Spiritual bondage is real. It is not a joke, or an just a excuse, a made-up concept to excuse one's own sins. Although it can be used to excuse sin, spiritual bondage is real and true. There is such a thing.
Unforgiveness is the classic case of spiritual bondage. If you harbour any bitterness or unforgiveness towards anyone, you are under the spiritual bondage of unforgiveness. Spiritual bondage comes from sin, which feeds on the desire to sin, which increases even more when one sins more. The Bible calls it 'slavery to sin' (Romans 6:6). The fear of people are also another classical case of spiritual bondage which so many are under, that is true converts who are orthodox, conservative and evangelical.
However, there is also another type of spiritual bondage. It occurs ultimately because of one's sins, but it is also facilitated by demons, real demons who are responsible for encouraging and further holding a person in more bondage to sins. Demons are real and they seek to further hold to bondage to sin or anything that tempts a person to sin. Such is the case of demons behind bondage to alcohol, drugs and pornography.
There is another demon called mammon. He is real and one can only discern him if one has been given spiritual discernment by God to know that he is real. The Bible never says it would give us all spiritual revelation. Some things need to a sought actively from God. For it is the glory of God to conceal a thing: but the honour of kings is to search out a matter (Proverbs 25:2). Such is the case of spiritual discernment which is a gift stated in Acts 17:11.
The spirit of mammon seeks to hold people bondage to money, by money itself, through their anxieties to money. It is not the money itself which holds people to bondage, but the anxieties and desires for money themselves, even when such anxieties are for a benevolent motive, such as feeding one's family. It is ones very anxiety to have one's temporal needs met that the spirit of mammon uses to seduce one in a very subtle way to serve him. As long as one has the anxiety for money and also the things it can buy, including basic earthly needs, such as food, shelter and clothing, one is subtly serving the spirit of mammon without realising it. For one serves mammon as long as one is not fully and absolutely submitted to God, giving up all of oneself, and all one has, and all one's life for God.
As Jesus said: "Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me" (Matthew 16:24). This literally means to give up all of oneself and one's desires, wants, visions, and absolutely everything else, including the pursuit of one's needs. For the pursuit of absolutely anything for oneself, including legitimate earthly needs, is itself to serve oneself. That is why Jesus told people to not even think of their lives, what they shall eat, wear or drink, in telling them that no one can serve both God and mammon.
24 No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
25 Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? (Matthew 6:24-25).
To be anxious for such needs, is itself bondage to the spirit of mammon, bondage to the love of money, manifesting in even thinking of such needs.
Unforgiveness is the classic case of spiritual bondage. If you harbour any bitterness or unforgiveness towards anyone, you are under the spiritual bondage of unforgiveness. Spiritual bondage comes from sin, which feeds on the desire to sin, which increases even more when one sins more. The Bible calls it 'slavery to sin' (Romans 6:6). The fear of people are also another classical case of spiritual bondage which so many are under, that is true converts who are orthodox, conservative and evangelical.
However, there is also another type of spiritual bondage. It occurs ultimately because of one's sins, but it is also facilitated by demons, real demons who are responsible for encouraging and further holding a person in more bondage to sins. Demons are real and they seek to further hold to bondage to sin or anything that tempts a person to sin. Such is the case of demons behind bondage to alcohol, drugs and pornography.
There is another demon called mammon. He is real and one can only discern him if one has been given spiritual discernment by God to know that he is real. The Bible never says it would give us all spiritual revelation. Some things need to a sought actively from God. For it is the glory of God to conceal a thing: but the honour of kings is to search out a matter (Proverbs 25:2). Such is the case of spiritual discernment which is a gift stated in Acts 17:11.
The spirit of mammon seeks to hold people bondage to money, by money itself, through their anxieties to money. It is not the money itself which holds people to bondage, but the anxieties and desires for money themselves, even when such anxieties are for a benevolent motive, such as feeding one's family. It is ones very anxiety to have one's temporal needs met that the spirit of mammon uses to seduce one in a very subtle way to serve him. As long as one has the anxiety for money and also the things it can buy, including basic earthly needs, such as food, shelter and clothing, one is subtly serving the spirit of mammon without realising it. For one serves mammon as long as one is not fully and absolutely submitted to God, giving up all of oneself, and all one has, and all one's life for God.
As Jesus said: "Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me" (Matthew 16:24). This literally means to give up all of oneself and one's desires, wants, visions, and absolutely everything else, including the pursuit of one's needs. For the pursuit of absolutely anything for oneself, including legitimate earthly needs, is itself to serve oneself. That is why Jesus told people to not even think of their lives, what they shall eat, wear or drink, in telling them that no one can serve both God and mammon.
24 No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
25 Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? (Matthew 6:24-25).
To be anxious for such needs, is itself bondage to the spirit of mammon, bondage to the love of money, manifesting in even thinking of such needs.
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