A Biblical approach to
the ministry of deliverance
Jesus referred to deliverance as children's bread
and said it was not fit to cast before dogs
(those outside of covenant with God)
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The purpose of casting out demons... Removing legal grounds is not enough
A common question people have is, "Don't demons leave once their legal grounds have been removed?" While it is possible for them to freely leave at that point, it is not always the case. I'd like to point out that even while Jesus was here on earth, He was fully capable of forgiving the people's sins, as Luke 5:20-24 shows us:
"And when he saw their faith, he said unto him, Man, thy sins are forgiven thee. And the scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, Who is this which speaketh blasphemies? Who can forgive sins, but God alone? But when Jesus perceived their thoughts, he answering said unto them, What reason ye in your hearts? Whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Rise up and walk? But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power upon earth to forgive sins, (he said unto the sick of the palsy,) I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy couch, and go into thine house."
Notice how Jesus even asked if it were easier to say "Thy sins be forgiven thee," or "Rise up and walk." If demons left the moment their legal grounds were removed, why did Jesus go about rebuking and casting them out? Don't you think Jesus would have went about telling those bound by the devil, "Thy sins be forgiven thee"? Wouldn't that have been easier?
If demons left the moment their legal grounds were removed, there would be no need to go about casting them out, and Jesus wouldn't have bothered casting them out either!
To cast a spirit out implies that the spirit is stubborn and is not interested in leaving on it's own. To cast out is a forceful action against it's will. This is the way many demonic spirits are, they are stubborn, and will hold on until somebody comes along and drives them out.
Let's say that you lived in an apartment and had a roommate, but one day you chose to have the place to yourself, so you started paying the full rent for your apartment (so you have full legal rights to live there alone), but where your problem lies is that your stubborn roommate (who no longer has a legal right to live there) refuses to leave. The same principal applies in the spiritual realm when dealing with demons. This is why Jesus gave us authority over demon spirits to cast them out. If demons left on their own accord once their legal grounds are broken, there would be no need to cast them out! But in Mark 16:17, after Jesus rose again, He made it clear that them who believe will be casting out demons:
"And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils."
In Mark 9:17-27, we find a situation where Jesus' disciples tried to cast an evil spirit out of a young boy and were unsuccessful. In verse 29, Jesus explains that this particular kind of demon (unusually stubborn or strong) takes prayer and fasting before you will be able to drive it out:
"And he said unto them, This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting."
Prayer and fasting builds up your faith unusually strong, and in verse 20, Jesus made it clear that it was faith that they lacked in this deliverance:
"Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth."
Apparently, forgiving this young boy's sins (removing the legal grounds) wasn't enough to drive the demon out, and Jesus said they lacked faith that was needed to cast it out. For Jesus to tell us that this kind comes out by nothing, but prayer and fasting, tells us clearly that removing legal grounds isn't going to solve the problem.
Authority is necessary to drive out evil spirits
Demonic spirits do not leave automatically when their legal grounds are removed, or else there would be no need to have the authority to drive them out. Back in the OT, there was no such thing as casting out demons because nobody had the authority to do so. But all that changed when Jesus came on the scene, as Mark 1:27 shows us:
"And they were all amazed, insomuch that they questioned among themselves saying, What thing is this? what new doctrine is this? for with authority commandeth he even the unclean spirits, and they do obey him."
If you take the word authority here and look it up in the NT Greek, we are given the word exousia which is referring to a privilege to subjectively force. Jesus didn't politely ask the demons to come out, He forced them because of His authority. Without that authority, there would be no driving out evil spirits.
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