Leaving Beyond – Grounded In Scripture

Written by: April J. Buchanan

There is confusion concerning biblical discipleship and spiritual warfare in many homes. Many parents are applying counterfeit doctrines that is said to be spiritual warfare and abandoning true biblical discipleship that is to the benefit of their children and home. The claim is that parents are on assignment to teach their children how to stand firm against the enemy. Following that claim are principles and practices that are nowhere found in Scripture and are leading many households after false doctrines and into much confusion and error.

Parents are indeed on assignment to teach their children how to stand firm against the enemy. However, that is not what many are taught it looks like in practice, and in doing so they miss the true beauty and power of the work of the Holy Spirit. This often happens when doctrines are not derived from sound exegesis of Scripture but have instead been imported into Scripture through the claims, experiences, and supposed revelations of men.

While Scripture certainly teaches that believers have an adversary and that spiritual warfare is real, the emphasis of Scripture is not upon raising children to become experts in identifying demonic activity, rebuking Satan, or discerning spiritual atmospheres. We are commanded to resist the devil, to stand firm in the faith, and to submit ourselves to God. Scripture does not present believers as those who engage Satan directly, rebuke him, or exercise authority over him. The focus of biblical spiritual warfare is steadfast faith, obedience, truth, prayer, and dependence upon God.

The assignment given to parents is far more God-centered. Parents are called to teach their children the Word of God, the character of God, the Gospel of Jesus Christ, His commandments, His promises, and the wisdom that flows from fearing Him. They are called to model lives that accord with sound doctrine and demonstrate the gracious work of the Holy Spirit in the heart.

When the Christian life is framed primarily around fighting the enemy, a subtle but significant shift occurs. The focus moves away from God and toward Satan. The enemy begins to loom larger than Scripture presents him. He becomes the explanation for every hardship, every conflict, every struggle, every minor inconvenience, and every instance of unusual behavior.

Children acting out of character, marital conflict, anxiety, fear, discouragement, and ordinary struggles of life become interpreted through the lens of spiritual attack rather than through the lens of God’s providence, human sinfulness, human weakness, or the ordinary realities of living in a fallen world. This framework is ultimately fear-driven. It trains believers to become preoccupied with the enemy rather than occupied with Christ.

Such teaching has tremendous potential to damage faith, discourage hope, and distort responsibility. When every problem is attributed to the enemy, personal responsibility is diminished. Sin becomes something done to us rather than something arising from within us. Repentance is obscured because the focus shifts away from the heart and toward external spiritual forces. Instead of examining themselves in light of God’s Word, people begin searching for spiritual explanations behind every difficulty. In the process, they often become less discerning, not more. They become highly sensitive to impressions, feelings, atmospheres, and perceived spiritual activity while becoming less attentive to the plain teaching of Scripture.

When children act out of character and parents have been shaped by this kind of teaching, they often do not respond with faith in God’s ordained means. Rather than examining the child’s behavior, addressing sin where it exists, teaching wisdom, providing correction, and pointing the child to Christ, they become fearful that the enemy has gained a foothold in their home. They begin responding to subjective internal impressions that they believe are warnings from the Holy Spirit. They employ practices that Scripture never prescribes, taking authority they do not possess, speaking directly to Satan, drawing spiritual boundaries around their homes, casting out demons, and engaging in various forms of spiritual warfare that are foreign to Scripture. What should have been an opportunity to open God’s Word becomes an opportunity to practice mystical techniques.

In these moments, children are deprived of what they truly need. They need parents who can explain why their behavior is sinful. They need parents who can teach them about God’s holiness and their need for forgiveness. They need parents who can point them to Christ and His Gospel. They need parents who can lovingly correct them according to Scripture and teach them how to walk in obedience. Instead, they often witness their parents reacting in fear to perceived spiritual threats. The child who expresses concern or confusion may be viewed as simply not understanding the spiritual warfare supposedly taking place for their benefit. What is presented as an act of faith is often driven more by fear than by trust in God’s revealed truth.

