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Mustard Seed November/December 2003
Take Heed That You Be Not Deceived
Take Heed That You Be Not Deceived
Mustard Seed - November/December 2003
When you hear the word "Subtle " what is the first thing you think of? My thoughts automatically go to Genesis 3:1 "...now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field....." When you read the context of the rest of the chapter, it shows that satan was able to deceive Eve into disobeying God. He used this subtle cunning and craftiness to accomplish this. He has used this down through history to turn people away from God. Anytime that evil or wrong has been committed, you can be assured that satan is behind it.
The accounts of acts of evil recorded in the Old Testament are so numerous that we don't have time or space to list them all. Satan was behind each one. He works behind the scenes but he is always close-by.
When Christ began His ministry, satan began his "ministry." When the Church of God began, and God's spirit was given, satan stepped up his work. The book of Acts is filled with accounts of miracles and growth in the Church but it is also filled with accounts of persecution and problems. As the Church began to be established and spread far and wide, the apostles were not able to be with the brethren except on occasional visits. So what happened? Satan began, very subtlety, to send his ministers (wolves) into the flocks (congregation) to devour them and false doctrine began to set in. Some began to turn away from the truth. Since the apostles couldn't always be there, they sent letters (epistles) warning the brethren not to be deceived by these men and their doctrines. The epistles are filled with warnings against false ministers - Gal,1 & 2, Col. 2, II Thes. 2 - I & 2 John, and many others. These warnings are just as applicable to the Church today as they were then. Probably even more so.
We can look back just a few short years and see a major apostasy that took place and thousand of God's people were deceived into going back into what they had come out of in the first place. It has been a continuous process ever since. False teachings are still being presented to the Churches of God even now. Remember satan is more subtle than any other living creature (Gen.3:1). He changed the truth of God into a lie (Rom. 1:25). He is the father of lies. (John 8:44).
Sometimes we tend to take these warnings lightly and underestimate satan's ability to deceive. Yet we can look back and see that down through history, even in the first century Church, he has always been able to lead a certain number of God's people into apostasy.
In the Olivet prophecy in Mat. 24, the very first thing that Jesus prophesized for the end time was - false prophets deceiving God's people. It is to become so serious that in verse 24 - they will show such signs and wonder that if it were possible, would deceive God's own elect.
What Are The Possibilities Of God's Own People Being Deceived?
God has given us a way of escape. That way of escape is contained in the scriptures. That way of escape begins in II Tim. 2:15 ...."study to show yourself approved unto God..." When we put forth effort to study, we begin to grow in grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, (II Pet. 3:18). We must come to the place where we know what the word of God says. We must become familiar with the scriptures. Let's go back to II Timothy 2:15, the last part..."rightly dividing the word of truth." We know that God's truth is "here a little and there a little," so we need to be able to pick out each scripture of each subject and put them together to form a perfect picture.
One of my favorite scriptures and one that I use often, is: I Thes. 5:21... "prove all things, hold fast that which is good." The Berean's in Acts 17:11 searched the scriptures daily to prove all things. II Tim. 3:15 shows that the scriptures contain everything that we need to make us wise unto salvation. The word of God takes priority over the word of any man. It makes no difference if he is a long time minister in the Church of God or just a beginner. Let God be true and everyman a liar. (Rom. 3:4)
Knowing the word of God is the most important ingredient in not being deceived, but there is more. Eph. 6:11 ..."put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil." The whole armor includes: truth and righteousness (vs. 14), the gospel of peace (vs. 15), faith (vs. 16), and the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God (vs. 17). This is what it takes to be armored, that we will not be deceived.
We must never under estimate the power of satan when it comes to deception. But if we put our complete trust and faith in God, and obey his instructions, then we will not have to worry about being deceived.
-Neil Wroten
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