It’s long been my belief that a follower of Jesus Christ cannot be possessed. The Bible does not mention any believer being possessed, but does give several warnings about “partaking” (1 Corinthians 10.20-.21) with demons, “giving them a foothold” (Ephesians 4.27) and even “consorting” (Deuteronomy 18.10-.13) with those who are involved with demons. I’ve always assumed that a demon would be unable to exist in a person who is indwelt by the Holy Spirit, although the Bible never addresses this specifically and warns believer’s not to “quench” the Spirit (1 Thessalonians 5.19). So the question remains, can a Christian be possessed?

In researching the topic I’ve read somewhere over 100 accounts of demonic possession from modern exorcists. All of the exorcists, from Catholic to protestant, use a form of Rite to cast out the demon. While this may be expected by some, it struck me as odd since every exorcism in the Bible doesn’t use such a script. As I re-examined the Scriptures I noticed one big difference between what Jesus, Paul and the apostles faced and modern day exorcisms. In every Biblical account the demon made themselves known, whereas in modern exorcisms there is some question as to the person’s state. The Rite, which has its roots from about the second century forward, is primarily used to get the demon to make itself known. Once the demon comes forth it can be exorcised.

In the accounts I’ve read only three cases of possession involved people claiming to be followers of Jesus. Two of them it could be speculated were not truly Christian and only very religious, and the third was not a case of possession but rather of oppression. In the latter case, the man had been subjected to possible possession as a child, before he became a believer. Once he committed his life to Jesus the demonic forces caused an uproar to keep the man from sleeping and to scare him away from practicing his faith and keep him in bondage. While an exorcism ensued, it was to deliver the man from the demons that followed and pursued him, which is very different from possession.

It is my understanding from both the Bible and from case studies that a Christian in right standing with God cannot be possessed. A believer can invite demonic activity in their life, however, by consorting with those who fellowship with unclean spirits. Demons can distract believers from the path of righteousness and through those distractions lead the believer into sin, depression, loss of their testimony, and even suicide. What is most important to take away from all this is that an unclean spirit cannot force a person to do anything. They can only entice, seduce and terrify a child of God into the destruction of their faith and life. Thankfully, we also know that once a person has decided to follow the Savior that person’s fate is sealed by the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1.13, Ephesians 4.30, 2 Corinthians 1.22) and his eternal rest will be with the Lord.

Generally speaking, we bring demonic activity into our lives by having fellowship with those who follow or work with dark spirits. You don’t have to become a medium, but consulting one opens a door or can provide a foothold for demonic activity. Occasionally oppression by forces of darkness comes from no fault of our own. Being married to someone who practices witchcraft, or having a parent who does, or even being taken to a witch doctor for care can also give an unclean spirit a place in one’s life. As we saw yesterday, obtaining a property where a previous owner practiced dark arts can be an impetus to attack. While it is rare, sometimes we become a target due to personal righteousness. Job is the obvious example, but Peter and the other disciples were “sifted as wheat” (Luke 22.31-.32) by a devil yet emerged victorious.

Tomorrow we’ll look closely at how unclean spirits operate and how best to avoid their tactics.