The Dangers of Deliverance Ministries

Deliverance Ministry refers to groups that perform practices and rituals to cleanse people of demons and evil spirits. This is done in order to address problems in their life deemed to be manifesting as a result of demonic presence, which have authority to oppress the person. Believers attribute people's physical, psychological, spiritual and emotional problems to the activities of these evil spirits in their lives. Deliverance rituals are meant to cast out evil spirits, helping people overcome negative behaviors, feelings, and experiences. Each individual event is different, but many include some or all of these major steps: diagnosis, naming the demon, expulsion, and some form of action taken by the exorcised person after their exorcism to keep the demon from returning. — American possessions : fighting demons in the contemporary United States (2015), The sacred self : a cultural phenomenology of charismatic healing (1997).

The Deceivers

This study is not meant as an attack on our friends in the Church of God and other charismatic denominations. Many of them will join me in repudiating the movement that we are studying today. Rather, this study is necessary because those who were once thought to be doctrinally sound, generally reliable, and seemingly faithful to the Word have diverted from the core teachings of the Great Commission and are now heavily focused on that this movement of setting captives free from demons and spirits that posses and oppress willing or ignorant victims.

Two of these teachers are former conservative Baptists Greg Locke and D.R. Harrison. Greg Locke progressed from his independent Baptist doctrine in 2011 and separated his Global Vision Bible Church and began to move towards the embrace of Deliverance Ministry where he has now settled. Today, he and his wife, his church secretary whom he married after divorcing his first wife, practice Deliverance rituals across the Southeast. Locke is known as a firebrand and for his controversial statements. He boldly announced that a demon had revealed a number of witches attending his church. He made the statement that autism is demon possession. Autism? “There ain’t no such diagnosis in the Bible!”

D.R. Harrison was converted at the Burlington Text Revival under the preaching of C.T. Townsend in 2016. He was responsible for the video streaming and digital marketing of the meeting. Almost immediately, he entered the ministry and began preaching revivals in the footsteps of his well-known father David Harrison. Soon thereafter, he announced his own tent ministry like that of C.T. and Ralph Sexton. Within a month or so of his conversion, C.T. and his camp separated themselves from D.R. for reasons not made public. As his ministry and popularity grew, his name quickly became divisive with rumors of false doctrine and hyper-charismatic leanings. One nearby pastor resigned his church and began to help him in his tent revivals before passing away while on a trip with D.R. Finally, a video surfaced last year of D.R. and his wife at a Deliverance service with Greg Locke where his wife “received the anointing of the spirit” after having hands laid on her during their Deliverance service.

After that video surfaced, many pastors reached out to D.R. for a clarification on his position. He responded with a number of Facebook Live videos where he talked about everything but the elephant in the room. But he never distanced himself from Locke. Now, he has abandoned all disguises and is all-in with Greg Locke and the Deliverance Ministry. The two have announced their Atlanta Crusade March 3-4 where they will have prayer and a deliverance service.

Foundations of Deliverance Ministries

Deliverance Ministry is based principally from Isaiah 61:1:

Isaiah 61:1 KJV 1900

1 The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; Because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; He hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives, And the opening of the prison to them that are bound;

Jesus reads this portion of Isaiah in the synagogue in Luke 4:18:

Luke 4:18 KJV 1900

18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,

Deliverance Ministry is further based on the The Gospels’ mentioning of Jesus casting out demons and evil-spirits on numerous occasions.

Jesus sent the twelve out two-by-two and gave them power over unclean spirits in Mark 6:7

Mark 6:7 KJV 1900

7 And he called unto him the twelve, and began to send them forth by two and two; and gave them power over unclean spirits;

Diagnosis

Deliverance ministries focus on casting out the spirit or spirits believed to cause an affliction. The person must first be "diagnosed" with the presence/possession of an evil spirit, which often requires the participation of a person who is trained or experienced. This expert may ask questions to learn about the person's life, and try to discover if they have committed any sins that might invite a demonic presence; if they have, they must repent of that sin as part of the deliverance process. The expert might question the person about their relationships with their spouse, children, and friends, as poor relationships with closer circle may be evidence of a demonic presence. They may also ask about their extended family and ancestors, to determine if the demon might be the result of a family curse. They can attempt to discern, if an object or a room is the source of the demonic activity and help the person understand what may have attached the demon to that object or space.

