Do Not Let Yourself Be Deceived!

1 John 3:7
Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. The one who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous.

Amplified Bible
Little children (believers, dear ones), do not let anyone lead you astray. The one who practices righteousness [the one who strives to live a consistently honorable life—in private as well as in public—and to conform to God’s precepts] is righteous, just as He is righteous.

Good News Translation
Let no one deceive you, my children! Whoever does what is right is righteous, just as Christ is righteous.

New Living Translation
Dear children, don’t let anyone deceive you about this: When people do what is right, it shows that they are righteous, even as Christ is righteous.

Contemporary English Version
Children, don’t be fooled. Anyone who does right is good, just like Christ himself.

The keyword here is to let. To allow. To grant permission. To give access. Do not let anyone lead you astray. That means it’s within our power to let or not to let. What is it that you shouldn’t let?

Apostle John writes to the church an assortment of issues that they should bear in mind. In chapter three of this book or letter, John tells the church to meditate on God’s great love and have hope in Christ’s second coming, 1 John 3:1-3. The Apostle moves on to talk about sin. He tells the church that every habitual sinner who doesn’t stop sinning doesn’t belong to God, 1 John 3:4-6. If you continue in sin, you don’t belong to God.

Then in our text of consideration today, he tells the church not to let anyone lead them astray. What is he telling the church? He is telling the church that there are people within and without the church who are bent on misleading them and therefore they should be careful. These deceivers what to distort the truth as originally taught and create confusion. These deceivers will peddle lies about the message of the church, the leaders, and against individual members.

How much influence do these deceivers have? Apostle John informs the church that it is within each one’s power to accept the deception or reject it. Therefore, Apostle John informs the church that, do not let anyone deceive you. Take note – you can let the deception happen or you can prevent the deception. Do not let anyone deceive you.

To let is to allow. Do not allow anyone to deceive you. We let others deceive us when we do not know the truth for which we stand for and is unchangeable. When you do not understand what the church teaches, any teacher with or without lies will convince you. If you do not know the Bible truths, you have let yourself be deceived. Do not let anyone deceive you!

If you are a prayerful person God keeps you safe from constant attacks of the devil. Without prayer, you are vulnerable to being deceived by the devil and his agents. The only safety against being deceived is to be prayerful. If you are not prayerful you have let yourself be deceived. Do not let yourself be deceived!

If a phony character seeks your attention with what seems a strange gospel and you give them attention, you have let yourself be deceived. If you entertain a con person you will be conned. You have let yourself be deceived. Do not let yourself be deceived!

If you can’t stop a liar from lying and ask them to speak the truth or shut up, you have allowed yourself to be deceived. We must be courageous enough to confront liars and deceivers. Fear of confronting liars is as good as letting yourself be deceived. Do not let yourself be deceived!

We live in a world where deception is all around. Deception in relationships. Deception at work. Deception in business. Deception in church. Deception in health matters. All around us is deception seeking to lure us into the path of regret. May God save us from deception, in Jesus’ name, Amen!

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