The Price of Deception

This article is NOT about the C.I.A. - but it does have to do with the master of deception and one called the "father of lies."

"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. John 8:44

Deceit - the act or practice of deceiving; concealment or distortion of the truth for the purpose of misleading; duplicity; fraud; cheating. an act or device intended to deceive; trick; stratagem. the quality of being deceitful; duplicity; falseness. Trickery. Guile. Duplicity. Fraud. Trickery.

Deceit is the quality that prompts intentional concealment or perversion of truth for the purpose of misleading.
The quality of guile leads to craftiness in the use of deceit: using guile and trickery to attain one's ends.
Duplicity is the form of deceitfulness that leads one to give two impressions, either or both of which may be false.
Fraud refers usually to the practice of subtle deceit or duplicity by which one may derive benefit at another's expense.
Trickery is the quality that leads to the use of tricks and habitual deception

The 1828 Websters Dictionary has this to say:
A deceiver opperates by stealth and in private upon individuals: an impostor practices his arts on the community at large. The one succeds by artful falsehoods, the other by bold assumption. The faithless friend and the fickle lover are deceivers; the false prophet and the pretended prince are impostors.

The Scriptures tell us that Jesus is not going to come until there is a great "falling away."

II Thessalonians 2:3 & 15
3. Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come (the Second Coming of Jesus) unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition.
15. Therefore, brethren, stand fast and hold the traditions which you were taught, whether by word or our epistle.

The Strongs Exhaustive Concordance Greek #646 give the meaning to "falling away"=Apostasia which is: a falling away, defection, apostasy, to forsake.

Websters has this o say about "apostasy" = An abandonment of what one has voluntarily professed; a total desertion of departure from one's faith, principles, or party; esp., the renunciation of a religious faith.

I am taking this opportunity to make a declaration of faith, on my own behalf.
I have DECIDED TO FOLLOW JESUS....NO TURNING BACK, NO TURNING BACK. I CHOOSE God's WORD, and I CHOOSE to be obedient to it. I CHOOSE to say NO TO SIN, the wages of sin will lead to death. I CHOOSE HOLINESS unto the Lord, without which no man will see God. I CHOOSE the LORD for all the Days of my life, in JESUS' NAME.

There are some Scriptures that speak of "enduring to the end" and those ones will be saved.

Matthew 10:22 - And you will be hated by all for My name's sake. But he who endures to the end will be saved.

Galatians 6:9 - And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap IF we do not lose heart.

Heb. 3:6, 14
6. but Christ as a Son over His own house, whose house we are IF we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm to the end.
14. For we have become partakers of Christ IF we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end.

Heb. 10:35, 36 Therefore do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise

I Cor. 15:1,2 Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, by which also you are saved, IF you hold fast that word which I preached to you--unless you believed in vain.

Heb. 6:11, 12 And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope until the end, that you do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.

Heb. 10:38,39 Now the just shall live by faith; But if anyone draws back, My soul has no pleasure in him." But we are not of those who draw back to perdition, but of those who believe to the saving of the soul.

perdition=the destruction which consists of eternal misery in hell - Strongs Exhaustive Concordance - Greek #684

Colossians 1:21-23 And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight-- IF indeed you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard, which was preached to every creature under heaven, of which I, Paul, became a minister.

Rev. 2:25 But hold fast what you have till I come.

Rev. 3:10-11 "Because you have kept My command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth. "Behold, I am coming quickly! Hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown.

Mark 13:13 And you will be hated by all for My name's sake. But he who endures to the end shall be saved.

Matt. 24:11-13 Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. But he who endures to the end shall be saved


Endures=Strongs Concordance - Greek #5278- To hold one’s ground in conflict, bear up against adversity, hold out under stress, stand firm, persevere under pressure, wait calmly and courageously. It is not passive resignation to fate and mere patience, but the active, energetic resistance to defeat that allows calm and brave endurance.

Endure in these Scriptures do not mean tolerating, putting up with, inconvenienced by. It's a very strong word that has to do with warfare, courageous perserverance against adversity.

The ONLY way we would turn away from such a Blessed gift is that we would allow ourselves to be deceived.

I John 2:24 - Therefore let that abide in you which you heard from the beginning. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, you also will abide in the Son and in the Father.

II Tim. 3:14 But you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them, and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.

II Peter 3:17 You therefore, beloved, since you know this beforehand, beware lest you also fall from your own steadfastness, being led away with the error of the wicked

I Timothy 4:1 tells us: Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons

We MUST have our lives rooted and grounded in God's Word, so we'll be able to distinguish the difference between truth and what is a lie. Sort of like a bank teller must be able to tell the difference between a genuine bill or one that is counterfiet.

Mark 13:5 says: And Jesus, answering them, began to say: "Take heed that no one deceives you.

II Corinthians 11:13-15 we're told: For uch are false apotsles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ. And no wonder! For satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. There it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to tbheir works.

We cannot afford to have only a casual accquaintance of God's Word. We've got to be able to distinguish between the holy and the profane.

Ezekiel 44:23 says: And they shall teach my people the difference between the holy and the unholy, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean.

The way this is done, is having an intimate acquaintance with God's Word.

Ephesians 5:6 says: Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.

In Romans 1:21 we're told: ...because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened.

I Thessalonians 5:9 tells us: For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.

One of the ways that we invite deception into our lives is found in James 1:22:
But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.

Obediah 1:3: tells us: The pride of your heart has deceived you, You who dwell in the clefts of the rock, Whose habitation is high; You who say in your heart, 'Who will bring me down to the ground?'

HOWEVER the devil will try to bring his deception upon us, one thing we CAN remember is: Psalm 51:10-13: Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me away from Your presence, And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, And uphold me by Your generous Spirit. Then I will teach transgressors Your ways, And sinners shall be converted to You.

Remember what God said about His Dwelling Place? Isaiah 57:15 tells us: For thus says the High and Lofty One Who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: "I dwell in the high and holy place, With him who has a contrite and humble spirit, To revive the spirit of the humble, And to revive the heart of the contrite ones.

There's GREAT PROTECTION there. Thank God.

In Titus 1:9-11 we're told: ...holding fast the faithful word as he has been taught, that he may be able, by sound doctrine, both to exhort and convict those who contradict.
10 For there are many insubordinate, both idle talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision,
11. whose mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole households, teaching things which they ought not, for the sake of dishonest gain.

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Father, I ask You to HELP US to know the difference between the holy and the unholy. To help discern every effort to trap us into places that would eventually bring distruction to our lives. Lord thank YOU for HELPING us to remain humble before YOU in that High and Holy place where YOU live with those that are humble and contrite. We CHOOSE YOU, for all the days of our lives, We've decided to follow YOU for all of time. I will NOT be one of those spoken about in the "falling away", I will NOT be deceived, because I CHOOSE the TRUTH OF YOUR WORD. Thank You for putting a guard over my mouth and my heart, and not allowing me to go onto the paths that are not from You, In the Name of Jesus.