 Can Christians be demon-possessed? There are really two approaches to answering this question. One way to answer this question is to look at your experience or the experiences of others. Now here's the only issue with looking to experience as the primary means of authority. Different people have different experiences that contradict one another. So to avoid confusion, we look to a better way of answering that question. We must first look to God's Word. Scripture holds more authority than our stories. We have to remember that the Bible is our ultimate authority. Now don't get me wrong, experiences count and experiences can be very good things, but experiences must be interpreted through the truths of Scripture. So what does the Bible actually teach about demon possession? Firstly, we need to define what we mean by demon possession, so let's look to the Scripture. When evening had come, they brought to him many who were demon-possessed, and he cast out the spirits with the Word and healed all who were sick, Matthew 8.16. In the original language, the term demon-possession means just that. To be possessed by a demon, to be demon-possessed is to be owned by a demonic being who literally takes up residence in your body. This results in high levels of torment and a demonically influenced physical being. Demonic possession, according to Scripture, is ownership. The question then becomes, who owns the believer? The spirit is the guarantee, the first installment, the pledge, a foretaste of our inheritance until the redemption of God's own purchased possession, His believers, to the praise of His glory, Ephesians 1.14. But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, the holy nation, God's very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for He called you out of the darkness into His wonderful light, that's 1 Peter 2.9. And you belong to Christ, and Christ belongs to God, that's 1 Corinthians 3.23. So it's perfectly clear that the believer belongs to God. That's not even debated among serious Bible believers. The question then becomes, can a believer be both owned by God and a demon at the same time? That is, can the believer have both the Holy Spirit and a demon dwelling in them? Here's what the Bible says. But you belong to God, my dear children. You have already won a victory over those people, because the spirit who lives in you is greater than the spirit who lives in the world, that's 1 John 4.4. Notice that the Scripture makes a distinction between God in you and a spirit in the world. It clearly teaches that one is in you and the other is not. Now it's at this point that some might interject, but man is a body, soul and spirit. Demons may not dwell in the body where the Holy Spirit dwells, and demons may not dwell in the spirit man, but they can dwell in the soul. Now aside from the fact that this idea of soul possession was never taught in the New Testament, consider what the implications of such a reality would be. The soul is the dwelling place of the will. Do demons take control over man's free will? Let's look at the demoniac in Mark 5. When Jesus climbed out of the boat, a man possessed by an evil spirit came out of the tombs to meet him. That's Mark 5 too. Do we really imagine that this was the exercise of demonic will? What demon would will its captive toward freedom? The man was drawn to Jesus by his own will. So if someone wants to believe that a Christian can be demon-possessed, the burden of proof is on them. They have to demonstrate with Scripture that this is the reality. So far, we've seen that the Scripture teaches just the opposite. It clearly teaches that we are God's possession. Now on a side note, one might wonder, well then from whom do we expel demons? The answer is the unbeliever. You see, a common misconception is that we shouldn't cast demons out of the unbeliever because they may end up worse than before. This is the portion of Scripture that causes some concern. When an evil spirit leaves a person, it goes into the desert searching for rest. But when it finds none, it says, I will return to the person I came from. So it returns and finds that its former home is all swept and in order. Then the spirit finds seven other spirits more evil than itself and they all enter the person and live there. So that person is worse off than before. That's Luke 11, 24 through 26. Now some Christians believe that this portion of Scripture prevents us from casting demons out of unbelievers. They may say something like, well, if we cast demons out of unbelievers, they may end up worse, seven times worse if they don't get saved. But this is not a proper way to view or apply the Scriptures and for several reasons. Firstly, saying that you shouldn't cast demons out of unbelievers because they may end up worse is like saying that you shouldn't evangelize the lost because they may one day backslide. It would be better if they had never known the way to righteousness than to know it and then reject the command they were given to live a holy life. That's 2 Peter 2, 21. But we don't neglect the lost just because