Frequently Asked Questions

 

Roy Fowler

 

Can a Christian have a demon?

 

    Many people have been taught that a Christian cannot have a demon. A Christian cannot be possessed, but they can be oppressed. A Christian cannot have a demon in their spirit because the Holy Spirit lives in their spirit, however a Christian can have a demon in their soul and body. That is why Christians get sick in their body. It is also why Christians have problems in their mind (mental illness), emotions (emotional dysfunction) and will (addictions). The only way a person can be "possessed" is if they are not a Christian.

 

Does sickness always come from demons?

 

Look at Acts 10:38: "..how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him." (NKJV) 

           

    "Healing all who were oppressed by the devil" means Jesus healed all sickness by dealing with an oppression of the devil. So to heal people we need to include commanding spirits of infirmity to "GO!" or to command the person to be "loosed" from their specific infirmity. (This is in my teaching on "The Threefold Cord".) The people that are healed lose their spirit of infirmity whether they believe in demons or not, so why not INCLUDE "casting out" a person's spirit of infirmity and increase the number of healings we see!

 

Do my infirmities always come because of my sin?

 

MOST disease, infirmity and sickness comes from either our sin or our ancestor's sin, but there are other infirmities that are simply the attacks of the devil.

 

The dictionary says that disease is caused by things like infection, genetic defect or environmental stress (poisons, etc.).  Disease is also caused by physical, emotional, or mental trauma.  (Trauma is serious injury or shock to the body and can also be caused by emotional shock causing lasting psychological damage.)  Internal medicine will tell you that negative emotions cause disease.  The Bible says that sin causes disease.  And the Bible also says that the oppression of the devil causes all disease.  Acts 10:38  "God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and .. he went around doing good and healing all who were oppressed by or under the power of the devil, because God was with him. (NIV and NKJ)

 Which one is right?  They all are!  But they have relationship to each other.  Every disease and infirmity is an attack or oppression by the enemy Satan  (Acts 10:38 and John 10:10).  Most diseases and infirmities are caused by sin (either personal or inheritance).  Sin causes what the Bible calls death.  Rom 6:23  "For the wages of sin is death." (NIV)  Death (Greek "thanatos") is separation from the life of God.  Sickness is a smaller degree of death.  Proof of that is that when our immune system is violated (such as in AIDS), any disease can kill us.  This does not necessarily mean our sin caused it, nor that we are not saved, nor that we are running from God.  It does mean that Satan is attacking us with a form of his death (in smaller or greater degree) and that it takes God's supernatural healing power to drive out the disease and make us whole again.  And just like in the medical field, the medicine or therapy may have to be repeatedly applied to get the desired wholeness and completeness. 

             The diseases and infirmities not caused by our sins and ancestors sins are still attacks of Satan (see Job 1).  Job 1:9-12  ""Does Job fear God for nothing?' Satan replied.

"Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land.  But stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face.'  Yahweh said to Satan, "Very well, then, everything he has is in your hands, but on the man himself do not lay a finger.' Then Satan went out from the presence of Yahweh." (NIV)  This is when Satan got through the hedge of protection God had around Job's family and possessions. 

 

            Job 2:3-7  "Then Yahweh said to Satan, "Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil. And he still maintains his integrity, though you incited me against him to ruin him without any reason.'  "Skin for skin!' Satan replied. "A man will give all he has for his own life.  But stretch out your hand and strike his flesh and bones, and he will surely curse you to your face.'  Yahweh said to Satan, "Very well, then, he is in your hands; but you must spare his life.'  So Satan went out from the presence of Yahweh and afflicted Job with painful sores from the soles of his feet to the top of his head." (NIV)  This is when Satan got through the hedge of protection around Job himself. 

            What allowed Satan to get through his hedges of protection?  First of all sometimes Satan attacks "without any reason" (Job 2:3).  Jesus said that a man was born blind not because of his sin, nor his parents sin, but to reveal the works of God (John 9:1-7).  This meant that Satan caused the blindness, but that it was not because of sin.  It was because we live in a fallen world that still has the curse from Adam's transgression (see Gen 3:17-19).  Gen 3:17-19 "To Adam he said, "Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, "You must not eat of it," "Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life.  It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field.  By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return." (NIV)  Also Jesus said that Lazarus' sickness and death was to reveal the glory of God (John 11:1-45).  This is also why children get traumatized.  God doesn't cause it.  The thief comes to steal, kill and destroy.  We live in a fallen world.  Let's learn as much as we can about God's principles of healing so we can heal this damage done by Satan. 

            Now some disease and infirmity is caused by our personal sin.  And sometimes sin doesn't look just like the ways we have traditionally been taught, such as the ten commandments.  Sin according to the Bible is also what we call negative emotions like unforgiveness, bitterness and anger.  These start out in the soul realm (mind, emotions and will), and then they become a habit, and then they attract a demon that strengthens that area and then you have what the Bible calls a foothold or stronghold of the Devil.  (See Eph 4:26-27 and 2 Cor 10:3-6)  Medical science will tell you that many diseases are caused by stress, anger, worry, fear, unforgiveness, bitterness, etc. .  This has been  expressed very well in Henry Wright's book, "A More Excellent Way". 

 

            And some disease and infirmity is caused by genetic defect.  Medical science knows that many diseases and mental conditions "run in the family".  But they just attribute it to genetics.  The Bible says that diseases can be because of the sins of the fathers (ancestors).  Exod 20:5-6  "Punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand [generations] of those who love me and keep my commandments." (NIV)  This actually changes the genetics and can be reversed by God's healing. 

            Now back to Job.  There was legal ground for Satan to get through his hedge.  We see the concept of legal ground in Ephesians 4:26-27  ""In your anger do not sin': Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a place or foothold." (NIV and NKJ)  The Greek word for foothold and place is "topos" where we get the word topological.  It means "inhabited place" (land) or "opportunity" or in other words "legal ground".  Job had at least four areas of legal ground that violated his hedge of protection: fear, depression, bitterness and pride.  Job 3:25  "What I feared has come upon me; what I dreaded has happened to me." (NIV)  Job 3:1-20 (depression and bitterness and suicide)  Job 9:16-17 and 42:3 (pride and questioning God's wisdom)  Job repented of his sin (Job 42:5-6) and prayed for his friends (Job 42:10) and then God healed him, prospered him with twice as much and comforted him (Job 42:10-17).

 

More Frequently Asked Questions will be added later . . . . .