Tag: Obedience

Can Christians be Possessed by Demons? What about “Demonic Oppression”?

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There is a page on this site where readers can submit questions or suggest topics. Recently I received the following question:

What are your thoughts on demon possession and deliverance with believers?

Can Christians be Possessed by Demons?

Certainly the New Testament describes people being possessed by demons. For examples, see: Matthew 9:32-33; 12:22; 17:18; Mark 5:1-20; 7:26-30; Luke 4:33-36; Luke 22:3; Acts 16:16-18.

In these passages, sometimes the demonic possession caused physical ailments. In other cases, such as with Judas, it caused him to do something evil, namely betraying Jesus. In Acts 16, a demon possessed slave girl was able to tell the future. In Mark 5, demon-possession led to a man cutting himself and living naked in a cemetery.

The Bible repeatedly tells us that idol worship can be related to the worship of demons (Leviticus 17:7; Deuteronomy 32:17; Psalm 106:37; 1 Corinthians 10:20), and so it is possible that involvement with idolatry, the occult, or pagan worship could be a contributing factor for some when it comes to demon possession. Some animistic religions, including voodoo and Santeria, directly involve inviting spirits to indwell and possess the worshiper.

However, when it comes to Christians, the Bible tells us that now, after Jesus’ death and resurrection, we who believe in Jesus have been sealed with the Holy Spirit as a guarantee of their salvation, as a seal that they belong to God (Ephesians 1:13-14, 2 Corinthians 1:22; 5:5; 1 Corinthians 6:19) and are indwelt by the Spirit of God (Romans 8:9-11). For more on the three relationships with the Holy Spirit, click here.

Jesus Himself provides assurance regarding the security of His followers. In John 10:28-29, Jesus declared, “I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand.”

In Matthew 12, Jesus spoke about what happens when a demon is cast out from a person.

“When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, but finds none. Then it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when it comes, it finds the house empty, swept, and put in order. Then it goes and brings with it seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and dwell there, and the last state of that person is worse than the first.”

Matthew 12:43-35

What we learn from this description, is that demons can only occupy a person if that person is not already indwelt by a more powerful Spirit, namely the Spirit of the Lord. If the Spirit of the Lord is indwelling a believer, demons cannot also indwell them.

Demonic Oppression and Demonic Influence in the Life of a Believer

While Christians cannot be possessed by demons, they are not immune to spiritual warfare. The Apostle Paul warns believers that they should not be ignorant of the schemes of the devil and exhorts us to put on the full armor of God to stand firm against such attacks (Ephesians 6:10-18). This implies that while demonic possession is not something that is possible for a believers, harassment or oppression by demonic forces remains a possibility.

Oftentimes, the “battlefield” on which spiritual warfare takes place, is our minds and thought life. Satan is referred to by Jesus as “the father of lies” (John 8:44), and we are instructed to fight against demonic influence over our thought life by taking every thought captive for Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5).

Instances of demonic oppression or influence manifest as spiritual attacks and temptations, just as Jesus Himself was tempted by the devil. While these experiences can be daunting, they do not mean the surrender of one’s will or identity to demonic control. Instead, they serve as opportunities for believers to exercise their faith, relying on the power of Christ to overcome the adversary (1 Peter 5:8-9).

For example, King Saul, after rebelling against the LORD, was troubled by an evil spirit (1 Samuel 16:14-15; 18:10-11; 19:9-10) with the apparent effect of a depressed mood and an increased desire to kill David. Peter was influenced by Satan to try to prevent Jesus from accomplishing his mission of dying on the cross (Matthew 16:21-23).

In Ephesians 6, we are instructed to not only take precautions to protect ourselves against demonic attacks, but we are instructed to go on the offense and fight against the influence of these demonic forces using the Word of God and by praying in the Spirit (Ephesians 6:17-18). For more on praying in the Spirit, see: Is Praying in the Spirit Speaking in Tongues?

Conclusion

In conclusion, Christians cannot be possessed by demons, as they are sealed and protected by the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit. However, believers are not exempt from spiritual warfare and may experience harassment or oppression by demonic forces. Nevertheless, our confidence rests in the assurance of Christ’s victory over the powers of darkness and His promise to never leave nor forsake His own. Let us, therefore, stand firm in the truth of God’s Word, knowing that we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us, and that nothing can separate of from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 8:37-39).

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Reader Response: Does the New Testament Require Tithing?

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There is a page on this site where readers can submit questions or suggest topics. Recently I received the following question:

Do we still have to pay tithes in the New Testament?

Background: What is a “Tithe”?

