Why do we need salvation? Pt 6: Strongholds
2 Corinthians 10:4-5 4The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. 5We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.
John 8:34-36 34Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. 35Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. 36So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.
Romans 12:1-2 1Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. 2Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.
Matthew 11:28-30 28“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
What is a stronghold?
The Bible is full of vivid images, but one of the most powerful is the idea of “strongholds.” A stronghold, in the ancient world, was a fortress—thick walls, high towers, nearly impossible to break into. Spiritually, strongholds describe areas of life where sin, lies, or fear build walls around us, keeping us trapped. Everyone faces them. They might be addictions, destructive habits, crippling anxiety, bitterness, pride, or unbelief.
A stronghold is a faulty thinking pattern based on lies and deception, and since deception is one of the primary weapons of Satan, a person often doesn’t even realize the stronghold exists. What strongholds can do is cause us to think in ways which block us from God’s best. For example, if you think you have to confess all your sins to everybody you’ve ever wronged, you’ll feel just awful and guilty until you do all that, and even then, you’ll probably still feel guilty, because you’ll probably wonder if you have forgotten someone. All of that is good and necessary, but worrying about it isn’t. One thing I’ve noticed is that occasionally I think I’ve wronged somebody and when I approached them there was never any offense to begin with.
There are people who have had abusive fathers so they have a hard time accepting that our Father God loves and cares for them. They view Him as a cruel taskmaster because their own father was. This is a stronghold placed in theirs minds by Satan and is almost impossible to remove except through the power of God.
Godly weapons
Here’s a key truth: Strongholds cannot be destroyed with ordinary tools. Human willpower, self-help strategies, or clever arguments may have some value, but they cannot break the spiritual fortresses of sin and deception. Paul says clearly: “the weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world.” That means if you’re trying to tear down a spiritual stronghold by sheer willpower, you’ll end up exhausted. Ever try to break an ingrained habit—anger, envy, lust—just by gritting your teeth? You may win small battles, but sooner or later the fortress stands tall again.
Paul instead points us to “weapons” with divine power. What are these godly weapons? Prayer, the Word of God, the power of the Holy Spirit, the blood of Christ, and the name of Jesus. These are not ordinary tools; they carry the authority of heaven itself. Think about it: When Jesus was tempted in the wilderness, He didn’t argue philosophy with Satan. He used Scripture: “It is written…” (Matthew 4:4,7,10). The Word of God was His weapon. When the early church faced persecution, they didn’t rally armies—they prayed, and God shook the place where they gathered (Acts 4:31). When believers confront demonic oppression, it is the name of Jesus—not human strength—that breaks chains (Mark 16:17).
That’s why Paul describes these weapons as having divine power. Imagine trying to knock down a fortress wall with your bare fists—impossible. But imagine firing a battering ram or detonating explosives; the wall crumbles. That’s the difference between human effort and godly weapons.1
So here’s the practical takeaway: Christ breaks strongholds when we stop fighting with worldly tools and begin relying on spiritual ones. You don’t overcome anger by pretending it’s not there—you bring it to Christ in prayer. You don’t defeat fear by just chanting affirmations—you stand on God’s Word: “The Lord is my light and my salvation—whom shall I fear?” (Psalm 27:1). You don’t destroy addiction by willpower alone—you invite the Spirit to fill and empower you daily (Galatians 5:16).
Christ breaks strongholds through weapons that are not of this world. Our job is to pick them up.
Destroy opposition to God
Here the picture sharpens. Strongholds are not only bad habits; they are false ideas—arguments, pretensions, lies—that resist the knowledge of God. Sin begins in the mind. Before a fortress stands in behavior, it begins as a fortress in thought. Consider what James says…
14but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. 15Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death. (James 1:13-15)
Think about some of the lies people believe:
“I’ll never change; this is just who I am.”
“God could never forgive me for that.”
“True happiness is found in success, money, or pleasure.”
“My worth depends on what others think.”
