sinned. We have committed iniquity and we have done wickedly.

[John Weaver] Now the repetition in verse six notice three things. He says we have sinned. We've committed iniquity. We have done wickedly. The repetition is used not only to denote the multitude of their sins, but also the magnitude of their sins as well. So the psalmist is saying. that we have committed all manner and kinds of sin, not just sins of ignorance and sins of frailty and sins of infirmity, but sins of presumption, sins against light and knowledge, sins against grace and mercy, sins against God, sins against man. In other words, the psalmist is saying we have basically committed all kinds of sin.

[John Weaver] Now, this type of confession is certainly an open and frank confession, and it is the confession of an individual who is genuinely repentant. By the way, if you ever want to really know whether someone is repentant or not, this is a simple test. A repentant individual is always willing to freely and frankly confess and acknowledge their sins. An unrepentant individual is not willing to do that. He always wants to hide and he always wants to pretend.

[John Weaver] Now I want you to understand that this is the type of confession that is used by Solomon, used by Daniel and the other biblical heroes, and I'll point some of them out later, but let me ask that you turn in your Bibles, first of all, to 1 Kings 8. Let me show you how Solomon set this up in his prayer of dedication for the temple. Look in 1 Kings 8.

[John Weaver] And notice, if you would please, Let's see verse 47. It is first Kings chapter 8 and verse 47. Look what Solomon prays. He's talking about when the people were carried away captive. He says, yet if they shall be think themselves in the land where they are were carried captives and repent and make supplication unto thee. In the land of them that carried them captive saying we have sinned.

[John Weaver] we've done perversely, we've committed wickedness. Isn't that interesting? Because the psalmist borrows those exact words. I'm going to show you a little bit later that Ezra and Daniel both use the same language.

[John Weaver] Now what the psalmist is doing in verse 6 and the rest of the psalm, is he is not only acknowledging that he and the nation have sinned, But he's also acknowledging that they really do not genuinely deserve the mercy for which he is praying. Now just stop and think about that. Look in verse 6. We have sinned with our fathers. We have committed iniquity. We have done wickedly.

[John Weaver] Let me ask you a question. The person that so readily admits his guilt, do you think that he deserves the mercy? The grace that he's asking the answer is no. A person who admits his guilt really and truly deserves justice. But what the psalmist is saying is we do not want justice. We want what we do not deserve. And that's your mercy and your grace. And so when he is acknowledging the fact that they are sinners. He's also confessing and acknowledging the fact that they are now totally dependent upon God's grace and God's mercy.

[John Weaver] Now, let me put it to you like this. Just like words cannot describe the greatness of God and the love of God and the mercy of God. So likewise, words cannot accurately describe the wickedness and depravity and the sin of man. And so the psalmist begins, he says, we have sinned, we have committed iniquity, we have done wickedly.

[John Weaver] Now, today, we're not going to get out of verse six, because there is a very interesting and intriguing phrase in this verse. I don't know if it piqued your curiosity. It did mine. But the psalmist said in verse six, we have sinned with our fathers.

[John Weaver] Now, let me ask you a question. How is it possible to sin with your fathers? When you were never even born? And yet, that's what the psalmist says. We have sinned with our fathers.

[John Weaver] Now, if you were to begin reading with verse seven and write read on down through verse 13, you will find that he is talking about the deliverance of Israel out of the land of Egypt. We'll get into that next week. But the point I'm trying to make is David, who wrote this song, was alive over 400 years after this incident happened. The exodus was in approximately 1446 BC. David reigned approximately From 1010 to 970, 40 years. And if you will turn in your Bibles very quickly to look at 1st Kings chapter 6 and verse 1. Now you remember Solomon, David's son, followed him upon the throne. Solomon was the one who built the temple. And look what the scripture says in 1st Kings chapter 6 verse 1. 1st Kings 6 verse 1. And it came to pass in the four hundred and eightieth year after the children of Israel were come out of the land of Egypt in the fourth year of Solomon's reign over Israel in the month zip, which is the second month that he began to build the house of the Lord.

[John Weaver] Now, that's interesting because Solomon began to build the temple four hundred and eighty years after the children of Israel came out of Egypt. He had only been on the throne for years. So that means, then, 476 years would be the death of David. So David is writing this psalm, I don't know how old he was, let's say 450 years after the deliverance of the children of Israel from Egypt, and David says, we have sinned with our fathers. Now, the question is, how can you sin with your fathers?

[John Weaver] when you were never born? How can you be involved in someone's sin when they lived 400 years prior to you? Well, I want to answer that question this morning. And I want you to see that David is not just blowing smoke in the wind when he says that we have sinned with our fathers. I'm going to show you part of the problem that we have today in America is because we don't understand this principle. So how? Did David sin with his fathers? How did we sin with our fathers?

[John Weaver] Our grandfathers, our great grandfathers. How did we send with them? Well, let me answer it. First of all, number one. We have sinned with our fathers similarly. We have sinned with our fathers similarly. Now the statement that I just made, we've sinned with our fathers similarly means the fact that we were in their loins when they committed those sins.

[John Weaver] Now listen to me carefully. There is a continuity between ancestors and descendants. That was brought home to me a year or two ago when I received a genealogical chart of my ancestors going back to 1620. And I was absolutely flabbergasted to see how many of my ancestors were named John, John Daniel, Elizabeth, Rebecca. In other words, the family names that we have today presently have been basically family names from 1600 on. I thought, well, how is it that we're continuing the use of those names. Why don't we come up with some other name? I mean, I did not know that my great great great grandmother might have been named Rebecca when I named my baby's daughter Rebecca. You see what I'm saying? But yet, here is a continuity.

[John Weaver] Now, how can we send Seminole with our fathers, but it's when we're in their lawns. Well, let me show you look in your Bibles. First of all, to the book of Genesis chapter 14 and then we're going to turn over to Hebrews chapter 7. Let's go to Genesis chapter 14. Here's the story of Abraham when he returns from the slaughter of those kings. One lot was taken captive.

[John Weaver] He's returning now in victory and he meets Melchizedek. Notice in Genesis chapter 14, beginning there with verse 17. And the king of Sodom went out to meet him after his return from the slaughter, Kedron, Lammer, and of the kings that were with him in the Valley of Sheba, which is the Kingsdale and Melchizedek, king of Salem, brought forth bread and wine. And he was the priest of the most high God. And he blessed him and said, blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth. And he blessed the Most High God, who has delivered thine enemies into thy hands. And he that is Abraham gave him Melchizedek tithes of all. So now Abraham has given tithes to Melchizedek. Now go in your Bibles to the book of Hebrews chapter 7 and let's begin reading there with verse 1. Hebrews 7 verse 1. Hebrews 7 verse 1 for this Melchizedek King of Salem priest of the Most High God who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the Kings and blessed him to whom also Abraham gave a part of all first being by interpretation King of Righteousness and after that also King of Salem which is King

[John Weaver] of Peace without father, without mother, without descent, having either beginning of days or end of life, but made like the Son of God, abided the priest continually. Now consider how great this man was, unto whom even the patriarch Abraham gave the tenth of the spoils. And verily, now watch, and verily they that are of the sons of Levi, who received the office of the priesthood, have a commandment to take tithes of the people according to the law, that is, of their brethren, though they come out of the loins of Abraham. But he whose descent is not counted from them received tithes of Abraham and blessed him that had the promises. And without all contradiction, the less is blessed of the better. and hear men that die receive tithes, but there he received them of whom it is witnessed that he lived forever. And as I may so say, watch Levi also who received tithes, paid tithes in Abraham, for he was yet in the loins of his father when Melchizedek met him. Isn't that interesting?

[John Weaver] God is saying that Levi, the priestly tribe, paid ties to Melchizedek. By virtue of the fact that they were in Abrams loins when Abram paid those ties to Melchizedek.

[John Weaver] Now listen to me carefully. If it is true that we participate. In the good and righteous deeds of our fathers while we were yet in their loins. Is it not equally true? that we participate in their evil and wicked deeds when we're yet in their lives. Now. I want you to stop and think about this. How is it that Abraham came to be known as the father of the faith? And the father of the faithful?

[John Weaver] Let me show you look in your Bibles. First of all, to the Book of Romans chapter 4. Let me just point out the fact that Abraham is so designated Romans chapter 4. Let's begin reading there with verse 11 Romans 4 verse 11. Just several passages to show you how Abraham is designated Romans 4 verse 11. And he that is Abraham received the sign of circumcision a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had yet being uncircumcised that he might be the father of all them that believe. Though they be not circumcised, that righteousness might be imputed in them also. So Abraham is here called the father of all them to believe. Look in verse 12 and the father of circumcision of them who are not of the circumcision only, but also who walk in the steps of the faith of our father Abraham, which he had yet being being uncircumcised. Skip down to verse 16. Therefore, it is a faith that it might be by grace to the end. The promise might be sure to all the seed, not to that only, which is of the law, but to that also, which is the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all.

[John Weaver] As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations before him whom he believed, even God who quickened the dead and call of those things which be not as though they were who against hope believe in hope that he might become the father of many nations, according that which was spoken. So shall thy seed be.

[John Weaver] Now, Abraham is very clearly called the father of the faithful. Why is Abraham called the father of the faith? Is it because He was the first one that God called out of Ur of the Chaldees. And the answer is no, although Abraham was. One of the first called by God out of Ur of the Chaldees. Go back in your Bibles to Genesis chapter 13. We look at several passages and then we'll go to the New Testament. Look if you would, Genesis chapter 13 and verse 15. Now watch this carefully, Genesis 13 and verse 15. What does God tell Abraham?

[John Weaver] And for all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it and to thy seed forever. Now I want you to note that the word seed is singular. Look in Genesis 17 and verse 8 Genesis 17 in verse 8. And he said, I will give unto thee and to thy seed after thee the land wherein thou art a stranger all the land of Canaan for an everlasting possession. I'll be there. They're gone. Nobody said I will give unto thee and to thy seed after they look in Genesis 22 and verse 18 Genesis 22 in verse 18. Here Abraham was willing to offer up Isaac And God says, and in thy seed singular shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because thou obeyest my voice. So God has given this great promise to Abraham and his seed. Now, turn in your Bibles, if you would, to the book of Genesis chapter 3. Genesis chapter 3. Let's begin reading, not Genesis, Galatians. I'm sorry, Galatians chapter 3.

[John Weaver] I knew I was turning in the New Testament. Some of you were turning in the Old Testament. Galatians chapter 3 and let's begin reading them in verse 14. Galatians 3 verse 14. Watch careful that the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. Brethren, I speak after the man or men, though it be yet a man's covenant, yet if it be confirmed, no man disannulled or added thereto. Now watch carefully. Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not unto seeds as of many, but as of one, and to thy seed which is Christ. So the promises that God gave to Abraham and his seed, the seed that he had in his mind was Jesus Christ. Now, the truth is this that Abraham was not the father of Christ, but yet Abraham possessed the promises and the seed came through Abraham's line. It is true. You and I know that Joseph was the father figure in our Lord's life.

[John Weaver] But of course, God was the father of the Lord Jesus Christ. But if you will read Matthew chapter one, you will find an amazing thing. In fact, turn there. Look at Matthew chapter one. Matthew chapter one, let's begin reading there with verse one. Watch carefully the book of the generation of Jesus Christ. The son of David. The son of Abraham. Abraham begat Isaac, Isaac begat Jacob, and Jacob begat Judas and his brethren. Did you see that? The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. So, Abraham is the father of the faithful because Abraham, in that sense, was the father of Christ, I know not humanly speaking, but he was the one to whom the promises were given. Even in Luke chapter 3 in verse 34, Mary's line comes through Abram or Abraham as well. And so the promises were given to all of those who were in Christ in Abraham because Jesus Christ is the true seed of Abraham. Look in your Bibles, if you would, to the book of Job chapter 21.

[John Weaver] Let me show you how Job used the language to speak similarly of children. In the book of Job chapter 31 it is Job 31. And verse 20. Job 31 verse 20. In fact, let's read verse 19 Job 31 verse 19.

[John Weaver] He says, if I've seen any parish for one of clothing or any poor without covering, if his loins have not blessed me. And if he were not warmed with the fleece of my sheep, when he says if his loins have not blessed me, he's talking about his children. If his children have not blessed me, where's Joseph? I'm going to take care of the poor and the needy.

[John Weaver] And so Joe here is speaking similarly. Now, how is it that we've sinned with our fathers? The answer is we were in their loins when they sinned. So the first way that we've sent of our fathers is that we have sinned with them similarly. Secondly, number two, we've sinned with our fathers. Imputatively. That is by imputation. You might as well go ahead and turn in your Bibles to Romans chapter 5. We're going to look at this in just a moment, but let me go ahead and read verse 12, Romans 5 and verse 12. May I remind you that the word imputation means to charge or to credit to one's account. So we ascend with our fathers by imputation.

[John Weaver] That is, it has been charged or credited to our accounts. In Romans 5 and verse 12, wherefore, as by one man, Adam, sin entered into the world and death by sin. And so death passed upon all men for that all sinned.

[John Weaver] Now, the interesting thing is in verse 12, the latter part when it says all have sinned or all sinned is an heiress passive in the Greek. Which means it is something that happened once and for all, once and forever. It's over with. Well, when did all sin once and for all? And the answer is in Adam.

[John Weaver] Now, there are only three instances of imputation in the Bible. The first one is Adam's sin to his posterity, which is Romans 5 and verse 12. The second one is the believers' sins to Jesus Christ. And the third one is the righteousness of Jesus Christ to believers. You'll find that in 2 Corinthians 5 and verse 21. For He, God, hath made Him Christ to be sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him. Now, the point I want to deal with is Romans 5 and verse 12. It is true that Adam's sin was imputed to his posterity.

[John Weaver] Since Adam, all are sinners. There is no such thing as the humanistic philosophy of tabulus ra. That is, everyone comes in this world with a clean plate. Everyone comes in this world innocent. That's hogwash. Everyone comes in this world a sinner. And when you look at that cute little baby lying there and you say he's so sweet and innocent, that's not true. That baby is a sinner.

[John Weaver] He said, Brother Weaver, I don't believe that. Well, I'll tell you what, all you've got to do is don't feed him and he'll die. You say, well, what does that prove? Well, the wages of sin is death. If he wasn't a sinner, he wouldn't die. We've all been imputed sinners.

[John Weaver] Now, there is an aspect of this imputation. There's an aspect of this imputation that is demonstrated in what you and I know as generational sins. He said, what in the world is a generational sin? Well, look in your Bibles to the book of Exodus 34. You already know what I'm talking about. You may not know the exact scripture yet, but look at it. Exodus chapter 34. And let's begin reading there with verse 5. Exodus 34, verse 5.

[John Weaver] Moses has asked God to show him his glory. 34 in verse 5 of the Lord descended in the cloud and stood with it with him there and proclaim the name of the Lord and the Lord passed by before him that is before Moses and proclaim the Lord the Lord God merciful and gracious long-suffering and abundant in goodness and truth now watch keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty. Are you watching visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and upon the children's children under the third and fourth generation? Now, that's what I call a generational sin. Here is a sin that has been imputed and a curse as well.

[John Weaver] that goes from father to son, to grandson, to great grandson. Why? Well, usually children follow in the footsteps of their parents. I want you to look in your Bibles to the book of Joshua chapter 24. Joshua 24. And let's begin reading there with verse 19. Joshua 24, verse 19. Joshua warns the people about the generational sins. Joshua 24 and verse 19 in Joshua said in people you cannot serve the Lord for he's a holy God. He's a jealous God. He will not forgive your transgressions for your sins. Now watch if you forsake the Lord and serve strange gods.

[John Weaver] Then he will turn and do you hurt and consume you. after they had done you good, what's he saying? If you forsake the Lord, then the judgment is going to fall upon you. It will fall upon your children. There are generational sins with generational curses. By the way, if you will study in the book of First and Second Kings and First and Second Chronicles, you will find that the sons of the kings usually followed in the footsteps of their fathers. If the father was a good king, usually the son was. If the father was an evil king, usually the son was. Now, I know there's some exceptions, but usually that is so. And thus you have, we are participating in the sins of our fathers by imputation. And the fact that there are generational sins with generational curses, and we'll point out later, Because we usually end up doing the same things that our fathers did. So how could David say we have sinned with our fathers? The first two ways he could say that is we have sinned with them seminally and we have sinned with them by means of imputation.

[John Weaver] Number three. We have sinned with our fathers representatively. We have sinned with our fathers representatively.

[John Weaver] Now, this truth is included in Romans 5 and verse 12, because Adam was not only designated as our head, but he was also our representative. What he did, we did. When he sinned, we sinned. When he fell, we fell. You say, Brother Weaver, I don't think that's right. Well, we use that principle every day of our lives. Had Adam done right, we would have done right. Had Adam succeeded, we would have succeeded. And if you don't like that principle, then you don't like salvation because that's the very principle upon which we are made righteous in Christ.