Types of Demons

Murder: murder, hate, rage, anger, violence, revenge, suicide, jealousy, fighting

The Occult: fortunetelling, tarot cards, ouija boards, seances, astrology, yoga, dungeons and dragons, etc.

Lust: fornication, adultery, pornography, LGBT, prostitution, etc.

Pride: arrogance, rebellion, blasphemy, control/domination, quarreling, critical or judgmental, selfish, unbelief, deceit, mockery

Mental Health: fear, depression, dread, hopelessness, insecurity, loneliness, shyness, discouragement, lying, antisocial, insanity, autism

Unforgiveness: bitterness, jealousy, resentment, anger, stubbornness

Sickness: gluttony, gout, high blood pressure, diabetes, sleepiness, epilepsy, cancer

Vices: alochol, illegal drugs, prescription drugs

False Religions: Islam, JW, Mormonism, and any non Christian belief

How does one get a demon or spirit?

Demons are believed to be able to enter a person's life in many different ways. Some objects harbor demons such as fantasy/horror novels or films, Dungeons and Dragons, Pokemon, and role-playing games. Certain types of music. Artifacts depicting pagan gods. False religious texts.

Simple decorations from a non-Christian religion may also be a hiding place for demons.

Other types are objects with a sinful history (e.g. a piece of jewelry from an adulterous relationship, an object purchased with greed, etc.).

Places can also be reputed to contain demonic presence that can then enter the lives of people living or visiting there. Indian burial grounds and homes or rooms where violence or abuse occurred are said to be examples of this sort.

Demons can also be said to "run in families." The usual cause is ancestors who were Satanists, Freemasons, or witches, or who died unrepentant of terrible sins such as abuse, adultery, or murder. Some claim that negative traits and practices run in families because of demonic presence that are passed down from parent to child. Others claim that physical ailments and persistent problems such as poverty and addictive behaviors (drugs, pornography, etc.) can be caused by ancestral sin and the resulting family curses.

Traumatic experiences can be a point of entry for demons. For example, if you witness a bad car wreck, a demon of fear may enter you.

Naming the Demon

Revealing the demon's name may be part of the expulsion process, as it gives the preacher authority over the demon. This process is not required to cast out the demon and some adherents do not accept it (some believe that demons can give the wrong name), but others believe it is necessary. The presence may identify itself or be identified as a specific demon (e.g. Jezebel, Asherah, Baal, etc.) or its "name" might be the name of the sin or affliction it represents (e.g. rebellion, gluttony, sexual perversion, anorexia). Naming the demon is about specifically identifying the problem, and may prepare both the preacher and the person being healed to expel the demon.

For example: a Jezebel spirit is one of Satan’s higher-ranking, more intelligent demons if not the smartest kind of demon he has in his kingdom. And with it being much more intelligent than many of the other lower-ranking demons will be, this makes this type of spirit much more evil, cunning, and harder to deal with once it moves in and attaches to a person. And if you want to expel a Jezebel spirit, you must find a Deliverance minister with a Jehu spirit. Just because Jehu killed Jezebel in 2 Kings doesn’t mean Jehu was good. He continued to be an idolater. He just eliminated those that worshipped a competing idol.

Actually, there are no named demons in the Bible apart from Satan.

Expulsion

Various methods are used to expel demons. Some adherents recite Biblical verses about casting out demons, or pray; many also invoke "the blood of Jesus," a reference to Jesus suffering for people's sins and intervening with God on behalf of humanity. In this context, invoking the blood of Jesus is calling on him to intervene specifically on behalf of the possessed individual.

There is no example in the scriptures of “pleading the blood of Jesus”. I know that many people do it today unwittingly, but this is where it comes from. The roots of that practice are in Deliverance Ministry.

Post-Deliverance Maintenance

According to believers in possession a demon may return after a successful deliverance ritual. To avoid this, a person whose possession was the result of a sin, must avoid repeating that sin. If they do, it may invite the demon back into their life; other demons (not related to sin) may just be persistent and hard to get rid of permanently. As such, people may need to call upon the person who performed the ritual to do so again, perhaps multiple times for the same problem or demon.

Pleading the Blood of Jesus. This phrase is mentioned once in scripture and it refers to God judging and killing people — not deliverance.

