The Devil’s Deadliest Deception

Doug Batchelor : Jesus said in Matthew 28:19, "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations." Here at "Amazing Facts," we take the Great Commission seriously, that's why we're an international ministry. I've personally had the privilege of sharing the gospel in many countries from China to New Guinea, from Russia to Africa, to India, and it's evident that people everywhere have a hunger for the Word of God. As we make significant progress in delivering God's message, there's still a lot of work to be done. It's not enough that people know about Jesus, people need to experience a new birth and to know the fantastic love of God. Life's difficult, many people across the globe are struggling, but God is still love, and it's our mission here at "Amazing Facts" and it's our joy to show that love to others by sharing the good news. We pray that today's program will bless and inspire you to share God's Word with others, and don't forget, stay tuned for today's free offer at the conclusion of the presentation. God bless.

Doug: The devil's most dangerous deception is that the warnings of sin do not apply to you. God does not really mean what he says, that sin is really going to bring you satisfaction, but it doesn't, that somehow you'll have some enhanced experience through sin, but it's a lie. You know, back in 2008, we all saw the unfolding of the most serious Ponzi scheme and fraud and scam in history of the world, Bernie Madoff. People had fun with his name because he made off with everybody's money. Bernie Madoff made off with $64.8 billion of other people's money. It just is mind boggling how it could take so long, but people put their life savings, they trusted him that he was going to make it grow. He was promising better returns than anybody, which ought to make you suspicious. They say in the world of investment, "Hogs get slaughtered," meaning if you get greedy for high yields, you may really get taken to the slaughterhouse. And he promised such great returns.

Well, he just had so many new people that kept investing, wanting to cash in on this great--that he was keeping it for himself. He was working the books and changing the numbers and he was able to hide it very clever, be able to hide it even from investigators for years. He was a president of NASDAQ, trusted. We could trust Bernie with our money, and then it was found out almost overnight that it had been squandered and lost either by his spending it or in bad investments. And people, can you imagine you work all your life, you save, you're planning on all those good years and you find out some swindler had fooled you and you have nothing? You have to start all over again.

There were companies that had invested other people's money in foundations that were supposed to give to causes and the poor, and they were wiped out. The devil is a scam artist. He makes promises he doesn't plan on delivering, and some people are risking losing everything. This is something you cannot get wrong friends. Jesus made it clear in His opening teachings there in Matthew, the Sermon on the Mount, chapter 7. "Not everybody who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he that does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me 'Lord, Lord,' in that day," meaning the great judgment day, "Lord, Lord, have we not prophesized in Your name?" They know the name of the Lord. "We've cast out demons." They seem to have some evidence of success in Your name, "And we've done many wonders." Seems like there's power, "and I'll declare to them, 'I never knew you. Depart from Me you who practice lawlessness.'"

Not everybody who takes the name of Jesus is automatically saved. Not everybody who even has evidence of success is automatically saved. There might be areas where it looks like they've cast out some demons and they have wonderful power. They might even have what looks like a successful ministry. That's no guarantee. The bottom line, Jesus says, "If you are practicing lawlessness, I don't know you." Jesus came to save us, not in our sin, but from our sin. These subtle ideas that you can continue a life of sin and still be saved, that is not true.

Now, it doesn't mean as a Christian, you may not make mistakes, you may not fall. But if you are held captive by sin, if you are willingly surrendering to sin, if you have no regret or remorse for sin, you're not saved, because sin is what killed Jesus. If you think sin doesn't matter, look at what it did to him and tell me God is indifferent. He wants us to be new creatures. There's effort involved in being a Christian. Pastor Doug, I thought you just had to believe. It is true, we are saved entirely by faith. You've got the example of the thief on the cross. He turned to Jesus, and by the way, what's happening in this story there in Luke chapter 23 is that this thief when he was crucified, two thieves crucified with Jesus, they both were first engaged in the mocking of the mob, but they were there six hours. Something happened somewhere along the way, he saw them gambling for Jesus's clothing and then he heard Christ say, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?" And his mind went back to something he probably heard as a boy in Sabbath school that, Psalm 22 begins, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?" And later it says, "They cast lots for My clothing," and his mind became quick.

