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To what extent can a Christian be demonised?

"There are no sound biblical reasons for assuming that believers can be demonised. The sad reality may be that some are, because of there failure to fully apprehend Christ, just as some sin, through failure to obey the Gospel. However, even here the comparison is unequal. Committing an occasional sin can hardly be compared with the lodging of a demon in a persons life. At best, only deliberate, persistent sin could be seen as compatible with demonisation - in other words, the exception rather than the rule." (Chant, 1993:82).

Christians should not become demonised, but some do and are. More often than not, some "symptoms" of demonisation are actually psychological problems miss-interpreted. Marguerite Shuster in her article "Giving the devil more than his due", says something quite profound and thought provoking; "The self-indulgent, not-so-introspective person may find the hypothesis of demonic influence a convenient way to deny personal responsibility for what he wants to do- 'the devil made me do it.' " (Leadership, 1993:66).

She reveals the dangers of performing deliverance upon such a person (and also schizophrenics) and says the damage after is much more than before. Genuine cases of demonisation of the Christian are far less than the suspected number - as stated before, wrong diagnosis by inexperienced 'exorcists' is a big problem in the Church today.

A Christian can be demonised. Lack of freedom in a Christians life can be the lack of understanding of the power of the Cross and the work of Jesus done at Calvary.

Note worthy is the fact that of all the recorded instances of demonic deliverance in the Bible took place with people who were not born again - the large majority were in the four Gospels. From the book of Acts through to Revelation, not one born again believer was delivered of a demon. There is much recorded sins taking place among believers, and these were attributed to the workings of the flesh. Galatians 5:19-21 says,"(19) Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are; adultery, fornication, uncleanness, licentiousness, (20) idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissentions, heresies, (21) envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like;..." (N.K.J.V.). Not one mention of demonic activity, but only the workings of the flesh. I believe that much caution should be taken before any deliverance of a Christian. The was a saying "If in doubt, cast it out!" which was a catch cry of many I knew. The devil got the blame for bad habits and so forth. He still does.

There is a sad lack of understanding about renewing the mind and our flesh crucified. The atoning work of the Cross has been pushed aside, and the focus seems to be on the deliverance ministry rather than The Deliverer Jesus and His work.

When a believer is dogged by failure, repetitive sin, old habits that do not go away, they must have demonic problems and need deliverance! And when they go through deliverance, do things change? Sadly, hardly ever. "They must need more prayer and recommit themselves to Jesus." they say.

God has provided a way out for man through His Son Jesus. Jesus came and bore that sin nature upon himself. He became sin (2 Corinthians 5:21), and it was judged, no longer to be dominant over man any more. Through His resurrection, death no longer can touch Him, and we can enter into that  resurrection power and life by receiving Jesus as our Lord and Saviour. When this happens, our spirit is reborn, we have fellowship with the Father through the Son. Romans 8:11 says, "But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you" (N.K.J.V.). We  have the Spirit of God living in us. Actually, we have the whole Godhead in us.

Our old man is crucified with Christ on the Cross at Calvary. (Romans 6:6). We were in the flesh, but a transition has taken place - we are no longer in the flesh, but in the Spirit. We are now in Christ. We belong to Christ. "Those who are Christ's have crucified the  flesh with its passions and desires." (Galatians 5:24, N.K.J.V.). The sin nature is the spiritual nature.

The old man refers to the dead spiritual man, and we are a new creature in Christ. Noteworthy is the fact that the 'dead spirit' is not inoperative, but rather, is dead towards God; it is alive to Satan and operates in the role of the old man or sin nature.

Sin's power reigned through man's unregenerate spirit. That is why Adam was cut off from fellowship with God. God cannot look upon sin, nor tolerate it.

Our new nature is a holy nature after the new birth. 2 Peter 1:2-4 says; "(2) Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge  of God and of Jesus our Lord, (3) as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life  and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, (4) by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust."(N.K.J.V.).

A spiritual law operates, and that law is that kind produces after kind. 1 Peter 1:23 says "You have been regenerated - born again - not from a mortal origin (seed, sperm)  but from one that is immortal by the ever living and lasting Word of God." (Amplified Bible). Spiritually dead men beget spiritually dead men. We are begotten by the Word of God, thus we inherit the nature of the source of the Word, or seed, who is God.

Our 'old man' has been crucified, and the 'new man' is now in existence. Because the Holy Spirit dwells in us, we are partakers of the divine nature.

Our body, however. is still subject to sin."...this 'body of sin' might be defined as the vehicle or carrier of sins. The old man was crucified that the vehicle or carrier of sins might be put out of business. It is not that the position of 'flesh' has been crucified per se but that the source of its power, sin operating through the old man, has been robbed of its authority to enslave through the crucifixion of the old man. Colossians 2:12,13 make it patently clear that the 'body of the sins of the flesh' has been  dealt with through  the believer's union with Christ in death, burial, and resurrection." (Soloman, 1977:30).

To what extent, then, can a Christian be demonised? I have had personal experience with Christians that have been demonised, and have ministered to them with others. I do not believe that a Christian can be 'possessed', as they belong to Christ, therefore a demon cannot own them. So how do they enter a Christian?

