In my last post, I wrote about my personal experience with spiritual warfare and deliverance. I had unwittingly opened a lot of doors to demonic oppression, and it took a while to discover what they were, get them shut, and receive freedom.
Christians should not need deliverance, but they often do. Why is that? When asked the question, “Can Christians have demons?” Pastor Don Dickerman has said, “If they want to open a door, they can have anything they want.” What he means is that if a Christian invites the demonic in by engaging in spiritually dangerous thinking or practices, they should not be surprised if they end up needing deliverance.
So, the question is, what practices might be considered spiritually dangerous? I touched on this in my last post, but I want to go into greater detail in this one.
Paul warned fellow Christians that they should not “give place to the devil.” (Ephesians 4:26-27) How might a person do that? Living a carnal life, given over to the works of the flesh, is an open invitation to demons. The term “the works of the flesh” refers to practices that God disapproves of. Here are some scriptures that list attitudes and behaviors that God hates:
“Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.” – Galatians 5:19-21
“There are six things which Yahweh hates, even seven which are an abomination to Him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked thoughts, feet that hasten to run to evil, a false witness who breathes out lies, and one who spreads strife among brothers.” – Proverbs 6:16-19
“You, my son, listen and be wise, and direct your heart in the way. Do not be with heavy drinkers of wine, or with gluttonous eaters of meat; For the heavy drinker and the glutton will come to poverty, and drowsiness will clothe them with rags.”
“There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, one who uses divination, one who practices soothsaying or one who interprets omens or a sorcerer, or one who is an enchanter or a medium or a spiritist or one who inquires of the dead. For whoever does these things is an abomination to Yahweh; and because of these abominations Yahweh your God will dispossess them from before you.” Deuteronomy 18:10-12
“I am Yahweh your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. You shall have no other gods before Me. You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth. You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, Yahweh your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing lovingkindness to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments. You shall not take the name of Yahweh your God in vain, for Yahweh will not leave him unpunished who takes His name in vain.” – Exodus 20:2-7
From these scriptures, we can create a list of practices that can open doors to demonic oppression:
- False religions such as Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, Scientology, Mormonism, Christian Science, and Jehovah’s Witnesses.
- Sorcery or witchcraft, which includes many things which have become common in our culture including some of the more obvious such as: satanism, wicca, seances, ouji boards, fortune tellers, Freemasonry with all its offshoots, tarot cards, astrology, books about magic (including Harry Potter, sorry guys), satanic music (especially heavy metal and death metal), casting of spells, spirit guides, palm reading etc. Some less obvious but more insidiously dangerous practices are Yoga, transcendental meditation, use of crystals for healing and spirituality, law of attraction, Christ consciousness, hypnotism, burning sage for spiritual cleansing, third eye, energy healing including reiki, acupuncture, and homeopathy.
- Antisocial and narcissistic behaviors and attitudes such as pride, divisiveness, hatred, rage, jealousy, envy, lying, and abusive speech.
- Sexual immorality and uncleanness, including sex before marriage, adultery, and pornography.
- Addictions and obsessions, which are a form of idolatry.
- Gluttony, drunkenness, and drug abuse.
- Murder, including abortion.
Having practiced any of these things does not automatically mean that you have a demon. But they are invitations, sort of like walking down a dangerous street at night with an expensive watch on. It’s just not safe, and you shouldn’t be all that surprised if you get mugged.
Jesus taught an important principle of spiritual warfare when he said this:
“You have heard that the ancients were told, ‘You shall not murder’ and ‘Whoever murders shall be guilty before the court.’ But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court; and whoever says to his brother, ‘Raca,’ shall be guilty before the Sanhedrin; and whoever says, ‘You fool,’ shall be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell.” – Matthew 5:21-22 (LSB)
Murder begins in the mind. A person might come into agreement with a hateful thought, and then another, and then another. Soon that person is consumed by hatred to the extent that he begins to make plans to act on his hate. Or maybe there are no plans. But given the right opportunity and circumstances, the person will suddenly strike out and a murder happens. It all started in the mind. The murderer came into agreement with thoughts that were not of God, and this gave opportunity to the Devil. (Ephesians 4:27)
This is how demons get in. They are opportunists. All they need is for you to agree with them.