they may one day end up backslidden. In the same way, we don't neglect the demon possess simply because they may end up with more demonic influence over them. Secondly, we should cast out demons from unbelievers because they're not promised tomorrow. By waiting to liberate the demon possessed, we are being presumptuous in assuming that they have more time. The Scripture says, come now, you who say today or tomorrow, we will go to such and such a city. Spend a year there, buy and sell and make a profit. Whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. That's James 4, 13-14. Thirdly, deliverance often results in salvation. Don't you see how wonderfully kind, tolerant and patient God is with you? Does this mean nothing to you? Can't you see that His kindness is intended to turn you from your sin? That's Romans 2-4. Consider the demoniac in Mark 5. After being delivered, He desired to follow Jesus. Think of how religious it is to say, I'm not going to cast the demon out of you. I need to leave you in torment for my doctrine tells me so. So every instance of demon possession in the Bible involved the unredeemed. So is there any good reason to believe that a Christian can be demon possessed or demonized? Well, here are some common attempts at proving this unbiblical notion. Some may ask, what about Judas? When Judas had eaten the bread, Satan entered him. That's John 13, 27. If you look at what the Bible reveals about Judas, it becomes clear that Judas was not a true believer but rather a wolf among sheep. So Judas is not an example of a Christian being demon possessed. Now that you know the truth, you can't use Judas as an example of Christian demon possession. What about Ananias and Sapphira? But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost and to keep back part of the price of the land? That's Acts 5.3. Now here, some will rightfully point out that the term filled in this verse is the same term used in Ephesians to describe the Holy Spirit in the believer. But remember that especially as it pertains to the original language of scripture, context is key for meaning. Here, Peter makes it clear that Satan filled their hearts to lie, meaning this was not demonic possession but rather influence unto action. And even if this were an example of Christians being demon possessed, why didn't Peter cast the devil out of them? If the story of Ananias and Sapphira was an example of Christians being demon possessed, then the takeaway is that death not deliverance is the solution. So either this isn't an example of Christians being demon possessed or the solution for demon possessed Christians is death. Let's thank God that this isn't an example of Christian demon possession. And now that you know the truth about Ananias and Sapphira, you can't use them as an example of Christian demon possession. But isn't deliverance the children's bread, some may ask? Well, let's look at the source scripture. Right away a woman who had heard about him came and fell at his feet. Her little girl was possessed by an evil spirit. And she begged him to cast the demon out of her daughter, since she was a Gentile born in Syrian Phoenicia. Jesus told her, first, I should feed the children, my own family, the Jews. It isn't right to take food from the children and throw it to the dogs. That's Mark 7, 25 to 27. Here, Jesus is not saying that New Testament believers can be demon possessed, not even close. He's simply stating that his ministry was first for the nation of Israel. That's it. And now that you know that truth, you can't use this as an example of Christian demon possession. What about the demon possessed people in Acts 8 who had demons driven out of them by Philip? What about the demon possessed people in the synagogues? What about the scripture that asks, who hath bewitched you? Well, these all have similarly simple explanations. The people in Acts 8 were said to have listened intently to Philip's message, but it doesn't say they all became believers. And just because someone goes to church doesn't mean they're a true believer, so the same would apply to the people who went to synagogue. And the word bewitched simply means deceived. Christians can most certainly be affected by deception, but not possession. And every single example you will ever hear that seems to prove that Christians can be demon possessed, can be thoroughly debunked with even just a little bit of digging. I guarantee you, hear me now, I guarantee you that every single argument that anyone will ever use to attempt to convince you of Christian demon possession will likewise fail to hold under the weight of truth. In all its warnings about demons, in all its instructions on spiritual warfare, nowhere anywhere in the entire New Testament do we see any instructions for casting demons out of believers. That's not to say that we can't be attacked. In fact, the Bible teaches that believers are attacked by demons through way of deception, but never possession. OK, so what about Christians being oppressed? Well, that's just a word that was made up as a retreat in the face