(Message by Pastor Philip Joseph on 9th May 2010. See the writing on the wall? Happy reading!)
2 Corinthians 11: 3, 4 say: But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. For if he who comes preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or if you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted-you may well put up with it.
2 Corinthians 11: 3, 4 say: But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. For if he who comes preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or if you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted-you may well put up with it.
Today my message is about how to know deception. There is one deceiver-Satan-or the serpent, who deceived Eve by his craftiness. Because of this, sin entered this world. This was Satan’s deception: “You shall not die…you will be like God; discerning good and evil” What a deception! A false promise of power and … discernment!
Paul’s letter to Timothy also gives a warning in 1 Tim. 4:1: “Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons.”
Deception - we are going to hear a lot of these in the coming days; about ANOTHER Jesus, of ANOTHER spirit and ANOTHER gospel. It is for US to be wise in these latter times to discern and to recognize TRUE religion.
A few weeks back, I spoke about recognizing the TRUE from the FALSE, from the book of James: (Practical Outworking) Then I talked about wisdom from above and worldly wisdom, about true religion and false religion, about true faith and ‘useless’ faith. James expounds that if we are only hearers of the word, we deceive ourselves (Jam. Jam. Jam.
Today it’s my burden to share with you the ways of deception in these latter days, from the entire New Testament and how we can all return to the true Jesus of the Bible; return to the true Gospel in the Bible and return to the Spirit of truth.
- Deception of false doctrine
2 John 1:7: “For many deceivers have gone out into the world who do not confess Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist.”
This is the deception about a false Jesus. Even in the 1st century, there began propagation about Jesus being a mystical being – a spirit person who was seen for some time in the world…But John counters it. For John WOULD know better; he was with Jesus during His entire ministry here on earth…John was the disciple closest to Jesus-leaning on His bosom and whom Jesus loved (John ). John puts it in black and white - the TRUTH is that Jesus Christ came in the FLESH.
Over the centuries, there have been many propaganda about the ministry of Jesus, about His healings and about His person…many stories and whimsical theories about history; their own imaginations or traditions, purported ‘research findings’, philosophies and false doctrines…we still hear so many of them in... novels(!)
Paul warns the Colossians “Now this I say lest anyone should deceive you with persuasive words.” (Col.
We are called to beware and be on our guard…to know the TRUE JESUS of the Bible. We have how He came, we have how He walked and we have what He did and what He talked…
There are some who believe in visions more than what is written (in the Bible); This too is a deception of a false doctrine…super-natural experiences, angelic visitations are all in order in a believer’s life…but that in itself is not the gospel! We must base our beliefs and our teachings in the rock solid foundation of Jesus Christ and the infallible word of God!
This (the Bible) is a safeguard for us. For when Satan came to Eve, he posed, 'Has God indeed said, You shall not eat of ….?' A seed of doubt was sown in Eve’s mind…Thank God for the written word…if we base our belief on what is here in the Bible (and not on our supernatural experiences), we can always counter the devil with what God has indeed spoken! Jesus did exactly that in His temptation…Jesus started with “It IS written…” (Matt. 4:4) And when the devil tempted saying “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written: He shall give His angels charge over You, and in their hands they shall bear you up, lest You dash Your foot against a stone.” (Matt. 4:6). Jesus countered saying, “It is ALSO written…”
Here is our safe-guard, in these last days, to know what is written and what is ALSO written…for the devil comes not with blatant lies, but mostly with half-truths and half-lies. Hold on to God’s word in its entirety…from cover-to-cover, over all pages of The BOOK-the Holy Bible-This is our doctrine, this our stand, throughout all ages and throughout every land.
- Deception of false living
Hebrews “…exhort one another daily, while it is called “Today”, lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.”
Here is another deception…you may have the right belief, the right doctrine imbibed in your mind, yet to go on living in sin…A mix-up of right doctrine and a wrong life-style!
