Deceived people don’t know they are deceived.

And what was the one thing Jesus warned for us to be on guard against at the ‘end of the age’ prior to His return?

“Take heed...that no one deceives you...for many will come in My name, saying...I am the Christ and will deceive many.” (Matt. 24:3-5,24). I hope you have your Bible close by for this study today and that you use it to look up these verses.

When James wrote: “Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren” (1:16), do you think he intended to suggest that ‘brethren’ could actually be...’deceived’?

Would you turn to and read 1 Cor. 6:9-11 right now? Why would Paul have felt a need to make such a strong point here regarding who will ‘inherit the kingdom of God’...and who won’t? Does it sound as if people might be ‘deceived’ on such matters? And what about those folks we read about in Matt. 7:21-23 who had clearly been quite active doing ‘great things in the name of the Lord’, yet were told by Jesus that He ‘never knew them’ ....and for them to ‘depart from Him’ because they continued to practice lawlessness/iniquity (sin)? Sounds as if they might have been deceived somewhere earlier down the road, does it not to you?

Paul tells us how we can easily be deceived, and it usually begins with listening to ‘empty words’ (Eph. 5:6). That might give you pause and want to ask- ‘what are empty words’, and my first response would be to suggest they are words that don’t line up with God’s word, or try to twist it or deviate from it, sort of how that serpent was able to deceive Eve back in the garden when he convinced her to eat off that one tree (Gen. 3:1-4). A tree, I should remind you, that God had made quite clear as to what would happen if they did eat from it (Gen. 2:17). And when God questioned her on the matter, the very first thing she admitted to was: “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” (Gen. 3:13)

In case you might have wondered if that could ever happen again...where God’s children might be ‘deceived by the serpent’...I would point you to 2 Cor. 11:3-4 where Paul expresses that very exact concern, even pointing to Eve’s case in particular. And this infamous ‘deceiver’ doesn’t always have to come in the form of a ‘serpent’ either. He can even appear as an ‘angel of light’ (2 Cor. 11:14) or worse; what was another warning Jesus issued in Matt. 7:15? But whatever his mode of operation, we know what he has a limited time to do on the earth, and that is to ‘deceive the whole world’ (Rev. 12:9,12). And don’t be too quick to dismiss 1 John 5:19 because that makes John 8:32-36 that much more impactful given Jesus lets us in on one of His primary missions here: “To share truth with us that we might be set free”.

Let me pass on some advice that may prove to be beneficial to you in case you are prone or tempted to run out and set others straight – first make sure you are not deceived yourself (2 Cor. 13:5) because blind guides are ill-equipped to lead blind people (Matt. 15:14).

So how can one tell if they are ‘blind’ or deceived themselves? Great question, and all I know to do is to point you back to God’s word...and you make the call.

You might be ‘deceived’ if you are more proficient at knowing and/or quoting God’s word, than you are in ‘doing it’, or applying it to your own life (James 1:22). This can be the quickest way to ‘slip’ off the road and easily get into trouble (Heb. 2:1)

You might be easily deceived if you don’t have a genuine heart-hunger for ‘truth’, regardless of what you might think or say (2 Thess. 2:9-12).

You may be easily deceived if you are quick to ‘drink in words’ and trust those who claim to have great intellect and education and ‘experience’, but find yourself skeptical if you hear ‘truth’ shared from someone of ‘lower stature’ and influence. (Luke 10:21,24; Col. 2:8; 1 Cor. 1:27)

If you have grown comfortable with recurring sins in your life, accepting some of those areas as just ‘part of who you have always been and always will be...until you get to heaven’, your heart has already been hardened by the deceitfulness of sin (Heb. 3:13).

Oh, here is a very common trap to fall into, and a ‘test’ to see if you are guilty of being deceived... and this one might cause some ‘discomfort’. I would imagine that a good number of people have experienced this when reading some of my postings here. When I point out numerous passages from the Bible for you to look up and read on your own, and upon doing so you being to feel some ‘unease’ or ‘anxiety’, maybe some nervousness if not ‘fear’, that is a real strong indicator that you may have fallen into a degree of deception.

Simple question: Why would just reading God’s word invoke that kind of response within you?

Simple answer: You may have been taught a man-made ‘doctrine’ based on a few scriptures, doctrines that might have ‘captured your heart’ already, because that is how you were raised and ‘taught to believe’. But when you come across other passages that don’t ‘fit’ with what you have been taught, you are quick to dismiss those verses for that very reason...this is indicative that your heart loves your ‘doctrine’ more than it loves God/Jesus; because the minute we dismiss or reject God’s word...who are we actually rejecting? (John 1:1,14).

And don’t think you are the first one to ever do that either; it’s been happening ever since Jesus appeared on the scene...and He did not ‘fit’ with the religious system of His day...so they nailed Him to a cross. It still happens today.

Oh...here’s a really good one to look at- You have taken the time to look up and read many of the verses here, even some of those passages that really ‘hit hard’, but then you look around you and a little voice whispers: “All these other good people couldn’t be wrong” .... yeah, that one worked on me a lot in the early stages of ‘coming out of darkness’. If you find ‘comfort in crowds’...chances are you are headed down the wrong path with a very unpleasant outcome awaiting you (Matt. 7:13-14). Holding fast to traditions over truth tend to do that...lead us astray (Mark 7:8-9,13)

Truth be told, I’ve seen people get outright angry or offended with me when all I did was quote a verse or two. If you are easily ‘offended’ by God’s word...well...that ought to tell you something right there (Matt. 15:11-14).

So much more to share on all this; I hope you join me tomorrow.