[John Weaver] We are identified with him. He is our hand. His obedience is our obedience. His death is our death. His resurrection is our resurrection. His life is our life. See what I'm saying? He's our representative. So if you don't like to send him at him, then you won't like to be saved in Christ because it's only by means of representation that we're saved. But see, we do this same thing with our government.

[John Weaver] We elect men who are supposed to represent us. Unhappily, they don't. But they're supposed to. But whatever they bind us to, since they are officially our representatives, whether they're representing us or not, what they bind us to, then we're bound to as a people and as a nation.

[John Weaver] Now, I want you to look in your Bibles. We're going to come back to this passage, but I want you to look in Ezekiel chapter 18, verse 20, because undoubtedly this verse is going to come up in someone's mind. And I want to handle the objection before we get to it. In Ezekiel chapter 18 and verse 20, God says it very simply. The soul that sinneth, it shall die. Now watch carefully.

[John Weaver] The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him.

[John Weaver] Now, it is true that every man dies for his own sin. I'm going to bring that out a little bit later. However, when father and son are involved in the same sins, both are condemned. You know as well as I do, folks, The family is bound by whatever the husband, the head, does. If I go downtown tomorrow and buy a $30,000 automobile and finance $29,000 of it, which I would never do, but if I did, then basically once I put my name on the line, my wife, is bound to that contract.

[John Weaver] My children would be if they're in my house. In that sense, the word of the words, whether they are legally obligated to pay that bill or not, they will suffer. From the consequences. If I don't pay it, you follow what I'm saying, because his head I represent them.

[John Weaver] Now let me show you how this works out. Look in your Bibles to the book of Joshua chapter 6. Joshua chapter 6 verse 18. Here's an interesting passage. Joshua 6 verse 18. The children of Israel are about to go into Jericho and take it and God says in the book of Joshua chapter 6 in verse 18 and you and any wise keep yourself from the accursed thing lest you make yourselves accursed when you take of the accursed thing. and make the camp of Israel a curse and trouble it. Isn't that interesting? God warned the individual Israelites not to touch any of the accursed thing, lest they not only became a curse, but the camp or the nation became a curse as well. So God says don't touch anything. Now, go to chapter 7 in verse 1. I find this fascinating. But the children of Israel committed a trespass for the accursed thing. For Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdiah, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took of the accursed thing, and the anger of the Lord was kindled against the children of Israel.

[John Weaver] Now, may I ask you a question? In verse 1 of chapter 7, but the children of Israel committed a trespass in the accursed thing. Who was it that stole the goodly Babylonian garment and the wedge of silver and gold? Who stole? Achan. Well, how did Israel, the people, the nation, commit a trespass? You follow what I'm saying? Because, and I'm going to point this out, there is a continuity in the nation. And what Achan did, not only did his family do, but the nation as well. Now skip down to verse 19. Joshua 7, verse 19. Now Achan has been found out and Joshua said unto Achan, My son, give, I pray thee, glory to the Lord God of Israel and make confession unto him and tell me now what thou hast done.

[John Weaver] Hide it not from me. And Akin answered Joshua and said, Indeed, I have sinned against the Lord God of Israel, and thus and thus have I taken. When I saw among the spoils a goodly Babylonian garment and 200 shekels of silver and a wedge of gold of 50 shekels weight, then I coveted them and took them and behold, they were hidden in the earth in the midst of my tent and the silver under it. So Joshua sent messengers and they ran into the tent and behold, he was hidden in his tent and the silver under it. And they took them out of the midst of the ten and brought them into Joshua and all the children of Israel and laid them out before the Lord. And Joshua and all Israel with him." Now watch,"...took Achan the son of Zerah, and the silver, and the garment, and the wedge of gold, and his sons, and his daughters, and his oxen, and his asses, and his sheep, and his tent, and all that he had." And they brought them into the Valley of Acre, and Joshua said, Blast thou trouble us, the Lord shall trouble thee this day.

[John Weaver] And all Israel stoned them with stones and burned them with fire after they had stoned them with stones. And they raised over them a great heap of stones unto this day. So the Lord turned from the fierceness of his anger. Wherefore, the name of that place was called the Valley of Acre unto this day.

[John Weaver] Now I want to ask you a question. Why is it that Acre was the one that stole, and yet his whole family died with him? Well, you say, Brother Weaver, you just read that every man shall die for his own sin. The father shall not die for the son. The son shall not die for the father. And yet here's a clear illustration where these people were taken out and they died with Achan. Achan was the one that sinned. May I ask you a question? Where did Achan hide that cursed, stolen property? In the tent. In the home. Undoubtedly, the family knew about it. consented to it, agreed with it, and they died with their father. You follow me? He was their representative.

[John Weaver] And had they not condoned that sin, then certainly they would have gone to Joshua and said, look, we've got problems. But they didn't do that. And so everything that Achan had died. If you will turn very quickly in your Bibles to 2 Samuel chapter 12. 2 Samuel chapter 12. I'm not going to take time to develop this. You understand this 2 Samuel chapter 12, beginning there with verse 9. You remember how David? Committed adultery with Bathsheba.

[John Weaver] He had Uriah, her husband, the Hittite, killed with the sword of the children of Ammon. Look what God tells him. Samuel chapter 12, beginning with verse 9. Wherefore, has thou despised the commandment of the Lord to do evil in his sight? Thou hast killed Uriah the Hittite with a sword, and hast taken his wife to be thy wife, and hast slain him with the sword of the children of Ammon. Now therefore, the sword shall never depart out of thine house, because thou hast despised me, and hast taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be thy wife. Thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will raise up evil against thee out of thine own house.

[John Weaver] And I will take our lives before the night and give them my neighbor. He shall lie with our lives in the side of the sun without it secretly. But I will do this thing before all Israel and before the sun.

[John Weaver] Now, why was David's house curse? Let me tell you something. Not only. Not only was David the representative of his family, not only is there a principle that you reap what you sow, there is also the lex talionis of the law of retribution. David had destroyed another family in Israel. And now his family will be destroyed. The point I'm trying to make is this. The humanistic phrase is no man is an island. The biblical principle is Romans 14 verse 9, for none of us liveth to himself. And none of us died to himself. What's God telling us? He's telling us that whatever we do always affects the lives of others. Whatever I do affects my wife, either good or bad. It affects my family. It affects my ministry.

[John Weaver] When you take the attitude, well, bless God, it's my life. What I do is what I do. It doesn't affect anybody else. That's hogwash. You know the old drunk? I'll get drunk and drive, that's my business. Until you hit another family head on and kill them. You follow what I'm saying? No man lives to himself. No man dies to himself. And we've got to come to the harsh reality that we are representatives as well as individuals. And what we do indeed affects the lives of others.

[John Weaver] So we have sinned with our father seminally. We've sinned with our fathers by imputation. We've sinned with our fathers representatively. And fourthly, we have sinned with our fathers nationally. I want you to understand that there is a national solidarity that affects the lives of individual citizens as well as that of the nation. Let me just take you back for a moment. I'm not going to ask you to turn back to Joshua chapter 7, but do you realize we just read where Achan's sin was the cause of his own family's destruction? But do you realize Achan's sin not only affected his family, it affected the nation. And God counted it that way in Joshua chapter 7 verse 1, where he says Israel had committed a trespass. God counted it as the whole. Let me ask you another question. How did his sin affect the nation? Don't you remember the people came to Joshua and said, hey, I's a little town. We don't need the whole army.

[John Weaver] Let a few of us go up there. Joshua never sought the Lord's direction. He just sent a few of them up there. And guess what? The men of Ai came out and fought against Israel. And somebody help me out. How many were killed? 36 Israelites.

[John Weaver] Now, Achan's sin has not just touched his family. It's touched 36 more families. Besides having the judgment of God against the nation and God told Joshua until you deal with this Neither will I be with you anymore? Look in your Bibles Leviticus chapter 26 Beginning there with verse 39 Leviticus 26 verse 39 Leviticus 26, verse 39. Listen carefully what God says. He's talking to the people. Here are the blessings and the curses concerning obedience and disobedience. And he says in verse 39, and they that are left of you shall pine away in their iniquity in your enemies lands and also the iniquities of their fathers. shall they pine away with them if they shall confess their iniquity and the iniquity of their fathers, which they their trespass, which they trespass against me. And they also and also they that have walked contrary to me. Nobody says you're going to find a way in your sins and the sins or the trespasses of your fathers. And then he says, if you will confess your sins and the sins of your fathers.

[John Weaver] Why? Because there is a solidarity in the nation. Look in Jeremiah chapter 3 and verse 25. Jeremiah 3 verse 25. Look what God says. Jeremiah 3 verse 25. Jeremiah writes, We lie down in our shame and our confusion covereth us, for we have sinned against the Lord our God, we and our fathers from our youth, even to this day, and not obey the voice of the Lord our God. There is a national solidarity. Jeremiah said we've sinned and we've sinned with our fathers. Look at Jeremiah chapter 14 and verse 20. Jeremiah 14 and verse 20. Once again, he says. We acknowledge, oh Lord, our wickedness and the iniquity of our fathers. Or we have sinned against thee.

[John Weaver] Let me give you another illustration. Anybody in here remember a Hethaphel and Absalom? You remember how Absalom rebelled against his father? Ahithophel had been David's counselor. Now he turns and he goes with Absalom. Do you realize that Absalom's rebellion against his father and Ahithophel's joining and giving credits and credits to Absalom It caused a bloody civil war and if you would study 2 Samuel chapter 18 verses 7 through 8 you will find that approximately 20 to 40,000 people died because of the sins of two men. It affected the nation.

[John Weaver] There is a national solidarity. Let me tell you something folks. This truth is lost upon our generation. I hear people say all the time, well, bless God, I don't care what they do in Washington, it doesn't affect me. That's hogwash. Well, I don't care what they do in Atlanta, that doesn't bother me. Yes, it does. And since you're in Jeremiah 15, look at verse 4. Look what God says concerning Judah and Jerusalem. And I will cause them, that is the people, to be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth because of Manasseh, the king of Hezekiah, the son of Hezekiah, king of Judah, for that which he did in Jerusalem. God said, I'm going to send the people into captivity for what Manasseh did. Don't tell me what your leaders do does not affect you. There is a national solidarity. And when we allow our leaders to sin and rebel against God openly and we do nothing, God judges the people with the rulers. We sin with our fathers. How? Nationally. There is a national solidarity.

[John Weaver] Let me tell you something, folks. That is frightening. When you think of the wickedness of our rulers. And the fact that we've done nothing to stop them. Fifthly, We have sinned with our fathers, actually. We've sinned with our fathers, actually. What do I mean by that? I mean, we have engaged in the same sins and in the same kinds of sins our fathers did. They were corrupt. And we're corrupt. Now, folks, let me tell you something. We cannot blame everything on our fathers. Most people try.

[John Weaver] I want you to look in your Bible to Jeremiah 31. Jeremiah 31 and verse 29. Jeremiah 31 verse 29 and 30. Watch this. Jeremiah 31 verse 29. In those days they shall say no more. The fathers have eaten the sour grape and the children's teeth are set on edge. But everyone shall die for his own iniquity. Every man that eateth the sour grape, his teeth shall be set on edge."

[John Weaver] I guess I could put this in a little more applicable light. How many have ever had the pleasure of eating a green persimmon or biting into a green persimmon? Well, I've got news for you. If you bite into a green persimmon, your children's teeth are not going to be set on edge. Yours are. and your mouth and your lips and everything that you pucker with who will be set on edge. Now, what do they mean when they say our fathers have eaten sour grapes and our children's teeth are settled?

[John Weaver] They're saying it's the father's fault. It's the father's sins. Let me tell you something. I know that our fathers have sinned. Our forefathers have sinned. But the truth of the matter is we have sinned equally and we've actually done the very things that they have done. Turn in your Bibles very quickly to 1 Corinthians chapter 10. 1 Corinthians chapter 10. Look at what God tells us not to do. 1 Corinthians chapter 10.

[John Weaver] Let's begin reading there with verse 5. He's talking about the fathers that came out of Egypt. Look what he says. Verse five. But with many of them, God was not well pleased for they were overthrown in the wilderness. I guess so. With many of them, God was not well pleased because all of them came out of Egypt, died, but to Joshua and Caleb. So God overthrew them. Now watch verse six.

[John Weaver] Now these things were our examples to the intent that we should not lust after evil things as they also lusted. Neither the idolaters, as some of them As it is written, the people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play. Neither let us commit fornication, as some of them committed and fell on one day three twenty thousand. Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted and were destroyed of service. Neither murmur ye, some of them also murmured and were destroyed of destroyer. Now all these things happen to them for examples, and they're written for our admonition upon whom the ends of the world were come. Question. Have you ever lusted? Have you ever Engaged in idolatry? Have you ever sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play? Ever committed fornication? Ever murmured? Ever tipped at Christ?

[John Weaver] You see what I'm saying? This whole generation has done everything that our fathers have done. But let me point out, not only have we done the very things that our fathers have done, but what we've done is even more wicked. Because we've sinned against light, truth, and knowledge. The Bible says in John 1 in verse 17, the law came by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. Was there no grace in the Old Testament? Well, of course, anyone that was ever saved was saved by grace. Was there no truth in the Old Testament? Well, of course, all of God's word is truth. But what he's saying is the fullness of truth is given us in Jesus Christ. The fullness of grace is given us in Jesus Christ. Our fathers did not have that fullness of knowledge and fullness of grace, we had it. And we've done exactly what they have done, only worse.

[John Weaver] So it's not that our fathers ate sour grapes and our teeth are set on the edge. No, we've eaten the sour grapes ourselves. And it's our teeth that are set on the edge because of what we have done. We have engaged in their very same sins.

[John Weaver] Now, I don't know if you've ever thought about this or not, But we live such individualistic lives. This generation has changed even since I was a boy. I've spoken about this here. When I was a boy, our neighbors used to come and sit on the porch and drink tea and talk, fellowship in the cool of the evening. And that was a regular thing. It was not an occasional thing.

[John Weaver] No one does that anymore. Our lives are so individualized that we don't have time for anybody or anything. What we have forgotten is this. There is a continuity. Between our ancestors and us. There is a national solidarity. And let me tell you what we've got to learn to do folks. We have to learn to confess not just our sins, but our family's sins, our church's sins, and our nation's sins.

[John Weaver] Do you realize that is what our Bible heroes did when they were beseeching God for an awakening and a reviving. I want to show you two passages. I want you to turn in your Bibles to Ezra chapter 9. Ezra chapter 9. And let's begin reading with verse 6. Then we'll go to the book of Daniel. Ezra 9. And verse 6 is where we shall begin. Ezra 9. Note, if you would please, verse 6. Ezra 9, verse 6. Here's what Ezra is confessing and said. Oh my God. I'm ashamed. And blush to lift up my face to thee, my God.

[John Weaver] For our iniquities are increased over our head and our trespasses grown up into heavens. Do you notice the plural there? Our iniquities. or increased over our head and our trespass is growing up in the heavens since the days of our fathers have we been in great trespass under this day for our iniquities have we watch our kings and our priest have been delivered in the hand of the kings of the lands to the sword to the captivity to the spoil and to confusion of face as it is this day and now for a little space.

[John Weaver] Grace has been shown from the Lord our God to leave us a remnant to escape and to give us a nail in this holy place that our God might lighten our eyes and give us a little reviving in our bondage. Notice what Ezra is doing. Ezra's not just saying, God, I'm a sinner. God, I've sinned. Yes, he is admitting that. But he said, God, it's not just me. It's my family. It's my group. It's my nation. It's my people. We've sinned as a whole.

[John Weaver] And if you'll turn in your Bibles to Daniel chapter 9. Daniel chapter 9. And let's begin reading there with verse 4. And watch Daniel's confession. Daniel 9 verse 4. Daniel says, And I prayed unto the Lord my God, and made my confession, and said, Oh Lord, the great and dreadful God, keeping the covenant and mercy to them that love him and to them that keep his commandments.

[John Weaver] We have sinned and committed iniquity and have done wickedly and have repelled. Oh, wait a minute. Doesn't that sound like Psalm 106 verse six? We have sinned with our fathers, we've committed iniquity, we've done wickedly. He says we have sinned, we have committed iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled even by departing from thy precepts and from thy judgments. Neither have we hearkened unto thy servants, the prophets, which speak in thy name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land.

[John Weaver] O Lord, righteousness belongeth unto thee, but unto us confusion of faces, as at this day to the men of Judah and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and unto all Israel that are near and that are far off through all the countries, whether thou hast driven them because of their trespass, that they have trespassed against thee, O Lord, to us belongeth confusion of face, to our kings and our princes and our fathers, because we have sinned against thee. Isn't that amazing? A national confession.

