Spiritual Deception in the Church: Staying True to God’s Word

The Subtle Ways Christians Can Be Deceived

How is a Christian deceived? How does a Christian deceive themselves? To be deceived is to be lied to or to lie to oneself. It is the hallmark of the devil. It is the coat worn by the wolf among the sheep. Spiritual deception in the church doesn’t always come from outside. It often begins within, when we start believing ideas about God or ourselves that are not true.

"To be deceived is to be lied to—or to lie to yourself."

When We Misunderstand God’s Love and Justice

We may be deceived when we believe that there can be love without justice or justice without love. God does not love sin, He hates it. When we are called on to accept sin as good we have to question motives. The world would love to continue in sin without ever being condemned. Jesus has explained to us that He did not come into the world to condemn it but to offer a way to save it (John 3:17; Romans 8:1). Only through Jesus can those condemned, which is all of us, find a path to forgiveness and relationship with God.

And yet we cannot have justice without love. We have all sinned. When we turn to Christ and repent we are told to love others as we have been loved. We don't look down our noses at those who don't know Christ as if we are better than them. No, we walk humbly, knowing we were them at one point in our lives. We are to love people as Christ loved us. We love others enough to die for those who hate and revile us. God unites justice and love perfectly.

"Mercy and truth have met together; righteousness

and peace have kissed." - Psalm 85:10

The World’s Upside-Down Morality

The world has turned this all upside down. It calls evil good and good evil. Today, if a Christian points out sin, they are considered hate filled. If a Christian accepts and condones sin, they are considered loving and kind. Let's present the truth of God in love. The cross shows what love and justice truly are. He offers mercy but doesn't compromise holiness. If it weren't for the existence of sin, Christ would never have been sacrificed on the cross. Because God is totally holy, without Christ we would have no bridge of reconciliation between us and God.

The Deception of Busyness

We may be deceived by busyness. We often equate being busy for God as being holy. We never want to say no to any opportunity to serve. Thank God for those with high energy and willingness to volunteer, but be careful. The Bible commends those who labor diligently for Him. But perhaps what God wants from you is to spend more time quietly studying His word and praying. We never want to make people feel like they are not needed but don't let your activity in the church become your measure of worthiness. Always be aware of your motivation for serving God. Is it out of love for Him? Just as busyness can deceive, so can isolation in worship.

The Danger of Isolated Worship

We may be deceived when we believe that online church is the same as meeting together for worship. Online church is something of a phenomenon. It has grown in popularity since the COVID years. For those who are ill or shut in and unable to leave their homes, or in a remote place, or suffering persecution it can be a great blessing. However, if at all possible meet with other believers. Online worship is not the best substitute for worshipping God together as a church.

We were never meant to worship totally alone. We are meant to encourage one another, learn from each other, and gently admonish one another. When we are alone we don't feel the love and warmth of the Holy Spirit that spreads from those around us during church.

Technology and the Spread of Falsehood

We may be deceived by technology. Recently, a YouTube video of a preacher received 100 million views. What most people didn't know was that the entire video was created by AI. AI, in and of itself, is not inherently deceptive. What is deceptive is passing AI off as real. This is rapidly becoming almost undetectable by all but just a few experts. Someone can create an AI video of a pastor saying almost anything.

What do we do to stop this deception? We have to fact check the source. We have to know our Bibles. It is not the technology we should be concerned about as much as our lack of discernment. We can deceive ourselves, not just through technology but also how we approach our spiritual growth.

Spiritual Deception in the Church

We may be deceived by a lack of knowledge. Instead of sincere Bible Study we are often led to believe that reading a few Christian memes every day somehow substitutes for knowing the word of God. Don't misunderstand, Christian memes can be wonderful tidbits of knowledge, like a mid morning snack. But what they should provoke is a desire to know more, to study more, to be sure the Bible says what the meme says it says, and attempt to understand not just one verse but the passage it came from.

Another powerful source of deception comes from within the church itself, through false teachers and teachings that sound spiritual but contradict Scripture (2 Peter 2:1–3; 2 Corinthians 11:13–15). This problem goes all the way back to the New Testament. Paul warns about it in his letters.

From the earliest days of the Church, believers have faced deception. Paul warned of those teaching “another Jesus” and “a different gospel” (2 Corinthians 11:4). In the centuries that followed, false teachings such as Gnosticism, which denied the full humanity of Christ, and Arianism, which denied His full divinity, threatened to distort the faith.

The Church responded by returning again and again to the authority of Scripture and the confession that Jesus Christ is both fully God and fully man. Throughout history, every generation has had to confront new forms of old errors, and the answer has always been the same. We must hold fast to sound doctrine and test every teaching by God’s Word (1 John 4:1).

Classic Christian writers like John Bunyan in The Pilgrim's Progress also warned about spiritual deception. He describes Mr. Worldly Wiseman, who tries to persuade Christian to seek relief from his burden through good works and moral living rather than going to the cross. Worldly Wiseman tells him, “Thou wilt find, if thou dost follow this counsel, a way that will rid thee of thy burden quickly.” Later Christian learns this advice almost led him astray from his path to salvation.

"We may be deceived by what seems wise—but not everything that looks good is from God."

Are false teachers promising you money and fame for following Christ? Are they telling you only about the Christian life bringing you joy, contentment, and a better life? Or are they explaining truth, and teaching how Christians must suffer by dying to self and the world, or the need for a Christ centered life of repentance and obedience? The lies of false teachers are often reinforced by what we see and hear every day in popular culture.

We may be deceived by popular culture. All too often sin is presented not as an evil but as something to be desired. Foul language, sexual immorality, and lying for example, are just treated as behaviors that everyone does, instead of behaviors one should repent of. God does love us but He is not OK with our remaining in sinful lifestyles as if it doesn't matter because, "He knows we're trying." So how do we avoid falling into these traps of deception that surround us on every side?

Staying Grounded in God’s Word and Spirit

How do we avoid being deceived? We avoid deception by praying for discernment so we can tell if someone is deceiving us (James 1:5; Hebrews 5:14; and 1 John 4:1). Discerning teachers requires us to ask questions. Is the person we are listening to showing the fruit of the spirit in their lives? By listening to them are we growing in the fruit of the spirit? We should pray for wisdom. If we're online, check sources, read about the pastor you are listening to, look up that Bible verse. Does it say what they say that it says?

Ask yourself, am I seeking guidance from the Holy Spirit? Am I meeting regularly with others who love God? If you have a preacher you trust, ask him his thoughts about the preachers, teachers, and practices you are engaged with and in. True discernment begins with humility. We need to recognize that we cannot rely on our own understanding.

The Bible says deception will increase in the latter days (2 Timothy 3:13; Matthew 24:24; and 1 Timothy 4:1), so be careful, be watchful, don't be led astray by doubts that can grow into full blown rebellion against God. Don't drift away from Him by becoming less diligent in loving and serving others. Don't argue with people who just want to argue and not truly learn. Pray for those who you see this happening to, and if possible gently guide them back to the Lord. Practice obedience, even when it's hard. In a world filled with confusion and false voices, humility and obedience keep us close to the true Shepherd.

Wisdom's call tells us Christ is the foundation of our lives. In all things let us be humble, counting others as more important than ourselves. His sheep hear His voice and follow Him (John 10:27–28). They aren't led astray by a false shepherd calling their name. Listen, when our Lord calls you!