LIBERTY UNIVERSITY

THE BONDAGE BRAKER BY NEIL T. ANDERSON A READING REFLECTION

A PAPER SUBMITTED TO DR. KENNEDY ADARKWA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR
THE COURSE EVAN 670

LIBERTY BAPTIST THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY

BY ELKE SPELIOPOULOS

DOWNINGTOWN, PENNSYLVANIA SUNDAY, MARCH 4, 2012

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................... 1 ABOUT THE AUTHOR ................................................................................................................ 1 SUMMARY .................................................................................................................................... 2 EVALUATION AND CRITIQUE ................................................................................................. 5 PERSONAL APPLICATION ......................................................................................................... 7 CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................................... 7 BIBLIOGRAPHY ........................................................................................................................... 8

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INTRODUCTION Like those who have not put their trust in Christ, believers can struggle with negative thoughts, irrational feelings, and habitual sins. In his book The Bondage Breaker, Neil T. Anderson offers a look at the realm of demonic influences, as seen in humans and their behaviors, and how they differentiate themselves from other influences in life. In 284 pages, Anderson methodically builds his case, as he leads the reader from an understanding of what spiritual warfare is to identifying what is demon-caused and what is not. He offers a series of useful tools in the pages of the book that allow a believer to gain discernment skills in an area that is rarely taught in the churches: spiritual warfare. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Neil T. Anderson founded Freedom in Christ Ministries. Prior to his work with this ministry, Anderson served as chairman of the Practical Theology Department at Talbot School of Theology at Biola University in the USA. Anderson holds five degrees from Talbot, Pepperdine University and Arizona State University. In a prior career, he worked as an aerospace engineer. He also brings with him 20 years of pastoral experience.1 Anderson has been the author or coauthor of over 50 books, including the book reviewed here, Victory over the Darkness, Discipleship Counseling, Getting Anger under Control and Breaking the Bondage of Legalism. He now serves on the board of FICM International as its president emeritus. In addition, he travels extensively worldwide, bringing the message of freedom in Christ to the church.2
1. Freedom in Christ Ministries, Neil Anderson Biography, http://www.ficm.ca/neil_anderson_bio.htm (accessed March 4, 2012). 2. New Release Tuesday, Neil T. Anderson Author Profile, http://www.newreleasetuesday.com/authordetail.php?aut_id=530 (accessed March 4, 2012).

SUMMARY The book is structured within three parts. Part one is entitled Take Courage!, part two Stand Firm!, and part three Walk Free!. An appendix offers additional tools under the heading Further Help!. In part one, chapter one, You Dont Have to Live in the Shadows, offers a clarification of common misperceptions about bondage. Anderson lists six faulty ideas3 that Christians have believed, such as demon activity having decreased after Christs time on earth and believing that what used to be understood as demonic activity is now explained by medicine as mental illness. Believers have also trusted that only some problems are spiritual, while many are psychological, that Christians cannot be influenced by demons, that only violent behavior or gross sin are evidence of demonic activity, and that freedom from such demonic influence can only be found through power encounters.4 Chapter two, Finding Your Way in the World, helpfully uses Hieberts model of the excluded middle to explain the spiritual realm. Anderson provides early guidance that for a believer to be victorious, he needs to deny himself, pick up his cross daily, follow Christ, sacrifice the natural life to gain the eternal life, the pleasure of things for the pleasure of life, and the temporal for the eternal. In chapter three, You Have Every Right to Be Free, Anderson lists verse after verse to establish a believers identity in Christ, affirming that a believer is a child of God, spiritually alive, and a new creation in Christ. You Can Win the Battle for Your Mind, which forms chapter four, begins to lay out the spiritual battle around us and inside of us, including strongholds of self-defense, such as denial,
3. Neil T. Anderson, The Bondage Breaker (Eugene, OR: Harvest House Publishers, 1990, repr. 2000), 19. 4. Ibid., 19-23.

fantasy, emotional insulation, regression, displacement, projection, and rationalization.5 Anderson reminds his reader that he needs to take every thought captive to Christ. In chapter five, Confronting the Rebel Prince, reminds the reader of the authority of Christ given to him to engage in spiritual battle. To be qualified for kingdom work, according to Anderson, the believer has to have four distinct qualifications: belief, humility, boldness, and dependence on Christ.6 Chapter six, Jesus Has You Covered, gives an excellent explanation of the spiritual armor of God, as described in Ephesians 6. Rather than just listing the various components, Anderson points out that some of them were already put on at the moment of salvation, but that others the believer has to proactively put on daily. Anderson also offers up an excellent short prayer list of binding demonic influence in the life of others.7 In part two, chapter seven, Manipulating Spirits, Anderson provides a better look at what exactly demons can or cannot do. He writes that demons can indeed and seem to choose to exist inside of humans as well as outside of them. They can travel at will, can communicate with each other, have separate identities, can make plans and remember what they have done, can make decisions after evaluation, can join forces with other demons, and will vary in degree of wickedness.8 In chapter eight, The Lure of Knowledge and Power, Anderson becomes more concrete as he lists occult activity men and women may participate in, unknowing of the great danger they place themselves in spiritually.
5. Ibid., 60. 6. Ibid., 85-87. 7. Ibid., 104-5. 8. Ibid., 116-18.

