Port City Faith Church
Sunday Morning - February 15th, 2026
  • Your Love Never Fails
  • You Are My King (Amazing Love)
  • How He Loves
  • We have been looking at the Attributes of God that he claimed for himself
    How God Describes himself
    Exodus 34:6–7 ESV
    The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation.”
    We have explored God’s mercy and grace, having mercy on those who repent, and giving Grace to those who follow HIM
    We looked at God being slow to anger - or long nostriled, that he is patient, and keeps giving people another chance to repent
    we have looked at his steadfast loyal love, that he keeps his promises to those who he has chosen
    we have explored his faithfulness - or truthfulness, that everything he says is true, that it is Amen.
    we looked at his forgiveness of guilt, and brokenness, and failures, by taking those things upon himself.
    today we explore the last attribute, and it in not named, but rather implied by what the text says
    “He will by no means clear the guilt, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children to the third and fourth generations.”
    In other words God is a just judge.
    After reading about several attritubutes of God’s character, grace, mercy, patience, love, faithfulness, forgiveness, all of which seem to be making it easier for people to approach God, he reminds us that he is also just, and cannot let guilt go unpunished.
    And the hebrew of this section is odd, its hard to translate,
    for one the words “the guilty” are not found in the hebrew. they are implied, by the other words that are there, but when translated into english they had to be added in to make sense of what was being said.
    if i were to translate it literally it would read almost like this. And in holding blameless He will NOT hold them blameless, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon their children.
    It is a case of the doubling effect in hebrew, like when you read a passage like they were extremely joyful - it is joyfully they were joyful , or they wept bitterly - weeping they wept.
    But here the doubling aspect is interrupted with the word NO. so we say He will by no means hold them blameless.
    So God will judge the guilty who do not repent.
    but then we have the really challenging part
    visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children to the 3rd and fourth generation.
    Many people read this verse and it sounds unjust. God is punishing the children for their father’s sin - That is unjust, God even says so Deut 34:7
    Deuteronomy 24:16 ESV
    “Fathers shall not be put to death because of their children, nor shall children be put to death because of their fathers. Each one shall be put to death for his own sin.
    Ezekiel 18:20 ESV
    The soul who sins shall die. 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.
    So why does God visit the iniquity of the fathers upon their children?
    It is not a generational curse, as some try to say.
    It is because of how families and houses were structured.
    The word Iniquity in hebrew can mean both guilt, and the punishment of the guilty
    People used to live much closer together, families used to be bigger, and several generation used to stay in a single house.
    in the ancient middle east, the eldest male was the “Father” of the household, and all his children, grandchildren, younger brothers, nieces and nephews, lived in the household under his guidance.
    if he had his first child at age 20, and then his child had a child at age 20, and so on, then the man would be a grandfather at age 40, and a great-grandfather at age 60, and in exceptionally rare cases a great-great-grandfather around age 80.
    So it was incredibly common for 3-4 and sometimes even 5 generations to be represented in a single household.
    What God is saying here is that the consequences of one’s action affect all those around them.
    When we sin it doesn’t just hurt us, it hurts everyone around us.
    This was illustrated perfectly in Numbers 16:1-5
    Numbers 16:1–5 ESV
    Now Korah the son of Izhar, son of Kohath, son of Levi, and Dathan and Abiram the sons of Eliab, and On the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took men. And they rose up before Moses, with a number of the people of Israel, 250 chiefs of the congregation, chosen from the assembly, well-known men. They assembled themselves together against Moses and against Aaron and said to them, “You have gone too far! For all in the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the Lord is among them. Why then do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the Lord?” When Moses heard it, he fell on his face, and he said to Korah and all his company, “In the morning the Lord will show who is his, and who is holy, and will bring him near to him. The one whom he chooses he will bring near to him.
    The Israelites have been wandering in the wilderness for a few years at this point,
    and one of the Levites, and several of the Reubenites Challenge Moses’s authority.
    And they make a claim that might actually make some sense: God chose all of ISrael, we should be more democratic in how we choose leaders,
    But they ignored the fact that God specifically chose Moses, and God really only speaks to Moses.
    So Moses prays to God, and tells Korah, gather everyone together, and God will show whom He has set apart.
    Numbers 16:19–34 ESV
