Neil T Anderson

neil t anderson

- Freedom In Christ Ministries - Neils Blogs -

Dr. Neil T. Anderson is founder and president emeritus of Freedom in Christ Ministries. He was formerly the chairman of the Practical Theology Department at Talbot School of Theology. He holds five degrees from Talbot, Pepperdine University, and Arizona State University, and has authored several bestselling books on spiritual freedom, including Victory Over the Darkness and The Bondage Breaker.

Neil T Anderson Files

Achievement is determined by who or what you serve. There is a moral healthiness and simple, unaffected goodness present in the single-minded person that is absent from the one serving many masters. Jesus said, "No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will hold to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon. For this reason I say to you, do not be anxious" (Matthew 6;24, 25).
There will be no peace serving two masters. To whichever master we yield, by that master we shall be controlled. -Neil T Anderson

Neil T Anderson Files

There is nothing wrong about being attracted to the opposite sex. God made us that way. Such natural drives are intended for our pleasure and such will be the case as long as we don't cross and moral barriers. David saw that Bathsheba "was very beautiful in appearance" (2 Sam 11:2). Had he left it at that, everything would have been fine. "But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. Then when conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death." (James 2:14-15).
-Neil T Anderson; Overcoming Addictive Behavior; [c]2003

Neil T Anderson Files

"Telling people that what they are doing is wrong does not give them the power to stop doing it. The Law is powerless to give life. Even more discouraging is the statement by Paul that "the sinful passions aroused by the law were at work in our bodies" (Rom 7:5). The Law actually has the capacity to stimulate desire to do what it is trying to prohibit. If anyone does not think that is true, they should try telling their children that they can go to a certain place but cannot fo to another place. The moment a parent says that, where do the children want to go? They want to go to the forbidden place. They probably did not even want to go there until the parent said they could not. The forbidden fruit always appears to be more plausible. Laying down the law will not resolve the sinful passions. The core problem is the basic nature of humankind, not individual acts or behavior patterns.
-Neil T Anderson; Overcoming Addictive Behavior; [c]2003

Neil T Anderson Files

On the day of their first sin, Adam and Eve did not die physically, they died spiritually--although physical death would eventually come, also as a consequence of sin (see Rom 5:12). The effects of their sin were immediate. All the personal attributes, security and significance--were gone, and each became a glaring need. Adam's self-perception became one of shame and guilt. He covered his nakedness and hid from God. But the Lord immediately took the initiative by confronting Adam, wanting to know where he was.
-Neil T Anderson; Overcoming Addictive Behavior; [c]2003

Neil T Anderson Files

Notice the first emotion expressed by Adam after he sinned: "I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid." The fear of being exposed has driven many of us from the light that reveals our sin. Without God's unconditional love and acceptance, we will run from the light or try to discredit the source of the light that reveals our sin. Without God's unconditional love and acceptance, we will run from the light or try to discredit the source of the light, as the Pharisees did with Jesus. Satan raises up thoughts against the knowledge of God (see II Cor 10:5), and a deceived humanity mocks His very existence. Unable to live up to God's eternal standards of morality, the fallen must deal with their fear, guilt and shame; and they do it by hiding from God or attacking Him.
-Neil T Anderson; Overcoming Addictive Behavior; [c]2003

Neil T Anderson Files

Someone once asked me, "How are Christians supposed to act? Christianity is not an act; it is a real thing. We cannot be right with God and not be real. If necessary, God will arrange the events of our lives so that we will have to be real in order to be right with Hiim. To love a lie is to play into the hands of the devil, who is the father of lies and the prince of darkness. Truth is not the enemy; it is always a liberating friend. No matter how painful it is to face the truth, the consequences will always be better than the consequences of living a lit. "Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time." (I Peter 5:6).
-Neil T Anderson; Overcoming Addictive Behavior; [c]2003

Neil T Anderson Files

Consider John 15:8: "By this is My Father glorified, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be my disciples." Without knowing the context, we could easily conclude that we have to bear fruit. Actually, we don't; we have to abide in Christ. If we abide in Christ, we will bear fruit. Bearing fruit is the evidence that we are abiding in Christ. Too often we attempt to bear fruit without abiding in Christ. Too often we attempt to bear fruit without abiding in Christ. This happens when we work the program. A program does not bear fruit. It cannot set captives free or bind up the brokenhearted,
-Neil T Anderson; Overcoming Addictive Behavior; [c]2003

