This subject is a very sensitive one
to a lot of people, especially Christians. It is also a question that has
been asked since the establishment of the Christian religion. Therefore, I
will be as careful as I can in discussing this subject and will base all
of my information on Biblical scripture, my personal experiences, cases
that I have studied, and “my own educated
opinion”.
Whether or not a Christian can be
possessed is a matter of opinion. There will always be people that say
they can, and people that say they can’t. Of course a lot of people will
make up their minds on this subject without even doing any research on
their own.
There is also the matter of what a
person would consider the word “possession” to mean. To most people it
simply means that one has no control over themselves, can not choose for
themselves to do what is right, and they no longer have their God given
free will. Then there are people who consider possession to simply mean
that one is under the control of a demon, and it doesn’t matter how long
it is in control or not.
One thing that people need to
understand is that in most possession cases the victim is not possessed
all day everyday. Now, as I stated above I will be using various types of
information to explain whether or not a Christian can be possessed.
First and foremost there is Biblical
scripture that indicates a Christian can not be possessed. This is found
in the book of Romans Chapter 6 verses 1-14. What this entire chapter is
basically saying is that when you have given your life to Christ then you
belong to him, and that sin is no longer your master because Christ is. As
we all know sin is evil, and Satan and his demons are the actual
representation of true evil. Therefore, if sin (Satan & Demons) is no
longer your master then you can no longer be under the control of
it.
There is also Biblical scripture
concerning the Holy Spirit and that it dwells within you. This is found in
1 Corinthians Chapter 6 verses 19 and 20. These verses explain that your
body is the temple of the Holy Spirit which is in you which you received
from God. It means that you are no longer your own, but that you have been
bought at a price from God through Jesus Christ. Evil (Satan & Demons)
can no longer dwell within you (possess) because the Holy Spirit lives in
you. Evil can not dwell within anything of God. When Satan and the other
demons (Fallen Angels) rebelled against God part of their punishment was
to be removed forever from his presence. Therefore, no demon can reside in
a Christian because Christians belong to God and are indwelt with the Holy
Spirit which is also of God. Put another way, evil can not reside in a
Holy place.
Secondly, there is case evidence
that backs up Biblical scripture. The individuals that were possessed in
these cases were actually clergy members of the Roman Catholic Church.
There is a lot of information concerning these two cases, so much so that
I would not be able to fit it all in this article. To make a long story
short, after further investigation of these two cases, and once the
exorcisms were completed; it was found that neither priest had ever truly
received Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. They did go through, and
complete seminary school, but along the way they were both the victims of
false teachings which in turn caused them to not receive Christ as they
should have and eventually became possessed. Once they began their careers
within the church it wasn’t until a bishop noticed that they were not
performing their duties correctly and that they were also taking too long
to complete them. It was from there that the proper steps were taken and
the investigation began resulting in the exorcisms.
It is true that demons can attack
Christians at times as well as try to influence or harass them. It is from
these truths that people began to believe that demons could actually
possess, and control Christians. This is just another example of how
people can misconstrue information and turn it into something that is
false.
In conclusion, a true born again
Christian can not be, or become possessed because they know what to look
out for. Christians know that demons deceive and flat out lie to get what
they want. Christians also read their Bibles, attend church, and have
fellowship with other Christians to better protect themselves from demonic
attacks, influence, and harassment and to also learn more about how to
avoid being deceived, etc.
It
is for those reasons that I have the opinion that a Christian can not be
possessed by a demon. I hope that this article has helped to answer any
questions you may have had and or confirmed anything you may have believed
yourself. If you have any other questions then please feel free to email
me. |