Offensive and Battle Prayers (declaring miracles, speaking victory, manifesting blessings, name it and claim it). You can buy books with these “battle prayers” so you can pray them word for word.

Secret Prayers and the Prayer Game: “God really wants to show you how to play the prayer game with Him. It is prayer that will pull down major miracles from God.”

Breaking the Legal Rights of Demons and Generational Curses.

Verbally command the demons to leave you in the name of Jesus.

Claiming healing verses in the Bible; holding God to His Word.

Baptism of the Holy Spirit. You may be saved, but that’s not good enough.

Refutation of Foundational Arguments

However, it is vitally important to understand the context of Jesus’ reading Isaiah 61:1-2 in Luke 4:18-19. In Luke 4:21, we see Jesus using that text to declare that Messiah has come.

Luke 4:21 KJV 1900

21 And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.

In Mark 6:7, Jesus sent out the twelve giving them power over unclean spirits, but we find the real reason for their being sent in Mark 6:12-13:

Mark 6:12–13 KJV 1900

12 And they went out, and preached that men should repent. 13 And they cast out many devils, and anointed with oil many that were sick, and healed them.

Their ministry was first and foremost to preach the gospel commandment of “repent and believe”. The signs and wonders they demonstrated were to affirm their authority as being sent from one who had also done these works and, according to Mark 1:15, preached “repent ye, and believe the gospel” and first did such miracles.

On Apostolic Succession and Gifts of Healing and Deliverance

Those that practice Deliverance Ministry today use two primary arguments: apostolic succession and the spiritual gift of healing or deliverance. The doctrine of apostolic succession is the belief that the 12 apostles passed on their authority to successors, who then passed the apostolic authority on to their successors, continuing throughout the centuries, even unto today. However, nowhere in Scripture did Jesus, the apostles, or any other New Testament writer set forth the idea of “apostolic succession.”

Jesus ordained the apostles to build the foundation of the church (Ephesians 2:20):

Ephesians 2:20 KJV 1900

20 And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;

Apostolic authority was passed on through the writings of the apostles, not through apostolic succession.

The other foundational text to support Deliverance Ministry is found in 1 Corinthians 12 where we read of various gifts of the Spirit. However, the rest of Chapter 12 discusses how those gifts will cease, but charity (agape, selfless love) will continue. Later in the chapter, we are told that these particular spiritual gifts are given for a sign. As Paul moves into Chapter 15, we see the most important gift of the Spirit: the preaching of the gospel of Christ. And that must always be our emphasis.

The Danger of Deliverance Ministries

A Shifting of Blame

Deliverance ministry shifts the blame for sin, addiction, and other struggles to the demonic. This is an unhealthy and unbiblical way of dealing with sin. Instead, a believer is called to repent.

Our wickedness comes from the heart according to Mark 7:20-23

Mark 7:20–23 KJV 1900

20 And he said, That which cometh out of the man, that defileth the man. 21 For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, 22 Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness: 23 All these evil things come from within, and defile the man.

Wickedness also comes from our flesh

Galatians 5:19–21 KJV 1900

19 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, 20 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, 21 Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

Titus 2:11–14 KJV 1900

11 For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, 12 Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; 13 Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; 14 Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.

Galatians 5:24 KJV 1900

24 And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.

Colossians 3:3–5 KJV 1900

3 For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. 4 When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory. 5 Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry:

An Unbiblical View of God’s Sovereignty and the Holy Spirit

Jude 24 KJV 1900

24 Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy,

2 Timothy 1:12–14 KJV 1900

12 For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day. 13 Hold fast the form of sound words, which thou hast heard of me, in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus. 14 That good thing which was committed unto thee keep by the Holy Ghost which dwelleth in us.

Ephesians 1:13–14 KJV 1900

13 In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, 14 Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.

A False View of Salvation

Deliverance Ministry presents a false view of the sufficiency of Christ’s salvific work on the cross. Going back to Luke 4:18, we see a bold statement from Christ. If He is truly the Messiah, then we should see a sufficient saviour. Consequently, nowhere in scripture do we read of anyone being delivered from a demon or evil spirit who was later possessed or oppressed after Christ effected change in their lives.

Luke 4:18 KJV 1900

Conclusion

1 John 4:1 KJV 1900

1 Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.

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