The coming of the lawless one is based on Satan’s working, with all kinds of false miracles, signs, and wonders, and with every unrighteous deception among those who are perishing. They perish because they did not accept the love of the truth in order to be saved. For this reason, God sends them a strong delusion so that they will believe what is false so that all will be condemned-those who did not believe the truth but enjoyed unrighteousness.
2 Thessalonians 2:9-11 HCSB
Are you enjoying unrighteousness? I want you to think about this for a minute. Is there sin in your life that you refuse to let go of simply because you enjoy it? Oh, you know it’s wrong. You know the Bible tells you not to do that, but you enjoy it. We’ve all been there and done that, but sometimes we can get stuck there.
Being stuck there, is a very dangerous position. You see, the devil is deceptive. John 8:44 tells us there is no truth in him. Sin is nothing to play around with.
I can promise you from personal experience giving it up will be life changing in a good way. But we don’t want to give up our sin because the devil tells us things like, “It’s okay, God will understand.” He tells us God will overlook it. It won’t really cause us any problems.
We got our first biblical glance at Satan in Genesis chapter 3 when he came into the garden and lied to Eve and got both her and Adam to take a bite of that forbidden fruit. God had clearly told them they could eat from any tree in the garden except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil that was in the middle of the garden.
Satan lied to Eve and told her it would be okay. But it was not okay. Once they took a bite of that fruit, they had the knowledge of good and evil. They knew they were naked, and they were ashamed. They were banished from the garden and there was a slew of generational curses to follow. All because they believed the devil’s lies.
The Bible has a lot to say about being deceived. Many verses start with “Do not be deceived” or
“Do not be led astray.” We are told in 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 not to be deceived: no sexually immoral people, drunkards, verbally abusive people or swindlers will inherit God’s kingdom.
Now the devil will lie to us in two ways. He may tell us that God understands and will overlook our unrighteousness or sinful behavior. Or he may tell us that what we are doing is not bad enough to be considered sin. He deceives us by telling us what we want to hear.
In Matthew 24:3-5, Jesus said, “See that no one leads you astray. For many will come in my name, saying, “I am the Christ; and they will lead many astray.” If you are telling yourself, “Well, I am a Christian I pray and read my Bible and this will not happen to me, be careful.”
The devil doesn’t need to bother sinners and the unrighteous, they are already doing just what he wants them to do. It’s the Christians he is coming after. He doesn’t want us to do what is right. He doesn’t want us to do God’s will. Don’t believe his lies. Don’t get caught up in pride thinking you are immune to his schemes.
Pray daily for wisdom and discernment. Be careful of false teachers and preachers. We are warned that we will see many of these. Pray for God to give you the wisdom to be able to discern the difference between a true man of God and an impostor.
Our Scripture passage tells us God will send a strong delusion so we will believe what is false if we don’t accept the love of the truth. It says all who did not believe the truth but enjoyed unrighteousness will be condemned.
If you are enjoying unrighteousness, I beg of you to seek the truth and love the truth. The truth is found in God’s holy word. Don’t believe the devil’s lies, it will destroy you.
Have a great day!