Bondage
Gal_5:1 Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.
The word bondage basically means enslavement. The application of spiritual bondage is on several levels. It can range from physical and spiritual enslavement by the devil like the slaves in America who were brought from Africa or enslavement to a habit or thought pattern and even enslavement to a person who controls you. 2Pe_2:19 While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage.
The gospel of Jesus always and only speaks of liberty; never of bondage. We are not even slaves to Christ but brothers and friends even though He is Lord over us all. Joh 15:14 Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you. Joh 15:15 Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you. Jesus came to set us free from all manners of enslavement but we often seek the world to enslave ourselves with man or with something that the devil puts in our path, especially fear. Furthermore, man in his greed for power seeks to enslave others and bring them into subjugation. The reason for many of today’s wars is for that particular reason.
On the level of spiritual bondage, it is the ear mark of the rule of satan. We were all once under the total control of satan and we were in bondage to his whims and fancies in this world. Eph 2:2 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: Eph 2:3 Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.
God who is rich in mercy came by and set us free and showed us the true state of our being before releasing us from the grip of satan. This infuriated satan so much that he devised ways that he could bring mankind; especially Christians, into a deeper bondage than ever before. 2Co 2:11 Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices. Eph_6:11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
The warnings that come to us about bondage are really about the devices of the devil to bring us into captivity once again to the things we once escaped from. 2Pe 2:18 For when they speak great swelling words of vanity, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through much wantonness, those that were clean escaped from them who live in error. 2Pe 2:19 While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage. 2Pe 2:20 For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning. 2Pe 2:21 For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them. 2Pe 2:22 But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire. The returning to the past sins is true bondage.
Jesus on the other hand seeks to bring us into a glorious relationship with Himself and releases us into liberty that brings blessings and new things that are Godly. To this end He has given us the Spirit of liberty. 2Co 3:15 But even unto this day, when Moses is read, the vail is upon their heart. 2Co 3:16 Nevertheless when it shall turn to the Lord, the vail shall be taken away. 2Co 3:17 Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. The veil is spiritual bondage on a legalistic level that God totally destroyed but till today many Jews in Israel are behind that veil.
We must also have knowledge of a kind of bondage that comes about through enslavement of man. It sometimes happens because there is a destiny plan in God that must be fulfilled. Joseph was in bondage for the purposes of the destiny of Israel and himself. Psa 105:17 He sent a man before them, even Joseph, who was sold for a servant: Psa 105:18 Whose feet they hurt with fetters: he was laid in iron:
He became a forerunner for Israel into Egypt to form a nation in bondage (slavery). What worked against him by the evil intent of his brothers, God turned for good. Yet, somehow, I know that God allows these things to happen. Not all bondage is by the devil for destruction because like in the case of Joseph, God uses it.
People place themselves in bondage too. They come to a place in their lives when they can no longer forgive and place themselves in a prison, so to speak. The Bible says that Jesus came to set the captives free and open the prison doors. Yet, no one can walk out of bondage unless they choose the freedom Jesus offers. Otherwise, they go from one bondage to another. This is critical to understand as many today offer freedom from bondage in sin and debt (which is a form of bondage) but cannot actually deliver such a person because they choose to remain where they are (in bondage). They prefer the familiar surroundings of a prison cell that they have become used to over many years. Un-forgiveness is like that and so is bondage of any kind, as it leads a person into other forms of bondage that will ultimately kill them. When Joseph had an opportunity to exact revenge on his brothers, he chose the path of forgiveness rather than revenge. He had lost many years of his life and the comfort and love of his father and home because of the evil intent of his brothers. Yet, God had showed him what would happen but only showed him the end and not the journey.
You may be suffering right now to walk a righteous path and not give in to worldly pleasures that lead to bondage but know this; afterwards it will bring the peaceable fruit of righteousness. Heb_12:11 Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby. 1Pe_5:10 But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you. These two verses are quite intriguing. There are many Christian preachers who preach that once you come to Christ life is a bed of roses. They do this to gain the confidence of people and not frighten them about suffering. The ways of the Lord are past finding out and I am always wary of preachers who offer golden handshakes without suffering. To truly understand suffering, when one is bound in the Spirit, there is no escaping suffering. That is part and parcel of being bound in the Spirit.
We are living in a world that loves the fact that they can indulge themselves in anything based on worldly freedom because they believe no one has a right to tell them anything. This has led countless numbers into bondage and fear. Drugs, alcohol, sex and violence are all part of what is ruling people these days and people are in bondage to these things. We know the perpetrator of these things to be the devil. His whole plan is bondage for the purpose of killing. He will eventually kill the person who is in bondage. When Jesus came to the Gadarene, he was in chains and out of his mind cutting himself. Jesus knew this man had no chance and that he would eventually be killed. Jesus set him free and the Bible records he was sitting in his right mind. This is freedom from bondage; coming into a right mind and free of oppression.
To truly break bondages, one must accept what the word of God says. There is no other way. Even casting out demons can have its repercussions because a person does not truly understand their freedom once delivered. It must be the word that sets a person free so that no demon can come back and occupy its old premises. Joh 8:36 If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed. The Son is the word of God. Without Him in your corner, you have no chance of getting free and staying free.
The constant harassing of the devil is called attrition. Attrition is defined as “the process of reducing something's strength or effectiveness through sustained attack or pressure”. When we are reduced by constant pressure, we will eventually succumb to that pressure and let it rule over us. I suffered from nerves but did not know because I was smoking marijuana. When Jesus saved me, the nerves started again. Through the word, I overcame nerves. Attrition can be in any form of the flesh or mind. Once bound by that evil force, our weaknesses grow till bondage is a matter of being in chains till someone sets us free. Luk_8:29 (For he had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. For oftentimes it had caught him: and he was kept bound with chains and in fetters; and he brake the bands, and was driven of the devil into the wilderness.)
Seek to find the freedom in Christ on the level that never once are you subject to bondage or fear of bondage.
Lots of love
Pastor Noble
21/01/18