Discipleship and Deliverance

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life (Jn 3:16).

The gospel is profound. Jesus was born to die so that his people could be born anew. God meets us where we are and changes us to reflect holy, righteous Jesus. God doesn’t erase and replace us with someone better. No, he cleanses the warp and woof of us and weaves us anew. He does this as we love and obey him.
 
Whether mired in sin or overwhelmed by demons, the way of the cross is the same and the change consequential. Salvation and deliverance are works of God.   
 
Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age (Mt 28:19–20).

Disciples tell people about Christ—who he is and what he did, is doing, and will do for his people. We bring people to church where the Bible is preached. Together we pray, worship God, confess sins, serve, and humble ourselves before our Lord. Disciples recognize his voice and learn to discern the Holy Spirit from demon-inspired experiences. We study his Word.

But from 1970s to 1990s spiritual warfare leaders, authors, and speakers taught that more was required when demons were involved. Those trained in spiritual warfare had to contend with the demons before believers could walk freely with Jesus Christ.[1]

The Sufficiency of the Gospel
When I stopped participating in spiritualism, demons took over my inner life for two and a half years. Then Jesus saved me and the Holy Spirit came to the center of me. He broke the demons’ grip on my soul. I beheld the power and authority of Jesus. I knew he ruled heaven and earth. (Col 1:15–20)

Demons continued to harass me and I turned to those trained in spiritual warfare. Then one morning I read the story of the Syrophoenician woman whose daughter had a demon. Jesus commended her faith and healed her daughter from a distance. (Mk 7:25–30) I paused, Jesus honored her faith, and he will honor mine. Jesus will deal with these demons! Thereafter I lived a normal, albeit radical Christian life and grew in knowledge of God. Demonic harassment faded to normal levels.

Three teachings were particularly important. Jesus defeated Satan on the cross. Jesus forgave my sins when he saved me. (Col 1:13–14) In Christ I can resist the devil however strong the attacks.[2]

The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work (1 Jn 3:8).

Disciples tell people about Jesus and brings them into the family of God.
Here are a few things to remember.

• The greatest threat to our relationship with God is sin. Demons tempt people to sin and separate from God. Believers can resist and choose the way of Christ.
• When Christians sin, repentance restores fellowship with God and disarms the demons.  
• Christians harassed by demons can resist by calling on Jesus and praying the Word of God back to him in the power of the Holy Spirit.
• People who have a demon know it! In the Bible, people knew they or a loved one had a demon and came to Christ. Disciples bring the oppressed to church, talk about Jesus, pray, and discuss Scripture. 
• Believers with certain types of untreated mental illnesses such as psychotic disorders cannot resist the demon. Their delusions and hallucinations merge with demonic phenomena and they cannot resist. Disciples care and pray for them.
• Satan tempts, but cannot control and occupy believers. Satan sifted Peter who sinned by denying Christ. He repented and Jesus restored him. (Lk 22:31–35, 56–62; Jn 21:15–19) Satan strongly tempted new believers Ananias and Sapphira. They did not repent, and God punished them (Ac 5:1–11).
• Jesus and his disciples cast demons out of unbelievers as a sign of Christ’s divinity. Jesus required no confession of sin, nor did he explain why one person had a demon and others did not. Jesus ruled the demons which was the only truth they knew. When he said go, they left. (Mk 1:2 1-27, 5:1–20, 7:24-30, 9:14-29; Mt. 12:22-23)
• Demonic attacks are not necessarily related to particular sins. Satan tempted sinless Adam and Eve in the Garden, Jesus in the wilderness, and righteous Job. Satan is the enemy of God.
• Demons always function under the permissive will of God.

Christians are sons and daughters of King Jesus—loved and redeemed! No demon, sin, or person can snatch us out of his hand. (Jn 10:28–30)

David’s Story  
Twenty-nine-year-old David had a demon since childhood. Recently the demon became more aggressive. He episodically took over David’s mind, emotions, and body. Between episodes the demon gave him visions and insights into people and situations. David could work and support himself.

Spring 2023 David asked for help, and I took him to a church near his home. After services and during weekly zoom conversations, he described demonic attacks, and I explained the gospel of Jesus Christ and the Bible.

David asked Jesus to be his Lord and Savior and felt safest in church, but I saw no other signs that the Spirit worked in him. In June he called, and during the conversation, the demon spoke through him. Instantly, the Holy Spirit rose up in me and I commanded the demon to be silent and go. David experienced the power of God. 

The next month, the demon inundated him with painful memories and thoughts of killing himself. He resisted, but the struggle exhausted him.

September the Lord saved him. Jesus appeared and assured David they had a relationship. Jesus was his Lord and protector. David’s inner life changed. David could distinguish the Holy Spirit from the demon most of the time. After his baptism, he said, “I’ve never known such joy.” 

When the demon harasses him, David resists by calling for Christ, saying a Scripture, and leaning on Jesus. God cleanses and weaves him anew.  

Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you (Jas 4:7–8).

Disciples of Christ
People tend to think that people with a demon did something terribly wrong to deserve such torment. But Jesus didn’t think so. He grouped the demoniacs with those who suffered as a consequence of the Fall.

Jesus cured many who had diseases, sicknesses and evil spirits, and gave sight to many who were blind (Lk 7:21).

Disciples of Christ bring people attacked by demons to church. They share the love of Christ, articulate the gospel, pray, and discuss Scripture. Christians can withstand the severest demonic attacks when clothed in Jesus Christ. (Eph 6:10–18)

We who love Jesus believe in our marrow that he rules heaven and earth. Jesus goes before us and puts in our path whomever he intends to save from the ravages of sin and Satan. Disciples walk alongside as Jesus delivers them from evil.

[1] See Anderson, Bondage Breaker; Kraft Defeating Dark Angels; Warner Spiritual Warfare; Wimber, Power Evangelism;  Murphy, Handbook Spiritual Warfare; Wagner, Warfare Prayer and Breaking Strongholds.
[2] Sharon T Beekmann. Rescued and Redeemed: How to Discern Demon from the Divine (Littleton: Illumify Media Global, 2018).