Are you and I deceived, by sin? Do we know others who are? (PART 2)

by David Leach
(Temecula, Ca)

Throughout history rarely has the crowd been with God, usually only a remnant. Today, every person, whether unconverted or born-again, who isn’t currently walking in submission to Christ, feeding daily on His words and being actively led by the Holy Sprit, has been seduced, deceived and duped in their thought lives. And they won’t know it unless they open the door of their hearts to God’s truth.

Three are examples of how, as William Law said, our natural reason opposes the Spirit.

What then is the mission and purpose of the true disciples of Christ to those deceived?

Surely it is this, with a meek hearing heart and under God’s direction, to un-deceive and correct the wrong thinking of both the unconverted and carnal Christians – that is Christians who are living, like the world, by sense and reason without the Holy Spirit.

Rom 8:6 AMP Now the mind of the flesh, which is sense and reason without the Holy Spirit, is death (to God), comprising all the miseries arising from sin, here and hereafter. But the mind of the Holy Spirit is life and peace, both now and forever. So how do we help them? By praying for them and patiently endeavoring to teach them:

• To repent of and forsake their sins in order to be re-lifed and re-reconciled to God;
• That they are opposing themselves and have become captive to Satan’s thoughts;
• The truth of God’s words, in love, which is the only antidote to sin’s deceptions;
• To receive the Holy Spirit, again, so He can resume leading them as God’s children;
• To return to a love for the truth of God’s words to stay free from future deceptions;
• How to capture reasoning self-justifying thoughts by God’s words made alive in them.

Col 2:4-8 Now this I say lest anyone should deceive you with persuasive words...As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord (by child like faith in God’s words), so walk in Him (by continuing to believe more of God’s words)...

Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the traditions of men (and often religious traditions), according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ.

The disciple of Christ actively involved in rescuing both the unconverted and carnal Christians from the deceptions of sin, will doubtless encounter some inevitable “Yes, buts”. One of these is the perception that there are no real consequences to being casual about sin. No consequences? How about sin’s immediate loss of the peace, joy, love and righteousness of and the very presence of God? How about being dead to God because of sin, unable to see or know Him, but, being of the Devil are headed for his destination?

Heb 2:2-3 For if the word spoken through angels proved steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just reward, how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation…

Heb 10:26 For if we sin willfully (disobey God) after we have received the knowledge of the truth (and don’t repent), there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins,

1 Jo 3:6-8 Whoever lives in Him (Christ) does not sin. Whoever sins has neither seen Him nor known Him (from the time he sinned) let no one deceive you...He who sins is of (belongs to) the devil...For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil (destroy sin in us).

Heb 10:29 Of how much worse punishment...will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace?

There are horrendous consequences if a Christian is casual about sin. They are simply deceived and their thoughts are those that the devil wants them to think. Sadly the devil can feed those thoughts through false cheap-grace teaching about sin on Christian TV.

God is love; God doesn’t change. He was love in the days of Noah when the entire human race perished because they wouldn’t listen to Noah, God’s preacher of righteousness, one of only eight souls saved. God was love when all the adult population of Israel, having been delivered from Egypt, equivalent to being born again, disbelieved God and perished in the wilderness, except two people who loved God enough to believe His words and entered the Promised Land, the equivalent of a Spirit led life lived in Christ.

Another common “Yes, but” among carnal Christians is the delusion that sin is inevitable and that it is pointless to consider being made free from sin. The cleverness of this deception is that if we only look to our human nature or flesh to overcome sin then sin is inevitable. But this totally ignores what Christ came to do in us– to make us free form sin.

Gal 3:1-3 O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you that you should not obey the truth...Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh (can you grow spiritually, can you overcome sin by your human nature?)

John 8:32 (Jesus) And you shall know the truth, the truth shall make you (sin) free.

John 17:17 (Jesus to the Father) ...Your word is truth (God’s word in us frees us of sin).

Ps 119:11 I have hidden your words in my heart so that I will not sin against You.

2 Cor 3:16 When one turns to the Lord, the veil (of deceptive flesh) is taken away.

Rom 6:22 But now having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life.

If I’m deceived by sin, like almost everyone is according to the Bible, and I am presented with the truth of God’s words, but I choose not to believe them; then I’m not deceived through ignorance but I want to be deceived. How then can I have a love for the truth?

2 Thess 2:10-11 …Those who are on their way to hell because they have said no to TLB, the Truth; they have refused to believe it and love it and let it save them, so God has to give them up to believe deceptions, lies with all their hearts.

Isa 55:7 Let the wicked forsake his way, And the unrighteous man his thoughts; Let him return to the LORD, And He will have mercy on him; And to our God, For He will abundantly pardon (how long will you wait - too long?).