Deliverance Ministries--Is it time to call in the special forces?

By Marci Julin

Working in ministry with people coming out of the spiritual darkness of New Age and energy-based practices, I’m asked the same questions again and again: What do you think about deliverance ministries? Can a Christian ever need deliverance? Is it even possible for a believer to be possessed? Maybe you’ve wrestled with those questions too.

While I discussed this topic with a friend, she told me she had heard the analogy used to liken deliverance ministries to calling in special forces for a particularly treacherous military operation. When you’re dealing with the enemy’s big guns, so the analogy goes, it’s time to enlist those specifically trained to effectively neutralize the adversary. But is the analogy appropriate when dealing with Satan, and if it is, who qualifies as the requisite special forces?

Scripture doesn’t spell out every modern-day scenario, but it does give us clear, foundational principles. When the specifics feel murky, those principles, illuminated by the Holy Spirit, become our guide, so before we step into the more complex and debated aspects of deliverance, let us first anchor ourselves in what the Bible clearly reveals.

1. The Holy Spirit dwells in every true believer. 

Since the Holy Spirit permanently lives within those who belong to Christ (Romans 8:9–11), a believer cannot be inhabited or controlled from within by demons. Scripture says, “Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God…?” (1 Corinthians 6:19) and “What fellowship has light with darkness?” (2 Corinthians 6:14). [1] The presence of the Holy Spirit and the presence of demons cannot coexist in the same person; therefore, possession isn’t possible for a believer.

2. Christ’s work is sufficient.

Through faith in the work of Jesus Christ, my deliverance from the power of Satan was fully accomplished. Colossians 1:13 says, “He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love.” Also, 1 John 4:4 says, “He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.” Jesus IS the special forces!

3. Each believer has authority to resist the enemy.

Scripture promises that an individual believer can and should take a stand against Satan through faith and obedience (Ephesians 6:10-20). James 4:7 succinctly states, “Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.” This means that no special rituals or outside help are required; our authority comes from Christ and our submission to Him.

4. True freedom comes through sanctification.

Spiritual growth and freedom are part of the lifelong process of sanctification—walking daily in truth, resisting temptation, and relying on the Holy Spirit. Deliverance from evil should not be a constant battle but a process of learning to walk in the work Christ has already done, which transforms the heart and mind by God’s Word and obedience to it. Romans 6:4 says, “Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.”

With these foundational principles in mind, let us consider some specific applications for those who may have opened doors to the evil one and now wonder what to do.

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Many years ago, as a devout Christian who fully understood the Gospel, I unknowingly gave the devil a foothold in my life through my involvement with a demonically based health practice called muscle testing (AK).[2] Ephesians 4:26-27 warns against giving the devil a foothold in our lives through sin.[3] Like doors in a house, sinful practices or even possession of demonic objects can give Satan permission to wreak havoc.

In my case, after I began muscle testing, that torment first manifested when I began reacting in strange but debilitating ways to my environment. During my continued involvement with AK, I also began to develop special abilities such as the power to cause a strong man’s arm to go weak and significant telepathic capability. Other signs of demonic activity in our home also got our attention—doors inexplicably slamming and frightening, seemingly prophetic dreams experienced by our teenaged son.

When my husband and I finally realized the true nature of those health practices and repented, our entire family followed the instruction of James 4:7, “Submit yourself to God, resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” So, our first step of submission to God was to pray and confess our sin and then to ask that He would enable us to resist the devil in the name of Jesus. Then, my husband, as the spiritual head of our family (Ephesians 5:23), said aloud, “Satan, in the name of Jesus, you must leave us alone and leave our house. We are covered by the blood of Jesus Christ. You must leave!”

Immediately, a severe terror came over me, so overwhelming that I felt as though my chest was being crushed. I began to scream. Seth repeated his statement, and just as suddenly, the terror was gone. We immediately removed all books and objects associated with our sin, in order that we might not give Satan any grounds for returning. Following these actions, I never again had those special abilities, nor did doors slam in the house. Blessed peace returned.

According to James 4:7 and Ephesians 6:10-20, I could have successfully taken the same actions on my own, but the sin was not mine alone. The whole family had participated, and so it was biblically appropriate for my husband to take the lead for us all. As children of God, we did not need to endlessly rebuke Satan, nor did we need to enlist someone specially trained in deliverance.

The only special forces required is Jesus! He has already done the work. The believer needs only to stand under His authority. The instruction and application of James 4:7 is simple for every believer who may be dealing with demonic oppression.

I have heard people describe deliverance sessions lasting for hours and across many sessions as numerous special prayers are offered to supposedly take back territory given to Satan. This practice sounds akin to the prophets of Baal thrashing about and calling out incantations for hours to no avail, whereas the prophet Elijah briefly and calmly prayed and was rewarded (1 Kings 18). Either God’s Word is true, or it isn’t. Either God’s Word has authority, or it doesn’t. God already transferred us from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light. If we open a door that allows darkness to invade, we must personally repent and then resist in the authority of the name of Jesus.

Keep in mind also that when doors have been opened to the enemy in the past, troubling symptoms may or may not be due to the devil’s influence. Consider one young woman's story. When I first met her she was a fairly new believer, recently saved out of significant New Age practices. Out of a mother's great love and desire to find help for her severely disabled child, she unknowingly opened many dangerous doors. While still unsaved and during her participation in one of those practices, she exhibited some disturbing behaviors associated with demonic possession that were witnessed by others (not surprising, given what she was doing as a non-believer).

However, after coming to faith an episode occurred during prayer with her pastor and husband that they believe may have been an exorcism. She was then baptized, and began to grow in her faith. Some time later, she developed brief but bizarre episodes of hearing voices or noise that she couldn’t understand, as well as a "zoning out" during these occurrences. This kind, soft-spoken young woman began demonstrating episodes of troubling anger and great difficulty concentrating. While in a Bible study I was teaching, she reached out to describe her troubling symptoms and to ask if I thought the episodes she was experiencing were due to possession or torment by Satan.

With her history before Christ, demonic oppression sounded possible, but I was also confused by the fact that she had long ago repented of those things and knew of no current open doors to the enemy. Just in case, she followed my counsel in applying James 4:7, but nothing changed.

Some would have assumed that it was time to call in those specially trained in deliverance. However, considering the biblical truth I’ve already shared in this post, I suspected something might be going on physically and encouraged her to seek medical evaluation. It was eventually discovered that she had a 2 cm brain cavernoma that was creating all her troubling symptoms. Demons were not involved.

I wonder how often people wrongly conclude that more and more deliverance sessions are required, only to find problems that never end because of one or two possibilites: Either that the problems aren’t the result of demonic oppression in the first place or because true repentance hasn’t occurred, and the demonic foothold therefore remains.

Deliverance ministries place an unbiblical and unhealthy focus on Satan’s power, rather than on the finished work of Christ and the need to walk in obedience to God’s Word. Distraction and obsession with endlessly fighting demonic battles will effectively prevent an individual from walking in peace. Satan is just fine with that!  In fact, I suspect he celebrates the existence of deliverance ministries.

Instead let us find rest in the One who has already won the battle, the Supreme special force—Jesus Christ the Victor. As Hebrews 12:2  says, “Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

Go in peace.

[1] All Scripture references are in the NKJV.

[2] For the full story, see these 3 blog posts-- https://www.heartandmindministries.com/blog-muscletesting or this video-- 11 Reasons Muscle Testing is Divination

[3] Ephesians 4:26-28-- “Be angry, and do not sin”: do not let the sun go down on your wrath, nor give place to the devil. Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labor…