Can a Christian today perform an exorcism?

Response

Exorcism (commanding demons to leave other people) was practiced by various individuals in the Gospels and the Book of Acts—the disciples following Christ’s instructions (Matthew 10); others invoking Christ’s name «And John answered him, saying, Master, we saw one casting out devils in thy name, and he followeth not us: and we forbad him, because he followeth not us. », (Mark 9:38); the offspring of the Pharisees (Luke 11:18-19); Paul (Acts 16); and certain exorcists (Acts 19:11-16).

It seems that Jesus’ disciples performed exorcisms to demonstrate Christ’s authority over the demons «And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name. », (Luke 10:17) and to confirm that they were acting in His name and by His authority. It also reflected their faith or lack of faith (Matthew 17:14-21). It was evident that casting out demons was significant to the disciples’ ministry. However, the role of casting out demons in the discipleship process remains unclear.

Interestingly, there appears to be a shift in the latter part of the New Testament concerning demonic warfare. The instructional sections of the New Testament (Romans through Jude) mention demonic activity but do not elaborate on the practice of casting them out, nor are

The believers are exhorted to do so. We are instructed to put on the armor to stand against them (Ephesians 6:10-18). We are advised to resist the devil «Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. », (James 4:7), be cautious of him «Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: », (1 Peter 5:8), and not give him space in our lives «neither give place to the devil. », (Ephesians 4:27). However, we are not instructed on how to cast him or his demons out of others, or that we should even consider doing so.

The book of Ephesians provides clear instructions on how we can achieve victory in our lives in the battle against the forces of evil. The initial step is placing our faith in Christ (2:8-9), which disrupts the dominion of “the prince of the power of the air” (2:2). We are then to choose, once again by God’s grace, to discard ungodly habits and adopt godly habits (4:17-24). This does not entail casting out demons, but rather renewing our minds (4:23). After receiving several practical instructions on how to obey God as His children, we are reminded that there is a spiritual battle. It is waged with specific armor that enables us to stand against—not expel—the deceit of the demonic realm (6:10). We stand firm with truth, righteousness, the gospel, faith, salvation, the Word of God, and prayer (6:10-18).

It seems that as the Word of God was finalized, the Christians had more weapons to combat the spirit world than the early Christians did. The act of casting out demons was largely replaced with evangelism and discipleship through the Word of God. Since the strategies of spi

In the New Testament, ritual warfare does not involve casting out demons. It is challenging to ascertain instructions on how to perform such an act. If deemed necessary, it appears to be achieved by exposing the individual to the truth of the Word of God and the name of Jesus Christ.