DEMONS: THE NITTY GRITTY is not ALWAYS PRETTY

So then what of a believer who actually is being attacked in some way by demonic forces? What should the approach be of a responsible church leader towards them?

Following Grimsley and Miller,* I believe that

“a believer cannot be inhabited and therefore controlled by a demonic spirit since he or she is indwelt by the Holy Spirit. This view does allow that believers may be externally ‘oppressed’ by demonic forces, but maintains that resistance, not deliverance, is the proper method of dealing with this problem”.

Here are some ways we can counsel those who are believers to resist and defeat Satan, his schemes and his minions.

First, it is important for the believer to understand that Satan is a vanquished for because of the cross. Even though God allows Satan to strut about and cause ruckus still, Satan’s time is limited and he is on a leash, the length of which is God’s choosing.

Through the cross, God has ensured Satan’s absolute defeat. God has also secured for the believer many means by which to not only deal with Satan but also to resist and defeat him to the utmost. However, we as Christians must be aware of Satan’s ploys as well as the tools God has given us to fight them.

For example, one method Satan uses to gain a foothold in our lives is unforgiveness (II Cor 2:10-11). This means in a counseling situation with a person who is under demonic attack, a great question to ask them is if they are harboring unforgiveness.

We as pastors and/or counselors should press them on this to ascertain the truth. If the individual is allowing bitterness to take hold in their life in a significant way, we must help them to come up with practical steps derived from the Bible to take care of this. This is one thing a believer can do to rip deep-seeded sin out by the root. This will surely have an effect as they wage spiritual battle.

Another thing that must be done in order for a believer to stop demonic attack is to break off all connections to the occult (Acts 19:19; I Cor 10:20). For example, if a believer is somehow playing around with a Oujia board, they must get rid of it immediately.

I would even go farther than some here and advocate a very strident counter-attack if a believer is facing demonic attack. What do I mean? I also think it is best for the believer to not watch of read materials which glorify the occult. One usual offender in this area is a steady diet of horror films and even more subtle practices such as playing Dungeons&Dragons.

These are the type of aggressive actions I would counsel a believer to take if they are involved in these activities (or ones similar to them). Even if a person is not facing an obvious demonic attack but is engrossed with these types of items, they should still heed the commands given in Philippians 4:7-9.

*Brent Grimsley and Elliot Miller, “Can a Christian Be “Demonized?”, Christian Research Institute, STATEMENT DD075.

DEMONS: SOME THINGS TO CONSIDER

It is important to demonstrate the positive evidence that a Christian can not be demon possessed from Scripture. What follows is a brief outline of this evidence. Some of this will be shown by way of pointed questions.

It is clear that the New Testament teaches us the Holy Spirit indwells the believer (Jn 14:16; Eph 1:13-14) - permanently. The believer has received God’s sonship (Acts 26:18; Col 1:13) and is now a child of God whereas before s/he was a child of darkness.

Since demonic possession involves ownership (a form of “property rights” (?) cf. Matt 12:29; Lk 11:21-22) how can Satan ever possess a Christian who is literally owned by God, covered with the blood of Jesus and sealed with the Holy Spirit?

We know that Christ and Satan have no fellowship (II Cor 6:14-15) so how could God allow a demon to invade a Christian when the believer's body is the temple of the Holy Spirit (II Cor 6:19); especially considering that God who is in the believer is greater than Satan who is in the world (I Jn 4:4)?

It is true that Scripture says a lot about spiritual warfare, such as we should resist Satan (I Pet 5:9), we should be aware of his schemes (II Cor 2:11) and that we must put on the whole armor of God (Eph 6). It is telling that exorcism for a believer is never given as the remedy for our sin ills or as component of our spiritual victory as we do battle with the forces of darkness.

The New Testament epistles are silent on the idea of exorcising demons from believers (or anyone, for that matter).

Some may say that I Corinthians 5:5 and 1 Timothy 1:20 talk about delivering those who claim to be believers over to Satan; this is true. This does not imply possession, though. In fact, Paul says nothing at all of demon possession.

Instead, these passages relate to church discipline whereby a rebellious person is thrown out of the church and into Satan’s domain – that is all.

Lastly, if the sins of the flesh (Gal 5:19-21) do give Satan a legitimate opportunity to control the believer's life, then why is walking in the Spirit the “cure” (v. 24) and not an emergency exorcism?

DEMONOLOGY: EXEGETING via EXPERIENCE?

Even though I do not believe a Christian can be possessed/invaded by a demon, I do understand how a well-meaning Christian who has had certain personal experiences with demoniacs may come to a different conclusion. These personal experiences may lead them to interpret the cases of Saul and the bent over woman in a different light, even though the evidence from these passages is inconclusive, even shaky.

