Casting Out Demons

A big part of being a disciple of Jesus, when He was walking the earth, was faith. We are able to read the whole plan from cover to cover like a book, going to the ending first and working our way back to the beginning. Those, who walked with Jesus must have spent a great deal of time scratching their heads, wondering what He meant to say when He said something that sounded pretty ominous or important.

A case in point would be the incident that took place between Luke 9:43 and 9:45. Luke tells us that after the healing of the demon possessed boy, that the crowd was amazed at the mighty power of God and all of the things that Jesus had done up to then, became the point of discussion for the crowd.

The first point that I would like to bring your attention to is the fact that the crowd knew that the healing and miracle powers came from God. This means that Jesus told them about the power coming through Him from the Father. He never claimed to be the originator (as a human) of those powers. The spies employed by the religious leaders either didn’t listen to this part of the message or it was ignored. False prophets before and after eventually claim to be the source of all healing and salvation powers and in time develop a plan to receive worldly treasures, from their subjects, for their efforts. In the case of Jesus, He gave (and gives) to His subjects, and not take from them.

It is in little portions of the scripture like this that we can really realize some basics about who Jesus was and is. If He was a fake Messiah, we would have seen Him take credit for miracles, not defer them to the Father, as He stood before the crowds. He would have demanded the monetary and courtly trappings deserving of the Messiah as outlined in scripture and would have been speaking in immediate terms of kingdom deliverance for Israel. Instead, Jesus defers to the Father and submits to His will, speaks of a kingdom that is not on this earth, shows no desire to tell people what they want to hear and warns them that He will soon be betrayed and killed.

We literally come to a crossroad of faith as we realize that if Jesus is not the Messiah, He was just a crazy person. There just isn’t a middle position here. Either Jesus is the Redeemer or He isn’t. If you take the position that He was crazy, you can rationalize the biblical accounts until you get to the resurrection but before anyone discounts Him as the Redeemer, they better put a lot of thought and study into it because of the gravity of the situation and the consequences to your decision if you are wrong.

Luke tells us that some of the apostles were having a disagreement among themselves as to which of them would be considered the greatest and closest to Jesus. Jesus knew that they were having this discussion and told them that anyone who welcomes a little child in His name, receives Him and that if anyone welcomes Jesus also welcomes the Father who sent Him. He also told them that whoever is the least among them, will be considered the greatest.

The definition of the term “least among them” is certainly relative phrase. People have used the term to qualify vows of poverty while others define it to justify a cloistered existence. In my mind, this term means for us to remain subservient to God in all things and allow Him to place us in society at the financial and social standing that would enhance our effectiveness while we work for His kingdom.

I believe that God can use all of us , if we allow Him to. An example of this comes from a website located at http://www.gospelcenterchurch.org/spurgeon.html. Please go to the website and read what the author writes about one of the greatest Godly workers of modern times, Charles H. Spurgeon.

This mighty man of God used biting humor to make his point from the pulpit. The following is an example :

Once a year, Charles H. Spurgeon preached "for his orphans." At that event, an offering would be received for his orphanage. After one of these meetings a person accosted him with the charge, "Why, Mr. Spurgeon, I thought you preached for souls and not for money!"

Spurgeon replied, "Normally I do preach for souls and not for money. But my orphans can't eat souls and if they did, my brother, it would take at least four the size of yours to give one of them a square meal!"

This “Prince of Preachers” lived from 1835 to 1892 in England. During his life a great deal of change happened in the Christian church. The amazing thing is that all of the movement during this period was a continuation of the discussion between the apostles relating to their position in regards to Christ and their ultimate hierarchal standing in heaven.

Some of the events that happened in America and England during this time period are, as follows:

African Methodist Episcopal Church founded in 1816 by Richard Allen, a freedman who had been the first black Methodist to be ordained as a deacon.

1824 Charles Finney leads revivals from Wilmingham to Boston. The Second Great Awakening is underway.

1833-1841 The Oxford Movement, or the Tractarian Movement, attempts to bring the Church of England closer to Catholicism. Tried to popularize the Via Media. Led by John Henry Newman

1837 Old School/New School controversy splits American Presbyterianism

1843 The Disruption of the church in Scotland

1844 d. Asahel Nettleton, Calvinist leader who opposed Finney's formulaic view of revivalism during the Second Great Awakening

1851 b. B.B.Warfield, Princeton theologian who would defend inerrancy

1854 Doctrine of the Immaculate Conception of Mary

1857 Finney's Lectures to Professing Christians written to influence the practice of "Christian Perfection"

Origin of Species, 1859, Darwin

1860 Essays and Reviews published. A liberal manifesto by 7 Church of England priests

1861 Spurgeon moves to the Metropolitan Tabernacle. Soon he is preaching to over 6,000 per week

1870 Vatican I, and the declaration of Papal Infallibility when speaking ex cathedra

1870 Fifty year celebration of Friedrich August Tholuck's professorship at Halle. Tholuck was the spiritual father of thousands of students, and mentored Charles Hodge

1874 The Christian Doctrine of Justification and Reconciliation by Albrecht Ritschl reduces Christianity to a social gospel

1879 John Henry Newman made a Cardinal

1886 Abraham Kuyper leads a major sucession in the Dutch Reformed Church

1886 The Student Volunteer Movement

1898 Kuyper's Stone Lectures urge the development of a Christian worldview encompassing all of life

In this period of great change, from Kierkegaard, Darwin, The Great Awakening and the growth and definition of Roman Catholic doctrine, Spurgeon remained “least among men”, turning down money, title and worldly fame all the while helping to grow and define Christ’s church.

In verse 49 and 50, Luke tells us that the apostle John came to Jesus and reported that he and the other apostles saw someone using the name of Jesus to cast out demons and that they tried to stop him from doing so because he was not part of their group.

