Years ago I witnessed a sudden outbreak of a fellow employee who was a member of one of the tongues Churches – he was loudly calling on Jesus and jabbering [speaking in tongues]. Every one in the work area were startled, I was returning to my work area from a break and had to walk past him! As I came near to him the hair on the back of my neck stood up and goose bumps raised up on me – I then moved out from him and gave him wide space! I was at that point very uneasy and did not want to get close to him. Did he have an evil spirit, [demon] or had he worked his mind into a state of confusion? I do not know and being the type of religion – if he had a demon, it is doubtful he would want it cast out.

Interestingly, this account of the disciples' inability to cast out a demon came after Jesus had sent them to certain cities on a "training mission" and gave them the authority to heal the sick, raise the dead and cast out demons as they traveled (Matthew 10:5-15).

The demon could not initially be cast out due to a lack of faith not only on the part of the disciples (Matthew 17:20-21) but also on the part of those around the demonically-possessed person (Matthew 17:17 states: "Then Jesus answered and said, O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you?"). It was only after the disciples failed and the crowd was chided for their faithlessness that Jesus rebuked the demon (Matthew 17:18).

These scriptures warn us that just because someone (including ourselves) is a believer in Christ or uses Jesus' name does not mean they (or we) have the faith and authority from God to cast out evil spirits. Casting out demons is serious business and not to be taken lightly. Anyone taking on himself the driving out of demons had better be well grounded in the scriptures and have an ample portion of God’s Holy Spirit. Those wrongly assuming they have the power and authority to cast out demons can suffer some very real painful consequences, as the following scriptures show:

" Then certain of the vagabond Jews, exorcists, [who took to themselves, by their own authority, to be exorcists] took upon them to call over them which had evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, We adjure you by Jesus [In the name of, or by the authority of, Jesus.] whom Paul preacheth. " (Acts 19:13)

These exorcists claimed to have Jesus' authority to command evil spirits to leave a person. They were liars and Jesus did not know them nor did He or the Father authorize them to use the name of Jesus Christ – for any thing at all!

" And there were seven sons of [one] Sceva, a Jew, [and] chief of the priests, [a Levite] which did so. And the evil spirit answered and said, Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are ye? " (v. 14-15)

Those who were claiming the ability to cast our demons were sons of a Levite chief priest. Because of this, they must have thought of themselves as being pretty important and powerful, certainly powerful enough to simply assume they could use the name (authority) of Jesus Christ (after only hearing of Him through the apostle Paul) to cast out demons.

Ironically, although these sons were deceived into thinking they had the power to cast out devils, the demons themselves weren't deceived about the sons REAL power to order them out of a person! And the demons let the sons know, in no uncertain terms, who had the upper hand in this conflict:

" And the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, and overcame them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded. [and no doubt very embarrassed!]. " (Acts 19:16)

Evil spirits can give the frailest of people physical strength well beyond what is normal and they can bring upon a man, or to seven men as is this case, much injury.

And this became known to all, both Jews and Greeks, who are dwelling at Ephesus, and fear fell upon them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was being magnified, " (Acts 19:17)

Those seeing all that had taken place here noised it throughout the city of Ephesus, causing the people to not take the name and authority of Jesus Christ lightly---and especially to not assume they have God's authority to do whatever they pleased. If God has not ordained you to use His name to cast out evil spirits, do not think you can simply conjure up some faith and do it anyway. It will not work.

Other Recommended Bible Study Materials:

• How Can We Achieve Spiritual Maturity?
• The Life Cycle of Empires and America's Destiny
• Did Jesus or Cavemen come first?

Answer Given By: Don Smith