The Stronghold of Unforgiveness

This is a copy of an e-mail sent to members and friends of Ranch Community Fellowship on October 23, 2008.

The Stronghold of Unforgiveness

By Pastor Ed Wandling

"The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds [emphasis added]. We 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." (2 Corinthians 10:4-5, NIV)

This is one of the most familiar verses among Christians, but have you ever asked what is meant by “stronghold?” The context tells us it is about thought patterns. The words use in verse five that help us understand the nature of a stronghold are “argument…. pretension [meaning opinions],” and “thought.” A stronghold is a way of thinking that is different compared to God’s way of thinking. Ed Silvoso describes it this way.

A stronghold is a mindset impregnated with hopelessness that causes the believer to accept as unchangeable something that he or she knows is contrary to the will of God.

This is precisely where we are when we do not forgive. We know we are to forgive, but because the wound is so deep or the offense is so unjustifiable, we cannot or will not bring ourselves to do so. We have no hope that we could or would ever extend forgiveness. So we have accepted a position that is contrary to the will of God, and it is eating away at the meaningful life God wants us to have.

One reason we do not forgive is our definition of forgiveness. Our misunderstandings of what forgiveness is and what it is not prevent us for experiencing the joy God has for us in this area. We need a Biblical understanding of what it means to forgive.

This Sunday at RCF, in our current message series entitled “Guard Your Heart,” I will continue to teach about forgiveness. An unwillingness to forgive is among the most common strongholds believers face. All of us struggle with it. Many of us are gripped with it. You are not alone in your struggle. Come this Sunday as together we lay this down at the foot of the cross. Let’s let Jesus, by the power of his most holy Spirit, set us free.