Did the Devil Make Me Do It?

I just sinned. Did the Devil make me do it?

The authors of the New Testament almost never speak about a Christian's sin in terms of demonic influence. Paul refers to false teachers who have been captured by the Devil to do his will (2 Tim. 2:26) and ill-qualified elders in a church who are in danger of falling into a snare of the Devil (1 Tim. 3: 6-7). But when he speaks to believers about their sin it's usually in direct terms. So, for example, in Ephesians 4:25-32 Paul instructs us:

Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another. Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil. Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need. Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.

Paul does indeed mention the Devil in this passage, telling us not to give him an opportunity to tempt us by clinging to anger and rage. But while our sin might give Satan an opportunity to advance his agenda through us, Paul doesn't understand our sin to be fundamentally caused by the Devil and his demons.   Continue at Mike McKinley

Spiritual Warfare: A Biblical and Balanced Perspective

In the subtitle of their book on spiritual warfare, authors Brian Borgman and Rob Ventura promise to provide a perspective that is both biblical and balanced. The prospect of a balanced approach is immediately appealing, given widespread excesses in various branches of modern Christianity on the subject; and I thought it a successful endeavor in that regard. But what I found more striking, when I dived in, was the “biblical” part of the equation. I say this by way of confession: spiritual warfare is not among my list of favorite theological topics to think about. In fact, whether it’s because of the very common imbalanced perspectives a modern reader is apt to encounter, or whether it’s simply because I have no military experience, and so the analogy of warfare is a little foreign to my own history, I have to admit a little distaste for the subject. However, by the time I finished the introduction alone, I had to acknowledge that this is no small theme in the New Testament, and that it has roots reaching clear back to Eden. Which means that it allows for a biblical treatment, because it is, in fact, a pervasive biblical motif. And this, further, means that such a study as this book undertakes really is necessary if we are to have a thoroughly biblical perspective on the Christian life at all.    Continue at Reformed Baptist Fellowship

A Biblical Perspective on Demons and Deliverance Ministry

“Deliverance ministry” is enjoying increasing popularity in the church. Don Dickerman is a notable advocate, and teaches a “deliverance process.” For Dickerman, the basic thrust is as follows: Salvation is a first step to being free, but many Christians are oppressed by demons in their bodies, wills, minds, etc., resulting in ailments of all kinds. The demons don’t get into the spirit, Dickerman says, because the Holy Spirit indwells the spirit. But while Dickerman insists a believer cannot be demon possessed, he does assert that believers can have demons in their soul, by appealing to certain legal rights to get in. These rights can come by unforgiveness, generational curses, secret society oaths or pledges, childhood traumas, and anxieties. If doors are opened to allow demons in, in they will come. Those same rights can be revoked, Dickerman asserts, but they must be handled by closing the legal-rights demonic doorways, and by binding and casting out the demons themselves.

The prescribed solution for demonic oppression is not counseling nor medication, but rather is “deliverance,” which includes intercessory prayer and binding and casting out demons, and which can allow Christians to be free from demons who lay claim to the Christian’s body, will, mind, or soul. The process works like this: the believer must confess the doorways, have a genuine desire to close the doorways, and the deliverance minister will cast out the demons. Dickerman speaks of a “courtroom of deliverance” in which he represents the oppressed believer and prosecutes the demon(s) before God. He leads the oppressed in a prayer of confession and repentance. Then he binds demons, commanding them in the name of Jesus to depart to the abyss after having fixed what they damaged in the oppressed person.    Continue at Don Dickerman

Into The Schmutz With Neil T. Anderson

(A Brief Review of Rough Road to Freedom: A Memoir by Neil T. Anderson; Monarch Book, 2012, $14.99)

Yiddish is a language developed by the Jews in Europe. Yiddish has some interesting sounding words. One of those Yiddish words is the word schmutz. The word schmutz has a range of meanings and can be described as soiled, icky, a mess as in “I have schmutz all over my face”. It is also used of something of inferior quality. If one is having lots of serious problems they might say they have fallen into the schmutz.

Author Neil Anderson is known as The Bondage Breaker from the title of one of his books (see our article “Cure All Bondages” beginning on page 4) . He recently published his biography entitled, Rough Road to Freedom. His forte is deliverance from demons but in a gentle low keyed style euphemistically called by Anderson, “freedom encounters.” There is not a lot of freedom felt when a Christian is told they have a demon inside of them. It is a case of saddling you with a problem that you did not know you had simply because Anderson says so. He eschews being thought of as an exorcist and is against the rambunctious, hollering commanding type of exorcist. Though there is a stylistic difference it is the same game with a different name.

