Zadok Discipleship Course - Armed for War · Dr. Steve Foss

Lessons 29-32

The Seven Lies & Seven Strategies for Victory

Concept Review Test · 30 Questions · 50 Points · Dr. Steve Foss

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About This Test

Lesson 29 - The Seven Lies, Pt. 1: Temptation is not sin; the enemy's three-step condemnation strategy; the computer lab account; Lie 1: "I can't resist it" (1 Cor. 10:13; Joseph; champagne); Lie 2: "The devil made me do it" (flesh vs. demon; the authority forfeited); Lie 3: "It came upon me all of a sudden" (sideswipes vs. head-on; the thought-action chain).
Lesson 30 - The Seven Lies, Pt. 2: Lie 4: "I didn't want to do it" (James 1:14-15; the Adam pattern; confession as the door to freedom); Lie 5: "I've already gone this far" (the hardening of the heart; always respond to conviction); Lie 6: excuses of background, ethnicity, trauma; Lie 7: "As long as I'm in the flesh I'll always sin" (Romans 7 is pre-Damascus; Romans 8 is after Christ; sin is now a matter of will, not nature).
Lesson 31 - Strategies 1-3: Strategy 1 - Close the Eye Gate (David/Bathsheba; 60% teenage crime stat); Strategy 2 - Shut the Ear Gate (subliminal research; music preaches whether you notice or not; gossip as ear gate sin); Strategy 3 - Meditate on the Word (Hebrew meaning; the self-righteous spirit; Psalm 1 tree image; filling the mind crowds out the enemy).
Lesson 32 - Strategies 4-7: Strategy 4 - Praise the Lord (three-part strategy; enemy keeps mouth shut; Jehoshaphat); Strategy 5 - Pray with Authority (bind and loose; Paul's thorn reread; fight with grace); Strategy 6 - Fellowship with On-Fire Believers (number one reason for backsliding; the Day approaching; as the Day draws near, fellowship more); Strategy 7 - Stay Busy in the Lord's Work (Dr. Cole's unemployed principle; spiritual idleness and its three products).

This is a concept test, not a memorization test. Every question asks you to apply what you understood. Click Submit & Grade My Test for instant feedback.

Part A

Multiple Choice - 20 Questions · 2 pts each · 40 pts

Lesson 29 - The Seven Lies, Part 1

Question 1

A young believer comes to their pastor in deep distress: "I keep having terrible thoughts. I know what I'm thinking is wrong. I must be backslidden." Based on Lesson 29, what is the pastor's most accurate response?

A. The person is right to be concerned - persistent sinful thoughts indicate the new birth may not have been genuine. B. They need deliverance ministry to break the demonic hold producing these thoughts. C. The thoughts prove they are spiritually immature and need to fast and pray more consistently. D. Being tempted is not sin - the enemy threatens you that a thought is coming, then puts it in your mind, then blames you for it. What this person is battling is not sin but condemnation, exactly like the computer lab account. Distress over temptation resisted is evidence of a good conscience, not backsliding.

Question 2

A believer says: "I genuinely couldn't resist - the temptation was so overwhelming that at some point my will was simply overpowered." What does Lesson 29 say about this claim, using 1 Corinthians 10:13?

A. It is sometimes true - certain levels of demonic pressure can temporarily override free will. B. God promises no temptation beyond what a person is able to bear, and always provides a way of escape. The statement is almost always "I was not willing to do what it takes to resist" - not "I could not." The champagne account illustrates it: there was a way out; they chose not to take it. C. It may be accurate for those in early spiritual development but becomes false as a believer matures. D. The claim deserves compassion because social pressure, like the champagne account shows, can make resistance genuinely impossible.

Question 3

A pastor regularly hears confessions that begin with: "I don't know how it happened - one day everything was fine, and then suddenly I was in a full-blown affair." What does Lesson 29 say about the "it came upon me suddenly" account of these situations?