[John Weaver] When the nation itself will not mourn for its sins, then we as individuals must. When the nation as a whole will not confess and acknowledge its sin, then we as individuals must. When families will not confess and acknowledge their sins, then we as individuals must. And we need to learn to pray. And say, Lord, it's not just. This old boy that is sin. I've done my share. And I'm a sinner and I'm wicked and I want to confess, acknowledge it. The Lord is my nation.

[John Weaver] and my people, and my church, and my family. And Lord, I want a reviving. I want an awakening. We've sinned with our fathers. We've committed iniquity. We've done wickedly. We must seek the Lord for His grace, His mercy, and His forgiveness. Let's pray. Father, we are thankful today for Jesus Christ. And Lord, where in the world would we begin when we acknowledge and confess the sins of our nation? Lord, we've forsaken thee, the one true and the living God. We've committed idolatry, spiritual adultery, physical adultery. We've hated you. We've turned our backs upon you. We've trampled your law under our feet. We've elected men who are despicable and wicked and rebellious. We've left all form of law, your law. Our churches are corrupt. We've left your word and golden entertainment into programs. Our families are corrupt. And we're corrupt. How desperately we need Thee, Lord. We need an awakening, a reviving. We need repentance and faith. Enable us, Lord, to confess not only our sins, but the sins of our nation, and say we've sinned with our fathers.

[John Weaver] We've done wickedly. We've committed iniquity. Give us Your grace. In Christ's name we pray, Amen.

The Hallelujah of Confession - Part 2 of 16

John Weaver | SermonAudio

Lecture Metadata	Details
Speaker	John Weaver
Source	SermonAudio
Media ID	1130920705
Subject	Family Government
Course	The Christian Family: Children, Fatherhood, and Generational Faithfulness: The Family
Genre	Sermon
Date	2000-05-14
Dictation Name
Book	Book 053: The Hallelujah of Confession — Chapter 2
Source Timed Segments	90

Formatted Transcript

Introduction and Review of Psalm 106 Structure

Weaver reviews the three-part structure of Psalm 106: invitation (vv. 1-5), confession (vv. 6-46), and solicitation (vv. 47-48). He recaps the four reasons for praise from the invitation section.

Well, let's open our Bibles today to Psalm 106. We started this passage last week. I'm going to be in it for some time. I don't know how long, but you will remember the series, however brief it's going to be or however long it's going to be. I've entitled the Hallelujah of Confession, and the reason why is very clear. Because this psalm, as I shall point out just shortly, deals mainly with confession of sin. So let's deal and let's begin reading with Psalm 106, and today we're just going to read through verse 7.

The psalmist says, Praise ye the Lord, O give thanks unto the Lord, for he is good, for his mercy endureth forever. Who can utter the mighty acts of the Lord? Who can show forth all his praise? Blessed are they that keep judgment, and he that doeth righteousness at all times. Remember me, O Lord, with the favor that Thou bearest unto Thy people. O visit me with Thy salvation, that I may see the good of Thy chosen, that I may rejoice in the gladness of Thy nation, that I may glory with Thine inheritance. We have sinned with our fathers. We've committed iniquity. We've done wickedly. Our fathers understood not thy wonders in Egypt. They remembered not the multitude of thy mercies, but provoked him at the sea, even at the Red Sea.

Now, I told you last week as you looked at this psalm, the psalm was very easily divided. You have an invitation in verses one through five where the psalmist invites you to praise and worship the Lord. Secondly, you have a confession in verses 6 through 46. And then thirdly, you have a solicitation in verses 47 and 48. Now, let me very quickly just go over the four points that I gave you last week in the invitation. In verse one, he says, Praise ye the Lord, O give thanks unto the Lord, for he is good, for his mercy endureth forever. There is the first reason the psalmist wants us to praise and magnify the Lord, number one, because of his goodness and number two, because of his mercy. And then the second reason is found in verse two. He says or asks, Who can utter the mighty acts of the Lord? Who can show forth all his praise? And so we ought to praise God because his works are innumerable and of course really and truly incomprehensible in one sense of the word, and so we cannot humanly speaking give the Lord all

the glory that's due unto his name. And so he says basically we should stand in awe before the Lord. And then of course the third reason is found in verse three. He says, Blessed are they that keep judgment, and he that doeth righteousness at all times. In other words, God's blessings are upon the obedient. And I pointed out how keeping judgment and doing righteousness were synonymous. And then, of course, the fourth reason is found in verses four and five, where the psalmist is saying we ought to pray even in the time of trouble and calamity. And I pointed out that it is not wrong. It is not wicked. It is not unbiblical to want to be delivered from an ungodly situation, even from an ungodly nation. And, of course, the psalmist is praying that he may see the goodness of the Lord, that he may rejoice in God's gladness and that he may glory in God's inheritance. And then, of course, he says in verse five as well, that he could see all this for the nation as well.

So it was not just a personal request. It was also for the nation as well.

The General Confession in Verse 6

Verse 6 begins the confession section with a general, unexcused acknowledgment of sin: 'We have sinned, we have committed iniquity, we have done wickedly.' The repetition emphasizes the multitude and magnitude of sin.

Now we come today to verse six. Actually, I'm going to tell you, my first point is in verse seven. But we're not even going to get to the first point. All this is still basically introduction. But when you come to verse six, the psalmist says we have sinned with our fathers. We have committed iniquity and we have done wickedly. Now, what the psalmist has done in the first five verses is that he has encouraged us to worship, adore and magnify the Lord. And then secondly, beginning with verse six, he leads us to confession and acknowledgement. Now in verse 6 he begins with what I would call a general confession and a general acknowledgement and then he descends to the specific and detailed confessions in verses 7 through 46.

Now it's interesting and it's noteworthy to observe the manner and the language of which the psalmist acknowledges and confesses. Look in verse 6. He says, We have sinned. We have committed iniquity. We have done wickedly. In other words, there are absolutely no excuses. There are no extenuating circumstances mentioned. There's no pretension. There's no beating around the bush. He doesn't use euphemisms. He does not try to water things down. He doesn't say, well, we slipped up.

We made a few mistakes. Well, we're only human. Well, we have our faults. No, he doesn't say anything like that. He says we have sinned. We have committed iniquity and we have done wickedly.

Now the repetition in verse six notice three things. He says we have sinned. We've committed iniquity. We have done wickedly. The repetition is used not only to denote the multitude of their sins, but also the magnitude of their sins as well. So the psalmist is saying that we have committed all manner and kinds of sin, not just sins of ignorance and sins of frailty and sins of infirmity, but sins of presumption, sins against light and knowledge, sins against grace and mercy, sins against God, sins against man. In other words, the psalmist is saying we have basically committed all kinds of sin.

Now, this type of confession is certainly an open and frank confession, and it is the confession of an individual who is genuinely repentant. By the way, if you ever want to really know whether someone is repentant or not, this is a simple test. A repentant individual is always willing to freely and frankly confess and acknowledge their sins. An unrepentant individual is not willing to do that. He always wants to hide and he always wants to pretend.

Now I want you to understand that this is the type of confession that is used by Solomon, used by Daniel and the other biblical heroes, and I'll point some of them out later, but let me ask that you turn in your Bibles, first of all, to 1 Kings 8. Let me show you how Solomon set this up in his prayer of dedication for the temple. Look in 1 Kings 8.

The Question: How Can We Sin with Our Fathers?

Weaver raises the central question: How could David, writing 450 years after the Exodus, claim to have sinned with his fathers? He introduces five answers.

Now, let me ask you a question. How is it possible to sin with your fathers when you were never even born? And yet, that's what the psalmist says. We have sinned with our fathers.

Now, if you were to begin reading with verse seven and read on down through verse 13, you will find that he is talking about the deliverance of Israel out of the land of Egypt. We'll get into that next week. But the point I'm trying to make is David, who wrote this psalm, was alive over 400 years after this incident happened. The exodus was in approximately 1446 BC. David reigned approximately from 1010 to 970, 40 years. And if you will turn in your Bibles very quickly to look at 1 Kings chapter 6 and verse 1. Now you remember Solomon, David's son, followed him upon the throne. Solomon was the one who built the temple. And look what the scripture says in 1 Kings chapter 6 verse 1. 1 Kings 6 verse 1. And it came to pass in the four hundred and eightieth year after the children of Israel were come out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon's reign over Israel, in the month Zif, which is the second month, that he began to build the house of the Lord.

Now, that's interesting because Solomon began to build the temple four hundred and eighty years after the children of Israel came out of Egypt. He had only been on the throne for four years. So that means, then, 476 years would be the death of David. So David is writing this psalm, I don't know how old he was, let's say 450 years after the deliverance of the children of Israel from Egypt, and David says, we have sinned with our fathers. Now, the question is, how can you sin with your fathers

when you were never born? How can you be involved in someone's sin when they lived 400 years prior to you? Well, I want to answer that question this morning. And I want you to see that David is not just blowing smoke in the wind when he says that we have sinned with our fathers. I'm going to show you part of the problem that we have today in America is because we don't understand this principle. So how did David sin with his fathers? How did we sin with our fathers?

First Way: Seminally (In the Loins)

We sin with our fathers seminally because we were in their loins when they sinned. This is illustrated by Levi paying tithes in Abraham (Hebrews 7) and the continuity of family lines.

Our grandfathers, our great grandfathers. How did we sin with them? Well, let me answer it. First of all, number one. We have sinned with our fathers seminally. We have sinned with our fathers seminally. Now the statement that I just made, we've sinned with our fathers seminally means the fact that we were in their loins when they committed those sins.

Now listen to me carefully. There is a continuity between ancestors and descendants. That was brought home to me a year or two ago when I received a genealogical chart of my ancestors going back to 1620. And I was absolutely flabbergasted to see how many of my ancestors were named John, John Daniel, Elizabeth, Rebecca. In other words, the family names that we have today presently have been basically family names from 1600 on. I thought, well, how is it that we're continuing the use of those names? Why don't we come up with some other name? I mean, I did not know that my great great great grandmother might have been named Rebecca when I named my baby daughter Rebecca. You see what I'm saying? But yet, here is a continuity.

Now, how can we sin seminally with our fathers, but it's when we're in their loins. Well, let me show you. Look in your Bibles. First of all, to the book of Genesis chapter 14 and then we're going to turn over to Hebrews chapter 7. Let's go to Genesis chapter 14. Here's the story of Abraham when he returns from the slaughter of those kings. One lot was taken captive.

He's returning now in victory and he meets Melchizedek. Notice in Genesis chapter 14, beginning there with verse 17. And the king of Sodom went out to meet him after his return from the slaughter of Chedorlaomer, and of the kings that were with him, at the valley of Shaveh, which is the king's dale. And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God. And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth: And blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him tithes of all. So now Abraham has given tithes to Melchizedek. Now go in your Bibles to the book of Hebrews chapter 7 and let's begin reading there with verse 1. Hebrews 7 verse 1. For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the most high God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings, and blessed him; To whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all; first being by interpretation King of righteousness, and after that also King of Salem, which is, King

of peace; Without father, without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of days, nor end of life; but made like unto the Son of God; abideth a priest continually. Now consider how great this man was, unto whom even the patriarch Abraham gave the tenth of the spoils. And verily, now watch, and verily they that are of the sons of Levi, who receive the office of the priesthood, have a commandment to take tithes of the people according to the law, that is, of their brethren, though they come out of the loins of Abraham: But he whose descent is not counted from them received tithes of Abraham, and blessed him that had the promises. And without all contradiction the less is blessed of the better. And here men that die receive tithes; but there he receiveth them, of whom it is witnessed that he liveth. And as I may so say, Levi also, who receiveth tithes, payed tithes in Abraham. For he was yet in the loins of his father, when Melchizedek met him. Isn't that interesting?

God is saying that Levi, the priestly tribe, paid tithes to Melchizedek by virtue of the fact that they were in Abram's loins when Abram paid those tithes to Melchizedek. Now listen to me carefully. If it is true that we participate in the good and righteous deeds of our fathers while we were yet in their loins, is it not equally true that we participate in their evil and wicked deeds when we're yet in their loins? Now, I want you to stop and think about this. How is it that Abraham came to be known as the father of the faith and the father of the faithful?

Second Way: Imputatively (By Imputation)

Adam's sin is imputed to all his posterity (Romans 5:12). Generational sins and curses demonstrate this imputation, as children often follow in their fathers' sinful footsteps.

That is, it has been charged or credited to our accounts. In Romans 5 and verse 12, Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned: Now, the interesting thing is in verse 12, the latter part when it says all have sinned or all sinned is an aorist passive in the Greek. Which means it is something that happened once and for all, once and forever. It's over with. Well, when did all sin once and for all? And the answer is in Adam.

Now, there are only three instances of imputation in the Bible. The first one is Adam's sin to his posterity, which is Romans 5 and verse 12. The second one is the believers' sins to Jesus Christ. And the third one is the righteousness of Jesus Christ to believers. You'll find that in 2 Corinthians 5 and verse 21. For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. Now, the point I want to deal with is Romans 5 and verse 12. It is true that Adam's sin was imputed to his posterity.

Since Adam, all are sinners. There is no such thing as the humanistic philosophy of tabula rasa. That is, everyone comes in this world with a clean plate. Everyone comes in this world innocent. That's hogwash. Everyone comes in this world a sinner. And when you look at that cute little baby lying there and you say he's so sweet and innocent, that's not true. That baby is a sinner.

He said, Brother Weaver, I don't believe that. Well, I'll tell you what, all you've got to do is don't feed him and he'll die. You say, well, what does that prove? Well, the wages of sin is death. If he wasn't a sinner, he wouldn't die. We've all been imputed sinners.

Now, there is an aspect of this imputation. There's an aspect of this imputation that is demonstrated in what you and I know as generational sins. He said, what in the world is a generational sin? Well, look in your Bibles to the book of Exodus 34. You already know what I'm talking about. You may not know the exact scripture yet, but look at it. Exodus chapter 34. And let's begin reading there with verse 5. Exodus 34, verse 5.

Moses has asked God to show him his glory. 34 in verse 5. And the LORD descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the LORD. And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children's children, unto the third and to the fourth generation. Now, that's what I call a generational sin. Here is a sin that has been imputed and a curse as well that goes from father to son, to grandson, to great grandson. Why? Well, usually children follow in the footsteps of their parents. I want you to look in your Bibles to the book of Joshua chapter 24. Joshua 24. And let's begin reading there with verse 19. Joshua 24, verse 19. Joshua warns the people about the generational sins. Joshua 24 and verse 19. And Joshua said unto the people, Ye cannot serve the LORD: for he is an holy God; he is a jealous God; he will not forgive your transgressions nor your sins. Now watch. If ye forsake the LORD, and serve strange gods,

then he will turn and do you hurt, and consume you, after that he hath done you good. What's he saying? If you forsake the Lord, then the judgment is going to fall upon you. It will fall upon your children. There are generational sins with generational curses. By the way, if you will study in the book of First and Second Kings and First and Second Chronicles, you will find that the sons of the kings usually followed in the footsteps of their fathers. If the father was a good king, usually the son was. If the father was an evil king, usually the son was. Now, I know there's some exceptions, but usually that is so. And thus you have, we are participating in the sins of our fathers by imputation. And the fact that there are generational sins with generational curses, and we'll point out later, because we usually end up doing the same things that our fathers did. So how could David say we have sinned with our fathers? The first two ways he could say that is we have sinned with them seminally and we have sinned with them by means of imputation.

Third Way: Representatively

We sin representatively because Adam was our representative head, and what he did, we did. This principle also applies to families and governments, where the actions of a head affect those under them.

Number three. We have sinned with our fathers representatively. We have sinned with our fathers representatively. Now, this truth is included in Romans 5 and verse 12, because Adam was not only designated as our head, but he was also our representative. What he did, we did. When he sinned, we sinned. When he fell, we fell. You say, Brother Weaver, I don't think that's right. Well, we use that principle every day of our lives. Had Adam done right, we would have done right. Had Adam succeeded, we would have succeeded. And if you don't like that principle, then you don't like salvation because that's the very principle upon which we are made righteous in Christ.

We are identified with him. He is our head. His obedience is our obedience. His death is our death. His resurrection is our resurrection. His life is our life. See what I'm saying? He's our representative. So if you don't like to sin in Adam, then you won't like to be saved in Christ because it's only by means of representation that we're saved. But see, we do this same thing with our government.

We elect men who are supposed to represent us. Unhappily, they don't. But they're supposed to. But whatever they bind us to, since they are officially our representatives, whether they're representing us or not, what they bind us to, then we're bound to as a people and as a nation.

Now, I want you to look in your Bibles. We're going to come back to this passage, but I want you to look in Ezekiel chapter 18, verse 20, because undoubtedly this verse is going to come up in someone's mind. And I want to handle the objection before we get to it. In Ezekiel chapter 18 and verse 20, God says it very simply. The soul that sinneth, it shall die. Now watch carefully. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him.

