Deception is the act or state of deceiving or of the state of being deceived. The dictionary says to deceive is to mislead by a false appearance or statement. Sounds like the kind of environment we live in.
I was reading an account of California’s most colorful stagecoach robber, “Black Bart.” For 6 years starting in 1877, Black Bart committed 28 robberies wearing a flour sack over his head, brandishing a shotgun demanding, “Will you please thrown down your treasure box, sir?”
He was wounded in his last robbery, dropping a handkerchief with the laundry marking, FX07, which was traced to San Francisco where the police made one of the most surprising, arrests in city history. Black Bart the stagecoach robber turned out to be Charles Bolton, one of San Francisco’s leading citizens with close ties to the police department. He had a reputation as a non-smoking, non-drinking, God-fearing man with big business interests in the gold mines. The citizens of San Francisco were duped into deception, deceived by someone who had the appearance of one life but was living an entirely different one.
We also have experienced deception in our lives, hopefully being more on the deceived end than the deceiving. It happens in family life. Look at the recent conviction of Scott Peterson, he deceived his family, his wife and a woman who thought him to be divorced and he tried to work his charm into deceiving a jury into believing he did not kill his wife. It happens in the workplace. Top officials at major corporations in recent years have been confronted with deceptive business practices, deceptive ethical practices and a list of other deceptions which had not only affected them but the people who worked for them. Government has bore its burden of deception over the years and deception is not been isolated from the confines of the church. We have read of the scandals and seen the results when deception runs amuck.
As we continue our study in Galatians, the Apostle Paul is addressing the issue of deception and its devastating consequences to those pulled into its web. Turn to Galatians 1:6-9.
The New Living Translation says, 6I am shocked that you are turning away so soon from God, who in his love and mercy called you to share the eternal life he gives through Christ. You are already following a different way 7that pretends to be the Good News but is not the Good News at all. You are being fooled by those who twist and change the truth concerning Christ.
8Let God’s curse fall on anyone, including myself, who preaches any other message than the one we told you about. Even if an angel comes from heaven and preaches any other message, let him be forever cursed. 9I will say it again: If anyone preaches any other gospel than the one you welcomed, let God’s curse fall upon that person.
We need to ask ourselves, how do we tell truth from a lie? How do I know what the pastor is saying is the truth? How can I prevent myself from falling into the trap of deception and following after a false teacher? How can keep myself from being cursed by God forever?
Paul, in this passage is speaking his disappointment to the Galatians who so quickly followed after false teachings, people who twisted and changed the truth concerning Christ then he comes down hard on those who have lead them away, the false teachers, the false prophets who set themselves up letting everyone else down.
Lets talk today how we can prevent that from happening to ourselves. I want to give you some guidelines to use to enable you to make decisions based on knowledge not falsehoods.
1. Read Your Bible. Paul said in 2 Timothy 2:14-16 14Keep reminding them of these things. Warn them before God against quarreling about words; it is of no value, and only ruins those who listen. 15Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth. 16Avoid godless chatter, because those who indulge in it will become more and more ungodly.
You have to know the words of God to protect yourself from false teachers who swoop in and lead many astray. When Jesus was tempted by Satan in the wilderness, with each temptation, the devil presented a part of the truth. How often do we hear something and think, you know, that sounds right, and often it is right, just not fully right. Jesus responded by giving the full council of truth, the Word of God says.
Fertile ground for recruiting for cults comes from the ranks of believers who have not been exposed to the whole truth. Jim Jones actively recruited from the Northwest among people who would have called themselves Christians.
The Apostle Paul warns of cults in 2 Corinthians 11:3-4,13-15 3But I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ.
4For if one comes and preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted, you bear this beautifully…13For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ.
14No wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.
15Therefore it is not surprising if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness, whose end will be according to their deeds.
Read the Word, prepare yourself to be a student of the Bible. As you read through the Bible, spend time meditating over what you read, asking the Holy Spirit through prayer to illuminate those things you need to understand better. As in prayer for God to make His Word an anchor to your soul.
