Beware of Deception

The Bible cautions believers many times about deception. Jesus himself said that in the last days, many will come in his name and deceive many people. So he told us to watch out so that no one will deceive us.

If you remember, Eve was deceived by Satan in the garden of Eden. This crafty serpent managed to sell a lie to Eve and this had resulted in the beginning of men’s sorrows. Unfortunately, Satan has not stopped lying and deceiving the people of this world. In fact, he even goes to the extent of disguising himself as a good angel to deceive the Christians.

As believers, we need to be careful. Satan’s purpose is to destroy our faith in God. He hates mankind and will do anything to separate us from the living God. This crafty snake knows that if he succeeds in keeping Christians from the truth of God’s Word, he could make the Church weak and ineffective. He would then be able to turn many from the faith or use them against other believers.

Satan’s primary way of deception is still the same. He twists the truth and sows doubts about what God says. He tempts Christians into believing that what he suggests is going to work best for them. This was how he succeeded in deceiving Eve. His wicked intent is to get believers to do what is contrary to God’s will. Like Eve, it could be fatal. Hence, we need to be alert lest we fall into his trap.

Satan is a spirit-being. So he deceives through the following medium, whether directly or indirectly:

1. Through false teachers and prophets

They come in sheep’s clothing into the Church to deceive the believers. They appear righteous but they teach and preach in the church doctrines that are contrary to the true Gospel. They twist the Word of God to satisfy their sinful and earthly desires. They also add their own words to the Bible to conform to their own doctrines. Satan uses them to deceive Christians who are ignorant and worldly. They become easy targets for Satan because they do not spend time to know God and his Word. They just believe everything.

2. Through false christs and prophets

They perform great miracles to deceive even the believers. Jesus says such people will come in the last days on earth. While there is nothing wrong with miracles, their motive is evil. Their intention is to draw men away to follow them instead of Christ. Naive Christians who just believe the miracles but do not know the Bible will be easy targets for Satan. They too just believe everything.

3. Through deceiving spirits and demons

They speak to the human minds just like Satan. Their intention is to plant a wrong thought that is contrary to God’s will. If a Christian does not recognise that it is not of God, he could easily be deceived into doing what Satan suggests. This can easily happen to Christians who do not take time to pray and read the Bible.

4. Through earthly things

Satan knows very well that we are still in the world and therefore subject to human senses and desires. So he deceives Christians into believing that earthly riches and pleasures are what they should live for because God is good. His evil intention is to make Christians more worldly, which is contrary to God’s will. If he succeeds, the Church will become more and more like the world.

5. Through the sinful nature

Though believers are saved from their sins, the sinful nature still exists within them. Christians who are ignorant and do not guard themselves against it are in danger of falling into the deceitfulness of sin. They do not know that sin is waiting to devour them again. They may even be living in sin and still think it is alright since Jesus Christ already died for them. They are deceived into believing that they do not have to repent anymore for sin. This is probably the most cunning of all deceptions.

Therefore, we need to stay alert. The sure way that a believer can fall from his secured position is by believing a lie. This happened to Eve. We too can fall if we are not careful to discern and reject the lies of Satan. So let us read the Bible diligently, believe God resolutely and pray always lest we fall into temptation.

Prayer

Father God, may you protect me from the deceiver. Help me to stay vigilant and prayerful at all time so that I will not fall into temptation. May you give me the hunger to read the Bible and also the desire to put it into practice. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen