Did you know that the Bible never uses the verb “to deliver” (rhuomai) for casting out demons? Instead, it uses the verb “to heal” (iaomai) to place exorcism within the broader context of spiritual and physical healing. Jesus did not teach us to pray for freedom from demons, but for freedom from evil (Matt 6:13).

¹³And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

Deliverance is more than casting out demons because not every source of evil is a demon. Egypt had an evil king enforcing a demonic stronghold of institutionalized slavery. Israel cried out to God for deliverance (Exod 2:23)

²³During those many days the king of Egypt died, and the people of Israel groaned because of their slavery and cried out for help. Their cry for rescue from slavery came up to God.

from all those sources of evil, not just demons, and he saved them all (Exod 14:30).

³⁰Thus the LORD saved Israel that day from the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore.

However, not everybody trusts God for deliverance. The flesh’s way of deliverance is through violence (2 Cor 10:4),

⁴For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds.

but that’s not what Jesus taught: “Those who live by the sword will die by the sword” (Matt 26:52).

⁵²Then Jesus said to him, “Put your sword back into its place. For all who take the sword will perish by the sword.

Christians are to leave matters of punishing evil and promoting good to the governing authorities, God’s means of justice to uphold law and order (Rom 13:1–4).

¹Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. ²Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. ³For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, ⁴for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer.

Jesus’ kingdom is not of this world (John 18:36),

³⁶Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world.”

so spiritual warfare does not come through the flesh, but through prayer (2 Cor 10:4–5).

⁴For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. ⁵We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ

Nevertheless, Christians throughout history have trusted in their flesh rather than God to deliver them. They’ve initiated warfare against other nations, and even a revolution against their own government. Or worse yet, they wage a crusade, a war against their enemies in the “name” of Christ, a type of blasphemy as it is exactly the opposite of what Jesus taught (Matt 5:44).

⁴⁴But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you

Jesus taught us to look forward to his return when he will take up the sword at Armageddon, but that sword will come from his mouth and not from our hands (Rev 19:15).

¹⁵From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty.

Deliverance by the sword is to take Christ’s prerogative and to make it our own, thereby shaming the name of Christ among non-Christians by executing the opposite of what Christ preached. Violence, if used at all before Christ’s final judgement, should be proportional, in self-defense, and as a last resort; these are the doctrines of a just war.

Instead, Christians are to pray for deliverance rather than rely on our own flesh. When we pray to remove demons from individuals, it’s called exorcism, a large enough topic that it deserves its own article. When we pray to remove evil in structures, whether it be corporations, class-based oppression, or even nations, then it’s called liberation in liberation theology, and Marxism in political philosophy.

The classic debate between the right and left wings of the political spectrum is really a debate between those who think deliverance is through individuals, and those who think deliverance is through structures. The Bible says both sides are wrong: the deliverance is not from humans, but from the blood of Jesus (1 Pet 1:18–19)

¹⁸knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, ¹⁹but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.

applied to individuals (1 Cor 6:11),

¹¹And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

and even to the whole world (1 John 2:2

²He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.

; Col 1:20).

²⁰and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.

Surprisingly, the Bible is also against praying against people. “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood”, but against the spiritual forces behind those people (Eph 6:12);

¹²For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

thus, to wage spiritual war against people rather than demons is to engage in witchcraft! To do so with words is to curse them; instead, the Bible tells us to bless and not curse (Rom 12:14),

¹⁴Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them.

and to pray for those in authority so that the gospel would not be hindered (1 Tim 2:1–4)

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The command to not curse people includes you, for you are a person! Uttering a self-curse like “I am stupid”, even with idle words that you do not mean, brings judgement upon yourself (Matt 12:36).

³⁶I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak

Death and life are in the power of the tongue (Prov 18:21),

²¹Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits.

not because words do physical harm, but because the tongue is set on fire by hell (Jas 3:6).

⁶And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell.

But if we’re not to resort to violence, or even curse our enemies, how do we defeat evil? Jesus answers this in the parable of the leaven, “To what shall I compare the kingdom of God? It is like leaven that a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, until it was all leavened” (Luke 13:20–21).

²⁰And again he said, “To what shall I compare the kingdom of God? ²¹It is like leaven that a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, until it was all leavened.”

Yeast does not wage war against bread, but rather transforms its character from within to be more like itself, a process called leavening in bakery, subversion in spiritual warfare, and corruption when the subversion is toward evil.

But subversion can be for good purposes too. Saul became Paul when God changed his mind, which is the Greek word for repentance. God did not defeat the greatest persecutor of the church through force, but transformed him into its greatest evangelist through a paradigm shift of his mind (Acts 9:1–5).

¹But Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest ²and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. ³Now as he went on his way, he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven shone around him. ⁴And falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” ⁵And he said, “Who are you, Lord?” And he said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.

Similarly, the early Church won hearts and minds through the demonstration and proclamation of the gospel (Acts 2:42–47).

⁴²And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. ⁴³And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. ⁴⁴And all who believed were together and had all things in common. ⁴⁵And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. ⁴⁶And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, ⁴⁷praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.

In modern terms, demonstration ministries include the social gospel, where you heal the sick and feed the poor, and deliverance ministries where you cast out demons. Meanwhile, proclamation ministries focus on the preaching of the gospel, but often do not follow up that preaching with a demonstration. Jesus did both (Matt 9:35),

³⁵And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction.

as it was his mission to proclaim and demonstrate the gospel to prove that he was the Messiah (Luke 4:18–19).

¹⁸“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, ¹⁹to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

The gospel does not overcome evil with evil, but overcomes evil with good (Rom 12:21).

²¹Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

We liberate the oppressed by practicing what we preach, and preaching the reason why we never avenge ourselves (Rom 12:19).

¹⁹Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.”

This leavened, non-violent response of meekness pricks our persecutors’ conscience (Rom 12:20),

²⁰To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.”

and leads evil people to repentance when we respectfully share the hope for our gentleness (1 Pet 3:15–17).

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That’s why Jesus taught us to love our enemies and to pray for those who persecute us (Matt 5:44).

⁴⁴But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you

We turn the other cheek (Matt 5:39)

³⁹But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.

instead of fighting for our rights, so as to put no obstacle in the way of the gospel (1 Cor 9:12).

¹²If others share this rightful claim on you, do not we even more? Nevertheless, we have not made use of this right, but we endure anything rather than put an obstacle in the way of the gospel of Christ.

So what is deliverance? Deliverance is spiritual warfare through the subversive gospel of Jesus Christ.

Take-aways

Further Reading

Every case study is a story of deliverance, whether it be from porn, fever, or mental illness. You might want to learn how to deliver someone from demons or even be asking whether a Christian can have a demon.