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Not Deceived
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It’s easy to
overlook those three little words. Yet they appear at the
front end of some of the most often-quoted passages. The
warning in 1 Cor. 15:33 is not just that “evil companions
corrupt good morals,” but that there is a possibility of
deceiving ourselves into thinking otherwise. Gal. 6:7 asserts
the truth that “whatever a man sows, this he will also
reap,” but only after establishing the fact that most men
convince themselves of the opposite. So it is that when Paul
reminded the Corinthians about the kinds of sins that exclude
men from the kingdom of God, he used that same three word
admonition: “be not deceived” (1 Cor. 6:9).
Our society is saturated with sex. Things that used to cause
people to blush behind closed doors are now flaunted in the
face of God. But just because our world advertises sex as
something common or casual does not mean that the Lord sees it
the same way. He created these natural desires as pure and
holy, to be enjoyed in the boundaries of the marriage
relationship. When those barriers are crossed, the result is
sin against God who created and sanctified it. Don’t let our
culture deceive you otherwise.
Through the account of David and Bathsheba in 2 Samuel 11, we
find the way to avoid self deception with regard to sexual
sin.
“That could never happen to me.” David was a man
after God’s own heart. He was hand-picked by the Lord
Himself to be the next king of Israel. It was David who
defeated the giant. It was David who twice spared the life of
Saul, the Lord’s anointed. It was David who befriended
Jonathan in a most beautiful way. But the story of his life is
not just about David and Goliath, or David and Saul, or David
and Jonathan. It’s also about David and Bathsheba.
Sexual sin does not just happen. It occurs when people, young
or old, single or married, are unwise about the choices they
make or careless about the situations they place themselves
in. Those who thought they could never be seduced or tempted
are suddenly making plans when parents are not home, reserving
hotel rooms, or carrying out in the body things they first
contemplated in the mind. The moment we think we are immune to
the devil’s devices is just when he has us in his grasp. Be
not deceived.
“I can stop this before it goes too far.” David
had plenty of opportunities to turn back from the affair
before it ever got started. “He saw a woman bathing”
(11:2). While this was well before the age of remote controls,
the king could have quickly changed the channel and looked
elsewhere. “The woman was very beautiful in appearance”
(11:2). In the Hebrew, that literally reads, “she was of
good appearance – exceedingly.” David would never have
known that had he turned his head immediately. “So David
sent and inquired about the woman” (11:3). Finding out she
was married, he could have decided to pursue her no further.
“And David sent messengers and took her” (11:4). What
possible good thing could have come out of this meeting? One
bad decision begat another until finally, “he lay with
her” (11:4).
In times of temptation, God has promised that there will
always be a way of escape (1 Cor. 10:13). All too often, we
run right past it or look for the exit that’s a little
further down the road. Fornication occurs when people think
they can get a little closer to the fire without getting
burned. Adultery happens when people convince themselves that
inappropriate behavior is acceptable since they are “just
friends.” Be not deceived. The best way to stop it is to not
even let it get started.
“No one else knows about it.” As soon as
Bathsheba said, “I am pregnant (11:5), the coverup began.
David ultimately had Uriah, listed as one of his mighty men in
2 Samuel 23, killed in battle so that he could take Bathsheba
as his wife and somehow legitimatize their unborn child. All
of this had escaped the eyes of Israel, but not the attention
of heaven. “The thing that David had done was evil in the
sight of the Lord” (11:27).
There is no such thing as a secret sin hidden from Him with
whom we have to do. Even if we have been able to cover our
tracks to keep from hurting those who love us the most, we are
still accountable to the Creator of the body. The Scripture
says, “fornicators and adulterers God will judge” (Heb.
13:4). Sins carried out in the dark will be brought to light.
Be not deceived.
When confronted with his sin, David repented and accepted the
consequences for his actions. God forgave him and restored to
him the “joy of Thy salvation” (Psa. 51:12). May we
likewise see the truth for what it is, and go our way and sin
no more.
Bubba Garner
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Copyright (C)
2008
Southside Church of Christ
All rights reserved.
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