Demonic possession of Christians

[jaydam]

Can a Christian be demon possessed?

An incident happened last year that leads me to believe yes, but my church said no. Therefore, they would not deal with what I believed was demonic activity in a young man I was mentoring.

The man declared Christ as his savior, met many of the signs of being a believer, but was severely troubled by some big issues. He ended up dying a strange death last year at 29 years old.

My old church would say that the believer is filled by the Holy Spirit, and evil spirits cannot coexist there. Therefore, the trouble a Christian would have might be from oppression, but cannot be from possession.

From what I observed in this man, he had a strong desire to learn God's word, he cried and showed a soft heart, we studied the Bible together, but there was something about him that was beyond oppression. There was a control over him that evil had that seemed greater than just external influence. Also, there was a spiritual "feeling" I would get about him. Other respected believers I know have said they felt the same thing when they met him. Without looking at scripture, I would swear that there was an internal, indwelling battle going on inside him. Not something from the "outside" just trying to influence him.

Being inexperienced, I just tried to study the Bible with him and love him while submitting to the opinion of my church at the time. Now, if I had it to do over again, I believe I would handle it differently and would look to combat the evil and deliver him. But I wonder if I am wrong. Obviously this case is over, but I want to know for the future.

I really have no experience with this. Input? Experiences? Scriptures proving or disproving Christian possession? Help?

[Douglas]

I recommend reading this short account of a pastor in Germany back in the 1800's.

https://sites.google.com/site/davidkeam ... dt'sbattle

This won't answer all your questions about demonic possession but it did enlighten me.

- Doug

[Ian]

I`ve had time on my hands at home this past two weeks due to an injury sustained in my local mountains, and spent some of it lending Doug Perry my ear (on youtube). If you click on his videos it`ll soon become apparent what he does and what he thinks about this. He doesn`t care to use definitions and split hairs but believes (would say knows) this is a reality amongst Christians too (perhaps especially so - "if you`re not being shot at, you`re not dangerous").

Over 900 videos to sift through here!:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxFEhN ... Ddq6vrepAQ

[Paidion]

Jaydam, I wonder if Simon the magician's experience is relevant to the question:

Mr 16:16 Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved...(Mark 16:16 ESV)

Even Simon himself believed, and after being baptized he continued with Philip. And seeing signs and great miracles performed, he was amazed... Now when Simon saw that the Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money, saying, “Give me this power also, so that anyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.” But Peter said to him, “May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money! You have neither part nor lot in this matter, for your heart is not right before God. Repent, therefore, of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord that, if possible, the intent of your heart may be forgiven you. For I see that you are in the gall of bitterness and in the bond of iniquity.” (Acts 8:13,18-23 ESV)

[jaydam]

Good stuff from all of you. Thanks for the links.

I think I have come to the idea that salvation is not always an on/off switch experience where if you are Spirit filled you cannot be possessed by evil, or if you are demon possessed then you cannot have the Spirit. Such a black and white understanding seems to disregard the idea of actual warfare. Occupation in war is not always clear cut, and areas can be hotly contested. One side may hold the majority of the land and superior strength, but that does not mean the other side is incapable of gaining a foothold once in awhile or skulking about covertly at times and appearing as needed to cause problems.

All this to say, if we are really engaged in a battle then it doesn't seem such a clear delineation as some would wish can always be expected. Personal sin, despite salvation, seems to me it could also be instrumental in providing a place for possession by evil forces, but not necessarily a loss of salvation. Although, I would think it could lead to the danger of lost salvation.

I'm not fully sure of my position yet, but I appreciate the input and resources.

[Paidion]

Most of my life, I've heard that a truly regenerated person cannot be demon possessed, since he is possessed by Christ, but he CAN be attacked by demons or even influenced by demons to do wrong. However, attacks and influences by demons are a far cry from possession by demons.

[steve]

I grew up hearing the same thing Paidion heard. My research in the past few decades has made me rethink the matter, and to be open to the possibility of Christians being demon possessed. In a remarkable case involving a family close to me, their adult daughter—a life-long Christian—became clearly possessed and had to be cured through exorcism. I have heard of other such cases, but this is one in which I actually was involved in the exorcism and knew the family well.

I deal with this question in my lectures on the subject here:


http://www.thenarrowpath.com/mp3s/spi/spi09.mp3

http://www.thenarrowpath.com/mp3s/spi/spi10.mp3

http://www.thenarrowpath.com/mp3s/spi/spi11.mp3

[jaydam]

Paidion, I've been told the same thing, but like Steve, experience has put that view to the test.

Steve, thanks for the lectures. You have too many lectures, and I don't have enough hours in the day. Keep up the good work!

[TheEditor]

Since this can be a subjective issue, I can only throw in the following opinion.

I was raised a JW as most of you must know by now. Odd as it may seem, even though that Org. puts forth a very cerebral approach to worship (standard teaching sermons, though more academic than the standard alter call type; group Bible/book study and the like); formal prayer and formal singing of hymns that sound rather traditional; Presbyterian Congregtional polity, etc., at the same time JWs have a very "superstitious" bent when it comes to demons. The stories that ran through the grist mill were truly amazing, from Smurf dolls getting up and walking out of Kingdom Halls to people being harrassed by demons because of purchasing used snow tires from someone involved in the occult--the stories were myriad.

Now that I have had time to rid myself of the former grid (to some extent), I believe much of that was JW lore. Personally, I believe that demonic harassment of the more severe kind must come from someone inviting it--through mediums such as Ouija boards and the like. For one to become truly demon posessed, I believe there must be some degree of consent. If this were truly not the case, and if we were "open season" as Christians for the demons, then we would all be posessed. What better way to defeat the cause of Christ? Just my 2 cents.

Regards, Brenden.

[Paidion]

I am inclined to agree, Brenden. Perhaps those "Christians" who become demon possessed were not true disciples at the time of possession.