What is deception? When I think about the word deception, I see deception as an act to
deliberately deceive or mislead people; in other words to portray lies as the
truth.
Collins Concise Dictionary defines the word deception as:
1. The act of
deceiving or the state of being deceived.
2. Something
that deceives; trick.
There is probably no one alive today who has not been
deceived or tricked in their life. So we are all familiar with what deception
is.
Who is the greatest deceiver of all? The Holy Bible has the
answer. It is Satan, the Devil! Let's look at John 8:44, "You are of your father the devil, and
the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the
beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him.
When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and
the father of it."
These words were spoken by Jesus Christ to the Jews who did
not believe that He was their Messiah, the Son of God. Jesus clearly told them
they were doing the Devil's work.
This leads us back to the title of this blog post 'The
Ultimate Deception'. So then what is the ultimate deception by Satan?
Salvation by one's own works is the ultimate deception. How
many people think they can get to heaven by their own works? God does not work
on a merit system. If a person could get into heaven by their own efforts there
would have been no need for Jesus to die on a Roman cross for our sins.
Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of God did die on a Roman cross
for our sins. He was buried and rose again from the dead three days later.
Forty days after this He ascended into heaven. Here is proof that our works are
not good enough for God to open heaven for us.
Let's look at Ephesians 2:8, 9, "(8) For by grace you are saved through faith, and that not of
yourselves; it is the gift of God, (9) not of works, lest anyone should
boast." The apostle Paul told the Ephesian believers in Christ that
they were saved by the grace of God through faith in Christ. It was not through
their merits but by faith in Christ. It was not by their own works lest anyone
should boast before God that they did it themselves. This act of salvation is a
gift from God
You can't earn this gift, or pay for it because if you do
it is no longer a gift! God will not allow it. Maybe you are still not
convinced. Let's look at Ephesians 2:4, 5, "(4) But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with
which He loved us, (5) even when we were dead in trespasses made us alive
together with Christ (by grace you have been saved)." Paul is talking
to live believers in Christ. Before they were saved they were "...dead in trespasses..." In
other words all their works before God were dead works; they were utterly
useless and futile.
It is only by the grace of God through faith in Christ and
His work on the cross for you that you are saved. There are no strings
attached! God does not expect you to work for your salvation because your works
are dead works before Him. You cannot earn your way into heaven. Don't let the
Devil deceive you. Don't believe his lies.
You can only enter heaven on the merits of the shed blood
of Christ for you at Calvary. "...by
grace you are saved through faith...not of works..."
Jon Peasey
Words of Life blog www.jrpeasey.blogspot.com
Ebooks author page https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/JRPeasey
[All
Scriptures quoted are from the New King James version; unless otherwise noted.
Words enclosed in [ ] are inserted
for clarity. Words in bold type
emphasise a point. You may notice some verses are quoted with ... at the beginning, ending or
elsewhere in a verse. Only the relevant part or parts of the verse, that relate
directly to the current subject matter is quoted.]
[If you have any questions or comments you are
invited to contact me via the comments section below.]