Now, it is true that every man dies for his own sin. I'm going to bring that out a little bit later. However, when father and son are involved in the same sins, both are condemned. You know as well as I do, folks, the family is bound by whatever the husband, the head, does. If I go downtown tomorrow and buy a $30,000 automobile and finance $29,000 of it, which I would never do, but if I did, then basically once I put my name on the line, my wife is bound to that contract. My children would be if they're in my house. In that sense, in other words, whether they are legally obligated to pay that bill or not, they will suffer from the consequences. If I don't pay it, you follow what I'm saying, because as head I represent them.

Now let me show you how this works out. Look in your Bibles to the book of Joshua chapter 6. Joshua chapter 6 verse 18. Here's an interesting passage. Joshua 6 verse 18. The children of Israel are about to go into Jericho and take it and God says in the book of Joshua chapter 6 in verse 18, And ye, in any wise keep yourselves from the accursed thing, lest ye make yourselves accursed, when ye take of the accursed thing, and make the camp of Israel a curse, and trouble it. Isn't that interesting? God warned the individual Israelites not to touch any of the accursed thing, lest they not only became a curse, but the camp or the nation became a curse as well. So God says don't touch anything. Now, go to chapter 7 in verse 1. I find this fascinating. But the children of Israel committed a trespass in the accursed thing: for Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took of the accursed thing: and the anger of the LORD was kindled against the children of Israel.

Now, may I ask you a question? In verse 1 of chapter 7, but the children of Israel committed a trespass in the accursed thing. Who was it that stole the goodly Babylonish garment and the wedge of silver and gold? Who stole? Achan. Well, how did Israel, the people, the nation, commit a trespass? You follow what I'm saying? Because, and I'm going to point this out, there is a continuity in the nation. And what Achan did, not only did his family do, but the nation as well. Now skip down to verse 19. Joshua 7, verse 19. Now Achan has been found out and Joshua said unto Achan, My son, give, I pray thee, glory to the LORD God of Israel, and make confession unto him; and tell me now what thou hast done.

Hide it not from me. And Achan answered Joshua, and said, Indeed I have sinned against the LORD God of Israel, and thus and thus have I done: When I saw among the spoils a goodly Babylonish garment, and two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold of fifty shekels weight, then I coveted them, and took them; and, behold, they are hid in the earth in the midst of my tent, and the silver under it. So Joshua sent messengers, and they ran unto the tent; and, behold, it was hid in his tent, and the silver under it. And they took them out of the midst of the tent, and brought them unto Joshua, and unto all the children of Israel, and laid them out before the LORD. And Joshua, and all Israel with him, took Achan the son of Zerah, and the silver, and the garment, and the wedge of gold, and his sons, and his daughters, and his oxen, and his asses, and his sheep, and his tent, and all that he had: and they brought them unto the valley of Achor. And Joshua said, Why hast thou troubled us? the LORD shall trouble thee this day.

And all Israel stoned him with stones, and burned them with fire, after they had stoned them with stones. And they raised over him a great heap of stones unto this day. So the LORD turned from the fierceness of his anger. Wherefore the name of that place was called, The valley of Achor, unto this day.

Now I want to ask you a question. Why is it that Achan was the one that stole, and yet his whole family died with him? Well, you say, Brother Weaver, you just read that every man shall die for his own sin. The father shall not die for the son. The son shall not die for the father. And yet here's a clear illustration where these people were taken out and they died with Achan. Achan was the one that sinned. May I ask you a question? Where did Achan hide that cursed, stolen property? In the tent. In the home. Undoubtedly, the family knew about it, consented to it, agreed with it, and they died with their father. You follow me? He was their representative.

And had they not condoned that sin, then certainly they would have gone to Joshua and said, look, we've got problems. But they didn't do that. And so everything that Achan had died. If you will turn very quickly in your Bibles to 2 Samuel chapter 12. 2 Samuel chapter 12. I'm not going to take time to develop this. You understand this. 2 Samuel chapter 12, beginning there with verse 9. You remember how David committed adultery with Bathsheba.

He had Uriah, her husband, the Hittite, killed with the sword of the children of Ammon. Look what God tells him. 2 Samuel chapter 12, beginning with verse 9. Wherefore hast thou despised the commandment of the LORD, to do evil in his sight? thou hast killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and hast taken his wife to be thy wife, and hast slain him with the sword of the children of Ammon. Now therefore the sword shall never depart from thine house; because thou hast despised me, and hast taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be thy wife. Thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will raise up evil against thee out of thine own house. And I will take thy wives before thine eyes, and give them unto thy neighbour, and he shall lie with thy wives in the sight of this sun. For thou didst it secretly: but I will do this thing before all Israel, and before the sun.

Now, why was David's house cursed? Let me tell you something. Not only was David the representative of his family, not only is there a principle that you reap what you sow, there is also the lex talionis, the law of retribution. David had destroyed another family in Israel. And now his family will be destroyed. The point I'm trying to make is this. The humanistic phrase is no man is an island. The biblical principle is Romans 14 verse 7, for none of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself. What's God telling us? He's telling us that whatever we do always affects the lives of others. Whatever I do affects my wife, either good or bad. It affects my family. It affects my ministry.

When you take the attitude, well, bless God, it's my life. What I do is what I do. It doesn't affect anybody else. That's hogwash. You know the old drunk? I'll get drunk and drive, that's my business. Until you hit another family head on and kill them. You follow what I'm saying? No man lives to himself. No man dies to himself. And we've got to come to the harsh reality that we are representatives as well as individuals. And what we do indeed affects the lives of others.

Fourth Way: Nationally

There is a national solidarity in sin. Achan's sin affected all Israel (Joshua 7), and the sins of leaders like Manasseh brought judgment on the nation. We are implicated in our nation's sins.

So we have sinned with our fathers seminally. We've sinned with our fathers by imputation. We've sinned with our fathers representatively. And fourthly, we have sinned with our fathers nationally. I want you to understand that there is a national solidarity that affects the lives of individual citizens as well as that of the nation. Let me just take you back for a moment. I'm not going to ask you to turn back to Joshua chapter 7, but do you realize we just read where Achan's sin was the cause of his own family's destruction? But do you realize Achan's sin not only affected his family, it affected the nation. And God counted it that way in Joshua chapter 7 verse 1, where he says Israel had committed a trespass. God counted it as the whole. Let me ask you another question. How did his sin affect the nation? Don't you remember the people came to Joshua and said, hey, Ai's a little town. We don't need the whole army.

Let a few of us go up there. Joshua never sought the Lord's direction. He just sent a few of them up there. And guess what? The men of Ai came out and fought against Israel. And somebody help me out. How many were killed? 36 Israelites.

Now, Achan's sin has not just touched his family. It's touched 36 more families. Besides having the judgment of God against the nation and God told Joshua until you deal with this, neither will I be with you anymore. Look in your Bibles Leviticus chapter 26. Beginning there with verse 39. Leviticus 26 verse 39. Leviticus 26, verse 39. Listen carefully what God says. He's talking to the people. Here are the blessings and the curses concerning obedience and disobedience. And he says in verse 39, And they that are left of you shall pine away in their iniquity in your enemies' lands; and also in the iniquities of their fathers shall they pine away with them. If they shall confess their iniquity, and the iniquity of their fathers, with their trespass which they trespassed against me, and that also they have walked contrary unto me; Nobody says you're going to pine away in your sins and the sins or the trespasses of your fathers. And then he says, if you will confess your sins and the sins of your fathers.

Why? Because there is a solidarity in the nation. Look in Jeremiah chapter 3 and verse 25. Jeremiah 3 verse 25. Look what God says. Jeremiah 3 verse 25. Jeremiah writes, We lie down in our shame, and our confusion covereth us: for we have sinned against the LORD our God, we and our fathers, from our youth even unto this day, and have not obeyed the voice of the LORD our God. There is a national solidarity. Jeremiah said we've sinned and we've sinned with our fathers. Look at Jeremiah chapter 14 and verse 20. Jeremiah 14 and verse 20. Once again, he says, We acknowledge, O LORD, our wickedness, and the iniquity of our fathers: for we have sinned against thee.

Let me give you another illustration. Anybody in here remember Ahithophel and Absalom? You remember how Absalom rebelled against his father? Ahithophel had been David's counselor. Now he turns and he goes with Absalom. Do you realize that Absalom's rebellion against his father and Ahithophel's joining and giving credence to Absalom caused a bloody civil war and if you would study 2 Samuel chapter 18 verses 7 through 8 you will find that approximately 20 to 40,000 people died because of the sins of two men. It affected the nation.

There is a national solidarity. Let me tell you something folks. This truth is lost upon our generation. I hear people say all the time, well, bless God, I don't care what they do in Washington, it doesn't affect me. That's hogwash. Well, I don't care what they do in Atlanta, that doesn't bother me. Yes, it does. And since you're in Jeremiah 15, look at verse 4. Look what God says concerning Judah and Jerusalem. And I will cause them to be removed into all kingdoms of the earth, because of Manasseh the son of Hezekiah king of Judah, for that which he did in Jerusalem. God said, I'm going to send the people into captivity for what Manasseh did. Don't tell me what your leaders do does not affect you. There is a national solidarity. And when we allow our leaders to sin and rebel against God openly and we do nothing, God judges the people with the rulers. We sin with our fathers. How? Nationally. There is a national solidarity.

Let me tell you something, folks. That is frightening. When you think of the wickedness of our rulers and the fact that we've done nothing to stop them. Fifthly, we have sinned with our fathers, actually. We've sinned with our fathers, actually. What do I mean by that? I mean, we have engaged in the same sins and in the same kinds of sins our fathers did. They were corrupt. And we're corrupt. Now, folks, let me tell you something. We cannot blame everything on our fathers. Most people try.

Fifth Way: Actually (Committing the Same Sins)

We actually commit the same sins as our fathers, and often worse, because we sin against greater light and knowledge in Christ. We cannot blame our fathers alone; we are guilty ourselves.

I want you to look in your Bible to Jeremiah 31. Jeremiah 31 and verse 29. Jeremiah 31 verse 29 and 30. Watch this. Jeremiah 31 verse 29. In those days they shall say no more, The fathers have eaten a sour grape, and the children's teeth are set on edge. But every one shall die for his own iniquity: every man that eateth the sour grape, his teeth shall be set on edge.

I guess I could put this in a little more applicable light. How many have ever had the pleasure of eating a green persimmon or biting into a green persimmon? Well, I've got news for you. If you bite into a green persimmon, your children's teeth are not going to be set on edge. Yours are. And your mouth and your lips and everything that you pucker with will be set on edge. Now, what do they mean when they say our fathers have eaten sour grapes and our children's teeth are set on edge?

They're saying it's the father's fault. It's the father's sins. Let me tell you something. I know that our fathers have sinned. Our forefathers have sinned. But the truth of the matter is we have sinned equally and we've actually done the very things that they have done. Turn in your Bibles very quickly to 1 Corinthians chapter 10. 1 Corinthians chapter 10. Look at what God tells us not to do. 1 Corinthians chapter 10.

Let's begin reading there with verse 5. He's talking about the fathers that came out of Egypt. Look what he says. Verse five. But with many of them God was not well pleased: for they were overthrown in the wilderness. I guess so. With many of them God was not well pleased because all of them that came out of Egypt died, but Joshua and Caleb. So God overthrew them. Now watch verse six.

Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted. Neither be ye idolaters, as were some of them; as it is written, The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play. Neither let us commit fornication, as some of them committed, and fell in one day three and twenty thousand. Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed of serpents. Neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer. Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come. Question. Have you ever lusted? Have you ever engaged in idolatry? Have you ever sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play? Ever committed fornication? Ever murmured? Ever tempted Christ?

You see what I'm saying? This whole generation has done everything that our fathers have done. But let me point out, not only have we done the very things that our fathers have done, but what we've done is even more wicked. Because we've sinned against light, truth, and knowledge. The Bible says in John 1 in verse 17, the law came by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. Was there no grace in the Old Testament? Well, of course, anyone that was ever saved was saved by grace. Was there no truth in the Old Testament? Well, of course, all of God's word is truth. But what he's saying is the fullness of truth is given us in Jesus Christ. The fullness of grace is given us in Jesus Christ. Our fathers did not have that fullness of knowledge and fullness of grace, we had it. And we've done exactly what they have done, only worse.

So it's not that our fathers ate sour grapes and our teeth are set on edge. No, we've eaten the sour grapes ourselves. And it's our teeth that are set on edge because of what we have done. We have engaged in their very same sins.

The Need for Corporate Confession

We must learn to confess not only our personal sins but also the sins of our families, churches, and nation. Biblical heroes like Ezra and Daniel modeled this corporate confession when seeking revival.

Now, I don't know if you've ever thought about this or not, but we live such individualistic lives. This generation has changed even since I was a boy. I've spoken about this here. When I was a boy, our neighbors used to come and sit on the porch and drink tea and talk, fellowship in the cool of the evening. And that was a regular thing. It was not an occasional thing. No one does that anymore. Our lives are so individualized that we don't have time for anybody or anything. What we have forgotten is this. There is a continuity between our ancestors and us. There is a national solidarity. And let me tell you what we've got to learn to do folks. We have to learn to confess not just our sins, but our family's sins, our church's sins, and our nation's sins.

Do you realize that is what our Bible heroes did when they were beseeching God for an awakening and a reviving. I want to show you two passages. I want you to turn in your Bibles to Ezra chapter 9. Ezra chapter 9. And let's begin reading with verse 6. Then we'll go to the book of Daniel. Ezra 9. And verse 6 is where we shall begin. Ezra 9, note, if you would please, verse 6. Ezra 9, verse 6. Here's what Ezra is confessing and said, O my God, I am ashamed and blush to lift up my face to thee, my God:

for our iniquities are increased over our head, and our trespass is grown up unto the heavens. Do you notice the plural there? Our iniquities are increased over our head and our trespass is grown up unto the heavens. Since the days of our fathers have we been in a great trespass unto this day; and for our iniquities have we, our kings, and our priests, been delivered into the hand of the kings of the lands, to the sword, to captivity, and to a spoil, and to confusion of face, as it is this day. And now for a little space grace hath been shewed from the LORD our God, to leave us a remnant to escape, and to give us a nail in his holy place, that our God may lighten our eyes, and give us a little reviving in our bondage. Notice what Ezra is doing. Ezra's not just saying, God, I'm a sinner. God, I've sinned. Yes, he is admitting that. But he said, God, it's not just me. It's my family. It's my group. It's my nation. It's my people. We've sinned as a whole.

And if you'll turn in your Bibles to Daniel chapter 9. Daniel chapter 9. And let's begin reading there with verse 4. And watch Daniel's confession. Daniel 9 verse 4. Daniel says, And I prayed unto the LORD my God, and made my confession, and said, O Lord, the great and dreadful God, keeping the covenant and mercy to them that love him, and to them that keep his commandments; We have sinned, and have committed iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled. Oh, wait a minute. Doesn't that sound like Psalm 106 verse six? We have sinned with our fathers, we've committed iniquity, we've done wickedly. He says we have sinned, we have committed iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even by departing from thy precepts and from thy judgments: Neither have we hearkened unto thy servants the prophets, which spake in thy name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land.

O Lord, righteousness belongeth unto thee, but unto us confusion of faces, as at this day; to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and unto all Israel, that are near, and that are far off, through all the countries whither thou hast driven them, because of their trespass that they have trespassed against thee. O Lord, to us belongeth confusion of face, to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against thee. Isn't that amazing? A national confession.

When the nation itself will not mourn for its sins, then we as individuals must. When the nation as a whole will not confess and acknowledge its sin, then we as individuals must. When families will not confess and acknowledge their sins, then we as individuals must. And we need to learn to pray and say, Lord, it's not just this old boy that has sinned. I've done my share. And I'm a sinner and I'm wicked and I want to confess, acknowledge it. But Lord, it's my nation

Application and Closing Prayer

Weaver calls for individual confession of national and corporate sins, urging repentance and seeking God's grace for revival. He leads a prayer confessing the sins of the nation and asking for awakening.

and my people, and my church, and my family. And Lord, I want a reviving. I want an awakening. We've sinned with our fathers. We've committed iniquity. We've done wickedly. We must seek the Lord for His grace, His mercy, and His forgiveness. Let's pray. Father, we are thankful today for Jesus Christ. And Lord, where in the world would we begin when we acknowledge and confess the sins of our nation? Lord, we've forsaken thee, the one true and the living God. We've committed idolatry, spiritual adultery, physical adultery. We've hated you. We've turned our backs upon you. We've trampled your law under our feet. We've elected men who are despicable and wicked and rebellious. We've left all form of law, your law. Our churches are corrupt. We've left your word and golden entertainment into programs. Our families are corrupt. And we're corrupt. How desperately we need Thee, Lord. We need an awakening, a reviving. We need repentance and faith. Enable us, Lord, to confess not only our sins, but the sins of our nation, and say we've sinned with our fathers.