of the reality that Christians can't be possessed. So if by oppressed you mean any form of ownership, then not even oppression is a reality for believers. Curses, possession, oppression, demonization, these are not biblically supported realities for the believer. For the unbeliever, it's of course a different case. So to be clear, Christians can be affected and attacked by demons. But the solution for the believer is simply drawing closer to the Lord and defending oneself with the truth of God's word. Nowhere in the New Testament do we see Christians undergoing exorcism or anything that resembles exorcism. Nowhere in the New Testament do we see Christians having to break off curses. Nowhere in the New Testament do we see Christians having to undergo special rituals and sessions in order to be free. Now again, and let me emphasize this, Christians can be attacked and affected by demons. But how we describe those attacks and how we go about defending ourselves from those attacks must be biblically grounded. So what should we do with our experiences? What about those Christians who manifest as if they're demon-possessed? What about the testimonies that we hear from Christians who have had demons expelled from them? I say we keep those testimonies. But we must interpret these experiences through Scripture and not interpret Scripture through these experiences. Were they set free? Absolutely. Did they have a breakthrough? You bet they did. Did they experience a highly emotional transformation? Of course. Were they demon-possessed? What if they were saved at the time of their experience? Did they need the rituals to be free? No. It was the Holy Spirit's power that freed them. Do Christians need to go through exorcisms or anything resembling exorcisms in order to walk in the freedom of the Spirit? They can have encounters with God that are really intense and liberating, sure. But thank God, no religious actions are necessary. You can be free from demonic attacks and effects simply by God's presence and power. Now that you know the truth, you're faced with a choice. Embrace the Scripture or cling to religious ideology, but the choice is yours. I highly recommend that you side with the truth of Scripture. Father, we thank you that where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. We thank you that whom the Son sets free is free indeed. And Father, I pray that you would help us to know the truth, that the truth might set us free. Thank you, Lord, that we're free in you. Thank you that you paid the price to break every curse. We honor and we bless you. Help us to walk in that freedom through obedience to your Word and time in your presence. We thank you, Lord, for your Word, which guides us in matters of the Spirit. And I pray you liberate your people today and liberate them, Lord, from every mindset that keeps them bound. We come against every assault of the enemy and we pray peace, peace. That's what it is. It's simply the presence and power of the Holy Spirit, the peace of God. You don't need to work yourself up in a frenzy. You don't need to beg for your liberty. You don't have to follow the traditions of man and jump through the hoops of rituals and superstition. The Holy Spirit sets you free even now. I thank you, Father, for doing it in the name of Jesus we pray. I want you to say it because you believe it, say Amen. Well that is it for the message. Here now is a question for conversation. Why do you suppose it's difficult to let go of traditions even when confronted with Scripture? Let me know in the comments section right now and here are some comments from a previous video titled, You Should Live To Please God Not Man. Heaven's Daughter wrote, I love this. What a timely word I can relate to this. There will always be those who will judge you, especially when you are in love with the Lord. I only want to hear the words, Well done, my good and faithful servant. The next commenter writes, I realize you can't please people because they have their own minds and opinions. You will only tire yourself out. But pleasing the Lord is not in vain. He appreciates it and he notices when you do good things for him. Evangeline Roberts writes, I have been trapped trying to please everyone and that's why I believe God sent me this video because you can't please everyone. It's either God or people. And finally, Ronnie Fierro wrote, I used to try pleasing others to be liked. Now I have to remind myself to please God and no one else. Thank you, Lord, for giving me this realization. One more time I want to remind you, make sure you're subscribed to EncounterTV on YouTube and click that notification bell when you do subscribe so that you can receive notices when we put out new content. You can also follow us wherever you're watching us. I want to ask you to join a spiritual rescue mission. Do you realize that every single day over 150,000 people pass into eternity? Many of them pass into eternity without Christ. So I'm asking for your help. We need to tell the world that Jesus saves. 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