Part 6- Framing Home Bible Study

The Purpose of Building Spiritual Walls of Doctrine

What is the purpose of physical walls?

As discussed in the Part 6 post, What are the spiritual walls we are building?

How does Christian doctrine shape the way that you live, think and act?

Read Ephesians 4:7, 11-16 NSAB. Who does Jesus give to build the body of Christ? (vs 11, 12) How important is it to make sure the teachers we listen to are telling us the correct information about God and the Bible?

Eph 4:12 Who are the saints?

You and I are the saints as believers in Christ. God’s people are the saints. Eph 4:16 states we are being equipped to learn and teach others about Jesus.  In our analogy, being equipped looks like setting right our understanding of who God is. We tear down walls that are not based on God’s word, and we build up walls that are tethered to the foundation of God’s love and good purpose for us. Knowing God’s word and who God is will help us weather storms that will come.

What is the purpose of proper and healthy teaching? (Positive purposes in Eph 4:13 and negative consequences that happen without the correct teaching Eph 4:14)

What is the definition of faith? (Read Heb 11:1)

Why is it hard to have faith in God in difficult situations?

What happens to our faith when storms come into our lives and we have not established a solid understanding of doctrine to protect us in advance?

Hebrews 11 is a list of the patriarchs and well-known characters in the Bible, and it shows how living by faith, partnering with an unseen God, and holding onto his promises shaped history and affected the rest of their lives. I encourage you to read it if you have the time.

Read Hebrews 12:1. Since we have the testimony of all who have gone before us who have lived by faith in Hebrews 11. We can be encouraged that God has a good plan for our lives despite all of life’s hardships. The writer of Hebrews 12 urges us to live our lives by faith, throwing off all that hinders our souls. The things that hinder our souls are false doctrine and sin that resides within us.

In life’s storms, the walls that we have built will be tested. Spiritually, this looks like our faith being tested in difficult times. Without our faith and knowledge of God, we can be tossed to and fro, be easily deceived, and question God’s intentions and motives. We can choose to be deceived and desire to walk away from God, but when we do, we miss out on God’s peace and companionship during the storm. We now understand the purpose and importance of building spiritual walls, but how do we spiritually tear down old walls and build new ones?

Tearing Down Walls of False Doctrine and Sin

Ideas, intentions, and purposes that do not have God as the foundation of our lives need to be torn down. Confession and Forgiveness are the only demolition dynamic duo that is effective at tearing down and clearing away false teachings or the sin in our lives. Confession and Forgiveness are biblical tools used in many different counseling techniques, both Christian and non-Christian alike to bring healing from false ideas about God and ourselves. Below is a technique I have developed in my own prayer life to tear down difficult-to-break sin patterns. The foundation of this technique was based on tools I learned from theophositc counseling.

ICFG Path to Freedom in Christ

Identify- The first step to breaking down walls and experiencing freedom in Christ is identifying sin and sin patterns in your life. Past experiences and sin have made what was built uninhabitable, and it is time to destroy it.

We have the Holy Spirit in our hearts to point us to the places in our lives where we have allowed sin to take up residence in our hearts and our lives. Strongholds are habitual patterns of sin that we allow in our lives that Satan can use to manipulate us or tear us down easily.

We use prayer and listen to the Lord to identify the sins in our lives.

Pray: Holy Spirit, please help me identify the sin in my life.

This is similar to the prayer that David prayed, “Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!” (Psalm 139:23-24)

Often, the process of identifying sin can be complex. Finding a Christian counselor or an accountability partner to do this process with is most effective. “Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results” (James 5:16 NLT). We are led to our next step once we have identified the sin entangling us.

Confess—The second step in getting rid of false doctrine and sin in your life is through confession. Confession is verbally agreeing with God that what I believed, thought, or did was wrong. It is saying to the Lord or another person that I am ashamed and sorry. Confession is the most powerful tool in breaking down false doctrine or habitual sin patterns in your life. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9)

When we confess our sins, our words are like dynamite that explodes the interworking of Satan’s hold on your life by the power of Christ in you. Confession is messy and ugly; it is not fun to express verbally the yuck in our hearts. The process of confession does not need to be complicated. Words are powerful; a simple prayer can release years of bondage in your life over a situation. One example of a prayer of confession can be:

Pray: Dear Jesus, I confess that I have sinned against you by believing or doing  ________. I am sorry, and I agree that what I thought/did was wrong.

Things to confess include outward or inward sins, or lies believed toward yourself, others, or God. You can admit wrong thought patterns, such as, "I confess that I believed I was unworthy of your love and mercy, God. That thinking was wrong, and I am sorry." You can also confess vows that you have said that were wrongly sworn. I confess that I have vowed never to speak to that person again. I am sorry, Lord.

Forgiveness—The next step is to allow Jesus to clear the rubble that confession left behind. Once our sin is exposed and out in the open, we are led to forgiveness. As 1 John 1:9 states, he is faithful to forgive our sins. The Greek word for forgiveness is aphiemi, which means "to send away." Jesus's forgiveness takes away all your sin, shame, and guilt, because he took your place at the cross. Jesus does the heavy lifting and is the excavation crew; he is in the business of forgiveness. When we have confessed, all we need to do is ask, “Jesus, will you forgive me?” He will always say, Yes! Every time, he will say, “Yes, I forgive you!” There is not one time when we have asked for forgiveness that Jesus has said no. (Matt 18:21-22) God does not hold grudges, for our debt is already paid.

Give- The last part of the path to healing is giving the debt of our sins to Jesus. We need to forgive ourselves. We do not feel the effects of Christ’s forgiveness when we continue to hold onto the debt of our sin. Misguidedly, we think we need to continue holding onto our sins as penance for our wrongdoings. He says, “Please give me your burdens, for my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. (Matt 11:30) I paid it all on the cross. The cross has the final word on your verdict.”  You are redeemed in Jesus and no longer need to hold the debt.

ICFG Prayer for Forgiveness of Sin and Lies

This Prayer is condensed into the four steps below:

Dear God,

I- I feel my relationship with you is hindered by sin, lies, and strongholds (patterns of sins). Can you please identify the sin that is hindering me? (You can write down or say the sins that come to mind or the ones you know you have been struggling with.)

C- I confess that I have sinned against you by believing or doing   ________. I am sorry, and I agree that what I thought/did was wrong.

F—Lord, I ask for your forgiveness and thank you for dying on the cross to pay the debt that I owe.

G- I give my sin to you, and I ask for your help not to hold onto it any longer. Please help me forgive myself for the wrong that I have done. (If it is helpful, imagine yourself holding the sin in your hand. Jesus takes it from you, so you are no longer holding onto it.)

Thank you, Jesus, for your shed blood that washes me clean, and thank you for your healing in my life. Amen

Building New Spiritual Walls

Building healthy new spiritual walls comes through forming good habits of reading God’s word and praying. In reading the Part 6 Blog post on Framework building, what are some ways that you can build a healthy understanding of who God is in your life? Going back to the Part 2 Bible Study, ways to know God include: reading the Bible, praying, obeying God, worshiping Him, and observing Him in nature. These are ways to build spiritual walls and strengthen our faith in Him.  Pray over this list and pick one thing you would like to commit to daily to help you develop your relationship with God.

When we build walls on a faulty foundation or on false doctrine, storms or difficulties of this life can cause the foundation to crumble or the walls to fall. But when we tear down old walls through confession and forgiveness, God gives us a way to build our faith with him. This brings us freedom and protects us amid the difficulties we may face.