This past weekend, we heard from a woman in Oklahoma City who says she's demon possessed and has been shunned by her family and friends. The message she left sounded like a desperate cry for help. Our pastoral staff has already set the wheels in motion to get this poor girl the spiritual assistance she needs—that is, if she really wants it.

In the meantime, however, this episode raises an issue that I think Bible-believers need to think about. What is our position on demon possession? Is it a legitimate spiritual problem or is it merely a throw-back to medieval and earlier biblical times when superstitious people thought evil spirits lurked under rocks and around every dark corner?

More specifically, the issue distils down to the following questions (and possibly others, as well). We'll take them one at a time.

1. Are demons real?

In ancient and medieval times, it was commonly believed that human beings are influenced to varying degrees by unseen spirits and forces, including "daemons." To the ancients, these spiritual entities were not usually evil. Sometimes they were seen as helpful. The physical world was animated for good or for evil by these invisible forces. Even Plato and Socrates wrote about this phenomenon.

In our enlightened age, however, secularists prefer to believe that all human behaviors and afflictions can be explained physically or chemically. There's no such thing as pure evil, we are told. Everything must have a logical and scientific explanation. But is this really true?

The Bible is our plumb line for truth—not worldly philosophies or popular mythologies. The OT (Tanakh) tells us that there's an unseen, spiritual world that is very much connected to what happens in our visible world (for example, see 2 Kings 6:14-17).

The NT confirms this. In Ephesians 6:12, the Apostle Paul outlines a hierarchy of satanic powers who fight and scheme against us: "For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities (Gk., archas), against powers (exousia), against the rulers of the darkness of this age (kosmokrataras tou skotous tou aionos), against spiritual hosts of wickedness (pneumatika teis ponerias) in the heavenly places."
 
There are over 30 references to demon possession in the Gospels. If we apply the "law of first mention," that takes us to Matthew 4:24: "Then His fame went throughout all Syria; and they brought to Him all sick people who were afflicted with various diseases and torments, and those who were demon-possessed, epileptics, and paralytics; and He healed them."

The broader category in this passage is "all sick people." Then it breaks down into finer distinctions between "diseases" and "torments"—and between people who were demon-possessed and others who were epileptics and paralytics (notice the contrast in those last two categories between people whose bodies move uncontrollably and those who can't move at all).

So yes, demons are real and what happens in the visible world can be influenced by forces at work in the unseen, spiritual realm.

However, we need to maintain our balance here. As my friend and fellow blogger John Turner (a local pastor who's on our CJFM board) pointed out recently, some people go to extremes: "Demons get blamed for a lot of things today: the demon of poverty, the demon of cancer, and even the demon of car trouble." How true!

Many years ago, when I was a pastor in Illinois, we had a young mother in our church who thought demons were everywhere. She was a sweet lady (and had her hands full with three small children), but she was a bit unbalanced when it came to the kingdom of darkness. One summer, during a church picnic, we were playing volleyball. She thought the referee made a bad call, so she threw up her hands and started verbally (and rather loudly) rebuking the devil. She was convinced that the ref's bad call was the work of the Evil One. The rest of us thought it was just ... well, a questionable call.

Again, balance is the key. C.S. Lewis wrote, "There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils. One is to disbelieve in their existence. The other is to believe, and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them. They themselves are equally pleased by both errors, and hail a materialist or magician with the same delight" (The Screwtape Letters). 

2. Are psychoses and other forms of mental illness sometimes mistaken for demon possession?

Yes, and very likely, vice versa.

I apologize for beating the same drum over and over—but again, balance is important here. It's wrong (and maybe even dangerous) to assume that every behavioral problem can be treated by drugs and/or medical therapies. If there's a spiritual component (like demonic influence, or guilt resulting from unconfessed sin, for example), that needs to be dealt with. Otherwise, you're treating symptoms rather than root causes.

On the other hand, I have friends who are convinced that Christians should never resort to psychological counseling or drug therapy. Their position is that virtually all psychological disorders—whether it's depression, ADHD, or whatever—have spiritual (rather than physical) causes. They are generally unwilling to entertain the possibility that the brain can malfunction in much the same way that other organs (e.g., the heart, liver, or pancreas) occasionally do.

With all due respect, I disagree. Is there something unspiritual or ungodly about having bypass surgery to correct a heart problem? Or having a kidney transplant if you need one? Or taking insulin if you're a diabetic? Of course not. Neither should we hesitate to get medical treatment for psychological or mental problems, when indicated. Depression, for example, often requires an integrated approach including counseling and medication. There have been far too many cases of Christians—including teenagers—who didn't receive proper treatment for depression and ended up committing suicide. It's a shame—and in most cases, unnecessary.

Is our culture overmedicated? I'm not a medical professional, but I think I can safely say the answer is yes, absolutely. They have a pill for everything. In some cases, it's been shown in double blind studies that placebos are nearly as effective as the drugs. This is all true. But it doesn't mean you shouldn't get professional help when you really need it.
 
3. Can a Christian be demon possessed?

This is a very old debate in Christendom. These days, many evangelicals make a distinction between possession and oppression, saying that true believers can be oppressed, but they can't be possessed. In real life, however, the distinction between the two can be largely academic. Believers I've known over the years have told me that they never experienced spiritual warfare before they came to faith in Yeshua. In many cases, they never even thought about it before. But once they were saved, the conflict began.

If you define possession as "taking ownership" of someone, then the answer is no, a true believer cannot be possessed by evil spirits. We have been bought with a price (the precious blood of the Lamb) and we therefore belong to Him (1 Peter 1:18-19). The devil can never, ever, under any circumstances take ownership of a blood-bought believer in Yeshua the Messiah (Rev. 12:11). That's one thing we can say with 100% certainty.

However, that's not to say that a believer cannot be influenced by evil spirits, or that he won't find himself in conflict with these forces at times (as we saw above in Ephesians 6:12). One of the Reformers once felt the presence of the devil so strongly, he reportedly threw a bottle of ink at him! We may sense that presence, too, sometimes. But it shouldn't intimidate us because the devil's power is very limited since he was conquered at Calvary. The only power he has over us is what we give him. He cannot force us to do anything we don't want to do. We can't use the excuse that "the devil made me do it." 

4. If we encounter a legitimate case of demon possession, how do we deal with it?

Christianity isn't for sissies. When you become a believer, you're enlisting in an army that's at war (2 Tim. 2:3). The NT tells us that we face a three-pronged attack by: (1) a world-system that's opposed to God (1 John 2:15-17), (2) the flesh (that is, our own, internal, fallen nature; James 1:13-15), and (3) the devil and his minions (1 Peter 5:8). Notice that 2/3 of the battle is not directly attributable to the devil.

However, in that other third of the cases, when it's a direct spiritual attack, these matters are best dealt with at a local church level. Pastors and elders are our God-ordained authorities in the Body of Messiah and it's their responsibility to watch over the flock of God (1 Peter 5:1-4). When church leaders discern that evil spirits are involved, it should be dealt with privately so it doesn't become a public spectacle or side-show. In the numerous NT instances where the Lord himself cast out demons, there is no indication that He announced it ahead of time or used it to attract a crowd—or that He ever did it in connection with a church/synagogue service. And I'm pretty sure He didn't take an offering afterward.

Above all, never forget: "He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world" (1 John 4:4b).