Gtcotr/ss091921
Life is not a test to prove you are right. Life is an opportunity to follow Jesus and be right. When it comes to truth, human wisdom, human intellect, and even human nature cannot be trusted. Not everything a person believes is true.
The prophet Jeremiah lived during some very difficult days in Israel. Times were changing quickly, and people were left without knowing what to think or how to feel about all that was happening around them. Their nation was going into captivity and Jeremiah had a word for them from God.
Jeremiah 17 NKJV
5 ¶ Thus says the LORD:
“Cursed is the man who trusts in man And makes flesh his strength, Whose
heart departs from the LORD.
6 For he shall be like a
shrub in the desert, And shall not see when good comes, But shall inhabit the
parched places in the wilderness, In a salt land which is not
inhabited.
7 “Blessed is the man
who trusts in the LORD, And whose hope is the LORD.
8 For he shall be like a tree
planted by the waters, Which spreads out its roots by the river, And will not
fear when heat comes; But its leaf will be green, And will not be anxious in
the year of drought, Nor will cease from yielding fruit.
9 “The heart is
deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it?
10 I, the LORD, search the
heart, I test the mind, Even to give every man according to his ways,
According to the fruit of his doings.
11 “As a partridge that broods but does not hatch, So is he who gets riches, but not by right; It will leave him in the midst of his days, And at his end he will be a fool.”
God gives people the right to be wrong, but not without penalty. God allows men to be in circumstances which develops their own nature. If God’s holy and gracious restraint is removed from the earth, or even from one person, all hell will break lose. We see this in measure throughout history where evident restraint was relaxed, and man’s worldly human nature takes root and begins to bear fruit.
Take Adolph Hitler for example. He was the leader of an army and a nation that was responsible for spreading rumors and teaching lies that led to the horrific murdering of 6 million Jews less than 80 years ago. Men and women are alive today who fought against the Nazi regime and their attempt at world domination. As well, men and women are alive today who fought for Hitler’s plan and were completely deceived and believed they were doing what was right.
What made it all so powerful was the fact that Adolph Hitler truly believed that what he was doing was going to make the world a better place for everyone. Well, everyone except those who didn’t agree with him, or the Jews, or the elderly, or the infirmed, or the mentally challenged, or those who he viewed as a threat to his total control of the news media or anyone else who might be liked, appreciated, or thought smarter than him.
So basically it would only be better for him and those who were loyal members and supporters of his Nazi political party. All others were expendable and should be incarcerated, incinerated, and left behind.
This was not the first time nor the last time people who are deceived have gotten into power over nations and began causing pain and ruining lives thinking they were going to make the world a better place. Being in charge and being passionate about your cause does not equal being right. However, There is a certain energy that comes along with delusion. This energy of deceit makes people want to fight for the lie they believe. And another mark of deception is … delusional people don’t fight fare.
Jeremiah reminded us that: Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD and not in his own heart. A person does not have to be wicked to do evil, just deceived. Some of the nicest people you’ll ever meet are deceived. In fact, nice people are often at the greater risk because of their nice nature.
It takes a step of faith to believe God more than you believe your own heartfelt human nature. Just ask Eve who had that struggle in the Garden of Eden. The true test of deception is not based on who can put forth the best argument from a human standpoint. Truth is not determined by a show of hands. It is determined by the Word of God. To believe anything else is to be deceived. A person can be sincere but yet be sincerely wrong.
Eve was not a bad person … she was the beloved daughter of God. She was a perfect 10 in God’s eyes and yet her departure from God’s Word caused her to hurt those she loved when she thought she was doing what was best. People make some bad decisions when they stray from God’s Word and stop trusting Him.
You have to admit strong delusion is afoot when nations prescribe the removal of prayer from schools, the removal of the Ten Commandments from courthouses, and the forceable and often violent removal of unborn children from the protective environment of their mother’s womb and unashamedly call the procedure of stopping the viable heartbeat of a helpless, healthy, living child “pro-choice” and planned parenthood.
2 Thessalonians 2:11 And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie.
For this reason? What reason? The preceding statement in verse 10 reveals the reason:
“Because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved.”
And verse 12 contains another confirmation as to whom God is referring:
“…who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.”
It feels good to feel you’re doing something good and noble and kind and caring. Based on feelings, almost anything can be justified. Still, it’s difficult to imagine people being pleased when they are being led around energetically by a lies and falsehoods. Deception is so powerful.
“Strong delusion” in 2 Thessalonians 2:11 renders out in the Greek language to read – “the energy of deception”. Deception has its own energy. Not that God sends deception in a classic way, to make people sin or go astray. For no man is tempted to do evil from God’s own hand. (Ja 1)
However, as penalty for not trusting God’s Word, God at times removes the restraint from deception and man is left with only human nature at best, or demons at worst, to be his conscience and moral guide. You see, God’s Word and the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ calls for a decision. Upon those to whom the Truth comes, if they reject the truth and thereby commit sin, the penalty for that sin may well be that they are left to the energy of their own deception, even to the point of becoming reprobate and calling good evil and evil good, (Romans 1).
Both the history books and the Bible will verify this same course has been played out by men and women who have refused to acknowledge the truth. Some gain power only to make others suffer at their hands. And yet they act as if they are blind to the pain they allow and promote. Focused on only one high ground human nature moral issue, they are blinded the greater Word of God, fight against the will of God, and forfeit the help of God.
Our only hope, according to the prophet Jeremiah, is in the truth of God’s Word. When we violate truth and righteousness before God, we invite deception to take hold and we risk being left to the delusions our human nature affords. It has been this way ever since sin entered the Garden of Eden through the door Eve opened to deception. When she entertained her own advantage and rejected the truth of God’s Word, she brought suffering, pain, sorrow, and death on others.
Eve deceived herself into believing what she felt and wanted outweighed what God wanted. She believed she was right. She felt so good and energetic about her choice that she convinced her husband to join her in their new-found freedom to choose what was right and what was wrong for themselves. Billions of people owe their pain and suffering to one person’s choice to follow what they believed was best instead of following what God said was best.
Your passion and argument cannot contain only one truth from God’s Word, it must contain the whole truth from God’s word.
How can we avoid the trappings of our own human nature? How can we be careful to not misread our passion for truth? Remember, deception carries with it its own energy. This is why people who are deceived get so mad when they are challenged.
As we said earlier, the true test of deception is not which one of us can put forth the best argument from a human standpoint.
Hitler believed he was doing the world a favor by getting rid of the menace … of course we can all see that he was wrong, dead wrong. However, he did put forth a strong and passionate argument and, from a human standpoint, he convinced millions of people to follow him. Together they perpetrated one of the worst atrocities in history. People gave their lives to take the lives of others who were completely innocent.
The only crime the Jews were accused of was that of being a part of an unacceptable people group. For that it was decided they deserved to have their families torn apart; possessions confiscated; dignity maligned; intelligence questioned; bodies ravaged; freedoms stripped; lives ended; and their bodies buried in mass unmarked graves. This was the gospel according to Hitler and many were his converts.
What can we do to ensure we are never caught up in the passionate deceptions of others who sincerely believe they are right?
Jeremiah
17
1.
Put your hope in God.
a. Trust Him and not man
– Humans verses God … God wins!
b. Isaiah 8:11 Don’t call
everything a conspiracy and end up being just like everyone else … trust in the
living God.
2.
Spread out your roots.
a. Rooted in God’s Word
b. Psalm 1 – His delight
is in the Word of God … he meditates day and night – he shall be like a tree
planted by the rivers of water
3.
Don’t fear the heat.
a. God will make your
leaf green
b. Don’t be anxious in
dry days …
