Is Deliverance a Dangerous Practice Best Left to Trained Exorcists?

No.    

Deliverance is only dangerous to you if you happen to be a demon.  As believers, we TREAD on snakes and scorpions and over ALL the power of the enemy and NOTHING shall by any means hurt us (Luke 10:19).  If you’re afraid of demons because you’ve watched too many horror movies or been to a Bizarre Unbiblical Deliverance Seminar, you need to get your mind renewed with the Word!  You are seated with Christ in heavenly places, FAR above all principalities and powers (Ephesians 2:6, Ephesians 1:15-23).  Does that sound like you should be afraid that they will “get” you?

The DEVIL wants you to think that deliverance is dangerous so that you won’t do it!  He would love to have you think that unless you are specially prayed up, he will eat your lunch.  He is a liar.  He is also a DEFEATED liar.  But if you don’t know the Word, he will torment you with incorrect thoughts like, “You didn’t do enough prayer and fasting about that particular demon to cast it out!”

The whole idea that only specially trained deliverance ministers should minister deliverance is no more intelligent or biblical than saying that only trained evangelists should spread the good news or that only trained healing ministers should minister healing.  Jesus said that believers, not just specially-trained exorcists, would cast out demons in His name (Mark 16:17).  Thus, deliverance is part of the ministry of EVERY believer!

Jesus said that he who believes on Him will do the works that He did and greater (John 14:12).  Jesus definitely cast out demons.  You can read a lot of accounts where He did it in the gospels.  Thus, YOU as a believer are to do it as well.

Some believers may be like Philip and have an unusual number of successful deliverance cases (Acts 8:7), and there will also be ministries that have an unusual number of salvations or healings.  But every believer should be ready to minister deliverance, the plan of salvation and healing as needed at a given moment.

Now what about the sons of Sceva who were thrashed around by a demon (Acts 19:13-17)?  Doesn’t that account show that demons are dangerous?  No, it doesn’t for you as a believer.  The sons of Sceva were not believers, they were “vagabond Jewish exorcists.”  They would probably be called Gypsies today.  They had no personal faith in the name of Jesus.  They were just trying to mimic Paul’s actions without Paul’s faith.  When PAUL cast out a demon (Acts 16:16-18), he didn’t get beaten up!  Now an unbeliever who had faith in the name of Jesus COULD cast a demon out, as proved by Mark 9:38, which was during a time when no one was born again yet, including the disciples who cast out many demons (Mark 6:13).  Yet there is no record that the unnamed man or the disciples were ever beaten up by a demon!  Demons do have power but you have something a lot better – authority!  Your authority in the name of Jesus can stop their power in its tracks.

There are offices of apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor and teacher in the New Testament (Ephesians 4:11), but there is no office of exorcist!  NOTHING in Scripture indicates that deliverance ministry is only for SOME believers who are called to it.  Paul never conducted a special deliverance seminar to train exorcists.

The idea that deliverance is dangerous and best left to trained exorcists is propagated by Christians whose heads are puffed up after going to one of those Bizarre Unbiblical Deliverance Seminars.  They think that they have knowledge no one else has, and that if anyone has a demon, you’d best call them because they’re the demon experts that you’re so “fortunate” to have in your church.  They will urge you, “You just HAVE to read `Everything’s a Demon’ by D. Monica Grandizer – it’s so anointed!”  These are the annoying people that you have to stop in the act as a pastor because they will try to cast nonexistent demons out of people in your church behind your back because they think that just about everyone has a demon. 

Successful dealing with demons can be summed up in fewer than 10 useful words: “Be quiet,” “Come out,” and “in the name of Jesus.”  Sometimes you’ll get a chatty demon that you need to command to be quiet.  Jesus told them to be quiet and you as a believer have the right to do the same thing in His name.  You have the right to make them leave in the name of Jesus, who Himself made demons leave.