20th Sept. 2012 by Rev Dr Steven Kau .
I remember more than three decades ago, we had healing and deliverance rallies almost every fortnight. Speakers were coming from all over the world in partnership with local churches to conduct these special meetings. And of course we were eager to learn new “spiritual truth” from them. And one of the spiritual truths I leant was that if you are struggling with certain habits or sins and even much prayer still unable to overcome it, it must be because of a demon or spirit that is putting us in bondage to that habit or sin.
And so over the years, like me, many Christians have been brought up to believe that if you can’t overcome a habit or sin, you need deliverance because it must be because of a demon or spirit. Because of this erroneous teaching, we are living now in a time when many Christians have demonized sin.
Hence we hear terms like the “spirit of lusts,” the “spirit of envy,” the “spirit of hatred,” the “spirit of jealousy,” the “spirit of anger,” the “spirit of greed,” and even a demon of gluttony, which needs to be cast out of the believer if the believer is to live a victorious Christian live.
However, the Bible describes mankind’s sinful habits, practices and attitudes as an inherently human problem. Personal evil stems from one giving into or following the dictates of one’s own evil desires, which emits from the fallen human nature. As Jeremiah 17:20 says, “The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked: who can know it?” Jesus reiterated this fact when he said, “What comes out of a man is what makes him unclean. For from within, out of men’s hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance, and folly. All these evil comes from inside and make a man unclean.” (Mark 7:20-23)
James picks up the same point when he wrote, “When tempted, one should not say, ‘God is tempting me.’ For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He tempt anyone but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin and sin, when it is full grown, gives birth to death.” (James 1:13-15)
The above Scriptures clearly tell us that our habitual sins are not the result of indwelling demons or spirits but our fallen nature, our flesh. Satan appeals to the fallen nature as he tempts man to give in to all the dictates of the sin nature. In spite of this clear teaching of Scripture, the Spiritual Warfare Movement keeps teaching that the problem is attributed to indwelling demons or spirits.
The Bible teaches that these sins or stubborn sinful habits which believers need to stop doing by putting off the deeds of the old man (i.e. the sinful nature) and putting on the new man (i.e. new redeemed nature controlled by the Holy Spirit.)
Once again a quick reference to Galatians 5:16-26; Ephesians 4:17-32; Colossians 3:1-10; Hebrews 12:1-2 clearly tell us that adultery, immorality, uncleanness, idolatry, hatred, anger, jealousies, heresies, murder, drunkenness and so forth are clearly “works of the flesh,” not demons or spirits. Why then are churches and those in the Spiritual Warfare Movement insisting on contradicting Scriptures and teaching a lie?
Further, a careful study of the Epistles shows there are hardly any instructions at all on how to cast out a demon from a believer, to help them overcome any besetting sin. In the New Testament most of the accounts of casting out of demons are found in the Gospel to unbelievers. There are practically no such accounts of casting out of demons in the church.
Some may say that they have seen demons being casted out from Christians in the church. As I said before, it is my opinion that 80% of those who sit in our churches are not saved, and thus still considered unbelievers. Therefore, it is not strange for demons to be casted out of unbelievers in church.
Furthermore, the Bible teaches that Satan and his angels/demons are outside the believer, not inside! As 1 John 4:4 says, “You are of God, little children and have overcome them: because greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world.” John clearly tells us that Satan and his demons are in the world, not in believers. If that is not clear enough for you, then listen to what John says further, “We know that whoever is born of God does not sin but he who has been born of God keeps himself and the wicked one does not touch him.”
The problem why you are struggling with habitual sins is not because of demons or spirits but your fallen sinful nature, your flesh. Therefore, the reason you cannot stop the besetting sin is not “the devil made me do it” but because you enjoy your sin and don’t want to stop. That is the honest truth isn’t it? No amount of prayer or deliverance will do you any good because the problem is not demons but you. That is why the Bible talks so much about dying to self, because dead people don’t sin. I pray we will all come to that stage, like Paul who said, “It is no longer I who live but Christ.”
Rev. Dr. Steven Kau is the pastor of Faith Covenant Church. The church address is at 1-1 Jalan Putra Mahkota 7/5B, 47650 Putra Heights, Subang Jaya, Selangor. Sunday service in English starts at 10 am. His email contact – kausteven@gmail.com
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