5 Misconceptions Christians Have About Demons

There is woefully little useful teaching about the demonic realm in the church today. God’s people are ignorant about the ways and means of the demonic realm and fall easy prey for destruction (Hosea 4:6).

This article summarizes, from my perspective as a Christian counselor and deliverance minister, five common misconceptions Christians have about demons.

I had to cull the list down; there are others, but five represents  a good start. It also complements an earlier article I published on “5 Misconceptions Christians Have About God.”

1. Demons have no power
   Some make this dangerous claim using Colossians 2:15 as their point of reference. Errors ensue when one builds a theology around one Scripture alone. The church does have power and authority over the demonic realm to drive out demons and also to resist them. While ignorance and fear truly do empower the demonic realm, one does not need to look far to see the destructive power of demons in the church and world today.As Christian counselors and deliverance ministers, we see every day the destructive power of demons at work in people’s lives.
2. Christians cannot have demons
   Deliverance ministry is the driving out of demons. It is one of the signs to follow believers (Mark 16:17). We (and countless other pastors and ministries) have many articles on this topic, but it continually amazes us as how to much ignorance there is in this area.  Christians cannot be demon-possessed because we are, by definition, God-possessed when we have been redeemed by the blood of Jesus.
3. Do not talk about demons
   Some people, operating under the error in point 1, declare that because demons have no power, they should be ignored or even mocked as a defeated foe.  Jesus defeated Satan on the cross but warfare (driving out and resisting demons) will continue until Jesus’ return.  Ignorance does not lead to bliss, and it is not helpful to be unaware of how the demonic realm operates.  We are called to resist demons (James 4:7) so they will flee.  How does one discern spirits if you haven’t learned their ways?
4. We are battling Satan
   God is omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent.  Satan is not. He is a uniquely created being who comes and goes. His finiteness limits hims in all endeavors and he must work through a demonic hierarchy in the heavenly realm (Daniel 10:13) and here on earth. The simple reality is that we, as individuals, are battling individual demonic spirits, with names like rejection, fear and anger, that are working a concerted plan for our life to kill, steal and destroy (John 10:10). God and Satan are not equal opposites.  We have already note that demons are limited in every way, so we must not make our tormentors giants in our own eyes as the people of Israel did.
5. Be careful what you speak to keep demons in the dark.
   Demons have minds, although they cannot read ours! They see everything we do and hear everything we say. Don’t you think they already know a lot about us?  If you had a 24/7 bodyguard, that person would learn a lot about you and would not need to be a mind reader to be very knowledgeable about you and your ways. I cringe when people lower their voice, look around furtively, and then whisper that they don’t want to speak something out so that Satan will hear it!  That’s not how it works.  “No fear” should be more than a catch phrase for us when dealing with the demonic realm.  Whatever you are afraid of speaking, they most assuredly already know!

The Body of Christ does need to be Christ-focused and committed to developing an intimate relationship with Him. Spiritual warfare is still to be waged and solid intelligence and knowledge of one’s enemy is essential to secure victory in life situations.  I hope this article helps to bring light and enlightenment to those who want to progress in this area.

If you want to become more aware, you’ll need to do some research.  You would also want to attend a church that actively educates on deliverance ministry and spiritual warfare but the list of candidates in any region is very small! Here are some resources I recommend:

• Blogs and articles on our website
• Healing Through Deliverance, Vols 1&2 by Peter Horrobin
• They Shall Expel Demons,  by Derek Prince
• Deliverance From Evil Spirits, by Francis MacNutt

See a video blog based upon the same topic!