For this to work the advocate has to show that the Bible is either silent on the issue or even leans towards their position; then they can let “real life” stories do the rest. The two big problems with this are as follows:

1). It sets an extremely dangerous precedent of allowing perceived personal experience to become the determining factor in one’s hermeneutics. This is not healthy.

2). It seems many of these personal experiences can be best explained by alternate means – the hypothesis that Christians can be controlled by demons is not necessary for an answer.

While it is true that personal experience is not to be the lens through which we interpret Scripture, it is notable that even a theologian as respected as Merrill F. Unger talks about personal experiences with what he sees as Christians who have been demonized. Unger believes that believers can quench the Spirit as in I Thessalonians 5:19. Unger believes this action can eventually give the Devil a right to invade the believer.
[Merrill F. Unger, What Demons Can Do to Saints (Chicago: Moody Press, 1991), 71-74.]

Therefore, Unger poses the following rhetorical question:

“who dares to assert that a demon spirit will not invade the life of a believer in which the Holy Spirit has been grieved by serious and persistent sin and quenched by flagrant disobedience"?

[Merrill F. Unger, What Demons Can Do to Saints (Chicago: Moody Press, 1991), 60.]

Other examples of Christian leaders who think this way are Lutheran pastoral counselor Kurt [Kurt E. Koch, Christian Counselling and Occultism: A Complete Guidebook to Occult Oppression and Deliverance (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 1972).] and Mark Bubeck, who says,

"If I seek some experience which does not have a sound biblical foundation, I am opening my life to some deceiving spirit to come as an angel of light"

[Mark Bubeck, The Adversary (Chicago: Moody Press, 1975), 130.].

The Hammonds [Frank and Ida Mae Hammond, Pigs in the Parlor: A Practical Guide to Deliverance (Kirkwood, MO: Impact Books, 1973), 113.] also think this position is given credence from testimonies of Christians having demons of envy, lust, bitterness, resentment, hatred, anger and drunkenness exorcised from them.

From my survey of the so-called “deliverance ministry” literature, it becomes much worse than the aforementioned works – sensationalism, superstition, poor logic and bad exegesis abound in many of these books.

The most egregious/notorious/infamous offender is without doubt one Bob Larson, who, according to leading cult expert and apologist Hank Hanegraaff,* believes that demons “can trigger hundreds of independent fire alarms simultaneously, materialize dangerous weapons out of thin air, tamper with car brakes … cause earthquakes” … and even cause “demonic impregnation” resulting in the need for an abortion – via prayer!
[Hank Hanegraaff, The Covering: God’s Plan to Protect You From Evil (Nashville, TN: Thomans Nelson, 2002), 8.]

*Hanegraaff cites all the primary sources from whence he formulates this brief summary of Larson’s demonology.

DEMONS: WHAT CAN … and CAN NOT HAPPEN

The first question to ask is “are there any texts that seem to possibly indicate that a believer can be controlled by demons”? Well, there are certainly some common passages defenders of Christian demon possession put forth, but are they valid? Let us look at a few.

A prominent example often given is the case of King Saul (I Sam 18:10-11; 19:9-10).
The first thing we must note is that it is not even a given that King Saul could even be described as a believer for sure!

Even if he was, Thomas Ice and Robert Dean, Jr. make a great point when they note:

“The Hebrew text says that the evil spirit would come upon Saul or depart from upon him; it is never said to have entered into Saul, as would be expected if demon-possession was the intended idea.”

[Thomas Ice and Robert Dean, Jr., Overrun by Demons: The Church’s New Preoccupation with the Demonic (formerly A Holy Rebellion: Strategy for Spiritual Warfare) (Eugene, OR: Harvest House Publishers, 1990), 125.]

Furthermore, it appears that during the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit only temporarily came upon individuals but did not dwell in them permanently (cf. Ps 51:11). One interesting case is that of the pagan King Cyrus, whom the Bible describes as being anointed to accomplish God’s purposes (Is 45:1). In the current era, though, the Holy Spirit permanently indwells the believer (cf. Jn 14:10.7) – and believers only.

Another case often given is that of the sick woman who was bent over. The Bible does say that this was caused by an evil spirit (Lk 13:10-17). One thing to consider is that Jesus simply heals her. Jesus does not cast out an evil spirit of her as one might expect if she had been invaded by a demon.

Even C. Fred Dickason, who does think that Christians can be truly demonized, is cautious here:

“Though we cannot come to the settled conclusion that she was a genuine believer who was inhabited by a demon, the weight seems to balance in that direction”.

