Do Not Be Deceived

Do Not Be Deceived

Some people believe some crazy things – especially when it comes to religion. If you don’t believe me, come out street witnessing with us. You’ll hear people say that we are star dust and God haters will say that ultimately nothing created everything. (How much do you have to hate God to believe this nonsense?) But sadly, others are deceived through false religions and maybe the worst of all are the people that are so deceived that they come up with their own religion. But the Bible warns us – do not be deceived.

When I say some people have made their own religion, I mean they may take some things from the Bible and add or subtract from it (and the Bible warns us not to do this). For example, it’s been said that Thomas Jefferson took out the supernatural – all the miracles of Jesus and only used the moral teachings of Jesus for Jefferson’s Bible. Now most unbelievers that we meet on the streets don’t go to that extreme, but they are making their own “god” or their own religion when they reject Jesus – the only Savior of mankind.

 Be Not Deceived

The Bible says Do not be deceived. Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting (Galatians 6:7-8). What are you sowing tonight? Why are you downtown? What are you seeking? Are you sowing to your flesh and reaping corruption or are you sowing to the Spirit and reaping eternal life? It’s one or the other, but cannot be both.

Oh, do not be deceived tonight. And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many (Matthew 24:4-5). That’s right, Jesus tells you to not be deceived. He warned that many will come in His name and they will deceive many. Look at all the false religions in the world. Do you know an easy way to spot a false religion? The false religions have you trying to work your way to Heaven.

The Great Deceiver

Satan is the great deceiver. He is the father of lies. And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.  Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time (Revelation 12:7-9,12).

If you think you are working your way to Heaven, that you can somehow earn salvation, then the devil will keep you busy trying to work for your salvation instead of you admitting that you are a sinner and surrendering your life to Jesus. The false religions are – do something. Christianity is admitting that we can’t do anything to save ourselves. It is a complete and utter surrender to Jesus Christ our Lord. Are you deceived tonight by the devil? Or have you repented of your sins and trusted Jesus for your salvation?

The Unrighteous Shall Not Inherit The Kingdom Of God

Do not be deceived. Please listen to what may be one of the most definitive lists in the Bible about being deceived and these verses are found in 1 Corinthians 6:9-10: Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.

Folks, this is not an exhaustive list of all sins that human beings commit, but it sure covers many of the more prominent sins that men and women commit. Please notice the at least three of the first four are sexual in nature. They say that sex sells in advertising but it also snares many men and women in their sins. Please notice the first one on the list is fornicators. Fornication is having sex outside of biblical marriage between a man and a woman.  If this is you tonight, you are deceived. Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body (1 Corinthians 6:18).

Also listed here is adultery and homosexuality. Jesus says that if you lust after someone that you have committed adultery with that person already in your heart (Matthew 5:27-28). If you have committed adultery or even lusted after someone, then you are guilty. You too need to repent and believe the Gospel. Don’t continue being deceived by Satan.

Idolatry

The second sin listed here is idolatry. Folks, anything you love more than God or put above God, is your idol. Included here can be the idol of self. The best example of selfish idolatry is the sin of abortion. Killing a little baby is a heinous crime, especially in God’s eyes even when it isn’t so in man’s eyes) and it is the height of self-love. Killing a baby in or out of the womb is an abomination to God. Oh if you have murdered a child or forced a woman to get an abortion, you need to repent and trust Jesus.

Also included on the list is stealing, covetousness, drunkenness, revilers and extortioners. We are all guilty of stealing, even if it was something small or someone else’s idea that you took or didn’t give credit to them over it. All of us are also guilty of covetousness. We’ve all wanted, desired or lusted after something or someone at one time or another. Many times, you or I have coveted something even before we realized what we were doing. Getting drunk is also a sin. Sadly, we saw a prime example of this last Friday when a woman was so drunk that her friends had to hold her up and help her walk down the street.

Not An All-Inclusive List

Again, please keep in mind this is not an all-inclusive list, it’s just some of the more serious sins that people commit. All who commit these sins are deceived by the devil. If this you tonight, don’t continue being deceived. Oh, recognize that you have sinned against God. It’s also extremely important to realize that there is absolutely nothing that you or I can do to save ourselves. Keeping some of the 10 Commandments does not work. None of us have perfectly kept the commandments. The Bible says that if you break one commandment, you’ve broken them all.

Oh, please understand that God is so Holy that He cannot tolerate sin. It takes a perfect sacrifice to cleanse us from our sins and Jesus is the only perfect sacrifice. That’s why you must repent and surrender your life to Jesus or the guilty of your sins remain upon you. He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him (John 3:36). Do not foolishly die in your sins and go to Hell. Don’t do it. Don’t continue being deceived. Be not deceived. Instead, repent and believe the Gospel.

In case you think we are judging you, we are not. If you feel judged tonight, it’s God who is judging you. Please note that we’ve all sinned and fallen short of God’s glory (Romans 3:23). If Jesus is not your Lord and Savior then you are already judged by God and found guilty. Do not die in your sins, in your rebellion against God. Instead, repent of your sins and trust Jesus. Trust in the Lord to save you.

Again, we are not judging you. Earlier I read the Bible verses 1 Corinthians 6:9-10, but now I want to read verse 11:  And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God. I love this verse: such WERE some of you. My friends and I are no better than anyone else. But what we have done is repent and surrender our lives to Jesus. So even though we were on the list I read earlier, we have been saved. We were these things, but now we are saved by the shed blood of Jesus. We have been washed, sanctified and justified by our Lord and Savior. Thank you Lord Jesus!

There Is A Way To Escape God’s Wrath

We want to see you in Heaven. We do not want you to continue with God’s wrath abiding on you. There is a way of escape, in Jesus Christ alone! Repent and believe the Gospel. If you are trying to earn God’s favor or work your way to Heaven, you will fail miserably. Satan has you blinded, he has you deceived. Don’t continue listening to the father of lies (John 8:44) . Satan is a liar and a thief and he comes to do nothing but to kill, steal and destroy (John 10:10).

Do not continue being deceived. Don’t foolishly suffer God’s righteous judgment over your sins for all eternity. There is hope tonight, but that hope is found in Christ Jesus and in Him alone. There is no other way of salvation. Oh, repent and trust Jesus. Surrender your life to Jesus Christ. He is Lord of all. Oh, willingly bow your knee to King Jesus. Repent and believe the Gospel. Do this tonight and be saved and your guilty conscience will be cleared and be no longer deceived.

(This message was lifted up in downtown Springfield, MO on July 28, 2022)