It seems like it should be easy. it’s not.
We can’t recognize deception without the wisdom of God.
There are Earthly clues for some deception,
but when we’re talking about deception geared toward leading you away from Christ, that is different.
That’s the first clue, is someone or something, perhaps a teaching leading you away from Christ?
When Satan offered the apple to Adam and Eve, he twisted what God had told them
and he gave them another way to look at things, his way.
Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made.
And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?
And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:
But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it,
neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.
And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:
For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof,
then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.
And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes,
and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat,
and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.
And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked;
and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons. Genesis 3:1-7
So, the deception was that they would be like gods and know good and evil. They were tempted.
The succumbed to the temptation and their eyes were opened to know good and evil,
just like Satan said.
This deception is still happening today.
While we may have been sanctified and bought by the blood of Christ, we can still be deceived.
How do we guard against that?
The easy solution is to know the truth and to love the truth. Sometimes that is easier said that done.
Satan is still offering apples in a variety of lustful delicacies.
Some of them can even be spiritual, to lie to us and make us think we will be closer to God
or that we have more wisdom than God’s word.
That is what he said to Eve, “You will be like gods and your eyes will be opened.”
He said more and it was hard for her to resist. She fell for it.
As the days draw on, the deception will become stronger and greater.
Let a little in and it will swallow you up, like a huge leviathan.
Be humble before the word of God. As the days go on, there will be more tricks up Satan’s sleeve.
We will not recognize them unless we love the truth with all our being and resist excusing sin
or refusing that God’s word is above all other thoughts.
There is a battle for our heart going on that will continue until we make it to the finish line.
We have the strength that Jesus gives us and discernment, but if we choose to fall for the lies of Satan,
we will be in dire straights.
Stay humble before God’s word. Satan elevated his thoughts above God.
We are in danger of doing the same thing as the days go on and as the deception grows stronger.
But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. 2 Corinthians 11:3
It can happen to any of us. Let us not be proud in that understanding.
Remain humble before God and His Word.
We need Jesus, who is the Truth, to keep us on the straight and narrow.