[C. Fred Dickason, Demon Possession and the Christian: A New Perspective (Chicago: Moody Press, 1987), 125.]

The weight he mentions is as follows:

1.) She worshipped at the synagogue (Lk 13:10)
2.) She glorified God when she was healed (Lk 13:13)
3.) Jesus calls her a "daughter of Abraham" (Lk 13:16)

First, just because she was at the synagogue does not mean she was a believer – think of the Pharisees. Further, even if she was a true believer, we must remember that this event was before Pentecost. This was before the permanent indwelling of the Spirit had been poured out on all believers.

Second, it is possible she gave glory to God as a result of her healing and was now a believer, although she may not have necessarily been one before. This means her healing and regeneration could have been essentially simultaneous with the result being her praising God. It is possible that prior to her healing she was not a believer.

Thirdly, the phrase “daughter of Abraham” could simply be an ethnic designation, meaning she was Jewish (cf. Jn 8:37). The phrase could mean that her heart had been changed and now was truly a daughter of Abraham, similar to what happened with Zaccheus (Lk 19:9).

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DEMONS … and US

What is the relationship between demons and the believer? More specifically, can a believer be what is commonly called “demon possessed”?

First, I want to establish that the Bible teaches that demons are active in the world today. I hold this position over against certain liberal theologians and hyper-critical de-mythologizers such as Rudolf Bultmann.

With that being made clear, I think it is important to define what we mean when we ask the question, “can a Christian be demon possessed”? If by this question a person means “can a Christian be dominated by demons to the point of being controlled, I think the answer is clearly “no”. Nonetheless, that is not all that needs to be said regarding this issue.

Following Wayne Grudem, I think the term demon possession (and even demonized) is an imprecise one and can easily lead to great confusion and misunderstanding. Grudem points out that by this question “We are simply asking how abnormal a Christian’s life can become…”. He then says “It seems better simply to recognize that there can be varying degrees of demonic attack or influence on people, even on Christians, and to leave it at that”.

I think this is the most balanced and accurate position to hold regarding this issue and I will reflect on this for the remainder of these posts.

Wayne A. Grudem, Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1994), 424-5.

My Personal Doctrinal Statement on ANGELS

I believe that angels are real; they actually exist and operate in the unseen world. I believe they are spiritual beings created by God (Col. 1:16). I believe angels are personal being who posses emotions (Luke 15:10), intellect (II Sam. 14:20), and a will (II Tim. 2:26). I believe angels are immortal beings (Luke 20:36) with great power (Ps. 103:20). Angels do not marry (Matt 22:30).

I believe there are elect angels who serve God (Mark 8:38, Ps. 103:20). These angels are holy angels (I Tim. 5:21) and they worship God (Ps. 148:2). I believe the elect angels declare the goodness of God’s character and the magnificence of his works (Rev.7:11-12).

I believe elect angels serve God in their interactions with humans by delivering messages (Luke 1-2), transmitting God’s word (Heb. 2:2), giving instructions (Matt. 2: 13-14), protecting believers (Acts 5:19) and encouraging believers (Dan. 10:12).

I believe God also uses elect angels to execute His holy judgment and His holy wrath (II Ki. 19:35). When God allows humans to become aware of the reality of angels around them, the natural human reaction is fear and wonderment (Rev. 19:10).

I believe there also angels who have left their proper abode (Jude 6) and have become evil angels. These evil angels now work to get humans to rebel against God (I Jn. 3:8). These evil angels also tempt humans in order to entice them to do evil (I Pet. 5:8). These evil, fallen angels are called demons in the Bible (Lk. 8:2).

I believe that the Ruler of the Demons (Matt. 12:24) – Satan – is also a personal being. Satan was created by God (Ez. 28:15) and his original state was flawless (Ez. 28:2-14). Satan rejected his place and coveted God’s authority because of his sinful pride (Is. 14:13-14). Satan’s rebellion resulted in his (and his followers; Rev. 9:11) expulsion from God’s presence (Ez. 28:17).

Satan currently works in the world in direct opposition to God, His plan and His people (Job 1-2; Rev. 12:10). Satan is very powerful and a master of deception. Believers must be aware of Satan’s tricks and schemes or they will be taken in by his devices.

I believe that Satan’s final doom is already sealed. I believe Satan will be bound and cast into the abyss for a thousand years (Rev. 20:1-3). At the end of the thousand years, God will release Satan from the pit. God will allow Satan to lead the nations into one final rebellion of the against God (Rev. 20:7-9).

After that, Satan will be thrown into the lake of fire where he will be tormented for all eternity (Rev. 20:10).