A. The catastrophic outcome was almost never actually sudden. The enemy works with sideswipes, not head-on assaults - each knocking the person a little further off course until they are heading in a completely different direction without knowing when the drift began. The action was the harvest of thoughts meditated on and unchecked over time. B. Sudden moral failures are the most dangerous category because they give no warning time for preventive action. C. The account is accurate - some people have genuine vulnerability to sudden, severe demonic assault that other believers do not experience. D. The suddenness reflects genuine spiritual warfare that overpowered the person without sufficient warning, making the outcome understandable.

Question 4

A church runs weekly deliverance sessions where the same people return repeatedly to have the same issues "cast out" - yet the bondage persists. Lesson 29 identifies the most likely reason. What is it?

A. The minister leading the sessions lacks sufficient anointing to complete the deliverance for these specific bondages. B. The people have generational curses that must be broken before personal deliverance can take hold. C. What they have is not a demon but a work of the flesh. The flesh cannot be cast out - it must be crucified. Using deliverance ministry to avoid personal responsibility keeps a person in bondage forever, because you can never cast out something that is inside you rather than on you. D. The sessions are too infrequent - more consistent and sustained deliverance ministry would eventually produce lasting results.

Lesson 30 - The Seven Lies, Part 2

Question 5

A believer caught in a sinful pattern tearfully protests: "I hate this sin. I never wanted to do it. Something comes over me and I just can't stop." What does Lesson 30 say James 1:14-15 exposes about this self-understanding?

A. The protest is accurate - when desire is sufficiently suppressed, the resulting sin is involuntary and therefore not fully the person's responsibility. B. The person is battling a demonic stronghold that has bypassed their will, explaining the disconnect between desire and action. C. The person is experiencing a psychological compulsion that requires counseling before spiritual intervention can be effective. D. The temptation, if not dealt with correctly, births a desire in the person. When they act, they are acting on something they want. God told the author directly: "Because you want to." Honest ownership - "I sinned. I wanted it. I chose it" - is precisely where freedom begins. As long as you will not own it, you will not be free from it.

Question 6

A person is mid-sin and feels the Holy Spirit tugging at their conscience. Their internal reasoning: "I'm already guilty of this - stopping now won't change that. I'll repent after I finish." What does Lesson 30 say God is actually communicating in that moment of conviction?

A. That He is withdrawing His presence as a consequence of the sin already committed. B. That it is not too late - He is still there, mercy is still extended, and the believer can turn around right now. Stopping mid-sin, however far gone, is far better than dismissing the conviction and hardening the heart further. Every additional step costs more. C. That He has already forgiven the sin in advance and the person should finish without additional guilt. D. That tomorrow's repentance is equally valid and the timing of the response to conviction is irrelevant.

Question 7

A believer says: "I grew up in poverty, abuse, and addiction. My community has never known anything different for generations. You can't expect people like me to live at the same standard as someone who had a stable upbringing." What does Lesson 30 say about this reasoning?

A. This is a lie from the pit of hell - regardless of which version it takes. The blood of Jesus is sufficient to deliver anyone from any bondage regardless of history, background, trauma, or circumstance. As long as you give license to the excuse, you will not walk free - not because God cannot free you, but because the excuse is being used to avoid the very step that leads to freedom. B. This is a valid pastoral reality that requires extended grace and modified expectations for those with severe trauma histories. C. This is partially true for first-generation believers but becomes less applicable as the next generation inherits healthier patterns. D. This reflects a legitimate limitation that the church should compassionately accommodate rather than challenge.

Question 8

A preacher teaches: "Paul himself admitted he kept doing what he hated in Romans 7 - so ongoing moral struggle is simply the normal Christian experience until we die." What does Lesson 30 say this argument gets fundamentally wrong about the text?

A. Paul was describing the experience of Gentile believers who had not yet received the Holy Spirit, not his own experience. B. Romans 7 applies only to the time before the outpouring at Pentecost and has no bearing on the post-Acts 2 church. C. Romans 7 is Paul's pre-Damascus experience as a Pharisee who had the law but not the Spirit's power - a past event told in present tense for narrative effect. Romans 6 says sin shall not have dominion; Romans 8 is the life after Christ. To read Romans 7 as the normal Christian experience is to ignore the entire arc of the argument from chapters 5 through 8. D. Paul was using hyperbole to create contrast, and the passage should not be taken as describing any real human experience.

