Overcoming Bad Habits and Addictions — Part 18
Strongholds are lies that have taken the place of truth in our personal beliefs.
In Psalm 138:2, the Bible says that God has magnified His word above even His name. Now, as born again new creatures in Christ Jesus, if we believe that we are still bound by bad habits and addictions, we are exalting our opinion above the Word of God, which says that “because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death” (Romans 8:2 NLT).
To correct this, we must do as we are told in 2 Corinthians 10:4-5 which tells us that “the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ” (NKJV).
We must be ruthless and merciless in dealing with lies that try to work their way into our thoughts and beliefs. At the very first realization that a thought has come into our minds that contradicts the truth of God’s Word, we must address it firmly, and not allow it to remain in our minds.
We must maintain the conviction that lies will not be allowed in our lives in any form.
“He who works deceit shall not dwell within my house; He who tells lies shall not continue in my presence.”—Psalm 101:7 (NKJV)
Eve failed to do this, and it led to her fall.
When the devil planted lies in the thoughts of Eve, her guard was down. She did not recognize the danger of the lie. Instead of recognizing the lie for what it was and rejecting it, she allowed it into her thoughts, and then accepted it as truth. At that moment, the truth of God was replaced with a lie, which led to her fall.
This was the truth that God had spoken to Adam in the Garden of Eden:
“The Lord God commanded him, ‘You may eat the fruit from any tree in the garden. But you must not eat the fruit from the tree which gives the knowledge of good and evil. If you ever eat fruit from that tree, you will die!’”—Genesis 2:16-17 (ICB)
We see in Genesis 3:1-7 (ICB) how the devil works to replace God’s truth with lies:
1. The devil sets us up to believe his lies by first trying to get us to question God’s word:
“Now the snake was the most clever of all the wild animals the Lord God had made. One day the snake spoke to the woman. He said, ‘Did God really say that you must not eat fruit from any tree in the garden?’
“The woman answered the snake, ‘We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden. But God told us, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden. You must not even touch it, or you will die.’”
2. If we take the bait and begin to question God’s Word, then Satan presents his lies.
“‘You will certainly not die,’ the serpent said to the woman.”
3. To reinforce the lie, Satan tells us that what God said would happen will not happen at all.
“For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
4. If we allow the lie to stay in our thoughts—allowing ourselves to ponder it—then we will eventually accept it and reject God’s truth, choosing to believe the lie instead.
“So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate.”
5. Later, after paying a high price, we realize that God’s Word was true all along.
“Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings.”
In contrast, Jesus showed us how to respond effectively when the devil lies to us. (Matt 4; Luke 4)
1. The devil first tried to get Jesus to question what God said about Him:
“Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, “**If You are the Son of God, **command that these stones become bread.”
2. Jesus did not even consider what Satan was proposing. Jesus immediately quoted God’s truth that contradicted what Satan had suggested, not allowing Satan’s suggestion to gain a foothold.
“But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’”
3. The devil tried again to get Jesus to question what God had said about Him. This time Satan even quoted Scripture to try to make it seem more legitimate.
“Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written: ‘He shall give His angels charge over you,’ and, ‘In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone.’”
4. Again, Jesus did not even consider for a moment what Satan was proposing. Again, Jesus immediately quoted the truth of God that contradicted what Satan had suggested.
“Jesus said to him, “It is written again, ‘You shall not tempt the LORD your God.’”
5. Satan then abandoned his first strategy and switched to blatant temptation.
“Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to Him, “All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me.”
6. When Satan persisted, Jesus told him to go away. Again, Jesus immediately quoted God’s truth that contradicted what Satan had suggested.
“Then Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve.’”
“Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him.”
When we resist the devil, as Jesus did, he will flee from us, just as he fled from Jesus.
“Resist the devil and he will flee from you.”—James 4:7-8 (NKJV)
Later, when Satan could make no progress speaking directly to Jesus, he spoke to Peter, who accepted the lies, and relayed the message to Jesus. Again, Jesus rejected it immediately and firmly:
“From that time Jesus began to show to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day. Then Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, ‘Far be it from You, Lord; this shall not happen to You!’ But He turned and said to Peter, ‘Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.’”—Matthew 16:21-23 (NKJV)
Anytime we have thoughts that contradict the truth of God’s Word, we must not entertain them, even for a moment. We must immediately and firmly reject them. We must not allow any compromise, even for an instant. We must instead hold fast to the truth of God’s word and quote it, believing in God’s word above everything else, and repeating it as often as we need to until there is no trace of the lie in our thoughts.
“If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”—John 8:31-32 (KJV)
For example, if you’ve looked at women lustfully, learn how to look at women as you should. This is described in Scripture. Men should “treat older women as if they were your mothers. Treat younger women as if they were your sisters. Be completely pure in the way you treat them.”—1 Timothy 5:2 (NIRV)
“and learn how to control your own body in a pure and respectable way. Don’t be controlled by your sexual urges like the Gentiles who don’t know God. No one should mistreat or take advantage of their brother or sister in this issue. The Lord punishes people for all these things, as we told you before and sternly warned you. God didn’t call us to be immoral but to be dedicated to him.”—1 Thessalonians 4:4-7 (CEB)
“Lord, who shall dwell [temporarily] in Your tabernacle? Who shall dwell [permanently] on Your holy hill? He who walks and lives uprightly and blamelessly, who works rightness and justice and speaks and thinks the truth in his heart”—Psalm 15:1-2 (AMPC)
Replacing the lie with truth is essential to achieving freedom from bad habits and the lusts that drive them. People who love the lusts and bad habits that keep them bound reject the truth and feed themselves with lies that support their lifestyles of bad habits. People who want to be free from bad habits focus on the truth.
“His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.”—2 Peter 1:3-4 (NKJV)
“The Son of God came for this purpose: to destroy the devil’s work.”—1 John 3:8 (ICB)
