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Recently I have seen posts on this forum which are abberant. Some dear brothers have been posting that we can be holy and perfect in this life. Another person who claims to be a Christian claims we are to only love the people of our own race. While many of us read those types of posts we wonder how they could of gotten so far of track. The answer might be a religious spirit.
Just because a person has some of the traits I will be discussing, does not automatically mean he or she is demonically possessed but it does lead me to wonder if they are.
How demons do their dirty work
Demons do their work by shifting our thoughts. Once they get inside a person through sin they entrench themselves into a person's mind by setting up a stronghold. This stronghold is a false way of thinking. Examples of a stronghold are "God can't love me", "I have committed the unpardonable sin and can't be saved", "Getting drunk is not a sin" and similar. It starts out as a lie we accept. Demons interject thoughts into our minds that support this stronghold.
Traits of a person with a religious spirit.A person who has a religious spirit will have a religious stronghold, which is an aberrant belief in some aspect of theology. Such as: "we must be holy to please God", "Salvation must be earned", etc. They become focused rigidly on this belief and preach it to others as if it were the gospel, believing this aberrant belief is from the bible or revealed to them by the voice of "God" (a demon).
Here is a brief list of traits a person can exhibit and preach that is possessed by a religious spirit.
In their posts you will see how they stress one aspect of Christianity but apply it in a way that you know is incorrect. They take a superior stance that if you do not accept their teachings you are in serious error. So they become judgmental Such as claiming to be perfect or focusing in how we will attain perfection and using the word perfect many times in their posts, over and over. Here is a list of things that may be present in a person with a religious spirit. Keep in mind this list is partial and a person with a religious demon may have more than one of these traits.
Holiness (false sense of) - They teach we can attain holiness or a sinless state of being and spiritual perfection.
Salvation by works - They stress we must do certain things to be acceptable before God.
Judgmental - Looking down their nose at Christians.
Hypocritical - Acting like a "Pharisee" by pushing rules of dress, appearance and external behavior.
Blending racism with the bible - They might claim the Jews are cursed or hate a certain race.
Humility - False sense of being very humble to the point of pride.
Pride - Taking pride in how they are performing better than other Christians. (Luke 18:9-11)
Legalism - Blending our external actions with the free gift of God's imputed righteousness.
Exclusivity - "I have discovered the truth and if you do not accept this you are in error."
Hearing the voice of "god"?
Many Christians hear the voice of God. Unfortunately, demons have no hesitation or reticence in pretending to be the voice of God. When we accept the voice of a demon as God, we are guilty of idolatry. Even worse it brings a conviction that their error is 100% correct, further entrenching them in their error.
Demonic Networks
A person can be attached to others in a spiritual network made of demonic soul ties. Typically a soul tie can be formed between two people through sex, strong emotion or ungodly covenants like "blood brother". A person can also have a soul tie to others in an organization. Once this happens religious demons and demonic strongholds can be shared. One trait is that they can even hear the same demon speak to them as "god".
Helping them to get free
For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ, and we are ready to punish all disobedience, whenever your obedience is complete. 2 Cor. 10:3-6
I am sure many of you attempt to correct their error with posts which include scripture to prove you point, only to see they reject all of your attempts to help them in their error. Even so, the bible is an effective tool for tearing down strongholds. It becomes like throwing BB's at a battle ship. So what can be done to help them? You can give them over to God in prayer. Ask God to expose their error and to expose any demon at work supporting their error.
Additional Resources
I found this website which goes into more detail on this type of demon.
----> Religious spirits (demons)
Free PDF outline of a book on religious spirits
http://www.lofj.com/PDF Files1/Religious Spirit.pdf
Just because a person has some of the traits I will be discussing, does not automatically mean he or she is demonically possessed but it does lead me to wonder if they are.
How demons do their dirty work
Demons do their work by shifting our thoughts. Once they get inside a person through sin they entrench themselves into a person's mind by setting up a stronghold. This stronghold is a false way of thinking. Examples of a stronghold are "God can't love me", "I have committed the unpardonable sin and can't be saved", "Getting drunk is not a sin" and similar. It starts out as a lie we accept. Demons interject thoughts into our minds that support this stronghold.
Traits of a person with a religious spirit.A person who has a religious spirit will have a religious stronghold, which is an aberrant belief in some aspect of theology. Such as: "we must be holy to please God", "Salvation must be earned", etc. They become focused rigidly on this belief and preach it to others as if it were the gospel, believing this aberrant belief is from the bible or revealed to them by the voice of "God" (a demon).
Here is a brief list of traits a person can exhibit and preach that is possessed by a religious spirit.
In their posts you will see how they stress one aspect of Christianity but apply it in a way that you know is incorrect. They take a superior stance that if you do not accept their teachings you are in serious error. So they become judgmental Such as claiming to be perfect or focusing in how we will attain perfection and using the word perfect many times in their posts, over and over. Here is a list of things that may be present in a person with a religious spirit. Keep in mind this list is partial and a person with a religious demon may have more than one of these traits.
Holiness (false sense of) - They teach we can attain holiness or a sinless state of being and spiritual perfection.
Salvation by works - They stress we must do certain things to be acceptable before God.
Judgmental - Looking down their nose at Christians.
Hypocritical - Acting like a "Pharisee" by pushing rules of dress, appearance and external behavior.
Blending racism with the bible - They might claim the Jews are cursed or hate a certain race.
Humility - False sense of being very humble to the point of pride.
Pride - Taking pride in how they are performing better than other Christians. (Luke 18:9-11)
Legalism - Blending our external actions with the free gift of God's imputed righteousness.
Exclusivity - "I have discovered the truth and if you do not accept this you are in error."
Hearing the voice of "god"?
Many Christians hear the voice of God. Unfortunately, demons have no hesitation or reticence in pretending to be the voice of God. When we accept the voice of a demon as God, we are guilty of idolatry. Even worse it brings a conviction that their error is 100% correct, further entrenching them in their error.
Demonic Networks
A person can be attached to others in a spiritual network made of demonic soul ties. Typically a soul tie can be formed between two people through sex, strong emotion or ungodly covenants like "blood brother". A person can also have a soul tie to others in an organization. Once this happens religious demons and demonic strongholds can be shared. One trait is that they can even hear the same demon speak to them as "god".
Helping them to get free
For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ, and we are ready to punish all disobedience, whenever your obedience is complete. 2 Cor. 10:3-6
I am sure many of you attempt to correct their error with posts which include scripture to prove you point, only to see they reject all of your attempts to help them in their error. Even so, the bible is an effective tool for tearing down strongholds. It becomes like throwing BB's at a battle ship. So what can be done to help them? You can give them over to God in prayer. Ask God to expose their error and to expose any demon at work supporting their error.
Additional Resources
I found this website which goes into more detail on this type of demon.
----> Religious spirits (demons)
Free PDF outline of a book on religious spirits
http://www.lofj.com/PDF Files1/Religious Spirit.pdf