You know, when you're dying, you see, your adrenaline's released and things happen very quickly, and his mind is quickened by the Holy Spirit. And then he looks at the sign above Jesus’ head, and he says, "This is the King of the Jews," and he heard him pray, "Father, forgive them, they don't know what they're doing." And the Holy Spirit revealed to him, this is the Messiah. And he had the faith to say, "Lord," even His disciples didn't call Him Lord at the cross. "Remember me when you come into your kingdom." He did not look like a Lord, He did not look like He had a kingdom, but he said, "Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom?" He said, "Lord, save me, Jesus."

That's so wonderful, you know? Even though the devil nailed His hands to the cross, he couldn't keep the Savior from saving, and Jesus immediately because of that man's faith in Him, He reached out to Him and He said, "I'm telling you today, I'm making a promise today." He didn't say, "You'd be with me in paradise that day," because Christ didn't go that day, read John 21. He said, "I'm making you a promise today, you will be with Me in paradise." And that man died saved by faith, by believing through God's grace.

Now, here's the question, it's hypothetical, but you have to ask this question. Suppose before that man died, if after he accepted Jesus, if Pilate sent the soldiers out and said, "Oh, it looks like we got somebody's name wrong, you really weren't supposed to be crucified, we're really sorry, please forgive us. You can file a lawsuit later," and they pry him off the cross, take out the nails and they bring him down, they bind up his hands and he somehow heals. Would he go back to stealing and murder or would the grace of God if he was really saved, would it have transformed him? Would he have lived a different kind of life? I surmise that if he was really saved, he would have then had the fruits of obedience. On the cross, he repented. He said to his friend, he said, "Do you not fear God seeing we're in the same condemnation? We're getting the just punishment for our deeds. This man," speaking of Christ, "has done nothing amiss." Then he said, "Lord, remember me." He publicly confesses, he repents, he believes, he testifies in Jesus. He confesses Christ publicly as His Lord and His King, right?

It's one thing people want Jesus as Lord; they don't want Him as king. They want Him as savior. They don't want Him as Lord, is what I should have said. They don't want Him telling them what to do, they just want Him to save them from their sins, but they don't want to be saved from the power of sin in their life, just the penalty of sin. If you're going to be saved, you need all three. You need to be saved from the penalty of sin, the power of sin, and in heaven, you'll be saved from the presence of sin. But if the Son will make you free, you should be free.

What does it mean to believe? You know, we often quote and sometimes abuse the verse in Acts 16:30 where Paul and Silas talked to this Philippian jailer and he said, "What must I do to be saved?" Oh, I love when someone asks me that question, I remember studying with a couple and finally the wife just blurted out, "What do we need to do to be saved?" And I thought, I'm glad you asked. So, Paul said, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you'll be saved, you and your household."

Now, what do people think, typically, when you say believe? I think that means believe that Jesus is the Son of God. Okay. Believe that He died for the sins of the world and even that He died for my sins. I believe that. And that means I'm saved. All I've got to do is believe that. That's not the way Jesus meant it and that's not the way Paul meant it, that's not the way the Hebrews understood it. Believe means believe what He said, and what did Jesus say? "Deny yourself, take up your cross and follow me." Jesus said we need to turn from and repent of our sins.

Let me tell you the part that people don't read, read a little further in Acts 16, verse 32. After they told the Philippian jailer, "Believe and you'll be saved," says, "Then they spoke the Word of the Lord to him and all who were in his house." That's why they could say you and your household because they taught them the Word. What did they teach in the Word? "Jesus went to heaven," said, "teaching men to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you." They were taught the commandments of God. That's why you could say, believe in--you know, what does it mean to believe?

