CONCLUSION
The early church sets for us a challenging example on how to train new believers and help them grow in Christ during the first three years of their walk with the Lord. It is my hope that evangelical churches would invest more time, thought, prayer, planning, and resources into a healthy assimilation of new believers.
Personal Experience
Over the years I have taken several people through deliverance. I have seen demons manifest in believers. I have seen demons stopped in their operations in the lives of believers. I have heard testimony after testimony of the changed lives once the demons were removed. Most of all I look to my own testimony and personal experience. I know what happened to me. I know the mental torment that demons can exercise. But praise God I know the delivering power of God and was wonderfully set free from that torment. My heart is to be able to help others who have tried everything else and have given up hope.
Through the ministry of deliverance at our church we have seen many people set free from demonic bondage. My wife especially has been greatly used in this capacity. I could give story after story where Christians have been delivered from the enemy.
Consider this:
If it is possible for a Christian to be inhabited by demons and Christian ministers refuse to believe that Christians can be demonized, this will only leave the believer without help in the church. In my opinion, not to believe a Christian can be demonized produces a false security for the believer. It can work on behalf of evil spirits because Christians won’t even consider the possibility of a Christian being demonized? Though the Bible does make much of a believer's walk in victory, and gives every assurance of protection and preservation, it still does not rule out that a believer might fall, or sin, or come under demonic control to some extent.
I do not wish to minimize anyone’s feelings, but it is important to understand that a personal opinion is just that, and that it is not the final authority. All of us are guilty of bias determined by presuppositions, which we have been taught, and our own personal experiences.
Because of our propensity towards bias, we must carefully and earnestly try to establish ourselves in the truth as we prayerfully search the scriptures to see if these things are so. (Acts 17:11) I do not see myself as more spiritual than a brother who doesn’t agree with me. It only means that those who believe in deliverance ministry will help others in a way that some ministers will refuse to help because of their personal convictions on this subject.
Remember, Just because you are a Christian doesn’t automatically protect you from Satan and demons. The armor of God is available to every Christian, but he must put it on himself. It doesn’t happen automatically just because one is a Christian. The devil has everyone's destruction in mind, including Christians. Many Christians today do not have on the full armor of God. They may have the "helmet of salvation" on their heads, but they have become gossips and do not have their "feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace". They may have the "shield of faith" up, but they have fallen into habitual lying and do not have the "belt of truth" around their waists. We must be ready as Christians, on all fronts, to stand and rebuff the power of the enemy in our lives, holding fast to our salvation, our faith, the Truth, Jesus righteousness imputed to us by the cross, the Word of God, the gospel of peace -- and, last but not least, in prayer constantly.
I am thinking now of a group of Christian girls from a Baptist church who had an overnight party at the home of one of the girls. They were all Christian teenagers, howbeit, young and ungrounded in scripture. One of the girls had brought an ouija board, which is considered a harmless game in the
As a pastor who practices deliverance I want you to know that I still have many questions and I am not sure of a few things connected with certain methodologies and points of view in certain areas. But I am convinced that scripture doesn’t assure people that have demons before they are saved, that those demons leave the moment they believe on Jesus. Nor do I believe that Christians are protected by demons just by the virtue of being a Christian. I believe this is mostly presumption on our part. I believe if Christians give ground to demons they will take it to the fullest extent of their power.
I hope this outline will begin a good time of study, conversation, and prayer.
God bless you all,
Pastor Tony
Last modified:
April 2, 2008 11:56 AM
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