Deliverance Myths
Deliverance is another area like prayer where there is a lot of weird teaching. Satan loves to fill in knowledge gaps with his fake knowledge. Because many churches won’t touch this important ministry of Jesus with a ten-foot pole, people are ill-informed about it and feel like they have to turn elsewhere for training. So let’s bust some common myths that just make Satan seem like he has power that he doesn’t really have.
1. Deliverance Requires Special Training and Only the Trained Should Practice It
Jesus said that certain signs would follow “those who believe,” and the first one He mentioned was that they would cast out demons (Mark 16:17). So who should cast out demons? ALL believers! Not just specially-trained ones. Deliverance is not so specialized or dangerous that only a select few should get involved with it! Satan would love for you to believe that it is “over your head” so that you won’t help someone who needs to be delivered. This myth is also perpetuated by certain “deliverance trainers” who claim that you need their training in addition to the Bible. That is nonsense when the Bible itself says that it will equip you for every good work (2 Timothy 3:16-17). Training is only valuable inasmuch as it explains truth that is already in Scripture. Avoid anyone who gives the impression that you need some special revelation that only he has!
Despite the different ministries and manifestations given by the Holy Spirit, you will not see any office of “exorcist” in the New Testament. The seven sons of Sceva thought they were exorcists but obviously they weren’t very good (Acts 19:13-17)! God may use some people more along these lines because they encounter more demonic issues where He directs them to minister. Some places have a lot more overt demonic activity than others because of what these cultures have been duped into accepting.
2. Deliverance Can Be Too Dangerous Because Demons Could “Get You” When They Come Out
Jesus, contrary to this myth, stated clearly that we would tread on snakes and scorpions and over ALL the power of the enemy (this includes demons, which are definitely the main context of this passage!) and nothing shall by any means hurt you! THAT (Luke 10:19) is what should believe, not someone’s scary story. I have sensed demons coming out of people, but they never did anything to me. This myth is no better than saying that when you lay hands on the sick, that sickness could land on you, which the same statement by Jesus would negate.
3. You Have to Pray and Fast Against Certain Demons Before They Will Come Out
Jesus said to CAST out demons, not FAST out demons. He did not have time to pray and fast about the particular situation in Mark 9:17-29 when He encountered it. Praying and fasting are valuable things to do, but you don’t have to do them “at” a particular demon. See the answer to the related question about this.
4. You Have to Get Demons to Name Themselves Before You Cast Them Out
I cover elsewhere the fallacy that Jesus asked a demon for its name before He cast it out. He NEVER did that, and He cast out a lot of demons, so you don’t have to do it either.
5. You Must Engage in Special Pre-Deliverance Preparation
Where do you see Jesus doing all kinds of spiritual exercises before casting a demon out? Nowhere. He didn’t in Mark 9:17-29 when He found out about a certain situation. Satan would love to think that you have to be “at the top of your game” before you can cast out a demon. But the truth is that Satan has been at the bottom of his game ever since Jesus publicly defeated him and all his demons. In Paul’s case, the only condition he was in before he cast out the “spirit of Python” from the fortune-telling slave girl was GREAT ANNOYANCE! He did it because he was greatly annoyed! So how much of a spiritual frenzy had he worked up when he cast out that demon? NONE! He was in Christ, so he ALREADY had all the authority that he needed to cast that thing out. YOU have that same authority. So don’t let Satan con you into thinking that you aren’t currently in a “spiritual enough” mode to cast out a demon – by his false scale, you’re NEVER “prayed up” enough, of course. On your worst day, you have more than enough power backing you and the name of Jesus to take care of a demon. If you make prayer and fasting part of your lifestyle (not doing them “at” any particular demon), you should not have trouble with the Flesh Freakout Factor when you cast out a demon.
