Can a Christian be Demon Possessed?

There are ministers and churches who have developed an extensive ministry of "deliverance", by which they mean setting people free from demon-possession. Many of them focus largely on delivering Christians from this "demonic enslavement". Unfortunately, their ministry is not based on Biblical truth, but on a sort of superstitious belief which is not Christian in origin.

I want to show you the Bible's clear teaching that Christians have been set free from demonic control, and it is now impossible for them to be possessed or controlled by demons.

Let's start with a consideration of what "salvation" is. The verse above, and many like it, show that a fundamental change occurs when a person is converted. Though they were darkness, yet now they are become light. Though they were dead, yet now they are alive. Though they were children of Satan, they have become children of God. Though they were subjects of the kingdom of darkness, yet now they are constituants of Heaven. Though they were vessels of wrath, yet now they are indwelt and sealed by the Holy Spirit of God.

When a person trusts Christ as his or her Saviour and Lord, that person becomes a NEW CREATION. "Old things have passed away, behold, all has become new". And a part of this change is the release from bondage. Jesus Christ sets His people free, and they will never again be in bondage to Satan, and certainly never possessed by Satan or his demons.

"Possession" speaks of ownership. If I possess a house, that means I own it. If I possess a motor cycle, I own it. Satan can never own a Christian - we have been bought by God, and are now His possessions. Think about it - it is impossible to overstate this truth - if you have been born again - you are God's possession, bought with a price. You can NEVER be possessed by Satan! He has lost all hold he ever had on you.

Just as God is Light, in the same way Satan is darkness. All he wants to do is lead you into sin. To suggest that you are or can be still in Satan's power, is to say that you are a slave to Satan and to sin, AND YOU ARE NOT! The Bible clearly says you are not. If you now sin, it is because you have chosen to sin. The responsibility is yours.

There is talk of being released from the demon of fear, or lust, or alcohol. These things are not demons. They are sins - the sinful behaviour of the person who is not exercising their freedom in Christ. The bible tells us that demons are ex-angels; spiritual beings. We, too, are spiritual beings, and it is almost certain that angels and demons, like ourselves, possess multi-faceted personalities. (After all, we can deduce from scripture that we humans are a little lower than the angels). We caricature them when we suggest they induce their prey to indulge in just one specific sinful behaviour - that there is a demon of lust or hate or smoking. They understand their victims - their strengths and weaknesses, and use circumstances and known character flaws to encourage the whole gamut of sinful behaviours, including those habitual behaviours each of us may have.

So then, what do we say to those who say "but our experience proves that Christians can be demon-possessed"? We reply, experience proves nothing. What God says in His word is true, and if our experiences differ, then we must doubt the validity of our experiences.

We tend to have whatever experiences we believe we will have; whatever experiences we give ourselves permission to have. If a person is continually overcome by a particular sin, he may well begin to believe that he is under Satanic control. If the people with whom he interacts further encourage and validate this belief, he may start to show "evidence" of such control. Satan himself may be quite happy to foster this belief.

Satan is a liar!

Satan is the father of lies - when he lies he is speaking his native language. And this is one of his foremost means of gaining influence over Christians. You see, you are free. You are not in bondage, you do not have to sin. But if Satan can get you to sin often, you may come to believe that you are powerless to resist temptation. Satan will lie to you, and tell you you have no power to resist. He wants you to believe you are trapped. If he can get you to believe you are trapped, he knows you will behave as though you are trapped. The result: a weak, poor, demoralised struggling Christian living in continuing sin, who believes he is enslaved, and does not know that he is free!

This is, I earnestly believe, his modus operandi. He cannot control you, but he can influence you and lie to you, and so induce you to believe that you are captive to sin.

Some Christians may be happy to accept that they are demon possessed, because it allows them to shift the blame for their sin. Rather than being the perpetrator of sin, they become the poor over-powered victim of demons. Other Christians perpetuate this belief because they come to be seen as having a "ministry" of casting out demons. Their ministry brings them recognition and makes them highly esteemed in their churches.

Some have sort to avoid this truth by a shift in the wording of their belief - instead of saying "demon possession", they say "demon oppression". In essence, what they mean hasn't changed, it has just been worded differently to avoid a contradiction with the clear teaching of the Bible. Such a change in the wording does not, however, change the truth of the Bible in this matter - Christians cannot be possessed or controlled by Satan or any demon.

Of course, in one sense Christians are frequently "oppressed" by Satan, as he attacks us and tries to lead us into sin. It's absolutely necessary for the Christian to know, at such times, that Satan does not have control or power over you — he lies, he bluffs, he bullies, but he can only suggest that you sin, he is powerless to force you to sin.

You, fellow believer, have been set free!! Now live in that freedom.

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