Don't Be Deceived

Don’t Be Deceived by Brandon Shirley

What’s on your mind? If you opened up your Facebook app, you would be approached with this question. Interesting, huh? Maybe the better question we should be asking ourselves is: what are you allowing into your mind?

The Bible says in the book of Matthew that the first and greatest commandment is to love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all YOUR MIND. So, how can we practically do that in a culture that talks so much about sex, money, and drunkenness? Our society tells us that these things won’t bring death but they’re a part of what makes life enjoyable.

“You won’t die!” the serpent replied to the woman. “God knows that your eyes will be opened as soon as you eat it, and you will be like God, knowing both good and evil.” Genesis‬ ‭3:4-5‬ ‭‭‭

Many times we may deceive ourselves with our sin: “everyone else is doing it” or “it’s ok because...” When these statements are made, we are attempting to deceive our minds into believing that sin does not cause death, but the Bible says that sin is death.

“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans‬ ‭6:23‬ ‭

Are we deceived by the lies that culture is teaching us? It’s a lie that true happiness comes from your wealth and possessions. It’s another lie that sexual sin in any context is ok as long as no one finds out or that drinking alcohol is the way to cope and find relief from a hard day.

God made man in his perfect image, but man chose to sin instead of obeying the Lord. Sin is continuous, and will grow in our lives if we continue to allow it to take hold of our hearts and minds. Have you ever thought, “Well I don’t feel bad or convicted by this so it must be okay…” If it’s sin, it’s not okay! The Bible calls this a seared conscience. We reject what is right and deceive our intellect into justifying what breaks God’s heart.

Conviction

Intellectual Deception Follows Moral Rejection

Practical challenge

Ask God: Am I deceiving myself by believing the lies the current culture is teaching me?

Read Matthew 22 and think about how you can be obedient to his commands