    Then Korah assembled all the congregation against them at the entrance of the tent of meeting. And the glory of the Lord appeared to all the congregation. And the Lord spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying, “Separate yourselves from among this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment.” And they fell on their faces and said, “O God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, shall one man sin, and will you be angry with all the congregation?” And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Say to the congregation, Get away from the dwelling of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.” Then Moses rose and went to Dathan and Abiram, and the elders of Israel followed him. And he spoke to the congregation, saying, “Depart, please, from the tents of these wicked men, and touch nothing of theirs, lest you be swept away with all their sins.” So they got away from the dwelling of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. And Dathan and Abiram came out and stood at the door of their tents, together with their wives, their sons, and their little ones. And Moses said, “Hereby you shall know that the Lord has sent me to do all these works, and that it has not been of my own accord. If these men die as all men die, or if they are visited by the fate of all mankind, then the Lord has not sent me. But if the Lord creates something new, and the ground opens its mouth and swallows them up with all that belongs to them, and they go down alive into Sheol, then you shall know that these men have despised the Lord.” And as soon as he had finished speaking all these words, the ground under them split apart. And the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up, with their households and all the people who belonged to Korah and all their goods. So they and all that belonged to them went down alive into Sheol, and the earth closed over them, and they perished from the midst of the assembly. And all Israel who were around them fled at their cry, for they said, “Lest the earth swallow us up!”
    When they gather, God himself appears and speaks to everyone. and he warns the people to get away from Korah and the other rebels, because he will consume them.
    and many of the people listen.
    Except the families of the rebels, who stay with their fathers.
    Their wives, their sons, and their little ones (grandchildren)
    THen Moses to make sure everyone understands it is a sign from God asks God to do something new,
    have the ground open up and swallow the rebels.
    And it does, and it says it pulls them straight into Sheol - the realm of the dead, though they were alive.
    Korah and his rebels, their households (to the 3rd or 4th generation) and all of their belongings are destroyed because of the sins of the fathers
    But there is an interesting detail we see later in Scripture, in the books of Chronicles and most prevalently in the psalms.
    Psalm 42:title–1 ESV
    To the choirmaster. A Maskil of the Sons of Korah. As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God.
    Look who this psalm is written by
    The Sons of Korah,
    See back in numbers it is said the rebels Dathan and Abiram had their families with them, It does not mention Korah’s family.
    Which means that the Sons of Korah realized their father was in the wrong, and rather than stay loyal to their father in his sin like the families of Dathan and Abiram, they left their father alone to face his guilt before God.
    They loved God more than they loved their father.
    and their descendants would go on to be appointed by King David to write many of the Psalms.
    So when someone sins, they sometimes drag those around them down as well, but those who love God are spared from judgement.
    So what does Jesus require? That we love him more than our own family.
    Matthew 10:34–39 ESV
    “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a person’s enemies will be those of his own household. Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
    If we Love Jesus more than our own families, more than those close to us, more than our own lives, if we are willing to follow him to the cross because of our love for him, he will not allow us to be caught up in the judgment of those around us.
    and Church this is hard to do.
    Its hard to love Jesus more than your parents, your spouse, your children.
    It’s hard to love Jesus at the cost of your own life.
    But in loving Jesus more, you find that it becomes easier to love your family more, and to love yourself more.
    And just as God shows how the consequences of sin can wreck an entire family, Love and obedience to Him can echo through eternity.
    Exodus 20:4–6 ESV
    “You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.
    See what it comes down to church, is whether you love God or hate Him.
    If you love God he upholds you, he keeps you safe, he brings blessings on your life, he secures the future of your family.
    By loving God more, you are showing the greatest love for your family
    If you hate God, he will destroy you, and in your hatred you will bring your families and close friends with you.
    By hating God you are hating your family.
    When Jesus was about to be crucified, this happened:
    Matthew 27:24–25 ESV
    So when Pilate saw that he was gaining nothing, but rather that a riot was beginning, he took water and washed his hands before the crowd, saying, “I am innocent of this man’s blood; see to it yourselves.” And all the people answered, “His blood be on us and on our children!”
    In their hatred of Jesus, the crowd of the Jews cried out a curse upon themselves. And their Children dearly paid the price.
    Now some people use this to say that the jews today still bear the guilt of Jesus’s death, that is not true. Judgement upon the jews came around 70 AD. 40 years after Jesus’s death.
    In their hatred of God, they dragged their families into punishment.
    But what about God’s Justice?
    Is it just I will bless those who love me and punish those who hate me?
    No. Rather in seeking to bring forgiveness to those who Love God,
    to give Mercy to those who repent, Grace to those who Follow Him, to have patience with us mortals and give us second and third and fourth chances, to show steadfast love to those who he has chosen, to be faithful to his own promises to redeem the nations, to forgive us of our guilt, our brokenness, and our failure
    God placed our punishment upon Jesus, His Son.
    He suffered the punishment for us.
    So that God can forgive and bless those who love Him,
    But those who hate him will be destroyed.

      • Exodus 34:6–7ESV

      • Deuteronomy 24:16ESV

      • Ezekiel 18:20ESV

      • Numbers 16:1–5ESV

      • Numbers 16:19–34ESV

      • Psalm 42:title–1ESV

      • Matthew 10:34–39ESV

      • Exodus 20:4–6ESV

      • Matthew 27:24–25ESV

  • One Thing Remains (Your Love Never Fails)
Port City Faith Church
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