Question 9

Lesson 30 presents the Adam pattern as the prototype for Lie 4. God asked Adam directly if he had eaten the fruit. Adam knew he had. He did not deny it. What did he do instead - and why does it matter for freedom?

A. He confessed immediately but asked for leniency, illustrating that partial honesty is still sufficient for restoration. B. He denied the sin entirely, illustrating the most basic form of refusing responsibility. C. He ignored God's question and hid further, illustrating the relationship between guilt and spiritual withdrawal. D. He knew he sinned but refused to own it - blaming the woman, then blaming God for giving him the woman. Many believers do the same: they cry over sin but will not truly own it. As long as you will not own it, you will not be free from it. Confession - simply "I sinned, I wanted it, forgive me" - is the door to real freedom.

Lesson 31 - Strategies 1, 2 & 3

Question 10

A teenager who has been watching violent content in video games and films for years suddenly commits a violent act that closely mirrors something they saw on screen. Their parents say: "We had no idea - he seemed fine." What does Lesson 31 say about the relationship between what was set before the eyes and what happened?

A. The connection is indirect - the content was a contributing factor but the real root is deeper emotional dysfunction. B. Sixty percent of teenage crime is not merely similar to but an exact copy of something the young person saw. What is set before the eyes creates images in the mind - if yielded to and meditated on, those images eventually produce action. The eye gate was left open, the images went in, and the unchecked content eventually bore its fruit. C. The media consumption is a symptom of underlying rebellion, not a cause of the violent behavior. D. The connection is circumstantial - screen content affects some people significantly while having no measurable impact on others with different temperaments.

Question 11

A believer listens to explicit secular music while driving but says: "I don't pay attention to the words - I just like the beat." What does Lesson 31 say about this reasoning?

A. It is reasonable - conscious engagement with lyrics is the relevant factor, not passive exposure to music. B. The concern is only relevant if the lyrics are explicitly blasphemous - worldly content without direct anti-God messaging is spiritually neutral. C. That is simply not how the brain works. The subliminal research demonstrates that the ear picks up everything, even below conscious awareness. The store's inaudible messages reduced theft by seventy percent without shoppers knowing. The music is preaching lust, violence, and worldliness whether the person notices it or not - and it is writing on their heart. D. The concern is valid but overstated - the effect requires sustained, intentional listening, not incidental background exposure.

Question 12

A believer reads the Bible daily but consistently finishes each passage thinking: "My coworker really needs to hear this." They rarely sit with the text in personal application. What does Lesson 31 identify as the spiritual danger in this pattern?

A. It is a self-righteous spirit - the most dangerous spiritual state is thinking your own planks are already gone. The Word always has something to say to you personally. Real meditation does not apply the Word to others - it sits with the text, turns it over, and lets it speak directly. What you read in others you avoid receiving yourself. B. The pattern is healthy - being motivated to share truth with others is a sign of genuine love for their wellbeing. C. The person needs to stop Bible reading alone and join a group where accountability ensures personal application. D. The concern is minor - the benefit of daily Bible reading accumulates regardless of the specific application direction.

Question 13

A believer struggles with a particular temptation that comes in waves. They have been fighting it through willpower for months with inconsistent results. Lesson 31's Psalm 1 image of the tree planted by the river says what about why the fight is so hard - and what would change it?

A. The waves of temptation suggest a spiritual attack requiring intercession from a more mature believer to break the pattern. B. The inconsistency suggests an underlying belief system issue that is driving the temptation - more willpower will never solve a belief problem. C. Willpower-based resistance depletes over time, suggesting the believer needs periodic fasting to replenish their spiritual reserves. D. The tree does not have to strain for water - its roots are in the source. The fight is so hard because the inner life is not yet rooted in the Word deeply enough. When the Word is genuinely in a person at that depth, the temptations that once had great power begin to lose their grip - not because of grinding harder but because the root of the inner life is nourished from a different source.

