You have probably seen the billboards that show a celebrity with a milk mustache. The caption reads, "Got Milk?" and is meant to promote milk drinking. Wouldn't it be weird if a billboard showed a person frothing at the mouth and writhing on the floor? The caption might read, "Got demons?" and promote a church or television preacher. There are some in the Christian community who base their entire ministry on the doctrine that a Christian can be possessed by demons. They hold seminars, write books and teach Christians how to cast demons out of themselves. Wouldn't it be nice to have a penny for every do-it-yourself exhorsism kit that has been sold in one form or another? We will examine this practice, comparing it to scriptural examples.

Before you peruse the First Book of Condordance, you will not find a passage where Jesus cast a demon out of a desciple or dedicated follower, nor did He teach people how to cast demons out of themselves. None of the disciples did it either.

Let's look to see how some people justify this type of ministry.

When someone tells a Christian they have a demon, they are stating the demon is responsible for the Christian's behavior. Like Flip Wilson, the Christian can safely say, "The devil made me do it." Jesus taught that we are responsible for our actions. Does this mean the Christian is then responsible for allowing themselves to be possessed by a demon?

Ephesians 6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

The scripture does not say that we lose the wrestling match, but we do wrestle. Paul tells us what to do to prepare for that wrestling match. Noting Pauls parallels of armor and Godliness, we know the match will be ruthless, but nowhere does Paul say if we lose, we will be possessed by a demon. It is easy to tell who wins and who loses a wrestling match.

Read this passage and see if you can find anywhere Paul blames demon possession

2 Corinthians 4:8-11
8. We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair;
9 Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed;
10 Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body.
11 For we which live are alway delivered unto death for Jesus' sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh.

The phrase, "Cast down, but not destroyed" doesn't sound like we become possessed, does it? We get roughed up but we do not fail. There is no destruction and no possession for the true believer.

Another passage...
2 Corinthians 4:16
For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.

How can the inward man be renewed if it is possessed by a demon?

Romans 7:19-25 (KJV)
19 For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.
20 Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
21 I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me.
22 For I delight in the law of God after the inward man:
23 But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.
24 O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?
25 I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.

In this passage, Paul is quick to confess that he is not perfect. (Duh!) In fact, he states the "sin that dwelleth in me" that causes him to fail and miss the mark of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. He does not even hint that he is possessed. Quite the contrary. In verse 25, he states that even though his mind and life are warring with each other, he will continue to serve the Lord. He will press on. (Philippians 3:14)

If you were to use Paul's words today, some Christians would say you need to "get the victory", while others would say that you need deliverance. My, how things have changed since Paul was alive. I wonder what Paul would say about Christians performing exhorcisms on each other.

1 Timothy 4:1 Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;

"Giving heed" does not mean demon possession, even if someone departs from the faith. "Giving heed" means 'listening to', which might explain why some people believe they can be possessed by a demon. They are listening to a 'seducing spirit' telling them they are possessed!

"Christian Possession" is a doctrine of devils. It attempts to convince Christians they are powerless to keep demons from possessing them. You are expected to believe evil demons easily sneak in the door where Jesus stands and knocks. (Rev 3:23)

Romans 8:37-38
37 No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.
38 And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from his love. Death can't, and life can't. The angels can't, and the demons can't. Our fears for today, our worries about tomorrow, and even the powers of hell can't keep God's love away.

If we have "overwhelming victory" as the scriptures say, how can a Christian suffer the overwhelming defeat of demonic possession? It doesn't add up, does it?

Matthew 8:28-33
28. And when he was come to the other side into the country of the Gergesenes, there met him two possessed with devils, coming out of the tombs, exceeding fierce, so that no man might pass by that way.
29 And, behold, they cried out, saying, What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God? art thou come hither to torment us before the time?
30 And there was a good way off from them an herd of many swine feeding.
31 So the devils besought him, saying, If thou cast us out, suffer us to go away into the herd of swine.
32 And he said unto them, Go. And when they were come out, they went into the herd of swine: and, behold, the whole herd of swine ran violently down a steep place into the sea, and perished in the waters.
33 And they that kept them fled, and went their ways into the city, and told every thing, and what was befallen to the possessed of the devils.

