“Evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived.”
(2Timothy 3:13)
1. Realize how prevalent, prolific and powerful deception is. It is powerful because it is sneaky. Those who are deceived don’t know they are deceived. If they knew, they would no longer be deceived. Beginning with Eve, many are the children of Eve. Warnings about deception abound in the Bible. “But evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived.” (2Tim.3:13) These warnings are especially relevant in these Last Days of perilous times. Realize the power of deception is incredible.
2. Stay true to the gospel of Jesus Christ. “I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel, which is not another; but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed.” (Ga.1:6-8) There are many nonessentials in the Bible and these things we can have some liberty, but there is no warrant to having a different gospel. Make sure you know this. What is the gospel? It is made crystal clear to us in 1 Corinthians 15:1-5. Read it. Memorize it. It is this gospel by which sinners are saved.
3. Stay with the simplicity of Christ. “But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.” (2Cor.11:3) This is broader than the gospel. The gospel is the heart and the rest of the word is the rest of the body of revealed truth. Never forget, it’s all about Jesus. The Bible is all about Jesus. Salvation, including justification, sanctification and glorification is all about Jesus. He’s the author and finisher of our faith. In Him lives all the fulness of the Godhead and we are complete in Him. Grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. He is the Christ, the Son of the living God.
4. Learn and teach doctrine. Get beyond mere stories and instructions in the Bible. Though true, these are mere illustrations of Bible teachings and all instructions come out of doctrine. First doctrine, then duty. Deceivers are unbalanced; they neglect whole balanced teachings of the Bible. Doctrine is all the Bible teaches about any subject: God, Christ, salvation, prayer, the law, everything in the Bible. If you don’t know doctrine, you make yourself very susceptible to deception. If you’re interested in saving yourself and your church, 1Tim.4:16 deserves a serious look.
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