Demonic Deliverance in Christianity

Many years ago, I was delivered from demonic possession. At that time, I was a 38-year-old married woman, a mother of two, and a nurse. I didn’t believe in heaven, or hell, much less in demons.

My belief system was ingrained in my identity since birth when my family realized that even as a young child, I could see into the spiritual realm. In our culture, this psychic ability was considered a “gift” from God. For generations, my ancestors, European immigrants in Brazil, were Kardecist mediums. At the age of fourteen, I was indoctrinated into Umbanda—a Brazilian syncretic religion combining Yoruba Ifá worship, spiritism, and Catholicism.

Give no regard to mediums and familiar spirits; do not seek after them, to be defiled by them: I am the Lord your God (Leviticus 19:31).

In 1997, a missionary pastor from Brazil shared the gospel with my sister at my parents’ printing shop in Kissimmee, Florida. She readily believed, and eventually, some members of my immediate family also gave their lives to Jesus Christ. I rejected the invitation and became bitter toward my family whom I felt had betrayed our ancestors’ beliefs, including reincarnation.

And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve (Joshua 24:15).

In the end, praise God, I chose Jesus Christ.  

The deliverance only happened after I accepted the fact emphasized by the pastor’s teachings, that the spiritual beings—my spirit guides—that I willingly invited to possess me for years were actually demons. The pastor explained that communicating with the dead was prohibited by God in His Word.

And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment (Hebrews 9:27).

Following hours of fasting, prayer, reading Scripture, and intense spiritual warfare, demons were cast out of my body.

“I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” And it came out that very hour (Acts 16:18).

Above all, the peace of God that transcends all understanding enveloped my entire being as soon as the deliverance ended. And for the first time, I experienced a deep joy that can only come from the Lord. At once, I asked Jesus Christ to come into my life.

That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved (Romans 10: 9).

My deliverance was not was not a public spectacle. It was a solemn, private event, honoring Jesus Christ for His forgiveness and grace in my life.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new (2 Corinthians 5:17).

For my full testimony, a free copy of From Spirit Guides to the Holy Spirit is downloadable on my website: www.ivanigreppi.com.

Since publicly sharing my story of salvation, I’ve been struck by the ongoing debate surrounding deliverance among Evangelical circles. This division ranges between those who attribute every adversity to Satan and those who deny the existence of the demonic and all things supernatural.

C. S. Lewis justly illustrates this sentiment in The Screwtape Letters: “There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils. One is to disbelieve in their existence. The other is to believe, and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them.”

Very concerning is the departure from scripture when believers blame sins of the flesh on Satan, echoing Flip Wilson’s motto from the 1970s, “The devil made me do it.” Yet, scripture tells us otherwise.

But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed (James 1:14).

Some pastors claim to cast out demons of lust, addiction, anger, and other sins of the flesh. Demons may tempt us, but we have free will to choose to obey God or our desires. Even Jesus Christ was tempted in the desert by Satan. But He never sinned.

Demonic deception is real, and Christians may be deceived and oppressed. But the notion of  Christians being demonically possessed is falsehood.

Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons (1 Timothy 4:1).

How can a Christian be possessed when the Holy Spirit indwells in them?

But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His (Romans 8:9).

While Christians face temptation and oppression by the enemy, there is no Biblical evidence that a true believer in Christ can be possessed by demons. Jesus Christ did not die on the cross for us to be demonically controlled. He is our Savior and deliverer in times of trouble. His Holy Spirit is in us once we are saved.

A quick online search regarding demonic deliverance shows many false teachings that focus on the self, not Jesus Christ.

Now, is casting out demons of possessed, unsaved people biblical? Scripture confirms not only that demons are real, but that some people are possessed by them. From personal experience and years of research, it’s evident that demonic possession usually occurs through occult practices. Satan will use any opportunity to steer humans away from God.

Nevertheless, not all who come to Christ from an occult background need deliverance as I did. Many times, people are instantly delivered from demonic control in their lives through a simple prayer and sincere repentance.

Jesus taught his disciples about casting out demons. However, He did not give them a specific formula or ritual. Jesus Christ dealt individually with each person’s unique needs in a dignified and loving manner.

The bottom line is that only Jesus Christ delivers and saves. He alone has the authority to cast out demons.

Let us address the demon in the room: spiritual warfare and demonic activity are as real today as in biblical times.  To those who give Satan too much power, may their faith be put in Christ alone. And to those believers who dismiss the demonic entirely, may our Heavenly Father remove the scales from their eyes to see the supernatural world as revealed in His Word.

The son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil (1 John 3:8).