Are We to Do This?

The passage that is often appealed to by Charismatics is Matthew 18:18.

Matthew 18:18 says: Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

They tell us that all believers have the authority and power to bind evil spirits in the name of Jesus whenever they want to. Whenever a family member or friend is experiencing any kind of difficulty in their life, these people say that all they need to do is simply bind the evil spirits and all of their problems will go away.

But, is that what this passage is talking about? Let's have a look at the context.

Matthew 18:15-18 -- Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother. But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican. Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

This passage has to do with the procedures for church discipline. Whenever a person gets off into sin, they are to be confronted, according to this passage. If they will not repent, then they are to be removed from the church. Since these procedures are carried out according to the commandments of Jesus, they are not only binding on Earth, but also carry with them the full weight and authority of Heaven (bound in Heaven).

Binding and loosing has the same meaning here as in Romans 7:2.

Romans 7:2 says: For the woman which hath an husband is BOUND by the law to her husband so long as he liveth; but if the husband be dead, she is LOOSED from the law of her husband.

What in the world does this have to do with binding Satan or other evil spirits?

It has nothiing to do with some "imagined" authority that believers are supposed to have over evil spirits. We must understand that the power to cast out evil spirits was a unique power given to a select few in the early church.

Matthew 10:1-2 says: And when he had called unto him his twelve disciples, he gave THEM power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease. Now the names of the twelve apostles are these ...

If all who believed in Jesus had authority over evil spirits, what would be the point of Jesus giving this power and authority to his apostles? They would have already had it.

People may quote 1 John 4:4 to try to say that believers have this authority. But, is that what it says?

1 John 4:4 says: Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.

All this passage says, however, is that the Holy Spirit is greater than Satan. People in the Charismatic movement often speak to the Devil and evil spirits. They command them, often in very deriding terms, to do whatever they want them to do. I heard one teacher on the radio who always speaks to the Devil almost mockingly, and says, "You get under my foot, you devil!"

The Bible warns us of the folly of this kind of behavior.

Jude 1:8-10 -- Likewise also these filthy dreamers defile the flesh, despise dominion, and speak evil of dignities. Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee. But these speak evil of those things which they know not: but what they know naturally, as brute beasts, in those things they corrupt themselves.

Michael the archangel didn't dare rebuke, bind or otherwise command the devil. He simply said, "The Lord rebuke thee". If he didn't have the authority to do it, what makes some Christians today think that they have.