Can a believer in Yahushua who is forgiven of their sins be cursed or be under a curse because of something they've done?

Answer From The Annual Reading Schedule - Week 47 Notes For Deuteronomy: As long as a person is still a forgiven and cleansed disciple of Yahushua, I do not believe they can be cursed or be under any curses either. If we did not have the blood of Yahushua to cleanse us from our sins or if we forsook Yahushua and went back into the world and never repented and never came back to Yahushua, then yes, a curse could come upon us or the things due to a curse could come upon us. However, as long as the blood of Yahushua is covering over all of our sins, there is nothing that we have done that is reckoned against us and therefore no cause for a curse to come either. If you are forgiven of all of your sins, then on what basis could a curse for sinning come upon you?

However, that doesn't mean we may never encounter things such as death, disease, barren wombs, fears, or other things that come upon those who have curses or are under a curse. The difference, for us who are covered by the blood of Yahushua, is that if we are permitted to encounter these things it is not due to a curse that is upon us or a curse that we are under, but rather may be due to other things.

For example, Mosheh (Moses) died earlier than he otherwise would have had to as a punishment for hitting the rock rather than speaking to the rock because he did not believe. In Numbers 20:8 Mosheh was commanded to speak to the rock, but in Numbers 20:11 Mosheh instead hit the rock. Yahweh said to Mosheh in Numbers 20:12 it was because he did not believe Him. This resulted in Mosheh dying earlier than he otherwise would have as stated in Deuteronomy 32:49-52. We know Mosheh died earlier than he otherwise would have because Deuteronomy 34:7 shows us that Mosheh was in good physical condition and health when he died. So his death was not due to his health or physical condition, but, rather, was a punishment for not believing and obeying Yahweh.

Was his death the result of a curse? No – it was the result of a punishment. Punishment is not equivalent to curse, and we need to distinguish between punishments given to forgiven children of Yahweh and punishments to those who are cursed or under curses. For example, if a parent spanks their child, they are not cursing their child, they are punishing them. So a punishment is not equivalent to a curse, and we should not view them as the same thing.

Similarly, while Mosheh's death was not due to a curse, sicknesses or a barren womb, or other things could happen in the life of someone who is forgiven by Yahweh because of other reasons. We see, for example, women such as Sarah (Genesis 11:30), Rivqah (Rebecca) (Genesis 25:21), Rachel (Genesis 29:31), Shimshon's (Samson's) Mother (Judges 13), and Channah (Hannah) the Mother of the prophet Shemu'el (1 Samuel 1) were all barren for a time, which shows that there are other reasons besides curses that Yahweh can permit a woman to be barren. Similarly, we see in John 9 an example where someone was born blind not due to sin, but simply to manifest the works of Elohiym. In addition, we see the thorn in the flesh, some physical ailment which many believe to be related to the eyes, was permitted for Sha'ul (Paul/Paulus) the disciple of Yahushua in 2 Corinthians 12:7-10 to help keep Sha'ul from exalting himself more than he should. In other words, it helped him remain humble.

In addition, we see the early death of a child in 1 Kings 14 was actually because there was something GOOD found in the child (1 Kings 14:13). The summary of that chapter is that the King of the northern 10 tribes, Yarov'am (Jeroboam), had not obeyed Yahweh and therefore Yahweh was going to destroy his entire household. However, because Yahweh found something good in one of his children, that child died earlier than everyone else and was therefore given a proper burial. The result of the others was that they would not be given a proper burial – instead they would have their bodies eaten by dogs and birds (1 Kings 14:11). So actually, in this case, an early death was an act of mercy and kindness to ensure a proper burial.

Some argue that death itself is a curse, but I think we see with the case of Mosheh death was not a curse but a punishment. Similarly, if you read closely in Genesis 3 you will notice Yahweh did not tell the man or the woman they were cursed. He said the serpent was cursed, He said the ground was cursed, but he never said to the man or woman that they were cursed. The blessing upon them was first given already in Genesis 1:28.

It doesn't matter if someone tries to curse us either. We see in Numbers 22-24 that Yahweh can turn a curse into a blessing. Ultimately, the only curses that can stand or come upon someone are only if Yahweh permits it. Yahweh is the one who decides who is blessed and who is cursed and who can have ramifications of a curse come upon them. In fact, one of the reasons Yahushua was sent was to bless us (Acts 3:26). This is part of fulfillment of Genesis 12:3. This is reconfirmed in Galatians 3 that we are not declared right by our works and therefore not under any curses either.

The simple explanation of Galatians 3 related to curses is this: If you are forgiven for all of your sins, then what cause is there for a curse to come upon you? It is written in Proverbs 26:2 that a curse without cause does not come. Since our sins are forgiven, there is no cause left for any curse to come upon us. Any curse that could have come upon us was borne by Yahushua on the stake/tree in his death. As it is written: "But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our crookednesses. The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed" (Isaiah 53:5). This is part of the Good News of Yahushua!!!!!!!

I also don't understand how someone could say someone is cursed, but also blessed. To me, that's confusing and I don't see any Scriptural examples where someone is referred to as both blessed and cursed in the same instance.

