Let me put this into a more practical example, because a lot of confusion exists regarding what I'm talking about. I'll offer a creative example that I hope will help some understand what I mean when discussing confessing and repenting of ancestral sin...
Here's a short story about a man we'll call, Frank. Hopefully it will better illustrate what I'm talking about...
It was two years ago that Frank came to Christ and was born again. His wife and kids soon followed suit and were also born again. He lives a Christian life and walks in the power of the Holy Spirit. His community is divided along racial lines. Racial tension is high. Black on white and white on black crime is common in his community. His father is dying in Hospice. He receives the call that the time of passing will be soon. He holds his father's hand as he passes.
After all the arrangements and funeral are passed, Frank, his wife, and his two brothers are sorting through his father's things. In an old chest in the attic he discovers some photo albums. Old photos are found throughout. Black and white, faces and names he's never known. Except one, his great grandfather. And then he sees it... his great grandfather wearing a KKK uniform... with his grandfather (a little boy) saluting the banners of the Klan. As he continues through the albums, a couple pictures of his grandfather (now a young man) attending and even speaking at KKK functions are found. He is shocked. This is something he never knew. Oh, he knew his father voiced racist opinions over the dinner table at times, or made racial slurs under his breath at the television on occasion, but he never knew that his grandfather and great grandfather were members of the KKK. Clippings of a tragic lynching that took the lives of three "negros" are tucked in the page where pictures of his great grandfather in KKK uniform are found with a hand written note in ink that reads, "And I'd do it again." The snippet of newspaper mentions that there were no convictions. After looking more deeply into it and contacting a local chapter of the KKK he discovers that indeed, his great grandfather was an active Klansman and was involved in the tragic lynching that took three young African American lives, and that his grandfather was a local organizer for protests supporting segregation. Images of his family's legacy of hate haunt his mind. The burning crosses, the black and white photo in the old newspaper clipping of three chard bodies hanging from a tree. He feels sick to his stomach. Upon entering the living room where his wife is watching the news he's greatly troubled by a news story... two black Apostolic churches were vandalized by white supremists over the weekend. He can feel the spirits of hatred and violence in the air, spirits his fathers gave themselves over to.
That night he lays in bed contemplating his family's legacy of hate. Why? This side of his grandfather and great grandfather is something alien to him. He remembers family reunions, cookouts, and birthday parties that were filled with laughter, love, and warmth. This dark side of his fathers is so troubling to him. He goes down stairs to get some milk and sits in his chair and picks up his Bible. He randomly opens the Bible and begins reading, hoping to get his mind off this dark discovery...
Exodus 34:6-7 English Standard Version (ESV)
6 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, 7 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.”
He begins weeping. He feels the shame of his family's history in the Klan. He prays, "but who will by no means clear the guilty" replays in his mind. And as clear as day, he feels the Holy Spirit begin to speak to his heart about what he must do.
The next morning he gathers his family in the living room and his wife has "the look" that basically says, "What is this all about Frank?" With his wife and kids seated, he says, "Look, I have something to tell everyone here, and it isn't pretty. In fact, it's horrible. I discovered something about our family..." He launches into explaining what he found in his father's attic, the newspaper clippings, the involvement his grandfather in the KKK, and the involvement his great grandfather had in the lynching. His kids are stunned,
"The KKK?", they ask...
"Yes, the KKK, Robert."
"But dad, we don't hate black people."
"Of course we don't, son. Jesus teaches us to love our neighbors as ourselves, without exception."
"Why are you telling this to us?"
"Because I feel God calling me to approach our pastor and city hall and have a community reconciliation prayer breakfast."
"Frank, they've done that before.", his wife chimes in.
"I know, but we have the Holy Ghost, I feel like something will change."
Three months later, the prayer breakfast begins. People from all over the community are in attendance, black, white, every color under the sun are present. As the organizer of the event, Frank takes the mic. After introducing himself and his family and beginning with standard opening remarks, he says...
"So, I'm sure you're wondering why I organized yet another reconciliation prayer breakfast for our community. Several months ago, I discovered something about my family history that tore my soul up inside. After my father passed, I was going through his things and...." Frank then launches into explaining his discovery, and how shocked he was to find that his family was involved in the local KKK, and how his own great grandfather and grandfather were involved in the historic lynching of that is burned in the memories of his small town. With tears stream down, he shares the Scripture he found the night the Lord spoke to him,
Exodus 34:6-7 English Standard Version (ESV)
6 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, 7 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.”
And he says,
"I want to repent before God for my family's involvement in the racial divide in our community. And I want to invite everyone here to pray with me, bringing whatever sin, known and unknown, committed by us and/or our fathers that may have contributed to the strife and hatred that is tearing our community apart. I'll give you a moment of silence to think of what you have to lay before the Lord.... now pray with me."
As he prays and weeps before God others are reaching to their neighbors and taking them by the hands as they pray. Whites and blacks, repenting of any sinful wickedness that has contributed to the hatred and strife in their community, committed by themselves or those generations before them. There is weeping, some are sobbing. Some of different races have embraced, praying for one another, pleading for forgiveness. Forgiveness, assurance of acceptance, commitment to heal the community, all these sentiments can be heard as people pray together.
That morning, a coalition was formed to meet regularly to talk about current events with a focus on racial healing on the local public access station called, "Ebony and Ivory". An effort to raise funds for a peace memorial was launched soon after to immortalize the community's church's coming together to repent before God for any sin committed by themselves or their ancestors that has contributed to the hatred that is tearing their community apart. Four churches formed a committee to investigate starting a youth center that focuses on sports, recreation, non-violent conflict resolution. The land where the lynching took place was dedicated by a private owner to be the location for the racial peace memorial. Two ministers who serve as chaplains commit to serving their local police force, providing chaplain services and an emphasis on helping law enforcement reach across the racial divide in proactive and constructive ways. A college fund was even started for minority children, named in honor of the victims that were lynched two generations ago. And a community program wherein white churches and black churches adopt a church of the opposite race as a "sister church", with churches both white and black are invited to all events of the sister church.
The Holy Spirit moved through this saint of God into the lives of those who don't even have a full understanding of truth, and through a spirit of humility and repentance, the racial healing in their community began.
Frank's son watched it all happen. His dad cutting the banner at the peace memorial, his father speaking to various community groups on healing the present... through taking responsibility for the sins of past generations. His father seeking donors for the college fund that has now helped put a number of minority kids through college. Frank's son watched over the years as even their church became more racially diverse. Frank's passion was love and racial harmony. Eventually, Frank was voted to be installed as the pastor of their church. And one day after nearly four decades of ministering to this community, on a cold December night... Frank passed peacefully in his sleep. Early next Spring, Robert watched as the as the community honored his father's memory, and named a local bridge after his dad in memory of his father's passion for building bridges across the racial divide.
Now, Frank didn't eliminate racism. However, Frank made a difference that impacted many families in his community. Frank righted the wrongs of his fathers.
Now, imagine if Frank just said, "Oh well, I don't have any responsibility with regards to the sins of my fathers. It's all about me, and I'm good." Would he not be guilty of failing to do righteously and right the wrongs of his fathers, when it was within his power to do so?
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