Paul's epistles contain no instructions on exorcism, so Les Feldick teaches that believers are not called to cast out demons—they should simply lead demon-possessed people to salvation.
In Acts 16 Paul personally cast a demon out of a Philippian girl, but none of his later letters tell believers how to do the same. Les says the only instruction implied is to lead the person into the plan of salvation, and he cautions against getting involved with exorcism because it can destroy a ministry.
Acts 16:16-18 — The only clear record of Paul dealing with demon possession—he commands the spirit out, but later epistles contain no such instructions.
The only record of Paul directly dealing with demon possession is in Acts 16. A slave girl in Philippi had a spirit of divination and followed Paul and his companions, crying out that they were servants of the most high God. After several days, Paul turned and said to the spirit, 'I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her,' and the spirit left her the same hour. In Paul's own letters, however, there is no parallel instruction. He writes about doctrine, grace, righteousness, and Christian conduct, but never calls believers to a ministry of casting out demons. His epistles are silent on exorcism.
Les Feldick makes the point that after Paul cast the demon out of the young lady at Philippi, his epistles never give readers one ounce of instruction for exorcism. Les says, 'Never once do I find Paul teaching you and I how to cast out demons. He's silent.' He connects this silence to a broader pattern in Paul's later ministry: while Paul performed miracles in Acts, by the time of his later letters there is no more mention of such miracles, and Paul could not even heal his sick friend. Therefore, Les personally thinks that aside from leading someone to salvation, believers should leave demon possession alone. He has seen people get so involved with demonism that it destroyed their ministry, so he does not set his counsel in concrete but it is the only direction he can find in Paul's letters.
Yes. In Acts 16, Paul commands a spirit of divination to leave a young woman in Philippi, and it comes out immediately. However, this happens in the narrative of Acts, not in his letters to churches. Paul's epistles move on to doctrine and the Christian walk without repeating instructions for casting out demons.
Les says that aside from leading someone to salvation, believers are to leave it alone. He has observed people whose involvement with exorcism took them out of ministry. His counsel is not an absolute doctrine—he says he doesn't set it in concrete—but it reflects what he can and cannot find in Paul's letters.
Les points out that the spiritual gifts of healing and miracles were present in the early church and Paul himself performed them in Acts. Yet by Paul's later letters there is no mention of such gifts, and Paul could not heal his own friend. This broader pattern explains why no exorcism formula is given for the age of grace. Instead of announcing healing meetings or using philosophy to draw crowds, Paul pointed people to their sin.
Why Israel Rejected the Gospel — Acts 8 Explained
the gospel." Then you come on down to verse 18, "...for the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness, but unto us who are saved it's the power of God." Then verse 23, 1 Corinthians 1, verse 20. Now watch it with me, I'm going to throw a curve at you. Paul says, "...but we preach Christ.
Paul's Silence on Exorcism
Les says Paul never gives one ounce of instruction for exorcism in his epistles; he personally thinks believers should not pursue casting out demons and instead lead people to salvation.
Spiritual Gifts and Healing in the Early Church
Les notes that gifts of healing existed in the early church and Paul even performed miracles, but by his later letters there is no word about such miracles—parallel to his silence on exorcism.
Paul's Approach Was Not Signs and Wonders
Les describes how Paul did not come announcing a great healing meeting or entertaining philosophy; his message was to tell people that they are sinners.
Paul Could Not Heal His Fellow Workers
Les points out that in the later epistles Paul could not heal his sick friend or Timothy; he prayed and gave remedies instead, showing that the miraculous gifts were no longer in view.
Why the First Christians Were NOT in Jerusalem (Acts 11)
Because that's what some people are going to do. And Paul said it. He said, I am falsely accused of preaching that just because God's grace is great, go ahead and sin as you wish. But that's not what grace means. I've said it a thousand times that grace is not license. But on the other hand, very few people comprehend that the grace of God is greater than any person's sin. It's always greater.
Why Carnal Believers Are Still Blameless — 1 Corinthians 1:8-9
Now then, if you know the background of Paul's apostleship and how that he had persecuted those early Jewish believers back there in the book of Acts, and how God saved him by grace on the road to Damascus, and then took him down in the desert and revealed to him over what I think is a three year period of time these amazing doctrines of grace, it just sort of put a block between him and the Jewis…
Why Paul Went to Arabia: The Revelation of Grace
We have to rest on the word of God. All right, reading on. Verse 15, but when it pleased God who separated me from my mother's womb and called me by his what? Grace. Remember, I emphasized last week when Saul was on the way to Damascus, a total enemy of Christ, instead of zapping him, taking him off the scene, Christ saved him. Now, that was grace. And Paul recognizes it all through his writings.
Acts 16:16-18: And it came to pass, as we went to prayer, a certain damsel possessed with a spirit of divination met us, which brought her masters much gain by soothsaying: The same followed Paul and us, and cried, saying, These men are the servants of the most high God, which shew unto us the way of salvation. And this did she many days. But Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the spirit, I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And he came out the same hour.
This passage records the actual exorcism Paul performed in Philippi—yet no later epistle repeats the method.
1 Corinthians 1:18: For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.
Paul's gospel centers on the cross; the earlier Acts message that Jesus is the Christ is not the completed focus of his letters.
1 Corinthians 1:23: But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness;
Paul preached Christ crucified, unlike the earlier Acts emphasis recorded in the transcripts.
1 Corinthians 12:9-10: To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit; To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues:
These gifts were part of the early church, but Les says Paul's later letters are silent about them.
No. In his epistles he never gives any instruction for exorcism. Les says the only thing close to a remedy is to lead the person into the plan of salvation.
He commanded the spirit of divination to come out in the name of Jesus Christ, and it left her immediately. He did not pass on a method for believers to do the same.
Les says aside from leading someone to salvation, believers should leave it alone. He has seen ministries destroyed by people getting too involved with demonism.
Watch the Teaching: Why Israel Rejected the Gospel — Acts 8 Explained