Phil, I guess I'm missing something because I don't see the problem. You
said: I don't believe a
>Christian can be demon possessed myself but Chuck Smith, and Lord please
>don't let this be the Chuck Smith out in California who wrote this horrible
>article, could be any more wrong if he had never even read God's Holy Word.
To me, it sounds like both of you are saying the same thing, that is, that
a believer cannot be demon possessed.
earlier, Phil Scovell, wrote:
>If this is the Chuck Smith out in California that I have heard for years on
>the radio who pastor's a Charismatic church, I am not only amazed at the
>below comments but totally confused by them. This article is one of those
>things that does much more harm than good. He even refuses to explain what
>he knows is happening and totally dismisses it by saying, it is
>unscriptural. Does he think these poor people want this stuff happening to
>them? Does he think they chose to do it or to allow it? What in hell is he
>talking about in this article and I do mean, what in hell, because this
>article is right down unholy and spiritually dangerous.
>I don't believe a
>Christian can be demon possessed myself but Chuck Smith, and Lord please
>don't let this be the Chuck Smith out in California who wrote this horrible
>article, could be any more wrong if he had never even read God's Holy Word.
>Man. No wonder the devil is screwing up the church today with this type of
>garbage being taught.
>
>snip snip.
>
>
>"POSSESSION"
>
>(The Devil Made Me Do It!)
>
>Article taken from the magazine: ANSWERS Issue 8
>
>By CHUCK SMITH
>
>The question has been forced upon us: "Can a born-again Christian
>be possessed by a demon?" The answer based on the Scriptures and logic
>is an unequivocal NO!
>
>The proponents of this unscriptural doctrine use such terms
>as Christians being "invaded by demons" rather than demon possessed.
>This is nothing more than word games and a smoke screen to hide the
>Scriptural weakness of their position.
>
>They also present an illogical supposition that the demons can
>invade or control the mind or body, but not the spirit. God's Word
>declares that the body is the temple of the Holy Spirit which is in
>us. We are told to glorify God in our bodies and in our spirits,
>which are His (1 Cor. 6:19,20).
>
>In 2 Corinthians the question is asked: "What communion has light
>with darkness? And what accord has Christ with Belial... And what
>agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple
>of the living God. As God has said: "I will dwell in them..." (6:14 -
>16).
>
>To say that a Christian's body or mind can be possessed or invaded
>by demons is to contradict the Word of God and declare that
>there is a communion of light and darkness, that God and Satan are
>dwelling together.
>
>The Scriptures also teach us that Christ is seated in the
>heavenlies far above all principalities and powers and mights and
>dominions (Eph. 1:21,22). These are references to spirit beings - and
>Christ is far above them. Where am I as a believer? According to
>Ephesians 2:6, I am seated together with Christ in the heavenlies.
>
>As Christians we are in a warfare against these principalities
>and powers (Eph. 6:12). We need the help of God to stand, for these
>rulers of the darkness can and do attack us in a variety of ways. But
>they cannot come in and take control of our lives.
>
>The Scriptures also teach that we are in Christ, and that He is in
>us (John 14:20). It is Christ in us which is our hope of glory (Col.
>1:27). Christ said concerning Satan, "The ruler of this world is
>coming, and he has nothing in Me" (John 14:30). If I am in Christ and
>Satan has nothing in Him, Satan can have nothing in me - praise the
>Lord!
>
>We also read in 1 John 5:18, "We know that whoever is born of God
>does not sin; but he who has been born of God keeps himself, and the
>wicked one does not touch him."
>
>What about these experiences of Christians having demons cast out
>of them? What are the voices that name themselves, the writhing
>on the floor, and the regurgitation? I do not know. I am thankful
>that since I do not engage in these unscriptural practices, I do not
>have to explain them.
>
>Some of the names given by these supposed demons which are more
>popular are: lust, hatred, liar, gluttony, envy, fear and jealously.
>These things are classified in Galatians 5:19-21 as works of the flesh.
>We are to "put off all these" (Col. 3:8) or by the Spirit to "mortify
>the deeds of the body" (Rom. 8:13, 6:3-14). Not once are we
>commanded to have them cast out.
>
>It seems to me that this whole demon trip is a cop-out for the
>flesh. I would like to find some easy way to get rid of my fleshly
>nature, and rather than the painful process of crucifixion, I would
>just like to have it cast out. It is also a way of escaping the
>responsibility for my fleshly actions. How can I be blamed if "the
>devil made me do it"?
>
>In the Scriptures there does not exist one piece of evidence that
>Jesus Christ, His apostles, or the early Church once sought to cast
>demons of the flesh out of anyone in the body of Christ. The
>works of the flesh were recognized, and we are instructed how to deal
>with them. Never are we taught they are to be exorcised.
>
>Even in the supposed cases from the Scriptures that would confirm
>that demons could inhabit a Christian - Ananias and Sapphira, "Why
>hath Satan filled thine heart" (Acts 5:3); or Simon the sorcerer,
>"Thou art in the gall of bitterness, and in the bond of iniquity"
>(Acts 8:23) - Peter did not practice exorcism. Instead, there was
>instant judgment of death in the first case and a call to repentance
>in the other.
>
>It is sad that many Christians and non-Christians seem to
>have a greater interest in Satan and being possessed by demons than
>they do in Christ and being possessed by His Holy Spirit.
>
>Those who fall into the practices of exorcism soon seem to be
>looking for and placing a greater emphasis on the power of Satan to
>attack than on the power of Christ to keep. Demons become the
>center of their conversations and teachings rather than Jesus Christ.
>
>We can rejoice in God's Word, "Greater is he that is in you, than
>he that is the world" (1 Jn. 4:4). Thanks be to God Who gives us the
>victory through Jesus Christ our Lord! We as Christians are told in
>James 4:7 to "resist," not "cast out," the devil, and he will flee
>from us.
John
Please take my advice, I don't use it anyway ...
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