Suppose you're walking down a path, and the path comes out into a meadow and all of a sudden there's a great precipice, and down a long way down there, you've got this raging river in a canyon, this gulf longer than the Grand Canyon and there's a bridge. I understand, I've not been there. I'd like to see it. They've got this bridge at the Grand Canyon now that just goes over the canyon, it's a glass floor, bridge doesn't go anywhere, people are just awestruck when they walk out and they look down and see nothing under them, and some people, they crawl out there, they can't handle it. We were just in Singapore, and we went to Taiwan, we went to the top of the Taipei Towers there and you can get right up there and there's a spot where you got the glass, you can stand on the glass, look, it doesn't bother me at all because it's like flying, I fly all the time. So, yeah, I've seen that before, but some people who walk out on that glass thing and they just-- their heart starts to race, it's like they're afraid of this bridge to nowhere, and they say, I don't believe it, you know, because something--could be an earthquake and I could fall off in the canyon. They get back.

So, you come to this, I haven't forgotten my story yet, so you come to this bridge across the canyon, and someone asks you, "Do you believe that bridge will take you to the other side?" And you say, "I believe it." Why do you believe it? Well, it's got a sign there that says this bridge is solid and it will take me to the other side, but you don't get on the bridge. Then you see other people going down the bridge and they don't seem to be falling off and someone will say, "Do you believe yet?" I do believe now. They're making it and they look heavier than me. Do you believe yet? Not really. It's still just up here.

Finally, how do you show your belief? You walk out on the bridge, you believe it will hold you up, and until you come to the point where you say, "I believe that Jesus can save me from my sins and I am going to turn," that means repent, "from my sins. I'm going to confess; I'm going to forsake. I'm going to start doing some tangible things," then you don't really have belief. James 2:19.

You believe there's one God? You do, well, "Even the demons believe." So, it's good to believe, but that's not where it ends. The devils believe. In Luke 4, this demon possessed man cried out and said, "Let us alone to Jesus. What have I to do with you, Jesus of Nazareth? Did you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God." Demons always said we know who He is. Did the demons believe He was God? They believe more in His power than you do. Did the demons believe He died on the cross? Does the devil believe He died for your sins? Yes. He tried to stop it from happening. Is it going to save the devil? No. So it's not just believing that He died, it's believing that He can transform your heart and give you a new power.

So, friends, as Paul says in Galatians 4:16, "Am I your enemy if I tell you the truth?" Do you want to hear these things? There is no sin in heaven. The devil was cast out for sinning. If the devil was cast out for sinning, we are not going in sinning. Is that reasonable? Ezekiel 28:16, "You sinned, therefore, I cast you out as profane." 1 Corinthians 6:9. "Do you not know the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived, neither fornicators or idolaters or adulterers," It's the pure in heart that are going to see God, "or thieves or covetous or drunkards or revelers," partiers, "or extortioners," like Bernie Madoff, "will inherit the kingdom of God, and such were some of you." Paul is talking to the Corinthians. He said, "you had these problems," and he's got a pretty big list there. Says, it doesn't matter what your sins are, God can forgive and save you, but he says, "you were."

Now, you understand that, in English that means past tense. You were, that means you're not anymore, "but you've been cleansed, you've been sanctified." Galatians 5:19, "The works of the flesh are evident, which are adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred," can't go around being hateful, "contentious, argumentative, jealousies, outbursts of wrath," bad temper, "selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries and the like of which I've told you, I tell you again, as I said it before." Paul said, "Look, I keep telling you those who practice these things will not inherit the kingdom of God."

I want to inherit the kingdom of God. He says, you can't continue to practice those things. It's not just believing and continuing to live like the world. God is calling the church to new holiness. Revelation 21, verse 27, "There shall by no means enter into it anything that defiles or causes an abomination or a lie," speaking of heaven. There's going to be no sin in heaven. God must save us from our sin. Hebrews 12:1, "Lay aside every weight and the sin that so easily ensnares us."

Now, I appreciate that Paul, assuming he wrote Hebrews, I appreciate Paul admitting that we can be easily ensnared. Sin is very tempting. Sin attracts us in our minds, it attracts us in our bodies, it attracts us in our pride and our selfishness. The devil is always saying, oh, just one more time and then you can repent later and it'll--this time it's going to bring you satisfaction and there may even be some temporary pleasure in sin, but it doesn't last. It's a big lie, so we struggle. Bible says we're running this race, and the devil is always trying to trip us up with sin. It so easily besets us, but what does He say? Lay aside most of the weights, said, "Lay aside every weight."

