Defending Your Family - Lesson 10 - Deception

Deception

You can fool some of the people all the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you cannot fool all of the people all of the time.
A. Lincoln.


There is nothing so false and deceitful as the heart of man;
deceitful in its apprehensions of things,
in the hopes and promises which it nourishes,
in the assurances that it gives us;

Unsearchable by others,
deceitful with reference to ourselves,
and abominably wicked,

So that neither can a man know his own heart,
nor can any other know that of his neighbor’s.


Once, when a stubborn disputer seemed unconvinced, Lincoln said, "Well, let's see how many legs has a cow?" "Four, of course," came the reply disgustedly. "That's right," agreed Lincoln. "Now suppose you call the cow's tail a leg; how many legs would the cow have?" "Why, five, of course," was the confident reply. "Now, that's where you're wrong," said Lincoln. "Calling a cow's tail a leg doesn't make it a leg."

Bits & Pieces, July, 1991.


Psalm 24:3-4, “Who shall ascend into the hill of the LORD? or who shall stand in his holy place? He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully.”

What does our opening scripture on vanity say to you?





We fool ourselves into thinking others cannot see our sin.

Psalm 36:2, “For he flattereth himself in his own eyes, until his iniquity be found to be hateful.”

All others detest our vile sin, and we can’t see it ourselves. Why is that?





Similar verse

Proverbs 16:25, “There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.”

Do you have anything to add here?





Still similar

Proverbs 20:17, “Bread of deceit is sweet to a man; but afterwards his mouth shall be filled with gravel. “

I had sand in my mouth before, and I didn’t like that…





Proverbs 26:18-19, “As a mad man who casteth firebrands, arrows, and death, So is the man that deceiveth his neighbour, and saith, Am not I in sport?”

Do we pretend to be something we are not to our neighbor?





Jeremiah 9:8, “Their tongue is as an arrow shot out; it speaketh deceit: one speaketh peaceably to his neighbour with his mouth, but in heart he layeth his wait.”

Do we like it when people treat us that way?





Romans 16:18, “For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple.”

Do you twist your words?





A school teacher lost her life savings in a business scheme that had been elaborately explained by a swindler. When her investment disappeared and her dream was shattered, she went to the Better Business Bureau. "Why on earth didn't you come to us first?" the official asked. "Didn't you know about the Better Business Bureau?" "Oh, yes," said the lady sadly. "I've always known about you. But I didn't come because I was afraid you'd tell me not to do it." The folly of human nature is that even though we know where the answers lie--God's Word--we don't turn there for fear of what it will say.

Jerry Lambert.


Galatians 6:3, “For if a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself.”

Is this a warning sign for when we are deceiving ourselves?
I don’t want to deceive myself,
But some time goes on, I grow and look back and realize I was…





Proverbs 12:17, “He that speaketh truth sheweth forth righteousness: but a false witness deceit.”

What do we show forward?






Proverbs 24:28, “Be not a witness against thy neighbour without cause; and deceive not with thy lips.”

What is worse, to be deceptive or to outright lie?





Ephesians 5:6, “Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience.”

Why do we try to take things into our own hands when these people do wrong?






The world is full of deceivers,
and it is only by taking heed to the counsel of Christ
that even his followers can escape being ruined by them.

Matthew 24:4, “And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.”

What can we do to ‘take heed?’





The wicked always have some excuse to defend their doings
Their own lewd imaginations deceive them
and bring them to hardships
God will examine their deeds
by the malice of their hearts

Jeremiah 17:9, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?”

God knows our heart,
In this series, we are hopefully learning how to defend our family,
How can we help train our family to protect them from their selves?





Christ was perfectly free from deception
Let’s read the Old Testament
And the New Testament fulfillment…

Isaiah 53:9, “And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth.”

1 Peter 2:22, “Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth:”


In Conclusion

We should have a deep and habitual distrust of ourselves,
With earnest prayer to God to show us what is in our hearts,
and keep us from being deluded and destroyed
by our desperate deceitfulness and wickedness—
this is the beginning of all true wisdom and safety.


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