6. Everyone Has Demons and Needs Regular Deliverance
It is just plain weird to think that everyone has demonic pigs in his parlor that have to be cast out all the time. People who get into that nonsense get very strange, and I would not want to see you get bizarre along with them. Jesus and His followers definitely did not go around casting evil spirits out of everyone, so if you do, you’ve gone outside the Bible into spooky kooky stuff. This kind of teaching makes a convenient denial that you still have flesh that you have mortify. Blaming a demon is a convenient but false way to shift responsibility for your own shortcomings onto demons. For example, instead of trying to cast out a spirit of pride, humble yourself in the sight of the Lord.
7. Everyone Who Is Sick Has a Demon
Jesus and His followers did not try to cast out a demon every time they encountered a sick person, and neither should you. People do a lot of damage when they try to cast demons out that aren’t there, leaving the recipient of their “ministry” confused. These people cause damage when they assume that everyone with a certain condition must have a demon, too. Jesus took care of some certain conditions where demons were sometimes involved and sometimes not involved.
8. All Sin Involves Demons That Need to Be Cast Out
While demons will tempt you to sin, you do not need deliverance just because you had an impure thought, any more than Jesus needed deliverance from a suicide spirit when Satan told Him to jump to what would have been His death. I’ve met people with a “devil made me do it” mindset, but they didn’t understand that there are such things as works of the flesh that don’t directly involve demons! Adultery is a work of flesh, not proof that someone has a “spirit of adultery” that needs to be cast out (as someone who was sinning in that way once tried to convince me).
9. The Only Way to Know That a Demon Is Gone Is by an Unusual Physical Manifestation
On the contrary, I have found that most demons have left without any crazy outward shows, though that CAN happen, as we see in Mark 9:17-29. I do often sense or “feel” something, but not always. We walk by faith, not by sight, and sometimes you have to know that the demon is gone because the Bible says that you can cast out demons in the name of Jesus! Sometimes the person you minister to will feel a lot more than you do. Read most of the passages where Jesus cast out demons and you won’t see many outward manifestations mentioned.
10. If Someone Was Involved in the Occult, He Needs Special Deliverance Ministry After Being Saved
I just laugh at this one because I used to be involved in the occult before I was saved. I was even trying to organize a “Ouija Board Party” at my dorm! Fortunately, I understood that when I received Jesus, I WAS delivered from the power of darkness (Colossians 1:13). I renounced everything I was doing in the occult, knowing that Jesus and the occult did not mix! (After all, I had asked the Ouija board if Jesus was real and it said NO! So I already understood that Jesus and Ouija boards were not on good terms with each other.) I was totally free from that stuff the day I got saved. I never had any issues with the demons I had trafficked with. I was at a conference somewhere as a young believer, and a person who found out about my occult background expressed the need to do special deliverance ministry which he supposedly had some special understanding about. I shouldn’t have done it, but I indulged him and let him wave his arms over me, making frantic scissor-like motions to “cut off” the occult powers that had already been cut off when I got saved. It was amusing in a strange way to see how worked up people can get over such things, but my amusement didn’t last too long before I decided I’d had enough of someone trying to do something Jesus had already done for me.
11. When You Cast Out Demons, You Must Bind Demons from Communicating with Each Other
I’ve heard of an elaborate teaching where you bind the chief demon from talking to slave demons, slave demons from talking to other demons in the room, other demons in the room from talking to the chief demon, and on and on at great length. That’s just corny because Jesus and His followers never had to follow any “special revelations” about doing such things. Satan always tries to make deliverance hard when it’s actually very easy!
12. It Takes a Long Time to Do Deliverance Properly, So Allow a Whole Evening per Person
How long did it take Jesus? The Bible says that He cast demons out with a word, not with 7,000 words! Paul simply said, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her” and that was quite sufficient (Acts 16:16-18)! That didn’t take more than a few seconds. Therefore, you should not expect some drawn-out affair that you NEVER see in Scripture.
13. You Must “Plead the Blood” When Casting Out Demons
NO ONE in Scripture said, “I plead the blood!” while casting out demons. If the Bible people didn’t have to do it to be effective, you don’t have to do it either.