It's amazing to me that, you know, the Olympic athletes now, the lengths they go to, I remember when I was a kid, I'd watch these swimmers, they'd jump in the water, and they had this big old baggy bathing suits and they're swimming along. They had long hair and they started realizing, you know, that suit had a little bit of a difference, they win by fractions of a second, and they started wearing speedos. And then the guys started shaving the hair off their chest to go even quicker, and then they start shaving their heads. Or they put on the swimming caps, and they didn't want anything to slow him down.

And the runners, they got super technical, light running shoes, they lay aside every weight, anything that can slow them down, but you and I, we kind of just go slogging through the world thinking, "Oh, is this going to make any, what difference will this make?" You're not going to win the race unless you realize that you must be, by God's grace, unencumbered by the sins of the world.

One of the ways you can tell a person that's on their way to heaven is they are constantly striving against sin. They don't blow it off, they don't get comfortable with it, that's when you're at risk of grieving away the Holy Spirit, when you just act like, oh, it doesn't--I don't care. It's not that big a deal, as long as I sin less than other people. Those are the kind of deceptions the devil has. Ephesians 4:22, "That you put off concerning your former conduct, the old man that grows corrupt according to the deceitful lust."

Put it off. There must be repentance. Going back to Ezekiel chapter 33, verse 13 now, "When I say to the righteous that he will surely live, but he trusts in his own righteousness and he commits iniquity, none of his righteous works will be remembered because of the iniquity that he's committed." He will die.

Don't get discouraged, listen to this, "Again, when I say to the wicked, you will surely die. If he turns from his sin and does what is lawful and right," and then he gets specific, "if the wicked restores the pledge, gives back what he's stolen. So, you get sin in your life and you borrowed your neighbor's leaf blower and you have forgotten for the last two years to give it back, because your neighbor moved four blocks away and you figure he's not thinking about it, so you're not going to remind him because you don't have your own leaf blower. But you've come to Jesus, the Holy Spirit says, every time you pick up that leaf blower, you borrow something for two years, it's called stealing. He said, "But I want to go to heaven." Jesus said, "You need to take him back his leaf blower." "Lord, you're not going to keep me out of heaven for a leaf blower?" Yeah, because your heart isn't right.

Do you know you can go to hell for stealing a pen? Just like stealing a million dollars, if you go in and you figure they're a bank, they got a lot of money and I put my money here, so I'm taking this pen that they just lent with me. You just robbed the bank. The pens are not free. You got the spirit of theft in your heart, it doesn't have to be a million dollars. You just did what Bernie Madoff did. Okay, theft in the heart. What do you have to do? He says, if the wicked restores the pledge, gives back what he has stolen, walks in the statutes of life.

I heard about a preacher that went through Scotland, he was doing a revival, and he was preaching near the shipyards, and he talked about repentance, and he talked about restoration. Sometimes it means you go to a person, you apologize. You right, whatever wrongs you can. Now you and I know, I mean, I used to be a thief. I can't go back and repay all the people I ever stole because I don't even know who they were, where they lived. It was dark. I mean, there's some things you can't do, right? Sometimes you cannot, as they say, unscramble scrambled eggs. It's just, but when the Holy Spirit puts something on your heart, there was one particular case where I knew I had stolen from an employer, and I went back years later to make it right.

And I had to apologize to my stepmother for stealing her Jaguar XKE and wrecking it. And I wrecked it in reverse, I was backing up and I wrecked it, and then I drove it home, it still drove, parked it in our circular driveway in front of the house and went to sleep. She woke up and thought somebody drove into our driveway, hit the car, because fortunately it was wrecked in reverse, and then drove away and she was ranting around the house as someone had wrecked her Jaguar. I never said anything. Years later, I became a Christian. I said, Betty, we need to talk. Well, by that point, you know, I knew she was going to let it off the hook, she had a Lamborghini. So, you know, finally I had to, because it bothered me that I lied to her. I probably lied about other things, but that's the one the Holy Spirit put on my heart.