In addition, I'd like to point out that just because forgiven and cleansed disciples of Yahushua can't be cursed or be under a curse, that doesn't mean we should break the laws of Yahweh. It is very clear that disciples of Yahushua are expected to follow the laws just as Yahushua followed the laws. Breaking the laws = sinning (1 John 3:4) and we are to repent (turn away from sinning) and go and sin no more (John 8:11).

Also, I'd like to point out that while WE (forgiven disciples of Yahushua) can't be cursed or under any curses, objects we own might still have curses upon them. For example, it is written: Deuteronomy 7:25-26 – "The carved images of their mighty ones you are to burn with fire. Do not covet the silver or gold that is on them, nor take it for yourselves, lest you be snared by it, for it is an abomination to Yahweh your Elohiym. And do not bring an abomination into your house, lest you be accursed like it. Utterly loathe it and utterly hate it, for it is accursed."

Now, it should be noted that this word "accursed" is from the Hebrew word "cheirem" חֵרֶם also translated as "devoted" or "dedicated" in Leviticus 27:21, but as you can see some translations translate it here in Deuteronomy 7:26 as "accursed". In any event, it seems possible that certain items may have curses on them or be considered "cursed" objects, such as, possibly, carved images or other similar things such as dolls, stuffed animals, action figures, statues, etc. and maybe others. I would consider that a possibility even if this word here in Deuteronomy 7:26 is "dedicated" rather than "accursed". It's possible this word means "dedicated", generally speaking, and may be understood as something either dedicated or devoted for destruction (an accursed object), or something dedicated for a good purpose (the field in Leviticus 27:21). In any event, carved images, etc., to my understanding, would be considered abominations and therefore should be removed from our homes. If the person who has authority over the home, whether it be the homeowner or the man of the house who runs the family that lives there, knows that such items are wrong and they refuse to remove them, perhaps sometimes ramifications for not removing them could happen.

For example, I know a young man who believes in Yahushua that was living in a home with a family member who owned the home, and someone else who lived there that was the "man of the house". The young man, only a few years in this walk of observing the Torah (Law), was digging through the garage through belongings of his own from his childhood and getting rid of things. He found a cub scouts book which talked about magic and trashed that. He found some statues from baseball and other trophies and trashed those. He found and trashed various other things.

Then, he saw there in the garage, 2-3 ft. tall Christmas-related statues and because he felt like he needed to act, he took the uncertain step of determining although they weren't his things he was going to attempt to have them trashed by placing them in the trash cans or simply directly at the curb.

After placing them at the curb, the others in the house found out what he was attempting to do and instead of letting the items get trashed they called up the person who owned them to come and get them and removed them from the curb, bringing them back on the property until they would be picked up. The young man tried to protest saying, "Don't bring them back! You'll bring a curse on this house!" But his attempts to stop them from keeping or giving the items away were not heeded by the man of the house who had authority there.

Within the next year, the house was foreclosed on.

Could these events be related? I wouldn't rule it out. If we know something is wrong and should be removed, then we should remove it for certain if we have authority over that area. However, if we're not the person in authority then there's only so much we can do. Each situation should be taken on a case by case basis. Sometimes, a person might feel led to get rid of something and may be able to do so without ramifications, but other times a person might not feel led to do so if they aren't in a position of authority, and in that case I'm not sure they would be held responsible since technically they don't have authority over that living area.

Technically, the person in authority of an area would be the one responsible to get out anything that is displeasing in the eyes of Yahweh and make the call when to act. It's also debatable when or if a person should get rid of others' items they don't own as some might consider that stealing? I'm not 100% certain when or if a person should or should not act when the items in question are not their own and when they have no authority over the area where the item is being stored.

The summary of all that is this: If you have authority over a living area, whether it be just a room or an entire house or apartment, exercise the authority you have to get rid of any and all abominations because some items might be cursed items.

Yahushua died to cleanse us, not pigs, and we should not eat pork. Pigs are still unclean. Yahushua did not die to cleanse pigs. Similarly, Yahushua died to free us from the curses that happen for breaking the laws, not idols and abominations, and we should not keep abominations in our areas in which we have authority over. Carved images and likenesses of a 3D nature (except for those specifically permitted or commanded by Yahweh), to my understanding, are still abominations. Yahushua did not die to free idols from being cursed. Cursed objects could still be cursed. We are the ones who are freed from the curses.

So while we are not cursed, or under any curses, that doesn't mean there are no objects or items which might be cursed items. If we know what's good for us, we'll get rid of the things that displease Yahweh. Yahweh have mercy on us all!!!!!!!

I hope to do a longer study on blessings and curses to put on the website, but for now this is a brief summary of my findings – that forgiven disciples of Yahushua are not under any curses and cannot be cursed either. They can have punishments, chastisements, encounter ramifications of their own sins, struggles, trials, challenges, or things permitted to help refine them and help them grow, but that doesn't mean they are cursed or under a curse. Forgiven and cleansed disciples of Yahushua are blessed, not cursed. Praise Yahweh for that!!!!!!!