“But if I drive out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come to you. When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own house, his possessions are safe. But when someone stronger attacks and overpowers him, he takes away the armor in which the man trusted and divides up the spoils.

“He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me, scatters. When an evil spirit comes out of a man, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ When it arrives, it finds the house swept clean and put in order. Then it goes and takes seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that man is worse than the first.” (Luke 11:20-26)

Jesus’ opponents, especially those of the religious establishment, were jealous of his success and following. His preaching challenged their theology, and exposed their hypocrisy. His miracles brought attention to their impotence, that their religion consisted of rituals and traditions, and not truth and power. They drew close to God with their lips, but their hearts were far from him. Thus his ministry threatened their image and position in society, and they sought to undermine him at every turn.

We need such a ministry today. Many of the people in our churches and denominations, including the leaders, have never been converted. But even in genuine believers, sin continues to work, and unless the Holy Spirit applies God’s word in their hearts, divine grace is abandoned and human energy takes over, resulting in a religion that is lifeless, ritualistic, and hypocritical, having the form of godliness without the power. A ministry that dares to stand up against this should expect similar treatment by men of the religious establishment.

They said that Jesus cast out demons by the power of Beelzebub, the prince of demons. The Lord explained that this is not how a kingdom operates: “Any kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and a house divided against itself will fall. If Satan is divided against himself, how can his kingdom stand?” This is a fundamental rule in the study of religions. There are only two spiritual kingdoms – Christ’s kingdom and Satan’s kingdom – one is good, one is evil, and evil does not cast out evil. Evil may cooperate with evil to deceive, but there is never genuine opposition between evil powers.

Jesus continued, “But if I drive out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come to you. When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own house, his possessions are safe. But when someone stronger attacks and overpowers him, he takes away the armor in which the man trusted and divides up the spoils.” The Christian faith expels evil not by working with it, but by overcoming it with a greater power, the power of the Spirit of God, or the power of God’s kingdom. Satan is the strong man that has captured the sinner’s heart, but Jesus Christ is the stronger man who defeats him and takes over.

This is the context for the statements that followed, first, verse 23: “He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me, scatters.” Since there are only two kingdoms, and one is good and the other evil, there is no neutral zone for any man to occupy. Even a passive attitude is impossible. A man who thinks that he favors the good, or who even approves of the Christian faith, but who does not wish to bother so much with religion, in fact belongs to Satan’s domain, and is working against Christ. You are either a Christian or an anti-Christian. You are either for Satan, or you are against Satan, that is, against all things non-Christian.

And this is the lesson in verses 24-26. What if Christ delivers a man from a demon, but the man remains passive about the Lord? What if a person reforms his life merely by the ethical principles of the Christian faith, but refuses to commit his soul to Christ for salvation? To take this even further, what if a man puts his life in order by his own willpower and discipline, or by the guidance of his parents, friends, or spouse? Also, do not non-Christian religions change lives? Do they not reform killers, thieves, gamblers, drunkards, and prostitutes? And non-Christian philosophers continue to advance arguments that man can be good without God.

Jesus told us what would happen to such a man: “When an evil spirit comes out of a man, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ When it arrives, it finds the house swept clean and put in order. Then it goes and takes seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that man is worse than the first.”

When a man refuses the doctrine and power of Jesus Christ, but tries to reform himself or to improve his life by some other principle, he leaves himself open to the return of not only that which has been ejected, but also to things that are much worse. The killer may return to killing, the thief may return to stealing, and the drunkard to his drinking. What is even worse is when a person maintains the appearance of a new life, but has now become filled with intellectual snobbery or religious pride and hypocrisy, and has hardened his heart against the truth of the gospel. Thus the Pharisees were greater sinners than the prostitutes and extortioners who heard Christ gladly, and who repented at his preaching.

Can we be good without God? Can we be saved by another religion? Of course not. You cannot even define good without God, let alone live it. As for non-Christian religions and religious systems that espouse Christian ethics without Christ, even if they manage to tidy up your behavior and appearance, will only make you twice as much the son of hell as you were before. You had one demon before. Now you have eight, seven of which more sinister than the one. Things will only go downhill from here. There are evil forces at work within you. Jesus Christ is the stronger man. Call out to him, and he will save you. This time it will be real. This time it will be forever.