"Demons are evil personalities. They are spirit beings. They are the enemies of God and man. There objectives in human beings are to tempt, deceive, accuse, condemn, pressure, defile, resist, oppose, control, steal, afflict, kill and destroy." (Hammond, 1973:23). Demons enter through open doors. A Christian can not pick up a demon just by bumping into someone who has.

 Some say a Christian can not be demonised. This is a lie from the devil. They say since the Holy Spirit lives in a Christian, a demon can not. "Though those who believe this myth may claim it is founded on biblical truth, it is in reality, based on an assumption, and they are interpreting the Bible accordingly." (Kraft, 1993:34). A Christian can by no means be possessed, however.

"The Greek word daimonizomai appears seven times in Matthew, four times in Mark, once in Luke, and once in John. A parallel expression, echein daimonion, 'have a demon,' occurs once in Matthew, three times in Luke, and five times in John. Luke uses the latter phrase interchangeably with daimonizomai." (Kraft, 1993:34). Kraft argues that although the New Testament authors may have intended for daimonizomai to insinuate a slightly greater degree of demonic control over an individual than the term echein daimonion, the New Testament translators are not justified in using the term "demon possessed". Certainly one could use the term in extreme cases such as the Gadarene demoniac in Matthew 8:28-34 but not apply the term to Christians.

There are differing views upon how a Christian might become demonised. Wilful sinning seams to be a door by which a Christian can become demonised. In his book "Pigs in the Parlour", Frank Hammond uses the example of Ananias and Sapphira. Here in Acts 5:1-11, we see where they sold off some property which rightly belonged to the Church, but kept some for themselves. They lied to cover up their sin.

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In verse 3, we see Peter ask, "...why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back part of the price of the land for yourself?" (N.K.J.V.). "Because of their sin, Ananias and Sapphira opened themselves to be filled with spirits of covetousness, lying, and deceit. The same can happen to anyone who sins wilfully." (Hammond, 1973:24). He then goes on to say that the sins of the flesh, listed earlier from Galatians 5:19-21, can open up a Christian to possible demon visitors. He states the solution is a two-fold affair - crucify the flesh and cast out the demons.

Inviting dark spirits can be done deliberately or accidentally. If one worships other gods than the True God revealed through Jesus Christ, then your in trouble. The extreme is full on Satanism and witchcraft, but there are less obvious, equally dangerous, activities such as tarot cards, Freemasonry, false religions, fortune telling and the like. These are occult, and one chooses to be involved for what ever the reason. (Kraft, 1993).

Accidental ways can be being angry, and harbouring that anger. This can lead to bitterness, revenge, unforgiveness, and in the extreme, physical sickness and even assaulting the person involved. We are told that if we get angry, not to let the sun go down on our anger, but deal with it. Unresolved anger gives the enemy a foothold, and this is a dangerous position to be in.

Kraft gives some potentially addictive behaviours such as pornography, drugs, lustful thoughts, envy, worry, fear and self hate as being potential avenues for demonisation in the Christian. "We need to make an important point here. Though all of these attitudes and behaviours, whether sinful or not, are very dangerous, they do not automatically result in demonisation. Some apparently have higher resistance than others. However, the more one wallows in such dangerous attitudes and behaviour, the greater the risk of unconscious demonic infestation. Demons study human beings and are quick to take advantage of any opportunity to get inside." (Kraft, 1993:72).

Demonisation can occur through inheritance. Curses from previous generations involvement in Freemasonry and various occult activities can be a reason. "Such generational spirits tend to cause...emotional problems, sins, illness, or compulsions from generation to generation. (Kraft, 1993:75). Kraft also lists cursing as an avenue for demonisation, bur he stresses that it is rare, particularly for God's people. Proverbs 26:2 says, "Like a flitting sparrow, like a flying swallow, so a curse without cause shall not alight." (N.K.J.V.).

"However access is gained by demons, let me point out again that the cast majority of the demonised Christians I have ministered to brought their demons with them into Christianity.

Though it is certainly possible for Christians to become demonised, I have dealt with few whose infestation was not connected to pre-Christian attitudes and behaviour." (Kraft, 1993:77).

Christians can be demonised, but not demon-possessed. Jesus Christ owns the Christian. Unfortunately, I believe the majority of "demonised" Christians are in fact not demonised, but have not grasped their salvation. Maybe better teaching on what we have been saved into rather than what we have been saved from is the key. We, as western Christians, tend to renew the Word of God with our minds instead of allowing the Word of God to renew our minds. We are crucified with Christ. Our sin is dealt with and no longer has dominion over us. Greater is He who lives in us than is in the world. In the battle of the flesh, the world and the devil - the flesh is the strongest fighter, and when it gains control, doors open for Satan's agents to cause havoc.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

*           Chant, B., Spiritual Warfare., (Tabor College, 1993)

*           Hammond, F. and I. M., Pigs in the Parlor., (Impact Books, Inc., 1973)

*           Kraft, C. H., Defeating Dark Angels., (Sovereign World Ltd., 1993)

*           Shuster, M., "Giving the Devil More Than His Due", Leadership, Summer Quarter, 1993, 64-67.

*           Solomon, C.R., Counselling with the mind of Christ., (Fleming H. Revel Company, U.S.A., 1977)