We've done wickedly. We've committed iniquity. Give us Your grace. In Christ's name we pray, Amen.

Study Guide

Major Themes

Corporate Confession of Sin

Summary: The sermon emphasizes that confession should not be merely individual but must include the sins of one's family, church, and nation, following the pattern of biblical figures like Ezra and Daniel.

Evidence: Weaver states, 'We have to learn to confess not just our sins, but our family's sins, our church's sins, and our nation's sins.' He cites Ezra 9 and Daniel 9 as examples.

Solidarity in Sin Across Generations

Summary: Weaver argues that individuals are connected to the sins of their ancestors through seminal, imputative, representative, national, and actual participation, making corporate guilt a biblical reality.

Evidence: He outlines five ways we sin with our fathers: seminally, imputatively, representatively, nationally, and actually, using scriptures like Hebrews 7, Romans 5, and Joshua 7.

The Seriousness of Sin and Need for Repentance

Summary: The sermon stresses that sin is pervasive and must be acknowledged without excuses, using strong language ('sinned, committed iniquity, done wickedly') to highlight the need for genuine repentance.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'There are absolutely no excuses... He doesn't say, well, we slipped up.' He emphasizes that a repentant person freely confesses sin.

National Judgment and Responsibility

Summary: The sins of a nation's leaders and people bring collective judgment, and citizens bear responsibility for not opposing wickedness, as seen in the examples of Achan and Manasseh.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'When we allow our leaders to sin and rebel against God openly and we do nothing, God judges the people with the rulers.' He references Joshua 7 and Jeremiah 15:4.

The Principle of Representation

Summary: Adam's role as representative head means his sin is counted to all humanity, just as Christ's righteousness is imputed to believers. This principle extends to family and governmental heads.

Evidence: Weaver explains, 'Adam was not only designated as our head, but he was also our representative. What he did, we did.' He connects this to salvation in Christ.

Key Arguments

We sin with our fathers seminally because we were in their loins.

Summary: Using Hebrews 7:9-10, Weaver argues that Levi paid tithes in Abraham because he was in Abraham's loins, establishing that descendants participate in ancestral actions, including sin.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'If it is true that we participate in the good and righteous deeds of our fathers while we were yet in their loins, is it not equally true that we participate in their evil and wicked deeds?'

Adam's sin is imputed to all humanity, making all sinners from birth.

Summary: Romans 5:12 teaches that sin entered the world through one man, and death passed to all because all sinned in Adam. This imputation means even infants are born sinners.

Evidence: Weaver states, 'Everyone comes in this world a sinner... That baby is a sinner.' He cites Romans 5:12 and the fact that death proves sinfulness.

Generational sins and curses demonstrate imputation and representation.

Summary: Exodus 34:7 shows God visiting iniquity to the third and fourth generation. Children often follow parental sins, and family heads bind their households to consequences, as with Achan (Joshua 7).

Evidence: Weaver says, 'There are generational sins with generational curses... Achan's sin not only affected his family, it affected the nation.'

National solidarity means citizens share in national guilt and judgment.

Summary: The Bible treats nations as corporate entities. Achan's sin was counted as Israel's sin (Joshua 7:1), and Manasseh's sins led to national captivity (Jeremiah 15:4). Leaders' sins affect all.

Evidence: Weaver argues, 'There is a national solidarity... God judges the people with the rulers.' He cites Joshua 7:1 and Jeremiah 15:4.

We actually commit the same sins as our fathers, often worse due to greater light.

Summary: 1 Corinthians 10 warns against lust, idolatry, fornication, etc., showing that we repeat ancestral sins. With the fuller revelation in Christ, our sin is more heinous.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'We've done the very things that our fathers have done... only worse... because we've sinned against light, truth, and knowledge.'

Corporate confession is necessary for revival, as modeled by Ezra and Daniel.

Summary: Ezra 9 and Daniel 9 show these men confessing the sins of the nation as their own, using plural language ('our iniquities'). This pattern is essential for seeking God's mercy.

Evidence: Weaver notes, 'Ezra's not just saying, God, I'm a sinner... He said, God, it's not just me. It's my family. It's my group. It's my nation.'

Scripture References

Psalm 106:1-7

Context: The primary text of the sermon, read at the beginning. Verses 1-5 are the invitation to praise, verse 6 the general confession, and verse 7 begins specific confessions.

1 Kings 8:47

Context: Solomon's prayer of dedication for the temple uses similar confession language: 'We have sinned, we have done perversely, we have committed wickedness.'

1 Kings 6:1

Context: Used to establish the timeline: the Exodus was 480 years before Solomon began the temple, placing David's psalm about 450 years after the Exodus.

Genesis 14:17-20

Context: Abraham gives tithes to Melchizedek after the slaughter of the kings, setting up the argument in Hebrews 7 about Levi paying tithes in Abraham.

Hebrews 7:1-10

Context: Explains that Levi, being in Abraham's loins, paid tithes to Melchizedek, illustrating seminal participation in ancestral actions.

Romans 4:11-12, 16-18

Context: Abraham is called the father of all who believe, showing the continuity of faith and the principle of representation.

Genesis 13:15; 17:8; 22:18

Context: God's promises to Abraham and his seed, which Paul interprets in Galatians 3 as referring to Christ, the true seed.

Galatians 3:14-16

Context: Paul explains that the promises to Abraham's seed were made to Christ, establishing the representative link between Abraham and believers.

Matthew 1:1-2

Context: The genealogy of Jesus traces back to Abraham, showing the physical and covenantal continuity.

Job 31:19-20

Context: Job uses 'loins' to refer to children, illustrating the biblical idiom for descendants being in the loins of ancestors.

Romans 5:12

Context: Sin entered the world through Adam, and death passed to all because all sinned—the foundational text for imputation of Adam's sin.

2 Corinthians 5:21

Context: Christ was made sin for us so that we might become the righteousness of God, illustrating the imputation of our sins to Christ and His righteousness to us.

Exodus 34:5-7

Context: God proclaims His name and character, including visiting iniquity to the third and fourth generation, establishing generational consequences of sin.

Joshua 24:19-20

Context: Joshua warns that forsaking the Lord brings judgment, implying generational impact.

Ezekiel 18:20

Context: The soul that sins shall die; the son shall not bear the father's iniquity. Weaver addresses this apparent contradiction by noting that when both participate in sin, both are condemned.

Joshua 6:18; 7:1, 19-26

Context: Achan's sin is counted as Israel's sin, and his whole family perishes with him, illustrating national solidarity and representative headship.

2 Samuel 12:9-12

Context: David's sin brings a curse on his house, showing that the head's sin affects the family and nation.

Leviticus 26:39-40

Context: God says the people will pine away in their iniquities and the iniquities of their fathers, and they must confess both.

Jeremiah 3:25; 14:20

Context: Jeremiah confesses the sins of the nation and their fathers, acknowledging national solidarity in sin.

Jeremiah 15:4

Context: God says He will send Judah into captivity because of Manasseh's sins, demonstrating that a leader's sin brings national judgment.

Historical References

The Exodus (c. 1446 BC)

Context: Weaver dates the Exodus to approximately 1446 BC and notes that David reigned around 1010-970 BC, writing Psalm 106 about 450 years later.

David's reign (c. 1010-970 BC)

Context: David is identified as the author of Psalm 106, writing long after the events he confesses.

Solomon's temple construction (4th year of reign)

Context: 1 Kings 6:1 dates the start of the temple to 480 years after the Exodus, used to calculate the time between the Exodus and David.

Achan's sin and the battle of Ai

Context: Achan's theft led to Israel's defeat at Ai, with 36 men killed, illustrating national solidarity in sin.

Absalom's rebellion and Ahithophel's counsel

Context: The rebellion caused a civil war with 20,000-40,000 deaths, showing how the sins of a few affect the nation.

Manasseh's reign and its consequences

Context: Manasseh's wickedness led to the Babylonian captivity, as stated in Jeremiah 15:4, demonstrating national judgment for a leader's sin.

Weaver's genealogical chart to 1620

Context: Weaver shares a personal anecdote about receiving a genealogical chart tracing his family to 1620, illustrating continuity of family names and traits.

Important Quotes

We have sinned with our fathers. We've committed iniquity. We've done wickedly.

Significance: This is the central verse of the sermon, highlighting the unexcused, repetitive confession of sin that includes ancestral guilt.

There are absolutely no excuses. There are no extenuating circumstances mentioned. There's no pretension. There's no beating around the bush. He doesn't use euphemisms. He does not try to water things down.

Significance: Emphasizes the frank and genuine nature of true repentance, contrasting it with modern tendencies to minimize sin.

A repentant individual is always willing to freely and frankly confess and acknowledge their sins. An unrepentant individual is not willing to do that. He always wants to hide and he always wants to pretend.

Significance: Provides a practical test for genuine repentance, central to the sermon's call for confession.

If it is true that we participate in the good and righteous deeds of our fathers while we were yet in their loins, is it not equally true that we participate in their evil and wicked deeds when we're yet in their loins?

Significance: Key logical argument for seminal participation in ancestral sin, using the example of Levi in Abraham.

Everyone comes in this world a sinner. And when you look at that cute little baby lying there and you say he's so sweet and innocent, that's not true. That baby is a sinner.

Significance: A provocative statement of the doctrine of original sin, challenging humanistic views of innocence.

When we allow our leaders to sin and rebel against God openly and we do nothing, God judges the people with the rulers.

Significance: Summarizes the principle of national solidarity and citizen responsibility, applied to contemporary America.

We have to learn to confess not just our sins, but our family's sins, our church's sins, and our nation's sins.

Significance: The practical application of the entire sermon, calling for corporate confession modeled after biblical heroes.

We've sinned with our fathers. We've committed iniquity. We've done wickedly. We must seek the Lord for His grace, His mercy, and His forgiveness.

Significance: The concluding call to action, tying the sermon's theme back to the text and urging repentance.

Discussion Questions

In what ways does the concept of 'sinning with our fathers' challenge our modern individualistic mindset?

Context: Weaver argues that we are connected to ancestral sins seminally, imputatively, representatively, nationally, and actually. How does this affect our view of personal responsibility?

How should the doctrine of original sin (imputation of Adam's sin) influence our understanding of human nature and the need for salvation?

Context: Weaver states that even infants are sinners because of Adam's imputed sin. Discuss the implications for evangelism and parenting.

What are some examples of generational sins or patterns you have observed in families or churches, and how can they be broken?

Context: Weaver mentions that children often follow in their parents' footsteps. How can confession and repentance break these cycles?

In what ways are we complicit in the sins of our nation, and what does it look like to confess those sins?

Context: Weaver says we sin nationally when we allow leaders to rebel against God without opposition. How can we practice national confession today?

How do the prayers of Ezra and Daniel serve as models for our own prayer lives, especially in times of national decay?

Context: Weaver highlights Ezra 9 and Daniel 9 as examples of corporate confession. What elements of their prayers can we incorporate?

Why is it important to avoid blaming previous generations entirely for our sins, and how does Jeremiah 31:29-30 balance this?

Context: Weaver notes that we actually commit the same sins and cannot just blame our fathers. How do we hold both corporate and individual guilt in tension?

What practical steps can a church take to foster a culture of corporate confession and repentance?

Context: Weaver calls for confessing church sins. How might this be implemented in corporate worship or small groups?

Applications

Practice corporate confession in prayer

Summary: Weaver urges believers to confess not only personal sins but also the sins of their families, churches, and nation, following the examples of Ezra and Daniel.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'We have to learn to confess not just our sins, but our family's sins, our church's sins, and our nation's sins.'

Recognize and repent of generational sins

Summary: Acknowledge that we may be repeating the sins of our ancestors and actively seek to break those patterns through repentance and faith.

Evidence: Weaver states, 'We've done the very things that our fathers have done... only worse.' He calls for confession of both personal and ancestral sins.

Take responsibility for national sins

Summary: Instead of ignoring or excusing national wickedness, believers should mourn and confess it, recognizing that God judges nations corporately.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'When the nation itself will not mourn for its sins, then we as individuals must.'

Examine personal repentance for genuineness

Summary: Use the test of frank confession: a truly repentant person openly acknowledges sin without excuses or euphemisms.

Evidence: Weaver says, 'A repentant individual is always willing to freely and frankly confess and acknowledge their sins.'

Understand the impact of leadership on families and nations

Summary: Recognize that as heads of households or in positions of influence, our sins can bring consequences on those under our care, motivating holy living.

Evidence: Weaver illustrates with Achan and David: 'Whatever we do always affects the lives of others.'

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-06T01:05:30Z

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | weaver_study | 2026-06-06T15:12:50Z

Clean Transcript

The Hallelujah of Confession - Part 2 of 16

Clean readable transcript. This view follows the Commentary.net cleaned segment text while preserving timestamps for audio follow-along.

