You cannot win the battle if you are in the wrong fight. Too often, Christians go after the natural problems and ignore the spiritual reasons that are behind the natural problems. They may even win the fight they are in for a time, but the battle is lost because the real enemy was never confronted.
“For though we live as human beings, we do not wage war according to human standards, for the weapons of our warfare are not human weapons, but are made powerful by God for tearing down strongholds. We tear down arguments and every arrogant obstacle that is raised up against the knowledge of God, and we take every thought captive to make it obey Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:3-5 NET).
A stronghold is a place in which the enemy has a position of power. It would be like a fortress that seems impenetrable, something that is seemingly impossible to overcome. There is no greater position of power in which the devil has a stronghold in our lives but in the faulty reasoning of our minds.
If you always think you’re right, then you’ll never learn where you’re wrong. “He who leans on, trusts in, and is confident of his own mind and heart is a [self-confident] fool, but he who walks in skillful and godly Wisdom shall be delivered” (Proverbs 28:26 AMPC).
Someone will explain to us the reasoning for their position, and we can readily see how faulty their arguments really are. We can more easily find faulty reasoning in another than we can see it in ourselves. We must seek God to show us the error of our minds.
When a person brings out the worst in you, it only reveals what was in you all along. You can never hope to change another until you are first willing to change yourself. The Lord Jesus taught, “And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye?” (Matthew 7:3 NKJV).
My favorite area of study while in college was Philosophy. This word philosophy has at its root the meaning “the love of wisdom.” My favorite Philosophy course was in critical thinking, which focuses on analyzing the soundness of an argument.
It’s easier to say a truth than live a truth, but it’s in the living that really matters. “But be doers of the Word [obey the message], and not merely listeners to it, betraying yourselves [into deception by reasoning contrary to the Truth]” (James 1:22 AMPC).
All too often, our world uses what are called fallacies in order to prove their position. But a fallacy is an argument that is not based on sound reasoning. Yet, to the casual observer, a fallacy sounds true, and so many will be swayed by an argument that is not founded on good logical reasoning.
Never fear the leading of the Lord, but beware the deception of man. “Everyone will deceive his neighbor, and will not speak the truth; they have taught their tongue to speak lies; they weary themselves to commit iniquity” (Jeremiah 9:5 NKJV).
One fallacy is called ad hominem, where instead of arguing against a position, they argue against the person. If a Christian says that God is love, then the fallacious argument might be that the Christian saying this is mean, so how could God be loving. The argument here does not hold water. God being loving is not dependent on the goodness of any Christian.
How you treat others will impact how God treats you. “Don’t repay evil for evil. Don’t snap back at those who say unkind things about you. Instead, pray for God’s help for them, for we are to be kind to others, and God will bless us for it” (1 Peter 3:9 TLB).
The bad reasoning people have is the stronghold that keeps them further from God. They are not held prisoners by chains or walls but by the thinking in which they are caught up. We cannot tear down their thinking with the tool of man but only by the power from God.
Programs of man can’t fix what only God can do. “Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a loyal spirit within me. Do not banish me from your presence, and don’t take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and make me willing to obey you” (Psalm 51:10-12 NLT).
Stop thinking you must win an argument when it is the soul for which God has called you to go after. Don’t try to reason on the world’s standards for the heavenly truths that only God can reveal to them. If you want to tear down a stronghold, you must ask for God to help you.
I would rather win a soul than an argument. “Give no offense… just as I also please all men in all things, not seeking my own profit, but the profit of many, that they may be saved” (1 Corinthians 10:32-33 NKJV).
If you want to help someone to see a stronghold that has controlled them, then first make sure you have dealt with your own. It’s not just a matter of being set free from your captivity but in deciding to whom you will be captivated.
Anybody can have a good thought, but can your thoughts remain there? “…bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5 NKJV).
The best way to win an argument is to help others do that through their own thinking. You can rarely change a person’s mind, but you might just be able to help them think more clearly. One of the best arguments you can ever make to a person is in the sincerity of your love for them.
Tell someone that you love them, and they might believe you. Show someone that you love them, and they can scarcely find a reason not to believe you. “Dear children, let’s not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions” (1 John 3:18 NLT).
Blessings to you,
Paul Balius
Awesome article, Paul! So important to let this sink in and permeate the thoughts woven into our intentions.
Thank you, Tanis! It is amazing how far we can get when we get our thinking in order.
Thank you very much for your guidance Paul. Your letter ‘Tearing down strongholds’ has touched me in a profound way.
During my immigration process from Mexico to Canada I developed a phobia to grab the phone or to speak and this has been so strong that’s overwhelming. I had never experienced something like this before.
Now I’m a Canadian Citizen. I’m fluent in English, but that phobia to the phone and to speak remains. I don’t understand. My background is a teacher and communicator but here I am with a stronghold of panic to express myself or to connect with people.
After reading your Letter I started thinking in a possibility of a sabotage that the enemy has planted in my mind and my heart to boycott the plans that God has for me to achieve, making me fearful and doubtful of my very gift to the world.. I guess it’s time for me to understand the real situation and tear down this nonsense stronghold-phobia and dare to speak my voice to praise and honor the Lord in my life and free myself.
Hi Luly, oh, I am so glad that the Lord has shown you that this fear of speaking is not from Him but from the evil one who wants to silence you that you would not speak for the kingdom. I have dealt with so many deep-seated feelings of inadequacy, and often the evil one will send people to help show me how little I could ever do. But praise God for His Word that I stand on, He chooses the foolish and the weak, and by that measure, I am highly qualified. I am praying for this ministry in Canada for you. God has you there for a plan and a purpose.
Thank you Paul. The fact that you reassured to me that the origin of my nonsense fear to speak or grab the phone is coming from the enemy trying to prevent me to follow my calling in my ministry in Canada 🇨🇦 is giving me the strength to stand strong and tear down this stronghold in the name of Jesus. Also knowing that He chooses the weak and little for His plans definetly has removed a big load of my shoulders because now I know that I just need to be an empty vessel and pray for the Holy Spirit to come to my heart and I will do stand for His words and work every day relentlessly in wherever project He calls me and it not only it will be enough but beyondof I ever imagined! I will follow through instead of being paralyzed in fears unable to live my life at its fullest!
I feel very thankful to share this with you and for the time and words that you kindly gave to me. I have your books and I always read diligently your letters. I am a living witness of the action of the Holy Spirit through you in my life. It’s amazing how Jesus really uses his apostols here on Earth!
God bless you Paul.
Hi Luly, I remember when God asked me to speak inside prisons, and I remember telling Him, “no.” I felt so unqualified as I am a loner and poor with speech, and was afraid to be in front of people, even around too many people. These fears we have feel so real even when they are based on a lie. The lie is that God would not help us, when the truth is He most certainly will. When we can embrace the truth that God can use us exactly as we are because we are designed by Him to do good works, it will be there that the lights come on and the joy is felt knowing God is enough no matter the situation before us. I look forward to hearing about how God is using you for the kingdom! Blessings to you, Paul