Titus 3:3 (d) — Going Astray

At one time we too were … deceived …

Summary: Being a demon is hard work. You cannot force people to leave God’s Light, you have to tempt them. Fortunately for the demons, their work is made easier when we turn our back on God. 

Imagine for a moment that you do not have a body. You are here on earth, you can see what is going on, but you cannot touch anything physically. Like watching a goldfish in a bowl, you can see what the people who have bodies are doing, but you cannot physically touch them or do what they do. This is what it feels like to be a demon. 

The only thing you can do is tickle the curiosity of living things. You can whisper into their minds. You can hint and entice. The more a person follows your lead, the easier it is to control them. The goal of the game is to lead them away from God’s Light. The fun is to see if you can spoil another part of God’s Creation. Like kicking apart a little kid’s sandcastle at the beach, deceiving God’s Creation, and enticing them from life to death is a rush. 

Satan and his demons are every bit as real as you or me. Having turned against their Creator, their only hope now is to take over the Creation. They want it for themselves. They want the power. You see, they, too, are deceived. 

The word “planáō” in Greek is the word translated as “deceive.” It means to cause to roam or wander from the truth. It is a word that means someone is intentionally led astray. Like dangling fresh grass in front of a lost lamb, the baby sheep wanders farther away from life. 

How can this be? 

Once again, we return to Genesis 3. In the story of man’s fall, we hear Satan, in the form of a serpent, describing what will happen if they eat from the forbidden tree. The serpent says, “… God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” (Genesis 3:5)

Before they ate from the forbidden tree, Adam and Eve could only know good. They walked in God’s garden and were continually in his presence. Their minds could not conceive of evil because they were filled with God’s truth and light. 

When they ate the forbidden fruit, Scripture says, “…the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked …” (Genesis 3:7) Without understanding what they were doing, they were tempted into disobedience which led to death. Not physical death but something worse: Spiritual death. Their minds, no longer filled with the light and truth of God, were now open to temptation. They could now know evil. 

Having opened the door of their minds to evil, the tempter suddenly has unfettered access to God’s children. Deceiving them is only a matter of dangling something just out of reach. Promises of happiness, power, wealth, popularity, and success glitter in the minds of the tempted. Not knowing the difference between good and evil, we are deceived. 

At one time, even the apostles chosen by Jesus were deceived until their Savior rescued them. The same Savior rescues us. Like picking up a lost lamb, God comes to our rescue. He carries us on his shoulders, restores a right spirit in us, and gives us peace. 

Application: Put your trust in God’s Word, his Son, Jesus, and his Holy Spirit. 

Food for Thought: How can we tell when we are being deceived?