For my own part, I have never ceased to rejoice that God has appointed me to such an office. People talk of the sacrifice I have made in spending so much of my life in Africa. Is that a sacrifice which brings its own blest reward in healthful activity, the consciousness of doing good, peace of mind, and a bright hope of a glorious destiny hereafter? Away with the word sacrifice. Say rather it is a privilege. Anxiety, sickness, suffering, or danger, now and then, with a foregoing of the common conveniences and charities of this life, may make us pause, and cause the spirit to waver, and the soul to sink; but let this only be for a moment. All these are nothing when compared with the glory which shall be revealed in and for us. I never made a sacrifice.
David Livingstone

Possession The Devil Made Me D

Possession The Devil Made Me D

“POSSESSION”

(The Devil Made Me Do It!!!)

Article taken from the magazine: ANSWERS Issue 8

By CHUCK SMITH

The question has been forced upon us: “Can a born-again Christian be possessed by a demon?” The answer based on the Scriptures and logic is an unequivocal NO!

The proponents of this unscriptural doctrine use such terms as Christians being “invaded by demons” rather than demon possessed. This is nothing more than word games and a smoke screen to hide the Scriptural weakness of their position.

They also present an illogical supposition that the demons can invade or control the mind or body, but not the spirit. God’s Word declares that the body is the temple of the Holy Spirit which is in us. We are told to glorify God in our bodies and in our spirits, which are His (1 Cor. 6:19,20).

In 2 Corinthians the question is asked: “What communion has light with darkness? And what accord has Christ with Belial… And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will dwell in them…” (6:14 – 16).

To say that a Christian’s body or mind can be possessed or invaded by demons is to contradict the Word of God and declare that there is a communion of light and darkness, that God and Satan are dwelling together.

The Scriptures also teach us that Christ is seated in the heavenlies far above all principalities and powers and mights and dominions (Eph. 1:21,22). These are references to spirit beings – and Christ is far above them. Where am I as a believer? According to Ephesians 2:6, I am seated together with Christ in the heavenlies.

As Christians we are in a warfare against these principalities and powers (Eph. 6:12). We need the help of God to stand, for these rulers of the darkness can and do attack us in a variety of ways. But they cannot come in and take control of our lives.

The Scriptures also teach that we are in Christ, and that He is in us (John 14:20). It is Christ in us which is our hope of glory (Col. 1:27). Christ said concerning Satan, “The ruler of this world is coming, and he has nothing in Me” (John 14:30). If I am in Christ and Satan has nothing in Him, Satan can have nothing in me – praise the Lord!

We also read in 1 John 5:18, “We know that whoever is born of God does not sin; but he who has been born of God keeps himself, and the wicked one does not touch him.”

What about these experiences of Christians having demons cast out of them? What are the voices that name themselves, the writhing on the floor, and the regurgitation? I do not know. I am thankful that since I do not engage in these unscriptural practices, I do not have to explain them.

Some of the names given by these supposed demons which are more popular are: lust, hatred, liar, gluttony, envy, fear and jealously. These things are classified in Galatians 5:19-21 as works of the flesh. We are to “put off all these” (Col. 3:8) or by the Spirit to “mortify the deeds of the body” (Rom. 8:13, 6:3-14). Not once are we commanded to have them cast out.

It seems to me that this whole demon trip is a cop-out for the flesh. I would like to find some easy way to get rid of my fleshly nature, and rather than the painful process of crucifixion, I would just like to have it cast out. It is also a way of escaping the responsibility for my fleshly actions. How can I be blamed if “the devil made me do it”?

In the Scriptures there does not exist one piece of evidence that Jesus Christ, His apostles, or the early Church once sought to cast demons of the flesh out of anyone in the body of Christ. The works of the flesh were recognized, and we are instructed how to deal with them. Never are we taught they are to be exorcised.

Even in the supposed cases from the Scriptures that would confirm that demons could inhabit a Christian – Ananias and Sapphira, “Why hath Satan filled thine heart” (Acts 5:3); or Simon the sorcerer, “Thou art in the gall of bitterness, and in the bond of iniquity” (Acts 8:23) – Peter did not practice exorcism. Instead, there was instant judgment of death in the first case and a call to repentance in the other.

It is sad that many Christians and non-Christians seem to have a greater interest in Satan and being possessed by demons than they do in Christ and being possessed by His Holy Spirit.

Those who fall into the practices of exorcism soon seem to be looking for and placing a greater emphasis on the power of Satan to attack than on the power of Christ to keep. Demons become the center of their conversations and teachings rather than Jesus Christ.

We can rejoice in God’s Word, “Greater is he that is in you, than he that is the world” (1 Jn. 4:4). Thanks be to God Who gives us the victory through Jesus Christ our Lord! We as Christians are told in James 4:7 to “resist,” not “cast out,” the devil, and he will flee from us.