Impact Magazine

DEALING WITH DECEPTION

PART 3 (Concluding Part)

‘Muyiwa Omole

The only weapon that can demolish deception is truth.  And, as Jesus said to the Father in His Prayer of Intercession, "Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth."  (See John 17:17.) 

We expose deception in our lives by allowing God’s Word to be final authority in our lives.  We allow the light of Scripture to expose our hearts, to bring us to repentance, to lead us to worship, and to recognize and resist Satan’s schemes against us.  When we are persistent in wielding the sword of God’s Word against the strongholds of the enemy, God will draw near to us, Satan will flee from us, the clouds of deception and blindness with dispel, and the walls of Satan’s strongholds will come down.

Let me repeat this:

When we believe a lie and receive it, whether by passive consent or by positive confession, we give the enemy legal right to wrap that lie in a system of deceit that will make it look like the truth.

So how do you counter deception?  With the truth. Where do we find the truth? In the Word of God. As we can see in Ephesians, this weapon is known as the sword of the Spirit:

"...the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God."

Please study the chat below and read the Scriptures quoted. I believe this will give you a clearer understanding of this subject matter.

DECEIT		SPIRIT OF TRUTH
Deal with this stronghold first! Satan’s initial interaction with mankind involved deception. Since your soul (your mind, will, and emotions) is the battleground, you need to see clearly the nature of those areas you have yielded to the enemy. He’ll do anything to distract or discourage you, so be aware of his schemes and his goal — the destruction of your trust and loving obedience to Jesus. If your thoughts and actions don’t align with God’s Word and you still feel justified in pursuing them, you’ve given way to this spirit (see 1 John 1:6). Be especially alert to false belief systems that portray man as basically good and deny the reality of heaven and hell.		Because Satan is a liar and the father of lies, he has at his disposal many devious means of infiltrating the pure truth of the Gospel. Paul warned Timothy to stay away from those who engage in godless chatter or quarreling about spiritual topics. Recognize that some elements of falsehood may indeed have penetrated your mind, will, and emotions. Heed Paul’s admonition to Timothy, appropriating its truths by the Spirit: “Flee the evil desires of youth, and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart” (2 Timothy 2:22). Choose companions whose hearts are also set on loving obedience to God.
“Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons”                                                                                         1 Timothy 4:1 “Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved”                                                 2 Thessalonians 2:10, KJV “If we say that we have fellowship with him and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth....If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us”                                                                      1 John 1:6,8		“And  you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free’“                                                  (John 8:32). “For He who would love life and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit. Let him turn away from evil and do good; let him seek peace and pursue it. For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are open to their prayers; but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil”                                                                 1 Peter 3:10-12
Symptoms	Definition		Relevant Scriptures
Lying	Falsifying information with a motive to deceive		1 Kings 22:23
Fantasies	Fanciful thoughts with little credibility		Jeremiah 14:14
Delusions	Believing lies; may cover painful past experiences		Jeremiah 23:32
Rationalization	Reasoning with desire to gloss over problems; attempting to deal with serious problems superficially; making excuses to justify sinful behaviour		1 John 4:4-6
Wrong Doctrine/ Misuse of Scripture	Reasoning out faulty conclusion or position, then using the Bible to support your conclusion		2 Timothy 4:3,4
Flattery	Saying positive things to others to gain advantage in your relationship with them		Romans 16:17,18
Syncretism	Incorporating unbiblical beliefs or practices into your spiritual life and calling them “Christian”		Hebrews 3:12-14

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