So being a Christian means you might need to right some wrongs. That's what repentance is. Gives back what is stolen, walks in the statutes of life without committing iniquity. He will surely live. He will not die. None of his sins which he has committed will be remembered against him. He has done what is lawful and right. He will live. I love that.

See, you got the gospel right there in the Old Testament. Ezekiel of all people talk about saved by grace, you repent, you got to turn. God is merciful, he's long suffering, but He will in no wise clear the guilty, meaning, if we persist in our lives of sin, what more shall He do? If we continue to sin willfully, Hebrews chapter 10:26, "After we receive the knowledge of the truth, there's no more sacrifice for sin."

Now, that doesn't mean you won't make a mistake, but it means if you resign yourself to a life of sin after Jesus died to save you from your sin, and you're not doing all you can humanly to combine with His divine power to walk in a newness of life, there's nothing more He can do. You want Him To offer a second Son for you? There is no more sacrifice for sin. God is not willing that any should perish but all should come to repentance. Jesus said, Luke 13:1, "I tell you, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish." Jesus is warning us. John 5:14, "Afterward, Jesus found this man of the temple, he had been healed a cripple in the pool of Bethesda. He said, 'See, you've been made well, sin no more. Do not turn back to that life of sin, lest the worst thing come upon you.'" He says to the woman who's caught in adultery, she's guilty of sin. He said, "I do not condemn you. Go and sin no more."

You notice Jesus never said go and sin a little less. He never said go and see if you can cut down on your sin, just reduce, sin less than the people around you. He tells us here in James 4, verse 7, "Therefore submit to God, resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners. Purify your hearts." It's not just your actions, your hands, it's your hearts and your mind. "The pure in heart will see God." So God wants us pure in action and in thought. He says, "Cleanse your hands, you sinners. Purify your hearts, you double minded. Lament and mourn and weep sorrow for your sin. Let your laughter be turned in mourning." But He doesn't leave us that way, "Humble yourself in the sight of God and He will lift you up." He doesn't want to keep you there, but we need to realize when we sin, what it costs. It's not enough just to be a hearer of the Word, He wants us to be a doer of the Word.

Doug: You know, the power of choice is an amazing gift from God. But when a person is saved, do they choose God or does He choose them? And once a person is saved, do they still have the freedom to reverse that decision? Well, this is probably one of the most deeply discussed concepts in the Bible, but if we're confused about what really constitutes true salvation, well, that could be the most expensive mistake we ever make. Fortunately, you don't have to be confused about the Good News. "Amazing Facts" would like to send you a special gift called "Can a Saved Man Choose to be Lost?"

This is a short but very insightful book for anyone who has questions about the "Once Saved Always Saved" teaching that's now exploding through the Christian church. It'll help you to find clarity and lasting meaning for your life while inspiring you with the goodness and the fairness of God's kingdom. So don't wait, friend. To get your free copy, call the number on the screen and ask for offer number 112 or visit the web address. And after you read this incredible resource, make sure and share it with a friend.

Doug: Thank you for tuning in to "Amazing Facts." Have you ever wanted to study the teachings of the Bible in an easy-to-understand step by step way? The Amazing Facts Bible School offers free, simple to follow lessons that will guide you through all of the vital teachings of scripture. Visit AmazingBibleStudies.com to sign up for your free lessons. They're available by mail or online. Studies are also offered in multiple languages.

Doug: Is there any way you can turn these days to find hope for a brighter future? Yes, please join me Doug Batchelor on September 20, for the start of "Amazing Facts Prophecy Odyssey," a Bible study extravaganza. These dynamic multimedia presentations will transform what we know about the world and your purpose in it. Bible prophecy is fast fulfilling. Are you ready?

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Doug: Do you long to experience the peace that can only come from our loving Heavenly Father? Do you desire your heart to be clean and at rest? Jesus stands before you right now with His arms open wide to receive you. Why not ask Him into your life right now. Why not receive Him now as your personal savior. Take that first step and say, yes, Lord, I choose you. He is ready and waiting to receive you.

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