The reason for raising the question, Is the gift of exorcism to be practiced today? is because there are groups (click to open) that believe exorcism is a spiritual gift: “Exorcism is a spiritual gift enabling Christians to confront demonic forces.” One argument against exorcism being a practice for Christians today is that New Testament Epistles do not teach exorcism as a method of confronting demon opposition. The final word on doctrine in the New Testament Epistles is consistent with the doctrine of progressive revelation.
Paul taught that “All Scripture is given by inspiration and is profitable for correction ....” (2 Tim 3:16), including the Old Testament, the Gospels, and the book of Acts. However, all that was taught and practiced in the Old Testament, the Gospels, and Acts are not to be considered doctrines for believers today.
In the Old Testament, adulterers were stoned to death, but we don’t stone adulterers today in our local churches because the New Testament Epistles teach us to practice church discipline for adulterers in 1 Corinthians 5. God changes His methods but not His attitude about sin. God still teaches God’s people to deal with the sin of adultery strongly. God’s instruction of dealing with adultery has changed for the New Testament Church.
The Old Testament also restricted the diet of God’s people not to include pork, etc. (Lev 11), but the New Testament Epistles teach that if we can give thanks over food, we can eat it (1 Tim 4:4). The dietary laws of the Old Testament is not a doctrine the church follows today.
In the Gospels and Acts, the dead were raised back to life (Acts 9:36-43 and 20:6-12). We don’t raise the dead today. We comfort the bereaved according to the New Testament Epistle 1 Thessalonians (1 Thess 4:13-18); we do not raise their loved ones back to life as was formerly practiced.
We don’t live by the teaching of stoning adulterers today, not eating pork, nor raising the dead. In all of these Scriptures, we can find principles that are profitable for correction, but we do not build doctrines on them. We don’t teach as doctrine stoning adulterers, abstaining from pork, or raising the dead, because the New Testament Epistles do not teach these doctrines. The New Testament Epistles teach otherwise. These are not contradictions but evidence that God changed his methods.
The passage in Ephesians 6:10-18 equips believers to stand against demonic activity described as “principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” When believers face such demonic influence, we have the armor of God. In the most thorough New Testament passage in the Epistles (Eph 6:10-18) dealing with spiritual warfare with demons, casting out of demons is not mentioned as part of the defense. Casting out of demons is mentioned in the Gospels and Acts along with raising the dead. Although raising the dead is not mentioned in the New Testament Epistles, we would not say that it is an argument from silence that the church doesn’t practice raising the dead. An argument from silence is only such an argument when evidence is absent. We contend that because the apostolic gift of healing is no longer operative, which included raising the dead, believers today cannot raise the dead. Bible scholar Alex Konya argued in his book (Demons: A Biblical Perspective) from many Scriptures that healing and casting out demons are associated. Here are a few: Luke 6:17-19; 9:42, Acts 5:16: “The people also gathered from the towns around Jerusalem, bringing the sick and those afflicted with unclean spirits, and they were all healed.” This book should be read before this credible Bible scholar is critiqued.
The casting out of demons was part of the gift of healing, and the gift of healing is no longer operative. God still heals through prayer (James 5:14), but not through faith healers claiming the gift of healing. The apostolic gift of healing, as practiced by the apostles in Acts, is not operative for the church today. Today, we cast out demons out of demon-possessed unsaved with the gospel, which is the power of God to salvation to all that believe.