These are not harmless thoughts; they are spiritual strongholds. They exalt themselves against the knowledge of God.2 God says we are forgiven in Christ, but the stronghold says, “Not you.” God says our worth is in being His children, but the stronghold says, “You’re only as good as your achievements.” God says freedom is in Christ, but the stronghold whispers, “You’ll always be a slave.” How do we fight? Paul says we “take every thought captive.” In other words, we don’t let lies run wild in our minds. We seize them, drag them before Christ, and measure them against His truth. Does this thought align with God’s Word? If not, it has to go.
Here’s the reality: strongholds enslave. Sin doesn’t just influence us; it chains us. Addiction is slavery. Anger is slavery. Greed is slavery. But Jesus offers freedom. Notice He doesn’t say, “Try harder to free yourself.” He says, If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. That word indeed is important. It means truly, completely, without question. No half-measures. When Christ breaks a stronghold, the chains don’t just loosen—they shatter.3
This matters because many Christians live as if freedom is impossible. They’ve battled the same sin for years and start to think, “This is just who I am.” But Jesus insists: “You will be free indeed.” That’s not wishful thinking—it’s a promise. So when we declare “Christ breaks strongholds,” we’re saying He not only forgives sin but destroys its power. He dismantles the lies that keep us chained and replaces them with truth. He doesn’t just patch up the fortress; He demolishes it brick by brick.
Through rest given by Christ
But how does this feel in daily life? Strongholds don’t just make us sinful—they make us weary. Carrying chains, fighting battles in our own strength, constantly falling and getting up again—it wears us down. That’s why Jesus’ invitation in Matthew 11:28–30 is so beautiful:
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
Notice who Jesus invites: not the strong, not the successful, but the weary and burdened. That’s what strongholds do—they pile burdens on our souls. They weigh us down with guilt, shame, fear, and exhaustion. And into that weariness, Christ speaks: “Come to me, and I will give you rest.”
This is crucial. Freedom from strongholds is not about us becoming superheroes of self-discipline. It’s about resting in Christ. His yoke is easy, His burden light. Why? Because He already carried the crushing weight of our sin at the cross. He bore what we could not, so we could walk free.4
Think of it this way: breaking strongholds is not about adding more burdens—more rules, more guilt trips, more self-loathing. It’s about exchanging burdens. We lay down the weight of slavery and take up the light burden of following Christ.¹⁰ And what kind of Master is He? “Gentle and humble in heart.” That’s the kind of Savior who doesn’t just demand obedience but offers healing. He doesn’t just command us to break free—He pulls the chains off Himself.
When Christ breaks strongholds, the result is rest. Not laziness, but soul-deep peace. Not absence of struggle, but presence of strength. Not perfection, but freedom from the crushing burden of slavery. So the Christian life is not an endless battle fought in our own energy; it’s a walk with Christ, where His power demolishes strongholds and His presence gives us rest.
What about me?
The bottom line of all of this is that the battle against strongholds can’t be won through human strength. We must have the power of God manifesting through us and that can’t be achieved without Jesus as our Lord. Often we are barely aware strongholds exist in our lives—what we don’t know that we don’t know—can really hurt us.
One of the things the Holy Spirit is really good at is helping us understand something is wrong. That little thought you have once in a while like, “Where did that come from?” is the Holy Spirit saying, “Watch out!” Every believer faces strongholds. But the good news is, none of them are stronger than Christ. No addiction too powerful, no lie too deeply rooted, no chain too thick. When Christ enters, walls crumble. And when He sets you free, you are free indeed.
But we must pay attention. The road to eternity is filled with obstacles that must be kicked out of the way. This process is called sanctification. Every year we are alive we are a little closer to eternity, but if we have been following Jesus and paying attention, we are also a little stronger in Him, trusting of Him, and faithful to Him.
How do we do that? Pray, of course, and read the Word, and submit to the fellowship of your congregation. It also means don’t coast, but be deliberate in your faith. When the Spirit nudges you about that thought, write in done, make a note, so you can seek God about it. Ask God to help you overcome that stronghold. He will certainly do it.
Footnotes
Piper, John, Desiring God (Sisters, OR: Multnomah, 1996), 180.
Keller, Timothy, Counterfeit Gods (New York: Penguin, 2009), 29.
Stott, John, The Cross of Christ (Downers Grove: IVP, 1986), 264.
Bonhoeffer, Dietrich, The Cost of Discipleship (New York: Macmillan, 1959), 45.