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Are there demons in this world? Yes. Can
true Christians be demon possessed? No. There
is not one instance in the Bible where Jesus or his
disciples cast demons out of true believers. In fact
Jesus tells us we have all power over demons. "Behold, I
give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions,
and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by
any means hurt you." Luke 10:19 How can something
we have power over, turn around and possess us? It
can't. However, there are examples in the Bible of
people being demon possessed who may have been saved at
one time, but who are now spiritually lost. Judas,
one of Jesus' own disciples is an example of this.
The Bible actually says the devil entered into him. Luke
22:3 "Then Satan entered Judas, called Iscariot, one
of the Twelve." John 13:27 "As soon as Judas took
the bread, Satan entered into him." Judas is a prime
example of someone who can appear to have it together
spiritually, and can actually have severed their
relationship with Christ and be involved in the evil
forces of this world to the point of possession.
A Christian who has a relationship with Christ, and has
not denied Christ or turned to another gospel other than
what God teaches us in His word, has the protection spoken
of in Luke. This doesn't mean true believers won't
be attacked. While we cannot be possessed by demons,
we are still subject to the temptations of the flesh.
Peter had many problems that people who believe Christians
can be demon possessed would say can only be resolved by
having demons cast out of him. However, Jesus told
Peter that the devil desired to have the opportunity to
"sift" him like wheat. Then He prayed that Peter's
faith in Jesus would not fail and that after he came
through the temptation, he would have knowledge he could
use to help others weather the temptations of the devil
(Luke 22:31,32). The difference between Peter and Judas
is that Jesus prayed for Peter, but He did not pray for
Judas. He only told Judas to be quick about what he
had decided to do (betray Jesus). Judas had crossed
a line in the spirit realm that Peter hadn't crossed,
which opened Judas to demon possession. Christians whose
faith is in Christ can be attacked, depressed, oppressed,
and tempted, but if we resist the devil, he will flee from
us. James 4:7 "Submit yourselves, then, to God.
Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." Romans 8:1
"There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are
in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after
the Spirit." Jesus does not violate man's free will.
He is pictured in Revelation 3:20 as standing at the door,
knocking, waiting for the door to be opened so He can come
in. If God, who is all-powerful, cannot violate
man's will, demons certainly must honor man's will if they
know what the Bible says and follow it. The devil
will try like crazy to open that door, but it is
ultimately up to us whether we let Satan in or not.
People will often use personal experiences to substantiate
claims that Christians can be possessed instead of using
the Bible as the ultimate authority on the subject.
As a result, they try to cast out works of the flesh
thinking they are demons. Until we are given our new
bodies and are living eternally with Christ, we will
always have to contend with our sinful nature.
Through prayer and the help of the Holy Spirit we can
persevere and overcome these attacks. It is
important to not become so demon conscious and so focused
on warding off attacks that we forget about Jesus.
It is through Him that we have power over evil, so making
Christ and his teachings the center of our lives will
naturally give us strength. It is when we fall away
from our faith in Christ that we are in danger. Saying
you are a Christian does not necessarily mean you are
saved. Matthew 7:21 "Not everyone who says to me, Lord,
Lord will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he that doeth
the will of my father which is in heaven." There are
many people in this world who go to church every Sunday,
tithe as they are supposed to, have the right friends, and
are good at bragging about their righteousness and the
works they perform in the name of the church.
Unfortunately, some of these same people can be heard
saying things like, "I believe all paths lead to God.
It doesn't really matter if you believe in Christ or
Buddha as long as you do good things". They read the
right Christian books, and read their Bible from time to
time, but when it comes right down to it, they deny the
saving grace of Christ, they do not believe what the Bible
says, and they, willingly or not, encourage others to
follow false prophets and religions. These people
open all kinds of doors for Satan. They put out the
welcome mat, make a pot of coffee, and tell the devil to
come right on in. It is these "Christians" who, like
Judas, can be possessed by demons, who will be attacked
relentlessly, and who desperately need to believe in the
Bible and have a right relationship with Jesus Christ.
If only these people could see that God promises us power
over the devil and his minions, they need only accept it
and no longer turn their backs on it. It is the
believer's job to share this with them. |