Well, let's open our Bibles today to Psalm 106. We started this passage last week. I'm going to be in it for some time. I don't know how long, but you will remember the series, however brief it's going to be or however long it's going to be. I've entitled the Hallelujah of Confession, and the reason why is very clear. Because this psalm, as I shall point out just shortly, deals mainly with confession of sin. So let's deal and let's begin reading with Psalm 106, and today we're just going to read through verse 7.
#1 | 0:01 to 0:40 | cleaned
The psalmist says, Praise ye the Lord, O give thanks unto the Lord, for he is good, for his mercy endureth forever. Who can utter the mighty acts of the Lord? Who can show forth all his praise? Blessed are they that keep judgment, and he that doeth righteousness at all times. Remember me, O Lord, with the favor that Thou bearest unto Thy people. O visit me with Thy salvation, that I may see the good of Thy chosen, that I may rejoice in the gladness of Thy nation, that I may glory with Thine inheritance.
#2 | 0:40 to 1:10 | cleaned
We have sinned with our fathers. We've committed iniquity. We've done wickedly. Our fathers understood not thy wonders in Egypt. They remembered not the multitude of thy mercies, but provoked him at the sea, even at the Red Sea.
#3 | 1:11 to 1:24 | cleaned
Now, I told you last week as you looked at this psalm, the psalm was very easily divided. You have an invitation in verses one through five where the psalmist invites you to praise and worship the Lord. Secondly, you have a confession in verses 6 through 46. And then thirdly, you have a solicitation in verses 47 and 48. Now, let me very quickly just go over the four points that I gave you last week in the invitation. In verse one, he says, Praise ye the Lord, O give thanks unto the Lord, for he is good, for his mercy endureth forever. There is the first reason the psalmist wants us to praise and magnify the Lord, number one, because of his goodness and number two, because of his mercy. And then the second reason is found in verse two. He says or asks, Who can utter the mighty acts of the Lord? Who can show forth all his praise? And so we ought to praise God because his works are innumerable and of course really and truly incomprehensible in one sense of the word, and so we cannot humanly speaking give the Lord all
#4 | 1:25 to 2:34 | cleaned
the glory that's due unto his name. And so he says basically we should stand in awe before the Lord. And then of course the third reason is found in verse three. He says, Blessed are they that keep judgment, and he that doeth righteousness at all times. In other words, God's blessings are upon the obedient. And I pointed out how keeping judgment and doing righteousness were synonymous. And then, of course, the fourth reason is found in verses four and five, where the psalmist is saying we ought to pray even in the time of trouble and calamity. And I pointed out that it is not wrong. It is not wicked. It is not unbiblical to want to be delivered from an ungodly situation, even from an ungodly nation. And, of course, the psalmist is praying that he may see the goodness of the Lord, that he may rejoice in God's gladness and that he may glory in God's inheritance. And then, of course, he says in verse five as well, that he could see all this for the nation as well.
#5 | 2:34 to 3:36 | cleaned
So it was not just a personal request. It was also for the nation as well.
#6 | 3:36 to 3:41 | cleaned
Now we come today to verse six. Actually, I'm going to tell you, my first point is in verse seven. But we're not even going to get to the first point. All this is still basically introduction. But when you come to verse six, the psalmist says we have sinned with our fathers. We have committed iniquity and we have done wickedly. Now, what the psalmist has done in the first five verses is that he has encouraged us to worship, adore and magnify the Lord. And then secondly, beginning with verse six, he leads us to confession and acknowledgement. Now in verse 6 he begins with what I would call a general confession and a general acknowledgement and then he descends to the specific and detailed confessions in verses 7 through 46.
#7 | 3:41 to 4:34 | cleaned
Now it's interesting and it's noteworthy to observe the manner and the language of which the psalmist acknowledges and confesses. Look in verse 6. He says, We have sinned. We have committed iniquity. We have done wickedly. In other words, there are absolutely no excuses. There are no extenuating circumstances mentioned. There's no pretension. There's no beating around the bush. He doesn't use euphemisms. He does not try to water things down. He doesn't say, well, we slipped up.
#8 | 4:34 to 5:11 | cleaned
We made a few mistakes. Well, we're only human. Well, we have our faults. No, he doesn't say anything like that. He says we have sinned. We have committed iniquity and we have done wickedly.
#9 | 5:13 to 5:29 | cleaned
Now the repetition in verse six notice three things. He says we have sinned. We've committed iniquity. We have done wickedly. The repetition is used not only to denote the multitude of their sins, but also the magnitude of their sins as well. So the psalmist is saying that we have committed all manner and kinds of sin, not just sins of ignorance and sins of frailty and sins of infirmity, but sins of presumption, sins against light and knowledge, sins against grace and mercy, sins against God, sins against man. In other words, the psalmist is saying we have basically committed all kinds of sin.
#10 | 5:30 to 6:19 | cleaned
Now, this type of confession is certainly an open and frank confession, and it is the confession of an individual who is genuinely repentant. By the way, if you ever want to really know whether someone is repentant or not, this is a simple test. A repentant individual is always willing to freely and frankly confess and acknowledge their sins. An unrepentant individual is not willing to do that. He always wants to hide and he always wants to pretend.
#11 | 6:20 to 6:56 | cleaned
Now I want you to understand that this is the type of confession that is used by Solomon, used by Daniel and the other biblical heroes, and I'll point some of them out later, but let me ask that you turn in your Bibles, first of all, to 1 Kings 8. Let me show you how Solomon set this up in his prayer of dedication for the temple. Look in 1 Kings 8.
#12 | 6:56 to 7:26 | cleaned
And notice, if you would please, let's see verse 47. It is 1 Kings chapter 8 and verse 47. Look what Solomon prays. He's talking about when the people were carried away captive. He says, yet if they shall bethink themselves in the land whither they were carried captives, and repent, and make supplication unto thee in the land of them that carried them captives, saying, We have sinned,
#13 | 7:26 to 8:00 | cleaned
we've done perversely, we've committed wickedness. Isn't that interesting? Because the psalmist borrows those exact words. I'm going to show you a little bit later that Ezra and Daniel both use the same language.
#14 | 8:01 to 8:18 | cleaned
Now what the psalmist is doing in verse 6 and the rest of the psalm, is he is not only acknowledging that he and the nation have sinned, but he's also acknowledging that they really do not genuinely deserve the mercy for which he is praying. Now just stop and think about that. Look in verse 6. We have sinned with our fathers. We have committed iniquity. We have done wickedly.
#15 | 8:18 to 8:46 | cleaned
Let me ask you a question. The person that so readily admits his guilt, do you think that he deserves the mercy? The grace that he's asking? The answer is no. A person who admits his guilt really and truly deserves justice. But what the psalmist is saying is we do not want justice. We want what we do not deserve. And that's your mercy and your grace. And so when he is acknowledging the fact that they are sinners, he's also confessing and acknowledging the fact that they are now totally dependent upon God's grace and God's mercy.
#16 | 8:46 to 9:29 | cleaned
Now, let me put it to you like this. Just like words cannot describe the greatness of God and the love of God and the mercy of God, so likewise, words cannot accurately describe the wickedness and depravity and the sin of man. And so the psalmist begins, he says, we have sinned, we have committed iniquity, we have done wickedly.
#17 | 9:30 to 9:56 | cleaned
Now, today, we're not going to get out of verse six, because there is a very interesting and intriguing phrase in this verse. I don't know if it piqued your curiosity. It did mine. But the psalmist said in verse six, we have sinned with our fathers.
#18 | 9:57 to 10:15 | cleaned
Now, let me ask you a question. How is it possible to sin with your fathers when you were never even born? And yet, that's what the psalmist says. We have sinned with our fathers.
#19 | 10:19 to 10:38 | cleaned
Now, if you were to begin reading with verse seven and read on down through verse 13, you will find that he is talking about the deliverance of Israel out of the land of Egypt. We'll get into that next week. But the point I'm trying to make is David, who wrote this psalm, was alive over 400 years after this incident happened. The exodus was in approximately 1446 BC. David reigned approximately from 1010 to 970, 40 years. And if you will turn in your Bibles very quickly to look at 1 Kings chapter 6 and verse 1. Now you remember Solomon, David's son, followed him upon the throne. Solomon was the one who built the temple. And look what the scripture says in 1 Kings chapter 6 verse 1. 1 Kings 6 verse 1. And it came to pass in the four hundred and eightieth year after the children of Israel were come out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon's reign over Israel, in the month Zif, which is the second month, that he began to build the house of the Lord.
#20 | 10:40 to 12:00 | cleaned
Now, that's interesting because Solomon began to build the temple four hundred and eighty years after the children of Israel came out of Egypt. He had only been on the throne for four years. So that means, then, 476 years would be the death of David. So David is writing this psalm, I don't know how old he was, let's say 450 years after the deliverance of the children of Israel from Egypt, and David says, we have sinned with our fathers. Now, the question is, how can you sin with your fathers
#21 | 12:01 to 12:45 | cleaned
when you were never born? How can you be involved in someone's sin when they lived 400 years prior to you? Well, I want to answer that question this morning. And I want you to see that David is not just blowing smoke in the wind when he says that we have sinned with our fathers. I'm going to show you part of the problem that we have today in America is because we don't understand this principle. So how did David sin with his fathers? How did we sin with our fathers?
#22 | 12:47 to 13:40 | cleaned
Our grandfathers, our great grandfathers. How did we sin with them? Well, let me answer it. First of all, number one. We have sinned with our fathers seminally. We have sinned with our fathers seminally. Now the statement that I just made, we've sinned with our fathers seminally means the fact that we were in their loins when they committed those sins.
#23 | 13:41 to 14:10 | cleaned
Now listen to me carefully. There is a continuity between ancestors and descendants. That was brought home to me a year or two ago when I received a genealogical chart of my ancestors going back to 1620. And I was absolutely flabbergasted to see how many of my ancestors were named John, John Daniel, Elizabeth, Rebecca. In other words, the family names that we have today presently have been basically family names from 1600 on. I thought, well, how is it that we're continuing the use of those names? Why don't we come up with some other name? I mean, I did not know that my great great great grandmother might have been named Rebecca when I named my baby daughter Rebecca. You see what I'm saying? But yet, here is a continuity.
#24 | 14:11 to 15:28 | cleaned
Now, how can we sin seminally with our fathers, but it's when we're in their loins. Well, let me show you. Look in your Bibles. First of all, to the book of Genesis chapter 14 and then we're going to turn over to Hebrews chapter 7. Let's go to Genesis chapter 14. Here's the story of Abraham when he returns from the slaughter of those kings. One lot was taken captive.
#25 | 15:28 to 15:55 | cleaned
He's returning now in victory and he meets Melchizedek. Notice in Genesis chapter 14, beginning there with verse 17. And the king of Sodom went out to meet him after his return from the slaughter of Chedorlaomer, and of the kings that were with him, at the valley of Shaveh, which is the king's dale. And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God. And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth: And blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him tithes of all. So now Abraham has given tithes to Melchizedek. Now go in your Bibles to the book of Hebrews chapter 7 and let's begin reading there with verse 1. Hebrews 7 verse 1. For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the most high God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings, and blessed him; To whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all; first being by interpretation King of righteousness, and after that also King of Salem, which is, King
#26 | 15:56 to 17:20 | cleaned
of peace; Without father, without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of days, nor end of life; but made like unto the Son of God; abideth a priest continually. Now consider how great this man was, unto whom even the patriarch Abraham gave the tenth of the spoils. And verily, now watch, and verily they that are of the sons of Levi, who receive the office of the priesthood, have a commandment to take tithes of the people according to the law, that is, of their brethren, though they come out of the loins of Abraham: But he whose descent is not counted from them received tithes of Abraham, and blessed him that had the promises. And without all contradiction the less is blessed of the better. And here men that die receive tithes; but there he receiveth them, of whom it is witnessed that he liveth. And as I may so say, Levi also, who receiveth tithes, payed tithes in Abraham. For he was yet in the loins of his father, when Melchizedek met him. Isn't that interesting?
#27 | 17:20 to 18:27 | cleaned
God is saying that Levi, the priestly tribe, paid tithes to Melchizedek by virtue of the fact that they were in Abram's loins when Abram paid those tithes to Melchizedek.
#28 | 18:29 to 18:45 | cleaned
Now listen to me carefully. If it is true that we participate in the good and righteous deeds of our fathers while we were yet in their loins, is it not equally true that we participate in their evil and wicked deeds when we're yet in their loins? Now, I want you to stop and think about this. How is it that Abraham came to be known as the father of the faith and the father of the faithful?
#29 | 18:46 to 19:24 | cleaned
Let me show you. Look in your Bibles. First of all, to the Book of Romans chapter 4. Let me just point out the fact that Abraham is so designated. Romans chapter 4. Let's begin reading there with verse 11. Romans 4 verse 11. Just several passages to show you how Abraham is designated. Romans 4 verse 11. And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had yet being uncircumcised: that he might be the father of all them that believe, though they be not circumcised; that righteousness might be imputed unto them also: So Abraham is here called the father of all them that believe. Look in verse 12. And the father of circumcision to them who are not of the circumcision only, but who also walk in the steps of that faith of our father Abraham, which he had being yet uncircumcised. Skip down to verse 16. Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all,
#30 | 19:24 to 20:37 | cleaned
(As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were. Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations, according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be.
#31 | 20:37 to 20:55 | cleaned
Now, Abraham is very clearly called the father of the faithful. Why is Abraham called the father of the faith? Is it because he was the first one that God called out of Ur of the Chaldees? And the answer is no, although Abraham was one of the first called by God out of Ur of the Chaldees. Go back in your Bibles to Genesis chapter 13. We'll look at several passages and then we'll go to the New Testament. Look, if you would, Genesis chapter 13 and verse 15. Now watch this carefully, Genesis 13 and verse 15. What does God tell Abraham?
#32 | 20:56 to 21:47 | cleaned
For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever. Now I want you to note that the word seed is singular. Look in Genesis 17 and verse 8. Genesis 17 in verse 8. And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God. Look in Genesis 22 and verse 18. Genesis 22 in verse 18. Here Abraham was willing to offer up Isaac. And God says, And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice. So God has given this great promise to Abraham and his seed. Now, turn in your Bibles, if you would, to the book of Galatians chapter 3. Galatians chapter 3.
#33 | 21:48 to 22:59 | cleaned
I knew I was turning in the New Testament. Some of you were turning in the Old Testament. Galatians chapter 3 and let's begin reading there in verse 14. Galatians 3 verse 14. Watch carefully. That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. Brethren, I speak after the manner of men; Though it be but a man's covenant, yet if it be confirmed, no man disannulleth, or addeth thereto. Now watch carefully. Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ. So the promises that God gave to Abraham and his seed, the seed that he had in his mind was Jesus Christ. Now, the truth is this: that Abraham was not the father of Christ, but yet Abraham possessed the promises and the seed came through Abraham's line. It is true. You and I know that Joseph was the father figure in our Lord's life.
#34 | 23:02 to 24:23 | cleaned
But of course, God was the father of the Lord Jesus Christ. But if you will read Matthew chapter one, you will find an amazing thing. In fact, turn there. Look at Matthew chapter one. Matthew chapter one, let's begin reading there with verse one. Watch carefully. The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. Abraham begat Isaac; and Isaac begat Jacob; and Jacob begat Judas and his brethren; Did you see that? The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. So, Abraham is the father of the faithful because Abraham, in that sense, was the father of Christ, I know not humanly speaking, but he was the one to whom the promises were given. Even in Luke chapter 3 in verse 34, Mary's line comes through Abram or Abraham as well. And so the promises were given to all of those who were in Christ in Abraham because Jesus Christ is the true seed of Abraham. Look in your Bibles, if you would, to the book of Job chapter 31.
#35 | 24:23 to 25:43 | cleaned
Let me show you how Job used the language to speak similarly of children. In the book of Job chapter 31 it is Job 31. And verse 20. Job 31 verse 20. In fact, let's read verse 19. Job 31 verse 19.
#36 | 25:44 to 25:59 | cleaned
He says, If I have seen any perish for want of clothing, or any poor without covering; If his loins have not blessed me, and if he were not warmed with the fleece of my sheep; When he says if his loins have not blessed me, he's talking about his children. If his children have not blessed me, where's Joseph? I'm going to take care of the poor and the needy.
#37 | 26:11 to 26:33 | cleaned
And so Job here is speaking similarly. Now, how is it that we've sinned with our fathers? The answer is we were in their loins when they sinned. So the first way that we've sinned with our fathers is that we have sinned with them seminally. Secondly, number two, we've sinned with our fathers imputatively. That is by imputation. You might as well go ahead and turn in your Bibles to Romans chapter 5. We're going to look at this in just a moment, but let me go ahead and read verse 12, Romans 5 and verse 12. May I remind you that the word imputation means to charge or to credit to one's account. So we sinned with our fathers by imputation.
#38 | 26:34 to 27:27 | cleaned
That is, it has been charged or credited to our accounts. In Romans 5 and verse 12, Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:
#39 | 27:28 to 27:49 | cleaned
Now, the interesting thing is in verse 12, the latter part when it says all have sinned or all sinned is an aorist passive in the Greek. Which means it is something that happened once and for all, once and forever. It's over with. Well, when did all sin once and for all? And the answer is in Adam.
#40 | 27:50 to 28:14 | cleaned
Now, there are only three instances of imputation in the Bible. The first one is Adam's sin to his posterity, which is Romans 5 and verse 12. The second one is the believers' sins to Jesus Christ. And the third one is the righteousness of Jesus Christ to believers. You'll find that in 2 Corinthians 5 and verse 21. For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. Now, the point I want to deal with is Romans 5 and verse 12. It is true that Adam's sin was imputed to his posterity.
#41 | 28:15 to 28:59 | cleaned
Since Adam, all are sinners. There is no such thing as the humanistic philosophy of tabula rasa. That is, everyone comes in this world with a clean plate. Everyone comes in this world innocent. That's hogwash. Everyone comes in this world a sinner. And when you look at that cute little baby lying there and you say he's so sweet and innocent, that's not true. That baby is a sinner.
#42 | 28:59 to 29:28 | cleaned
He said, Brother Weaver, I don't believe that. Well, I'll tell you what, all you've got to do is don't feed him and he'll die. You say, well, what does that prove? Well, the wages of sin is death. If he wasn't a sinner, he wouldn't die. We've all been imputed sinners.
#43 | 29:30 to 29:49 | cleaned
Now, there is an aspect of this imputation. There's an aspect of this imputation that is demonstrated in what you and I know as generational sins. He said, what in the world is a generational sin? Well, look in your Bibles to the book of Exodus 34. You already know what I'm talking about. You may not know the exact scripture yet, but look at it. Exodus chapter 34. And let's begin reading there with verse 5. Exodus 34, verse 5.
#44 | 29:49 to 30:24 | cleaned
Moses has asked God to show him his glory. 34 in verse 5. And the LORD descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the LORD. And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children's children, unto the third and to the fourth generation. Now, that's what I call a generational sin. Here is a sin that has been imputed and a curse as well
#45 | 30:24 to 31:17 | cleaned
that goes from father to son, to grandson, to great grandson. Why? Well, usually children follow in the footsteps of their parents. I want you to look in your Bibles to the book of Joshua chapter 24. Joshua 24. And let's begin reading there with verse 19. Joshua 24, verse 19. Joshua warns the people about the generational sins. Joshua 24 and verse 19. And Joshua said unto the people, Ye cannot serve the LORD: for he is an holy God; he is a jealous God; he will not forgive your transgressions nor your sins. Now watch. If ye forsake the LORD, and serve strange gods,
#46 | 31:18 to 32:12 | cleaned
