I thought it would be helpful to clarify the difference between the biblical use of the term “deliverance” and the more modern term “deliverance ministry”. These two terms are not interchangeable, and have very different meanings and applications from each other. I will start with the Biblical term because it is by the most important, both from a Christian belief standpoint and from a practical perspective in regards to living the Christian life successfully, but I will also visit briefly what modern deliverance ministries are referring to. This will at the very least help us to identify when each may or may not be necessary, as one of our present day problems is the assumption that deliverance ministry is necessary more often than it is in reality needed.



Believing you need what is referred to nowadays as deliverance ministry when you don’t can be harmful to your faith, both because you will be discouraged when deliverance ministry doesn’t work and because it leaves you vulnerable to false prophets and charlatans. If instead, you can identify that you need biblical deliverance you will be empowered to seek out true prophets and Godly spiritual ministries for prayer and support. So lets see if we can clear things up a bit with this article!



Biblical Deliverance: The Godly Rescue Plan



Biblical deliverance is not the casting out of demons, instead it is the rescuing of believers from evil circumstances and the negative influence of people, events and environments which afflict them. There are many examples in the Bible of this, from Moses being used to deliver the Israelites from slavery, through to Noah and his family being delivered from the flood, Daniel being delivered from the lion’s den, Paul and John being delivered from prison and Jesus being delivered from the angry crowds. Many more examples can be found in the pages of the Bible. This is the type of deliverance that Jesus asks for when he prays, “…And lead us not to temptation but deliver us from evil, for yours is the Kingdom and the power and the glory” in Matthew 6:13.



The Koine Greek word translated here as “deliverance” is ῥύομαι (rhyomai) which effectively means “to rescue from danger, save, rescue, deliver, preserve someone”(BDAG, p.907). It is a meaning which recognises the complete power and sovereignty of God to intervene in earthly situations, particularly in regards to bringing them out of the situation.



Lot’s Situation: A Biblical Illustration of Deliverance



The biblical example which best illustrates how this sort of deliverance differs from the modern ministry of the same name is the story of Lot and his family escaping Sodom. Looking back at this event from the New Testament era the author of 2 Peter 2:7-9 says, “…and if he [God] rescued Lot, a righteous man, who was distressed by the depraved conduct of the lawless (for that righteous man, living among them day after day, was tormented in his righteous soul by the lawless deeds he saw and heard) if this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials…”



The biblical author’s insight, which they share with us in this passage, is that Lot was living under constant spiritual attack because of the evil influences operating inside the city of Sodom within which he lived. However, unlike the other townspeople, Lot himself had not fallen into sin, so Lot remained righteous in the sight of God.



We also should note that Lot had Abraham interceding for him as well, fervently covering him in a prayer of protection. (In practice Abraham interceded for the whole city, but the people of the city had made their own choices, as did Lot’s wife when after being delivered she decided to turn back.) This prayer of covering that Abraham prayed for Lot and his town is one important way t...