The tithe (10% of income) was required by the Law of Moses (Leviticus 27:30-33, Numbers 18:21-24) to be given by Jewish people to support the ministry of the Levites and the Temple.

In addition to the tithe, other offerings were to be paid as well. The people of Israel were to be generous with their giving, both to support the ministry of the Temple, but also to care for the needs of the poor.

Jesus talked about Tithing

Jesus said:

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others.”

Matthew 23:23

Jesus’ primary aim was to criticize the hypocrisy of the Pharisees, who tithed even off the herbs they grew in their garden, but neglected justice and mercy towards others. But notice, Jesus does say: “These you ought to have done without neglecting the others.”

In other words: Jesus is telling the Scribes and Pharisees that they should tithe! Jesus is saying that tithing is a good thing, and that people should do it!

This alone should be enough to say that tithing is taught in the New Testament, by Jesus himself.

Certainly Christians are required to be giving people, and generous people (see 1 Timothy 6:18).

Christians are encouraged to go above and beyond a Tithe

The most penetrating passage in the New Testament about giving is in 2 Corinthians 8-9. There we read about how the Corinthian Christians, though they were facing severe trials, “their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part” (2 Corinthians 8:2).

The Corinthians first gave themselves to the Lord, and then to others [through their giving].

Thus, perhaps Christians should aim for 20% in their giving rather than 10%. Why not 30%?

For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.

2 Corinthians 8:9

Maybe you’re asking the wrong question!

Many Christians unwittingly ask the question: “What is the LEAST amount that I can give, in order to make God happy/not break God’s rules?” Instead, the New Testament would encourage us to ask the question: “How can I rearrange my life, so that I can be more generous and give more to further the mission of God in the world?”

The tithe is not God’s way of raising money, it’s God’s way of raising kids.

An incredible thing that Paul writes to the Corinthians in 2 Corinthians 8, is that giving, or tithing “benefits you”! (2 Corinthians 8:10). Giving has a positive transformative effect on the person who gives.

Personally, I tithe because it is a matter of values, and it trains my heart. By making my tithe the first check (or automatic withdrawal) from my account ever month, I am making a clear statement of my priorities and values, which sends a message to my heart that it is more important to invest in the furtherance of God’s Kingdom, and the funding of God’s work in the world, than it is to be able to buy more stuff or do more things for recreation.

Tithing is a “keystone habit,” which means that it shapes the way that you live and affects all other areas of your life, when you make it a priority. In other words, choosing to tithe means that I will not be able to do certain things, which I would have been able to do if I didn’t tithe – and that’s good!

A sacrifice is only a sacrifice if it hurts.

David said, I will not sacrifice to the Lord that which cost me nothing (2 Samuel 24:24)  The woman who gave 2 mites, who Jesus pointed out to his disciples: that was a relatively insignificant amount of money to most people, but for her, it hurt!

Worship and sacrifice are very closely related. We all sacrifice for that which we worship. If you want to know what you truly worship, consider the things for which you are willing to sacrifice other things, especially things like time, family, or money.

God is looking for vessels He can pour into, who will then pour back out what He has given them in ways that He desires. If we show ourselves faithful stewards with the little things that God has entrusted to us, he may entrust us with more. Furthermore, God is a God who gives radically and generously; in fact he gave his all for the mission of bringing salvation to the world. To be like him and share his heart necessitates that we be willing to sacrifice for these same ends.

Do Christians Have to Tithe?

The New Testament does not explicitly state that Christians must tithe. However, it is a biblical principle, about which God invites and challenges us to test him! (see Malachi 3:10).

To Create Lines of Differentiation Between the Old and New Testament Risks Creating a False Dichotomy

To create a line of differentiation between the Old Testament and the New Testament risks creating a false dichotomy. There is only one mission and plan that God has been carrying out through the ages. The New Testament does not negate the Old Testament, but fulfills it. Thus, though we are no longer under obligation to keep the Law of Moses, Old Testament principles do not need to be restated in the New Testament to remain valid.

God loves a joyful giver. He doesn’t want people to give out of a sense of coercion or obligation. But this is a principle of which God says: “If you want to live the full life that I have designed for you, if you want to experience joy, then walk in this way,” – ‘the way everlasting’.

Related Post: Should I Tithe If I’m in Debt?

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Reader Response: What Does John 10:17-18 Mean?

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There is a page on this site where readers can submit questions or suggest topics. Recently I received the following question:

Please kindly explain John chapter 10 verses 17 and 18.

Here’s what those verses say:

For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.”

