Breaking Free From Bondage

We have been speaking to you about setting men free (releasing) from trespasses and offences. Today I want to talk to you about how to break free from the spiritual bondage of the devil.

We don’t talk much about spiritual deliverance. There are some in the Christian community that either don’t know they are bound or believe that it’s even possible for evil spirits to oppress or take possession of believers. Others suspect that they’re under the demonic oppression, but don’t know how to break free. Today we’re going to explore whether it’s possible for believers to be bound by unclean spirits and how believers can break free from them if they are.

CAN BELIEVERS BE IN BONDANGE?

Can an unclean spirit dwell in the same temple (body) as the Holy Spirit? Many would say, NO. If an unclean spirit is dwelling in a person, then that person’s body (temple) would by definition be unclean. Moreover, the Bible says, “God’s Spirit cannot dwell in an unclean temple.”

That’s the answer you might hear from most Christians in regard to whether or not believers can have an evil spirit dwelling in them. First, the statement, “God’s Spirit cannot dwell in an unclean temple” is not in the Bible. The only place any statement like that can be found is in the Mormon Bible.

The Book of Alma 7:21 – “And he [God] doth not dwell in unholy temples; neither can filthiness or anything which is unclean be received into the kingdom of God;

So the statement “God doesn’t dwell in unclean temples” is not in the Bible, and for good reason—because it’s unbiblical. The Jews had a similar belief. They believed that it was impossible for a Jew to be “bound” by anything because they were Abraham’s seed.

They were claiming freedom by birth. Yet, Jesus insisted that if anyone who continually committed sin was in bondage (servant) to sin.

The truth is, God dwells in our spirits, and not our bodies. If we compare the human body to a temple (which the Bible does), the spirit of man would be equal to the Most Holy Place. Nothing unclean could enter into this area without being struck down.

The other areas of the temple, however, were not as protected. For example, unclean persons could enter into the Holy Place (soul) and the outer court (body) without the threat of execution.

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Notice how Paul commands believers to cast down strongholds in their imaginations. Therefore, it’s possible for evil spirits to enter our souls/minds and set up fortresses. In fact, the Bible talks about not walking after the “mind of the flesh” (). A fleshly mind is a mind taken over by the fleshly lusts. Moreover, such a mind is said to be ‘hostile’ towards God (). The reason such a mind is so hostile towards God is because it is the offspring of the devil (). It is through our fleshly lusts that demons gain entrance into our lives. Once in our life, they act as bad company or friends who always try to influence us. They wear us down until we give in to their desires. It’s much easier to resist temptation when these spirits are not influencing us. There’s a difference between temptation from without and oppression from within. So, if you feel driven towards a particular lust (pornography, anger, rage, violence, covetousness, theft) then you’re probably experiencing some type of spiritual oppression. When we submit to fleshly desires we give permission to these spirits to access our souls and inject thoughts and feelings into our minds at their will. This is spiritual bondage.

We should add that...

While evil spirits may pressure us to sin, but they cannot force us to sin.

It’s our flesh that commits the sin, not the evil spirit. This is why the sin we commit is still a work of the flesh. Only in extreme cases are these spirits allowed to take complete control over a person to cause them to commit sin.

CAN I BE DELIVERED FROM BONDAGE?

Deliverance is the covenant right of every believer.

Deliverance begins with a decision to renounce the particular lust that gave entrance to this spirit. Unless you are willing to surrender your lust, you will eventually re-open the door to this spirit to come right back.

Jesus didn’t just go around casting out demons everywhere. However, He did go around teaching everywhere! Why? He understood that it’s pointless to cast out evil spirits if the person is going to continue to yield to fleshly lusts. These fleshly lusts will simply give “space” for evil spirits to re-enter a person and oppress them all over again. This is why it is so important to renew our minds. When we renew our minds we take away opportunity for the devil

When we cater to our flesh we give an open door to the enemy. Jesus said, “The evil comes but finds nothing in me.” In other words, there was nothing in Jesus that gave access to Satan to enter in. This is where our spiritual armor comes in!

How do we deliver ourselves?

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Jesus maintained that freedom was the result of faith () and obedience (, ). You can deliver yourself by a spoken word of your faith. You can also deliver yourself (and stay delivered) by simply walking in the light of the word. “What fellowship has darkness with light?”

Again, it’s pointless to cast out demons if you are going to continue to walk after the flesh. You may be wondering why you can’t seem to shake certain behaviors even though you’re trying really hard to stop. It’s possible that the reason you keep turning back is because you’re not just fighting your flesh. You’re battling with an evil spirit. You need to be delivered from that spirit. You ALSO need to close the door so that it won’t return.

You close the door on the devil by renouncing and forsaking fleshly lusts!

You cannot enjoy the pleasure and advantages you are receiving at the hands of these wicked spirits and lust. You must completely renounce and reject them!

Let us not try to cast out the flesh and crucify the devil. Instead, let us crucify the flesh and cast out the devil.

Part 2

Demons Bring Repentance