What Does The Bible Say About Deliverance?
Q: Why does the modern church differ so widely on the topic of deliverance? Why did the demon-possessed man run to Jesus, and how can we encourage believers not to fear deliverance? Why do so few churches emphasize deliverance today, and what does biblical deliverance ministry look like in practice?
A: In my experience, most of what goes by the name “deliverance ministry” is a strange distraction from the work of Christian discipleship. Granted, some listeners may have experienced very different things. The question being asked is, why are there different perspectives on this?
There are vastly different perspectives in the Church as to whether or not Christians can be demon-possessed. The normative view throughout most of Christian history and theology is that Christians cannot be demon-possessed. Others both today and throughout history believe that Christians can be demon-possessed.
Most of what gets called “deliverance ministry” today operates from the premise that Christians can be demon-possessed. A lot of that has to do with the definition of demon-possessed. Some people like to take the ancient Greek word that we translate as demon-possessed (daimonizomai) and they say it just means to be “demonized.” And demonized can mean anything. It can mean being tempted. It can mean being full-on possessed.
Look, I do not adopt that standpoint. I think demon-possessed means demon-possessed. Notably, if you have a demonic spirit dwelling inside your very body and being, and that demonic spirit exercises some measure or level of control over you, then that demonic spirit controls you in some way. I find the ideas that a demonic spirit could take up residence inside a believer, and that a demonic spirit could control a born-again child of God, to be beliefs that are incompatible with biblical Christianity. I definitely do not believe that Christians can be demon-possessed.
Now, I need to say this. I think there is another segment of Christianity which greatly underestimates the malevolent effect that demonic spirits can have on people, including the oppression of believers from the outside. I think there are a lot of Christians who, in general, don’t appreciate the reality of spiritual warfare in the life of the believer. Many people fail to understand or believe the damage that the devil and his demons can do from the outside, through his persistent lies and deceptions shouted into the mind and heart of a person, including a believer, and the bad effect that his influence can have.
It’s important for us to deal with demonic spirits remembering these two vital truths: the victory of Jesus Christ over demonic powers, and the believer’s standing in Christ.
Why don’t churches focus more on this topic? First remember that there a lot of churches who don’t believe Christians can be demon-possessed. I would be in that camp. Secondly, there’s also a lot of churches who don’t appreciate the intensity and the level of attack and ultimate damage that can be done from demonic spirits from the outside in.