Thomas, Steven - 206880
EVAN 670-001
The Bondage Breaker
Summary
Western Christianity’s view on the power of the actual spiritual realm has greatly
empowered Satan and his followers. Due to the fact that many in the Western Christian
world give little thought to the power that Satan actually has, they end up leaving
themselves vulnerable to Satan getting strongholds in their lives. The Bondage Breaker,
by Neil T. Anderson is written specifically to address the issue of breaking down
strongholds that Christians give to Satan. Anderson combines personal stories and letters
from those he has helped with Scripture to provide an accurate assessment of how to
Biblically break down strongholds. The next few pages will summarize the book, will
offer a critique of the book and give a personal application that was drawn from reading
the book.
The Bondage Breaker has three main sections in it. The first section is about the
importance of taking courage in Christ and finding identity in Him. Anderson starts the
book by explaining that most Christians do not fully understand how they can be put into
bondage by the devil. He expounds upon some common misconceptions and he explains
the way that Christ used the death on the cross and being raised from the dead to set us
free. The importance of the work that Christ did on the cross is sometimes overlooked by
Christians and Anderson makes it clear that the freedom that Christ bought Christians on
the cross is the key to out victory in Him. Anderson states, “There is no need for the
Christian to defeat the devil. Christ has already accomplished that.”1 Anderson takes the
entire first section of the book, six chapters worth, and sets the basis for the rest of the
book. He uses many Scripture references in order to prove that we as Christians have the
1 Neil T Anderson, The Bondage Breaker. Eugene, Or: Harvest House Publishers, 1990, 27.
power to actually defeat the devil. This power comes from Christ and must be used in
order to actually defeat him.
The second section of the book that Anderson writes is on the importance of
standing firm in the faith. With this, Anderson starts off explaining why standing firm in
the Lord’s victory for us is vital in dealing with demons. He explains that the demons
have a lot of power and they will try to defy Christians if the Christian does not go based
upon the Word of God and the victory they have in Christ. Anderson warns about the
issue of only trying to manipulate the demons and not actually telling them to leave the
person they are demonizing. He tells the story of a woman that he met that needed help
because the well-intentioned Christian counselors that she was meeting with did not
know how to properly handle the demons that were afflicting her. When she finally came
to Dr. Anderson and he showed her the steps that were needed to break free of the
bondage and get rid of the demons that were demonizing her, she was ecstatic and ended
up being freed from the bondage.
Also within this part of the book, Anderson explains the importance of Christians
not believing the lies of the devil telling them that they are not worth anything. The lie
usually manifests in the sense that many Christians get that they are not good enough to
even be called a child of God. Anderson makes it clear that this lie comes straight from
Satan. Christians are bought at a price, and that price was Christ’s life. Christians are
justified in God’s sight through what Christ did on the cross. Christians should not allow
shame to be whispered in their ear by the enemy. Anderson makes it clear that Christians
must stand firm in this area of life as well.
The third section of the book is the application section of the book. This part of
the book explains the importance of following the steps that Anderson has outlined in the
book in order to have freedom in Christ. The chapter explains six steps to overcoming
bondage that Anderson believes are vital in this process. These six steps are as follows:
Step 1: Real vs. Counterfeit, Step 2: Deception vs. Truth, Step 3: Bitterness vs.
Forgiveness, Step 4: Rebellion vs. Submission, Step 5: Pride vs. Humility, Step 6:
Bondage vs. Freedom. These six steps are based off of Scripture as well as many years
of experience in dealing with these types of issues with Christians. The depth that
Anderson goes into in this section of the book is necessary, due to the fact that the
average Christian probably does not have much, if any actual dealings with the subject.
Critique and Evaluation
Anderson does an excellent job with breaking down the concept of breaking out
of spiritual bondage that the enemy puts a Christian in. He explains many different ways
that the enemy tries to deceive Christians. The enemy tries to put lies in Christians heads
about the way that they are to think about their Christian walk. He constantly tries to tell
Christians that they are not worthy to be called children of God. He explains that the
enemy has ways to get strongholds in one’s life if the Christian allows him to get a
foothold. When an individual has a compromise in their faith, they open themselves up
for a stronghold being placed. This individual must learn how to defeat the demons that
they allow to hurt them in some of these instances. Anderson explains this well in his
book.
