He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. 1 Colossians 1:13,14 ESV

If a person indwelled by the Holy Spirit can at the same time be sovereignly controlled by an evil spirit, then our redemption is meaningless. R.C. Sproul

I recently came across a post challenging those disagreeing with the teaching that Christians can have indwelling demons and that deliverance is for believers. Twenty-five counter questions were posed in favor of this practice with the understanding that they were not based in Scripture and would be difficult to answer with Scripture. This seemed both problematic and a challenge I was personally willing to tackle as one who came out of such teaching for many years and who also taught this to others.

Deliverance ministry is quite popular to discuss and to engage. It is a source of contention for those who passionately hold to its practice and those who believe it is unbiblical when propagating Christian deliverance. Some report to conduct mass deliverance sessions in corporate gatherings as well as deliverance on zoom calls. Others promote self-deliverance and anecdotal teaching from books claiming extrabiblical revelation about demons and deliverance not found in Scripture. There are teachings about generational curses, demons attached to family bloodlines, and other beliefs central to those holding to Christian deliverance. These teachings warrant thoughts and considerations as there are concerns surrounding these teachings, especially when it comes to the belief that the Third Person of the Trinity would cohabit and compartmentalize from a demon in a born-again believer in Christ.

Concerns and Considerations

There are things to consider when evaluating the belief of Christian deliverance. An area of concern is the dependency upon a man or woman in order for an individual to be free, and this most certainly does occur. Individuals schedule a deliverance session and are told they may need more than one session in order to be free. They may be instructed to write down renunciations or to even give a financial seed to that particular ministry in order to seal the deliverance. Some individuals become so reliant upon deliverance ministers for perceived freedom that they will go to multiple different people to have demons cast out of them. There does not seem to be proper Biblical counseling and discipleship offered, and there is no ministering of the gospel of Jesus Christ in accordance with Scripture.

The greatest concern is for those who are professing Jesus Christ while also being told they have demons cohabiting with the Holy Spirit. Scripture simply does not support this teaching, and one could conclude that this results in a low view of the power of the Holy Spirit in the life of a true believer. There may not be a proper understanding of the gospel, or that individual may have never heard the gospel of Jesus Christ. Scripture can also be misapplied in saying that giving the devil a foothold leads to demonic indwelling, leading to people looking for demons rather than looking to Christ.

1 John 4:4 encourages those in Christ saying, “Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.” 1 John 5:18 is also encouraging, “We know that everyone who has been born of God does not keep on sinning, but he who was born of God protects him, and the evil one does not touch him.” The emphasis of trust is placed in a fallible human being to bring deliverance while not having a sound Biblical understanding of Christ’s power to deliver us, Biblical spiritual warfare, and the process of sanctification while in this world. If the Holy Spirit is strong enough to save us, He is strong enough to deliver us. He is not a weakling.

Deliverance ministry could also be viewed as removing accountability for sinful behavior and displacing it as demonic behavior. This essentially goes back to the sin in the garden when Eve answered God in saying, “The serpent deceived me.” This does not lead to the conclusion that demons do not exist. We simply cannot ignore the world and the flesh, which are other adversaries to contend with in life. The practice of casting out demons is also claimed in many other religions. When an individual appeals to personal experience for Christian deliverance from indwelling demons as the standard of truth, what makes an unbeliever’s appeal to personal deliverance experience less legitimate? These are things offered for consideration to those who hold to such beliefs.

As true believers in Christ, we are instructed and encouraged to come before the throne of grace and to turn to Christ in our weakness. We are to confess our sins, and God is faithful to forgive us and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9). We are to trust that Jesus Christ is our Advocate and that He is our Deliverer. We are to turn to Him first and foremost. We are to trust in His finished work on the cross, and we are to resist the devil. We do that through the Word of God and by His Spirit. It may not sound exciting or sensational to some, but it is instruction from God, and it is sufficient for us. It is far greater news to know and to understand that Jesus Christ has delivered us from the domain of darkness and that He disarmed the rulers and authorities, putting them to open shame and triumphing over them in the cross (Colossians 1:13, Colossians 2:15).

The deliverance Jesus Christ truly offers to born-again believers is far greater. The greatest deliverance is from the penalty of sin rightfully deserved before the holy God. Jesus stated in Luke 4:18,19, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord.”

By understanding the Word of God and being led by the Holy Spirit, we can truly grow in spiritual maturity, and we need not fear demons abiding within us. Abide in His Word and renew your mind with His Word while being led by the Spirit of God into all truth. 2 Corinthians 3:17 says, “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” Let the Word of God encourage you and answer the questions.

Listen to this episode of The Lovesick Scribe podcast where 25 counter questions in favor of Christian deliverance are addressed Biblically: The Lovesick Scribe Podcast: Deliver Us From Deliverance Ministry on Apple Podcasts