Drawing from his new bio and other of his writings I would like to summarize Anderson’s extreme views in capsule form hoping that it will stir reader’s to their own biblical research to “find out if these things are so”, (Acts 17:11). This compilation of some of his major presuppositions is rather startling and can be viewed as religious schmutz. If the average pastor claimed to believe these things he would be looking for a job or given medication. Anderson is applauded by many of the big names in the Christian world. Publishing some books can do amazing things in a celebrity culture.

Departing from Dave Letterman’s list of 10 and observing the number 13 (considered very important to Anderson) I will list 13 of the most extreme and egregious views of Neil Anderson without comment. The extended and detailed research on these teachings can be easily gotten from Anderson’s own biography, Rough Road To Freedom, his books, namely, The Bondage Breaker and an extensive heavily documented article and critique generated by Personal Freedom Outreach in St. Louis Missouri . The following then is the schmutz we would be in if we accepted what Anderson says. These are all his ideas and one would be hard pressed to find them anywhere in the Bible.    Continue at G. Richard Fisher

How Great Evil Confirms the Biblical Teaching about Demons

I can mourn with and pray for the families in Connecticut who lost their children (and in a few cases their spouses) in the school shooting. I certainly cannot offer any definitive explanation. I am dedicating this week’s three blogs to perspectives that may be helpful to some. Keep in mind that we are treating only a few aspects of the problem of evil, and therefore much will remain unaddressed. For a larger perspective, see my books on this issue, in particular If God is Good.

Acts of extreme evil, though routinely used as arguments against God, are actually arguments for supernaturalism.

I spent hours walking through Cambodia’s Killing Fields. Vek and Samoeun Taing, a gentle Cambodian couple who had survived there with a young child for two years, escorted our small group. Feeling numb, I saw the skulls piled up and stood by the mud pits where killers threw hundreds of bodies. A human jawbone lay at my feet. I picked it up, held it in my hand, and wept.

The darkness felt overwhelming. Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge murdered nearly one-third of the country’s population. Yet the three million slaughtered in Cambodia amount to less than one-fiftieth of the murders by twentieth century tyrants, who killed mostly their own people. Hitler, Stalin, and Mao accounted for most of the carnage, but the ongoing state-sponsored killing in Sudan, including the Darfur region, follows the same script. (And this figure ignores the staggering number of preborn children aborted throughout the world.)   Continue at Randy Alcorn

DEMONS, DEMONS, WHERE ARE THE DEMONS?

Criticizing the teachings of popular author Neil Anderson might seem a risky task. After all, his books are advertised in Charisma and The Marketplace (formerly The Bookstore Journal) and endorsed by the likes of Bill Bright, Chuck Swindoll, Kay Arthur and Trinity Broadcasting Network favorite, Jack Hayford.

His teachings focus on liberation from bondage—bondage from sin and the power of the devil, subjects any Christian ought to be familiar with. But a closer look reveals teachings that have far more in common with extremist Charismatic movements than with the Bible.

The bondage that Anderson promises deliverance from is not simply from the power of sin but from demons—some of them originating with long-dead ancestors—who indwell believers. Anderson says 85 percent of all Christians are struggling with various levels and depths of this demonic bondage.¹ 

Anderson would have us pray the following prayer:

“I cancel out all demonic working that may have been passed on to me from my ancestors. ... I renounce all satanic assignments that are directed toward me and my ministry, and I cancel every curse that Satan and his workers have put on me. ... I reject all other blood sacrifices whereby Satan may claim ownership of me.”²

These prayers are not intended to be said by someone seeking salvation, but by Christians who already have been “delivered from the power of darkness and translated into the kingdom of God’s dear Son.”³

The Assemblies of God denomination issued a 15-page position booklet refuting the idea that Christians can have indwelling demons. It concludes that such teaching is unbiblical and erodes the biblical concept of salvation and peace.⁴

The Christian Research Institute has issued a position paper warning the Christian public about Anderson’s teachings. It states:

“While Anderson promotes ‘freedom in Christ’ vociferously, his emphasis on the occult from which we are to become free is more noticeable, and is described in more vivid terms in the material he presents in seminars and publications than our freedom. His seven steps to freedom, the core of most of his materials, includes a lengthy recitation of renunciation/announcement statements that focus on blood oaths, marriage to Satan, generational curses, and so on. Nowhere in Scripture do we find a precedent for such a focus.”⁵

The Calvary Contender for Aug. 15, 1995, also issued a “Neil Anderson Warning”:

“Much of what he says is soundly biblical, but his message and methods are tainted by (his) version of demonic deliverance, inner healing, psychotherapy, false memory syndrome, ... ritualism and generational curses.”

