Be Not Deceived Like Eve

Greetings sisters in Christ!  
(This post was previously written on the sisters blog but brought over to our website here.)
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I pray you are all doing well and that the Lord is giving you opportunities to witness His truth :-)  What a glorious thing to share the gospel good news amen?!  When we are ready and we ask the Lord to give us opportunities, He certainly does, doesn't He?! 

This is a serious subject and I pray it's an encouragement and motivator to take the things of God seriously.
I have a question for you sisters.  

If someone is spiritually deceived, does that make them a blameless victim? 

​I ask because we get a lot of people telling us how to do our ministry and that we should not do it the way we do because it seems so harsh and they say that almost all the people going into the religious organizations are deceived.  They make it out like those people are the innocent victims, under the big bad wolf of a pastor.  I have an answer for that...

For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.
2 Timothy 4:3-4

So who is to blame for that deception? They "heap up to themselves teachers, having itching ears".  And what else do they do?  "They shall turn away their ears from the truth and shall be turned unto fables."  Looks to me that they are responsible for it themselves.  
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Now let's look at the situation with Eve, she had everything she needed with God, including His commands (Word) yet she allowed herself to be deceived. 

And the Lord God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat. 
​Genesis 3:13 ​

The serpent deceived her right?  So she was innocent because the serpent did it right?  Wrong. She was in sin not only for eating the fruit but for being deceived and I'll prove it. 
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And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression. 
1 Timothy 2:14

Eve was in sin (transgression) because she allowed herself to be deceived.  We are warned many times throughout the New Testament  to not be deceived.

And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.
Matthew 24:4
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 (Also see Luke 2:18, 1 John 4:1, Colossians 2:8, 1 Corinthians 6:9, 1 Corinthians 15:33, Mark 13:5, 1 Corinthians 3:18, Galatians 6:7 and many more!)

​This means we are responsible for NOT being deceived amen?  Many years ago we were witnessing to a woman who claimed to be a Lutheran.  Brother Jim told her that she will be responsible for her life lived but she claimed that if her pastor was wrong and deceived her, it was his fault and he will be the one in trouble. 
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Sadly that's the case in many people we come across, they simply follow others instead of digging into the Word for their truth and there they sit for 2 years, 5 years, 10 years or more.  If they would have died in that deception, they would have been held responsible for being deceived, which is sin.  Titus 3:3 lists sins and being deceived is one of them.

For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another.
​Titus 3:3

Of course God gives grace to a new believer who does not know His word or has never read it before, but surely as brother Jim is always saying, the Holy Spirit will NOT leave a believer in sin for very long as conviction starts very fast.  When a person gets to 1 Thessalonians 5:21-22, they will quickly know that they are to test ALL THINGS.
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If we have the word of God and we are diligently studying, testing and obeying all things, we have no excuses to be deceived as the Holy Spirit will teach us ALL THINGS.

But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you. 
John 14:26

The Holy Spirit will guide us into ALL TRUTH

Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.
John 16:13

And we need no man to teach us or God's word is a lie, read 1 John 2:27. (Of course after we test someone and find them to be following God's Word, we can take teaching from them.) So in saying all this, I hope the fear of God is instilled in all of us because being deceived is a sin and one that I don't want any of us partaking of or using it to blame others for your lack of following and digging for the truth, lest we be left outside the gates.  If we stick to God's Word we will not be deceived.

Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city. For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie. Revelation 22:14-15

And the Holy Spirit will NOT leave people in their sins so those who are deceived for year after year either don't have the Holy Spirit or they are in rebellion, both of which will not lead to eternal life.

I hope this encourages urgency in all of us to test all things, dig for the truth and not allow anyone to deceive us.  If you are not born again, please see the gospel HERE.  



Peace and blessings to you all.
Sister Deb