So many of the evil things that humans think and do have to do with a lack of trust in their Creator. When we fail to trust God, we are disagreeing with him and agreeing with the enemy. Proverbs 3:5-6 says, “Trust in Yahweh with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight.” This is the truth. If you trust Him, he will make your paths straight.
Choosing sin usually starts with unbelief. We don’t believe God will take care of us, so we may try to control our own destinies through witchcraft and other aspects of the occult. Or we don’t think God wants to heal our trauma, so we decide to self-medicate with sex, food, drugs or alcohol. Maybe a girl gets pregnant out of wedlock, and because she has no trust that God will care for her and her child, she believes that her only option is to have an abortion.
Interpersonal problems also begin with a lack of trust in God. If a person has no relationship with God, they will not understand that the source of all love is their heavenly Father. So, they will put other humans in the place of God, expecting them to love and comfort them in a way that only God can. When people inevitably let them down, they might resort to control tactics and abuse to try to get what they think they need. This is how lying, verbal abuse, and manipulation of all kinds gets started.
All false religions are based on the idea that we have to earn our salvation. This is a lie and also betrays a lack of trust in God. It says in Ephesians 2:8-9, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not of works, so that no one may boast.” A false religion full of rules and rituals can be a comforting substitute for true faith. But in the end, it yields nothing but frustration and alienation from the true God. And like any other form of agreement with the enemy, it opens doors to demonization.
Trauma and unforgiveness can lead to demonization. This is one of the most despicable things demons do – enter a person at the time of their being abused or assaulted. It’s not fair. It’s not their fault. But demons that have entered in this way usually remain because of unforgiveness. In my church, we probably see more cases of demonization because of unforgiveness than for any other reason. One of the hardest things you might ever have to do is to forgive someone who has assaulted or abused you or someone you love. (Matthew 6:14-15) What might make it easier is to understand that forgiveness does not mean you are saying that the abuse was justified. No abuse is ever justified. It also does not mean that you have to reconcile with that person and be their friend. It just means that you have decided to let go of any need to get revenge or to hang on to hateful thoughts. (Romans 12:17-21) You let go of that person completely and give them to God. This requires a tremendous amount of trust in God. But it frees you and it takes away any legal right that a demon might think it has to keep tormenting you.
The way to close demonic doors is to come out of agreement with the enemy and into agreement with God. Then act on it. Paul wrote to the Corinthians that we need to take our thoughts captive:
“For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the tearing down of strongholds, as we tear down speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ…” – 2 Corinthians 10:3-5
The next time you feel anxious or depressed, ask yourself, “what lies am I believing? Am I trusting in God with all my heart? Do I really believe he loves me and is taking care of me? Have I relied on something other than God to help me and save me? What have I relied upon? What might I need to cut out of my life? Who do I need to forgive?”
You might have to make drastic changes in your thinking and actions in order to get free. Those changes might hurt at first. But Jesus was clear that it is better to endure temporary pain than an eternity of separation from God when he said this:
“But if your right eye makes you stumble, tear it out and throw it from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your right hand makes you stumble, cut it off and throw it from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to go into hell.” – Matthew 5:29-30
It’s relatively easy to purge your home of objects related to false religion or the occult, and it’s necessary. (Acts 19:19) It is much harder to part ways with people who have been harming you, but it is also necessary. (2 Corinthians 6:14-18; 2 Timothy 3:1-5)
What is hardest is to change patterns of thought that have led to sin and possibly to demonization. It takes determination and persistence. Thoughts can be like mosquitoes. You can bat them away, but they’ll only come back unless you kill them. The way to kill pesky, lying thoughts is to replace them with the truth. Fill your mind with what the scriptures say about God and about how he feels about and treats the people who love him. Pray for the wisdom to understand it properly. Memorize it. Declare it aloud, especially when lying thoughts come. For more on mind renewal, see Freedom in Christ.
Closing demonic doors is the first step to deliverance and freedom. Once the doors are shut, you can command any demons that might have been bothering you to leave in the name of Jesus. If you love and follow Jesus, know who you are in Christ, and are in right standing with God, they know they have to leave upon your command. Have faith, do not doubt, and wield your God-given authority:
“Now the seventy returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name.” And He said to them, “I was watching Satan fall from heaven like lightning. Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing will injure you.” – Luke 10:17-19
