Steps to Personal Freedom
Have you ever wondered why you do
the things you hate doing? Why even though you want to do right, you seem to
fall into wrong actions? Paul obviously did. Paul struggled with this question
so fully that once he attained the answer, he felt it was his responsibility to
share it with his fellow brethren in Christ. Apostle Paul wrote,
“For what I am doing, I do not
understand. For what I will to do, that I do not practice; but what I hate,
that I do. If, then, I do what I will not to do, I agree with
the law that it is good. But now, it is no longer I who do it, but sin
that dwells in me. For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good
dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do
not find. For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not
to do, that I practice. Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I
who do it, but sin that dwells in me. “I find then a law, that evil is present
with me, the one who wills to do good. For I delight
in the law of God according to the inward man. But I see another law in my
members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to
the law of sin, which is in my members. O wretched man that I am! Who will
deliver me from this body of death? I thank God--through Jesus Christ our Lord!
So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the
law of sin.” (Romans 7:16-25)
Is Paul trying to say that he is
not responsible for his actions? Not at all, Paul had come to understand the
underlying force behind his battle between the spiritual and the carnal. He is
saying, I’m the one carrying out the hideous actions I hate, but I have found
that there is something inside of me promoting this action in such a way that I
can’t seem to say no? That is why even though I want to do right,
my will is not strong enough to carry out my desire for righteousness. He does
some further searching within and finds that sin (or an offense) is dwelling
(occupies, resides, cohabits) inside of him (it has a certain place or
position), in his flesh (inside of the skin). He calls it the law of sin in his
members that wars against his mind, bringing him into captivity. Which is it
(?) sin, or the law of sin? How can Paul say that sin is dwelling inside of
him, when he has repented? Why would Paul need further deliverance from sin? He
has been given grace through the blood of Jesus and forgiveness of sin. How is
sin still present, and dwelling inside of him so that
its law is still in effect and he must war against it?
It is obvious that whatever is
living and breathing inside of him produces sin, but it does not possess his
whole being. This we know because Paul is still able to delight in the law of
the Lord in his inward man, his spirit. He is able to see what he is doing, and
understand that it is wrong. His conscience still grieves from actions
perpetrated against God, and he feels guilty for them.
Paul is in no way possessed by an
evil spirit. What Paul is describing
here is an access problem. Evil is present with him, taking access to a certain
place through a legal right due to the law of sin. Asking God to forgive you of
sin (repenting) is the first step in removing the legal right for an evil
spirit to have access, but then you must break the pattern of sin by renouncing
(forsake, give up,) any practice of that sin, and break agreement with any evil
spirit that has been allowed to have access to your life through that sin. This
is very important. Each time an evil spirit’s access produces the same type of
sin in your life, you are saying that it has a right to remain.
To break this pattern you must
begin to walk according to the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus, because it will
set you free from the law of sin and death. By setting your mind on the things
of the Spirit, you break free from the patterns, strong holds, and mind-sets
created by coming into agreement with an evil spirit. You are then ready to
take dominion over that spirit and cast it out of your life completely.
“For when we were in the flesh,
the sinful passions which were aroused by the law were at work in our members
to bear fruit to death. But now we have been delivered from the law, having
died to what we were held by, so that we should serve in the newness of the
Spirit and not in the oldness of the letter. But sin, taking opportunity by the
commandment, produced in me all manner of evil desire. For apart from the law
sin was dead. For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am
carnal, sold under sin.”(Rom 7:5-6, 8, 14 NKJV)
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Principality of the Accuser
Definition: To accuse means, “to charge with
guilt or blame.” An accusation is a verbal assault, or a “charge of wrongdoing”
(Webster). Satan is our chief accuser “judge, adversary, prosecutor, opponent,
and plaintiff.” He is also called the “Crown Prince of the South”. He has a
“cause or matter of contention” against us (Webster). Since he is not
all-powerful, and cannot be present everywhere at once, he parts his work out
to accusing spirits, which access humans. Satan is a force we will have to
reckon with until God puts him in chains forever, but through the power of God
we can be victorious over him and his dominions, thrones, principalities,
powers, rulers and spirits of wickedness. “Now salvation, and
strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come,
for the accuser of has been cast down” (Rev 12:10).
Divisions of the Principality of the Accuser
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Accusing Spirits
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Offense
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Bitterness