Aletha Swanson CAN CHRISTIANS (THE ELECT) BE DECEIVED? Someone said in an earlier post that the elect cannot be deceived. That is a false teaching and not supported by Scripture. We absolutely CAN be deceived, and it is up to US to know the Word well enough to not be deceived. The warnings against deception, which were written to the churches, are scattered all through the New Testament, For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, IF IT WERE POSSIBLE, they shall deceive the very elect. Matt 24:24 I have asked many who know Greek what that IF POSSIBLE in Matt 24:24 means,. The exact same phrase if it were possible translated in Matt 24:24 was also translated that way in Acts 20:16, For Paul had determined to sail by Ephesus, because he would not spend the time in Asia: for he hasted, IF IT WERE POSSIBLE (G1415) for him, to be at Jerusalem the day of Pentecost. SAME verb tense as in Matt 24:24. Acts 20:16 is saying it WAS possible for Paul to make Jerusalem, and very well MAY do so, IF conditions allowed it. It is NOT saying if it was IMPOSSIBLE, just as Matt 24;24 is not saying it is impossible for believers to be deceived, which would contradict what Jesus had just warned about in verses 3 and 4. He is warning about deception in Matthew 24:24- For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. If there were NO danger of deception, they there would have been no need for the warning. The very FIRST sign He gave the apostles in Matt 24:3 was to warn them about being deceived, Take heed that no man deceive YOU. He was speaking to the apostles, not to the world. Note that it were isnt present in the original manuscripts. This is how it actually reads: For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if possible, they SHALL (emphasis mine) deceive the very elect. So the Lord is not saying that it wont be possible. Hes saying that it WILL be possible for the elect to be deceived. The possibility is up to US to know the Word well enough to NOT be deceived. Remember, Eve was in a perfect sinless world and was deceived when she chose to doubt and question the word of God and do what God had told her NOT to do. There would have been no reason for the Lord to warn us about something which couldnt happen. This is also the pattern He gave us in Revelation 2 and 3, in the message to the churches where He repeatedly said that for those who overcome, He will grant eternal life. Paul wrote ,Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times (that would be NOW) some shall a DEPART FROM the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; 1 Tim 4:1..........Unbelievers who were never born again were never IN the faith, so they are totally unable to depart from it. Paul also wrote for some have already turned aside to follow Satan. 1 Tim 5:15. An apostate is one who has turned aside from the truth. (Those who have never been saved and were never in the faith are already following Satan.) Hebrews 3:12-14 gives us all a stern warning: Take heed, BRETHREN, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of UNBELIEF in DEPARTING FROM the living God. But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of YOU be hardened through the deceitfulness of SIN. For we are made partakers of Christ, IF WE HOLD the beginning of our confidence steadfast unto the END. This expands on what Jesus told His disciples, He endures to the END shall be saved. Matt 24:13 He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels. Rev 3:5 We ignore the warnings to our own peril.
Posted on: Thu, 27 Nov 2014 00:45:04 +0000