2. Attend Sunday Service Each Week. Hebrews 10:24-25 24And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. 25Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another–and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
You need to get into the habit of church attendance, meeting with the family of God on a regular basis so you can know and be known, so you can come alongside others sharpening your skills and theirs. We live in a dangerous time and the church provides a sanctuary, a rest stop from the outside, a place of security and peace.
With the hectic schedule of our world, we are putting an emphasis on Sunday morning attendance. Our commitment is to provide you with useful information you can use in your daily walk with Christ as we examine the books of the Bible showing you practical application. We have made available notebooks for each series at a nominal price in order to help you go deeper in the word through the community groups and daily devotions which coincide with the Sunday morning teaching. Rather than fill your life with meeting after meeting, we have reduced our schedule so you can have a focus on a few things rather than a shotgun approach in our attempt to help you understand.
The importance of keeping you from falling away into false teachings is paramount on our minds here at New Hope. We have some simple suggestions which we will elaborate on in the community groups this week.
When you come to church each Sunday, pray God will open your heart and mind to respond to the Word being taught. Pray for the people in leadership of the service, the worship team, and pray for me as I prepare and deliver the word of God.
Take notes during the sermon. That is why we provide an outline in the notebook and a place in the bulletin if you came without a notebook. Write down the key things which speak to you, the Scripture references and your thoughts. Take the information and during the week look to make sure what you heard was biblically accurate. I have done it over lunch with friends on occasion. If you have any questions, get back with me. With modern technology, sent me an email with your questions I will be happy to get back to you, or give me a call or set an appointment to sit down and chat.
In your community groups you will also have time for understanding and clarification. Which leads to the third thing…
3. Get Involved in a Community Group. Proverbs 27:17 says, As iron sharpens iron so one man sharpens another.
I know many of you have questions during the Sunday morning message and there is no way I can answer all those questions by calling on you while I am speaking. Through our weekly community group gatherings you are able to voice your questions. The leader and group members can share their thoughts and together you sharpen each other with more knowledge.
The goal of New Hope is to have everyone participating in a community group gathering. We have several options for meetings and are looking to expand to more homes as we continue to grow. Our ideal is 10-12 people in each community group, growing together, bonding in your relationships with one another and in your relationship to Jesus Christ.
Each week the community groups gather to discuss a series of questions based on the Sunday message, going deeper in the Scripture to draw out the focus. The community groups spend time in prayer for the needs of the group at each meeting. Some rotate in bringing food, appetizers to be shared before or during the study.
If you are not currently involved in a community group study, you need to check out what groups are going, the day and location, so you can become a treasure to others as you study together.
Paul warned of people turning to false prophets 2,000 years ago. The same warning needs to be sounded again today. There is a growing trend today toward a Unitarian or Universalist belief under the guise of Christianity. We saw in the Great Debate Last month how, using the name of Christ, a theologian was attempting to discredit the belief the resurrection of Jesus Christ was an actual event. We have seen how false prophets proposing to be authentic followers of Christ, with the official titles and church’s that hire them, have worked toward knocking our the foundations of Scripture so they can elevate their sinful teachings and getting others to follow. The Bible spoke of how these days would come that people would follow after their wagging tongues of deception. What do Unitarians and Universalists believe? Just about anything, in theory—since they have no requirements of belief—but an exhaustive survey of every fifteenth adult in the denomination shows an emerging doctrine of disbelief.
Less than 3 percent now believe that God is a supernatural being who reveals himself in human history. Just under one-fourth believe God is real but not adequately describable, while 44.2 percent think God is the natural processes in the universe.
The debate about Christ also seems to be dying out, with 59 percent no longer considering themselves Christians and a majority believing they know next to nothing about Christ.
We do not have to fall to this world view. We can understand the days in which we live and how we can be overcomers as believers in Jesus Christ. To do this, we are going to have to make an active commitment to being people of the Word, of being in Church each week and involving ourselves in Community Group discussions so we will not fall prey to the work of the devil as he works through others to bring deception in our land. The choice is yours to make.
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