I guess most people would know what it is to be deceived; to
be misled or lied to. That's what deception does, it is nothing more than a
trap to ensnare you; or in other words to believe that an untruth is the truth,
thus ensnaring you.
Collins Concise Dictionary defines the word deceive as:
1. To mislead by
deliberate misrepresentation, or lies
2. To delude
(oneself)
3. To be
unfaithful to (one's sexual partner)
4. To disappoint.
In Paul's epistle to the Galatians, in Galatians 6:7
we read these words, "do not be
deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also
reap." Point 2 above
seems to hit the nail on the head. Don't delude yourself! God is not mocked!
Even if a man mocks God he is only deluding himself. Every sin has a consequence!
In verse 7 we are then pointed to the principle of
sowing and reaping. "...for whatever
a man sows, that he will also reap." If we sow bad things in our lives
then we cannot expect to reap good things in return. If we sow wheat then we
cannot expect to harvest a cotton crop. If we live an ungodly, sinful life then
we cannot expect to end up in heaven at the end of our days.
Another great delusion is people
believing that they can get into heaven on their own merits. If that was the
case there would have been no need for Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of God to die
on a Roman cross for your sins and mine.
Don't delude yourself! Romans
3:10-12 states,
"(10) As it is written: 'There is none righteous, no, not one;
(11) There is none who understands; there is none who seeks after God.
(12) They have all turned aside; they have together become unprofitable;
there is none who does good, no, not one'."
Romans 3:23, "For all have sinned and fall short of
the glory of God."
Romans 6:23, "For the wages of sin is death..."
These verses in Romans indicate a
bleak future if you die in your sins. Thankfully, the rest of Romans 6:23
tells us, "... but the gift of God
is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."
Ephesians 2:8, 9 informs
us, "(8) For by grace you have been
saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, (9) not
of works, lest anyone should boast."
NB: We are saved through
faith - not by our works! God is not going to have anyone boasting in His presence
that they got into heaven through their own personal efforts.
Trust in the Lord Jesus Christ by
faith, believe in your own heart that He will save you; and He will give you the
assurance of sins forgiven and the wonderful gift of eternal life. Then you
will know that your home is in heaven.
So
don't be deceived by the lies of the Devil. John 8:44 the Lord
Jesus Christ tells us concerning the Devil, "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."
Let me make this quite clear,
Satan the Devil does not want you to be saved from your sins; he wants you to
worship him instead of the true and living God. He does not mind if you try to
get into heaven by your own works for he knows you will fail and die in your
sins. Salvation takes place this side of the grave; once you die it is too
late!
Jon Peasey
Words of Life blog www.jrpeasey.blogspot.com
[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.]