Anderson, Mark Bubeck, and C. Peter Wagner all parrot these false ideas, often using one another as the source authorities.⁶

A fellow traveler of Anderson’s, Bubeck has gone into even wilder extremes and now has a prayer to get demons off all parts of the body:   Continue at G. Richard Fisher

Spiritual Warfare Movement

INTRODUCTION

A.    We know from Scripture that Satan exists and has set up a counterfeit program. He attacks God’s creation (Gen 3:1), God’s Word (Gen 3:1,4), God’s character (Gen 3:5), God’s truth (1Ti 4:1-5; 2Co 11:14), God’s Christ (2Th 2:9-11), and God’s children (Rev 12:10; 1Pe 5:8).

B.    We also know from Scripture that Satan uses the help of fallen angels who follow him (Rev 12:4; Mt 12:24-26).

C.    We are also taught that there is a spiritual battle waging and the believer is the battlefield and somehow takes part (Eph 6:12).

D.    Many pertinent questions must be answered; but answered biblically.

1.     What can we ascertain about the extent of spiritual warfare?

2.     How then does the believer stand in spiritual warfare?

3.     What aggressive role, if any, does the believer play in spiritual warfare?

4.     Is the contemporary Spiritual Warfare Movement biblically correct?

5.     Are we at the mercy of Satan and his minions unless the leaders of the Spiritual Warfare Movement intervene for us?

E.    Clearly, the believer must face a battle of spiritual warfare.  Continue at Daryl Hilbert

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You Asked: How Do You Explain the Witch of Endor?

Editors' Note: Send your theological, biblical, and practical ministry questions to ask@thegospelcoalition.org along with your full name, city, and state. We'll pass them along to The Gospel Coalition's Council members and other friends for an answer we can share.

Stephen T. from Rochester, New York, asks:

1 Samuel 28, on the witch from Endor, raises a number of questions. What do you do with this text?

1. Is the spirit the witch summons actually Samuel? Or a demon acting like Samuel (1 Sam. 28:14-15)?
2. Where is Samuel coming from---especially since he says Saul and his sons "shall be with me" (1 Sam. 28:19)?
3. The Bible paints very different pictures of Samuel, Saul, and Jonathan. Yet Samuel seems to say they will all be in the same place (Sheol?). Should we assume anything about Saul's salvation from this? (1 Sam. 28:19)

We posed this question to Dale Ralph Davis, former pastor of Woodland Presbyterian Church in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, and professor of Old Testament at Reformed Theological Seminary in Jackson. He is the author of many helpful books, including an expository study of Judges, 1 Samuel: Looking on the Heart, and The Word Became Fresh: How to Preach from Old Testament Narrative Texts.  Continue at Dale Ralph Davis

Are We Too Concerned with Demons?

In recent years, there has been a renewal of interest in the work of Satan. Hollywood has given us a host of films to whet our appetite for the satanic. Within Christian circles, there has arisen a concern for ministries of deliverance. Some of these deliverance ministries have developed a bizarre and radically unbiblical view of demon possession and deliverance.

For example, we hear that particular demons cause particular sins. There is, they say, a demon of alcohol, a demon of depression, a demon of tobacco, and so on. Others say we can recognize the departure of a demon from a human soul by a manifest sign that is linked to the particular point of bondage. I have listened to recorded talks from well-known deliverance ministers (whose names I will not mention, to protect the guilty) in which they teach the signs of departure of the demon. A sigh, for example, indicates the departure of the demon of tobacco. Since the tobacco demon enters with the inhalation of smoke, he leaves with an audible exhale. Likewise, vomiting may be the sign of departure of the demon of alcohol. There are demons for every conceivable sin. Not only must each one of these demons be exorcized, but there are necessary procedures to keep them from returning on a daily basis.  Continue at R. C. Sproul

Top 50 Doctrines of Demons

Over the past month I have made a series of videos on what I see as the Top 50 demonic doctrines that have infiltrated the professing church that is Mystery Babylon.  The Scriptures tell us Babylon the apostate church would be a dwelling place of demons with said prophecy having come true already for those given the eyes to see this by the Lord.   People become deceived when they eat false words or false doctrines and take them to their heart.  These lies become stumbling blocks that prevent one from seeing the truth of the gospel and the whole purpose of Jesus coming and overcoming the world and the enemy and showing us the way to eternal life.  To be succesful in ensnaring the multitudes,  Satan’s demons bring doctrines that seem godly and very religious on the outside but the leaven, the spiritual poison is hidden in this meal that people have eaten and taken to heart. Keep Reading...

“The Faith of Demons”

A Course in Miracles – The Doctrine of Demons

Angels and Demons Movie Rebuttal

Westminster Theological Seminary has just launched a website, dedicated to responding to the new movie “Angels and Demons”. Great resource for engaging with individuals about the movie.

Check it out HERE

Casting out Demons