Neil T Anderson Files

In our culture we have a tendency to derive our identity from the things we do, and we identify one another by our physical bodies. That would be necessary if we were only natural people. Asd children of God, however, we have a whole new identity: Therefore, from now on we recognize no man according to the flesh" (2 Corinthians 5:16).
-Neil T Anderson; Overcoming Addictive Behavior; [c]2003

Neil T Anderson Files

Anybody who acts as his or her own god is in bondage to the flesh. As a result of the Fall, we were sold into the slave market of sin. Jesus purchased us from the kingdom of darkness and save us from ourselves (I Cor 6:19-20). We are no longer slaves to sin. We are bond servants of the Lord Jesus Christ. Only when we realize this truth and embrace it are we able to make the kinds of choices that allow us to live in the freedom that Christ purchased for us at the cross.
-Neil T Anderson; Overcoming Addictive Behavior; [c]2003

Neil T Anderson Files

What shall we say then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? (Rom 6:1-2).
You may be tempted to ask, How do I do that? How do I die to sin? We Can't, because we have already died to sin. The verb is past tense. We cannot do what has already been done for us by Christ. But I don't feel dead to sin, and frankly I am still sinning. Remember, it is not what we do that determines who we are. Just set your feelings aside for a few verse. Its what we believe that's going to set us free, not what we feel. God's Word is true whether we choose to believe it or not. Believing the Word of God doesn't make it true. His Word is true, therefore, we believe it. -Neil T Anderson; Overcoming Addictive Behavior; [c]2003

Neil T Anderson Files

"For now we know that our old self was crucified with him." (Rom 6:6). Are you still asking yourself, How do I do that? This is not something we can do. This is something we can only know and believe. This is a question of knowledge, not experience. The text does not declare: "For we must do." It is clear: "For we know." Many people try desperately to put the old self (Old man) to death, yet they fail. Why? Because the old self is already dead! We cannot do for ourselves what God has already done for us. So many people who fail in their Christian experience begin to reason, What must I have in order for this to be true? With this thinking, we will never see victory! The only experience that had to happened in order for this verse to be true occurred nearly 2,000 years ago on the Cross, and the only way we can enter into that experience today is by faith. We can't save ourselves, and we cant use human effort to overcome the penalty of death and the power of sin. Only God can do that for us--and He did."
-Neil T Anderson; Overcoming Addictive Behavior; [c]2003

Neil T Anderson Files

Paul argued that if death has no mastery over us, then neither does sin. "The death he died, he died to sin once and for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God" (Rom 6:10). This was accomplished when "God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of Gods" (II Cor 5:21). When Jesus went to the cross, all the sins of the world were on Him. When the spikes were nailed into His hands and feet, He carried the weight of all our sins. But when He was resurrected, there was not a single sin on Him. As He sits at the right hand of the Father, there are not any sins on Him. He has triumphed over sin and death. He died to sin once and for all.
-Neil T Anderson; Overcoming Addictive Behavior; [c]2003

Neil T Anderson Files

There is no way that we can commit a sexual sin and not use our body, including our brain, as an instrument of unrighteousness. When we commit a sexual sin, we allow sin to reign in our mortal body. When this happens, are we still united with the Lord? Yes. We are still joined with Him because He will never leave is nor forsake us. We would not lose our salvation, but the sinful act would certainly have an effect on the degree of freedom that we experience. "For you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another" (Gal 5:13).
-Neil T Anderson; Overcoming Addictive Behavior; [c]2003

Many Christians are locked in a cycle of addiction, particularly in the areas of alcohol and drug abuse. Many have turned to twelve-step programs for help. But where is the incredible power of Christ in this process? In a positive, noncondemning way, Anderson provides an alternative model of recovery for substance and alcohol abusers, a model that will also work for individuals struggling with other kinds of addictions. The first half of Freedom from Addictions tells the unbelievable story of Mike and Julia Quarles, and how Mike overcame a debilitating addiction to alcohol. He achieved success by applying the principles that make up the central theme of Dr. Anderson's message: that we are saints according to God's Word (Ephesians 1) and that true freedom comes from realizing our identity in Christ.
By: Neil T. Anderson, Mike Quarles, Julia Quarles
Format: Paperback
Number of Pages: 216
Vendor: Bethany House
Publication Date: 1997

NEIL T ANDERSON

neil t anderson