Fighting Spiritual Abuse

by Casey Bordovsky

We have come to the conclusion that Spiritual abuse exists and is in fact thriving. So what can we do about it? What can we do about family and friends that are in spiritually abusive situations? Individuals in spiritually abusive situations rarely recognize the abuse.

Since spiritual abuse is a spiritual problem the battle must be fought on a spiritual level.

What causes spiritual abuse? Two major factors play a part in spiritual abuse. In the spiritual realm the abuser becomes blinded by a spirit of pride, spirit of religion, and a controlling spirit. The abused individuals take their eyes off Jesus Christ and begin to worship the religion and the man instead of Jesus, thus setting up a situation of idolatry. The abused individuals will also become blinded by the spirit of pride and the spirit of religion, thus they do not recognize any abuse.

What can we do about spiritual abuse? All spiritual battles must be fought in the spiritual realm. We cannot fight a spiritual battle with physical weapons. We must learn to fight this battle in the spiritual realm. God in His Word has provided all the weapons we will need to fight and win this battle. Our main weapons are the Word of Jesus (the Bible is our sword in the Spirit, sharper than any two-edged sword), the Name of Jesus (in which we have all authority over Satan), and the Blood of Jesus (which can cover any situation).

How do we use these weapons? Every good soldier knows that before we can go into battle we must prove our weapons on the practice field. Our lives are our practice fields. Read the Word of God everyday. Hide the scriptures in your heart. The Bible has something in it for every situation we face. Speak the Word of God on the situations in your life. If you need protection in your life read Psalms 91 out loud over your situation. Isaiah says that the God's words will not return to Him void. When we pray God's Word the prayers will not return to us void. We must know the Word of God in order to effectively fight in the battle. In the name of Jesus we have all authority over Satan. Every demonic spirit must obey when we come in the name and authority of Jesus Christ.

We have to remember that some battles take longer to win than others. You may have to pray for something everyday for months or longer in order to weaken the enemy's hold, once weakened the enemy will very easily be removed. Begin to bind the demonic force in the name of Jesus everyday during your prayer time. Also, ask God to shine His light in the situation and open the eyes of the blind so they recognize their situation. Finally, plead the blood over the individuals involved and the situation in general. If you can, anoint the individual with oil or the physical church building where the situation is taking place. Before using the oil be sure to dedicate it to represent the Blood of Jesus. The oil can be washed off or wear off so it must be reapplied occasionally.

Remember that the individuals involved in spiritual abuse probably did not set out to abuse or be abused. They have been deceived by Satan. They are blind to what is actually going on spiritually. They cannot be reasoned with. If you attempt to enlighten them they will probably tell you that you are the one deceived. Even though they are deceived and very often they view all other believers with contempt and condemnation, it is our duty as Christians to love them and pray for them. We must model our lives after Jesus Christ, He said we are to forgive our brother seventy times seven. We must forgive them. Most of these individuals have known Jesus at one time or another. They have felt the Holy Spirit, they knew God at one time. They just got off track and lost sight of Jesus. When they lost sight of Jesus, they lost their love. It is very easy to become abusive when you have no love.

How will the battle be won? When we (the church) bind together in unity and begin to battle and pray for our lost brothers and sisters. The Bible speaks of only one church. God's church will be united. Even though most of these individuals do not recognize any beliefs other than their own, God still loves them and wants them to be united with His church. Every religion seems to have taken a portion of the truth and recognize it as the whole truth as opposed to only a part of the truth. They get off balance by doing this.

Let me use the comparison of the Pentecostals (UPC) and the Baptist. The Baptist preach grace to the extreme. They preach grace to the point that no matter what you do you are saved (predestination). Thus they have no rules and regulations. On the other hand the Pentecostals have so many rules and regulation -- most man made ideas with no true biblical basis -- that any minor infraction of the rules will results in eternal damnation. When a brother or sister falls the Pentecostals start kicking them while they are down instead of loving them and restoring them to Christ. If the Baptist would follow the Word of God more closely and the Pentecostals would learn grace, love and compassion, then they would both end up believing about the same. (I'm not getting near that whole trinity issue. I believe in one God. I know too many trinitarians who have received the Holy Ghost with the evidence of speaking in tongues for me to say anything against them. God knows their hearts, if He saw fit to fill them with the Holy Spirit then they must be doing something right. God will reveal the truth to them...there is no need to argue.) The church as a whole must unite. Regardless of minor differences in "theology".

Many of the abused are spiritually young. They are sincere in their hearts and God wants them to be rescued before they get hurt. We must pray for the individuals we know are in deception. When they are delivered, we must teach them how to pray for those who remain in deception. If everyone will do their part, we will overcome the enemy's plan to cause dissension in the body of Christ. We will unite to become the Church Triumphant.

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Page added May 16, 1998.
E-mail link removed November 5, 2004 as no longer valid. Used by Permission of the author.

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