Probably all of us have been deceived at some point in our lives. To deceive is to cause someone to believe something that is not true. The greatest adversary in the world seeks to deceive each of us. He wants you to believe things about God and about yourself that is not true. His goal is to deceive you until you die. This deceiver is Satan himself.
Eve was the first person Satan deceived. If you think you are a match for Satan on your own, that you can outsmart him, or just ignore him, think about this. Eve was not clever enough to see his deception and she was perfect. Perfect in physical form and perfect in mental capacity. Yet, she yielded to his appeal. He came to her in the form of a beautiful serpent. He used a lie to convince her to disobey God. This is what he does with us. He makes us believe that sin isn’t sin, or that it’s not as bad as we think. He wants us to believe, as he did Eve, that God is holding out on us. Many teach a false doctrine that supports this idea that we can be saved and live as we choose.
Genesis 3:4-5 “And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.”
Sometimes Satan can deceive us because we think we have things under control. In Luke 22:31, Jesus is trying to get Peter’s attention and put him on guard. However, Peter thought he was stronger than he was. Later we see that he sins and denies Christ. Sometimes, we have pride that we don’t recognize in our lives and our pride allows us to be deceived. That is what Obadiah 1:3 is talking about. The Edomites were a proud people who thought no one could harm them because of their surroundings of mountains and rocks, but God tells them he will bring them down because they are proud. We may not think we are proud, but we all have areas where we have this problem. Peter loved Jesus, but he didn’t realize he loved himself more. When he was tested, and he thought his life was in danger he denied Christ. I think Peter learned a great lesson about himself from this incident. When he denied Christ he wept bitterly, repented, and became one of the greatest followers of Christ. Peter is believed to have died as a martyr for his faith.
Luke 22:31 “And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat:”
Obadiah 1:3 “The pride of thine heart hath deceived thee, thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rock, whose habitation is high; that saith in his heart, Who shall bring me down to the ground?”
Not only will the sin of pride deceive us, but any sin can deceive us. In Romans 7:11, Paul teaches us that sin will lead us away from the truth, from righteousness, ultimately from God. Anytime we yield to sin, any sin, we are on the first step to allowing ourselves to be deceived. A sin that is not caught and repented of will lead to more sin. We become desensitized to things we become familiar with. At first, Satan will play on the areas where we are vulnerable. He knows our weaknesses better than we do. He is cunning, waiting, and watching us like a lion watches his prey. He studies us and when we are weak or taken off guard, he pounces to tempt us to sin. He will present the sin as “not so bad.” He may even present the sin as being “a matter of opinion.” Anything he can do to get you to sin, he will do. He presents us with clever counterfeits for everything that God has that is genuine and authentic. It may even be a style of worship that we chose because it makes us feel good, but worship is not about making us feel good, it is about giving God the worth He is due.
Romans 7:11 “For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it slew me.”
The only way to recognize deception is to know the truth. We must study for ourselves. It’s great to listen to preachers and teachers, to be taught by those who spend much time in the word, but it should not take the place of our own studying and digging to understand the Bible. It is vital to our eternal soul to study, pray, and obey if we want to guard against deception. Stay alert, be vigilant, and ask the Holy Spirit to enlighten you to your weak areas. You see, the person that is deceived doesn’t know he is deceived. If he did, he wouldn’t be deceived!
I Peter 5:8 “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:”