John 10:17-18

Context: The Good Shepherd Discourse

In John 10:1-18, Jesus gives the Good Shepherd Discourse, which he spoke in response to the events that took place in John 9 and the actions of the “bad shepherds” of Israel: the religious leaders who had excommunicated a family because they refused to deny that Jesus had healed their son who had been blind from birth.

In response to the actions and attitudes of the “bad shepherds,” Jesus describes himself as the Good Shepherd.

Fulfillment of Messianic Prophecies

In Ezekiel 34:23 and 37:24, Ezekiel (writing hundreds of years after the death of King David), predicted a future day when “David” would rule over the people of Israel as their single shepherd.

Rather than having many shepherds (spiritual leaders), who were often bad, God was going to raise up a single shepherd, from the line of David. This was certainly a reference to the promise God made to David in 2 Samuel 8, called the Davidic Covenant, in which God promised that the Messiah would come from David’s family line.

Consider this passage from Jeremiah 23, which is clearly speaking of Jesus as the future, coming “Good Shepherd.”

“Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture!” declares the LORD. Therefore thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, concerning the shepherds who care for my people: “You have scattered my flock and have driven them away, and you have not attended to them. Behold, I will attend to you for your evil deeds, declares the LORD. Then I will gather the remnant of my flock out of all the countries where I have driven them, and I will bring them back to their fold, and they shall be fruitful and multiply. I will set shepherds over them who will care for them, and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, neither shall any be missing, declares the LORD.
“Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. In his days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely. And this is the name by which he will be called: The LORD is our righteousness.’

Jeremiah 23:1-6

So, that’s the context for what Jesus says in John 10:17-18.

The Good Shepherd Lays Down His Life for the Sheep

In this section, in verses 11 and 15, Jesus says that, as the Good Shepherd, one of the things which differentiates him from the bad shepherds – or really from all other shepherds, is that he will lay down his life for the sheep, which he explains is motivated by his love for them.

But in verses 17-18, Jesus shows that another motivation for laying down his life, is that he is doing it in obedience to the Father.

The Connection Between Love and Keeping God’s Commands

Verse 17 should not be understood to mean that Jesus earns the Father’s love by laying down his life, rather that there is a relationship of mutual love between the Father and the Son. Jesus’s obedience to the Father’s authority and commands is a reflection of his love for the Father.

In John 14:15, Jesus told his disciples: “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” And in John 15:10, Jesus explains that “abiding” in his love looks like, in practice: keeping his commands, just as he keeps the Fathers commands and thereby abides in the Father’s love:

Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love.

John 15:9b-10

Clearly there is a connection between love and keeping God’s commands. Jesus expressed his love for the Father by doing what the Father had called him to do, and there was a relationship of mutual love between them, which manifested itself in Jesus being willing and glad to submit to the Father’s authority.

Laying Down His Life, Only to Take It Up Again

In verses 17 and 18, Jesus explains that the plan of the Father, by which he would save his people from their sins (cf. Matthew 1:21) was not only that he would lay down his life, but that he would take it up again, i.e. resurrect from the dead.

This is one of the few places in the New Testament where Jesus’ resurrection is attributed as an action of Jesus himself. In most other places, God the Father is described as raising Jesus from the dead. This is important because it is one more example of the fact that the Bible teaches that Jesus is God: because Jesus does the works that are attributed to God alone, e.g. the creation of the world.

On a human level, Jesus’ life was taken from him by the actions of evil men. And yet, as we see in verse 18, those events were not outside of Jesus’ control. Jesus was not as a victim of circumstance, but the one who was in control of his destiny. Later on, during his trial, before he was crucified, Pontius Pilate said to Jesus, “Don’t you realize I have power either to free you or to crucify you?” (John 19:10). Jesus replied, “‘”You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above” (John 19:11). These incidents show that Jesus was in control of his own destiny.

A good example of this two-fold understanding of why Jesus died is found in Acts 2:23, where Peter says to the crowd gathered on the day of Pentecost:

this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men.

Acts 2:23

In this verse we see both the human responsibility and the plan of God which were at work in the death of Jesus. Jesus laid down his life willingly; he certainly could have walked away from the Garden of Gethsemane on the night when he was arrested. He didn’t have to come to Jerusalem at all, actually – and many people urged him not to! But Jesus went, knowing what awaited him, intent on laying down his life BOTH as an act of loving obedience to the Father who sent him, and as an act of loving redemption for those whom he came to save.

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How Do You Practically “Abide in Christ’s Love”?

