Neil T. Anderson - Winning the Battle Within: Realistic Steps to Overcoming Sexual Strongholds

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by the International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

Verses marked NASB are taken from the New American Standard Bible, 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. (www.Lockman.org)

In chapter 9, The Steps to Freedom in Christ:

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the New American Standard Bible, 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. (www.Lockman.org)

Verses marked NIV are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by the International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

All emphasis in Scripture quotations has been added by the author.

Cover by Dugan Design Group, Bloomington, Minnesota

Harvest House Publishers is the exclusive licensee of the trademark, THE BONDAGE BREAKER.

The names of certain persons mentioned in this book have been changed in order to protect the privacy of the individuals involved.

WINNING THE BATTLE WITHIN

Expanded and updated from Finding Freedom in a Sex-Obsessed World
Copyright 2004/2008 by Neil T. Anderson
Published by Harvest House Publishers
Eugene, Oregon 97402
www.harvesthousepublishers.com

ISBN-13: 978-0-7369-2422-1

ISBN-10: 0-7369-2422-1

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Anderson, Neil T., 1942

Winning the battle within / Neil T. Anderson.[Updated & expanded ed.].

p. cm.

Rev. ed. of: Finding freedom in a sex-obsessed world. 2004.

Includes bibliographical references.

ISBN-13: 978-0-7369-1298-3

ISBN-10: 0-7369-1298-3

1. Chastity. 2. SexReligious aspectsChristianity. 3. LustReligious aspectsChristianity. I. Anderson, Neil T., 1942-Finding freedom in a sex-obsessed world. II. Title.

BV4647.C5A557 2008

241'.66dc22

2008001010

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, digital, photocopy, recording, or any otherexcept for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher.

Printed in the United States of America

08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 / VP-SK / 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

To my wife, Joanne
You are my helpmate, best friend, and confidante.

I love you.

Acknowledgments

You are to be commended for picking up this book. It shows you have the courage to face the truth with a desire to find your freedom in Christ, or the freedom of someone you love.

The time it took to write this book was but a fraction of the time I have spent with hurting Christians. Many have been victims of sexual abuse, and others have been carried away by lustful fantasies, enticed by a world spiraling out of control into a cesspool of sexual madness. Many of the abused have become abusers. They have all borne the shame of a defiled temple and cringed under the accusations of the evil one. They are your sons and daughters, spouses, friends, and co-workers. If you heard their stories, you would weep with them.

I want to thank my friend, Dr. Charles Mylander, for reading this manuscript and writing the foreword. The editorial staff at Harvest House Publishers has always been a delight to work with. You have helped me be a better writer.

Finally, I want to thank my wife, Joanne, who reads all my manuscripts, and to whom I have dedicated this book.

CONTENTS

FOR THOSE WHO
ARE STRUGGLING

I wish this powerful book had been mine when I was going through my own savage struggle with lustful thoughts. For years they plagued my mind and irritated my soul. I tried everything I thought a Christian should tryBible study and memorization, new experiences with God, and efforts at self-disciplinebut nothing seemed to work for long.

I prayed during those times of struggle, tooGod knows I prayed. I repented and turned away from my sins more often than I can remember. God answered my prayers at the moment. But the lustful thoughts always came back. Although I did not fall into an adulterous affair and avoided pornography like the plague, lust was the battleground of my Christian experience. I took three steps forward and two steps back, then two steps forward and three steps back, and then one step forward and four steps back.

Yes, there were holy-ground moments of fresh victory before God. I loved them. But then came the agonizing weeks and months of defeat. I hated them and hated my sin, yet I could not escape it. What Paul describes in Romans 7 describes my experience perfectly. I studied the message of Romans 6 through 8 and tried to apply it. Somehow it worked in every area of my life except one. I could not seem to live constantly in the Spirit when it came to lust. There was something compulsive about my thought life that felt abnormal to me. Little did I know how real the spiritual problem truly was.

During these years of silent, hidden struggle I felt I had no one to talk to. Later I figured out that there was no one I wanted to talk to. My pride and my shame almost did me in. I described my turning point in my book Running the Red Lights. That turning point was effective in setting me free in Christ, but now I know it was unnecessary for me to have waited so long.

This books biblical insight based on Pauls teaching in the Roman epistle of renouncing every sexual use of my body and mind outside of marriage proved so helpful when I first heard it. My temptations were much more normal by that time, and the compulsiveness was already broken. Nevertheless, as I asked Christ to bring to my mind each instance of sexual sin, three vivid memories popped into my thoughts. Each one was, I now believe, a foothold Satan used to form a stronghold in my mind. Renouncing each one led to greater freedom and joy than ever before.

In the days of my greatest struggle I did not know about the activity of Satan in putting his evil thoughts in my mind. I did not know my true identity as a man who was crucified, buried, made alive, raised up, and seated with Christ (Galatians 2:20; Romans 6:4; Ephesians 2:4-6). I did not know how to apply Gods grace and truth to take every thought captive in obedience to Christ. I did not understand the spiritual authority over the evil one that is mine in Christ, which is so powerfully taught by Dr. Anderson. The Lord did teach me many lessons about becoming a winner and overcoming the lust of the flesh, but if I had had this book back then and understood the spiritual battle I was in, Christ would have set me free years sooner.

Most Christians desperately need this message, either for their present struggle or for something in their past that has not been resolved. Any good Christian book is like a cherry pie. Some readers will always find a pit that doesnt fit their theological grid and then be tempted to throw away the whole pie. Please dont do that. The message of this book has the potential to show millions of people how Christ can set them free from sexual bondage. Read it, pass it on, and spread the word.

Dr. Charles Mylander
Executive Director of Evangelical Friends Mission

YOU CAN
EXPERIENCE
FREEDOM

O n November 21, 2003, I was watching the Sunday evening television program 60 Minutes. One segment was on Adult Entertainment, which I didnt particularly care to watch, but I ended up downloading a hard copy of the news report because I was so astonished by what they said. In summary: