Recently I have written a couple of teachings addressing the fallacies of those who think Christians should go around casting demons out of one another. Why do some Christians think there’s a demon behind every bush? Why do they think any struggle in life or a constant temptation is a demon that needs to be rebuked or cast out?

I think the answer to that question is twofold.

First, I think there are Christians who are zealous and want to see the power of God but they lack real spiritual knowledge and maturity and they need to be taught the Word of God. They need to be grounded and built up in Christ with wholesome, sound doctrine. The second reason is people like to blame their problems on someone else rather than taking responsibility. It’s real easy to pass the blame for things like pornography, nicotine, alcohol, uncontrolled anger, etc., rather than taking responsibility.

You might find it interesting that there is not one example in all of the New Testament where a demon was cast out of anyone because of sin or sinful additions. Demons were only cast out of people who had either physical infirmities (diseases, blindness, deafness, etc.), or mental insanity (like the man in the country of the Gadarenes, see Mark 5) or those involved in some form of occultism. And never was a demon ever cast out of a Christian anywhere in the New Testament.

You will not find one example of Jesus, the apostles, or any  New Testament believer casting out spirits of adultery, homosexuality, lust, anger, rage, gluttony, lying, stealing, etc. The idea of casting out spirits related to such sins is foreign to the New Testament. These are individual sins and deliverance from these come through repentance and faith in Christ.

Jesus did not cast demons out of anyone who needed to repent. Neither did the apostles and neither did any believer in the New Testament. Yet there are those who teach that even though a person has been saved they still need deliverance, i.e., demons cast out. Such teachings are false doctrine.

Jesus is Lord and when God saves us from our sins, he does so with the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost. God purifies us with the precious blood of Christ, delivering us from the power of darkness and translating us into the Kingdom of his dear Son.

As we grow in our faith we learn how to overcome temptation in our flesh (every man is tempted when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed ~ James 1:14). We learn to yield our members (our mind and bodies) to God as instruments of righteousness rather than sin. As we grow in Christ by yielding to the Holy Spirit, we become stronger in our faith by the grace of God.

There is a beautiful expression that Peter gives at the close of his first epistle, and arriving at this point in our lives should be our aim. After instructing us to to be humble, and to cast all our care on the Lord, and to resist the devil steadfast in the faith, he says the following:

But the God of all grace, who has called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you. ~ 1 Peter 5:10

It is God’s desire to settle you. Trust the Lord with those areas in your life that your find hard to overcome. He will give you the strength and grace you need, and if you will only trust him you will get stronger and stronger in in due time it won’t be a weakness anymore!

The Lord be with you.