then he will turn and do you hurt, and consume you, after that he hath done you good. What's he saying? If you forsake the Lord, then the judgment is going to fall upon you. It will fall upon your children. There are generational sins with generational curses. By the way, if you will study in the book of First and Second Kings and First and Second Chronicles, you will find that the sons of the kings usually followed in the footsteps of their fathers. If the father was a good king, usually the son was. If the father was an evil king, usually the son was. Now, I know there's some exceptions, but usually that is so. And thus you have, we are participating in the sins of our fathers by imputation. And the fact that there are generational sins with generational curses, and we'll point out later, because we usually end up doing the same things that our fathers did. So how could David say we have sinned with our fathers? The first two ways he could say that is we have sinned with them seminally and we have sinned with them by means of imputation.
#47 | 32:14 to 33:36 | cleaned
Number three. We have sinned with our fathers representatively. We have sinned with our fathers representatively.
#48 | 33:38 to 33:50 | cleaned
Now, this truth is included in Romans 5 and verse 12, because Adam was not only designated as our head, but he was also our representative. What he did, we did. When he sinned, we sinned. When he fell, we fell. You say, Brother Weaver, I don't think that's right. Well, we use that principle every day of our lives. Had Adam done right, we would have done right. Had Adam succeeded, we would have succeeded. And if you don't like that principle, then you don't like salvation because that's the very principle upon which we are made righteous in Christ.
#49 | 33:50 to 34:30 | cleaned
We are identified with him. He is our head. His obedience is our obedience. His death is our death. His resurrection is our resurrection. His life is our life. See what I'm saying? He's our representative. So if you don't like to sin in Adam, then you won't like to be saved in Christ because it's only by means of representation that we're saved. But see, we do this same thing with our government.
#50 | 34:30 to 34:59 | cleaned
We elect men who are supposed to represent us. Unhappily, they don't. But they're supposed to. But whatever they bind us to, since they are officially our representatives, whether they're representing us or not, what they bind us to, then we're bound to as a people and as a nation.
#51 | 35:00 to 35:23 | cleaned
Now, I want you to look in your Bibles. We're going to come back to this passage, but I want you to look in Ezekiel chapter 18, verse 20, because undoubtedly this verse is going to come up in someone's mind. And I want to handle the objection before we get to it. In Ezekiel chapter 18 and verse 20, God says it very simply. The soul that sinneth, it shall die. Now watch carefully.
#52 | 35:23 to 35:55 | cleaned
The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him.
#53 | 35:56 to 36:08 | cleaned
Now, it is true that every man dies for his own sin. I'm going to bring that out a little bit later. However, when father and son are involved in the same sins, both are condemned. You know as well as I do, folks, the family is bound by whatever the husband, the head, does. If I go downtown tomorrow and buy a $30,000 automobile and finance $29,000 of it, which I would never do, but if I did, then basically once I put my name on the line, my wife is bound to that contract.
#54 | 36:10 to 37:03 | cleaned
My children would be if they're in my house. In that sense, in other words, whether they are legally obligated to pay that bill or not, they will suffer from the consequences. If I don't pay it, you follow what I'm saying, because as head I represent them.
#55 | 37:03 to 37:23 | cleaned
Now let me show you how this works out. Look in your Bibles to the book of Joshua chapter 6. Joshua chapter 6 verse 18. Here's an interesting passage. Joshua 6 verse 18. The children of Israel are about to go into Jericho and take it and God says in the book of Joshua chapter 6 in verse 18, And ye, in any wise keep yourselves from the accursed thing, lest ye make yourselves accursed, when ye take of the accursed thing, and make the camp of Israel a curse, and trouble it. Isn't that interesting? God warned the individual Israelites not to touch any of the accursed thing, lest they not only became a curse, but the camp or the nation became a curse as well. So God says don't touch anything. Now, go to chapter 7 in verse 1. I find this fascinating. But the children of Israel committed a trespass in the accursed thing: for Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took of the accursed thing: and the anger of the LORD was kindled against the children of Israel.
#56 | 37:23 to 38:37 | cleaned
Now, may I ask you a question? In verse 1 of chapter 7, but the children of Israel committed a trespass in the accursed thing. Who was it that stole the goodly Babylonish garment and the wedge of silver and gold? Who stole? Achan. Well, how did Israel, the people, the nation, commit a trespass? You follow what I'm saying? Because, and I'm going to point this out, there is a continuity in the nation. And what Achan did, not only did his family do, but the nation as well. Now skip down to verse 19. Joshua 7, verse 19. Now Achan has been found out and Joshua said unto Achan, My son, give, I pray thee, glory to the LORD God of Israel, and make confession unto him; and tell me now what thou hast done.
#57 | 38:39 to 39:36 | cleaned
Hide it not from me. And Achan answered Joshua, and said, Indeed I have sinned against the LORD God of Israel, and thus and thus have I done: When I saw among the spoils a goodly Babylonish garment, and two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold of fifty shekels weight, then I coveted them, and took them; and, behold, they are hid in the earth in the midst of my tent, and the silver under it. So Joshua sent messengers, and they ran unto the tent; and, behold, it was hid in his tent, and the silver under it. And they took them out of the midst of the tent, and brought them unto Joshua, and unto all the children of Israel, and laid them out before the LORD. And Joshua, and all Israel with him, took Achan the son of Zerah, and the silver, and the garment, and the wedge of gold, and his sons, and his daughters, and his oxen, and his asses, and his sheep, and his tent, and all that he had: and they brought them unto the valley of Achor. And Joshua said, Why hast thou troubled us? the LORD shall trouble thee this day.
#58 | 39:36 to 40:39 | cleaned
And all Israel stoned him with stones, and burned them with fire, after they had stoned them with stones. And they raised over him a great heap of stones unto this day. So the LORD turned from the fierceness of his anger. Wherefore the name of that place was called, The valley of Achor, unto this day.
#59 | 40:39 to 40:55 | cleaned
Now I want to ask you a question. Why is it that Achan was the one that stole, and yet his whole family died with him? Well, you say, Brother Weaver, you just read that every man shall die for his own sin. The father shall not die for the son. The son shall not die for the father. And yet here's a clear illustration where these people were taken out and they died with Achan. Achan was the one that sinned. May I ask you a question? Where did Achan hide that cursed, stolen property? In the tent. In the home. Undoubtedly, the family knew about it, consented to it, agreed with it, and they died with their father. You follow me? He was their representative.
#60 | 40:55 to 41:47 | cleaned
And had they not condoned that sin, then certainly they would have gone to Joshua and said, look, we've got problems. But they didn't do that. And so everything that Achan had died. If you will turn very quickly in your Bibles to 2 Samuel chapter 12. 2 Samuel chapter 12. I'm not going to take time to develop this. You understand this. 2 Samuel chapter 12, beginning there with verse 9. You remember how David committed adultery with Bathsheba.
#61 | 41:48 to 42:24 | cleaned
He had Uriah, her husband, the Hittite, killed with the sword of the children of Ammon. Look what God tells him. 2 Samuel chapter 12, beginning with verse 9. Wherefore hast thou despised the commandment of the LORD, to do evil in his sight? thou hast killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and hast taken his wife to be thy wife, and hast slain him with the sword of the children of Ammon. Now therefore the sword shall never depart from thine house; because thou hast despised me, and hast taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be thy wife. Thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will raise up evil against thee out of thine own house.
#62 | 42:25 to 43:01 | cleaned
And I will take thy wives before thine eyes, and give them unto thy neighbour, and he shall lie with thy wives in the sight of this sun. For thou didst it secretly: but I will do this thing before all Israel, and before the sun.
#63 | 43:04 to 43:15 | cleaned
Now, why was David's house cursed? Let me tell you something. Not only was David the representative of his family, not only is there a principle that you reap what you sow, there is also the lex talionis, the law of retribution. David had destroyed another family in Israel. And now his family will be destroyed. The point I'm trying to make is this. The humanistic phrase is no man is an island. The biblical principle is Romans 14 verse 7, for none of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself. What's God telling us? He's telling us that whatever we do always affects the lives of others. Whatever I do affects my wife, either good or bad. It affects my family. It affects my ministry.
#64 | 43:15 to 44:18 | cleaned
When you take the attitude, well, bless God, it's my life. What I do is what I do. It doesn't affect anybody else. That's hogwash. You know the old drunk? I'll get drunk and drive, that's my business. Until you hit another family head on and kill them. You follow what I'm saying? No man lives to himself. No man dies to himself. And we've got to come to the harsh reality that we are representatives as well as individuals. And what we do indeed affects the lives of others.
#65 | 44:20 to 45:02 | cleaned
So we have sinned with our fathers seminally. We've sinned with our fathers by imputation. We've sinned with our fathers representatively. And fourthly, we have sinned with our fathers nationally. I want you to understand that there is a national solidarity that affects the lives of individual citizens as well as that of the nation. Let me just take you back for a moment. I'm not going to ask you to turn back to Joshua chapter 7, but do you realize we just read where Achan's sin was the cause of his own family's destruction? But do you realize Achan's sin not only affected his family, it affected the nation. And God counted it that way in Joshua chapter 7 verse 1, where he says Israel had committed a trespass. God counted it as the whole. Let me ask you another question. How did his sin affect the nation? Don't you remember the people came to Joshua and said, hey, Ai's a little town. We don't need the whole army.
#66 | 45:02 to 46:22 | cleaned
Let a few of us go up there. Joshua never sought the Lord's direction. He just sent a few of them up there. And guess what? The men of Ai came out and fought against Israel. And somebody help me out. How many were killed? 36 Israelites.
#67 | 46:23 to 46:38 | cleaned
Now, Achan's sin has not just touched his family. It's touched 36 more families. Besides having the judgment of God against the nation and God told Joshua until you deal with this, neither will I be with you anymore. Look in your Bibles Leviticus chapter 26. Beginning there with verse 39. Leviticus 26 verse 39. Leviticus 26, verse 39. Listen carefully what God says. He's talking to the people. Here are the blessings and the curses concerning obedience and disobedience. And he says in verse 39, And they that are left of you shall pine away in their iniquity in your enemies' lands; and also in the iniquities of their fathers shall they pine away with them. If they shall confess their iniquity, and the iniquity of their fathers, with their trespass which they trespassed against me, and that also they have walked contrary unto me; Nobody says you're going to pine away in your sins and the sins or the trespasses of your fathers. And then he says, if you will confess your sins and the sins of your fathers.
#68 | 46:42 to 48:07 | cleaned
Why? Because there is a solidarity in the nation. Look in Jeremiah chapter 3 and verse 25. Jeremiah 3 verse 25. Look what God says. Jeremiah 3 verse 25. Jeremiah writes, We lie down in our shame, and our confusion covereth us: for we have sinned against the LORD our God, we and our fathers, from our youth even unto this day, and have not obeyed the voice of the LORD our God. There is a national solidarity. Jeremiah said we've sinned and we've sinned with our fathers. Look at Jeremiah chapter 14 and verse 20. Jeremiah 14 and verse 20. Once again, he says, We acknowledge, O LORD, our wickedness, and the iniquity of our fathers: for we have sinned against thee.
#69 | 48:09 to 49:20 | cleaned
Let me give you another illustration. Anybody in here remember Ahithophel and Absalom? You remember how Absalom rebelled against his father? Ahithophel had been David's counselor. Now he turns and he goes with Absalom. Do you realize that Absalom's rebellion against his father and Ahithophel's joining and giving credence to Absalom caused a bloody civil war and if you would study 2 Samuel chapter 18 verses 7 through 8 you will find that approximately 20 to 40,000 people died because of the sins of two men. It affected the nation.
#70 | 49:21 to 50:16 | cleaned
There is a national solidarity. Let me tell you something folks. This truth is lost upon our generation. I hear people say all the time, well, bless God, I don't care what they do in Washington, it doesn't affect me. That's hogwash. Well, I don't care what they do in Atlanta, that doesn't bother me. Yes, it does. And since you're in Jeremiah 15, look at verse 4. Look what God says concerning Judah and Jerusalem. And I will cause them to be removed into all kingdoms of the earth, because of Manasseh the son of Hezekiah king of Judah, for that which he did in Jerusalem. God said, I'm going to send the people into captivity for what Manasseh did. Don't tell me what your leaders do does not affect you. There is a national solidarity. And when we allow our leaders to sin and rebel against God openly and we do nothing, God judges the people with the rulers. We sin with our fathers. How? Nationally. There is a national solidarity.
#71 | 50:17 to 51:35 | cleaned
Let me tell you something, folks. That is frightening. When you think of the wickedness of our rulers and the fact that we've done nothing to stop them. Fifthly, we have sinned with our fathers, actually. We've sinned with our fathers, actually. What do I mean by that? I mean, we have engaged in the same sins and in the same kinds of sins our fathers did. They were corrupt. And we're corrupt. Now, folks, let me tell you something. We cannot blame everything on our fathers. Most people try.
#72 | 51:35 to 52:28 | cleaned
I want you to look in your Bible to Jeremiah 31. Jeremiah 31 and verse 29. Jeremiah 31 verse 29 and 30. Watch this. Jeremiah 31 verse 29. In those days they shall say no more, The fathers have eaten a sour grape, and the children's teeth are set on edge. But every one shall die for his own iniquity: every man that eateth the sour grape, his teeth shall be set on edge.
#73 | 52:28 to 53:03 | cleaned
I guess I could put this in a little more applicable light. How many have ever had the pleasure of eating a green persimmon or biting into a green persimmon? Well, I've got news for you. If you bite into a green persimmon, your children's teeth are not going to be set on edge. Yours are. And your mouth and your lips and everything that you pucker with will be set on edge. Now, what do they mean when they say our fathers have eaten sour grapes and our children's teeth are set on edge?
#74 | 53:05 to 53:38 | cleaned
They're saying it's the father's fault. It's the father's sins. Let me tell you something. I know that our fathers have sinned. Our forefathers have sinned. But the truth of the matter is we have sinned equally and we've actually done the very things that they have done. Turn in your Bibles very quickly to 1 Corinthians chapter 10. 1 Corinthians chapter 10. Look at what God tells us not to do. 1 Corinthians chapter 10.
#75 | 53:38 to 54:11 | cleaned
Let's begin reading there with verse 5. He's talking about the fathers that came out of Egypt. Look what he says. Verse five. But with many of them God was not well pleased: for they were overthrown in the wilderness. I guess so. With many of them God was not well pleased because all of them that came out of Egypt died, but Joshua and Caleb. So God overthrew them. Now watch verse six.
#76 | 54:11 to 54:33 | cleaned
Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted. Neither be ye idolaters, as were some of them; as it is written, The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play. Neither let us commit fornication, as some of them committed, and fell in one day three and twenty thousand. Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed of serpents. Neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer. Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come. Question. Have you ever lusted? Have you ever engaged in idolatry? Have you ever sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play? Ever committed fornication? Ever murmured? Ever tempted Christ?
#77 | 54:33 to 55:24 | cleaned
You see what I'm saying? This whole generation has done everything that our fathers have done. But let me point out, not only have we done the very things that our fathers have done, but what we've done is even more wicked. Because we've sinned against light, truth, and knowledge. The Bible says in John 1 in verse 17, the law came by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. Was there no grace in the Old Testament? Well, of course, anyone that was ever saved was saved by grace. Was there no truth in the Old Testament? Well, of course, all of God's word is truth. But what he's saying is the fullness of truth is given us in Jesus Christ. The fullness of grace is given us in Jesus Christ. Our fathers did not have that fullness of knowledge and fullness of grace, we had it. And we've done exactly what they have done, only worse.
#78 | 55:24 to 56:29 | cleaned
So it's not that our fathers ate sour grapes and our teeth are set on edge. No, we've eaten the sour grapes ourselves. And it's our teeth that are set on edge because of what we have done. We have engaged in their very same sins.
#79 | 56:30 to 56:48 | cleaned
Now, I don't know if you've ever thought about this or not, but we live such individualistic lives. This generation has changed even since I was a boy. I've spoken about this here. When I was a boy, our neighbors used to come and sit on the porch and drink tea and talk, fellowship in the cool of the evening. And that was a regular thing. It was not an occasional thing.
#80 | 56:50 to 57:22 | cleaned
No one does that anymore. Our lives are so individualized that we don't have time for anybody or anything. What we have forgotten is this. There is a continuity between our ancestors and us. There is a national solidarity. And let me tell you what we've got to learn to do folks. We have to learn to confess not just our sins, but our family's sins, our church's sins, and our nation's sins.
#81 | 57:22 to 58:16 | cleaned
Do you realize that is what our Bible heroes did when they were beseeching God for an awakening and a reviving. I want to show you two passages. I want you to turn in your Bibles to Ezra chapter 9. Ezra chapter 9. And let's begin reading with verse 6. Then we'll go to the book of Daniel. Ezra 9. And verse 6 is where we shall begin. Ezra 9, note, if you would please, verse 6. Ezra 9, verse 6. Here's what Ezra is confessing and said, O my God, I am ashamed and blush to lift up my face to thee, my God:
#82 | 58:18 to 59:16 | cleaned
for our iniquities are increased over our head, and our trespass is grown up unto the heavens. Do you notice the plural there? Our iniquities are increased over our head and our trespass is grown up unto the heavens. Since the days of our fathers have we been in a great trespass unto this day; and for our iniquities have we, our kings, and our priests, been delivered into the hand of the kings of the lands, to the sword, to captivity, and to a spoil, and to confusion of face, as it is this day. And now for a little space
#83 | 59:17 to 59:55 | cleaned
grace hath been shewed from the LORD our God, to leave us a remnant to escape, and to give us a nail in his holy place, that our God may lighten our eyes, and give us a little reviving in our bondage. Notice what Ezra is doing. Ezra's not just saying, God, I'm a sinner. God, I've sinned. Yes, he is admitting that. But he said, God, it's not just me. It's my family. It's my group. It's my nation. It's my people. We've sinned as a whole.
#84 | 59:55 to 1:00:28 | cleaned
And if you'll turn in your Bibles to Daniel chapter 9. Daniel chapter 9. And let's begin reading there with verse 4. And watch Daniel's confession. Daniel 9 verse 4. Daniel says, And I prayed unto the LORD my God, and made my confession, and said, O Lord, the great and dreadful God, keeping the covenant and mercy to them that love him, and to them that keep his commandments;
#85 | 1:00:28 to 1:01:01 | cleaned
We have sinned, and have committed iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled. Oh, wait a minute. Doesn't that sound like Psalm 106 verse six? We have sinned with our fathers, we've committed iniquity, we've done wickedly. He says we have sinned, we have committed iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even by departing from thy precepts and from thy judgments: Neither have we hearkened unto thy servants the prophets, which spake in thy name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land.
#86 | 1:01:02 to 1:01:39 | cleaned
O Lord, righteousness belongeth unto thee, but unto us confusion of faces, as at this day; to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and unto all Israel, that are near, and that are far off, through all the countries whither thou hast driven them, because of their trespass that they have trespassed against thee. O Lord, to us belongeth confusion of face, to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against thee. Isn't that amazing? A national confession.
#87 | 1:01:40 to 1:02:14 | cleaned
When the nation itself will not mourn for its sins, then we as individuals must. When the nation as a whole will not confess and acknowledge its sin, then we as individuals must. When families will not confess and acknowledge their sins, then we as individuals must. And we need to learn to pray and say, Lord, it's not just this old boy that has sinned. I've done my share. And I'm a sinner and I'm wicked and I want to confess, acknowledge it. But Lord, it's my nation
#88 | 1:02:16 to 1:03:08 | cleaned
and my people, and my church, and my family. And Lord, I want a reviving. I want an awakening. We've sinned with our fathers. We've committed iniquity. We've done wickedly. We must seek the Lord for His grace, His mercy, and His forgiveness. Let's pray. Father, we are thankful today for Jesus Christ. And Lord, where in the world would we begin when we acknowledge and confess the sins of our nation? Lord, we've forsaken thee, the one true and the living God. We've committed idolatry, spiritual adultery, physical adultery. We've hated you. We've turned our backs upon you. We've trampled your law under our feet. We've elected men who are despicable and wicked and rebellious. We've left all form of law, your law. Our churches are corrupt. We've left your word and golden entertainment into programs. Our families are corrupt. And we're corrupt. How desperately we need Thee, Lord. We need an awakening, a reviving. We need repentance and faith. Enable us, Lord, to confess not only our sins, but the sins of our nation, and say we've sinned with our fathers.
#89 | 1:03:10 to 1:05:23 | cleaned
We've done wickedly. We've committed iniquity. Give us Your grace. In Christ's name we pray, Amen.
#90 | 1:05:25 to 1:05:34 | cleaned

