Recently, TF (Timothy Fellowship) youth group held a talk on the dangers of the New Age Movement. In the talk, we examined several occultic practices that have been prevalent in the current culture, especially those that have been extensively portrayed in the media. We identified satanic symbols and occult-related practices like yoga, ouija boards, reiki healing, astral projection, astrology, tarot cards, and more. These new age practices are nothing more than age-old pagan practices the Bible warns against.
Deuteronomy 18:9-14 “When you enter the land the Lord your God is giving you, be very careful not to imitate the detestable customs of the nations living there. For example, never sacrifice your son or daughter as a burnt offering. And do not let your people practice fortune-telling, or use sorcery, or interpret omens, or engage in witchcraft, or cast spells, or function as mediums or psychics, or call forth the spirits of the dead. Anyone who does these things is detestable to the Lord. It is because the other nations have done these detestable things that the Lord your God will drive them out ahead of you. But you must be blameless before the Lord your God. The nations you are about to displace consult sorcerers and fortune-tellers, but the Lord your God forbids you to do such things.”
Not only are these practices detestable to God, but they also open the door to demonic harassment. Towards the end of the talk, we affirmed that although one must never be complacent and underestimate the power and influence of demonic forces, the true believer also need not fear the demonic, for the Holy Spirit indwells a true Christian.
Some time back, I came across an article by Dr. Roland Chia who lectures at TTC. In the article, he talks about three levels of demonic influence: temptation, oppression and possession. He then goes on to discuss the various views with regards to Christians being demon-possessed. You may read his full article here: https://www.methodist.org.sg/methodist-message/demon-possession-a-reality-to-be-reckoned-with/
Dr. Roland writes: “Those who insist that Christians can be possessed by demons often argue from experience.” And that “Demon possession is an extreme form of demonic attack on the individual and is therefore very rare. Theologians and Christian exorcists generally are agreed that the committed Christian who faithfully seeks to honour and serve God will not be subjected to demon possession.”
I think it is safe to say that all committed and faithful Christians who are mindful to stay away from occultic influences should not be subjected to demon possession. But the article did leave some doubts with regard to the not-so-committed or not-so-faithful Christians.
To be sure, there is never any warning given in any of the NT epistles about the possibility of a believer being demon-possessed. There are also never any examples of demons being cast out of a believer in the Bible. In every instance of casting out demons by Christ or the apostles, they were all done on unbelievers.
Perhaps, in all the documented demon possession of believers noted by the Christian writers in Dr. Roland’s article, these so-called demon-possessed “Christians” were merely professing Christians who were never truly born again in the first place?
Jonathon Edwards writes: “What, then, shall we make of a person who says he has experienced conversion, but whose religious emotions soon die away, leaving him much the same person as he was before? He seems as selfish, worldly, foolish, perverse and un-Christian as ever. This speaks against him louder than any religious experiences can speak for him.”
So back to the age-old truth: it is the true convert, the true believer, the true born-again child of God who truly has nothing to fear.