One of the first things that Anderson addresses in his book is the fact that
Christians need to be strong in their mindset. He says that there is a huge battle for the
mind that rages on a daily basis. If a believer is not careful, he/she can allow the devil’s
lies to permeate his thoughts and start thinking thoughts that are not Christ-like. In 2
Corinthians 10:5, Paul tells the church of Corinth that they must take captive every
thought and make sure it is aligned to what Christ wants Christians to be thinking about.
This is an excellent way to start the book, because way too many Christians do not have
much of a concept of this. Western Christianity in particular, is desensitized to the fact
that a war is going on in the spiritual realm. While Satan and his demons cannot read
Christians thoughts, they can try to influence them by trying to deceive the Christians.
The war against strongholds could be dramatically changed if most Christians understood
that they need to battle daily for their minds. Anderson is correct in his emphasis on this
aspect of the Spiritual battle going on. Christians need to be constantly aware of and
actively battling in this aspect of Spiritual warfare.
Another aspect of bondage that Anderson does an excellent job of is explaining
the importance of putting on the full armor of God. He explains that doing this will
Christians to protect themselves from the attacks of the Devil. He walks through the
different aspects of the armor of God and how it is important to put on the armor on a
daily basis. The fact that Anderson emphasizes this and backs it up with Scripture shows
his understanding of the Word of God and how vital it is to allow that to be the ultimate
authority in one’s life.
Anderson also makes a valuable point in the book when he explains the difference
between the conviction of the Holy Spirit and the lies of the Devil that are disguised as
the Holy Spirit’s conviction. One major aspect of the spiritual warfare that Christians
face is the fact that they have to be able to discern these things. Anderson uses 2
Corinthians 7: 9, 10 to explain that the conviction that comes from the Holy Spirit will
eventually lead to a changed life. It will lead to repentance and a change of heart,
whereas the false conviction from the devil will only lead the person down to more
destruction and lies. Anderson explaining this factor of Spiritual warfare was quite
necessary for helping others to get past bondage.
While Anderson does an excellent job with the book as a whole, there is one
element of the book that is important to address that is not addressed quite well enough to
help in the book. Anderson does explain the importance of being spiritually mature in
regards to facing demons; however, he does not explain the mindset must have when
reading the book quite well enough. He mentions a few times throughout the book that
Christians should not be looking for a demon under every bush and rock, but he does not
offer much instruction for new believers if they are reading the book. It is important for
new believers to realize that they do not need to think that a demon is demonizing them
every time that they stumble and fall. There are many other reasons we stumble and fall
as Christians, the main one being that Christians are still in battle with their own flesh,
the sin nature that they had before the conversion to Christ.
It is also important for a new Christian not to put too much emphasis on the
process that Anderson outlines for breaking bondage. If a new Christian believes that
they are in bondage every time that they sin, it could become easy for them to ritualize
the steps that Anderson expounds upon in order to make sure that they are clean. If they
are not careful, they could end up becoming Pharisaical and even holding a higher esteem
for the book then they do the Bible. This is an extreme example, but is not impossible. If
a new Christian is not surrounded by a solid, mature group of believers, this example
could actually become reality.
Personal Application
This book offered a clear view of the world that Christians live in and how it is
easy for Christians to get into spiritual bondage from the enemy. The steps that Anderson
offers in this book are insightful and have helped me to come up with a game-plan to help
ward off the enemies attacks. I plan on applying the aspect of quoting Scripture out loud
when I am tempted in order to let Satan and his demons know where my strength comes
from and why they have no power over me. This will be implemented when I am
tempted to do something when I am alone, not when I am out in public. If I started
yelling Scripture at the air with many people around, it would probably not be labeled as
normal and may hurt my testimony. However, when I am alone and tempted to get angry
at someone when I should not, or if my thoughts start going down the road of lust, I will
immediately recite Scripture out loud and remind myself of my position in Christ. This
will help me to not give into temptation when I am alone. This game-plan's effectiveness
will be able to be shown by the length of time it takes me to get my thoughts back on
track with Christ. It can also be measured by the frequency in which I have to actually
re-align my thought life to what the Bible teaches. If I am vigilant in guarding my
thought life from even small stuff, I should not have to make drastic shifts very often.
Overall, this book was very beneficial to read. As a believer in Christ, one
should always be aware of the fact that Spiritual warfare is going on all around us. I
personally have not been aware enough of this fact, so reading the book was beneficial in
helping me to be more aware than I was before about the intensity of spiritual warfare.
This book will enhance any solid Christian’s personal walk with Christ.
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