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by Charlie Wolcott

I have two more topics to hit before addressing freedom from slavery: teachings and demons. Even more than drugs, drinking, or pornography, slavery to false teachings is perhaps the strongest form of slavery, rivaled only by slavery to demons. The two really go hand in hand, so I am going to address them together.

I deal with origins debates quite often, and one thing I have learned in such debates is how strong of a grip that certain teachings have on people. Now there are certain teachings we truly have to have a firm grip on because that is how we survive, so do not hear what I am not saying. However, when a false teaching has a grip of someone, it will not let it go without a hard fight. There are prominent speakers out there where if they are questioned, it is like insulting their guru and prophet. Man has so idolized celebrity preachers and speakers that we make the quarrels of Corinth in which they debated over Peter, Apollos, or Paul look like child’s play. While there is great wisdom that can be learned from those who have gone before us, we need to remember that they are all fallible and every one of them, and yes that includes me, is going to get something wrong.

The New Testament letters speak about being watchful and discerning true and false doctrines/teachers more than any other single topic. Entire letters have been written on this very issue, including both Paul’s and Peter’s last messages before their executions – 2 Timothy and 2 Peter. These were their last message, their last words, and when you know you are dying, you speak about the most important things. For them, the most important thing was doctrine and to stand on and believe Scripture above and beyond anything else. Paul describes Scripture as being God-breathed and useful and sufficient for every good work. Peter describes Scripture as being not from human origins, but from God, and that it was even more sure than the very things they had eye-witnessed as though they were yesterday. Both of those points are to be the ground that their readers are to stand on when they face the false teachings that come from within their own congregations or from outside.

Some false teachings have such a grip on people that you cannot reason with them with logic, nor are you able to showcase the absurdity of them. There may be a few you can get through to, but they are rare. Scripture says that they are blinded by the “god of this age.” They literally cannot see the truth, and the only way to save them is with supernatural weapons to remove the blinders and break the chains. Most of these people cannot see that they are in chains to false teachings, are bound to them, and have been convinced that this is actually freedom. It’s not. And it is worth noting that when people coming out of false teachings, they tend to describe their experience in terms of deliverance, freedom, or a fog being lifted. Those who go into such false teaching tend to describe their conversion in terms of “education” or “enlightenment.” And you can almost see it; you can almost see a fog coming over them, a spirit of deception entering into them by their professors or spiritual mentors.

These teachings are doctrines of demons, and they are far more active than we can possibly imagine. They are not responsible for everything, but when it comes to teachings, they are. Satan and his very well-structured organization of demons do not care what we believe as long as it is not the truth. And if you look at history, you can see all the false teachings like throwing darts at a target at random. Some hit well and some don’t. Satan is not omniscient, and when a false teaching does not hold, he discards it. But when one does, he holds it as long as he can; if it is eventually rejected, he simply repackages it with new cosmetics. He has a limited playbook, but he plays his cards frequently in many shapes or forms.

It is not just teachings the demonic play with; it’s also minds and bodies. When the serial killer does his deeds, some have admitted that a spirit comes upon them and drives them to do it. There was a case of a man who invaded a home in Idaho and killed the parents and eldest son before kidnapping the younger boy and girl. During the ordeal, the kidnapper/killer took the boy to a cabin and raped and tortured him for about four hours. He made this statement: “The little demon didn’t want to do this, but now the Devil is here.” The boy would later be killed, and the girl survived. In another case, two teenage girls lured a friend to the woods where they killed her to appease the “Slender Man,” a fictional character; but it is clear it was a demon posing as one. In another case, an elderly man kidnapped several women and forced them into multiple sex acts on film because people were watching him and were making him do that. Again, that sounds demonic to me.

Read the testimonies of David Wilkerson and Nicky Cruz. It is clear that the demonic is a real thing. Here in El Paso, the occult is a notorious and major sin issue only behind drinking/drugs and the sex industry. Frankly, I think all three are heavily intertwined. Demons don’t just mess with minds, they can control bodies. And I’m not merely talking about “Emily Rose” types of things. There are many physical and psychological cases that we have given labels but in actuality are demonic oppressions and possessions. Jesus healed a woman who was bent over and could not walk erect. Surely there was a physical issue there, but the source was a demon. When Jesus drove out the demon, the physical ailment was healed. This is not a blanket statement as there are cases where there simply is a genuine physical ailment that is purely physical due to the breakdown of the genome due to sin. But that should not make us rule out the demonic as being a factor as well. Let’s not look behind every bush for a demon, but let’s not ignore them either.

There is only way to escape from these false teachings and from the demons: the preaching of the Gospel and the battle with spiritual weapons against the forces of darkness. Over the next few weeks, we will look at how we become free from such things and move from serving a bad master to serving the Good Master.

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