Chapter nine, Tempted to Do It Your Way, looks at temptations becoming sin. Anderson clearly says that the temptation is not the sin, but rather when the temptation turns into sinful behavior, such as when enjoyment of food becomes gluttony 9. Anderson lists the channels of temptation as the lust of the flesh, such as cravings or passions, the lust of the eyes, such as selfishness, and the pride of life, such as self-promotion.10 He offers a way of escape through submission, confession, resistance and change. Accused by the Father of Lies, which makes up chapter ten, speaks of the often deepseated self-deprecation caused by Satans and his demons whispering lies into the believers mind. Anderson admonishes his reader to learn to differentiate between the lies of the devil and the Holy Spirit pointing out sin. In chapter eleven, The Danger of Deception, Anderson warns of the self-deception, such as a believer telling himself he has no sin, thinking he is something he is not, believing himself to be wise in this age, not bridling his tongue despite professed religiosity, not expecting to reap something he sows, believing the unrighteous will inherit the kingdom of God, or associating himself continually with bad company and expecting not to be corrupted by it. Anderson admonishes the reader to learn to discern between true and false teachers and prophets and to beware of deceiving spirits. Chapter twelve, The Danger of Losing Control, provides a number of Scripture references around the danger of a believer losing control in their spiritual lives. Anderson writes, We have all the resources and protection we need to live a victorious life in Christ. If were not living it, its our choice. When we leave a door open for the devil by not resisting temptation,
9. Ibid., 137. 10. Ibid., 140.

accusation, or deception, he will enter it. And if we continue to allow him access, he will assume squatters rights. We wont lose our salvation, but we will lose our daily victory. 11 In part three, chapter thirteen addresses Steps to Freedom in Christ and provides a large collection of tools and prayers that will help the believer work in areas of demonic affliction, both for him and for others. The checklists are extensive and useful in dealing in the area of spiritual warfare. Finally, chapter fourteen closes out the main part of the book. It is titled Helping Others Find Freedom in Christ. Anderson offers several principles in the area of spiritual conflict resolution. He writes that our methodology in spiritual warfare has to come from the epistles rather than the gospels and the book of Acts. In addition, while the epistles do not directly address casting out demons, this does not mean that the believer cannot derive truths from them to help him understand the shift from certain endowed agents to combat spiritual darkness to his own authority. Demonic encounters should be viewed from the truth encounter perspective, rather than the power encounter perspective. In order to help others, the believer needs to display a godly character and the ability to teach. Anderson offers further helpful insights into helping others with spiritual warfare issues. An appendix contains a confidential personal inventory to establish where the reader stands in the realm of spiritual warfare. In addition, Anderson offers statistics on how effective the Steps to Freedom in Christ, a technique to address spiritual warfare, have been. A notes section and a topical reference section close out the book. EVALUATION AND CRITIQUE Anderson writes in a largely non-sensational and in what could almost be described as sober style, which makes this a valuable addition to a believers personal library. Spiritual
11. Ibid., 192-93.

warfare is a topic that is not often discussed in typical Christian circles. Small groups rarely spend time studying this topic, mostly because there is so much unknown to many believers in this area of their spiritual identity in Christ and of the prince of this world who stands against them. Andersons focus on the importance of truth encounters is refreshing as Scripture teaches that the truth shall set the believer free (John 8:32). In particular, the section Anderson offers with a number of Bible verses showing the believer his true identity in Christ is a powerful segment in the book.12 Too many believers have not experienced this truth moment of understanding what exactly they have been set free to. Anderson does a wonderful job here in explaining the believers position in Christ. Anderson also draws from Hieberts thoughts on the excluded middle13. To have understood the spiritual realm in this not just black and white view, but rather one that incorporates the layer or level of the spiritual realm is a first step for the average church-going believer to begin to grasp why spiritual warfare is not something he can choose to ignore. Andersons section on the spiritual armor of God as described in Ephesians 6 was of particular interest to the author, as the consideration that some of the elements of the armor are in existence simply because of a believers salvation was a unique one. Paul seems to indicate in his writing that all these elements of the spiritual armor have to be put on by the believer, yet Andersons explanation leaves room for a second look at this particular defense mechanism against demonic attacks, which is available to every believer.14
12. Ibid., 43-45. 13. Ibid., 30-35. 14. Ibid., 95-100.

Finally, the tools section, including surveys and questionnaires are powerful tools for each believer to frame the discussion about spiritual warfare. Through these, a believer can work with another person, whether a believer or not, to identify where areas of spiritual oppression are. PERSONAL APPLICATION Understanding ones position in Christ is a very powerful tool in the hands of any believer, yet for this author it takes on a whole new meaning. Struggles with self-esteem or doubt in ones abilities seem to increase with certain happenings in ones life. Andersons emphasis on understanding and believing the truth God has spoken over each believer is one area that this author will incorporate on a more regular basis. While Scripture reading keeps the mind attuned to what God has intended for believers, it is only when these verses are brought down to the level of an individual that they can saturate and feed the soul. This understanding and application will serve as an inoculation against the wiles of the devil in the years ahead. CONCLUSION Being able to take courage, stand firm and walk free is something every believer desires, yet as Anderson capably shows, not every believer at all times is free of demonic influence. This book is written in a manner that allows even believers who are not steeped in the topic of spiritual warfare to gain an excellent understanding of why they should care and what they should know as they walk through life. Andersons book is recommended reading for anyone who wants to understand where the delineation is between just having the blues and spiritual oppression. While every book written by man needs to be aligned with the eternal truth of Gods Word, Andersons book The Bondage Breaker will prove to be a useful addition to a believers personal library.

BIBLIOGRAPHY Anderson, Neil T. The Bondage Breaker. Eugene, OR: Harvest House Publishers, 1990, repr. 2000. Freedom in Christ Ministries. Neil Anderson Biography. http://www.ficm.ca/neil_anderson_bio.htm (accessed March 4, 2012). New Release Tuesday. Neil T. Anderson Author Profile. http://www.newreleasetuesday.com/authordetail.php?aut_id=530 (accessed March 4, 2012).