Demon Possession Of Christians

Hello everyone.  Praise the Lord!

Demon Possession of Christians

There are two different types of Christians.  One type are professing Christians whom are without the Spirit baptism.  The other type of Christian is the ones that are filled with the Holy Spirit by the evidence of speaking in tongues.  The professing Christians whom lack God's Spirit are sometimes, or at least in danger of being possessed by demons.  The Holy Ghost filled, Bible thumping, foot stomping, isle running, handkerchief waving Christian cannot be indwelt by a demon because that Christian is already indwelt by God's Spirit.

The reason that I believe this is that there is no Scriptural reference in the New Testament of a Christian being possessed by demons.  Nor is there any Apostolic writings concerning this manner.  If a real Christian could be indwelt by a demon, then I could safely believe that the New Testament writers would have written about this danger and have warned their fellow Christians about this danger.  The Apostolic writers did not even mention the subject.

A Christian can have his heart filled by demons as is shown in Acts 5:3.  "But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost..."  A demon can whisper in the ear of a Christian and influence him to sin or to do something that he should not do.  But this is not a demon possession.  This just means that a Christian can be influenced by demons, just like people can be influenced by a lot of other things. 

A Christian can also give place to a demon as demonstrated by Scripture in Ephesians 4:27, "Neither give place to the devil."  This does not mean the a Christian can be possessed by a demon, it just means that we can keep a sin close to us that we do not want to give up.  The devil influences us to sin and if we keep that sin then we are giving place to the devil.

If a Christian could be possessed by a demon then it this subject would have been addressed by the New Testament writers.  It was not the case.  There is no Scriptural reference to demon possession of a Christian.  Now then, a demon can certainly possess a professing Christian that is without the infilling of the Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit cannot co-exist with a unholy demon spirit.

William J. Roop, M.A.B.S.

P.S.  

Since writing this page, I have been assisting several deliverance ministers in casting out demons!  I have discovered in the real world, through practical application, that demons do indeed demonize Christians!  For further information, you can contact me on my website, the link is below.

Roop-Crappell Ministries

Hospice Care and Dying

The Trucking Tango

Apostolic Theological Seminary

Biblical Hermeneutics

Hello everyone.  Praise the Lord!

Biblical Hermeneutics

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Hermeneutics is the science of interpretation. Therefore, Biblical hermeneutics is the science of Biblical interpretation. Most people think that all they need to do is to read the Bible and they will fully understand it. As with all literature, this is simply not true. We must know the author, understand why he is writing on this subject, and understand his style of writing to understand the work. With the Bible this is even more complicated since the Bible is a compilation of sixty-six books written by forty different authors, writing in different styles and in different time periods. Also, the Bible has within it history, poetry, personnel letters, a book of advice, a song book, and much prophecy.

 “In its technical meaning, hermeneutics is often defined as the science and art of biblical interpretation. Hermeneutics is considered a science because it has rules and these rules can be classified into an orderly system. It is considered an art because communication is flexible, and therefore a mechanical and rigid application of rules will sometimes distort the true meaning of a communication.” “To be a good interpreter one must learn the rules of hermeneutics as well as the art of applying those rules.”

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 If we do not interpret the Bible correctly, we will misinterpret God’s Word. Then, it will no longer be God’s Word, but only our own words. Nobody cares about our words because they are not important, but God’s Words are everything. Nobody likes to have his or her words taken out of context. This is especially the fact with God. People who intentionally misinterpret the Word of God are involuntary agents for the dark side. The Bible is God’s Truth and Light but only if it is handled correctly and with skill. In Jesus’ day the Pharisees did just that and were rebuked for being ignorant (Matthew 22:29). Let us not fall into the same trap!

 Every morning I like to drink a cup of coffee and read the newspaper. I think that is how most people start off their day. Well, anyone who reads the newspaper every day will understand that a paper will always have a political slant. Some papers in the United States are conservative but most tend to be liberal. This affects how the news is interpreted and written in the paper. A reader must consider the editor of the paper, the owner, the journalist, and of what country they are from. All of this affects the outlook of the paper and the writing which goes into it. All of this must be understood by the reader or he shall be led astray by others political viewpoint. The same could be made by books. Shakespeare was a fine author, but if you understood the man and how he wrote, you can understand his writing in a much fuller manner, and his work will come alive for us. That is called Shakespearean hermeneutics.

 God’s Word is even more important. We must understand all of the principles involved to fully understand what God is telling us. The Bible student will discover that if they will follow these basic hermetical principles that the Scripture will literally interpret itself. God has written His Word so that even the most simple among us can easily read and understand for himself.  Once we read and understand, then it is our responsibility to apply the knowledge to our lives for our edification. When we edify ourselves then we will edify the Church.

 There may be many applications of Scripture but there is only one interpretation. That is the interpretation that God intended it to have. While reading the Bible we interpret it using the literal method unless the text implies otherwise. The literal method means to understand using everyday normal language that has the everyday straight forward meaning. If I said that there is a cow in the field eating that is exactly what I mean. Because the inspired writers of the New Testament quoted hundreds of verses using the literal method, it could even be said that it is the approved method of the Holy Spirit. When ever Jesus or the church leaders used the Old Testament they always used the literal sense. There is figurative language, poetry and even a few allegories used in Scripture. But these literary tools are only used to enhance the literal true. These figures of speech must be located, understood why they are being used, and interpret them correctly.

 For example, symbols, if the verse is not clearly symbolic, no symbolism should be forced upon it. If it is clearly symbolic, the symbols must be interpreted literally. Sometimes angels are symbolized as stars. But we understand that angels are a literal entity. Here in the United States we live in a Jesus saturated culture that is biblical illiterate! There is a church on every street corner filled with Bibles. Most private homes have at least one Bible inside. Yet, only a small minority of people have actually read the book in it’s entirely. In our soup opera culture and with so little biblical knowledge is a recipe for wild stories and false doctrines preached by spiritual snake oil salesmen in the world and even within the church.

 When the children of Israel returned from captivity they were ignorant of God’s Law. They had been living in bondage in Babylon and were now speaking another language Aramaic. Ezra, the priest had to read the Law to the people and give the proper interpretation. “So they read in the book in the law of God distinctly, and gave the sense, and caused them to understand the reading” (Nehemiah 8:8). Ezra and the Priests did not just leave the reading of the law to chance; they “distinctly gave the sense” and “caused them to understand.” That is what Biblical Hermeneutics can do for us today. It can give us the sense and cause us to understand God’s Word.

William James Roop

Roop-Crappell Ministries

Hospice Care and Dying

The Trucking Tango