Jesus responded, telling John to leave the man alone and that anyone who is not against you, is for you.

Without a doubt, the apostles must have walked away from conversations like this, shaking their heads and thinking, “I can’t do anything right” or “I need a scorecard to keep track of what I can do or not do”. Even though these men walked with Christ everyday, they really didn’t get to know Him and what He wanted from them until after the resurrection of Jesus.
Where Jesus, through the Father, gave us the ability to heal and cast out demons in His name, the modern Christian church has more in common with the apostles view on this subject.

After the “Age of Enlightenment”, a period of time in the late 1700's through much of the 1800's in which the rule of the church and state was questioned and challenged. Casting out of evil spirits diminished and actually became more of a corporate function that was a franchise of the established Christian churches. Part of the reason for this decline was the rise of psychology and the treating of these cases as products of mental illness and not demonic based.

Casting out demons has been part of the belief system of Christianity since its beginning, and exorcism is still a recognized practice of Catholicism, Eastern Orthodox and some Protestant sects. The Church of England also has an official exorcist in each diocese. [2]

After the enlightenment, the practice of exorcism has diminished in its importance to most religious groups and its use has decreased, especially in western society. Generally, in the 20th century its use was found mainly in Eastern Europe and Africa, with some cases gaining media coverage; Anneliese Michel is perhaps the most recent of these. This is due mainly to the study of psychology and the functioning and structure of the human mind. Many of the cases that in the past which were candidates for exorcism are often explained to be the products of mental illness, and are handled as such.

The Roman Catholic church maintains a rigid exorcism ritual exercised by an ordained priest (or higher prelate), with the express permission of the local bishop, and only after a careful examination to exclude the possibility of mental illness.

However in 1973 the movie The Exorcist came out, and the idea of Exorcisms became thrust into the limelight. After its release a very large response came from the public in the United States and Europe, and belief in Demon Possession and Exorcisms found a place in contemporary society. Belief in the validity of the practice became less of a radical idea, and more widespread.[3]

The Catholic Encyclopedia (1908) enjoined: "Superstition ought not to be confounded with religion, however much their history may be interwoven, nor magic, however white it may be, with a legitimate religious rite." Things listed in the Roman Ritual as being indicators of possible demonic possession include: speaking foreign or ancient languages of which the possessed has no prior knowledge; supernatural abilities and strength; knowledge of hidden or remote things which the possessed has no way of knowing, an aversion to anything holy, profuse blasphemy, or sacrilege.

The Catholic Church revised the Rite of Exorcism in January 1999, although the traditional Rite of Exorcism in Latin is allowed as an option. The act of exorcism is considered to be an incredibly dangerous spiritual task; the ritual assumes that possessed persons retain their free-will, though the demon may hold control over their physical body, and involves prayers, blessings, and invocations with the use of the document Of Exorcisms and Certain Supplications. Other formulas may have been used in the past, such as the Benedictine Vade retro satana. In the modern era, the Catholic Church authorizes exorcism rarely, approaching would-be cases with the presumption that mental or physical illness is in play. In mild cases the Chaplet of Saint Michael should be used.

In 1974, the Church of England set up the "Deliverance Ministry". As part of its creation every diocese in the country was equipped a team trained in both exorcism and psychiatry. According to its representatives most cases brought before it have conventional explanations and actual exorcisms are quite rare, though sometimes blessings are given to people for psychological reasons.

In The Episcopal Church the Book of Occasional Services discusses provision for exorcism; but it does not indicate any specific rite, nor does it establish an office of "exorcist". Diocesan exorcists usually continue in their role when they have retired from all other church duties. Anglican priests may not perform an exorcism without permission from the Diocesan bishop. Is not usually performed unless the bishop and his team of specialists (including a psychiatrist and physician) have approved it.

Some Protestant denominations also recognize possession and exorcism, although the practice is generally less formalized than it is in the Catholic Church. The Methodist Church also has appointed people in place for use in such circumstances. While some denominations perform exorcism very sparingly and cautiously, some may perform it almost routinely, as part of regular religious services (especially Pentecostal denominations).

Psychiatrist M. Scott Peck researched exorcisms (initially in an effort to disprove demonic possession), and claims to have conducted two himself. He concluded that the Christian concept of possession was a genuine phenomenon. He derived diagnostic criteria somewhat different from those used by the Roman Catholic Church. He also claimed to see differences in exorcism procedures and progression. After his experiences and in an attempt to get his research validated he has attempted to get the psychiatric community to add the definition of "Evil" to the DSMIV.

In the less formalized sections of Protestant denominations the ritual can take many forms and belief structures, especially in Charismatic movement. The most common of these is the Deliverance ceremony. This differs from the exorcism ceremony by the fact that the Devil may have gotten a foothold, into a persons life rather than gaining complete control if complete control has been gained a full fledged exorcism is necessary. However a "spirit filled Christian" can not be possessed based on their beliefs. Within this belief structure the reasons for the devil to get a foothold are usually explained to be some sort of deviation from theological doctrine or because of pre-conversion activities (like dealing with the occult).

The method for determining if a person needs a Deliverance is done by having someone present who has the gift of Discernment of Spirits. This is a gift of the Holy Spirit from Cor. 1:12 that allows a person to "sense" in some way an evil presence. While the initial diagnosis is usually uncontested by the congregation, when many people are endowed with this gift in a single congregation results may vary.
A terrific resource for information on a subject such as this is available at the Wikipedia website located at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page .

I don’t know about you, but it looks to me that the modern Christian church has ignored the specific words of Jesus in regards to healing and the casting out of demons and should probably take another look at their positions on these matters.