As a minister that has been led by the Spirit to conduct regular deliverance sessions, I have seen and heard a lot. From individuals letting themselves get stepped on in toxic relationships, claiming "it's the enemy, it's not them", to people refusing accountability implying the Devil "took control and made them do it." Accountability and differing levels of demonic influence is what I'll be covering in this article. My hope is that the truth would set someone free.
If it's the Devil's fault, why does anyone go to Hell?
Let's soberly look at this argument of, "the Devil made me do it". All throughout scripture, unclean spirits and devils are peppered until you reach the New Testament. Yet, in no place does God make an exception for disobedience because of demonic influence.
Before the Israelites inherited the promised land in Joshua 24:15, God speaks out of his servant Joshua and tells them "And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." The gods the Lord was referring to is the rulers of the demonic spirits we know of today, God clarifies it's your choice to serve them or the Lord.
Let's jump back even farther to Genesis. We all know the story of Adam and Eve, how the Devil deceived Eve to eat from the forbidden tree. This attitude of "the Devil made me do it" is seen when God questions Adam, and Adam passes the blame to Eve, then Eve passes the blame to the serpent, Genesis 3:11-13. God's response is to punish them all, banishing mankind from the garden and giving death unto all mankind for disobedience. God is the righteous judge, he will give you what you deserve, no one is exempt. God held Adam and Eve accountable, he gave them a word to obey and they broke it. There is no excuse, we are held accountable to the sin we commit, even if we don't hold ourselves accountable...
Lastly, if the devil was completely at fault then what sins did Jesus die for? If you could just pass blame onto the devil, then you wouldn't need Christ to pay for your sins. Wouldn't God have kicked Satan out of the garden and not mankind? The devil didn't make you sin, you chose to sin. Your desire to sin comes from your own wicked heart, Matthew 15:19 "For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies:".
So far, we've concluded that all the devil can do is tempt you. And if the mere appearance of temptation causes you to full-heartedly give in to the devil's desires, then you have a lack of self-control and a lack of submission to Christ.
This one verse proves you're wrong
I could end this counter-argument with one verse, James 4:7 "Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." This verse is telling you that when you submit to God, your own will-power is enough to resist Lucifer, the fallen angel himself! God's word doubles down on this truth proving God won't even let you get tempted without an escape! 1 Corinthians 10:13 "There hath no temptation taken hold of you but such as is common to man. But God is faithful; He will not suffer you to be tempted beyond that which ye are able to bear, but with the temptation will also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it."
The devil can't own what's not his, but if you give him your obedience, you're his! This is what Romans 6 is talking about, Romans 6:16 "Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?" Every time I speak with a born again brother or sister in Christ who's claiming a "full possession", there is always two major problems, lordship and doctrine.
If you haven't submitted to Christ as Lord over your life, then you're right, you're susceptible to a full possession. The lost world is able to be fully possessed because they don't have Jesus, we in Christ have been set free from the power of sin and are fully equipped to overpower the devil, Romans 6:14 "For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace." 1 John 4:4 "Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world."
Most commonly, I find that the people who believe that the enemy has complete control over them will struggle until they receive the truth. There is no power in a lie, and this is why the enemy works so hard to push doctrines of devils like the one we're countering now.
Holding people accountable
So now what do we do when we see others operating under a demonic spirit? We hold the person accountable just like God does. They are choosing to side with a demonic spirit by acting on it. Confront them, tell them what they did or said was wrong and correct them. Speak to their heart by sharing with them your pain. Clarity and communication is necessity for healthy relationships.
I've seen many people convince themselves into staying in toxic relationships. They even put up with toxic behavior by ignoring the sin of others claiming "it's just the enemy". This comes from cowardliness and fear, most often it's fear of losing the relationship. If that's you, let me be blunt, if the relationship is lost because you expressed your feelings to the other person or told them they were wrong, that was not a relationship worth keeping.
Deliverance is real, it's necessary, and it's important, but if you aren't equipped with the right mindset you risk opening up your temple to seven worse spirits! Demonic oppression can range from seeing terrifying figures, sickness, or strong changes in attitudes. There are instances where people are physically and sexually abused and they receive an unclean spirit and these cases are different, but this isn't most of the time. Most of the time God allowed you get get that demonic spirit for a reason, and you know you didn't catch a demonic spirit from reading your bible... Own the fact that you chose to listen to the enemy even though you've been given everything you need in Christ to resist it. It doesn't feel good admitting it, but that's the truth, and it's this truth that brings change!
Demonic oppression and falling to sin are two different areas, God expects you to repent and this has nothing to do with demonic influence. Freedom from demonic oppression is a liberty we have in Christ just like miracle healing. Getting delivered is simply kicking the bad influence out of your house, your walk does get easier but you're still expected to resist it.
Confess it, own your mistakes and acknowledge your faults. If you need deliverance, God still wants to deliver you, but He wants you to own your sin first. The more you focus on this, the deeper the deliverance gets. The fastest deliverance I've ever witnessed was from a sister who was humble in her heart, owned her mistakes, and got delivered within only a couple minutes of prayer.