I had a great class discussion yesterday on the Christian's response and counseling methods in relating to demon possession. Here are a few points as to the church's mode in dealing with demon possession:
1. This is the Lord's work, not ours.
2. Believers do not have the right to take authority in Jesus’ name over the forces of evil (Jude 9, 2 Pet 2:10-11)
3.
4. The gospel is the critical tool in dealing with demons (Rom. 1:16).
5.
6. Sometimes God uses Satan as an instrument of judgment or chastisement (1 Sam. 16:14-15; Lk. 22:3; Jn. 13:27; 1 Cor. 5:5; 1 Tim. 1:18-20).
7. Believers are are instructed not to rebukeSatan and demons, but to resist them (1 Pet. 5:9; Jas. 4:7; Eph. 6:13).
8. In sum, “Be on the alert, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. Let all that you do be done in love” (1 Cor. 16:13-14).
I think this is a significant issue because so often, in today's modern evangelicalism, people attribute nearly every sin issue to a "demon;" "That's the demon of L.A.," or "That's the demon in my refrigerator," or "The devil made me do it."
Listen to how Jay Adams speaks to the issue at hand:
1. This is the Lord's work, not ours.
2. Believers do not have the right to take authority in Jesus’ name over the forces of evil (Jude 9, 2 Pet 2:10-11)
3.
4. The gospel is the critical tool in dealing with demons (Rom. 1:16).
5.
6. Sometimes God uses Satan as an instrument of judgment or chastisement (1 Sam. 16:14-15; Lk. 22:3; Jn. 13:27; 1 Cor. 5:5; 1 Tim. 1:18-20).
7. Believers are are instructed not to rebuke
8. In sum, “Be on the alert, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. Let all that you do be done in love” (1 Cor. 16:13-14).
I think this is a significant issue because so often, in today's modern evangelicalism, people attribute nearly every sin issue to a "demon;" "That's the demon of L.A.," or "That's the demon in my refrigerator," or "The devil made me do it."
Listen to how Jay Adams speaks to the issue at hand:
“Demon possession or oppression affords a ready –made cop-out from personal responsibility . . . wallowing for any length of time in the morasses of self-absorption can virtually lead one to convince himself of the truth of what may have begun merely as a suspicion, a fear, a misrepresentation, or as a convenient excuse. In a short while, it can become a dominant theme around which the counselee builds his life . . . Thus, the equipment that God has given to the counselor is adequate both for evangelism (to take captives from Satan’s forces) and for edification (to punish all disobedience among such captives). There is nothing lacking. The enemy is powerful, but the mighty Counselor, under whom the Christian counselor serves, has subdued him” (The Christian's Counselor Manuel, 129-30).