Early this month, someone sent this very important mail to me regarding deliverance:

“Hi Tope. I have this question weighing on my mind; when a sinner who is under a covenant with some black or (occult) powers (blood covenant) becomes born again (perhaps it is something his father or forefathers did way before he was born and, he is unaware of the covenant). Will the covenant be broken automatically, once he becomes born again, or, does he have to go for deliverance to break this covenant?”

A lot of Christians are faced with similar situations and I desire that they read this piece. First, the major reason we are faced with such dilemmas is because we were not taught or we do not really understand the implication of being born again. Most believers still think that to be born again means to change your attitude, or as it is commonly said, “the bad things you used to do, you do them no more”. However, that has a totally different meaning from this.

I like the way the question was framed: when a sinner … becomes born again? Last week, I emphasized that before you accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour, the devil was the Commander-in-Chief of your life. Because of the sin of Adam, man was separated from God and since man is primarily a spirit, the devil could possess his spirit. But what happened when we got born again?

John 3:5 (KJV) “Jesus answered … Except a man be born … of the Spirit, he cannot enter into thekingdom of God.”

2Co 5:17 (MSG) “… anyone united with the Messiah gets a fresh start, is created new. The old life is gone; a new life burgeons!”

Rom 6:6 (GNB) “And we know that our old being has been put to death with Christ on his cross…”

To be born again means to be born of the Spirit of God. A new being was created in us when we got born again. But before that new being was born, something happened. The old being that was easily possessed by the devil was destroyed. As a matter of fact, every time a person gets born again, we should be conscious of the fact that someone just died. Furthermore, a new being (spirit) that previously never existed was born inside that person.

So what if a sinner practiced occultism / witchcraft before and now he is saved? Simple, the person that practiced occultism is now dead; crucified with Christ on the cross. That is what the substitutionary work of Jesus Christ means. In the mind of God, when Jesus went to the cross, we were in him and died with him. That’s why you will see the phrase “in Him” or “in Christ” over 130 times in the New Testament. We may not notice any instant change physically or even in attitude, but let every man be a liar and let the Word of God be true; that new man is born again and will be shocked if you associate him with occultism. It would be like accusing a day-old child of being occultic last year; everyone would think you were out of your mind. The curses (ancestral or not) were automatically broken when you got born again because the person that had their physical lineage and partook in the curse is dead! We now have a new lineage from God (I Peter 1:23). Does a dead man require deliverance from occultism? No wonder the bible says – “So if the Son sets you free, you will be absolutely free.” John 8:36 (GW).

You may say – But some Christians behave as though they are possessed? Why do some still act like occultists even after they are saved? What about people who say a Christian can have a spirit husband, spirit wife or spirit whatever? Is it possible for an evil spirit to return to a believer if he/ she commits a sin?

We will discuss this and many more in our subsequent messages.

– tope aladenusi