Is it possible for a non-Christin to be delivered from demons? It’s a common question I get. The answer is, YES. Having said that, I’ve got a lot of explaining to do. My answer raises other questions.
- Have I ever cast demons out of a non-Christian? YES.
- Is it necessary for a demonized person to have faith in Christ to be freed from demons? NO.
Having jarred your thinking, I’ll further explore this question. But before I delve into this deeper, let me add some qualifiers.
- I would only cast demons out of a non-Christian if they are moving toward Christian faith and an exorcism could push them to the point of salvation.
- I have commanded demons to leave a non-Christian on extremely rare occasions.
- Exorcising a non-Christian is an aberration not a regularity.
Consider the account of Paul and Silas in Acts chapter 16. A woman possessed with a spirit of divination followed Paul for “many days.” There is indication that Paul prayed with this woman to become a Christian. She undoubtedly heard the gospel, but the Bible doesn’t specifically say that she converted. According to verse 18 the woman’s deliverance came when Paul’s patience ran out and he was, in biblical language, “greatly annoyed.” After that exorcism in Philippi, Paul and Silas were beaten by the magistrates of the city and jailed. You may make all kinds of suppositions about this biblical account, but nowhere does it declare the woman said a sinner’s prayer. We may conclude that once the demon was gone that she turned to Christ, or that during some point while following Paul she surrendered to the Lord, but that is an assumption.
Also, consider the ten lepers that Christ healed in Luke 17. Only one of the 10 returned to thank Jesus, and that man was a Samaritan, hated by Jews. Jesus said to him, “Your faith has made you well.” But the other nine were also healed, and there is no statement that they had faith for their healing. As students of Bob Larson University know, I make the case that all healing is deliverance, and all deliverance is healing. In Scripture leprosy is presented as a “type” of sin, a quintessence of the loathsomeness of evil. Yet Jesus cast out demons from nine lepers who had apparently not recognized him as the Messiah.
In addition, Matthew 12:15 says that multitudes followed Christ and, “He healed them all.” Did all of them believe He was the Messiah? Of course not. And remember that many of these healings were also exorcisms. I AM NOT encouraging doing deliverance on non-Christians. In 99.9999% of deliverances, the attending minister should make every effort to lead the person to Christ before attempting an exorcism. Casting out a demon involves the faith of BOTH the exorcist and the supplicant, agreeing together. That can only happen if the seeker is saved! However, anyone seeking God’s mercy for deliverance, whether they have formally converted to Christianity, should not be forbidden to have prayers of deliverance. Forcing their demons to leave may be the proof they need that the devil is real, and Jesus is Lord. Take what I have shared and proceed with caution, remembering that Jesus said in Matthew 5:45, “He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.” God is merciful and he doesn’t always play by our assumptive rules.