The tragedy is that while these parents believe they are accomplishing great things in the spiritual realm, they may actually be neglecting the very means God has ordained for spiritual growth and protection. They spend their time “speaking life” over their children, casting out demons, rebuking the enemy, and attempting to restore spiritual alignment within their homes. Yet in doing so they often overlook the far more dangerous reality that false doctrine itself has already entered the home. They fail to recognize that the enemy’s most effective work has frequently been accomplished not through obvious manifestations of evil, but through deception. Having been led away from sound doctrine, they become convinced that the solution to their problems lies in practices Scripture never commands rather than in the truth God has already revealed.

One of the most heartbreaking consequences of this teaching is the effect it can have upon children. How much damage is done when children hear their parents casting demons out of them every time they misbehave? How much confusion is created when normal struggles, sinful choices, emotional difficulties, or acts of immaturity are treated as evidence of demonic activity? Rather than learning the biblical categories of sin, repentance, forgiveness, sanctification, and growth, they learn to interpret their problems through a distorted spiritual lens. Instead of being taught that they need Christ, they are taught that their misbehavior is the fault of demons and that those demons may even be in them. Instead of learning responsibility, they learn suspicion and fear. Instead of hearing the Gospel, they hear constant warnings about spiritual attacks.

Scripture presents a far different picture of the Spirit’s work. The true work of the Holy Spirit is not found in believers shouting at Satan, issuing decrees, making declarations, or claiming authority over the spiritual realm. The Spirit works through the Word He inspired. He works through prayer directed toward God rather than conversations directed toward Satan. He works through the faithful preaching and teaching of Scripture. He works through conviction of sin, illumination of truth, sanctification of the believer, and the proclamation of the Gospel. The object of prayer is God. The focus of worship is God. The source of hope is God. The confidence of the believer rests not in his ability to subjectively discern spiritual threats but in Christ’s finished work and God’s sovereign care.

What makes this particularly difficult to address is that many who embrace these practices sincerely believe they are helping their families. The emotional intensity of such experiences often produces a sense of accomplishment and spiritual victory. Those who question these practices are viewed as lacking understanding, lacking faith, lacking spiritual discernment, or even lacking “Holy Spirit.” Yet sincerity does not transform error into truth. The emotional high that often accompanies these experiences can make it difficult for people to recognize the damage being done. They become convinced that they have protected their families when, in reality, they may be leading them further away from the simplicity and sufficiency of God’s Word.

This is not written to cast stones. It is written out of genuine concern. Many of us once believed and practiced these very things. Many of us were taught these doctrines and embraced them with complete sincerity. Looking back, we cannot undo the confusion they created or recover the opportunities that were missed. We cannot go back and replace those moments with clearer teaching, better instruction, or a more faithful application of Scripture. We can, however, publicly repent of our false beliefs and warn others about the same errors. We can trust in the sovereignty of God, knowing that even where we erred grievously, He remains faithful to work all things together for good and for His glory.

What makes it so heartbreaking is seeing others walk the same path while believing they are growing in spiritual maturity. They boast in practices that are harming the very people they desire to protect, all while neglecting the beautiful simplicity of God’s ordained means.

The answer is not found in stronger declarations, louder rebukes, greater emotional intensity, or increased confidence in perceived personal authority. The answer is found where it has always been found. Parents must teach the Word of God. They must point their children to Christ. They must proclaim the Gospel. They must pray to God rather than speak to Satan. They must trust the sufficiency of Scripture rather than their feelings and impressions. They must trust God who is sovereign. They must rely upon the ordinary means through which the Holy Spirit works. These means may appear simple to the world, but they possess a power far greater than all the techniques of modern spiritual warfare because they are the means ordained by God Himself.

Christ is enough. His Word is enough. The Gospel is enough.