Direction determines destiny. Most people have experienced the frustration of having embarked upon a journey toward a destination only to discover that somewhere along the way they veered off course. Intended purposes and schedules may have been thwarted. Precious time and opportunities have been lost. Imagine the anguish of heart for those who missed that once-in-a lifetime experience, all because of a wrong direction.
So it is spiritually. Wrong directions can be devastating. Good intentions are irrelevant. Truth alone triumphs. Direction determines destiny. It has been aptly said, “The road to hell is paved with good intentions.” The longer one remains on the wrong course, the greater the difficulty in making timely course correction. This is the gut-wrenching, heartrending reality of spiritual deception, and we are our worst enemies.
Deception Is Deceptive
Deception is deceptive! Repeat that to yourself. Deception is deceptive. The profound implications of this simple truth will determine the eternal destiny of untold millions of citizens of planet Earth—even many professing Christians whose lives have been misdirected or have drifted off course. Remember, the saints can be seduced. Remember also the warning words of Christ: “Small is the gate and narrow is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it” (Matt. 7:14).
If deception were not deceptive, there would be no deception. That is precisely why deception is so dangerous to your eternal destiny. No deceived person ever believes he or she is deceived unless and until the deception is revealed, and even then most still refuse to believe they are deceived. That is why the Scriptures deliver such dire warnings to the saints about deception.
Our times are enshrouded in deception, spiritually, politically, economically, militarily and emotionally. There is a dramatically decreasing desire for truth at any and every level of society. The apostle Paul put it this way: ” But evil men and seducers will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived” (2 Tim. 3:13). “Many will follow their destructive ways,” declared Peter (see 2 Pet. 2:1-3). People will be “always learning, but never able to come to the knowledge of the truth” (2 Tim. 3:7). Why? Because they “resist the truth, men of corrupt minds and worthless concerning the faith” (2 Tim. 3:8).
Deception Dominates End Times
Shortly before His crucifixion, Jesus, gathering with His disciples, warned them four times concerning the massive spiritual deception that would seduce those who professed to be His followers. “Take heed that no man deceives you,” he warned in Matthew 24:4. “For many shall come in my name,” he said, “and shall deceive many” (Matt. 24:5).
The entire world will ultimately be engulfed in Satan’s final effort to compel counterfeit worship of his counterfeit Christ by a comprehensive confederation of a global government and global economy undergirded by a global religion forcing every man, woman and child to receive “the mark of the beast.” Only those who “keep the commandments” and “the faith of Jesus” will endure this deception (Rev. 14:12).
Deception Dances With Sin
Deception always dances with sin. In fact, deception is the consequence of our adulterous dalliances with sin. Sinful choices and attitudes provide the entrée for more full-blown deception. They are the threshold over which deception is invited into our lives. Perhaps this is why we are told, “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death” (Prov. 14:12).
How about your heart? Have you toyed with sin? Anger, unforgiveness, pride, rebellion, adultery, fornication … Ask God to reveal your heart. Have you, through the deceitfulness of sin, hardened your heart, opening the door to the inexorable progression of deception (Heb. 3:13)? Sin, however seemingly small, is insidious, and further deception crouches at the door, asking, “Will you dance?”
Listen to this episode, Know Your Enemy, on VIEWPOINT with Chuck Crismier on Charisma Podcast Network now. {eoa}
Chuck Crismier is an author, pastor, former trial attorney, president of SAVE AMERICA Ministries and host of the VIEWPOINT podcast on Charisma Podcast Network. Visit his website at saveus.org, where his book Seduction of the Saints can be obtained.
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