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | clean_readable_transcript | 2026-06-06T01:05:30Z

The Hallelujah of Confession - Part 2 of 16

John Weaver | Freedom Ministries

John Weaver continues his series on Psalm 106, focusing on verse 6: 'We have sinned with our fathers.' He explores how it is possible to sin with ancestors who lived centuries earlier, presenting five ways: seminally (being in their loins), imputatively (Adam's sin credited to all), representatively (as heads of families/nations), nationally (solidarity in national sin), and actually (committing the same sins). He emphasizes the need for corporate confession of sin, not just individual, citing biblical examples like Ezra and Daniel, and calls for repentance and revival.

Introduction and Review of Psalm 106 Structure

Weaver reviews the three-part structure of Psalm 106: invitation (vv. 1-5), confession (vv. 6-46), and solicitation (vv. 47-48). He recaps the four reasons for praise from the invitation section.

So it was not just a personal request. It was also for the nation as well.

The General Confession in Verse 6

We made a few mistakes. Well, we're only human. Well, we have our faults. No, he doesn't say anything like that. He says we have sinned. We have committed iniquity and we have done wickedly.

The Question: How Can We Sin with Our Fathers?

Weaver raises the central question: How could David, writing 450 years after the Exodus, claim to have sinned with his fathers? He introduces five answers.

Now, let me ask you a question. How is it possible to sin with your fathers when you were never even born? And yet, that's what the psalmist says. We have sinned with our fathers.

First Way: Seminally (In the Loins)

We sin with our fathers seminally because we were in their loins when they sinned. This is illustrated by Levi paying tithes in Abraham (Hebrews 7) and the continuity of family lines.

Second Way: Imputatively (By Imputation)

Adam's sin is imputed to all his posterity (Romans 5:12). Generational sins and curses demonstrate this imputation, as children often follow in their fathers' sinful footsteps.

Third Way: Representatively

Fourth Way: Nationally

There is a national solidarity in sin. Achan's sin affected all Israel (Joshua 7), and the sins of leaders like Manasseh brought judgment on the nation. We are implicated in our nation's sins.

Fifth Way: Actually (Committing the Same Sins)

We actually commit the same sins as our fathers, and often worse, because we sin against greater light and knowledge in Christ. We cannot blame our fathers alone; we are guilty ourselves.

The Need for Corporate Confession

Application and Closing Prayer

We've done wickedly. We've committed iniquity. Give us Your grace. In Christ's name we pray, Amen.

The Hallelujah of Confession - Part 2 of 16

John Weaver | SermonAudio

Lecture Metadata	Details
Speaker	John Weaver
Source	SermonAudio
Media ID	1130920705
Subject	Family Government
Course	The Christian Family: Children, Fatherhood, and Generational Faithfulness: The Family
Genre	Sermon
Date	2000-05-14
Dictation Name
Book	Book 053: The Hallelujah of Confession — Chapter 2
Source Timed Segments	90

Lecture Guide

Outline

Introduction and Review of Psalm 106 Structure: Weaver reviews the three-part structure of Psalm 106: invitation (vv. 1-5), confession (vv. 6-46), and solicitation (vv. 47-48). He recaps the four reasons for praise from the invitation section.
The General Confession in Verse 6: Verse 6 begins the confession section with a general, unexcused acknowledgment of sin: 'We have sinned, we have committed iniquity, we have done wickedly.' The repetition emphasizes the multitude and magnitude of sin.
The Question: How Can We Sin with Our Fathers?: Weaver raises the central question: How could David, writing 450 years after the Exodus, claim to have sinned with his fathers? He introduces five answers.
First Way: Seminally (In the Loins): We sin with our fathers seminally because we were in their loins when they sinned. This is illustrated by Levi paying tithes in Abraham (Hebrews 7) and the continuity of family lines.
Second Way: Imputatively (By Imputation): Adam's sin is imputed to all his posterity (Romans 5:12). Generational sins and curses demonstrate this imputation, as children often follow in their fathers' sinful footsteps.
Third Way: Representatively: We sin representatively because Adam was our representative head, and what he did, we did. This principle also applies to families and governments, where the actions of a head affect those under them.
Fourth Way: Nationally: There is a national solidarity in sin. Achan's sin affected all Israel (Joshua 7), and the sins of leaders like Manasseh brought judgment on the nation. We are implicated in our nation's sins.
Fifth Way: Actually (Committing the Same Sins): We actually commit the same sins as our fathers, and often worse, because we sin against greater light and knowledge in Christ. We cannot blame our fathers alone; we are guilty ourselves.
The Need for Corporate Confession: We must learn to confess not only our personal sins but also the sins of our families, churches, and nation. Biblical heroes like Ezra and Daniel modeled this corporate confession when seeking revival.
Application and Closing Prayer: Weaver calls for individual confession of national and corporate sins, urging repentance and seeking God's grace for revival. He leads a prayer confessing the sins of the nation and asking for awakening.

Major Themes

Key Arguments

We sin with our fathers seminally because we were in their loins.

Using Hebrews 7:9-10, Weaver argues that Levi paid tithes in Abraham because he was in Abraham's loins, establishing that descendants participate in ancestral actions, including sin.

Weaver says, 'If it is true that we participate in the good and righteous deeds of our fathers while we were yet in their loins, is it not equally true that we participate in their evil and wicked deeds?'

Adam's sin is imputed to all humanity, making all sinners from birth.

Romans 5:12 teaches that sin entered the world through one man, and death passed to all because all sinned in Adam. This imputation means even infants are born sinners.

Weaver states, 'Everyone comes in this world a sinner... That baby is a sinner.' He cites Romans 5:12 and the fact that death proves sinfulness.

Generational sins and curses demonstrate imputation and representation.

Exodus 34:7 shows God visiting iniquity to the third and fourth generation. Children often follow parental sins, and family heads bind their households to consequences, as with Achan (Joshua 7).

Weaver says, 'There are generational sins with generational curses... Achan's sin not only affected his family, it affected the nation.'

National solidarity means citizens share in national guilt and judgment.

The Bible treats nations as corporate entities. Achan's sin was counted as Israel's sin (Joshua 7:1), and Manasseh's sins led to national captivity (Jeremiah 15:4). Leaders' sins affect all.

Weaver argues, 'There is a national solidarity... God judges the people with the rulers.' He cites Joshua 7:1 and Jeremiah 15:4.

We actually commit the same sins as our fathers, often worse due to greater light.

1 Corinthians 10 warns against lust, idolatry, fornication, etc., showing that we repeat ancestral sins. With the fuller revelation in Christ, our sin is more heinous.

Weaver says, 'We've done the very things that our fathers have done... only worse... because we've sinned against light, truth, and knowledge.'

Corporate confession is necessary for revival, as modeled by Ezra and Daniel.

Ezra 9 and Daniel 9 show these men confessing the sins of the nation as their own, using plural language ('our iniquities'). This pattern is essential for seeking God's mercy.

Weaver notes, 'Ezra's not just saying, God, I'm a sinner... He said, God, it's not just me. It's my family. It's my group. It's my nation.'

Scripture References

Psalm 106:1-7: The primary text of the sermon, read at the beginning. Verses 1-5 are the invitation to praise, verse 6 the general confession, and verse 7 begins specific confessions.
1 Kings 8:47: Solomon's prayer of dedication for the temple uses similar confession language: 'We have sinned, we have done perversely, we have committed wickedness.'
1 Kings 6:1: Used to establish the timeline: the Exodus was 480 years before Solomon began the temple, placing David's psalm about 450 years after the Exodus.
Genesis 14:17-20: Abraham gives tithes to Melchizedek after the slaughter of the kings, setting up the argument in Hebrews 7 about Levi paying tithes in Abraham.
Hebrews 7:1-10: Explains that Levi, being in Abraham's loins, paid tithes to Melchizedek, illustrating seminal participation in ancestral actions.
Romans 4:11-12, 16-18: Abraham is called the father of all who believe, showing the continuity of faith and the principle of representation.
Genesis 13:15; 17:8; 22:18: God's promises to Abraham and his seed, which Paul interprets in Galatians 3 as referring to Christ, the true seed.
Galatians 3:14-16: Paul explains that the promises to Abraham's seed were made to Christ, establishing the representative link between Abraham and believers.
Matthew 1:1-2: The genealogy of Jesus traces back to Abraham, showing the physical and covenantal continuity.
Job 31:19-20: Job uses 'loins' to refer to children, illustrating the biblical idiom for descendants being in the loins of ancestors.
Romans 5:12: Sin entered the world through Adam, and death passed to all because all sinned—the foundational text for imputation of Adam's sin.
2 Corinthians 5:21: Christ was made sin for us so that we might become the righteousness of God, illustrating the imputation of our sins to Christ and His righteousness to us.
Exodus 34:5-7: God proclaims His name and character, including visiting iniquity to the third and fourth generation, establishing generational consequences of sin.
Joshua 24:19-20: Joshua warns that forsaking the Lord brings judgment, implying generational impact.
Ezekiel 18:20: The soul that sins shall die; the son shall not bear the father's iniquity. Weaver addresses this apparent contradiction by noting that when both participate in sin, both are condemned.
Joshua 6:18; 7:1, 19-26: Achan's sin is counted as Israel's sin, and his whole family perishes with him, illustrating national solidarity and representative headship.
2 Samuel 12:9-12: David's sin brings a curse on his house, showing that the head's sin affects the family and nation.
Leviticus 26:39-40: God says the people will pine away in their iniquities and the iniquities of their fathers, and they must confess both.
Jeremiah 3:25; 14:20: Jeremiah confesses the sins of the nation and their fathers, acknowledging national solidarity in sin.
Jeremiah 15:4: God says He will send Judah into captivity because of Manasseh's sins, demonstrating that a leader's sin brings national judgment.

Historical References

The Exodus (c. 1446 BC): Weaver dates the Exodus to approximately 1446 BC and notes that David reigned around 1010-970 BC, writing Psalm 106 about 450 years later.
David's reign (c. 1010-970 BC): David is identified as the author of Psalm 106, writing long after the events he confesses.
Solomon's temple construction (4th year of reign): 1 Kings 6:1 dates the start of the temple to 480 years after the Exodus, used to calculate the time between the Exodus and David.
Achan's sin and the battle of Ai: Achan's theft led to Israel's defeat at Ai, with 36 men killed, illustrating national solidarity in sin.
Absalom's rebellion and Ahithophel's counsel: The rebellion caused a civil war with 20,000-40,000 deaths, showing how the sins of a few affect the nation.
Manasseh's reign and its consequences: Manasseh's wickedness led to the Babylonian captivity, as stated in Jeremiah 15:4, demonstrating national judgment for a leader's sin.
Weaver's genealogical chart to 1620: Weaver shares a personal anecdote about receiving a genealogical chart tracing his family to 1620, illustrating continuity of family names and traits.

Important Quotes

We have sinned with our fathers. We've committed iniquity. We've done wickedly.

This is the central verse of the sermon, highlighting the unexcused, repetitive confession of sin that includes ancestral guilt.

There are absolutely no excuses. There are no extenuating circumstances mentioned. There's no pretension. There's no beating around the bush. He doesn't use euphemisms. He does not try to water things down.

Emphasizes the frank and genuine nature of true repentance, contrasting it with modern tendencies to minimize sin.

A repentant individual is always willing to freely and frankly confess and acknowledge their sins. An unrepentant individual is not willing to do that. He always wants to hide and he always wants to pretend.

Provides a practical test for genuine repentance, central to the sermon's call for confession.

If it is true that we participate in the good and righteous deeds of our fathers while we were yet in their loins, is it not equally true that we participate in their evil and wicked deeds when we're yet in their loins?

Key logical argument for seminal participation in ancestral sin, using the example of Levi in Abraham.

Everyone comes in this world a sinner. And when you look at that cute little baby lying there and you say he's so sweet and innocent, that's not true. That baby is a sinner.

A provocative statement of the doctrine of original sin, challenging humanistic views of innocence.

When we allow our leaders to sin and rebel against God openly and we do nothing, God judges the people with the rulers.

Summarizes the principle of national solidarity and citizen responsibility, applied to contemporary America.

We have to learn to confess not just our sins, but our family's sins, our church's sins, and our nation's sins.

The practical application of the entire sermon, calling for corporate confession modeled after biblical heroes.

We've sinned with our fathers. We've committed iniquity. We've done wickedly. We must seek the Lord for His grace, His mercy, and His forgiveness.

The concluding call to action, tying the sermon's theme back to the text and urging repentance.

Discussion Questions

[Question]

In what ways does the concept of 'sinning with our fathers' challenge our modern individualistic mindset?

[Context]

Weaver argues that we are connected to ancestral sins seminally, imputatively, representatively, nationally, and actually. How does this affect our view of personal responsibility?

[Question]

How should the doctrine of original sin (imputation of Adam's sin) influence our understanding of human nature and the need for salvation?

[Context]

Weaver states that even infants are sinners because of Adam's imputed sin. Discuss the implications for evangelism and parenting.

[Question]

What are some examples of generational sins or patterns you have observed in families or churches, and how can they be broken?

[Context]

Weaver mentions that children often follow in their parents' footsteps. How can confession and repentance break these cycles?

[Question]

In what ways are we complicit in the sins of our nation, and what does it look like to confess those sins?

[Context]

Weaver says we sin nationally when we allow leaders to rebel against God without opposition. How can we practice national confession today?

[Question]

How do the prayers of Ezra and Daniel serve as models for our own prayer lives, especially in times of national decay?

[Context]

Weaver highlights Ezra 9 and Daniel 9 as examples of corporate confession. What elements of their prayers can we incorporate?

[Question]

Why is it important to avoid blaming previous generations entirely for our sins, and how does Jeremiah 31:29-30 balance this?

[Context]

Weaver notes that we actually commit the same sins and cannot just blame our fathers. How do we hold both corporate and individual guilt in tension?

[Question]

What practical steps can a church take to foster a culture of corporate confession and repentance?

[Context]

Weaver calls for confessing church sins. How might this be implemented in corporate worship or small groups?

Applications

Format deepseek deepseek-v4-pro structured study JSON | Source Commentary.net transcript enrichment

deepseek | deepseek-v4-pro | weaver_study | 2026-06-06T15:12:50Z