Thursday, February 5, 2009

What is Bondage

In many cases, the strength of the flesh is powerful. We can't achieve freedom because Satan has "bound us." What is this bondage that can so destroy our lives? Bondage is living in a state of servitude to and dependence on someone or something else. The individual can't freely enjoy life in Jesus Christ because his sin encloses him and walls off the Lord's love and power. Bondage means living according to the flesh, being captivated or misdirected by the lies of the enemy, or falling in love with the present world system. For instance, one symptom is to be so absorbed and enamored with the world that your self-interests replace any level of devotion to God. This is characterized by willfulness, desiring your own way, giving in to the lusts of the flesh, and even religiously performing to improve your self-esteem rather than obeying God. Performing for others only pleases ourselves. But obedience glorifies God. The iniquities of our fathers. Through this process, one of the first steps toward freedom is acknowledging the iniquities of our fathers. This is a biblical command ordered in Leviticus 26:40,42 and first given in the Ten Commandments (see Exodus 20:5-6 and 34:7). I believe we are to acknowledge, as did Jeremiah (Jeremiah 14:20), and Daniel (Daniel 9:4-19), and Nehemiah (Nehemiah 9:22-37), that we are linked to the iniquities of our fathers. The Scriptures give many examples of the iniquities of the fathers being passed on to the children. We see deception being passed from Abraham to Issac to Jacob and Jacob's sons. King David passed the iniquity of immorality to his sons. I believe there is New Testament basis for confession found in 1 John 1:9, "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." The word unrighteousness is adikia, the Greek word for iniquity. The Lord delights in setting us free from the influence of the sinful ground given by our generational lineage going back three and four generations. We are not guilty for their sins, but their iniquities (areas of willful self-advancement) tend to transfer to us. This will fullness becomes a problem for many because (1) we tend to imitate our parents and (2) we often justify sin by what our parents did. What is the remedy? According to Scripture, we must: agree with God and repent of our own sin. Admit our father's iniquities (Leviticus 26:40-42). Develop resistance against these sins. Not all willful behavior is influenced by our parents, of course. Some of us have godly parents who have themselves found freedom from the world's system. But if we see our selfish behavior being similar to that of our parents, we can suspect the iniquities of our parents as a major contributing factor to our behavior. In all the warfare counseling I have done, no subject comes under fire like the issue of the iniquities of the fathers. This happened in one family who came in for counseling. Harold, age eleven, and his father walked into my office one day. The dad said, "We as father and son have a problem. I have an anger problem and my son has the same. Part of it was probably learned from me, but I think part was passed on through my iniquities." After we talked I could see that there was clearly a predisposition toward anger in his life. On the basis of Scripture, I believe that the iniquities of the fathers (or mothers) in an area of weakness have a spiritual dimension that is perhaps greater than we can imagine. In Harold's case, I learned this anger problem had come from past generations as well. Thus, I had dad and son acknowledge the iniquities of their fathers to the third and fourth generation and ask God by the power of His Holy Spirit to break off the influence and power of those iniquities. Months later, Harold told me that from that day on he had a whole new level of control over his temper. His mother even said that Herold did the laundry without becoming angry toward her. When it comes to eleven-year-old boys, frankly, I can't think of a stronger testimony! I encourage you to search the Scriptures to see what God says concerning the iniquities of the parents. Ask the Holy Spirit to illumine the Word of God and see if there are some areas that perhaps need to be dealt with in your own life. It's a reality that we all must deal with to some degree, especially if serious problems have passed on for years. Dr. Ken Copley is available for counseling, conferences, and local church meetings.

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