HOW TO BE A TITUS 2 WOMAN

TITUS 2:1-5

“These three Pastorals are really a trinity in unity, exhorting us to guard the precious deposit of the Gospel. In I Timothy we are to protect it. In II Timothy we are to proclaim it. In Titus we are to practice it”
– J . Sidlow Baxter

THE PASTOR
speak the things which are proper for sound doctrine, TITUS 2:1, NKJV
to orally communicate what is fitting and healthy
Correct doctrine must result in correct behavior - Hiebert

6 COMMANDS FOR OLDER MEN
Sober
Reverent
Temperate
Sound in faith
Sound in love
Sound in patience

5 COMMANDS FOR OLDER WOMEN
PLUS, all 6 of the commands for the older men!
OLDER = Those who no longer had child-rearing responsibilities, typically around age 60 (cf. 1 Tim. 5:3–10) – MacArthur

1. REVERENT IN BEHAVIOR
in behavior as becometh holiness (or, holy women) - KJV
show their reverence for God by their demeanor – ISV
live in a way that honors God - NLT
Lit. Like those engaged in sacred service, devout
carry themselves as befits a holy calling – Knox
A state of mind suited to a sacred character -Guthrie

Matthew Henry's Commentary
… keeping a pious decency and decorum in clothing and gesture, in looks and speech, and all their deportment, and this from an inward principle and habit of holiness, influencing and ordering the outward conduct at all times.

2. NOT SLANDERERS
not false accusers – KJV
not malicious gossips - NASB
not scandal-mongers - NEB
DIABOLOUS διάβολος
"Gossip is something you like about someone you don’t"

3. NOT GIVEN TO MUCH WINE
nor enslaved to much wine - NASB
not be addicted to alcohol – ISV
not be heavy drinkers - NLT
not slaves to strong drink - NEB
intoxicating drink = loose tongue

4. TEACHERS OF GOOD THINGS
be examples of goodness – ISV
Lit. good teachers of what is right, noble
They give good counsel - AMP
The method of teaching is by their lives and behavior – A.T. Hanson
Cf. I Tim. 2:12, 1 Co. 14:34

5. ADMONISH THE YOUNG WOMEN
Teach – KJV
encourage - NRSV
train - ESV
To make sober and temperate - AMP
To make sound in mind, to make sane, to restore to one’s senses, to discipline – Robertson
Lit. fresh, new
Esp. the newly married

7 COMMANDS FOR YOUNGER WOMEN
They are to learn these primarily by learning from the OLDER WOMEN
Public example (actions) as well as more personal, private interactions (words)

1. LOVE THEIR HUSBANDS
Devoted to, to be fond of their husbands – Wuest’s Expanded Translation
Cf. Eph. 5:22–33
Gr. philandros
Philos - to be friendly to one
Aner - of a husband
Lit. having affection/love for one’s husband

2. LOVE THEIR CHILDREN
Devoted to; to be fond of their children - Wuest’s Expanded Translation
Greek, Philŏtĕknŏs - maternal

3. BE DISCREET
sober-minded – ASV
sensible – NASB
self-controlled – ESV
to live wisely – NLT
mistress of themselves – Moffatt
Cf. Prov. 2:11

4. CHASTE
Pure – ESV
innocent
In mind, heart and in actions!
Gr. hagnos
1 exciting reverence, venerable, sacred. 2 pure from carnality, chaste, modest. immaculate. clean. Clear.
Enhanced Strong’s Lexicon

5. HOMEMAKERS
home-workers - NASB
home-keepers – KJV
good managers of the household – NRSV
fulfilling their duties at home - NET
domestic – Moffatt
Cf. Proverbs 31:16, 24

6. GOOD
kind – ESV
Kind-hearted – AMP
Benevolent, heartily doing what is good and beneficial to others – Hiebert
Sympathetic, understanding – Gould

7. OBEDIENT TO THEIR OWN HUSBANDS
Subject - NASB
Submissive – ESV
in subjection to their own husbands with implicit obedience – Wuest’s Expanded Translation
Gr. in the middle voice, stresses voluntary acceptance of headship
Duty to complement, support - Hiebert
An attitude of deference – Gould

12 COMMANDS TOTAL

5 COMMANDS
reverent in behavior
not slanderers
not given to much wine
teachers of good things
admonish the young women

7 COMMANDS
love their husbands
to love their children
to be discreet
chaste
homemakers
good
obedient to their own husbands

WHY?
“that the word of God may not be blasphemed”
(or “discredited”)
TITUS 3:5-7
5not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit,
6whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior,
7that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

GOOD WORKS
Pattern of good works, 2:7
Zealous of good works, 2:14
Ready unto every good work, 3:1
Careful to maintain good works, 3:8
Maintain good works for urgent needs, 3:14