1 Corinthians 6: 9, 10 says: “Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God kingdom of God
These are the ones who talk the talk but don’t walk the talk; who say they ‘love’ God but don’t ‘fear’ Him…the ones that think they can get away with anything…even sin. Falling into Satan’s lie of ‘It’s OK, you can continue in sin…God will forgive you, anyway’.
The Bible says, whatever a man sows, the same he will reap…you can portray yourself to be holy, to always pray and fast…but if you have sown to the flesh, you will reap corruption; but, if to the spirit, then its fruit accordingly.
The Bible says, if we walk with the foolish, we will end up as fools ourselves. If we walk with the wise, we will be wise. The company and friends that we keep matters…Young people should take this to heart; it’s no use arguing, ‘I’ll be an influence, but I’ll not be influenced’. This too is a trap of the devil…for if you enjoy the company of the ungodly and unrighteous, a sure snare awaits you. Peer pressure will draw us away from the Lord…James cautions in “Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.” – Unspotted, unstained is our calling!
- Deception of false understanding
- False understanding of wisdom
“Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you seems to be wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may be wise.” (1 Cor. 3:18)
“For, if anyone thinks himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself.” (Gal. 6:3)
We need not have airs of ‘knowing’ it all…nor boast that we have seen it all. The moment we think ourselves to be wiser and greater than our peers, we are on the path to a trap of the devil. We are nothing, God is everything.
Jesus questions the ruler, ‘Why do you call me good? No one is good but One, that is God.’ (Luk 18:19). This is utter humility on the part of Jesus – sinless yet emptying Himself. We must learn from Jesus.
By the grace of God, we are what we are (1 Cor. ). By grace we have been saved…and in Him we live and move and have our being. There is no goodness in me apart from Him.
1 John 1:8 says, ‘If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves…’ Now imagine John, the disciple of Jesus, in Patmos , had spent 3 years with Jesus and nearly 50 years preaching the gospel; in fact, the most spiritual man at that time with the apostolic fellowship…this John is telling us that if we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves…
Our response to our own condition can be in the words of the Psalmist, ‘Search me O God, and know my heart; Try me and know my anxieties; and see if there is any wicked way in me; and lead me in the way everlasting’ (Psalm 139:23, 24). Our prayer can be ‘Lord, I have no right understanding in this matter, I may be wrong Lord, please help me’; When we do that and be open to God’s speaking, He will certainly lead us.
- False understanding of holiness
1 Timothy 4:1, 2: “Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron, forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from foods which God created to be received with thanksgiving…”
This is another extreme of falsehood. On one hand, false living is living in sin and talking something else, while on the hand, a false understanding makes people to live as an ascetic…go on a pilgrimage…deny yourself certain foods…do not marry…This too is a deception, the thinking that one is holy because he lives as a ‘sadhu’ alone and aloof, withdrawn from the world and is a celibate all his life…
But spirituality is not in eating and drinking…the kingdom of God
- False understanding of wealth
In the Parable of the Sower, Jesus compared the seed that fell among thorns to the people in whom the word of God is being choked because of their worries and…the deceitfulness of riches…
You see, riches and wealth are not a end in itself, it is just the means to glorify God…we should be careful not to judge people’s lives and closeness to God based on their wealth and material possessions! Riches or wealth is a good slave, but a bad master…We must have a right understanding of the wealth God has entrusted with us…otherwise we will be deceived by greed and mammon…
These are the deceptions that we have to guard ourselves against;
- the deceitfulness in wrong doctrine; that is why we see ‘Christian’ cults,
- the deceitfulness in wrong living – we see shameful ‘shelters’ and ‘ashrams’, and
- the deceitfulness in wrong understanding.
Hold on to the purity of God’s written word – in black and white, from cover to cover. Speak the word, ‘It is written…’ and ‘It is also written’. In these last days, be under the covering of God’s mighty hand, we are not helpless, but we have a Helper…May the Lord bless each one of us with good understanding, Amen.
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