At the purpose of salvation, an individual becomes a “recent creation” (2 Corinthians 5:17). However, our fleshly considering patterns and behaviors don’t immediately disappear. This is why persistent sins, or strongholds, often follow believers into their walk with Christ. The difference is that we do not need Christ’s power to destroy such strongholds before we’re saved. After salvation, Christ’s authority and power are vested in us. Christ gives us the flexibility to be, as Romans 8:37 says, “greater than conquerors through Him who loved us.”
But how will we do that?
How Does the Bible Define Strongholds?
The term “stronghold” is simply found once within the New Testament, within the book of two Corinthians. As he explains the character of spiritual warfare, Paul writes, “the weapons of our warfare will not be of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and each lofty opinion raised against God’s knowledge, and take every thought captive to obey Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:4-5).
As Paul describes it, strongholds are the thought processes we pridefully cling to that oppose God’s wisdom. Specifically, they oppose God’s wisdom, as revealed within the gospel of Christ. For example, living under the stronghold of shame is a standard stronghold. As books like The Soul of Shame by Curt Thompson explain, shame attempts to isolate and declare an individual unworthy of affection or affection. The gospel says that God finds each person so precious and worthy of affection and relationship that He sent His own Son to die of their place. Even after we now have repented, turned from our sins, and are available to Christ, lots of us still struggle to consider this to be true since the lie of shame has grow to be so ingrained in our psyches. It has grow to be a stronghold, a “lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God.”
Does the Bible Talk about Strongholds We Must Avoid?
Spiritual strongholds show up in lots of forms in believers’ lives. Addictions to drugs, gambling, pornography, promiscuity, over-eating, isolation, and shopping are only a number of examples. All these behaviors are rooted in idolatries formed due to lies which were believed. Lies about worldly things with the ability to save us or that God is faithless to deliver. All of those behaviors are condemned elsewhere throughout the Bible.
Still, one passage explicitly addresses strongholds that keep the liberty and power available to God’s children from being realized. Neil T. Anderson’s book The Bondage Breaker discusses strongholds and highlights the moment in Luke 10 when Jesus sends His disciples to bring His kingdom to earth. Anderson observes, “Jesus confronted the disciples about several kingdom-killing perversions… These perversions included self-sufficiency (verses 10-25), being ashamed of Jesus (verses 26-36), unbelief (verses 37-45), pride (verses 46-48), possessiveness (verses 49-50), ministering within the fallacious spirit (verses 51-56), false confidences (verses 57-58), and lame excuses (verses 59-62).”
Jesus explicitly condemns lots of these strongholds because they will foil God’s work on this planet. In contrast, the world doesn’t only avoid condemning these strongholds. The world also upholds this stuff as commendable qualities—making it tougher to acknowledge and repent of those behaviors. This is why measuring our thoughts and attitudes with Christ’s perspective is imperative.
What Separates a Stronghold from a Spiritual Attack?
From the very starting, Satan’s tactics have all the time been to deceive. He deceived Eve within the Garden of Eden, attempted to deceive Jesus within the wilderness, and is tirelessly working today to deceive you and me. However, confusion and defeat arise after we don’t understand the basis of spiritual warfare. Many of us picture spiritual attacks as in the event that they are an exorcism scene in a horror film.
There are times when spiritual oppression does look quite scary. However, it is usually more subtle than that, and it involves the battle for one’s mind. Satan will do His best to deceive and to create strongholds in every believer’s life. Often, he doesn’t need much help. We are quite adept at self-deception.
This is why the biblical response doesn’t involve elaborate rituals. It simply requires we undergo Christ in all the things, including our thought life. Whether the lies we consider got here from our misguided beliefs or demonic influence, the reply is similar: “Take every thought captive to obey Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5). A stronghold could result from demonic influence, however it doesn’t need to be. What is for certain is that the stronghold takes root because, to some extent, we’re selecting to cling to a belief opposing God’s wisdom.
What Does Paul Say We Must Do to Demolish Strongholds?
Destroying strongholds in your life may feel like a losing battle. I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that the majority of us have struggled with a besetting sin and felt that we had no hope of overcoming it.
This shall be our experience until we realize that it will not be by our power that we demolish the strongholds in our lives. Paul says there’s “divine power to destroy strongholds” (1 Corinthians 10:4). The battle is God’s. It was won on the cross when Jesus “disarmed the powers and authorities” and “made a public spectacle of them” (Colossians 2:15). Our battle is now won by faith. We must decide to align one’s personal beliefs with what God says. Knowing one’s spiritual authority in Christ and acting on that authority, submitting our struggles to God, is the key to demolishing strongholds.
An excellent measure of whether a thought is from God or not is the fruit it produces. Does it create in you “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, and self-control” (Galatians 5:22-23)? If it doesn’t, you’ll want to give up it to Christ and ask the Holy Spirit to guide you in all the reality through God’s Word.
As you day by day grab what God says is true, surrendering every thought to Christ, you will discover that what was once a stronghold not has any sway over your life. A helpful format that Anderson proposes in his book is to do the next:
- Write out the lie.
- List the consequences it has had in your life.
- Search God’s Word for truth.
- Write the reality from Scripture down.
- Create a prayer that features the Scripture.
- Repeat this prayer on daily basis for 40 days.
The truth will eventually feel more familiar to you than the lie that had grow to be a stronghold. You begin this process by recognizing a lie for what it’s: a lie. You must even be willing to ask yourself about your motivations and whether you truly want this case to vary. If we’re clinging to a lie for some purpose it supposedly serves, we cannot destroy the stronghold and the way it’s affecting our lives. We deceive ourselves if we expect we are able to proceed to consider lies and experience the liberty that Christ offers.
Remember that you just will not be alone on this. When we engage on this battle in faith, God fights for us; we now have divine power on our side. Fighting strongholds may not feel easy at first. But we may be assured that, as with most things, ease comes with time.
Photo Credit:©GettyImages/pcess609
This article is an element of our Christian Terms catalog, exploring words and phrases of Christian theology and history. Here are a few of our hottest articles covering Christian terms to assist your journey of information and faith:
The Full Armor of God
The Meaning of “Selah”
What Is Grace? Bible Definition and Christian Quotes
What is Discernment? Bible Meaning and Importance
What Is Prophecy? Bible Meaning and Examples
