Why Cast out Demons?
Because Jesus told us to do it! According to the Bible, demons haven’t left the planet yet. They aren’t all chained in a pit somewhere, waiting for Judgment Day. Their day of judgment is coming, but until then they have a limited right (by right of creation) to exist and to interact with our world.
The Bible records situations where demons were directly related to or responsible for the following: extremely violent behavior, an inability to speak (muteness), convulsions, a form of epilepsy, suicidal behavior, nudism, deafness, irrational behavior, bent spine syndrome, divination, temptation to do wrong, loud and obnoxious behavior, and even doctrinal error. It seems safe to assume that this is not an exhaustive list of what they do! Notice that in the New Testament, Jesus and His disciples did not just sit idly by when they encountered demons. They cast out the demons and undid their work. Since demons continue to wreak havoc around the globe, we should continue to respond the same way that Jesus did.
Yet most believers aren’t ready for this. Why? Some are pretty sure demons don’t really operate like they did back then, so we don’t need to do anything. Others think this whole topic is too “spooky.” They’ve seen too many movies where the demon-possessed were too powerful for even priests to handle. They don’t know much about their God-given rights and authority as members of God’s family, so they cower in the presence of any demon or demonic activity. This is a true shame on the children of God. The Lord Jesus paid a heavy price for our freedom and dominance over the enemy. Every believer should take time to discover their place in the spirit realm. Even the “least” among the people of God now have total authority over every demon that ever existed. The Bible has much to say to us about this because God wants to end all the devil’s oppression! His people are part of His plan to get it done.
(Matthew 10:8, Luke 10:17-20, Mark 16:17, John 10:10, 1 John 3:8, 1 Peter 5:8, Matthew 4:24, Matthew 8:28, Matthew 9:33, Matthew 12:26-28, Matthew 17:15-18, Mark 1:26, Mark 1:39, Mark 3:14-15, Luke 8:27, Luke 11:19, Luke 13:11-13, Acts 16:16, 1 Timothy 4:1, 2 Timothy 2:26, Mark 9:25, Acts 10:38, James 4:7)