Deception (Part 08) - Methods of Deception (Part A)

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X. Methods of deception 1. Deceiving people is accomplished by lying to them (Lev 6:2-4; Jer 9:3-6; Psa 109:2). A. Deceitful people cannot be trusted (Pro 14:25). B. They pretend to be your friend with their words, but they are planning to harm you in their hearts (Jer 9:8; Psa 28:3; Psa 62:4). C. Liars show themselves to be deceitful (Pro 12:17). D. Deceit n. - 1. The action or practice of deceiving; concealment of the truth in order to mislead; deception, fraud, cheating, false dealing. E. The lies are usually wrapped in good words and fair speeches in order to deceive (Rom 16:18). i. The good words are often the words of scripture. a. The Lord's words are good words (Zec 1:13). b. The word of God is good (Heb 6:5; Psa 119:39). c. God's law is good (Rom 7:12) if it is used lawfully (1Ti 1:8). d. Good words make people happy (Pro 12:25). e. They can be used by the righteous for good and by the wicked for evil. ii. The fair speeches are often sermons. a. Fair adj. - 1. Beautiful to the eye; of pleasing form or appearance; good-looking. 5. a. Of external manifestations, words, promises: Attractive or pleasing at the first sight or hearing; specious, plausible, flattering. b. Strange women are known for their fair speech (Pro 7:21). c. Strange women represent false religion in the Bible (Rev 17:5). d. Beware of those that speak fair because there's a good chance they are trying to deceive you (Pro 26:24-26). (i) Fair adv. - 1. In a beautiful or comely manner; agreeably, beautifully, brightly, handsomely, nobly. 2. a. Civilly, courteously, kindly. Now only in phr. to speak (a person) fair. (ii) Believe them not (Jer 12:6). e. Beware of the slick-talking preacher! (i) If the sermon is appealing because of the delivery and not because of the content, watch out. (ii) Never allow eloquence to be a substitute for truth. iii. The apostle Paul, our example, was not an eloquent, slick-tongued preacher. a. Paul's presence was base (2Co 10:1). (i) Base adj. - II. Figurative senses. 6. Low in the social scale, of lowly condition, plebeian; belonging to the ‘lower orders.’ arch. (ii) Plebeian n. - A. n. a. A member of the Plebs of ancient Rome; a Roman commoner, as opposed to the patricians, senators, and knights. b. In general, A person not of noble or privileged rank, one of the common people, a commoner. b. He was rude in speech (2Co 11:6), (i) Rude adj.- I. 1. a. Uneducated, unlearned; ignorant; lacking in knowledge or book-learning. 4. Unmannerly, uncivil, impolite; offensively or deliberately discourteous: a. Of speech or actions. (ii) Paul was not a politically correct preacher. (iii) His preaching was offensive, not sly. c. His speech was contemptible (2Co 10:10). (i) Contemptible - 1. To be despised or held in contempt; worthy only of contempt; despicable. (ii) Paul's sermons were despised by those who didn't love the unvarnished truth. d. He did not speak and preach with enticing words (1Co 2:4). (i) Enticing adj. - That entices or instigates; insidiously attractive; alluring, beguiling, seductive. (ii) Paul spoke the truth plainly without theatric allure. iv. The man of God Moses was likewise not eloquent in speech (Exo 4:10). v. Moses was slow of speech and of a slow tongue. vi. Eloquence doesn't necessarily equate to false teaching or deception. a. Apollos was an eloquent preacher and mighty in the scriptures (Act 18:24). b. Eloquent adj. - 1. a. Of persons: Possessing or exercising the power of fluent, forcible, and appropriate expression. c. Despite Apollos' eloquence, he still needed to learn more (Act 18:25). d. Aquila and Priscilla didn't let Apollos' impressive oratory keep them from perceiving that his understanding was lacking (Act 18:26). e. After being helped by them, Apollos was an even better preacher (Act 18:27-28). vii. Deceivers wrest the words of God (2Pe 3:16) (see Section VIII,2). viii. False prophets deceitfully claim to be speaking the word of God (Jer 14:14; Jer 23:25-32). ix. They lie to people by telling them "good" things that they want to hear (2Ch 18:12). x. True men of God do not use deceit or guile to lie to people using the word of God (1Th 2:3-5; 2Co 4:1-2). F. To avoid being deceived by false teachers, we must: i. Mark and avoid those who have been shown to be teaching things that cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine that we have been taught from the scripture (Rom 16:17). ii. Always scrutinize what we hear by comparing it with scripture to determine if it is true, or not (Act 17:11). iii. Never let eloquence be a measure of truth. iv. Cease to hear the instruction that causes us to error (Pro 19:27; Pro 14:7). G. It is especially important for women to not allow false teachers to come into their house (2Jo 1:1, 7-10) because women are more easily deceived than men (2Ti 3:6 c/w 1Ti 2:14).