This is an example of real demon possession and deliverance and it is radically different than the coughing, gagging and whooping displayed in a "Christian deliverance" ceremony. The Christian possession doctrine became embedded years ago by the ministry of man named Don Basham. He wrote several books about the phenomenon and traveled the country, holding deliverance meetings. Derek Prince was another proponent of this misguided doctrine. At that time, the charismatic movement was just getting started in the U.S. and people were trying things out to see what fit their new belief structure. Unfortunately, they were quite impressionable and willing to explore diverse areas of the spirit world.

In the years that followed, Christians began to see demons hiding behind every bush in their spiritual yard. Every sickness and hardship was blamed on a demon. People who claimed to have the gift of discerning of spirits diagnosed virtually all physical and behavioral issues as demonic activity. Scientific research has since proven them wrong and the guilty no longer discuss those incidents.

Lugaresi et al (1986) reported the case of a man who gradually began to sleep less and less; he suffered from waking dreams, disorientation, inability to concentrate and lack of intelligibility. When he died, he was found to have an inherited condition that caused his thalamus to degenerate. How many Christians would say this man had a demon? How many would say that his inability to sleep was caused by a guilty conscience? Each spiritual diagnosis would be judgmental, even if it had a thick candy-coated shell of contrived spirituality. Both would be wrong.

Yes, a guilty conscience can disrupt your sleep, but so can a pepperoni pizza. And in this case, the degeneration of the thalamus was the culprit. Those desperate to justify this weakened doctrine might say that a demon caused the thalamus to degenerate. Had these superstitious individuals lived years earlier, they might be tinder tenders at the Salem witch trials.

Casting demons out of Christians has been popular because it is not as scary as casting real ones out of unbelievers as witnessed in Matthew 8:28-33. It is easier to market to those who are ready to buy. An unbeliever may not be in the market for deliverance, but there will always be those looking for quick ways to lose weight, make money or stop smoking. There is alot of money to be made marketing to these type of people. Is it any wonder there is a large following of Christians who more than happy to blame their sinful behavior on demonic possession.

Jesus never said demons will cause you to spend eternity in hell. Failure to repent, on the other hand, will cause you to spend eternity in hell. Read Luke 13:3 Jesus did not say, "unless you repent and keep casting demons out of yourself, you will surely die."

James 4:7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

Yes, we are to resist the devil. Jesus resisted the devil. Read Matthew 4:1-11 It gives a clear reference where Jesus was tempted by the devil and resisted him with the Word of God. He didn't cast demons out of himself.

If you hear someone preaching that Christians can be possessed with demons, who's to say the speaker giving this message isn't possessed? Hmmmmm??? Think about it. If a person is telling you a Christian can be possessed and the person giving the message is a Christian, it is possible they are actually the one who are possessed, isn't it? Read the scriptures and you will find no mention of a "deliverance ministry."

In deliverance services, you will see that they call the demons up and speak to them. Deuteronomy 18:11-12 applies to the practitioners of this art because they are attempting to conjure demons and speak to them.

Deuteronomy 18:10 (NET)
18:9 When you enter the land the Lord your God is giving you, you must not learn the abhorrent practices of those nations.
18:10 There must never be found among you anyone who sacrifices his son or daughter in the fire, anyone who practices divination, an omen reader, a soothsayer, a sorcerer,
18:11 one who casts spells, one who conjures up spirits, a practitioner of the occult, or a necromancer.
18:12 Whoever does these things is abhorrent to the Lord and because of these things the Lord your God is about to drive them out from before you.

Jude 1:24-25
24 Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy,
25 To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen.

The scriptures say He is able to keep us form falling. It is a pity some Christians don't believe He can.


- Rod
Copyright © 2003 Rod

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