Lesson 32 - Strategies 4, 5, 6 & 7

Question 14

A believer is hit with a wave of strong temptation. Their instinct is to go quiet, feel guilty, and wait for the feeling to pass. Lesson 32 says this instinct plays directly into the enemy's strategy. What should they do instead - and why?

A. They should immediately call an accountability partner and confess the temptation to break the shame cycle. B. They should fast for the day, which removes physical energy that the enemy exploits during moments of temptation. C. They should do the exact opposite of the instinct: open their mouth and praise God out loud. The enemy's goal is to keep the mouth shut and exploit condemnation to silence them - just as Adam and Eve hid. But God cannot be enthroned in silence, and praise drives confusion into the enemy's camp. The atmosphere changes; the power of the temptation breaks. D. They should immediately remove themselves from the environment and spend time in the Word until the feeling subsides.

Question 15

For years, many believers have read "My grace is sufficient" (2 Cor. 12:9) as God telling Paul to accept his thorn as a permanent condition and find contentment. Lesson 32 says this reading misses the actual message entirely. What was God really saying?

A. That He would remove the thorn eventually, but Paul needed to wait with patience for the appointed time. B. That His grace gives Paul access to His power - everything needed is already available - and Paul should rise up in God's name, fight, and declare unlawful what is unlawful. It was after this encounter that Paul wrote about weapons of warfare, pulling down strongholds, and the full armor of God. God was revealing what Paul already possessed, not telling him to endure passively. C. That miraculous deliverance is not always God's method and believers should seek grace-sustained endurance as their primary response to ongoing spiritual attack. D. That Paul's repeated requests demonstrated insufficient faith, and the lesson is about learning to accept divine sovereignty without petition.

Question 16

A believer is struggling with a spirit of fear that regularly surfaces. Lesson 32 walks through how to apply the bind-and-loose principle. What does the lesson say is the complete two-part action required?

A. Confess the fear to a trusted leader and receive prayer for inner healing of the root wound producing it. B. Fast and pray until the spirit of fear leaves and peace is restored as a sign the battle is won. C. Declare the spirit of fear unlawful and wait for the fruit of the Spirit to manifest naturally over time. D. Bind the spirit of fear and loose the spirit of power, love, and a sound mind. Binding alone is insufficient - you must also loose what is lawful to replace what was bound. The authority is not changing God's mind; it is enforcing what He has already established in heaven.

Question 17

A church has progressively cut Sunday night service, Wednesday meetings, and reduced the main service to 45 minutes to accommodate busy schedules. The leadership sees this as culturally sensitive. What does Lesson 32 say about this trend in light of Hebrews 10:25?

A. It is moving in the exact opposite direction of what Scripture commands. As the Day approaches, the Bible says to fellowship more, not less. Reducing corporate gathering in end times is a direct violation of what God is instructing - and the number one reason people backslide is close relationships with those not pursuing God, making the reduction of on-fire fellowship environments uniquely dangerous. B. It is a reasonable pastoral accommodation as long as the quality of content in remaining services is increased to compensate. C. It reflects cultural wisdom about attention spans and does not significantly impact spiritual formation if personal devotional habits are maintained. D. The specific days and hours are not the issue - what matters is the depth of connection in whatever gatherings do occur.

Question 18

A church has thousands of attenders but ninety-five percent have no active personal role in any ministry. They attend, observe, and leave. Lesson 32 applies Dr. Cole's unemployed principle to this situation. What does it say is likely to result?

A. The attenders will gradually lose interest and drift to other churches seeking more engaging environments. B. The passive majority will become good consumers of Christian content without significant spiritual growth. C. Spiritually unemployed believers become involved in what is spiritually illegal, spiritually immoral, and spiritually illicit - gossip, division, and compromise. Idleness opens the door. The same principle that produces crime in regions of high natural unemployment produces its spiritual equivalent when believers have no meaningful kingdom work to do. D. The church will eventually split as the passive majority develops competing visions for what the church should become.

Question 19

Lesson 32 describes fellowship with on-fire believers as a strategy against temptation - but also warns about a specific attitude that destroys its benefit. What is that attitude?

