In the above video, Dr. Sean McDowell asked me to analyze a demonic encounter his son (Scottie) had with a Satanist he was evangelizing on the streets of New York. Scottie was clearly creeped out!
Along with my analysis, I include a few true stories and these 15 insights:
(1/15) Evangelism is an act of spiritual war:
2 Corinthians 10:4-5 NKJ, “For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.”
(2/15) The Bible describes itself as a “dagger” (Eph 6:17) [See p. 21 of “When Demons Surface” for more lexical information.]
(3/15) So “waving” your Bible is like wielding a dagger in the unseen realm.
(4/15) The Greek word for “warfare” is στρατεία (strateia) sounds like the English “strategy”—thus, apologetics is a strategy of spiritual warfare.
(5/15) “Kathairesis” (καθαίρεσις) is the same word translated “pulling down” and “casting down” plus the object of this action is (ὀχύρωμα | ochuroma) a fortified prison full of captives (VGNT Dictionary, 3103).
(6/15) Ignatius (First Century Bishop) uses the same Greek word in Point 5/15 when he declares during corporate worship we are “pulling down the powers of Satan” [See my 11-min blog “1 Verse that Limits Spiritual Warfare” https://www.stevedabbs.org/post/one-verse-that-limits-spiritual-warfare].
(7/15) Therefore, sharing the Gospel is equivalent to confiscating the “doctrines taught by demons” (1Ti 4:1) and forcing them to comply with the truth of Christ.
(8/15) Christ died for sinners (1Ti 1:15), so unbelievers have a God-given right to hear the Gospel without demonic interference.
(9/15) Per the power and authority granted to believers by Christ (Luke 9:1), we can utilize the ancient practice of binding/loosing prayers to stop demonic interference (see pp. 101-2 and 211-12 of “When Demons Surface”).
(10/15) For example, Dr. Hugh Ross (Christian Physicist) shares how those who accompanied him successfully used the ancient practice of binding/loosing prayers to thwart demonic interferences during a college debate. (See “This is How I Know Demons are Real” [5 MIN] https://youtu.be/Z_9GgtqSKDQ?si=PHgWSjX2TuMDWMwV).
(11/15) So, as a unity of effort, I recommend Jesus’ precedent of evangelizing in teams of (at least) 2 people, so one believer can “watch and pray” as the other shares the Gospel (Mat 26:41; 1Pe 5:8).
(12/15) Tactics in spiritual warfare are necessary “…to demolish strongholds…, arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we [must] take captive every [adversarial] thought to make it obedient to Christ” (10:4-5 NIV). This is because, “The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel…” (2Co 4:4 NIV).
(13/15) So we must strive to be “…skillful in teaching… correcting those who are opposed with gentleness, seeing whether perhaps God may grant them repentance to a knowledge of the truth, and they will come to their senses again and escape from the trap of the devil, being held captive by him to do his will” (2Ti 2:24-26 LEB).
(14/15) When you share the Gospel with an unbeliever, a spiritual intersection appears between the Kingdom of Darkness and the Kingdom of Light. Again, this is an act of spiritual war that necessitates Spirit-led strategic thinking (see Point 4/15).
(15/15) Proverbs 15:22 warns, "Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed" (NIV). Therefore, if you find yourself in a situation like Scottie, please seek advice from those experienced in spiritual warfare--as always, I standby to assist you.
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