Patheos

BuddhistCatholicContemplativeEvangelicalGeneral ChristianHinduJewishLatter-day SaintMuslimNew VisionsProgressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Patheos

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos Patheos on Facebook Patheos on YouTube

Christian Crier

Can Christians Have A Spell Or Curse Put On Them?

Last updated on: April 26, 2017 at 5:00 am   by Jack Wellman

Can Christians Have A Spell Or Curse Put On Them? 2017-04-12T16:05:15-05:00 Jack Wellman

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Does the Bible say Christians can be put under a spell or curse?

Who is Cursed?

I cannot count the times when people have said they were worried about someone putting a spell on them or they have been cursed by someone and are afraid that their family lives under a generational curse. The Bible does say a lot about curses and blessings but not in the way we might think. Because Satan deceived Eve and tempted Adam and Eve to sin, he was cursed from that day forward (Gen 3:14), and so was the ground from that point on (Gen 3:17), so even inanimate objects can be cursed, but the greatest worry anyone has about curses is to reject the only name by which they can be saved (Acts 4:12), but if a person has been born again, there is nothing that can ever separate them from God again (Rom 8:35) because the sin that had previously separated them from God is gone (Isaiah 59:2). The Bible does say that children who curse their parents bring a curse upon themselves (Ex 21:17), and part of that curse relates to their physical existence on the earth, or as Moses wrote, “that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you” (Ex 20:12), so obviously we can bring curses upon ourselves, but does this mean others can put a curse on us or put us under a spell?

Cursed-is-everyone-who

Generational Curses

One place that people cite about their belief in generational curses is Deuteronomy 28:15 where it says, “if you will not obey the voice of the Lord your God or be careful to do all his commandments and his statutes that I command you today, then all these curses shall come upon you and overtake you,” but what are “these curses” God is speaking about? It is pestilence, disease, drought, blight, mildew, and a host of other problems (Deut 28:17-24), however, this is actually cause and effect; obey God and be blessed or disobey God and be cursed. If they do well they will be blessed but if they do evil, all sorts of problems would plague them, them being ancient Israel, and this is not part of the Mosaic Law or as applying only to ancient Israel. These are universal principles; following God’s Word will naturally produce good, even if bad things happen (Rom 8:28), but disobeying God, as in rejecting Jesus Christ, even the good they do will work against them and bring such a severe curse as to be indescribable (Rev 20:12-15; 21:8), however Deuteronomy 28 does not mean all following generations are permanently cursed and all their descendants are without hope. They cite Deuteronomy 28 but neglect to read what comes before that: “Fathers shall not be put to death for their sons, nor shall sons be put to death for their fathers; everyone shall be put to death for his own sin” (Deut 24:16), and as if to clarify the previous verse, Ezekiel wrote, “The son shall not suffer for the iniquity of the father, nor the father suffer for the iniquity of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself” (Ezk 18:20).

Spells

What about spells? Can people have spells put on them? If so, what about Christians? First of all, we know that God says “one who casts a spell, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead” (Deut 18:11) is an abomination to Him. King Solomon was obviously not impressed by spells as He wrote that honor for a fool is not fitting and is just “Like a sparrow in its flitting, like a swallow in its flying, a curse that is causeless does not alight” (Prov 26:1). When God’s righteous Judgment Day comes for the world, as represented by Babylon, God says “They will come on you in full measure. In spite of your many sorceries, In spite of the great power of your spells” as if to mock them and their “power” (Isaiah 47:9). I can find no evidence in the Bible where a Christian was put under a spell by another person or placed under a curse. The greatest injustice or curse ever was put upon Christ for our sake, but it came from God and not man, and as it was written, “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree” (Gal 3:13), where the Apostle Paul was quoting the Old Testament (Deut 21:23). He became a curse for our sake that deserved the curse and not the blessing of eternal life. Amazing!

Conclusion

These things remind me a lot of the posts where if you click “like” then God will do this, as if God is a quid quo pro God. If you do this, then He must do that. Isn’t that a little like a bribe? That is not how God works. What He does promise is that for all who repent and believe in Christ, they will be saved, and even if they die, they will live again (John 11:25-26),but they don’t have to do anything….because it’s already been done by Jesus Christ (John 3:16; Rom 5:6-10). What is so amazing about God’s grace is that it is infinitely priceless and something all the world’s wealth couldn’t buy, yet it comes free to us who believe and without merit (Eph 2:8-9), although we must realize it did not come free to God.

Article by Jack Wellman

Jack Wellman is Pastor of the Mulvane Brethren Church in Mulvane Kansas. Jack is also host of Spiritual Fitness and Senior Writer at What Christians Want To Know whose mission is to equip, encourage, and energize Christians and to address questions about the believer’s daily walk with God and the Bible. You can follow Jack on Google Plus or check out his book Teaching Children the Gospel available on Amazon.

Bible Answers

Blessings

Curse

Curses

Spell

Previous Post



April 24, 2017

How Christians Should React To Persecution And Hate

Next Post



April 28, 2017 How Can A Christian Glorify God At Work?


Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Bible Answers Bible Definitions Bible Story Bible Study Bible Verses Christian Books Christian Entertainment Christian Fathers Christian Mothers Christian Quotes Devotional Famous Christians Music News Parables Prayers Quotes Sunday School Lesson Uncategorized Youth Sermons

Select a Month October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013


Follow Us!

Follow Us on Facebook



TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Which two apostles went up to the temple at the "hour of prayer" and healed a lame man in Acts 3?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Peter and John James and Jude Paul and Barnabas Philip and Stephen

Related posts from Christian Crier

Evangelical

What Does The Bible Say About Our Thoughts?

Christian Crier

Evangelical

Do Colors Have Special Meaning In The Bible?

Christian Crier

Evangelical

The Glass – Half Empty Or Half Full?

Christian Crier

Evangelical

Soup, Soap And Salvation

Christian Crier

TRENDING AT PATHEOS Evangelical

How the author of the world's best hymn...

I've been working with John Newton for a while now. This makes...

Psalm 130 | Lectio Divina

Long before this Lectio Divina, Psalm 130 - the song - started...

What About the Trees? Another Living Parable

After I finished writing the last article about falling leaves as a...

Why Classical Education Is a Conversation, Not a...

Come and Read: Joy in Classical Education When I was a little...

Falling Leaves: A Living Parable on Letting Go

I’ve spent the vast majority of my life in the southeast corner...

What Happened at Cornell?

Cornell University has received a great deal of negative publicity and intense...

view all Evangelical blogs

Patheos on Facebook Patheos on YouTube

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Copyright 2008-2026, Patheos. All rights reserved.

Subscription Support Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In

Follow Patheos Patheos on Facebook Patheos on YouTube