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Abide and Bear Fruit is our theme for 2020 at White Fields Church

In my recent post, The Active Passive Actions of Relationship with God, I talked about how abiding in Christ (see John 15:1-11) may at first sound passive, but abiding actually requires action.

A Practical Guide to Abiding

Still, someone might ask: “How exactly do you abide in Christ though?

After all, in John 15:9, Jesus told his disciples:

As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love.

But what does that mean? What does it look like on any given Wednesday, for example, for me to abide in the love of Christ?”

Thankfully, Jesus answered that question for us!

In John 15:10, here’s what Jesus said:

If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love.

So, the way to abide in Jesus’ love is to keep his commandments.

This is interesting, because just a few verses later Jesus says:

Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. (John 15:13-15)

This is interesting because it tells us that there is a good and proper motivation for obeying God’s commandments: love for God and a desire to abide in his love.

Obeying God Matters, But It Also Matters Why You Obey God

Obeying God’s commandments matters. Consider what God told King Saul:

Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices,
as in obeying the voice of the Lord?
Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice,
and to listen than the fat of rams.
For rebellion is as the sin of divination,
and presumption is as iniquity and idolatry.  (1 Samuel 15:22-23)

But when it comes to obeying God, why you obey God also matters very much. It is possible to obey God for the wrong reasons. If your reason for obeying God is self-justification or self-glorification, you will find yourself in the position of being in opposition to God. As we are told in James 4:6,

God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.

On the other hand, if you love someone, and you want to express your love for them, if you want to experience the joy of fellowship with them, what do you do? You find out what they like, what they love, what makes them happy and brings them joy, and you do those things!

An Example: My Wife’s Birthday

My wife’s birthday is coming up. Knowing the things that she likes, what if I were to say: “I don’t have to do those things in order to win her love, since she already loves me. Therefore I will do nothing, because I don’t have to earn her love.”

Of course my wife will love me even if I don’t do anything for her birthday. However, because I love her and want to share a great experience with her (since intimacy is created through shared experiences), I want to do something for her that she will like. Thus, in my pursuit of her, in my desire to know her, one of my goals is to discover her likes and dislikes and do things she likes; not to earn her love, but as an expression of my love for her, and as a way of having fellowship with her.

In the same way, we can express love for God and experience fellowship with God by doing the things that we know He likes!

For more on this topic, see: “Oh, How I Love Your Law” – the Role of the Law in the Life of a Believer

May we be those who abide in Christ’s love, just as He abided in the love of the Father!

The Fat Belongs to the Lord

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This Sunday at White Fields I taught 1 Samuel 2 and the story of Hophni and Phineas, the priests who were doing shameful things in the Tabernacle. (Click here for audio of that sermon: “Messed-Up Ministry”). There was a detail of that story that at first seems a bit odd and obscure, but is worth serious consideration.

In 1 Samuel 2:15-17 we read about how the Law required that the fat be burned off the meat before it was eaten. The law about this is found in the Book of Leviticus – and as I mentioned on Sunday, the reason for this is because at that time, the fat of the meat was considered the best, most luxurious part. But God required that when a sacrifice was made as an act of worship, the fat be burned, which would create a lot of smoke and it would be a “fragrant offering” unto the Lord.  Any of you who like the smell of bacon cooking know what I’m talking about. Those of you who are vegans, well, you can eat your tofu bacon and pretend you know what I’m talking about!  

The fat belongs to the Lord

But the idea that the fat belonged to the Lord represented a fundamental belief that we should give the best to God. Many people are in the habit of doing just the opposite – keeping the best for themselves, and giving the rest (the left-overs) to God. Rather than making their offering check the first check they write every month, they wait until the end of the month to see if they have anything left over. God asks that we give him the best, not the rest.

But there’s something else worth taking note of here: when the people in those days gave the fat of the meat to the Lord, they thought they were really giving up a lot – they were really “sacrificing” something, in obedience to God. They were giving up luxury and “the good life”. However, what we now know is that fat kills. At our last men’s prayer breakfast, one man brought a creation called the “bacon explosion” made of various lard extracts which I am convinced reduced my life span by 2 months per bite!
But here’s the point: by telling them to sacrifice the fat on the altar, not only was God teaching them an important values lesson, but he was also sparing them from something which was bad for them, even though they couldn’t possibly know that yet! It would only be thousands of years later that people would realize that God wasn’t only asking them to give something up, he was actually protecting them – even though they didn’t understand it yet, much like all of us parents do with our children.

God is good and all his ordinances – the things he tells you to do and what he tells you to steer clear of – each and every one flows out of his love and care for you.