THE NATURE OF DECEPTION

 

Recently we discussed the root of deception. Today we will look into the nature of deception. Deception is meant to deceive. It is fraud disguised as truth. It is corruption made to look like true opportunity. It is illusion. It is a trap. It is meant to get the victim to change course and get off track. It preys on our human weakness and desires--greed, jealousy, and all our character flaws. It is Hasatan’s most powerful tool.

 

It begins with Eve in the Garden of Eden in Genesis chapter three when the adversary twists God’s instruction which he gave Adam and Eve. “Did God really say that? He didn’t really mean that. He is hiding something from you which you deserve.”

 

So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate. Gen 3.6

 

The tree appealed to their senses. It was good for food, pleasant to the eye, and desirable to make one wise. It appealed to their fleshly desires. They listened to the adversary’s broadcast and disinformation and Eve allowed herself to be deceived. She gave the fruit to Adam, who knew better and should have corrected her--he ate it too.

 

We husbands like to please our wives whether we want to admit it or not. Adam wanted to please her and he joined her in her disobedience without giving the situation much thought. Their eyes were opened to things God would have preferred they did not know or see. Their age of innocence was over.

 

Eve had left the covering of her husband and was deceived by the lie. She should have checked with Adam first before she ate of the fruit. Adam should have refused the fruit but did not want to have a family argument. Instead of following God’s word he went along with Eve.

 

Deception sows doubt in our minds. That was what the adversary created in Adam and Eve’s minds. He questioned Eve on the truth of God’s word. Eve didn’t take the time to go back to her husband and ask him exactly what God had told him. She didn’t take time to do her Bible study but listened to what sounded good to her. How often we do this without researching on our own.

 

Adam was downright negligent. He knew better. He let his guard down.

 

Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings. And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.

 

Then the Lord God called to Adam and said to him, “Where are you?” So he said, “I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself.” And He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat?” Then the man said, “The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate.” And the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” Genesis 3.7-13

 

Adam blamed Eve. At least he was honest when he admitted he ate without questioning. Eve admitted that she had been deceived. The two innocents didn’t get to enjoy life very long before they where introduced to life’s hard reality. Hasatan once again was attacking God’s eternal plans. He had been cast down to earth and was broadcasting his selfish way of life into all of God’s earthly creation. Man had chosen to disobey God and sinned against God’s word--His instruction (commandments).

 

Now Adam and Eve would know death:

 

Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

 

They knew nothing of sin and death until they chose to go against God’s law. Hasatan deceived them. He told Eve the truth--they would know good and evil--with a subtle questioning of God. He put doubt into Eve’s mind and rather than going back and seek truth she took the bait.

 

The nature of deception is too create doubt in our minds. Hasatan constantly broadcasts this doubt through the air and into our minds. He subtly twists God’s truth in order to create doubt in our minds. Once we act upon that doubt we fall into sin. Doubt, in effect, is temptation. Doubt creates confusion and we are tempted to take impulsive action. The temptation appeals to our soulish or self nature. The lust of the eyes and flesh. Immediate self gratification.

 

The first defense against deception is to have a thorough knowledge of God’s word as written in the entire Bible--both Old and New Testaments. When in doubt, refer back to the Bible. Search for an answer. Let it be ingrained in the mind. “Bind them on our foreheads” as it says in Deuteronomy 6.8.

 

Our soulish or self nature is where the conflict of the lust of the flesh takes place. We desire to satisfy ourselves in all things. That is our soulish nature. We were created this way. We hunger, we eat. We want to be warm, we build a fire and warm ourselves. We want things, we work for the money to purchase them. This is natural.

 

Our soulish nature and desire of the flesh become sinful when we begin to fall into self gratification. When we begin to covet what our neighbor has rather than work for it ourselves. When we become jealous of what our neighbor has and steal or kill for it. This is what God’s law or Torah focuses on--righteous living--self sacrifice.

 

When our soulish desires become corrupted by lust, jealously, envy, etc, then we are breaking God’s law. If we go about living righteously and work honestly to provide for ourselves and families we are in effect obeying God’s Torah.

 

Nations steal, kill, and destroy for natural resources. Nations go to war because they jealously watch another nation prosper. This is sin on a national scale. This is how Hasatan operates in this present world. It is his domain until all things are put under Yeshua’s feet.

 

To achieve his ends, Hasatan will use deception to prey upon our soulish nature. He will broadcast lies into our minds in the form of gossip, slander, jealousies, envies, and the like, until we act upon these deceptions and lies.

 

God’s written word warns and prepares our minds for these attacks. The more we meditate on God’s instruction, law, and Torah the safer we are. Our minds begin to tune into God’s broadcasting station. We begin to discern between the lies and deception of the enemy and the truth of God’s word. We begin to have “the mind of Christ.”

 

The Lord told us to become as little children because little children will happily obey their parents. God’s commands are really very basic and simple. Our sinful nature and soulish desires rise up and we satisfy them in a sinful, rather than righteous way, of taking up our cross and crucifying these “evil” desires.

 

Again, desire itself is not evil. Soulish desire is natural. God wants us to discern the righteous way of living verses the soulish sinful and self gratifying way of living. We are to lay down our lives and wrongful desires at the cross.

 

As we learn to do this in a spiritual way we will find ourselves becoming stewards of all that God has blessed us with. We no longer want to follow Hasatan’s way of stealing, killing, and destroying in order to satisfy our desires. We are now walking in the spirit and the chances of being deceived by the evil one become neutralized as we abide in Yeshua and follow His commands.