Throughout Scripture we are given warnings not to be deceived about certain things. Put another way, we are not to be led astray or misguided.
1 Corinthians 6:9,10 – “ Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, shall inherit the kingdom of God.”
This catalog of sins given by Paul represents the major types of sins that characterize the unsaved. Believers can and do commit these sins but they do not characterize them as an unbroken pattern of life. True believers will resent these sins and will seek to gain the victory over it. Don’t be misguided. You are not ok and you will not gain entrance into heaven if your life is characterized by these sins.
Further along in his letter to the Corinthians Paul warned them that evil friends are a corrupting influence.
1 Corinthians 15:33 – “Do not be deceived: Bad company corrupts good morals.”
Don’t make those characterized by the sins he’d listed previously be your constant companion. Don’t be misguided that you can have sin loving friends and it won’t hurt you.
Galatians 6:7,8 – “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh shall from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit shall from the Spirit reap eternal life.”
These are John MacArthur’s comments on these verses. “Sin always corrupts and when left unchecked, always makes a person progressively worse in character. Don’t be deceived that you can sin with impunity. You are deceived if you think God does not deal severely with sin in the lives of His children. A believer will never reap the ultimate consequences of sin which are death and judgment because Jesus already reaped those consequences for him. But a believer will continue to reap the earthly heartaches for the pains of his sins.”
Don’t be misguided; God’s law of cause and effect still works in the lives of His children.
The last one I want to draw your attention to is found in Paul’s second letter to the Thessalonians.
2 Thessalonians 2:3,4 – “Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God.”
We are not to be misguided about when “it” comes. What exactly is “it"? From the first two verses we learn it is the day of the Lord, when Jesus comes and gathers us to Himself.
“Now we request you, brethren, with regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and our gathering together to Him, that you may not be quickly shaken from your composure or be disturbed either by a spirit or a message or a letter as if from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come.”
The day of the Lord, when Jesus comes and we are gathered together to Him, will not occur before Antichrist exalts himself in the temple of God.
We are not to be misguided concerning this.
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5 comments:
Good post, Kathy. No wonder we are described as sheep who need a Good Shepherd. We quickly follow any movement and before we know it we're way off track. Instead of keeping our eyes on the ground and looking for more grass to eat, we need to set our minds on the things above and keep our eyes on the Good Shepherd - follow His lead.
I had an interesting discussion the other day about the covenant which Israel will unknowingly sign with the AC. The person I was talking with was confident that was what we were to watch for, but I pointed out that neither Christ or Paul talks of that covenant. Both point to the man of lawlessness standing in the temple, exalting himself as God. All the speculation that is going on around us will lead to distractions if we don't view life through the lens of scripture.
You, dear friend, are a wonderful Berean...
Kristen
I have a nugget for you Kristen...
"Knowing God is a relationship calculated to thrill your heart."
The way for that to happen is to be taking in His Word and then acting on it, to set our minds on the things above, by keeping our eyes on the Good Shepherd.
I love nothing more than being with Him in His Word. That is what will take us through whatever path He has appointed for us before we behold Him face to face, even if it includes the coming great persecution.
(Talking about Him with like minded friends comes in a close second!)
By the way, I get dibs on sharing that nugget with your gals at study...
Fine...I hope I remember...
It's ok if you forget...that nugget is worth repeating! It made me think immediately of what David said in Psalm 16..."I have set the Lord continually before me; Because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken; Therefore my heart is glad and my glory rejoices...Thou wilt make known to me the path of life; In Thy presence is fulness of joy; In Thy right hand there are pleasures forever."
Part of that calculating is making the choice to continually set the Lord before us instead of chasing after that which is worthless - to make the choice to follow His lead instead of wandering...
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