“At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.”
Matthew 24:10-13
There is a lot of deception taking place in our world today. Some deception is acceptable, such as in war or in sports, that are used to win battles or a game. But there is also deception that is sinister and devious, such as fake news, false advertising, misinformation, and half-truths. This type of deception is being used most often by politicians to conceal the truth or advance their agenda, and by scammers attempting to manipulate people to steal their money. This is also nothing new. History is also full of deceptions, with the most famous being the Trojan Horse used by the Greeks to win the Trojan War that became a global symbol of deception.
All people are sinful, and we live in a sinful world, so we should not be surprised that deception is used quite frequently to persuade us to think a certain way, accept a belief, or trust a particular group or leader. This has been magnified in our time through advancements in technology, such as the internet, social media, and artificial intelligence (AI). These tools make it much easier to deceive others on a much broader scale and are more difficult to detect or refute.
One of the other areas where we see a lot of deception today is in the Church. This is also nothing new and has been going on since Christianity began in the first century AD. For example, immediately after Jesus’ resurrection, the guards at the tomb reported to the chief priests what had happened. The chief priests paid the guards to say that the disciples came and stole his Body to deceive anyone as to what had really happened (Matthew 28:11-15). They did not want the true and real story to get out!
Paul’s letters to the Church in Corinth and Galatia, and to Timothy, clearly point out the presence of false prophets and teachers in the early Church. He warned the Church to avoid them and to cling to the gospel as they were first taught (Galatians 1:6-7). As a matter of fact, the early Church assembled all of its bishops at the Council of Nicaea in 325 AD to establish the true foundation for the Christian faith and to combat false teaching by some of the bishops.
Yet somehow today, there are those inside and outside of the Church who continue to try to deceive Christians and pull them away from the gospel and the true faith in Jesus. As Christians, we must be on our guard in order that we not be deceived into accepting beliefs or a theology that sounds good but is not true. As it says in 2 Timothy 4:3, “For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.” That time has certainly come today just as it has in the past!
So, how do Christians protect themselves from being deceived about their faith? I believe that there are 3 common ways that Christians are being deceived today that all Christians should be aware of. Knowing them can help us to defend and protect our faith.
1. Denial of Biblical Truth
Perhaps the biggest deception that Christians face is to doubt the Bible and deny it is the Truth. In our society today, many people believe that every person can have their own truth and that there is no absolute truth. Or they try to convince us of supposed “errors” in the Bible and that therefore it can’t be all true. These deceptions try to draw us away from God’s truth and get us to accept man’s ways instead of God’s Word (Isaiah 55:8-9). The Bible tells us that God is truth (Isaiah 45:19) and that all His words are true (Psalm 119:160). Christians must trust in the truth of God’s Word and not let man deceive us into thinking we know better than God. We cannot allow ourselves to fall into the same trap as Eve did when Satan deceived her into believing his lie that we can know what God knows. Satan continues to use this deception to this very day, and very effectively as well!
2. Scriptural Misrepresentation
Another common way that some try to deceive Christians is through the misrepresentation of Scripture. Sometimes Scripture is quoted out of context which can lead some Christians to accept a belief that the Scriptural passage does not specifically say. One common example is Matthew 7:1 which says, “Do not judge, or you too will be judged.” This is often used to tell Christians not to judge others at all. This passage is incomplete and goes on to warn us not to condemn others but rather to help them, and us, live out our faith. Scripture can also be twisted to support a theology or belief that is not Biblical or of God. Common examples are that “God helps those who help themselves” (Proverbs 14:23) or that “God will never give you more than you can handle.” (1 Corinthians 10:13) The intent of this deception is to misuse Scripture to justify man’s efforts, desires, or beliefs rather than God’s will and purpose. This is very dangerous and will lead us to focus on our own accomplishments instead of what God has done for us through His Son Jesus on the cross!
3. False Teaching
There is also a lot of false teaching in the Church today, from beliefs such as doing good works will get us to heaven (works righteousness), that following Christ will enrich us (prosperity theology), or that God’s Word must keep up with the times (progressive theology). Most of these deceptions come from inside the Church and from a reinterpretation of God’s Word or an attempt to modify it to fit today’s society. It often stems from the desire of man to add something extra to what God’s Word says in order to meet our expectations instead of God’s purpose. The Bible says in Malachi 3:6, “I, the Lord, do not change.” And in Proverbs 30:5 it says that “Every word of God is flawless.” In other words, His Truth, His Word, and the Gospel are eternal and do not change! Man should not try to change or reinterpret God’s Word to suit our own thinking. Instead, we should always be trying to align our ways with God’s ways and submit our will to His will and His Word!
So, as Christian, we should not allow ourselves to be deceived by these deceptions and be wary of those who try to draw us away from the Lord. Instead, we must be on our guard and stand firm on God’s Word, His promises, and our faith (2 Peter 3:17). We must all remember to “trust in the Lord with all our heart and lean not on our own understanding.” (Proverbs 3:5)