Can Christians be Oppressed?
In Psalms 143:3-4 David says, "For the enemy has persecuted my soul; He has crushed my life to the ground; He has made me dwell in darkness, Like those who have long been dead. Therefore my spirit is overwhelmed within me; My heart within me is distressed."
Of course, we know David wasn't a Christian, but he certainly was a believer and a man after God's own heart. So are we as New Testament believers any different than Old Testament Believers?
This leads to the inevitable question: Is it possible for a Christian to be demon possessed?
We believe the answer is No, but also believe that's the wrong question.
Instead, can we ask, is it possible for a Christian:
- to be tempted?
- to be tormented and harassed by the enemy?
- to open themselves up to addictions and uncontrollable habits?
- to have a worldly mind-set and be taken advantage of by the enemy?
- to be subject to divisions and strife within the church?
- to give way to pride, to suffer with fear, rejection, un-forgiveness,
bitterness, anger, shame, guilt and condemnation?
Any reasonable observer would say, "Yes!"
So, it's really a question of degrees.
To the degree that one gives oneself over, or falls prey to the devil's lies and deceptions, then to that degree the enemy has a foothold in his or her life.
To understand that there are degrees that we can give ourselves over to the enemy, let's look at the Amplified version of Ephesians 4:27 that says, "Leave no [such] room or foothold for the devil [give no opportunity to him]."
That said, we can probably now agree to the common ground that a Christian can be negatively affected by Satan or his demons, but how, (or how much), does it apply to us?
2 Corinthians 12:7-8 says, "Lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure."
There has been much discussion about what Paul's thorn in the flesh was, and this side of heaven we might never know, but we might be able to agree to the "source" of that thorn.
The Scripture says, "a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me". Doesn't that say the "thorn" was a "messenger" of Satan? Couldn't we all agree that the messenger of Satan would be what we call a demon? If it was a demon, and it "buffeted" him, wouldn't that make him "demon oppressed"? If Paul could have been demon oppressed, couldn't we too be buffeted, or oppressed?
Can Christians be Cursed?
Deuteronomy 11:26-28 - "See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse - the blessing if you obey the commands of the Lord your God that I am giving you today; the curse if you disobey the commands of the Lord your God and turn from the way that I command you today by following other gods, which you have not known."
Malachi 3:8-9
"Will a man rob God?
Yet you have robbed Me!
But you say, ''in what way have we robbed You?'
In tithes and offerings.
9 You are cursed with a curse,
For you have robbed Me,
Even this whole nation."
"Not tithing" opens the door for a Curse of Poverty.
Giving God His 10%, Sanctifies the remaining 90% for our use.
God doesn't Curse us, but Deuteronomy and Malachi make it clear that we can "Choose" to be Cursed if we don?t obey His commands, or follow other gods.
If we ignore Satan, won't he just go away?
The whole matter of Satan's kingdom and how he attacks humans is a vast subject that is highly controversial. Satan has conveniently urged Christians in Western cultures to ignore, avoid, and even fear the subject. He has so successfully marginalized those who teach or minister in this area that the Christian community prefers not to address this issue and will sometimes even criticize those who do.
It is generally felt that the demonic issues are a problem only in the developing world within animistic cultures and that only missionaries need to discuss such topics.
Physicians are reluctant to discuss such issues for fear of appearing to be unscientific or stooping to the level of mysticism.
Satan loves this situation, since it allows him to continue his work unhindered by Christians who deny the reality of his influence.
I remember Billy Graham saying in the 1980's that he believed the demons had done all the damage they could in the third world, and the majority of them had moved to the West. Looking at where we've progressed (or digressed) since 1980, I believe his message was nothing less than prophetic. In fact, we've ignored Satan too long, and allowed him to kill, steal, and destroy without much opposition.
Would anyone argue that many new (and old) Christians are still bound in sinful habits and attitudes, with dysfunctional relationships, deep personality scars, additions and compulsions?
Did Jesus really want us to continue deliverance?
Luke 4:18, "The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to Proclaim Liberty to the Captives and recovery of sight to the blind, To Set at Liberty those who are Oppressed."
Those were Jesus' first words in His Ministry. He was reading a prophecy about Himself from Isaiah 61. It proclaims what He was sent to do.
Mark 16:15-17, "And He said to them, 'Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who Believes and is Baptized will be Saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will follow those that believe: In My Name, they Will Cast out Demons'."
Those were Jesus' last words before He ascended to the Father in Heaven. He clearly said if we believe, we "will" cast out demons. He didn't?t say we might, can, or even should, but He said we "Will" cast out demons.
When Jesus saw people being tormented by demons, He commanded them to leave.
Deliverance was 1/3 of Jesus' Ministry on earth, and His parting instructions to his followers said "those that believe WILL Cast out demons."
We probably should continue in His teachings!
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