A. Using fellowship as a performance environment rather than a genuine community of mutual accountability. B. Beginning to think you are too spiritually advanced for the level of maturity around you - that others' faith is beneath yours. That pride is the first step toward walking away from the body entirely. "Pride goes before destruction." Stay humble. Stay connected. The moment you believe you are beyond needing the body, you are the most vulnerable. C. Treating fellowship as entertainment rather than as a genuine gathering centered on God's presence. D. Over-relying on the fellowship of others as a substitute for the private disciplines of personal prayer and Bible study.

Question 20

Looking at all seven strategies together, a believer says: "I'll use praise when I feel the temptation coming, but I don't need the fellowship piece - I'm strong enough to stand alone." What do the seven strategies as a complete system say about this approach?

A. Praise is the most powerful of the seven and can function as a complete defense on its own for mature believers. B. The fellowship piece is optional for introverted or spiritually strong individuals who maintain other disciplines consistently. C. The number one reason people backslide is maintaining close relationships with those not pursuing God - and thinking you are too strong to need on-fire fellowship is itself the first step toward the pride that precedes destruction. The seven strategies are a complete, complementary system; choosing only the comfortable ones leaves the defense incomplete. D. The strategies are listed in order of importance, so the higher-numbered ones are supplementary to the foundational first three.

Part B

True or False - 10 Statements · 1 pt each · 10 pts

Lessons 29 & 30 - The Seven Lies

1. According to Lesson 29, sufficiently mature or anointed believers eventually reach a spiritual level at which temptation ceases to exist for them, since even Jesus' temptation was limited to the three wilderness encounters.

TRUE FALSE

2. Lesson 29 teaches that the devil cannot make a believer sin. He can tempt, pressure, and deceive - but the believer must yield for sin to occur, making personal responsibility inescapable.

TRUE FALSE

3. Lesson 30 teaches that Romans 7 - where Paul describes doing what he hates - is the accurate description of the normal born-again Christian's experience, and believers should expect this ongoing struggle throughout their earthly life.

TRUE FALSE

4. Lesson 30 teaches that as a born-again believer, sin is now a matter of will, not a matter of nature - Christ broke the power of the sin nature through the cross, meaning no believer has to obey it any longer.

TRUE FALSE

5. Lesson 30 teaches that when a believer stops part-way through a sin upon feeling conviction, they gain no spiritual benefit since they are already guilty of beginning the sin - so continuing and repenting afterward is equally valid.

TRUE FALSE

Lessons 31 & 32 - The Seven Strategies

6. Lesson 31 teaches that gossip is an ear gate sin - the person who actively chooses to listen to gossip becomes as guilty as the one speaking it, because God hates the sowing of discord and it requires two participants.

TRUE FALSE

7. Lesson 32 teaches that praise is primarily effective against temptation in corporate worship settings - individual, private praise lacks sufficient spiritual authority to break the power of targeted demonic attack.

TRUE FALSE

8. Lesson 32 teaches that filling your time with the work of the Lord is a genuine strategy against temptation - because spiritual idleness creates the same void that produces illegal, immoral, and illicit behavior in those who are naturally unemployed.

TRUE FALSE

9. Lesson 31 teaches that meditating on the Word is a passive activity - reading through large amounts of Scripture quietly and allowing the mind to absorb it without active engagement or vocalization.

TRUE FALSE

10. Lesson 32 teaches that the number one reason people backslide is that they maintain close relationships with people who are not pursuing God - because you inevitably become like who you spend the most time with.

TRUE FALSE

0 / 50

Part A - Multiple Choice (20 questions × 2 pts)

Part B - True or False (10 questions × 1 pt)

Total

"You will never face a temptation you cannot bear. God always leaves a way out. Close the eye gate. Shut the ear gate. Meditate on the Word. Praise Him in the heat of the battle. He whom the Son makes free is free indeed."

- Dr. Steve Foss, Lessons 29-32 · 1 Corinthians 10:13 · Psalm 149:6

Lessons 29-32

The Seven Lies & Seven Strategies for Victory

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