Deliverance Ministry for christians?

By Edwin Christiaan | August 1, 2022

There is no such thing as a deliverance ministry for born-again Christians in the Bible.

When someone comes to faith in Jesus Christ, their life is transformed by His grace. They go from being under the influence of sin and Satan to being led by the Holy Spirit - the Spirit of Jesus Christ. Since the Holy Spirit now lives in them, there is no room for Satan or his demons!

“This same Good News that came to you is going out all over the world. It is bearing fruit everywhere by changing lives, just as it changed your lives from the day you first heard and understood the truth about God’s wonderful GRACE.”

Colossians 1:6 NLT 

The idea of a “Deliverance Ministry” isn’t found in Scripture, and the Bible never commands or encourages believers to deliver other believers from demons. Jesus Christ did not do it, and neither did His disciples. While Mark 16:17 says,

“These miraculous signs will accompany those who believe: They will cast out demons in My name,” 

this does not mean that believers are called to deliver other born-again Christians from demons. 

Many Charismatic circles teach that salvation is a gradual process, requiring years of deliverance to become fully free from demonic oppression. They link personal struggles, sin, or misfortune to hidden demons and suggest that believers must undergo ritualistic sessions, often completing a checklist of past sins or occult involvement, to gain freedom.

Deliverance ministers often use various methods to provoke demons to manifest, or come to the surface, before leading the person through prayers intended to “break” the demons’ legal rights to inhabit them. 

They teach that people need deliverance to gain victory over certain sins, claiming that demonic powers can enter through generational curses or ancestral spirits. 

These supposed “entry-points” are said to include anything from occult involvement, witchcraft, or demonic games to physical or personal experiences such as surgery, abortion, same-sex relations, tattoos, or other body modifications. Some even go so far as to claim that poverty itself is evidence of the devil’s control of a person’s life. Yet none of this is taught in Scripture. 

These so-called deliverance sessions - often loud, lengthy, and filled with dramatic commands - are presented as ways to help believers become free from demons. 

In reality, much harm has been done through these unbiblical practices, which misdiagnose spiritual issues and misunderstand the true power of the Gospel. 

Many deliverance ministers are not well grounded in the Word of God. They fail to recognize that a person truly possessed by demons cannot, at the same time, be a genuine Christian. 

THE POWER OF A NEW CREATION

When Christ comes into a person’s heart, He sets them free from the power of the devil and makes them a new creation: 

“This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!”

2. Corinthians 5:17 NLT 

Believers are immediately empowered to overcome sin, Satan, and the World: 

“For every child of God defeats this evil world, and we achieve this victory through our faith. And who can win this battle against the world? Only those who believe that Jesus is the Son of God.”

1. John 5:4-5 NLT 

“For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world - our faith.”

I John 5:4 NKJV 

The Apostle Paul understood this power well. He knew that the power of God was strong enough to keep him closely connected to God no matter how much spiritual battle and how many demons he faced.

“And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow - not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below - indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Romans 8:38-39 NLT 

When we understand the power we have in Christ, we realize why there is no need for a deliverance ministry for Christians. Our battle with Satan is not within us, but against him outwardly.

JESUS’ DELIVERANCE MINISTRY VS. MODERN PRACTICES

Jesus cast out demons, but always from non-believers. 

In Matthew 8:28-34, Jesus commanded demons to come out of two violent men. 

In Mark 9:25, Jesus rebuked a demon in a boy who was suffering greatly: 

“Listen, you spirit that makes this boy unable to hear and speak. I command you to come out of this child and never enter him again!” 

Mark 9:25 NLT 

In Luke 4:33-35, Jesus cast out an evil spirit from a man in a synagogue: 

“Once when Jesus was in the synagogue, a man possessed by a demon - an evil spirit - cried out, shouting, “Go away! Why are you interfering with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are - the Holy One of God!” 

But Jesus reprimanded him. “Be quiet! Come out of the man,” He ordered. At that, the demon threw the man to the floor as the crowd watched; then it came out of him without hurting him further.”

Luke 4:33-35 NLT 

In Acts 16:18, Paul expelled a demon from a girl with psychic abilities who harassed him daily:

“This went on day after day until Paul got so exasperated that he turned and said to the demon within her, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” And instantly it left her.”

Acts 16:18 NLT 

This young lady was not a believer - Satan had power over her. That’s why she needed deliverance.

There is no scriptural record of Jesus or His disciples casting demons out of Christians. When Jesus died on the Cross, He defeated Satan and his demons and all spiritual principalities. True believers are already freed from demonic influence because Satan’s rulership over their life has ended, and his power to torment them from within is over. 

Jesus disarmed Satan and his demons on the Cross: 

“He disarmed the spiritual rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by His victory over them on the cross.” 

Colossians 2:15 NLT 

Deliverance ministers are, in essence, suggesting that Christ’s victory over Satan on the Cross was not enough to fully set believers free from demonic influence - they still need something more. But the truth is, anyone who is truly born again and follows Jesus Christ cannot be possessed or bound by spells from Satan or his demons. The precious blood of Jesus has already driven out every demonic power and secured complete freedom for the believer.

“For you know that God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors. And it was not paid with mere gold or silver, which lose their value. It was the precious blood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God.”

1. Peter 1:18-19 NLT 

When Jesus comes into someone’s life, He sets them free by becoming Lord over their heart. Satan is no longer their master. Because Christ has already set you free, there is no need to be set “more” free later. Either Jesus truly freed you, or the Word of God is not true - and we know His Word never lies.

“So if the Son sets you free, you are truly free.”

John 8:36 NLT 

With Christ’s power dwelling within us, it is impossible for a born-again believer and lover of Jesus to be demon possessed at the same time. Two opposing forces cannot coexist within one person. 

“How can righteousness be a partner with wickedness? How can light live with darkness? What harmony can there be between Christ and the devil?”

2. Corinthians 6:14-15 NLT 

Do you see how perfectly this aligns with Scripture? Jesus and His disciples cast out demons only from unbelievers, not from Christians. That is also why there is no mention in the Word of a “deliverance gift” given to the Church - because freeing believers from demons was never needed among the gifts of the Holy Spirit. 

Sadly, many churchgoers today claim to be believers but continue to experience demonic torment. This reveals they are not serving Jesus Christ, but Satan: 

“Such people claim to know God, but their actions prove they really don't. They are disgusting. They won't obey God, and they are too worthless to do anything good.”

Titus 1:16 CEV 

As Scripture also reminds us, 

“You say you have faith, for you believe that there is one God. Good for you! Even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror. How foolish!”

James 2:19-20 NLT 

Here’s the truth: a person may claim to believe and yet still remain in bondage to darkness. But no one who is truly born again can be possessed or controlled by demons. Deliverance ministry for born-again believers is unnecessary because Christ has already set us free. Those who are redeemed are empowered by the Holy Spirit and walk in the victory of Christ. Any teaching that suggests otherwise denies the sufficiency of God’s grace and diminishes the authority of Jesus’ finished work on the Cross.