Discerning Deception

The Bible tells us that deception can occur.

And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. Matthew 24:4 (KJV)

People can deceive you.

But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. James 1:22 (KJV)

We can deceive ourselves.

Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; I Timothy 4:1 (KJV)

The devil can deceive us.

Jesus warns us not to be deceived or misled by people (Matthew 24:1-14). Many will come in the name of Jesus and will deceive many. Many people say that they speak for Christ, but not all of them do. From Jesus’ time, until now and even after the rapture, many deceivers will come. Many false prophets shall arise. There are both false and true prophets operating in the church today, along with other false ministers. And in the tribulation, there will arise the greatest deceivers of all: The Antichrist, the False Prophet, with satan working through them to deceive the masses.

We must know the truth of God’s Word, and we must have the Spirit of Truth, the Holy Spirit, so we can test the spirits of people to know if they are from God or not. That is what the gift of discerning of spirits is for.

James 1:22 talks of self-deception. When we hear the Word and don’t do it, we deceive ourselves. For example, God saves, but sin brings death. If we sin and we are unrepentant, it can lead to the death of finances, health, relationships, even physical death and spiritual death (separation from God). As we hear and do God’s Word, it keeps us from deceiving ourselves and we live victorious and free.

I Timothy 4:1 tells us that we can be deceived by demons or devils. Seducing is plano in the Greek, signifying spirits that lead astray. Doctrines are teachings. This refers to teachings of demons that are meant to lead us astray. Anything that does not line up to God’s Word is a lie and should be soundly rejected. Such things are intended to lead us away from Jesus so they can steal, kill, and destroy. They use false prophets, false teachers, false pastors, and others in leadership. They also try to plant error in our minds by thoughts, so we even have to be on guard against the thoughts that come our way.

Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. II Timothy 2:15 (KJV)

Study God’s Word so you’ll know truth from error. When we know the truth of the Word, we won’t be deceived. Let the Holy Spirit teach you and lead you into all truth.